Dave returned reasonably quickly and when he did so he was carrying a bag and a very focused expression. His team members were the first to pick up on it and they quickly arranged themselves back into their chairs.
His parents were the next to notice and they got the attention of my parents and moved them up to bring them so that they were opposite Dave at the table.
Dave grabbed a spare chair and placed it next to him and asked Gabrielle to sit in it for the time being. He said this firmly but with a pleading look in his eyes. When she agreed, he thanked her and gave her a kiss as a further thank you.
When he sat down the professional Auror was once more on display.
"Ok, with the measures that we discussed before we will be taking most of the players that we know about out of the game." He began.
"We now need to take some steps to try and counter-act the players that we don't know about."
"With that in mind I think we need to get you ALL kitted out with some of our 'bag of tricks'." He explained.
"All of us?" Mum asked him.
"Yes, all of you Aunty." Dave replied with a very determined look in his eyes.
"Remember that I can clearly see the bonds that exist between the members of this family. An attack on any one of you will be interpreted as an attack on all of you."
"I'm also very confident that if any of your family found out that you were being attacked they would be by your side in the blink of an eye." He said looking around and reading the truth of his statement in our faces.
"Given that reality the best approach is going to be to equip ALL of you with some things that are going to hopefully tilt the odds in your favour."
"Ok, to start with, most of the boys have already been given sets of the bunyip armour to wear. They will need to keep them. I have here sets for Aunty Molly, Ginny, Hermione, Fleur, Gabrielle and Madame and Monsieur Delacour." He said as he handed out the items of clothing.
"As I mentioned to the boys they can be adjusted with a very light engorgement or shrinking charm."
"The girl's sets have a slightly different cut to them to make them more comfortable. I would strongly suggest that you wear them when you are not at home."
"Monsieur and Madame Delacour and Gabrielle, while I know that the likelihood of you being targeted directly is small, there is a real enough possibility that anyone after Aunty Molly will try to get to her through you." The Delacour's looked a little disbelieving at this statement. So, Dave drove the point home with his following comment.
"If I was the one hired to hunt down Aunty Molly, I know that I would definitely scout out your family as a potential point of access or leverage to use against her." He said in his professional voice. It looked as though it had the desired sobering effect on them.
"So, I would like you also make sure you adjust your sets of these clothes here today. As I'm not willing to gamble with your safety." He said with a direct look at them all. They appeared to be a little stunned but readily agreed with him and thanked him for thinking of them.
"Ok next step is to get some more layers of security around your home here. If you are agreeable to it?" He asked mum and dad.
"Yes of course. What do you suggest?" Dad asked.
"What I'm suggesting is a layered defence like what we have at home around our houses there."
"The outer layer is commonly called a 'door mat'. It doesn't actually stop anyone or anything but it will trigger an alert to those inside it. It is also setup to trigger for any magical creature not just witches and wizards."
"This way anyone trying to gain access in animal form will also be detected. Along with any goblin, house elf etc."
"The 'door mat' typically extends out for about a mile from the property."
"A mile?" Dad exclaimed.
"Yes, a mile. It is a very light set of charms so it can cover that size of an area with no issue." Dave told him.
"Closer into the property will be a set of several layers outside your existing wards. These layers have a cumulative effect on any potential intruder. Each one by themselves is harmless, thus they tend to be missed when people are looking for wards or barriers. It is when more than 2 of them are combined that the 'fun' begins." He added with an evil grin. I noticed Bill returning it also.
"I will ask dad and Mick both, to help you configure those layers. I will also ask them to show both you and Bill some 'surprises' that can also be added to your existing wards. Between them those two can cause all sorts of mischief to someone who tries to tackle any wards they setup." He offered Dad. Dad also agreed to this as did Ivan and Mick.
"Your Apparition point is another area that needs to be secured. We can do some different things here." Dave said with a thoughtful little smile.
"A new Apparition point can be setup that will automatically stun anyone who arrives without a recognised Talisman on them or isn't identified by the 'Blood-wards' on it. It can be a useful option if you are forced to side-along Apparate home at Wandpoint." He said with a glint in his eye.
"Your main Apparition point can also be secured with a 'passcode' in it. If someone knows the correct point to use when arriving here and you can't use the first option, you can think the passcode and anyone with you will be stunned. This still gives friends and family the ability to continue to use that point as well."
Displaying an evil grin on his face Dave also remarked, "Of course the passcode can be triggered from the house as well. But if that occurs it will send out an alert to anyone you have placed on the notification list."
"Would that be suitable?" He asked mum and dad?
"They sound like sensible precautions to have indeed." Dad readily agreed, "What sort of Talismans are you referring to for use with them?" He asked, "Would they be like what you made yesterday?"
"Both yes and no. They would in many ways be very like those I made yesterday. But they will also have a different purpose and by necessity be a lot more general in nature."
"I will be starting on them shortly." He added to dad's curiosity and delight.
"That reminds me." He said excitedly, "We can give you the first batch of these." He said as he reached into his pocket and poured onto the table what looked like little silver figure eights.
Holding one up he asked, "Any idea what they could be?"
Harry was the first to answer, "They look like smaller versions of those portkey handcuffs from those utility belts we had earlier." He said while looking at it very carefully.
