Disclaimer: My house belongs to the bank, my work belongs to my boss and my money is always confiscated by my wife. And Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling... Damn...
Rocking the boat
By DerLaCroix
Chapter 12: New waters
*** August 9th, The Revenge, Captain's Cabin, some time early in the morning ***
Harry slowly awoke to the bell's tolling. He groped around for his Hermione, but after a few seconds, it became obvious that she was not there. After he blindly grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, a quick look found her behind the stained windows, out on the gallery silhouetted against the sunrise.
Not bothering to dress, he rose, stumbling a bit as the suspended bed smacked him in the calves on the return swing. With a wobbly gait, delightfully sore and still unaccustomed to the moving ground, he slowly followed her outside. She stood there, a thin blanket wrapped around her to ward off the slight chill of the moist morning air, staring out into the ocean dawn.
She jumped a little at his approached. "Oh, Harry. I didn't want to wake you," she smiled, which intensified when Harry wrapped his arms around her. "Remember to be careful when getting out of that bed; it hits you if you do it too fast," she warned him, giggling when he informed her that he had noticed that already.
With a slight wave of his hand, he cast a warming charm over her before he joined her under the blanket. "What are you doing out here?"
Hermione turned and snuggled into the chest of her Captain.
"I wanted to watch the sunrise, and was just thinking about last night."
"That was… intense," Harry sighed, pulling his girlfriend closer. "Was it how you expected?" he asked. Getting insecure, he added, "Or do you regret it?"
She took a short pause before answering shyly. "It was great, and I certainly do not regret it. Do you?"
A deep chuckle emanated from Harry, and Hermione savoured the feeling of him rumbling against her. "I'm a perfectly healthy male, so of course not. But I am afraid that we might have rushed things. Not two months ago, we were just friends, and now…" his voice faded out.
A deep kiss answered all his questions. "I thought about that, too. I think we were just bound to happen. We were friends for so long that basically, we were a couple without knowing it. All that we lacked was the physical attraction part, and once we noticed each other 'that way', it just clicked into place, somehow."
He nodded his agreement. "Like we just caught up with what we had been ignoring for a long time already?" he asked, and grinned as he felt her nod and snuggle deeper into his chest.
"Did I do ok last night?" he asked, after a few minutes.
"It was perfect, silly. You even surprised me with stunning me to prepare everything!" she gushed. "That was brilliant. I had been wondering how we could get me tied to that gun without it getting awkward. I never thought about stunning me."
"Well, I just followed the manual. The story had the heroine waking from unconsciousness, and you said that you wanted it to happen exactly like that," Harry shrugged, hugging her closer. "I was really nervous about all that," he admitted.
"It was so sweet when you tried to confirm my wish while staying in play," Hermione cooed, before snorting a laugh. "And you were right; we need a different safe word. I didn't think this through properly," she admitted.
"Yeah, I really panicked when you started begging for mercy," Harry chuckled as he reminisced about last night.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she put a few kisses on his arms encircling her. "Thank you for playing along with my fantasy. You know, dreams…"
Harry snorted. "You know that I have at least thirty or forty guns here on this boat to break in?" he laughed, waggling his eyebrows, earning himself a good-natured slap on the chest. Planning for a little revenge, she rose to tiptoes and whispered into his ear, "Play your cards right, and we might do that. Maybe I'll let you even load my other barrel too, someday."
"Huh?" Harry said, and "Oooooh!" a few seconds later when the coin dropped. The look that had come across Harry's face sent Hermione into a fit of giggles. She was shaking so hard that she was forced to cling onto the handrail to stay upright as Harry absorbed the new information he'd just received.
"Right, I need to practice a lot before I'll have earned that privilege," Harry sighed.
"Oh, come on, I told you it was ok for me," Hermione harrumphed, "no one expected you to be a sex-god! I really liked it!"
"But you didn't..." Harry began, but stopped as she turned to face him, glaring. Her hands were at her hips, granting him a magnificent view of her nude body.
"If you ever want a repeat of tonight's events, you stop this instant, Harry James Potter!" she hissed, now waving an extended finger at him fiercely, poking him in the chest at each word of his name.
Harry gulped. It never bodes well when a girl calls you by your full name, not even if she's standing naked in front of you.
"Did you really expect to pop my cherry and have me start cumming like a freight train? The first time hurts, Harry, and my body is not yet used to having an object that size stuffed into it! It will get better with practice, understood?" she scolded, and at his frantic, wide-eyed nod, she hugged him fiercely, kissing him hard, before snuggling into his chest again.
As he noticed her getting Goosebumps, Harry picked up the blanket and wrapped it around them before recasting the warming charm, earning himself another, this time more sensual, kiss for his caring.
Harry was enjoying that immensely, when suddenly she broke the kiss and grinned at him. She then wriggled a bit against him, which made his enjoyment stand out even more obviously.
