After a delicious dinner prepared by Forcedyme and Affectueux, the first evening for the Weasley, Tonks, Longbottom, and Lovegood families was spent exploring their assigned villas and portkeying to and from Salon-de-Provence and Casellabate to explore the other. The sheer elegance of the homes stunned everyone. Of course, Hermione and Percy exhausted inordinate amounts of time in the library examining rare and one-of-a-kind books. Others spent time debating over bedding arrangements, with Molly and Arthur refereeing.
The bottom of the grand staircase at Salon-de-Provence stood in the center of the foyer, effectively splitting the rear half of the foyer into two hallways that led toward the back of the home. The entrance to the master bedroom was at the top of the staircase. Molly and Arthur would stay there. Turning left at the top presented three bedrooms in the west wing, while two more were presented to the right in the east wing. Each was sumptuous and uniquely, but tastefully, decorated, with none more so than the master suite, and the last bedroom at the end of each wing was larger than the others.
Of course, George unsuccessfully attempted to stake his claim to the master suite, even going so far as trying to magically secure himself to the bed. His claim failed once Bill and Charlie entered the room with wands drawn and with every intention of using whatever force necessary to dislodge him. At Molly's insistence, Hermione and Ginny would share a bedroom in one wing of the house, while Ron would stay in the other, and Molly insisted that the largest bedrooms in each wing be reserved for Bill and Fleur and Andromeda and Teddy. Ginny, for her part, insisted in having the bedroom next to Andromeda and Teddy. Since his arrival at the ministry earlier in the day, Ginny had clung to Teddy like a drowning woman to a lifebelt. As Harry's godson, Teddy had become Ginny's sole remaining link to Harry and she refused to let go, even holding him while eating her dinner. Ultimately, Ginny, Hermione, Andromeda, and Teddy stayed in the east wing, while Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, George, and Ron stayed in the west wing, with Charlie and Percy sharing one room and George and Ron sharing the other.
The rain that drenched Salon-de-Provence had cleared overnight, leaving in its wake a beautiful sunny morning. After a hearty breakfast, time was spent wandering the grounds of the villa. Arthur and Bill chose to walk the perimeter of the property, inspecting the wards of Salon-de-Provence once more. Then, once assured of the integrity of the wards, they walked down the lane through the woods, passed through the wards, and apparated to the Borrow to inspect the Weasley property. The plan was to host Fred's funeral under an oak tree on the hill behind the site of their former home.
Charlie, George and Ron assessed the quidditch pitch where they found a changing room, complete with brooms, balls, and other equipment. The brooms and equipment were old but in mint condition. It was quickly decided that a two-a-side match was in order. However, they soon discovered the depths of Ginny's doldrums. Not even quidditch, her favorite pastime, could disengage her from Teddy. They settled for inveigling Percy from his literary pursuits in the library to join as their fourth.
Luna, accompanied by Neville, had returned to the Ministry after breakfast to meet her father, Xenophilius, who was being released from Azkaban that morning. They would be bringing him to Castellabate and getting him settled. Rather than stay at Castellabate by herself, Augusta Longbottom decided to join everyone else at Salon-de-Provence. She immediately parked herself in a lounge chair on the broad veranda at the rear of the villa. She was soon joined by the rest of the ladies. They sat in silence as they took in the impromptu match; the only noises coming from Ginny and Teddy cooing together in the corner of the patio, the shout of the Weasley boys in the air, and distant birdsong.
Hermione looked up from the copy of Veratticus Vesper's Transfiguration Compendium that she found in the library as the Weasley brothers landed on the veranda, taking a break from the match.
"So, has anyone given any more thought as to who our benefactor may be?" she asked to no one in particular.
Everyone gathered had a philosophical look. Several moments later, George chuckled and half-jokingly shouted, "Maybe it's Harry!"
George's comment was greeted by several raised eyebrows and a gasp from Ginny at the sound Harry's name.
