Chapter 52
Harry enjoyed spending time with the extended Granger family. They behaved in a manner that he always imagined a proper family would act towards each other. There were the occasional arguments and teasing but no one took it too seriously. It was better than the Weasleys because there were no ulterior motives or fake facades. This made Harry more determined than ever to join the family properly by marrying Hermione.
During the days leading up to Christmas, Harry visited his first amusement park. Getting Shirley, Bryce and Amy to leave the house was a chore. They wanted to stay in the library but everyone else forced them out of the house claiming a little fresh air would be good for them. It was a fun day for all and Harry discovered the joys of roller-coaster rides to the horror of everyone. They preferred the more tame rides such as the Ferris wheel. At the end of the day, they had a bunch of souvenirs and stuffed toys.
They also inspected a few more properties during that period including a McMansion near the Granger Institute. It sat on a very large piece of land but the house had no soul or character. So they decided to purchase it anyway and replace the house with a better one from somewhere else. Relocating houses is quiet easy to achieve using magic. Money was not a problem with the amount they were making from their various ventures and having a convenient location from where they could visit the Granger Institute was something they desired.
It was decided that Hermione would get her wish to see the new library on Christmas Eve. So early that morning Dan, Emma, Hermione and Harry drove to the Grangers' old home. The place had been converted into a massive library. Power and water had been disconnected since it was not necessary. They still paid council rates and land taxes so the house was still considered as muggle rather than magical. As they entered the house, it was obvious that the place was magical. The interior was many times bigger than the external.
Books in shelves filled the entire house. As they walk through the house, every room was used to hold books including what use to be the kitchen. When they reach the garage, they found Alice and her mum sitting at a desk with trunks all around them.
"What are in these trunks?" Hermione asked after greetings were exchanged.
"Books that we have just copied." Alice replied.
"Are you still copying books from the Hogwarts's library?" Hermione asked.
"We have copied all the books in the restricted section of Hogwarts's library and about a third of the main library. After we finish with the main library then the books in the Ravenclaw common room will be next." Alice replied.
"What's the hold up?"
"We lack the space to put the copied books."
"Why don't you use Ashley's old tent?"
"It is already being used. In fact, all the tents are being used to either store books or hold spare Basilisk by-products." Alice replied.
"If you want, your family can move to a rental property that we will pay for. That way we can use the tent to store more books." Hermione offered.
"We have already moved out." Alice replied. "The tent we used to live in is already filled with books from Dumbledore's private library."
"You know that we are planning to relocate to the US next year?" Emma asked.
"We know that but we want a place of our own. The amount of money the three of us are making, we could afford to rent a place in the states and keep this place going as well."
"So tell us about your new place." Hermione requested. They spent some time talking about Alice's new home before the Grangers continued their inspection. Alice offered to act as a guide which they gladly accepted.
"We have books about magic and science. That is one of the reasons why space is such a problem." Alice said immediately. "The books are sorted using the Dewey Decimal System with the History section at the back of the house and computer science near the front door."
"Where are the magazines and journals?"
"The periodicals are all housed in Hermione's old room."
"Is there a card system to find books?"
"There is a magical ledger which keeps track of all the books we have in this library. It is kept near the newly built cellar to this place. The cellar is where we keep all the forbidden books and access is extremely limited. These books deal with subject matters so dark that we believe that the general public should never get access to them including the Granger Institute. We are only keeping the books so that Hermione can research Horcrux removal or if our enemies go down that path we can research how to combat or stop them." Alice explained.
"So who decides a book should be included in this group?" Harry asked as they made their way to the cellar.
"I do it when I am sorting or copying books. If I am unsure then I will ask, Emma. In cases where such books make it to the Granger Institute, the librarian will usually return it." Alice replied as they approached Emily who was sitting at a desk blocking access to the cellar. Emily looked up from the book she was reading when she noticed their arrival. They exchanged greetings. Alice picks up a massive book and hands it to Hermione.
"This is a ledger listing all the books here. Point your wand at the book while saying which subject you are interested in and the ledger will show all available books dealing with that topic." Alice explained. "I will now get back to work and leave you in the capable hands of Emily."
"What are you working on?" Hermione asked Emily.
