HLN 20 New Beginnings
Once again, Ginny wanted to hold a Winter Ball, and she wanted to hold it in the Manor. This meant she had better consult with Mind-Healer Jones. She still wasn't sure why Harry continued to flinch if she happened to meet him at the Manor. It had been a whole year since their argument! She thought they were getting along wonderfully! Yes, Healer Jones had emphasized that their dissent was mostly her fault, though she didn't really agree. It takes two to make an argument! Harry had expressed his opinion by cowardly running away. It would have been healthier if he had stayed and screamed like a Weasley! They could have had it out and made up that very night if he had just accepted that he was wrong!
She understood that she had been rude, that she had hurt Harry by trying to kill those flowers the Summer before. She still didn't think they were important, but she was willing to accept that her opinion wasn't always the one that mattered. The very idea that other people could have different opinions than she did, and that it was OK, was still a new concept to her. She was still describing what had happened after the Ball last year as 'an argument', and still believed her opinion had been correct and therefor Harry had 'deserved it'. After all, her Mother had told her that young marrieds argued, and made up. It was long past time Harry saw this wasn't important.
They had such fun on Solstice night! It had been a wonderful party. She and Harry had danced and skated and played together as though nothing had ever happened – and then Harry had slipped into the Floo and been gone. Christmas had been much the same. They had all had a lovely day, the gifts had been good ones, the whole family had such fun together – and then Harry had slipped away when she wasn't looking. They had fun on their dates, skating and eating out, but Harry cheerfully escorted her home and left her at the door. She didn't even get a Good Night kiss!.
She really didn't know where he was staying. He had multiple houses. He was still using his work room at the Manor, because she sometimes met him in the foyer, but he wasn't sleeping in their suite. James slept on one side, and she sometimes slept on the other, so she knew Harry wasn't there. She hadn't bothered to go to his office or workroom. She didn't like those old ratty rooms. They made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't even use her study there. If she needed to write a letter, she did so in her lovely apartment. Her apartment wasn't large enough for a Ball, though she often had friends in for dinner.
No, she needed the Ballroom, she needed the huge Formal dining rooms, and the multiple cozy little rooms where people could sit and talk. She needed the Manor, HER Manor. She's just explain it to Healer Jones and have him help her. It was time they got past this and resumed their position in Society before someone else became the top couple.
Healer Jones listened to Ginny, trying to pull out of the confused spiel anything important. Finally, he said, "Listen and tell me if I have this right. You have met with me about ten times with Harry, and another half-dozen times by yourself. We have been discussing your experiences, being possessed and then fighting in the War, and losing your brother. You think this is plenty of time to sort out all of your differences, and it is time you move back into the same Manor with Harry and resume married life by hosting a huge Ball. A Ball similar to the one that you held there last January? You feel you have resolved any stress? You are sleeping just fine?"
She thought that over. "Of course! Well, I am not sleeping well, because I am sleeping alone! I need my husband near me! I lead a very busy life, and have a lot of responsibilities. I need my family to keep my life calm at home. My husband ought to be supporting me. Our Ball last year was the beginning of the main Social rounds, and was the best of the Season. It was a great success. We need to repeat it, set ourselves in everyone's minds as the social leaders."
He continued, "The difficulties Harry had, his rotten childhood, his War experiences, his choices in gardening as his hobby... do you think Harry has healed enough to take up married life again? How about the discord between the two of you? Does he care about social activities?"
"Harry always heals quickly. He's had plenty of time to sort himself out, and he can always keep visiting you if he likes. Your helping us learn these formal manners is only going to make life smoother. The Manor is waiting for us. The damage from our argument was cleaned up a long time ago. We have been going on dates, which have been a lot of fun! We had a wonderful party for Solstice, and a nice family Yule celebration. Harry is ready for parties and social activities. I will be talking to him about the gardens before he plans anything big this year. I want my lovely formal garden expanded, and there is plenty of room!"
Jones sighed. "I do not think Harry is ready to resume married life with you, yet. I will talk to him, but I doubt he feels ready for a big Ball in the same house. Now, this week we were going to talk about setting expectations based on others, instead of what you want. Let's use Harry as an example, since you were just talking about asking him several things. Each of the things you said you want requires Harry's input. What do you think he will say about a Ball? What can you offer?"