"Seems that there is another training session scheduled already," she rejoiced, and slowly slid lower, disappearing under the blanket, while Harry went cross-eyed...
ooOOoo
At precisely four glasses, the promised boat fetched them and brought them ashore. They made their way up to the villa, holding hands and chatting merrily. While Harry took a quick detour to a bathroom after they entered the villa, Hermione went straight to the dining room, where she found the adults at breakfast.
As she sat down and greeted everybody, still wearing a most obvious grin, her mother and Tonks instantly started beaming at her.
Henry, on the other hand, started frowning. "It seems like I have to have a chat with a certain boy," he grumbled.
Much to his imminent dismay, he had voiced that thought loud enough to be heard.
"Will that be the type of chat where a father threatens his daughter's suitor?" Hermione asked, her brows furrowed, and her eyes narrowed to slits.
But before Hermione could lash out at her father, her mother addressed her intended victim.
"Isn't that the conversation which is immediately followed by the one which leads to the father never again sleeping in his wife's bed?" she hissed at Henry, to whom it was becoming obvious that his attitude didn't attract any praise. The glares he received from Tonk's direction confirmed his suspicion.
Just at that moment, Harry entered with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He froze in mid-step as he noticed that everyone was glaring at Henry.
Before he could utter any question, Margret addressed him, in an overly sweet tone, while she continued to glare at Henry. "Harry, dear, would you be so kind as to lend me your boat for today?"
"Eh... Sure. What for?" Harry stammered, while cautiously padding over and taking a seat between Hermione and Remus.
"Oh, nothing to write home about - just so I can properly keelhaul my husband," she chirped, and Hermione promptly offered to charm the ropes to be self-hauling.
"I guess he commented our joint accommodation, didn't he?" Harry stage whispered to Remus. Remus just grinned into his tea and continued watching the women glaring at the cringing Henry.
The ensuing breakfast at the Villa was nonetheless nice, after the women had glared Henry into submission. Everybody was chatting happily about the island, their impressions, and the night. Everybody was asking the teens repeatedly about the boat, and everybody laughed heartily at Henry's flinch every time it was mentioned.
A bit later Matty entered and, after a short talk and donning proper clothes, in case of the adults, took them for a visit to the town.
ooOOoo
When they walked through the town, they noticed that though all the people still wore the pirate clothes, it seemed like any normal town. In fact, it could have been Hogsmeade, only in a Caribbean setting, and with most of the people carrying weapons in addition to wands.
There were some children running around, and some people out shopping. They had a grocery at the town square, and a single street that ran in a circle to the harbour and back. Matty told them that the town was relatively self-sustaining, with only some goods like grain and metal needing to be imported, along with luxury goods. For that reason, they had the Pathfinder, a 60-foot brigantine they used for trade and 'appropriating' merchandise.
That boat was anchored a bit off the harbour, which housed only small boats for ferrying and fishing. Some fishing boats could be seen out on the ocean, near a white area of waves on the water, which as Matty told them was the reef that sheltered the harbour. There was even one relatively modern sailing yacht in the harbour, which Matty told them belonged to a couple of young Muggles. It had been damaged in a storm and ran ashore on the island after a few days of drifting helplessly. They decided to stay, and did supply runs to the Muggle islands with their boat to earn their living.
The group was a bit surprised to hear that there were actually half a dozen Muggles living on the island.
"Captain," Matty chuckled at him as he mentioned that. "Where do you think we got some of that crazy stuff like yesterday from? Some of this began when the Fairchild's, who own that boat, took some of us to Florida for a weekend, about five years ago," he said, smiling in reminiscence.
"Since the means to have fun here on the island are rather limited, and the fights got out of hand a few times, so we had to crack down on them. Watching the show at that theme park, we inquired and made some sensible adjustments for safety," he explained.
"You know, that would have never been possible under the old Lord Black," he sighed. "He was never fond of the settlement, but as he disliked the climate and the sea, he rarely came back, especially after he failed the test badly. We were pretty much left alone for nearly fifty years before Lord Sirius showed up here," he added, looking a bit sour. "He was just as bad as the other 'bloods, only the family oath Blackbeard gave his men to protect them on this island kept him from chasing us away," he said as he showed them around the pier and the stands of the fishermen.
"So this bar-fighting and these clothes are just a game?" Harry laughed out loud.
"What's wrong with our clothes?" Matty replied puzzled, looking all over himself as if to find something out of order.
"And the weapons?" Harry quickly changed the topic.
"Just in case the blood's stumble across our settlement. It happened once, eight or nine years ago, and they thought that they just had to land and demand fines for illegal settlement. We objected," he grinned nastily at Harry, "and took the chance to replace our old boat with the Pathfinder."