"Excellent answer Harry. Because that's indeed what they are." He said as he passed them out so that we all had two pair of them each.
"Now obviously at this size they won't be of much use. But simply ask them to 'grow' like this" the miniature cuffs grew to full size, "And they are ready for use. They will also shrink back down to this size once more upon the command of shrink being given to them."
"Anyone you apply them to will be sent directly to the 'Hôtel de France'. Once there they will be 'looked after' by 'Torquemada' and his staff." Dave said with a chuckle, several of his team members joined in.
"As I explained earlier today. Once both ends are applied to a person or persons you have 2 seconds to let go or you will follow your prisoner."
"These cuffs will give you a safe and 'legal' way of disposing of anyone who you have had to stun or disarm for any reason."
"The cuffs can also be used to get yourself out of trouble if you are cornered also." Dave said in a serious voice.
"If you do end up needing to use them on yourself you will need to know a few things about your destination. First off when you arrive there you will be immobilised but safe. So please relax and don't struggle." He said looking around at us all to get confirmation of this.
"You will also be asked to identify yourself. Tell them your name and that 'Syd sent you to see Drunkmouse' when the Auror that greets you hears this he will get you somewhere significantly more comfortable than where the other guests are kept." Dave again checked that we understood.
"They will ask you to remain there while your identity is checked. They will also ask you if there is any message that needs to be sent to me or my team as well. For they will assume that 'something is up' if we send friendlies there."
"My team and I will be notified of your arrival and any message that you decide to pass along. We will then notify the appropriate family members and make our way to you with them. If for any reason, we can't get straight to you we will send a message back to you, so you will know that we know you are safely there and why we can't get straight to you."
"'Torquemada' and his staff will take good care of you while you are there. Just don't eat his lasagne as it can be dangerous." He said with a laugh. This was again met with a laugh by Dave's team.
"Those miniature cuffs can be hidden in many different ways which we will go over in a few minutes."
"Next I want to setup some hidden Muggle style surveillance cameras." Dave explained. This caught dad's attention very quickly but everyone else seemed a little confused.
"The reason for the muggle cameras is that they will go to a recording device to keep a record of what they can see. This can then be played back on demand at a later date. You can also move through the stored video footage backwards and forwards as you desire to see any gradual changes that may occur over an extended period of time."
"That can highlight anyone who may be slowly building up a surveillance of your home. Or someone who is slowly sneaking in re-enforcements for an ambush like we discovered yesterday."
"The cameras will also record not only visible light. They will record Infrared light; this will show a persons body heat. In some cases, even if they are under an invisibility clock or even disillusioned. The Infrared cameras will also enable you to see at night as well. They will also record Ultraviolet light."
"This one is rather interesting as we have recently caught a few people who tried to sneak up on our safe houses with these cameras. Even if the person is disillusioned with a powerful spell or have a top-notch Invisibility clock, they will need to go to the loo at some point. When they do they never think about vanishing their wee." Dave said with a vicious look on his face.
"The odd thing is, wee shows up on these cameras like a bonfire at night. Enabling us to 'pay them a visit' too see if they are ok of course." He said with vast insincerity.
"Does that sound ok to you?" Dave asked.
"It all sounds wonderful." Dad replied. Mum was also nodding her head as well.
"Excellent. Ok the next item is to improve your communications with each other." Dave said as he pulled out two boxes.
"Unfortunately at the moment I only have two spares left. So, we will need to get the rest of you a Mirror Phone when the next version is ready. Drunkmouse and 'Q' are currently building the next version of these devices as I speak. The next version is much improved and will be replacing all our existing devices. They have both promised me sufficient numbers to cover everyone here."
"Until then I would like Aunty Molly to have one and Uncle Arthur to have the other."
"With these you will be able to call each other just about anywhere. You will also be able to call on me or my team or my family as well. If you need our help we will get to you and do our world-famous impression of an avalanche." He said with his crooked grin. The other members of his team were also grinning as well.
"I will ask mum and dad to walk you through how to use them. These two are already programmed with the contact details for my team and family."
"If required you can also pair them to the camera system that we will be putting in so you can send the footage to anyone with a mirror phone."
Very useful if we want to get Drunkmouse to run an identification on any faces that are captured."
"The security system we are going to setup can also send any alerts to your Mirror Phones as well. So even if you are not home you will still be notified."
"I would like to see the same configurations to get setup at the home of each family member. So that would-be Bill and Fleur's place at 'Shell Cottage'. George at your shop and Percy at your flat also."
"If we can get those locations done by Tuesday I would like to setup the same at the Delacour's residence on Wednesday after we have dealt with the Wizengamot in the morning."
"If you both are agreeable as well?" He asked Monsieur and Madame Delacour.
"We have no objection Monsieur. Merci for zinking of us." Monsieur Delacour replied thankfully.
"Excellent." Dave said genuinely happy.
"I would also like to request (if it is possible) for you both to stay here until we have had a chance to properly scout out your home. Provided that you both, as well as Aunty Molly and Uncle Arthur have no objections that is." Dave enquired.
"If the house is getting too crowded, we can make things more comfortable for everyone by making a family tent available to you. This will give both Gabrielle and yourselves rooms of your own." Dave offered.
"We have no objection." Mum replied with dad nodding in agreement.