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The next week, when the Healer met with Harry, he passed on some of Ginny's thoughts. "Your wife is quite the social butterfly, and she wants me to ask you about holding another Ball at the Manor. She has several other requests, wants, and desires but I think they all add up to her wanting more of your attention. They can be separate topics. Do you have any thoughts about a Ball?"
"I've been avoiding being with her indoors. It's still a thing that makes me nervous. If I happen to meet her at the Manor I try to leave as quickly as possible. I'm still nervous in crowds. Ron's been good about escorting her to as many of the parties as he can. We all get many Invitations, so when we get the same ones he takes her. I still wind up expected to take her at least once a month. Ron and I usually manage to take her out to a fancy restaurant at least once a week. I own shares in several of her favorites, which makes it a lot easier to get tables! I take her somewhere nice when she is out of town with the Harpies, which she loves because it gets her 'seen' in exotic locations. I prefer our quiet dates, picnics and small family events. The Solstice party at the Burrow worked well. We had that lovely Tea for the Harpies at the Manors. Being outdoors helped, too.
Perhaps we could plan an outdoor Ball, under the stars and Moon? I'll talk to her about it when I pick up James this weekend. Potters do have a history of Balls, so we probably ought to do something. It's too bad the season is wrong for Garden Parties. I rather like those, because at least I get to visit some nice gardens! But, this will need to be indoors."
Harry and Ginny did talk that weekend, and Ginny was delighted when Harry agreed to another Ball. She even had a theme: New Beginnings. That was full of optimism, and the world was full of new activities in the Wizard World. Harry even had a special guest in mind, the current History Professor at Hogwarts was a popular author, and had recently published a new book. They'd have signed copies for all the guests! "Woad in the Woods, Boudicca" wasn't his most exciting title, but he was interesting. The children at Hogwarts all did well in his classes and scored high on the exams. He had taken most of the years since Binns had finally been sent on. He taught History in a first-person style, as though he was there and was showing it to the children.
His books based on historical personages were in much the same style, so the serious History Experts tended to downplay his work as 'unprofessional' though they had to admit that he did his research and he was always accurate. He did not always agree with them about details, which is the sort of thing Historians always argue about. His choice of where Camelot was, in his book about Arthur, was frequently disputed because there are multiple candidates.
Since they agreed on Professor Mearle, Harry suggested they invite other past and present Staff. Many were already regular guests, but it would be nice to give them some special recognition. Some of them also had written books, so he'd arrange for copies to be available.
The Charity they chose as the beneficiary (there had to be a reason) was the Scholarship Fund. The school was nearly self-supporting now, with the greenhouses providing fruit and vegetables year around as well as most of their own potion ingredients. The Loch offered all the Salmon and trout they needed, by trading fruit and cheese with the Merfolk. During the War many families had left Hogwarts as their 'default' Heir if their families died out. This had added greatly to the school endowments. Renting out the houses they inherited provided a steady income, and the farms provided not only enough meat and grains to feed the school, but also quite a bit for sale. Tuition was low! However, not all incoming students could afford the supplies and books. Thus, a Scholarship was available. Students on the scholarship, and many others who wanted to earn some pocket money, worked a few hours a week in the greenhouses under Sprout's supervision, or collected potion ingredients and magical supplies (Unicorn tail hair was often caught in brush) in the Forest with the Centaurs teaching them an informal woodcraft.
Ginny consulted the calendars for Game dates and so on, and settled on Saturday, January 15 for the Ball. She had a game on the 14th, and would be off for two days. Hogwarts went back to school on Jan 3, but the children could be supervised in snow sports by the Aides and Apprentices. They wouldn't have much homework that early in the term.
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Harry sat at his favorite desk once more, going over his books. It was a constant job, but diverse. Dragon Brooms was of course one of his biggest chores, followed quickly by Sleekeasy Hair and Bodyworks. That had been his Grandfather's pet business, which had almost gone under when his Grandfather was killed only a year before James was. The Goblins had kept them afloat, but they had not grown much. Now both were thriving, and provided business for Black Transportation. Teddy was far too young to manage that, though Harry was making sure he met the staff. Harry also had half a dozen small businesses that he either owned outright (like the silkworms in Australia) or had serious shares in: restaurants, WWW, both the Prophet and the Quibbler, and the Knights Quidditch stadium. He knew it was rumored that he owned most of Knock Turn Alley, but that wasn't true.