"Hey, no need to worry, Lord Black," Matty hastily said as he noticed the group exchanging worried glances. "All people living here have to take an oath to never betray the island and one of loyalty to Lord Black. You all are under protection of this oath, although your bodyguards and your family would have to take the oath on the island, too."
ooOOoo
Next to the harbour was a small wharf for repairing and building small boats, and a warehouse. The rest of the economy was small business, often in small stalls in the nooks and crannies of buildings. Matty told them that nearly everyone here had a profession, and everyone traded and bartered amongst each other.
Hermione of course, noticed something about which she had to ask: everyone was using British money.
"That's because we're in British waters, Miss. All the Antilles and rest of the Caribbean, except for the mainland, is a protectorate of Britain. The magical population never seceded from the Commonwealth," Matty explained, which made Hermione look baffled.
"Hermione, don't you remember that the Ministry was able to remove Dumbledore from the ICW and reinstate him at will? Magical Britain still controls most of the Commonwealth, except for Australian and Canadian territory. That gives them an automatic majority there," Tonks explained.
"So we are still on British soil?" Harry snapped. "Great! So it's just a matter of time until I'm found? And a moment later, a group of Aurors under Dumbledore's command will portkey in."
Matty snorted and shook his head. "I don't think so, Captain. All these Islands are warded against portkeys and apparition. This one is an exception since it actually has and one entry point for portkeys, like Port Royale, the main seat of the administrations of the West Indies."
"Wasn't that town destroyed by an earthquake?" Henry asked.
"That's what Muggles think," Matty replied with an evil grin.
"Anyway, the only means of transport between islands are ships - makes it easier to control the population if they can't hop around at will."
"So they'll just send a fleet - they probably know about this island," Harry huffed.
"Technically, yes, but this island has extra wards, courtesy of the Blacks. We are invisible to anyone further than a mile away. Also,to ward an island, you need rune stones sunk into the ocean at the ward boundaries. Doing that, it all went fine until it came time to set the stones for the weather wards to avert storms. After the ship had set the first stone, it was hit by an unexpected, nasty storm and got seriously damaged. The crew was forced to abandon ship and it sank."
"Because of that, the remaining three stones were all placed on a single point, which created a zone of magic interference of which you might be aware," Matty said, and was interrupted by Hermione's outburst.
"The Bermuda Triangle! So we're in the middle of it?"
Matty laughed again. "That's what everybody would think, Missy, and that's where they look for us whenever they try to crack down on piracy. But in fact, that ship was blown far north in this storm. We are only a few miles northeast of Bahama, near Grand Abaco."
Henry had to laugh out loud at that. "So anybody looking for this island would start looking hundreds of miles north?" he inquired, and Matty shot him an evil smile and a nod.
Harry let a relieved sigh escape at the good news. "Ok, so we are reasonably well hidden. How firm is the British control?"
"Not very, Captain. Most Aurors are only in the Capitals. In the Bahamas, wizards populate 6 of the 700 islands, at least major settlements, while Muggles inhabit 30. All in all, there must be about 15000 wizards in all Bahamas, but only a few hundred british purebloods."
"Wow! That's a huge population. But why are there so few purebloods here? " Hermione asked, and Remus couldn't help but let the teacher inside of him show.
"How many students graduate from Hogwarts every year?" He asked in return
"We are about 40 in our year and it's about the same in the upper years, so I guess about 50 on average," Hermione said after a short look at Harry.
"Wrong. Hermione, you are children of the first war. Not many magical parents had children in that time, and most non-pureblood children were killed along with their parents. Hogwarts usually houses near to 1000 children, but for the last few years, it's averaged close to 500. Next term there will be 150 children starting their first year, those born about a year or two after Voldemort's downfall, when everybody went back to living without fear. In a normal year, about 100 to 150 students graduate," Remus solved and chuckled a bit at the baffled looks the children sported.
"That's a lot!" Harry commented dryly.
"Yes, it is. But most families only have one or two children, so the population is fairly stable. Still, back home, most of the economy is controlled by purebloods, and there isn't much growth. Therefore, there aren't many jobs available. Also, the Ministry isn't open for Muggleborn," Remus continued explaining. "Hence, a lot of Muggleborns and Halfbloods settle in the Muggle world and some leave Britain and settle in the Colonies after graduation."
"Why is that?" demanded Hermione.
"You see, we have two real wizarding settlements in Britain - Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. And even Hogsmeade has only a few hundred inhabitants. The whole economy is concentrated there, and because of Apparition and Floo, there is no need for local stores. Nor is it easy to compete with the long-standing pureblood businesses. The twins might be the first in known history to manage to put pressure on an older company, since they really outshine Zonko's; at least with what little I've seen of their stuff. Over here, there are so many people and settlements that it's impossible to have everything in one place."
"Aye, Remus, there's no Floo here, and a lot needs to be shipped since you can't portkey goods to big to pick up and hold. It gets old - and very expensive - fast if you have to portkey grain and ore by the sack. There are portkey centres on mayor islands, but other islands are only accessible by ship. Also, the distances are too long for island hopping by Apparition, even if it weren't for the wards. So there is enough space and work for everyone," Matty added.
