Chapter Seven - Preparing His Lordship
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—∞·Chapter Summary·∞—
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Harry will start his training under the supervision of Bill. It turns out he has a lot of things to learn in this new world where he belongs.
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Preparing His Lordship
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Harry stood there for a while entranced by the beauty of his surroundings. While trailing his gazes back and forth between the valleys and the snow-capped peaks, his redheaded guardian has started searching for clues of the chateau's hiding place. From the pockets of his trousers, Bill pulls off an expansive sheet that turns out to be a map. He looks around as he tries to locate the landmarks indicating a few references.
"It says here that the summer palace is located in front of an intersecting road secluded by a small woodland of silver birch trees. It lies within a clearing guarded by the statue of a spewing dragon surrounded by basilisks."
The image flickered inside Charlie's head like a flash of lightning. "I think I know where it is. But that clearing you were talking about, Bill, is occupied by a nesting Antipodean Opaleye right now. Merlin! She's not the friendliest among their type. Trust me, we upset her, she'll burn us out." He shuddered at the thought of trying to shoo away a vicious creature from its dwelling place.
The other redhead sighs frustratingly. The goblins didn't mention the dragon when he consulted them about the said property. He does not want to be pushy, but he wants to take the risk. It'll cost them too much trouble if the matter of resettling a reluctant magical beast is brought to the attention of the handlers themselves.
"Where is it? Can you show me the way?"
The younger Weasley nodded his head and led them into a trail. "It shouldn't be far from here." He tells them. Soon enough, the Silver Birchwoods came into view. They also found the intersection of the road that was indicated a little while ago.
Good thing the place isn't really as dense as they'd thought it was. Only enough to create a shade obscuring whatever lies within that vast clearing a few feet away.
"Ha! Found it," Bill yells triumphantly as soon as he spotted the statue of the dragon standing right beside the trail. "They hid one of the ward stones beneath this figure over here. Look at that. A stroke of genius. Brilliant." He grumbled. Bill motioned to the stone ball lying beneath the statue's claws.
"Harry, come 'ere." He called.
The young man complies, trotting forward as fast as he can.
"I need three drops of your blood on this thing. It should do the trick. Then we'll definitely find it."
Harry extends his hand with his index finger laid out. Using his wand, Bill created a small cut for blood to drip into the stone.
The effect was instantaneous. Like a fantasy movie scene with all the special effects, Harry's magic had changed the entire appearance of that little forest. The silver birch trees uprooted themselves congregating an arrangement of six. A few moments later, a massive wall with iron grill bars rose in the air. All three boys stared open-mouthed in a daze. What stood before them is a three-storied building about 1210 feet long consisting of a middle house and two side wings. Judging their faces, Harry, Bill, and Charlie must have never seen a house that big.
"Where's the dragon?" Bill asks dumbly. "You said it's supposed to be guarding this place, right?"
As if on cue, the shadow of a huge flying creature passes by straight over their heads. Harry nearly fell off his feet as soon as he looked up. A beautiful dragon with pearly white scales lining its body plops into the ground. She straightens herself and spreads her wings as if about to spit fire burning the three young men in rage. But as it turns out, she bows her head and then takes off into the sky all over again.
"What on Merlin's balls was that?" Bill asks no one. He was simply scared.
"She just said, 'welcome back' and that her job guarding the palace has ended upon my arrival," Harry responded.
Both boys gaped at him wide-eyed. "You can understand what she said?"
"Wasn't I supposed to?"
Charlie looks at the boy as if he were Merlin's reincarnation. "Harry, you have no idea how valuable that gift it is that you have." He tells him. "We spent hundreds of years trying to understand their behavior studying them and no one had known their language at all."
Bill rolls his eyes trying not to smack his brother for talking too much about his favorite creatures. They have other things right now to focus on. "Now, now." He admonishes. "Why don't we get inside while I inspect the wards? Although the way I look at it, there is not that much change needed. And I like the way the family magic splendidly hid the place. I guess it is best that we keep it that way."
Soon enough, the majestic gates gilded with gold opened for them. They couldn't help but gasp at the beautiful, terraced gardens on the front yard of the mansion. There are numerous marble staircases decorated with statues and fountains everywhere. Gidget magically pops up before the palace main entrance, greeting the three young men with a welcoming vibe.
"Young Master Harry Potter, sir." The house-elf squeaked excitingly. "Welcome to the Summer Palace of the Levigne Family. We's your servants so happy to see you." There're tears in his saucer-like eyes speaking to the young Potter Lord. Shortly thereafter, no less than thirty house-elves popped up making their appearance to greet their new master. They all expressed the same tearful joy serving their young head of the house.