He received perfectly ordinary salaries from most of these which were paid into his personal account. Nominal, really, and he paid taxes on it. All together the sum was not remarkable, though it was surely higher than most men his age earned. Most of the profits from his businesses went right back into them, funding huge R&D. But, he also received profits from his shares in other businesses; stocks, interest on loans, quarterly rentals, and interest on family funds he hadn't managed to invest yet. Each house had its' own vault and drawing account. Ginny had her spending account. She also had her own vault from the Harpy salary, but Harry didn't worry about that one. The Goblins made sure it was included in the annual taxes.
This made quite a pile of ledgers! Harry didn't need to total them – the Goblins took care of taxes, both business and personal. He did keep an eye on the balances in each, keeping them firmly 'in the black'. Unlike some, he intended that each should support itself, so each house had its designated source of funds and could stand alone. While he didn't mind using savings to start or buy a business, he did not pool all profits and losses. Neither would he use underhanded methods to cut losses. He would not transfer assets out of a struggling business, nor load debts on one to allow it to go bankrupt.
Today was his monthly visit with his Accountant at Gringotts, so he gathered up the ledgers and shrunk the pile. He kept duplicate file in his computer, which made it easy to search for specific entries..
Today he stopped dead when he entered Slashkilter's office. Instead of the expected pile of ledgers on the desk, there was only one ledger and one folder. If they were going to spend the entire session on one, there must be a real problem! He wondered what he had missed? He rather gingerly moved forward and sat in his chair.
Slashkilter looked at him, and sighed. "You aren't going to like this. You have inherited another legacy."
"Not again? I thought the paperwork from the War was done?"
"The Ministry is as slow as ever. The big things are done but paperwork almost has to be hand-carried through. This is more that you are the default Heir, and you have been since before you were born, even before your parents married. The Paterfamilias of the family has been running the family business but never changed his Heir, who did die on the Light side in the War so the Ministry could not confiscate his assets, but neither did it expedite Probate. Now the Paterfamilias has died, so the Heir Will came into play. That Will originally included only a small personal Vault and a mundane house. Now it includes a Family Trust by default. That Will designated everything to Lily Evans or her Heir, with strong preference for a female if there is a choice. You don't have to do anything about it except be Proxy for the Vote if you want to maintain the Trust in hope of a future female Heir."
"Well, that's different! I have two Lordships entailed for males, and two that don't care. I have already designated that I am holding Black for Teddy. Now I guess I'll be Proxy for another? Can you continue to manage it or do you need me to do something for the accounts?"
"We have been and can continue. The business is very profitable and in good shape. There are a few elves that really need support from a Wizard, and several properties to inspect. We strongly suggest one for sale – we have a good offer for it from the local Council that wants to put up a new row of housing. That house is in poor repair and was never modernized at all. It would cost quite a bit to fix it."
"Sounds good. OK, let's have a look at the paperwork. Give me the proper form for the Wizagamot Proxy. I'll go by the Ministry and file it after this."
Slashkilter handed him two envelopes. "This is the form for the Ministry and you need to sign it. The second is for your records." Then he began giving Harry a quick run-through the Trust business books."
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On Tuesday Jan 5, Harry and Ginny met with Mind Haler Jones for their regular joint session. Today they were going over formal invitations. These didn't actually apply to the current Ball plans, since they were officially 'selling' tickets for the fundraiser. Ginny had issued the announcements right after Christmas, as soon as she had been able to confirm their special guests (who would not pay for tickets). Harry had ordered the books, which Professor Mearle was already signing and the elves were wrapping.
"So, how are the plans going for the Ball? Ginny?"
"Oh, I am having so much fun! While we can't actually have it out-of-doors, we are using a moon and stars decoration theme. Harry has promised to mirror the night sky on the ceilings the way Hogwarts does!"
"Harry, that's pretty powerful magic! I know you are powerful, but can you do that without wearing yourself out?"
"I will be fine. I'm not actually duplicating the Hogwarts ceiling enchantments. I'm using a Planetarium illusion, and it's only for one night. Even if it's snowing outside, my ceiling will show the stars."
"Interesting! What else do you have planned?"
"I'm moving back into the Manor this weekend so I will have my things where I will want them. Since I will be away for the game next week, I'll leave baby James with my mother. The elves can take care of him there easily enough, and he won't be disturbed by the noise here. I've bought my dress and shoes. I've arranged for my favorite Spa to send staff to help our house guests prepare for the Ball on Saturday afternoon."