Ron half-smiled and said, "Nah, I've seen Harry's vault. He hasn't got this kind of money. Don't get me wrong, he's probably got more galleons than the rest of us combined. But even though he probably wouldn't have to work a day in his life if he didn't want to, I'm guessing he'd need about ten of his vaults just to afford this place alone."
The others nodded at Ron's wise assessment. All was quiet again until George shouted, "Maybe it's the Malfoys!"
George's comment brought a mixture of chuckles and hisses at the sound of the name, but it also brought on a game of 'Guess the Benefactor' that lasted for the next hour.
Arthur and Bill returned from the site of the Burrow in time for lunch, which was served on the veranda. "Well, I suppose I was hoping beyond hope, but it's all gone." Arthur said despondently.
"Nothing? It's all gone?" asked a whimpering Molly.
Arthur shook his head, "Not the Burrow, not the Longbottom house, not the Lovegood home, nothing."
"Making a 'fresh start' seems to be the order of the day now," said Ron.
The villa was explored in greater depth both inside and out that afternoon. Most of the guests spent their time looking for any personalty that might give them a clue as to the property's ownership. Hermione scoured the library, reviewing wizarding history books and books on wizarding ancestries, tomes akin to Nature's Nobility: a Wizarding Genealogy but written far more neutrally.
The topic once again surfaced over dessert that evening and various names were thrown around, like the Bones', the MacMillan's, and even Kingsley Shacklebolt himself. Finally, when it seemed as though everyone was just going around in circles, Molly called a halt to the discussion. They had two funerals to attend the next day she wanted everyone well rested.
Most of the family were up early the following morning. It was the day of the funerals and the best of the party were somber, while others were downright inconsolable. Everyone was gathered around the spacious dining room table, picking dolefully at their food and avoiding eye contact. Molly was bustling about, helping Affectueux make and serve breakfast – movement was her way of coping with grief.
"Owls have arrived for Masters and Mistresses," stated Forcedyme as he bounced into the room. He handed two envelopes to Mr. Weasley and two to Andromeda Tonks; each received one from the Ministry and one from Gringotts.
Mr. Weasley opened the Ministry letter first, "Well, it looks like 'The Benefactor' is at it again! This is from Kingsley. He says an anonymous donor has created two trust funds. One holds five million galleons and will pay for the funerals of all of the wizards, witches, and other magical creatures who died during the war, and the other holds 15 million galleons and will be used to set up an orphanage for all of the children left…"
'THUMP'
While Arthur was speaking, Molly had picked up the Gringotts letter, read it, and promptly fainted. Bill and Charlie rushed to their mother's aide. Bill pulled out his wand and whispered 'rennervate'. As Molly came to, Bill and Charlie helped her to a chair.
'THUD'
At the far side of the table, Andromeda had just read her Gringotts letter. Hermione and Fleur rushed to the aide of Andromeda as Ron picked up the letter and began to read.
"Ho-ly Shhhiittte!" Ron drawled quietly.
"Whatcha got there Ronniekins!" George reached over Ron's shoulder and snatched the letter from his hand.
"Ho-ly Shhhiittte!" George repeated in perfect harmony with Ron. Percy stood open-mouthed at George's side.
"Ronald! What does the letter say?" Hermione demanded from across the room. As she spoke, she noticed Fleur put her hand to her mouth and gasp as she read Andromeda's letter.
"Er, someone's left Mum an Dad fifty million galleons."
"WHAT?" came from every direction.
Fleur giggled as she spoke, "An zomeone, probably zat zame zomeone, haz left Aindroomeeda an Teddy ten miyon!"
"It's gotta be a joke! Is this a Zonko product? I thought we put them out of business!" George said as he examined the parchment front and back while holding it up to the light.
Just then, Neville Longbottom burst into the dining room. "We just got these letters from Gringotts…"
"We did too. How much did 'The Benefactor' give you?" George asked.
"Ten million to Gram and me, another ten to Luna and her father!" said Neville.
Bill looked disconcertedly at his father. "That's 80 million. Add to that the two trust funds…"
"One hundred million galleons," Arthur replied flatly as soft whistles could be heard around the room. "I don't like this. Something just doesn't seem right."