"And why aren't there more Purebloods over here, then?" Margret inquired. "I mean, it's so beautiful here, and if there are so many possibilities?"
Remus had to think a few moments before he could voice his thoughts. "That's a bit harder to explain. You understand that since these islands are British territory, the officials are sent by the Wizengamot?"
"Arrrgh, Matey," Matty snarled, "Those dammed 'bloods are in control of everything. They are appointed as Governors for the islands, and get themselves big plantations. They control shipments to Britain and tolls between the islands - that's the main reason for those wards, apart from defence. They have some loyal Halfbloods and islanders as Auror forces, and use them to suppress the rest of the people. To hell with them!" he finished, and spat onto the ground in disgust.
"Really? What do they do?" Tonks asked and got a real earful about taxes, corruption and overstepping authority. The Governors seemed to milk the population for all they were worth. They controlled most inter-island to island shipping, and therefore took a good share from every grain, screw, or whatever sent, along with hefty harbour fees. They even stop and search every private magical ship they encountered for contraband, in most cases demanding bribes for letting them go if they find nothing. Only the fleets of the big trade companies, buying for Knuts and selling for Galleons, were left unhindered.
After Matty had finished slandering the 'bloods' seven ways to Sunday, Remus continued.
"That actually proves my point. Most of the Purebloods don't want to live here. They want to be in Britain, attending their parties, dabbling in politics, and generally sitting on their wealth. Over here, they have to actually work and don't have many others with whom to mingle. Also, they don't want Muggleborns around. They are sent here to work for the benefit of the big shipping companies of some purebloods, keeping the trade going and lucrative," Remus added, noticing a fierce snarl on Harry's face.
"And yes, I know that means Voldemort is funded more or less directly by the money and goods they make here," Remus voiced the thoughts Harry had, before continuing his first train of thought.
"So you see, they mostly just want to raise as much money as they can and then go back to fancy London. An appointment over here is just a way to quickly raise funds and gain points within the old pureblood circle," Remus concluded, earning himself a pensive, but thankful nod from Hermione. They continued their tour, but Harry couldn't shake the thought that even on this remote island, the ghost of Voldemort still lingered.
ooOOoo
They continued the tour back into the town and went past some small businesses until Matty stopped them next to one. Harry and his friends were just surveyed the house, whose sign proclaimed to be a 'Lenny's', whatever that was supposed to be. Matty gave them the answer.
"Captain, we should visit Lenny, our black- and wand-smith. He might have a solution for your wand problem. Either way, we have some business with him, anyway."
Despite the cryptic statement, Harry gladly complied and stepped through the double doors into the dark shop. It was really dark, and they needed to wait a few moments for their eyes to get accustomed to the dim lighting in order to take in everything.
The main attractions were the huge anvil near a corner in the back, nearly four feet long and one across, and lots of tongs, hammers and strange metal spikes of various sizes and shapes in a rack on the wall. One corner held a row of four long magical fires, each four feet long and blazing in different colours, from dull red to white. Lots of metal stock was piled next to it.
A huge man with bulging muscles, not as tall as Hagrid, but probably as strong, was pounding a piece of iron on the anvil. The sound of his blows was deafening, now that they had entered the shop. 'There must be some serious silencing charm on the doorway to keep the neighbours at peace,' was Harry's first thought as he covered his ears.
Matty yelled something the group couldn't understand, but seemingly it was discernible enough for the man. He stopped his blows and nodded at the group. He took the item, which Harry now identified as a blade of some sort, and shoved it into the dull red fire. He quickly tidied up his anvil and put the tools into the rack before he came over.
"Matty! Good to see you! And this strapping man is our new Captain, I presume," the man, Lenny, greeted them in a voice as booming and loud as his anvil. "I have worked all night, and just finished it an hour ago. Next time give me a bit more time, you old slave driver!" he laughed, drawing a long, crooked wand out of his trousers, tapping his ears and then swishing it around. The opaque windows went clear and light flooded the shop.
A gasp went through the group when they saw the rest of the shop. The walls were filled with swords, sabres, daggers, and other nasty instruments. A rack housed flintlock pistols and guns of various sizes and a shelf displayed some fancy wands.
A desk with various tools was in the background, and a sturdy counter finished the furnishing.
Lenny went straight to the counter and reached below it. He produced a sword with a fancy wrought basket hilt and a narrow scabbard. When he unsheathed it, it proved to be about three feet long and about than an inch wide at the hilt. Turning it left and right, he gave it an approving look as the mirror-polished blade gleamed in the light. It was a rapier, and a very elegant one at that. Upon closer scrutiny, Harry noticed the crest of Black in the ornamental hilt.
Lenny re-sheathed it and handed it over. "Your sword, Captain. May it serve you well," the man said, now at normal volume.