"Merci Monsieur Dave. We would be happy to accept the offer." Monsieur Delacour replied. Gabrielle seemed to be happy with this also as it was very crowded with the three of us in my room.
"Ok next item to cover off is your personal security." Dave said with a direct look at us all.
"Lightweight Personal armour you all now have. But sometimes the best defence is to not be there in the first place." Dave said to some confused faces.
"Let me explain that bit better." He offered.
"When hunting or targeting someone for assassination, routine is one of the most powerful tools in the hunters' tool kit. If as the hunter, I know where you will be and when you will be there I can setup traps for you that will make it almost impossible for you to get away."
"Disrupting those regular patterns will drive someone who is hunting you more than a little nuts. I can say that from firsthand experience." Dave said ruefully.
"That explains a lot right there." Fireball added with a smile at Dave.
"Thanks sis." He replied with a resigned look on his face. There were some chuckles around the table at this also.
"Those of you with jobs in a fixed location, try to vary your time of arrival and departure. If there are multiple ways in and out of the location make use of them. Same goes for the different methods of getting in and out, try to vary them."
"Bill, you might want to ask Gringotts if you can make regular use of their portals and secure Floo system in addition to the employee apparition points." Dave advised Bill. For his part, Bill was wearing a look of profound shock.
"How did you know of those ways into and out of Gringotts?" He asked intently.
"We found the Death Eaters who were controlling Gringotts making use of them. So, we made use of them also. It was a much more convenient way to 'borrow records from them" Dave said with a smile.
"Borrow from who? The Death Eaters or the Goblins?" He asked in a very serious voice.
"The Death Eaters. They were the ones who had the records we wanted. On those occasions when we required Goblin controlled records we 'suggested' to the Death Eaters to request a copy. Then we either took their copy or made our own copy of it." Dave explained.
"Despite appearances and all the evidence to the contrary I'm not silly enough to steal from Goblins." Dave said with a smile.
I noticed that Harry bristled a little at this statement. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason other than the obvious one for his discomfort.
"Well at least not without a VERY good reason and laying down a convincing fake trail as well." Dave added.
"It is a fine distinction you have made there Dave. But I do think the Goblins will accept it. If they ever find out about it." Bill said with his own grin.
"Kingsley, can you enable access for Arthur, Percy and Gawain to the secure Floo and apparition points in the Ministry?" Dave asked.
"Let me guess you have been making use of them as well during your time here?" Kingsley said with a smile.
"Of course. They are so much more convenient and far less crowed than the main ones." Dave answered him with a smirk.
"I thought as much." Kingsley replied, "It will be done for all of them".
"Thank you." Dave answered.
"Something that is often over looked is 'wand safety'. How do you secure your wands when you are at home and in public?" Dave asked us all.
"Wands?" Harry asked.
"Yes wands. You would have to be silly to the point of recklessness to go out with only one wand. Especially if you don't have any other options available to you." Dave said to a suddenly silent group of people.
After a few moments, Dave started to look around at a group of rather shame faced individuals.
"You are all kidding me, right?" Dave asked hopefully.
"No, we are not. Sorry Dave." Dad eventually said.
"You're all serious? You don't carry a spare or two?" He asked us.
"Well how many wands do you carry Dave?" Hermione asked a little stiffly.
At this Dave started to produce some wands. He pulled out from over his shoulder the one we saw him use yesterday. Then from over his other shoulder he produced another one. Then he reached behind him and pulled out two more.
"That's just for starters. I usually carry more when on operations as well as some 'spares' for my team mates. In fact we all carry some spares for each other." He said to a now rather surprised Hermione.
"Why so many? It's not like you need them." She replied.
"Always use the best tool for the job. Sometimes a wand gives more precise control. Or gives better range than wandless options."
"The more options you have the better your chances of survival are." He explained.
"Ok given that you typically only operate with one wand. How do you secure it?" He asked us.
Once more there was silence. Dave was starting to look worried.
"Please tell me you don't just put it in a pocket in your jacket or pants?" Dave almost pleaded.
"Kingsley? Harry? Please tell me you two use some form of secure holster at least?" He asked them.
"I used to." Kingsley replied a little shamefaced.
Dave regarded Kingsley with a look of incredibly that was just so cute. Gabrielle certainly enjoyed the display and I must admit I was struggling not to laugh as well.
"Do any of you have an idea how many times we have captured people just by picking their pocket and taking their wand?" Dave asked Kingsley.
"Harry? Please tell me you secure your wand?" Dave asked with the air of a man gasping for 'last straws'.
Harry could only stare back at Dave with a slightly bemused and almost amused look.
"So, you are telling me that all through your recent adventures not only did you not have a backup wand. Your primary one wasn't properly secured?"
"Yes." Harry answered a little shame faced.
"I did get a second wand later though." He added 'helpfully' and Dave started to look a little relieved.
"But that was only after my own wand was broken." He said as Dave's face just crumpled and fell off.
Dave stood up and collected his wands. Returning them to their various hiding placed he regarded his team with a slightly worried expression. "Ok, anyone who has a spare holster see if you can locate it. If we don't have any, Mick ping 'Q' to see if he can put some in our trays for us. We need to get some form of secure wand storage to this lot before they give me a heart attack."