Bill replied, "Nor I. Listen, I have to go back to Gringotts to check in with the Goblins. They understand my situation but they're not the most patient of creatures. When I get there, I'll check to see if all of this is valid."
Turning to Neville, Bill said, "Write me a letter granting me access to your vault. I'll check whether your transfer is legitimate. Oh, and have the Lovegoods do the same. And, I'll get one from Andromeda as well." Neville nodded his understanding.
After a reflective pause, Bill said, "This kind of gold, the movement of it, it has to leave a paper trail. Multi-million galleon transfers are difficult to hide. I don't have access to the books per se, but I'm going to try and sneak a look at them and do some asking around when I get there. I've been to many of the vaults, even some of the high-security vaults. There a several families who are very well-heeled, but for the life of me I can't think of anyone with this kind of gold to throw around."
Returning to Salon-de-Provence, the family headed to their bedrooms to change out of their formal robes, after which they spread out amongst the villa to do their own thing. While changing in their bedroom, Bill raised with Fleur the topic of Ginny's various periods of intense reaction over the course of the day.
"It seems that any mention of Harry's name or anything even remotely related to Harry has her crumbling. She grew up with six…" Bill paused, reflecting on Fred, then continued, "six brothers. She's always been tough as nails. I would have never expected her to fall apart the way she has," Bill said.
"Oh Beel, you are zuch a man! Don't you zee eet? Geeny lovez 'arry, truly lovez 'eem! She ees 'eartbrokeen now zat 'ee eez gone." Fleur replied.
Bill's temper rose quickly in true Weasley fashion. "So she loves him but he doesn't love her?"
"I cannot speak for now, but I do know 'ee loved 'er before 'ee left weeth Ronald an' 'ermione." Fleur replied. Bill's face tightened considerably as he left to find Charlie.
Bill spent nearly a half hour to find the second eldest Weasley brother. Along the way he found Percy and George and elicited their help. During their search they discovered that Ginny with Teddy and Andromeda in Andromeda's bedroom, and that Arthur and Molly were sitting on the veranda at the back of the house. The trio eventually found Charlie playing exploding snap with Ron and Hermione in one of the studies. Bill entered the study first and closed the door behind Percy and George, casting locking and silencing charms. The exploding snap game came to an abrupt halt as its players saw their stern faces.
"We need to talk… about Ginny," Bill began as he settled on a leather sofa. Charlie sat back in his chair, folded his considerable arms, and looked to Ron and Hermione for a response.
"Sure, what's up?" Ron asked, not quite picking up on the tension that quickly pervaded the room. Hermione, always quicker on the uptake, looked at the brothers warily.
"As I'm sure you're aware by now, Ginny is an emotional train wreck. It's not like her at all. She's stronger than this. And it has something to do with that git friend of yours! Anything that has anything at all to do with him causes her to crash! What's he done to her?" Bill asked angrily.
"Look, I'm worried about her too, okay? I know it's not like her to be such a mess…" Ron started before Hermione interrupted.
"Bill, I know you're concerned about her. Everyone is. No one, least of all Ginny, expected Harry to disappear the way he did."
"Fleur said they loved each other, or at least that Ginny still loves Harry, and supposedly Harry loved her at one time. When did all of this happen?"
"Bill, calm down. Give me a chance to explain what I can, please?" Hermione paused and waited for some sign from the brothers that they were willing to listen before continuing.
"As you are all aware, Ginny had a crush on Harry for as long as anyone can remember. Well, during the summer before our sixth year, it seemed that Harry started taking a keen interest in Ginny as well."
Ron interrupted, "Wait, I think I would have noticed that my best mate had an interest in my sister that early on!"
Hermione shot Ron a glare and spat, "Well, two things Won-Won. First, you too busy to notice because you spent most of sixth year wrapped around Lavender Brown's finger, and second, as I said before, you have an emotional range of a teaspoon!"