Hermione bit her lip as Harry wrestled with his sash and belt combo, removing the plain run-of-the-mill sword and slipping the new sword into place, all while repeatedly thanking the man. She nearly squealed as she took in his new, even more dashing figure.
Harry drew his sword and gave it some experimental swings. Not that he knew anything about swords except for his stint in second year, but it felt great. It moved quickly and precisely and was nearly weightless. When he inspected the blade, Hermione pointed out runes for sharpness and another set that made the blade unbreakable, next to a mark of crossed bones.
Matty cleared his throat. "Excellent work, as always, but there is more business to be done today, Lenny. Captain Black is in need of a new wand, too."
The man perked up at that notice. "A wand?" he said, rubbing his hands happily.
He grabbed a meter and started measuring Harry, just like Ollivander had done all those years ago.
"What was your last wand, Captain?"
"Holly and Phoenix feather," Harry replied without missing a beat.
"Oh, what a powerful combination," Lenny muttered. "We should try Thunderbird cores first; they are similar," Lenny told Harry, and fetched a chest from a cupboard under the displayed wands.
It took only a few tries until Harry had found the first suitable wand. It was hawthorn with a Thunderbird feather. It lasted exactly 10 seconds under his Patronus before it grew too hot to hold.
Over the next half hour, Harry tried every wand in stock, and found plenty of matches. But in the end, no wand could withstand his power for long. Two were even destroyed while testing. Lenny was far from fuming, in fact, he was happy like a birthday-boy. Harry remembered Ollivander's behaviour back then and came to the conclusion that all wand smiths were mad.
"Oh, that is marvellous. There hasn't been a Captain so strong for centuries," Lenny chuckled and clapped his hands. "But what can we do for you, Captain? How can I help you?" he pondered while walking around in his shop, deeply in discussion with himself.
"Maybe, hmm... No. But what if…" he trailed off.
At this point, Lenny stopped pacing and gave Harry a long, calculating look.
"Why not? Worst case, it can only fail," he stated, oblivious to everybody's confusion. He took some quick steps over to the wands laid out on the desk. They had found six suitable wands for Harry.
There was the Thunderbird one he had matched first, a very attractive birch wood with a Narwhal horn fibre, and another one, ash with Thestral hair. Lenny told them proudly that he was one of the few wandmakers to use them, mainly because not many in the peaceful profession could actually see them.
The last two wands were something special. They contained giant squid tentacle fibres from a dead giant squid that had washed ashore a long time ago, in Blackbeard's era, with its body kept in stasis in a sealed cave ever since.
Nearly every wand with that core material proved to be a match to Harry; a fact that made Lenny state that Harry seemed to have an affinity for the multi-armed creature, which Hermione commented with a snorted "Figures!"
"So giant squids are real?" Henry asked. "How big are they?"
"Honestly, Dad, didn't I write you that there was one living in the Hogwarts Lake? It's about 70 feet in length." Hermione said, but was corrected immediately by Lenny.
"The Sweetwater variety is, yes, but the maritime kind of the species grows to thrice that size," he chuckled, his back still turned to them, bustling with the wands. "For some stupid reason, some of the Muggle inhabitants on the island started calling it Cthulhu after seeing it once, but they refuse to tell me why," he grumbled, without noticing the Grangers share a quiet chuckle, and in Hermione's case, an exasperated eye roll as her mother seemed to recite some rhyme under her breath. Hermione hated those books.
Lenny's hand still hovered over the wands, as if deciding on something, and then he grabbed the Osage Orange/giant squid wand from the pile. "I believe this one is the best standard duelling wand for you. It will certainly stand up to daily use, and the wood is sturdy enough to resist wear and tear. It will even hold up for battle use, as long as you don't use any long-time duration or too high-powered curses."
He gave the slightly warped and surprisingly heavy wand to Harry, who once again had to marvel at the smooth and strong surface of the wood and its deep honey colour.
"Give me a day or two and I will have a customized wand for combat purposes," Lenny told his visitors, and turned to scrutinize the 'Harry' pile of wands a bit closer, ignoring the present company completely. Recognizing a dismissal, the group filtered out.
ooOOoo
Happily chatting, they sauntered through the small town, perusing the various displays of merchandise and generally savouring the feeling of the town. Finally, the turned back up to the island centre, towards the villa and especially the Revenge.
Deciding to give a long overdue tour, the teens had Matty lead them down to the beach, where the boat was lying ashore. Tonks at first lamented that she wanted to apparate over, but Matty told them to let it be if there was no emergency. There was no better way to splinch yourself than apparating on or off a heaving ship.
They took some time to get organized, but finally they had Matty and Remus at the oars and Harry at the rudder, and pushed off. Matty's experience was able to balance Remus's untrained power at the oars, and Harry had to learn steering anyway, according to Matty.