"On second thoughts, Mick just call 'Q' and tell him to send us a selection of holsters for boys and girls and we will take it from there."
"I'm going to go and get some things and will be back shortly. So, tell him to send the holsters to your tent as I need my door for something else at the moment." Mick nodded and pulled out his Mirror Phone and began tapping away on it.
With that Dave walked over to his tent muttering about people pushing their luck unnecessarily.
"Were you lot just pulling his leg? Or do you really only carry one unsecured wand?" Fireball asked us with a slightly concerned look.
"Uh… No, we were not pulling his leg." Harry said with a guilty look. "Thinking back, I can see where a second wand would have proved very useful. Quite a few times to be honest."
The rest of us made similar statements.
"Oh Merlin. I thought it was only trainees that made mistakes like that." Fireball said incredibly.
"Mick ask 'Q' to hurry up with the holsters. As I think I know what Dave is doing and we are going to need them." She said as she got up and hurried over to Dave's tent.
"Why do I feel like I'm back at the first day of Auror training?" Kingsley said with an embarrassed sigh.
Ivan looked over to him and gave an evil grin, "Just hope that he doesn't bring 'the log' back with him." He said with a laugh.
The rest of Dave's team had a good laugh at this also.
"What's 'the log'?" Kingsley asked.
"It's a 'gift' to any trainee that forgets either their primary or secondary wands during training." He explained. "They are required to carry it with them for the rest of the day. Which can get rather uncomfortable."
"How big is it?"
"About 2 meters long and as thick as your forearm." He explained.
"Yes, I can see that would be very cumbersome to carry around." Kingsley answered.
"It is designed to 'make an impression' as they say." Ivan remarked with a smirk.
At this point, Dave and Fireball returned. Dave was carrying two bundles under his arms while Fireball was carrying an odd-looking bag.
When they reached the table, Dave asked if it could be cleared. This was done very quickly. Placing the first bundle on the table he untied it and then unrolled it.
The bundle was full of wands. They were all unique and several of them looked to be quite gorgeous as well.
"These are traditional wands. Although they are a 'little' different to what you normally see around here. More on that later. They have been made with Australian native woods with a mixture of local and 'traditional' magical creatures."
"I would like you all to try and find a wand that suits you. These wands will feel warm in your hand and vibrate slightly if they accept you. If you feel a wand behave like that take it over to the training floor and give it a test with the usual flick and if it still feels comfortable try some stunners against the dummies that will be set up shortly."
"If you don't find anything that feels completely comfortable in this lot don't worry. I have some others that we can show to you."
"Please all of you try and find a wand."
"Goose, can you give me a hand to get some more target dummies setup." Dave requested.
The two of them quickly set off to the training floor. The rest of us were examining the numerous different wands that were on the table.
I was quickly drawn to one particular wand. It had a gorgeous golden honey colour to it. When I picked it up it did indeed feel warm and slightly vibrate. Feeling a little excited I gave it an experimental flick, some colourful sparks appeared from the end of it. For a better test, I took it over to the training floor where the target dummies were now setup.
Lining up in front of the target dummies I fired a few stunners at them. The wand just felt right in my hand and the stunners were right on target as well.
"Good shooting cuz." Dave said with a grin as he came over to join me, "Which wand chose you?" he asked.
I held up the wand for him to see.
"Good one. That is a Huon Pine wand with a Lyre Bird feather for a core." He explained.
"The Huon Pine is extremely resilient to things like corruption and temptation. Wands made from it tend to suit people who are very focused or driven in their goals."
"The Lyre Bird is a native Australian bird, known even to the muggles for its power of mimicry. What the muggles don't know is that they are extremely intelligent and sly creatures. They also have a very well developed sense of 'fun' or 'humour'. As they like to tease and confuse people (especially muggles) with the sounds that they make."
"I think that wand is very suited to you LFB." He said as he had a chuckle.
"Why are you laughing?" I asked him.
"Fireball also has a Lyre Bird feather as the core in her primary wand as well. It just struck me as appropriate for some reason." He said still smiling.
"Hold onto that one and I will show you some extra 'features' of it later once everyone has selected a wand."
I walked back to the table to see how the others were going. Both Harry and Ron were already over at the training floor. They were both firing stunners at targets and seemed to be very happy with the results. They were shortly joined by Hermione, Fleur, Bill, Percy, Charlie and Monsieur and Madame Delacour. They too seemed to be happy with their wands.
Mum and Dad along with George and Kingsley seemed to be struggling to find a wand from the selection available. They looked a little worried until Dave told them to relax and reminded them that there were more to select from. Gabrielle seemed content to sit and watch the goings on.
I asked her if she had found an extra wand. She replied that she already had an extra wand, the one that she was using with Dave earlier. Dave heard this and wandered over.
"I would still like you to select a wand from one of these collections Gabrielle. As they are a 'little different' to other wands. I will explain the differences once everyone has found one." Dave explained.
"Do any of these wands catch your eye at all?" he asked her.
"Non. None of zese seem to call me." She answered.
"No worries. Let's get the next selection out." Dave replied.
With this Dave chatted quickly to mum and dad as well as George to confirm that nothing in this selection really called to them. When they confirmed that he rolled up the bundle and swapped it over with the other one.