The three gentlemen were ushered inside. Gidget offers them tea as he directed them to the sitting room on the west wing side. They spent half an hour loosening themselves and once they recovered their strength, all boys accepted the house elf's offer to tour them around. It took them more than four hours wandering the halls and take note: It doesn't even include peeking at the third and more than half of the second floor.
At first, Harry thought nothing could beat his amazement over the existence of house-elves.
It turns out, he was mistaken.
In the middle of the tour, the boy realizes the paintings inside that house all talk and move.
"Do wizard's house always have paintings like that?" Harry couldn't help but blurt his curiosity out.
"Well, sort of all of them. Why? Do muggles pictures don't move at all?" Bill looked incredulous at the idea of immobile pictures people would have in their homes. (That would be boring!) He frowned as he laid down his reasons.
"No," He scowls at the portrait of a man who keeps shoving his finger into his nose. He couldn't imagine the horror in his aunt and uncle's eyes if ever they see one.
They stumbled on a heap in the sitting room three hours later.
Charlie buries himself to the soft couch next to the fireplace. "Merlin! That was exhausting." He groaned.
"Makes me dread about the next few days inspecting each of these rooms before deeming them safely inhabitable." Says Bill in a bored tone.
While Harry remained seated on his own couch without saying anything more. He looked around him. It's pretty clear he still hadn't got used to the sudden change his life had turned out to become.
"You okay, Harry?" A worried Charlie looks at him.
"Yeah. It's just… this is all new to me, you know." He admitted sheepishly.
Bill offered him an encouraging smile, saying, "which you should be living with your entire life. This place is yours from the time you were born, young man. You shouldn't have grown up living under the roof of your monsters of an uncle and aunt."
The younger Weasley rose to his feet approaching the downhearted young man in his seat. He took both his hands and held them gently, "Harry, remember what we told you the first time we've met? Remember when we told you we'll never leave you alone?"
The kid nodded his head slowly.
"Then, you should trust us more. I know it's hard. But we will be here for you always. I know you're bothered. You might be worried. But know this, Harry. Bill and I are coming up with something that'd make sure no one would dare take you away from here. No one will have the right to put you back to those neglectful muggles. We even consider filing charges. After all, child neglect is no joke. Anyone who would put their toe out of the line will have to face my wrath first."
Bill glances at his brother. He can feel Charlie's magic lashing out. Had he not known what causes him to feel like this, he'd be worried sick. But it's his instinct who shares half of Harry's soul that makes him want to tear things. Despite their feelings for each other remaining as that of a platonic one, the dominant's urge to protect his younger mate is still too powerful to ignore.
Charlie does the same thing with Bill. He threw meaningful gazes which meant they both needed to talk after putting young Harry to bed. They've come to realize stronger measures need to be made to ease the boy's worries.
Not too long, Gidget announces dinner. Once again, they were awed by the sumptuous feast served before them on the table. The house-elves went out and about preparing the most delicious meals probably in honor of their master, Harry.
"Merlin, I can live here for the rest of my life," Charlie commented. "I think I'm gonna turn fat in the next couple of months."
The other boys chuckled yet they all agreed that's probably what is going to happen to all of them.
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Preparing His Lordship
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Harry thought living with the two redheads was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He finally has come to experience the true meaning of living in a family with Charlie and Bill. The dragon handler was more like a brother who spoils him rot, letting him enjoy his life being a child while Bill, though he knew he's only a few years older than Charlie was the stern one. He doesn't know what it's like to have a father but the way Bill treats him makes him feel like it, well, that must be the closest comparison to it.
Two days after they moved into the summer palace, his owl had arrived who flew all the way from Bill's flat. Harry was so happy to see her after days of getting worried she may not be able to find them despite the older men reassuring him that owls are more clever than they seemed. The boy had decided to name her Hedwig, a name he had found in one of the books he'd read and sounded so much pleased by it. She seems to like their new place as well. Hedwig would swoop in and out of the open window of his room whenever she wanted, bringing back dead mice expecting praise from her new friend.
Charlie also took him for another shopping spree at The Bârlogul in Bucharest. It is a smaller version of Diagon Alley in Romania though more fascinating and unique (in Charlie's opinion, that is) with all those strange things they found in every shop along the way.
The purpose was to buy Harry his own wand. Aside from being free from the monitoring of any wizarding authority, the wands made outside of Britain if not as good maybe even more reliable.
"Gregorovitch is the best around here," Charlie tells them confidently as they strode their way to an old shop in a corner. They were introduced to a burly looking man, of later age but seemingly younger than he looked like. He was over the moon when he realized he just had Harry Potter as his customer that day. Even more flattered that the famous young man chose him instead of the more preferable, Ollivander.
