Helen was brought out of her mental wanderings by Hermione and Harry whooping with glee. In front of her stood a pirate and musketeer, grinning like fools. "Can you walk on that leg?" she asked Hermione, who was cutting a dashing figure as a female buccaneer. Hermione looked down at the peg leg and stepped forward cautiously, Harry hovering at her side in case her balance was off. The step she took wasn't smooth, it looked a bit jerky, but Hermione was still grinning.
"It's a bit like walking when your foot has gone to sleep. You know it's physically there, and it's still supporting you, but the sensation isn't right." Hermione took a few more steps getting more confident as she moved. The peg, which was from under the knee, looked weathered and old. Helen marvelled at the detail the two had put into the costumes. She wandered around Hermione touching the thick, stiff cloth of the jacket, the silk of the sash tied at her waist hanging down. Harry came forward, and Helen moved her inspection on to him, the feathers in his hat bobbed and weaved in the air of her passage. It was, she thought, the most outstanding thing she'd seen including the ridiculously comfy chair Hermione had conjured.
"They are amazing, well done the pair of you. Can you draw the swords? You didn't make them sharp, did you?" Helen asked, suddenly worried that her daughter was now carrying a weapon she could get arrested for.
"Umm, you know, I didn't think about it, hang on." Hermione drew her cutlass from her belt and felt the edge. "It doesn't feel very sharp, more like a butter knife than a kitchen knife."
Harry drew his blade and felt the edge. "Yeah," he agreed. "I think if you tried to cut anything firmer than jelly with these you'd struggle."
"So what happens if you take the hats off and put them somewhere else before you take the rings off?" Helen asked curiously.
In answer, Harry swept his hat from his head, made a clumsy bow, and dropped the hat on the floor. Stepping away he slipped the ring off. The costume including the hat on the floor vanished. He replaced the ring, and Harry was once again dressed in the full outfit, hat atop of his head.
"Huh," Hermione said. "I wasn't expecting that."
"You weren't?" her mother asked.
"Nooo," she said. "I thought that maybe it would create the same items again, but it seems that replacing the ring is in effect recasting the spell. Rather than powering up the existing one again. Fair enough, we'll make a note."
"Well at least it won't matter if you lose your coat half way through the night," Harry said.
"You think? If the coat is part of the transfiguration of your existing clothes won't it do exactly that?" Hermione said. They slipped the rings off and sat at the desks, working out the questions they wanted answers to. Then they went to retrieve jackets and extra layers, to see what would happen as layers were removed while under the effect of the rings.
While they were doing that, Helen picked up the pirate ring and slipped it on. Grinning to herself she set off to find a mirror, Hermione had described the feeling of the peg leg quite well. She made her way to her bedroom getting used to her new gate and stood admiring herself in the mirror. The detail was astounding. Now they just had to find a fancy dress party to go to. She'd always hated them, bad costumes, too much nylon, but with these, she could certainly get used to it.
"Mum!" she heard Hermione call. "Have you got the pirate ring?" The voice came closer as Hermione came to the door, she knocked gently before pushing it open. "Mum, we've not tested them properly yet!"
"Oh I know, but I wanted to see, and you get to have magic all the time. I wanted a go. They really are excellent, I'm very impressed," Helen said walking towards the door. She passed the top of the stairs on the way back to the study room and paused eyeing them.
"No, Mum, you might fall!" Hermione protested, seeing the look.
"Nonsense, I've been going up and down stairs since before you were born," she said breezily, turning towards them. She held on to the bannister and took the first step. It wasn't actually as difficult as she thought it would be. Her foot wasn't actually numb, and her body knew and understood stairs. She got to the bottom turned and jogged lightly back up them towards Hermione, who was watching closely, wand out. She nipped past Hermione and pivoted on the peg leg before taking a small jump and danced into the study with Hermione trailing behind.
"Yep, works fine," Helen confirmed, grinning. "Once you get used to the numb foot thing, and stop thinking about it, you really can't tell." She slipped the ring off returning to her regular clothes. "I would like one of each please." Helen dropped back into the chair, smiling at her daughter's frown. "Oh stop being a stick in the mud, you would have gotten around to testing them once you've taken all your clothes off and put them back on. Which is a thought, how does the peg leg work? It's your leg so you can't actually remove it, how did you detail its attachment?"
The couple exchanged blank looks. "Err, we don't know."
"Oh this is better than science class, and the answers are much more interesting. Well come on, what are you waiting for? Experimentation time. Can you do a parrot? I mean you turn animals into snuff boxes at school don't you? Though why snuff boxes? Is snuff still a thing in wizarding England?"
"Mum!" Hermione interrupted. "One question at once, please!"
Harry turned away as he tried and failed to stifle a snorting laugh. Helen and Hermione had boundless curiosity in common, and the two of them paired up to find something out was a force to be reckoned with. But Helen asking Hermione questions faster than she could answer was just funny.
It took an hour to answer all the questions Helen and Hermione thought up. Yes, if you were wearing layers the spell transfigured those layers, and if you put the coat down when it was made out of a jumper, it became a jumper once again when the ring was removed. If you were only wearing a shirt when you put the ring on, then the other layers were conjured. If you weren't wearing a shirt when you put the ring on then you were a bare-chested pirate, the spell seemed to need something to work with. The clothes the spell created were as warm as regular clothes, seemingly no matter how many layers you were wearing when you put the ring on. The peg leg attachment was weird looking, the skin seemed to gather and melt into the wooden peg. Hitting the peg made the corresponding part of your leg hurt. The peg made peg shaped footprints. Once you had the costume on the colour couldn't be changed, and no alterations could be done to the clothes. The fit wasn't a problem really as the clothes were created around you, but they had tried anyway.