This bundle like the first was filled with wands as well. I did notice that many of them were a little more ornate than the previous ones.
Once this bundle was uncovered George immediately selected a wand that was almost white in colour as the wood was so pale. It also seemed to have a slight pattern in it as well. I noticed Dave smirking as George wandered off to try it out.
"Why are you looking like that at George?" I asked him.
"That wand has as its CORE a set of hairs from a Yowie." He said with a chuckle.
"What is a Yowie?" I asked.
"It is a local Australian Creature. In appearance, it looks to be like a large and very hairy man. Many people think that they are dim-witted creatures. But that is just how they lure in their prey." He answered with a small chuckle.
"You think it suits George because he is hairy or dim-witted?" I asked with a smirk of my own.
"No. Not at all. I think it suits George because just like the Yowie there is more to him than meets the eye." Dave answered in an almost serious tone.
I remembered thinking that maybe Dave wasn't as unobservant as I previously thought.
Kingsley also located a wand which he held up to show Dave. Dave indicated that he should try it out.
Gabrielle brought up a wand made from a light brown wood that almost seemed to have a pinkish tinge to it.
"Can you tell me about zis wand Dave?" she asked with a smile.
"Certainly, I can. It is made from a Eucalypt tree called the Silvertop Ash. It is a tree that is very resilient to fire and the heat of battle. The core of the wand is from a Drop Bear." He said struggling to hide a smirk.
Noticing the smirk of Dave's face Gabrielle asked, "What is a Drop Bear?"
"They look like an ordinary harmless Koala. But when you get in range they bear their fangs and claws and then attack." Dave said now openly grinning at Gabrielle.
"You zink zat zey suit me? Zis 'Drop Bear'?" She asked trying not to smile at the expression on Dave's face.
"Well there are some similarities in there yes." He said meeting her gaze.
"So, you zink that I look 'armless but have hidden fangs and claws?" She said now smirking at him.
"More like you look very cute and cuddly but are extremely dangerous to the unwary." He said smiling at her with a genuine and tender expression.
She must have approved of this assessment, as she soundly kissed him before heading back off to her seat. Dave just stood there for a few moments with a goofy kind of look on his face.
"Back with us yet Dave?" I just had to ask him while I tried not to giggle at his expression.
"Yeah I guess so." He said almost regretfully.
He then noticed mum and dad calling him over. Out of curiosity I followed him.
"Dave, none of these wands feel like they are calling to me or Arthur." Mum said with a slightly concerned expression.
"Nothing at all?" Dave asked.
"Well, I do kind of feel something coming from that bag next to the table." Mum said in a small voice.
Dave seemed to be intrigued by this, "How about you Uncle Arthur?" he asked.
"Same here. There is definitely something faint pulling me to that bag." He answered.
"Well then let us do some exploring then." Dave said obviously excited.
He quickly had the bundle of wands packed away. The bag was then placed onto the table and opened up. Inside of it was some rather strange looking tools as well as a selection of woods and some clear bags holding an assortment of what I can only assume to be the potential COREs for use in a wand.
Dave carefully arranged these potential COREs on the table for my parents.
"Can you tell me which of these items is 'calling' to you?" Dave asked watching my parents very intently. Looking around I saw that everyone else (including those members of Dave's team present) was gathering around. It seemed that they had all become aware of what was potentially about to happen.
Mum and Dad were both closely looking at the various items on the table. They seemed like they couldn't decide.
"Close your eyes and hold your hands out and see if anything seems to attract your attention." Dave requested.
They did this and reasonably quickly they had each selected an item. Both of their items looked to be feathers of some sort. Looking over to Dave I could see him still watching them very intently. When they seemed sure of their choices he spoke again.
"Holding the item, you have selected in your hand come down here to where I have a selection of different woods."
"Hold your hand with the item in it over the woods and you will clearly feel when you locate a match where both the wood and the item in your hand will accept." He instructed them.
Mum located a piece of wood first. It looked to be a mixture of dark and light browns with an interesting pattern in it. Dad located a suitable piece of wood soon after. His one was a very light brown timber with patches of black in it. Once they had both found their timber Dave asked them to hold them out to him. He held his hands over and below the items that they had selected but he didn't touch them. After doing this to both of their selections he smiled.
"I think you both have selected very workable combinations." He said with a grin.
"Shall we begin with Aunty Molly?" He asked.
Mum was obviously curious as to what he was going to do, so she was happy to oblige. She handed over to Dave her selected items. Dave took them and placed the piece of wood onto a device that looked to be similar to a spit that would be used for cooking. Once on it he spun it to see if it would spin freely.
Next, he removed the item from the clear bag. It was indeed a feather of some sort. It had a very thin shaft on it, much too thin to even be considered for use as a quill.
Dave stared intently at the feather for a few moments, then the feather seemed to shake itself out. I noticed something that looked like a stain on the feather. I was about to ask Dave about it when he got in first, "Please Ginny not just now. I will answer your question in a few moments. But right now, I need to concentrate." He asked.
"Ok, it can wait." I replied turning my attention back to the feather.
The feather had now begun to braid itself very tightly together. At one point, it almost looked like it was folding in on itself. Eventually it had reached the size that Dave was looking for, he then had the feather float until it was parallel to the timer that mum had selected.