Having sufficiently stifled Ron and with sniggers around the room, Hermione continued, "Because they were always dating someone else, they never could get together… until the spring of our sixth year. They finally connected and to be honest, I never saw two people more in love. I never saw two people happier, and for Harry at least, that's saying something. I've never seen him truly happy, except when he was with Ginny. But then we had to go on the Horcrux hunt and we had to leave her behind. I can tell you that leaving Ginny behind devastated Harry as much as it did Ginny. Most every night of the hunt, when Harry thought Ron and I weren't watching, he would pull out the Marauder's Map just to watch her dot, even if she were just sleeping in her bed in the dormitories."
"In hindsight you should have brought her along," Percy stated.
"That wasn't a realistic option," Ron replied, "Mum didn't want me and Hermione going on the hunt. Hell, she didn't want Harry going on the hunt, not that she knew what we were up to anyway. Do you really think she'd let Ginny go? Besides, Harry had to break it off with her to protect her."
"Fat lot of good that did her! Have her tell you some time what she went through at Hogwarts last year," Charlie barked.
Hermione picked up the charge from here. "You're right, Charlie, I don't know what she went through at Hogwarts, but whatever she went through, it would have been far worse for her if she were on the road with the three most wanted people in Britain." Charlie shot Hermione a skeptical look.
"Charlie, listen, if Voldemort or the Death Eaters knew Ginny and Harry were an item, they would have gone straight for her. They would have used her as a pawn, an expendable pawn, to lure Harry into a trap, just as Voldemort used Harry's relationship with Sirius to lure him to the Ministry of Magic two years ago. If that happened, Ginny would have been as good as dead.
"Besides, Ginny was still underage at the time. She still had the trace on her. If we brought her with us and she used even the slightest bit of magic we would have been discovered and captured. Our mission would have failed and Voldemort would have won.
"Harry knew and made it perfectly clear to Ron and me going in that the Horcrux hunt would very likely be a suicide mission. The three of us accepted the fact that we may very well die during the hunt. Even Dumbledore died because of a Horcrux. True, Snape performed the killing curse on Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was already dying because of the lethal curse Voldemort placed on Gaunt's ring.
Harry wanted to keep Ginny as far away from those perils as possible. And, because she wouldn't have been able to use magic while we were on the run, we would have had to protect both ourselves and Ginny, which would have disadvantaged us all. I know Harry would have died to protect her, but I think that's what scared Harry most – he didn't want to bring her on what we thought at the time was a suicide mission. She may have undergone severe torture at Hogwarts, but, in Harry's mind at least, she would have survived there. He had to break it off from her, no matter how much it hurt her, or him."
"That's all well and good, Hermione," said Bill, "but the war is over and Harry the Git should be here now. It doesn't sound like love to me. If you love someone, you want to spend every waking moment with that someone."
"I agree with Bill. Harry's just jerking her around. I feel bad for what the guy's gone through, but he's not going to take my sister down with him!" Charlie said forcefully.
Hermione sighed in exasperation, not only of the brothers' overprotective nature but of her own feeling of helplessness. "I'm sure he has his reasons."
Molly was helping Affectueux set dinner in the table the following Monday evening when Bill returned from Gringotts. An intrigued audience greeted his return. Even the Lovegoods and Longbottoms joined the crew at Salon-de-Provence to learn what Bill discovered.
"First, let me say 'thank you' for the letters. I checked out all of the vaults and all of the transfers appear to be legitimate."
Molly seemed almost giddy. She asked, "Are you serious?" to which Bill only nodded before continuing.
"So who gave us the gold?" asked Arthur.
"No idea, unfortunately. I looked at the books, as much as I could anyway, but with so many vaults shifting and stolen property being returned to their rightful owners, it's difficult to say. With the break-in and bank reconstruction, security's been increased ten-fold since before the war. Many of the vaults have been shuffled about, new curses have been applied, and Goblin escorts through the bank have doubled.
"But here's something. My review of the books turned up journal entries of massive asset flows to and from one particular account. It might not be anything. The account could just be sort of a 'clearing account' the Goblins are using to settle all of the transactions and movements of assets. Here's the thing, though. All of the information for the account in question is coded in some mixture of ancient runes and gobbledygook, and when I asked some of the Goblins about it, they were rankled that I even asked.