The landing was not as smooth as the evening before, but the boat did not hit the ship hard enough to cause damage or to throw people overboard. Matty gave Harry some pointers for the next try and then showed them how to tie the boat alongside.
Climbing aboard, there was an awkward moment as the women, conscious of their state of underwear and the broad daylight, were adamant that they would certainly not climb up first, while Matty stated that it would be safer if someone was behind them to catch them in case of a slip.
Given that their dresses, at least those of Margret and Hermione would probably cause a slip and knowing Tonks, they knew that precaution was necessary. Hermione finally solved that problem by pulling the back and front of her skirts in their respective opposite directions and fixing them against the front and back of her dress with sticking charms, creating some kind of trousers, albeit very fluffy ones. Repeating that for her mother, she cast off her shoes like the night before and nimbly climbed up the in-built ladder on the ship's hull.
Once aboard, the adults were nearly floored as they took in the details of the ship. They went through the whole ship, from bottom to top. Remus and Harry even climbed up to the topmast spreader, the highest reachable point of the masts, to enjoy the spectacular view.
Tonks wanted to climb up too, but that was vetoed by Matty, after he had seen her nearly fall off the boarding ladder twice. Everyone else agreed with his reservations.
Especially the richly carved and oversized Captain's quarter was an immediate hit with the women, while Remus only grinned at the still tussled sheets, a fact Henry valiantly tried to overlook. Someone could think a notice-me-not charm was on the bed by the way Henry's eyes jumped across it as if that space didn't exist.
Hermione was fascinated by the amount of rune work that went into such a ship. There were runes to prevent ripping stitched into the sails, impervious rune sets almost everywhere, and fortification rune sets all over the hull, rendering the whole ship unbreakable. All the ropes were charmed to be easy to pull so theoretically just two men per shift were needed to operate the sails.
The guns were enchanted to use either massively overcharged reductor hexes for short-range combat or banishing charms for hurling balls or different shot, and would recharge fast enough to deliver about one shot every other minute. When real shot was used, it was brought up to the guns via a switching enchantment by ringing a bell over the storage box next to the gun. There were three bells for the different types of shot: ball, chain and canister. The ordnance was stored deep in the bowels of the hold, where it was safe and helped balance the ship. Since the shot was hurled by banishing, no powder was needed, and the shot was usually transfigured from water in slow times aboard to put the bored crew to work. All in all, the ship carried 36 guns on its two gun decks, the lower ones each capable of hurling balls of iron weighting twenty-four pounds, and the upper deck carrying only 'eighteen-pounders' for stability reasons. Additionally, the upper deck had 12 lighter guns, classified as 'twelve-pounders', two of them long-barrelled 'chaser guns' at the bow, designed to attack a fleeing target's rigging. Those 48 guns made the ship a veritable force on its own accord.
At one point, Henry had uttered some careful reservations about the Queen Ann's Revenge being smaller than this vessel.
This led to Matty explaining that this ship was actually commissioned by Blackbeard after the first ship grew too old, modelled after the original ship. Everything on the ship was created exactly to his specifications. The hull was twice as long and a bit more streamlined, and he had a second gun deck installed. There was a surfeit of enchantments added at his whim.
Those included the submersion charms - a novelty back then, now a standard - which allowed the boat to travel under water for up to 200 miles with a full magical charge, although at a snail's pace, only half the normal speed. While in motion, it would also have a strong muggle aversion charm on it, to which Harry should key the Grangers soon, if he wanted to take them on a ride.
The masterpiece of all these enchantments was the keel. The massive piece of wood held the controlling runes and acted as a magical anchor and reservoir for all that magic. A good dozen charging rune sets were spread along its surface, collecting every tiny bit of magic they could.
Because of all the magic, as few as 12 men, 4 per shift, could run the whole ship if they didn't have to fight. To be battle ready, they needed 10 men on deck and at least 10 on the guns; a full performance called for 60 men. That was rather impressive, given that such a ship called for about a 500-man crew in the 'real' world. The crew's lodgings were actual cabins with bunk beds and community showers in an engorged area, and could accommodate 80 men easily, and could be stuffed to the brim with about 120 men, a veritable army in the wizarding world.
"That warding is incredible!" Hermione shouted with glee as they returned to the upper deck.
"I am still confused," Henry said. "I can't believe this unbreakable stuff. Does it really work?"
"Oh, it does," Matty chuckled. "A ship like this, with a reasonably full reservoir could take at least four to five broadsides from a similar sized ship without a scratch, before the charms are weakened enough to receive increasingly bad damage. Once the reservoir is drained, we'd better get the hell out of wherever we're in. But there are not many ships like the Revenge left, not more than two or three dozen, and there are only a dozen real warships carrying more guns left in the Caribbean. Most ships are smaller, like the Pathfinder, and carry only 8 to 16 guns. The trade fleet vessels are bigger, but they carry fewer men and even fewer guns and usually surrender at first approach."