Then both the timber and the feather began to rotate very rapidly. Dave's concentration was now such that he had begun to sweat. He would watch the wand and then look over to mum and stare intently into her eyes for a few moments and then he would return his focus to the wand again.
Slowly I became aware that the feather was gaining in thickness. Although I must admit that I couldn't see anything going into it. It was undeniable though that it was indeed gaining more body.
Eventually Dave began to work on the shape of the wand. Like most of his wands the shaping was subtle, but going from the wand that I had selected earlier I knew that it would be comfortable to hold.
When the desired shape was achieved, Dave stopped the wood sample from spinning. He then lightly laid his fingers on the still spinning wand and I could see the wood start to almost shine. As he slowly moved his finders up and down the wand the wood became highly polished. This he did a few times, the last two times he did it his hands were on fire with that Friendfyre flame. The result was a beautifully simplistic wand. It was a mesmerising mixture of light and deep brown patterns. But it was also very highly polished almost jewel like in its finish.
Dave presented the wand to mum with a proud but restrained smile on his face. Looking around the crowd of people who had gathered I could see that they were mesmerised by what they had just seen. I know it was something that I would remember for a long time.
Mum received the wand from Dave with a look of wonder on her face. As she wrapped her hand around it Dave asked her, "How does it feel to you?"
"It feels happy, almost content. Is the only way I can describe it." She said smiling.
Dave broke out into a very large smile and asked, "Give it a flick."
As mum did there was a shower of golden stars from the wand.
"I think that will work for you quite well." Dave said very happily, "Let's get Uncle Arthurs one done now."
With this he removed the wood that he had use for mum's wand and placed it carefully back on the table. He next placed the wood that dad had selected into the machine. Dad's feather was removed from its clear bag and examined just as mum's one was.
This feather also had a stain running across it, but I held my question until Dave had finished making the wand. The process was repeated with dad's feather and wood until a finished wand was produced. The wand was a very light golden brown colour with thin black lines running through it. Like mum's one it too was highly polished.
"How does it feel?" Dave asked after he had presented the wand to dad.
"Welcoming. Friendly. They would be the words that best describe it." He replied.
"Give it a flick." Dave said smiling again.
Grinning like a small child at Christmas gave his wand a flick, a shower of coloured sparks came from the end.
"Excellent. Give them a spin on the training floor against the target dummies." Dave suggested.
Mum & dad were quickly over at the targets and were sending stunner after stunner at the targets. They all hit as well.
After they returned to the table dad asked Dave, "Can you tell us what they are made from?"
"Your wand Uncle Arthur is made of Stringybark. It is a native Australian Eucalypt Tree. It is a very sturdy, solid and dependable wood. Able to withstand great loads."
"Aunty Molly's wand is made from Spotted Gum. Like Stringybark it too is a very solid and dependable wood."
"In fact, Aunty Molly's wood came from mum's own tree. Just as yours came from my dad's tree." Dave said with a smile to them both.
Mum seemed to be delighted at this and she was quickly running over to and hugging her big sister. Dad and Ivan also shared a handshake and a quick hug.
"What are the cores?" Dad asked still looking at his wand in awe.
"Griffin in both. In fact, the same Griffin supplied the feathers for your wands." Dave explained.
"A Griffin?" Dad asked with delight.
"Yes, most definitely a Griffin." Dave replied.
Dad had the silliest grin on his face at this news. Mum also had a wide smile.
"Do you know that at Hogwarts both Molly and I were in Gryffindor House?" Dad asked Dave.
"No, I didn't." He said with a smile, "Seems quite appropriate to me."
Everyone seemed to agree with Dave on that point.
"What were those stains or marks on the feathers?" I asked Dave.
"Blood." Dave replied with a wistful little expression.
"Was the Griffin hurt?" mum asked him.
"No, he wasn't hurt. I was." Dave answered, "That was my blood on those feathers." He said in a very calm voice.
Mum had a very shocked look on her face at this news.
"Is zat connected to ze claw marks on your back?" Gabrielle asked Dave. She seemed sad that he had been hurt but was also very curious about the story.
"Yes, it is. He gave me the feathers as an apology for attacking me." Dave said with a faraway look on his face.
Seeing the question in just about everyone's face Dave expanded on that explanation.
"I would have been about 9 or 10 and I was off exploring around mum and dads place. I headed off up the beach towards the river at the far end of the cove. I wasn't supposed to wonder off that far on my own, but I had just had an argument with Jimmy and wanted some space."
"When I reached the river, I walked along its banks until I came to the pool that formed in one of the bends. I liked this spot as I could watch the fish swim and the yabbies also."
"After just watching the fish for a time I noticed a disturbance in the trees. So I went to investigate it."
"Stepping through a particularly tanged group of trees I literally ran into a young Griffin. He had been feasting on a Kangaroo that he had caught and had not been paying attention to his surroundings as he should have."
"I quickly bowed to him as you should, but he had been frightened and he lashed out at me. He knocked me to the ground and raked his claws across my back."
"The pain was indescribable. I only remember screaming out in my mind for mum and dad before I passed out."
"When I came to my parents were there along with Grandma and Grandpa. Mick's dad was there also."