"I am trying to fine tune a spell that the Granger Institute developed that would pass through any shield. The spell will make a guy experience the symptoms of a very bad period." Emily replied. Dan and Harry both cringed.
"What seems to be the problem?" Hermione asked with a smile on her face.
"The lab rats kept dying from blood lost before they could stem the flow." Emily replied.
"Did you try incorporating a spell version of the blood replenishing potion?" Hermione suggested.
"That might work." Emily said excitedly.
"Do you mind showing us the cellar?" Harry asked, desperate to change subjects. Hermione however ignored the request as she was enjoying the uncomfortable expressions on her dad and Harry's faces. She considered it payback for their prank the other day.
"Speaking of periods…" Hermione said causing Harry and Dan to groan. "Mum have you tried the magical potion for period pain?"
"I did try it and it worked a great. There do not appear to be any side effects but a doctor and a healer are both monitoring me. We were so encouraged by the results that we have enlisted the help of a large number of female volunteers to test the potion on Squibs and non-magicals. Meanwhile we have recruited a squib pharmacist to try to identify the active components so that we can release a non-magical version of the potion to the general public." Emma explained.
"Have you worked out where you going to source the massive amounts of magical ingredients you will need if you go mass market?" Hermione asked immediately.
"No I have not that." Emma admitted.
"Talk to Grant about using some of the farm land we have acquired to grow the necessary magical ingredients." Hermione suggested.
"Okay." Emma replied.
"I will talk to Grant. Since I worked out a ward system which would repel pests, it will make farming a lot cheaper and healthier." Harry added.
"Can we check out the cellar now?" Dan said in the same way kids ask if they are there yet. Everyone laughed at the impression.
"Be patient dear." Emma said in a condescending manner while patting Dan on the head. This made everyone laugh even more. It took a little time for everyone to catch their breath.
"Let's go." Emily announced. The cellar visit was anticlimactic. It looked like the rest of the house and the books created a very atmosphere to the room somehow. After the tour, Emily asked.
"Have you seen the tents or the shed where we keep the vanishing cabinet?"
"No. Alice already showed us the rest of the house and the Attic but nothing outside." Emma replied.
"Why don't I show you?" Emily offered. They nodded their head.
The first two tents they visited were filled with books. While the last tent they visited was filled with Basilisk venom, skin and other bits.
"What happened to all the stuff that came from the Room of Lost things?" Harry asked.
"The junk was moved back to the Room of Lost Things. Some of the more valuable stuff is in one of these tents. While the rest of the stuff have been moved to the Black Manor for storage." Emily replied.
"Why not move the Basilisk stuff as well?"
"It is too valuable to move there as it is too easily stolen or lost." Emily replied.
"Why don't we go to the shed?" Emma said after looking at her watch with a suspicious grin on her face.
"Okay." Emily replied as she led them to the shed. As soon as the door opened a black dog pounced on Harry. It began licking Harry's face which made everyone laugh.
"Padfoot!" Harry said in surprise and joy. They went into the shed where the dog changed back into Sirius.
"Good to see everyone." Sirius said.
"Good to see you too." Harry said accompanied by similar comments from the other people in the room. Sirius then turned to Emily and said.
"Especially you, my darling..."
"That I don't miss." Emily said half in jest. "Why don't I leave you to catch up?" Emily suggested before leaving.
"I am sorry I could not meet the Hogwarts Express but Lucius is desperately trying to kill me. He is currently in Europe looking for me." Sirius explained.
"It will not be long before that problem will be taken care of." Harry assured Sirius.
"I don't know how long I can last. Just last week, Lucius impervioused one of my employees in order to try and kill me. If it was not for the timely intervention of a house elf I would have died." Sirius said in fear.
"By the end of January that will not be a problem anymore." Harry assured Sirius. Hermione decided to change topics before he asked for details.
"So how is the newspaper you started going?" Hermione asked.
"It is going great and a lot of fun. We finally sorted out some of the printing issues we had initially. The editor in chief we have is an absolute genius." Sirius said.
"So what has been the reaction to the paper?" Hermione asked.
"The different magical authorities are not happy with us and are constantly trying to shut us down. So far they have been unsuccessful because they don't know where we are located. We also have to use a different person to OWL out every issue so that they cannot ward against us. But that is becoming increasingly risky." Sirius explained.