He gave a sigh and grin. "What I would give if I were still young enough to go to sea. If you learn well, we can resume privateering big style in a few months. The 'bloods do need a good boot in the ass badly."
"So you are really pirates?" Harry asked.
"In a way, but there haven't been real pirates here for nearly two centuries. Barely a few handfuls of us can claim to descend from Blackbeard's crew, but we hold up the traditions, but in a more business-like way, occasionally lightening the load of a 'blood's trade ship."
"I don't think I'm comfortable with plundering, Matty," Hermione said, and got approving nods from Margret and Tonks. "It's wrong to steal."
"Let me guess, Missy. You think we are brutal murderers who plunder villages, steal and rape, don't you?" Matty huffed, his face angry. Hermione instinctively made one step backwards.
"I dare you, go and talk to the people of Black Reef yourself. We are shy over 200 souls here, and nearly half of them are here because they hide from the 'bloods," Matty ranted at her.
"Me? Twenty years ago, I was fisherman near Port Royale, Jamaica, and I did well. But then some 'blood found that my little bay, my inlet, was the perfect place for his new beach house. And he didn't even bother to ask. He accused me of smuggling, and sent his Aurors. And naturally, they found a huge stack of contraband in my house, not even hidden, but conveniently stacked in the living room. They took me and my wife to town and incarcerated us. The next day, they sent me to Nassau for the plantations. I managed to slip my shackles at night and jumped ship. I nearly drowned, but managed to swim ashore on a small island. Two weeks later, a ship came by and noticed me. They picked me up and took me here. Since then, I've been living on this island. For several years, I tried in vain to find the whereabouts or a life sign of my Mathilda. For all I know she ended up at a plantation, or as a plaything or worse, like many other missing wives. So no, we don't rob the innocent, and no, we don't rape. All we do is take back a little of what the 'bloods have stolen from us! So think twice before you try to school us," he spat.
With that, he went to the forecastle and sat on the bowsprit, looking down into the water. Everyone else was standing around awkwardly, except for Hermione who looked ready to cry. The other women held similar expressions. Taking a deep breath, Hermione straightened up and went over to Matty, sitting down next to him and talking in hushed tones. Harry wisely did not join her. He knew that some fights, she had to fight herself.
When Hermione returned after a few minutes of talking, she looked relieved, but not much better overall. Harry embraced her tightly and gave a short statement that they would lay down before lunch and that someone should fetch them, then. Noting the barn-sized hint, everyone shuffled over and once Matty was informed, they quickly manned the boat and pushed off, rowing back, with Tonks 'womaning' the rudder. There was not much chance that she would mess up beaching a boat on a sandy, shallow beach like that.
Whispering sweet nothings in his downtrodden girl's ear, Harry guided her to 'their' quarters. He couldn't fight all her fights for her, but that won't stop him for being there for her in the aftermaths.
ooOOoo
They were roused from their slumber later that day when a loud call was heard over the creaking and groaning of the vessel. Both took a second to clear the cobwebs, and then realized that their taxi had arrived. With a last, lingering kiss, they separated and dressed. As Hermione was still feeling a bit tender from the previous night's events, they didn't do anything that would have called for disrobing, but the humid climate had lead to one item after the other being cast off while cuddling, leading to their present state.
Not wanting to wear the dress again, Hermione ruffled through the chests and cupboards in the cabin, finally finding some red trousers, long soft black leather boots, and a baggy-sleeved white shirt with a criss-cross laced v-cut. 'That should do nicely,' she thought with a feral grin.
Conjuring some knickers and slipping them on, she put on the clothes and cast some sizing charms on the trousers and boots, making both skin-tight. Frowning at the much too big shirt, she just cut the lower half off and stuffed the remaining shirt into her trousers, keeping the baggy look and the now nearly navel-deep v-cut. A bit of resizing to adjust the amount of bagginess and a few stitching charms to keep the strings from slipping and accidentally opening wide enough to really expose her later, she found the shirt acceptable.
The way Harry's attention was focussed on her breastbone proved her assumption and gave her a nice tingle, a very nice tingle, indeed.
Her ego gained a further boost when the man rowing the boat nearly fell overboard while helping her climb in. She couldn't wait to see her father's reaction.
ooOOoo
"Dress yourself!" Henry sputtered when he saw the unsettling amount of cleavage his daughter presented.
"Aw, don't you like my new style?" Hermione mock pouted.
Henry couldn't say so. It was not that she actually was flashing anything, not at all, and her latest style of bikini was far more exposing, but that shirt swayed, nearly perpetually in motion, and it always seemed as if she might flash a nipple any moment. The flashy red trousers and the mid-thigh high boots added to his discomfort. It was not that it looked bad - if she were anyone else, he certainly would appreciate the sight, but this was his princess! With boobs! He didn't want to know about that fact! Why couldn't she just stay eight-years-old, when dolls, or in her case, books were the most important?