"If it's not a clearing account, if it's someone's personal account, then whoever it is has loads of pull with the Goblins, and I mean LOADS. Based on their reactions to my questions, I don't think I can push too hard. I don't want to lose my job."
Mr. Weasley nodded in agreement. "Well, on the bright side, we have the money to rebuild," he noted with an air of dissatisfaction.
Bill added an afterthought, "Oh, one more thing. Given the size of our accounts now, all of our vaults have been moved to higher security areas. Andromeda and Teddy are actually in Harry's old vault."
"Not surprising," said Arthur, "Kingsley told me before Remus and Tonks' funeral that the reason he gave back the Sword of Gryffindor was so the Goblins wouldn't make Harry, Ron and Hermione pay for the … er, let's just say they wouldn't have to endure any bodily repercussions. Apparently, between the three of you," he said, looking at Ron and Hermione, "there wasn't nearly enough gold to pay the cost of fixing the place back up. They took all of the gold the three of you had, which really means they took all of the gold that Harry had, seeing as the two of you didn't have much gold yourselves, plus the return of the sword to settle the debt. So, as Harry no longer has a need for a vault, they obviously must have given it away."
The sound of a fist slamming on the table caught everyone's attention. Molly's face was taught with fury as she rose from her seat. The rest of the Weasley family knew it was time to run for cover if at all possible.
"ARTHUR WEASLEY, ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THAT BOY, THE BOY I CONSIDER TO BE ONE OF MY SONS, THE BOY WHO SACRIFIED HIS LIFE FOR US, WHO SAVED OUR FAMILY MEMBERS I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES IN OUR LIVES, INCLUDING YOUR OWN I MIGHT ADD, THAT THAT BOY IS NOW… NOW… ALONE? HOMELESS? BROKE? NO FAMILY? NO FRIENDS? AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE COMMON DECENCY TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS?"
"Now, Mollywobbles…"
"DON'T YOU 'MOLLYWOBBLES' ME ARTHUR! HARRY COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL WE KNOW! WE HAVE WASTED THREE DAYS SINCE YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS! THREE DAYS WE COULD HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR HIM! BRINGING HIM HERE WHERE IT IS SAFE, WHERE HE CAN BE PROTECTED, WHERE HE CAN BE TAKEN CARE OF AND BE HELPED TO FORGET ABOUT THE ALL OF THE AWFUL THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM!
"YOU TAKE YOUR LAYABOUT SONS AND GO FIND HIM OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE HOMELESS YOURSELF! NOW!"
Arthur and sons were through the dining room doors before Molly had even had a chance to collapse back into her chair. Neville and Xenophilius looked at each other nervously before turning back to the women.
"We'll just…" said Xenophilius with his head bobbing in the direction of the door.
"Yes, Daddy. Perhaps you would be safer with the men for now," Luna replied.
Kingsley was preparing to leave the Ministry for dinner when the horde from Salon-de-Provence burst through the door to his office. He was startled at first, but then relaxed when he saw the predominantly redheaded contingent. The group began speaking almost in unison.
"Kingsley, you have to help us find Harry," said Arthur breathlessly.
"Mum's gone ballistic!" Percy cried.
"Over the top!" said Bill.
"Madder than a Hungarian Horntail that's had her egg stolen!" Charlie said.
"Always with the dragons," Neville muttered.
"I don't think even Fred and I ever got her this angry," said George.
"Not even when we stole Dad's car to get Harry my second year," Ron noted.
"Or when you and Harry crashed it into the Whomping Willow," George replied.
"Or when you and Fred got expelled from Hogwarts," Ron retorted.
"Hey, I'll have you know we left of our own free will, Ickle Ronniekins!" George corrected.
"BOYS! Now's not the time!" Mr. Weasley shouted.