"Why don't you convert the paper into magical paper aeroplanes like the ministry?" Harry suggested.
"That would make it easy for the ministry to ward against our newspaper."
"It is not possible to ward against paper aeroplanes since it is so simplistic that magic would not be able to detect it. The only reason they do not use it instead of owls is because the traditionalists do not like the change." Harry said.
"I will definitely look into that." Sirius said as he made a mental note to check it out.
"Have you been able to achieve anything yet?" Hermione asked.
"A few minor successes, our biggest scalp so far is Karl Karkaroff, ex-Headmaster of Drumstrang. Our article left him with no supporters. His pureblood supporters did not like the fact he was a snitch while the progressives did not like the fact he was a death eater." Sirius said while polishing his nails with pride.
"So no major successes... Was our outlay worth what we have accomplished so far?" Hermione asked since she believed that Sirius was not taking it seriously.
"It did not cost as much as you think. I spent some of my own money in the venture since I believe in it. A project such as this takes time to achieve measurable results and I have been putting my money where my mouth is." Sirius said defensively.
"Sorry it is just a lot of money to set up a newspaper. I was wondering if it would have been better to spend the money on something better." Hermione replied.
"That is alright. I am very defensive of the newspaper because it was the only escape I have from the feeling of being hunted." Sirius admitted. Hermione felt really bad for what she tried to do.
"I will guarantee they will stop hunting you within a fortnight of us returning to school." Hermione stated with conviction. In her head, she was already adjusting the plans that were developed.
"So what are your long term plans for the paper?" Dan asked.
This lead to a long discussion of Sirius' plans to expand the newspaper. It continued through lunch and at the end of the meal. Sirius asked.
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"As you know, we are planning to relocate to the states next year. Well we were planning to check out one final location for our new home in the US." Emma replied.
"Where in the US were you looking?" Sirius asked.
"We looked all over the country but the place we are going to today is New York." Emma said.
"I wish I could go with you but it is not safe for me." Sirius said. "In fact I think I better get going."
They exchanged farewells before they went their separate ways. Sirius went to god knows where while Harry and the Granger headed to the US. Emma led them to a commercial building near Central Park New York. The building looked like all the others in the block.
"We are here." Emma announced.
"This is an office building." Hermione said.
"I know. It is the current offices of one of the gold companies we have acquired. We are planning to consolidate our operations in Carson City. So this building is going to waste since it has a ten year lease agreement with its current owners. The agreement was set up to guarantee income for the owners and in return the company got the building at very low rent but was forbidden from subletting. We can convert the building into our new home." Emma explained.
"Where are we going to practice our magic?" Hermione asked.
"There are three levels below ground. They are currently using two levels as vaults for holding gold which we can convert into a place to practise magic." Dan suggested.
"How about the outside space?" Harry asked thinking about his hobby of flying.
"We can get a place in the Hamptons like other rich people or you can go to that place we are buying near the Granger Institute." Dan suggested. Harry was not really happy but knew that this place would be better for socialising and politicking.
"Why don't we show you around?" Emma suggested. As they entered, the two security guards greeted them and waved them through. Dan used a key get the elevator to go down to the basement level which was for secure parking and a loading area. This time, Dan and Emma both had to show the guards their identification before they were allowed to look around. It was not very interesting. The rest of building was the same until they reached top two floors where the Vice Presidents and President use to work. The view of the Park and the New York skyline was fantastic.
"We are thinking of converting these two levels into our new residence. Ground floor and the parking level will remain the same. Floor one and two will be turned into our offices and a place to do dental procedures requiring expensive equipment. Since we don't think it will be safe to store expensive equipment at the free dental clinic in Brooklyn we are planning to open. The rest of the floors will be used as your library. So what do you think?" Emma said. Harry and Hermione thought about and nodded.
"It sounds good to us." Harry said to the relief of Emma and Dan.
"Are you sure?" Dan asked.
"It will be a great location for pedalling influence we need." Harry said.
"I will live in the same building as my library." Hermione said excitedly.
"So it is decided this is going to be our new home." Emma said.
"We inform the rest of my family tomorrow." Dan said.