"Mum and Grandma were trying to look after the wounds on my back. While Mick's dad was talking to the Griffin."
"He was talking to the Griffin?" Dad asked Dave confused.
"Yes, he was talking to it. Mick's dad has a special gift with animals. There isn't much he can't communicate with in some way. Some he can talk to very easily and others hardly at all. But he does have a special place for the Bunyips and Griffins that are around both our properties and his own."
"Once he realised that I was awake he brought the Griffin over to see me. To say that I was a little worried would have been an understatement." Dave said with a smile, there were some nervous chuckles around the table as well.
"Mick's dad told me that the Griffin was very sorry that he had attacked me. He was so focused on his meal he wasn't paying attention as he should have. Apparently, I had frightened him."
"He also told me that the Griffin's name was Riverbeak as he loved the river that flowed from the mountains behind mum and dad's place down to the sea. This was a common hunting place for him."
"Riverbeak wanted to apologize for hurting me and to set things to rights, but he needed my permission to do so."
"I gave him my permission. Riverbeak then removed the magic from the wounds on my back, this would enable them to heal fully. Otherwise they would forever be unstable and continually break open easily."
"He also offered me several of his feathers as well. Mick's dad told me that this is a gift without price as Griffin feathers are extremely rare."
"I accepted the offers and I also made a request of him."
"My request was that if Riverbeak would in future please pay more attention when feeding on mum and dad's property, as I didn't want to be attacked again. I also asked if he would allow me to approach and talk with him when he does visit."
"Riverbeak was surprised by these requests but he agreed to them."
"He is a frequent visitor to mum and dad's place, and while I can't talk to him like Mick's dad can, we can 'talk' well enough that we enjoy each other's company. He especially likes it when I catch him a fish from that pool and give it to him. He always offers some to me, but I'm not a fan of raw fish." Dave chuckled.
"Would he allow us to approach him?" Hermione asked her eyes wide with wonder.
"The only way to find out would be to ask him. As he isn't a pet. He is more of a friend." Dave answered.
"Would you?" Hermione asked excitedly.
"I will ask him, but I can't promise anything other than that." Dave answered to Hermione's delight.
"Ok I need to explain some of the differences with these wands to what you may be used to." Dave commented.
"These are designed from the start as 'covert' wands. That is, they are designed to be hidden on you." This caused some surprised reactions from us.
"They will also be very difficult to remove from you once they are sealed to you. Either via Expelliarmus or other methods." Dave explained, "But first let's see how they will hide on you."
"Fleur, place your wand on your wrist like you did with your Talisman yesterday. Then tell it to 'hide'" he requested.
Fleur placed the wand on her wrist and issued the command. Her wand which was a lovely deep brown colour immediately wrapped itself around her wrist. It ended up forming a beautifully carved and almost woven looking bracelet.
Her eyes were wide with wonder and delight, "Incroyable." She exclaimed.
"The wands have a small amount of awareness about their owners and they will sometimes change their hidden form to better match what you may be wearing at the time." Dave explained.
"To return it to its normal form just tell it to come off, just as with your Talisman." He instructed.
Fleur issued the command and the wand returned to its original state.
"When the wands are hidden like that they can't be removed from you by anyone without your permission. They will also not show on any checks with secrecy scanners."
"Now Fleur try holding the wand to your chest as though it was a pendant on a necklace and then tell it to hide." Dave asked her.
She did so and this time the wand transformed itself into a delicate necklace with a small wooden hook shaped pendant on it. Fleur quickly retrieved a mirror to see the results. They did seem to meet with her approval.
"The girls can show you a bit later other ways they have contrived to hide their wands also. As they have been experimenting with them for a while now."
"Ron, would you like to try with your wand?" Dave asked.
Ron laid his almost blond looking wand on his wrist and told it to hide. It transformed itself into something that resembled a wooden watch. His smile was a sight to behold.
"Tell it to come off" Dave asked him.
When he issued the command, the wand returned to its original state.
"They can also make a necklace but the designs tend to be a bit chunkier and a little uncomfortable. Mostly we turn them into belt buckles, but we can go over those options later."
"Let us experiment with the other useful property of these wands." He said as he got up.
"Harry, Ron would you two like to do the demonstration?" He asked.
They both appeared to be quite eager to try them out. Together the three boys walked over to the training floor.
"Harry, I want you to try a disarming charm on Ron. Not too powerful though as we don't want to damage him." Dave requested.
The boys faced each other and Harry cast Expelliarmus at Ron. While the wand was removed from Ron's hand it just fell to the floor.
"Is that the effect that you would have expected from a spell of that strength?" Dave asked him.
"No it should have made it over to me." Harry replied.
"Ok try again, a bit stronger this time." Dave asked.
Ron had collected his wand and stood ready once more. This time the spell was much stronger as it appeared as a bright red jet of light. Once more the wand only seemed to twitch from Ron's hand and land a short distance away.
The surprise (and frustration) on Harry's face was plain to all to see.
"Swap over and let Ron have a go?" Dave asked.
The boys readily agreed and the results were basically the same for Ron as they were for Harry.
"As these wands have an awareness of their owner they are reluctant to abandon that master for any reason." Dave explained.
"This awareness can be significantly re-enforced with a simple blood magic identification charm." Dave said as he conjured two small pins and handed one to each of Harry and Ron.