"I do, and so does Remus, obviously!" Tonks quipped, which made the last Marauder come to his senses and quit ogling. He didn't look any less mortified when Tonks patted his head in a maternal gesture and cooed, "It's alright, darling; I'll ask her for stitching patterns later," in a stage-whisper.
"I believe I saw something nice to accessorize that in the Robery yesterday," she continued, now addressing Hermione with a wink. Ten minutes later she brought her a green belt that was perfect to make her waist look much smaller. Tonks knew her fashion - that much was sure.
"These trousers are awesome, Honey," Margret gushed at the tightly stretched fabric.
Harry had to agree. "If I didn't know she used sizing charms, I'd wonder how someone would get into these pants," he said. He deeply rued that comment a few moments later, when Tonks stated something in a matter of fact voice, while nipping on her tea.
"You know, the usual way starts with buying her a drink, hon."
The rest of the lunch, which turned out to be a marvellous assortment of seafood, went on without a hitch, and much laughter was shared. Most laughter was shared when Tonks challenged Harry to a fencing duel.
ooOOoo
"I still can't believe you won!" Harry whined while he retrieved his sword from under a canapé. Plucking the safety blunt from the tip and vanishing it wandlessly, he stood and re-sheathed it. "And with a bloody rolled newspaper, to boot!"
"Don't worry, lover-boy; you're not the first I've destroyed in the ring," Tonks tweeted at him. "You overextended yourself in that second lunge, and once I swatted your sword away and stepped into measure, I could do whatever I wanted. Be glad I only slapped your wrist."
"I guess. Where did you learn fencing? Is that part of Auror training?" Harry asked as he passed her on the way to the table.
"No, it's a family thing. The Black's were very traditional in their upbringing, and fencing was one thing every child was trained in. My mother was the family's best fencer, and has trained me well," Tonks smiled at him sweetly, before starting to chuckle. "You know, now that I know about this place, that tradition actually makes sense! I wonder if mom knows about this place; she never said a word."
Harry chuckled at her over his shoulder. "She probably didn't want you to be sad that you'd never see it. You know what's even more amazing? You didn't stumble once!"
"Little blighter!" Tonks huffed and cuffed him across the head with the paper, eliciting a satisfactorily painful yelp from him. "If you were playing nice, I would have extended an offer to show you a bit, but if you are such a sod and sore loser…" she trailed off playfully.
It took only a few seconds of Harry grovelling on his knees and praising her cat-like grace under the laughter of all those present for her to relent and agree to some fencing lessons. She helped Harry up from the floor and both went back to the table. Right then, her clumsiness returned with compound interest and caused her to stumble over the rug. Arms flaying wildly, she went down and landed flat on her face, hard.
"Oh, bugger me!" she moaned into the carpet.
At this, Remus jumped up and blindly rushed to help her up, which prompted Margret to shout a warning.
"Careful, Remus - you might hurt her!"
It goes without saying that sensible conversation was impossible for quite a while after that rather ambiguous comment.
AN:
"And this is from the human shield subgroup," embirsiphonelilathia said as she lifted a huge gift basket onto the bedside table with the help of pfeil.
"Wow!" said DerLaCroix, as he noticed the caviar and champagne in it. "I didn't know we pay them that well!"
"Oh, we don't, barely a pittance," pfeil replied. "It's only, since you are here in the hospital instead of the base, their numbers have swelled exponentially, and they put together," he explained.
Embirsiphonelilathia nodded gravely. Since the Dark Lord Cliffy had hurt himself trying to do a Futterwacken and wasn't around to 'motivate' his men, she hadn't had to fill out termination papers, once. The grinder already showed signs of flash rust.
"Yeah, but honestly - if the population gets to be too much I'm going to have to put my foot down and start filling out termination papers, anyway - because honestly, the warehouse where they're kept can only fit so many inside of it."
ooOOoo
Again, thanks to pfeil and embirsiphonelilathia.
Singled out minions:
Darth Drafter - You managed to draw my attention. Whether this will bode well for you, I'm still undecided. *cue ominous music*
Marriann - you might want to read up about privateers - the hundreds of merchants who got letters of marquee and legally captured ships of nations their nation was at war with. They were perfectly good, patriotic men of their time, with family and kids at home.
BJH - Thank you, that was very disturbing...
Pointer - Wine is about three times as alcoholic as beer - six times, if american beer... *doges thrown bottles*
noyli - in my opinion, there is a difference between being dark and incompetent. Dumbledore has only the best intentions, this makes him light - he just has a stupid habit to put the collective over the individual whenever necessary, and likes reforming too much.
Sorry if I sound cranky, but I'm in the middle of a legal fight to keep my 20 acre ranch from getting claimed as a natural reserve under the title of imminent domain, and on top of that my internet connection took a few days off and left for vacation without notice.