They left his shop after less than an hour with an ecstatic Harry admiring his first wand. Made from rowan with a thunderbird's tailfeather core, he couldn't wait to go back to his room to practice a few of those spells he'd read in his spellbooks. Mr. Gregorovich also added a few give-aways including a wand servicing tool kit and a fancy-looking wand holster as a gift. He even joked about feeling proud his name will soon appear in history books for making the wand for the-boy-who-lived.
His actual lessons began in the next few days. Harry spent about eight hours a day in his office with piles after piles of books towering his desk. From "A History of Magic" to "10 Thousand Ways to Disgrace One's Lordship", plus, a few books on proper wizarding behavior and etiquette.
"I can't believe you made me involved in this rubbish," Charlie mutters incredulously to his brother who at that time held a long whacking stick in one hand. He uses it to whack their hands whenever they choose the wrong cutlery in picking up the food on the table.
"As Lord Prewett and a future consort to the king, you have to learn to effectively use these things. We don't want you acting like a pig over dinner parties and make a fool of yourself." Bill explains with narrow eyes. Harry was snickering on the other side. Between the two of them, Charlie gets the most swollen hand for committing too many mistakes. The confusion makes him lose his appetite.
"I don't get it why I have to use so many knives and forks in a meal." He scowled at the numerous quantities of silverware of different uses and sizes on each side of his dinner plate.
"You should be thankful it's not Aunt Muriel who taught you all these rules. Or do you want me to send an owl for her to step in?"
The color left Charlie's cheeks hearing the name of his mother's cousin. The old Lady Prewett is known among her nephews as a woman they don't want to mess around with. She can be as vicious as a vulture in her own ways.
The idea left the younger redhead pouting in concession to his fate.
Yup. As it turns out, Charlie officially became Bill's student in learning the pureblooded ways. He sat along with Harry who enjoys learning a lot especially having a good teacher like Bill himself. It didn't help that he was given a month-long vacation by his boss from working in the reserve out of the thrill of having Harry Potter living within their enclosure. Thus, his vacation was tied up with lessons about family history, politics, economy, dining etiquette, good manners and right wizarding conduct, dueling, archery, horseback riding, and even swordsmanship. He was scandalized upon discovering that flying on a broomstick is classified as un-lordlike. Worse, he was compelled to dispose of his dragon-hide clothes to a completely new set of wardrobes. Like his mate, Charlie was given a complete make-over much to his colleague's amusement. His new looks became a laughingstock among his friends and most likely, even the dragons themselves.
"Billie, I swear, I'm going to kick you after this." The redheaded young man winces after the tenth time Harry stepped on his feet. He made sure it wasn't the boy's fault despite apologizing profusely but it's his arsehole of a brother whom he was sure did it on purpose teaching them how to dance to mess with him.
"Dancing is part of the purebloods' social life," Bill explains. "It makes it possible for two enemies to talk civilly without hexing each other's bums."
Charlie could only roll his eyes. With his temper shorter than the older guy, he might be hexing the balls out of him anytime now. In the end, Bill managed to push him through the entire ordeal after insinuating the possibility of Harry dancing with another handsome-looking lord simply because he doesn't know how to do it.
Another lesson they need to learn was the Language of the Lords. It didn't mean they need to come across a completely new vocabulary only that they have to avoid using profane words and cusses when speaking with each other.
"It may make you sound like an arrogant daft, but the goal is to sound restrained and elegant." Says Bill in his lecture with matching gestures of his hand. They were also taught how to walk with proper poise as well as common gestures that are practiced among pureblooded wizards. To make it more effective, Bill placed three stacks of books on their heads with the goal of not letting them fall as they move around.
On his last day in the palace before the start of term, the three young men celebrated it with a barbecue dinner outside the grounds. It was Charlie's idea for an outdoor picnic who hounded the house-elves to set up a blanket with a grill under the stars. Harry made use of his new collapsible telescope in locating some of the constellations.
"Are you nervous?" Charlie asks him while they lay side by side watching the clear night sky.
"A little bit." The boy replied.
"You'll do good. I promise."
"Besides, you will be meeting our little brothers." Bill chided who suddenly began to worry about two evil twins who are a pair of a bloody menace.
"Ron, next to our youngest will be going to Hogwarts this year. He'll make a good friend, trust me."
"Just make sure you wouldn't slip mentioning our names until they start talking about us or they wouldn't rest until you'd spill everything out of your tongue."
Harry smiled. By now, there's no way he would forget. These two kept reminding him about the secrecy of their plans over and over.
No matter what, the idea of stepping into a brand-new chapter of his life as a wizard excites him somehow. He couldn't wait to see the wonderful castle where his parents had grown up and learn magic the same way they did.
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—∞·To be continued in the next chapter·∞—
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