"Simply prick the end of your finger and place a single drop of your blood on the very end of your wand. As you do it say to the wand 'I am Harry James Potter' and 'I am Ronald Bilius Weasley' this will seal the wand to you." Dave instructed.
The two of them dutifully followed the instructions and then banished the pins. Dave now asked for them to repeat the same exercise again.
This time neither of them dropped their wand. Even when the Expelliarmus charm was a red jet of light. Their arms twitched and you could see them change their grip on their wand to keep a hold of it. But they didn't lose control of it.
"Do you think that is a useful feature to have?" Dave asked them both.
"It's bloody brilliant" Ron exclaimed grinning widely. Harry also indicated that he thought it was a great and practical idea.
We were all keen to have our wands sealed to us and then to give them a test run. Having been the target of the Expelliarmus charm in the DA meetings I was used to its effects. This time however it was like the charm was almost muffled by something. It was truly a marvellous 'feature' of our new wands.
Kingsley was almost beside himself with glee at the results. I'm sure he would have asked Dave to make a wand for every surviving Auror right then and there if he could have.
The most interesting reactions to the new wands was from mum and dad. They had both enfolded Dave in their arms and were delivering twin powerful hugs. It is a good thing that Dave is the size he is as I don't think many others could have survived that ordeal.
When they eventually released him from their grip I could see the gratitude on their faces as well as the joy that was on Dave's face. His father was right, he certainly thoroughly enjoyed it when something he made was able to have a positive effect in someone's life.
Once we had all tested our new wands Dave asked if we could pack up the tables. He also asked his team to pack away the training floor.
"Have we finished for the day?" Dad asked him.
"Not yet, but I need to start a search for some gold and the less clutter around the easier it will be." He explained.
We were all a little surprised but also eager to see what he was going to do. So, we all pitched in to help.
"You're going to look for gold here?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"There is gold everywhere Ron. Most of the time it is only in trace amounts. There is even gold inside of you." Dave said with a little half smile.
"Me?" Ron asked.
"Yes you. Everyone, it is only about 0.2 grams but it is there." Dave informed him.
"What I'm most likely going to end up going is grabbing a little bit of gold from all the different plants here and bringing it together into a single nugget. That nugget will form the core of the Talismans that I need to make for your family." Dave explained to him.
"Oh… I see. Ok then." Ron replied looking a little disappointed.
Dave had a strange little smile on his face as he watched Ron head over to help with the packing up of the tables.
Dave quickly focused on packing up his own gear. Once it was all packed away he tried to gather it all up himself. Gabrielle noticed this and quickly joined him and took one of the bundles of wands to allow Dave to carry the rest.
They then headed off to the tents together, chatting happily. Sensing an interesting conversation, I followed.
Yes, I know what happened the last time I tried this, but I figured that there were no trees within reach of me in the yard so I should be safe. Ok!
As we got closer to the tents I was trying to work out how to position myself so that I could see into Dave's tent without being noticed. The only place I could think of was to hide next to Shelly's tent as that would partially screen me from view.
Moving into position around Shelly's tent I found a small crowd made up of Dave's sisters and cousin already there. They were intently watching Dave's tent interior also. Supressing my own grin at this scene I walked up to them and asked, "Is this a free show or do we need tickets?"
They must have been expecting me as they didn't even flinch.
"Shhh… We are trying to listen" Fireball hissed.
I joined them in their vigil and we could see Dave putting away the bundles with his wands in them as well as his tools. He quickly disappeared into his bedroom (alone) and re-emerged a brief time later in a set of t-shirt and shorts and bare feet.
He and Gabrielle then seemed to be involved in a discussion that required a lot of kissing and cuddling. As well as a fair share of giggles.
We were so engrossed in the show in front of us (especially when Gabrielle seemed to let her hand 'accidently' disappear under Dave's t-shirt) we didn't notice mum and Aunty Sandra come around the tent behind us.
"Just what do you all think you are doing here?" Mum asked us with a broad smile on her face at the sight of the four if us nearly jumping out of our skins.
"We are just trying to keep an eye on those two and make sure that nothing untoward happens" Fireball said with a well-practised air of innocence.
She didn't fool her mother for a moment. Sandra crept up and peered into Dave's tent and asked, "I wonder what they are discussing."
"If you really want to know mum why don't you just ask." Came Dave's voice from behind us.
This time the six of us really did jump and there were a few startled oaths as well. Turning around there standing behind us was Dave and Gabrielle. They both had massive smiles on their faces at having caught us in the act. They were also still carrying the bundles of wands and Dave tool bag.
Looking back into the tent I could still see 'Dave' and 'Gabrielle' happily kissing away. I then looked back over at Dave and Gabrielle behind me and then back to the tent. This time the two in the tent broke off their activities and waved to us before disappearing.
Dave's sisters and cousins seemed to take it as an almost personal affront that they had been fooled by an illusion but mum and Aunty Sandra saw the humour in it. Not as much as Dave and Gabrielle did though.
Muttering some excuses about needing to help pack up they all quickly took off. Leaving me all alone there. Boggarts.
Once I realised this I too quickly made tracks out of there.
Laughing merrily to themselves the real Dave and Gabrielle continued into Dave's tent.