They went through similar tests with the other costume and by the time they were done they felt very confident of what the spell could do. They had a list of things they wanted to change in the next round but felt that these two would do nicely for the purpose.
Helen offered to bring lunch into the den so they could eat before they did the recording. They took the tape and recorder into the den where the TV was. Flipping through the channels, they found a nature documentary and Hermione sat giggling with Helen, as Harry tried to commune with the TV. If this didn't work, they would go to the zoo at the weekend and meet real snakes. Eventually, Harry slipped into the hissing language, and Hermione hurried to hit record.
Playback provided proof that they had caught it and Harry confirmed that it said what was needed. It sounded quite similar to the static of the blank tape, and they only hoped that someone would notice the difference and realise what it was.
They made up the package wrapping the tape in a box and shrinking it, then unshrinking it, and checking it still played. It did, and Harry couldn't discern any difference in the sound.
Tape boxed up, and shrunk, rings wrapped in muggle birthday paper spelled just for Fred and George left a parcel the size of a matchbox.
"How are you going to get it there, though?" Helen asked. "If you send it by international mail they could track it couldn't they?"
"No clue," Harry said cheerfully. "But we're working on the idea that yes they could, so we're going to use the magical means of doing anything without leaving a trace, we're going to ask for help."
"Help from whom?" Helen enquired. "The more people you tell where you are, the less safe you become, and we didn't move all this way just to advertise where we are. Hermione might be safe from extradition, but you are here on dodgy paperwork and can be compelled to return as you aren't yet an adult."
"I know, and I'm not looking to give our location away. I am really grateful that you let me come, but I think we can trust this person," Harry rushed to reassure her.
"It's the house elf Mum, the one I told you about, the one Harry freed."
If they were hoping to reassure her, from her troubled expression they apparently failed.
"This is the elf that got you into trouble with the underage magic people?" Helen said raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Harry allowed.
"The elf that made a ball chase you and knocked you off your broom?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably and nodded.
"Right, I just wanted to be sure we were talking about the same person."
"He saved us from the Inquisitional Squad, though," Harry said in the elf's defence. "He means well, but he can be, a little over enthusiastic."
"He works in Hogwarts doesn't he?" Helen asked.
"He's a free elf but, yeah, he works in Hogwarts," Harry said.
"So he's employed by the Headmaster, who could conceivably expect some show of loyalty, which could include telling him where you are," Helen extrapolated.
"Well, we were going to ask him not to," Harry replied.
"OK." Helen nodded acceptingly. "Is that going to be enough? To stop him telling Mr Dumbledore?"
"He is fanatically loyal to Harry, so we thought so," Hermione said.
"Right, is there any way of finding out beforehand?" Helen asked
"Umm short of asking him? No, I don't think so," Hermione said anxiously. Helen sat for a moment thinking.
"Look, it's not the best plan, and it's not the worst idea. All plans have an element of risk, but you have to be sure Dobby won't tell Mr Dumbledore. We could go somewhere for the weekend to ask him, but if he is compelled to tell Mr Dumbledore, then Mr Dumbledore will know we are on this continent not in Europe. I rather like the thought of Mr Dumbledore concentrating on the wrong continent until Harry is of age at least. Is there any way of employing him ourselves?" Helen waved a hand at Hermione. "Just listen before you give me your slavery spiel. We need to be assured of his loyalty to us. I'm sure the little fellow means well as you said, but frankly my dears, it isn't enough. Good intentions pave the road to hell and all that. So, if we can employ him, he wouldn't be able to tell Mr Dumbledore anything. If he has to leave Hogwarts to be employed by us, then I'm sure we can find him something to do."
"But Mum!" Hermione started.
"No Hermione, I know you have good intentions towards them, and I understand that some of them are kept in terrible conditions. But I'm not trying to save a magical race. I am trying to keep my daughter from being married off and potentially killed, and her boyfriend from having to fight a dangerous serial killer with delusions of grandeur. Any other time and I'd be there with you, but not now. Not till this is over." Helen stared her daughter down.
"If we ignore their rights because it suits us that doesn't make us any better than the others who do it all the time," Hermione said emphatically.
"While I agree with you, I did say we'd employ him. I have employed more than one person in my lifetime love, and none of them found themselves ironing their fingers. We'll be fair and firm the same way we are with everyone. He will have a choice to be employed by us or not."
Harry took Hermione's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Helen, we didn't mean to cause more problems."
"Your welcome Harry. It's no problem at all," Helen replied while eyeing her daughter. She knew the look on Hermione's face, it was the one where she was furiously chewing over what had been said, trying to find a way to push back. Hermione crossed her arms and huffed, not meeting her mother's eyes but determinedly looking at the bookcase to her right. Helen smiled slightly, so she'd won that round. "Right, well now that is settled." Hermione huffed louder indicating she at least didn't see it as settled. Helen swallowed the grin that threatened and continued. "Seeing as there are no other objections currently raised then." Helen amended with a roll of her eyes. "Let's nip down to the park and call your elf. We'll see what he has to say."
"Now?" Harry said looking a little surprised.
"Yes, might as well. If Dobby has to tell Mr Dumbledore, we'll just have to hope calling him to a park makes them think we met him somewhere random. I presume he would be able to bring them back to the park if requested?"
Harry nodded
"Well then at least we would know who was sent to look for us. Come on." Helen stood and led them out of the den to the boot room. Handing around coats and outdoor shoes, they dressed for the weather and went to the park.
The weather was miserable. It was a rainy, squally afternoon, there was no one around, so they huddled under a large umbrella, and Harry called for Dobby. They waited, and nothing happened, then half a minute later there was a sharp crack, the little elf was stood in front of them.
"Mr Harry Potter Sir! You are here!"