Kingsley wearily settled into the chair behind his desk and waited for the explosion of voices to subside. "Okay, Arthur," then, looking around at the rest of the troupe, said, "and only Arthur, what's this about Harry?"
"Well, we were sitting around the table eating dinner. Bill had just gotten back from Gringotts after checking out whether the transfers of all that gold were legitimate – apparently they were by the way. He mentioned that Andromeda and Teddy had gotten Harry's old vault… with the break-in and new security measures, it appears that many vaults are being shifted around. So anyway, I said that that made sense, considering how Harry was left knutless as a result of the reparations… I… I'd forgotten to mention our conversation to Molly. Well, she hit the roof! She's seriously upset and angry that he's out there somewhere all alone, with no money, no family or friends, no place to live…"
Kingsley interjected, "Arthur, I believe I can put your mind at ease, somewhat at least. Do you see that owl over there?" Kingsley pointed to a rust-coloured ball of feathers roosting upon a little perch; it was not much larger than Arthur's fist.
"I received that owl from Harry the other day. Her name is 'Entusiasta'. Harry left some strict conditions for communicating with him. He will only accept letters delivered by Entusiasta. The owl is supposed to stay with me. I am to vet all correspondence, and forward anything of note using a little muggle spy trick by marking the communication with ink in a specific way that is supposed to look accidental. Oh, and he said I was not to hold my breath awaiting his response to any letters I send him. But, at least he's leaving some form of communication open."
"How do you know it's him?" Bill asked.
"After receiving his owl, I replied and asked Harry the same thing. He responded, writing 'The first question I asked you in your office the other morning was 'Who was she, Kingsley?''"
In response to several raised eyebrows, Kingsley explained, "The first thing he did after getting to my office was to ask who Alison Friel was."
"We'll fill you in later, Xeno," George said and Xenophilius nodded in response, though George noticed that Xenophilius was still confused.
"Okay, so we can pass letters to him through you, right? But how do we find him? Where is he? Kingsley, I think I can honestly say our collective bits might be hexed off if we can't provide Molly with some answers." Arthur supplied. Wincing and Arthur's comment, Kingsley decided to be straightforward.
"Here's all we know at the Ministry. Harry doesn't want to be found. And given how successful he and Ron and Hermione were last year with Voldemort and all of his Death Eaters and Snatchers looking for them, chances of finding him without his cooperation are slim. We can contact him by owl, but that's no guarantee he'll respond to anything we send him. The only other trail we've found that might, and I emphasize 'might', lead us to him is one non-Ministry portkey that we were able to uncover from the Department of Magical Transportation's data. The portkey departed several streets from St. Mungo's around noon on the day Harry left. It arrived somewhere near Godric's Hollow. We cannot be more accurate with the destination because wherever it arrived, it arrived through some exceptionally powerful wards."
"Godric's Hollow is where Harry's parents were from… maybe he's staying at his parents' old house!" Ron informed. Arthur and several others nodded while Kingsley shook his head.
"I thought that might be a remote possibility, though I doubted it at the time because it would have been a little too obvious. Too many wizards and witches know where his parents lived, and now the site is as popular as when they were first killed by Voldemort. No. He wants to avoid that kind of public exposure if at all possible. Hell, he doesn't want anything to do with the wizarding world when it comes right down to it. But I sent a couple of aurors over to check it out anyway. As I suspected, no one's there."
"So all we're left with is the possibility that Harry may or may not be somewhere near Godric's Hollow and that we can write and ask him to return, but there's no guarantee he'll even read our letters, let alone write back," Neville summed.
"Exactly. The only thing I can suggest for the moment is to write your best letters of appeal to him."
Shifting gears, Kingsley said, "On an unrelated matter, I've been able to arrange a series of portkeys that will take Ron and Hermione to Australia to look for her parents. They will leave from the Ministry on Friday evening at eight. They will be accompanied by two of the foreign aurors who are also from Australia and who were scheduled to rotate back there. They might be of some help with the search. Owl me and let me know whether you and Molly are okay with the arrangement."
A/N: I promise, only two more chapters for the foundations, then the action will start picking up!