"I've arranged for the Potter Prize, and small gifts for the special guests, from the same jeweler I used before. Cellini does beautiful work! The Goblins located a couple more 'lost' Prizes my Great-Grandfather had given out, and I have added them to the cases for display. I have invited all of the Professors to use Guest rooms at the Manor for the weekend, and most have accepted so it will be a house party. The elves are ecstatic to have so much company planned! We've put the women on one floor, and the men on another so the Spa staff can set up stations in the solars.. We'll have a quiet Lunch on Saturday, and a buffet Brunch on Sunday. I think everything is arranged."
"Harry, somehow you don't seem excited about the Ball? Is anything wrong?"
"Oh, the Ball is fine. I had the Goblins set up an account for it, including collecting the Scholarship fund donations. I don't think there is anything more for me to do. I do have something else on my mind. We can talk about that next week, if you like."
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The next week, Jones did not forget. "What has you concerned?"
"Well, you know that when I turned 17 I was shocked to find out I was Lord Potter? Dumbledore had kept that information from me, even that I was emancipated by the Tri-Wizard declaring me an Adult at that time? He didn't expect me to survive, so he didn't think I needed to be bothered by the information. That's why I need the training in Manners now! I inherited a LOT. I am Lord Slytherin by Conquest, Lords Potter and Peverel through my father James, and Lord Black because Sirius adopted me as his Heir. There were also a great many smaller bequests from families that had no Heirs left after the first War, or small mementos of thanks from ones that did, and quite a few from the Second in the same assortment.
I have already made my Will, and I have designated Teddy Lupin as Heir Black. He's my Ward, and only 6, so I am Proxy and Trustee for him. Baby James CAN inherit the rest, even if I never have another child. I'm already making notes of things I need him to know – if anything happens to me at least he'll have my notes!
Now I discovered I am Proxy and Trustee for another Estate and Lordship. Actually, I could claim this one myself, but the Goblins explained I can leave it in Trust for a future female Heir. It was actually left to my Mother, the Will made when she was 17, and it states Lily or her Heir with preference for a female. He died during the Battle of Hogwarts. He knew she was dead, but he never changed it. The Ministry couldn't claim his Estate because he died on the Light side, though they claimed plenty of DE effects. His Will is one that wasn't rushed through because it wasn't much – until his Grandfather died recently, leaving him the family business and another Lordship. The two were packaged together to go through Probate."
"So, now you have 5? That is a worrying responsibility! I am just curious. Who left this to you?"
"I already filed the Proxy Papers in the Ministry, so the niffler is loose. I expect some fireworks! It is..."
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On Friday the 14th Ginny had a Harpies game in France, so the team left on the 12th. This way they could have a morning practice in the French stadium, and even get in a little shopping and a nice dinner the night before the game. Harry took Ginny to the Trompe-l'œil , a restaurant the mundanes thought was a mural on a downtown wall. Like Platform 9 ¾, no one noticed magicals walking in and out of the doorways. The French used this illusion often. Harry thought this could be used more in Britain.
The game began early on the Friday morning, which turned out to be a good thing. The teams were well-matched, and both had excellent Relief squads. The score stayed very close all day, with first one team and then the other pulling ahead. It was obvious this game would be decided by the Snitch, which remained elusive! Neither primary Seeker, nor their Relief, spotted so much as a glint. Ginny, in Relief of a Chaser, finally thought she caught a glimpse against an evening light as they came on. Back on the bench, she continued to scan, searching possible patterns in her mind. She had done her work – she had to be right! That glimpse was all she had to work with, but it did fit one edge of a possible pattern. When she was called to give the Seeker a break, she left a note on her seat for the primary to think about. In the air she prayed she was right, and pushed herself into the distant and empty side of the stadium, far from the current action. The opposing Seeker watched her, but when she continued to spiral on the far side turned back to check the play where her team had just scored. Ginny was off in a flash – the announcer and much of the crowd spotted her and roared! The other Seeker spun and pursued, still not seeing the Snitch but too far behind to catch up. Ginny dove to the ground – and scooped up the shimmer with a bit of grass!
Ginny was mobbed, first by her teammates and trainers, and then by the Press. She was nearly blinded with flashes, hovering above her team holding the Snitch high! Harry produced a huge bouquet of white roses for each of them. It made a beautiful picture. The team partied all night,only going home with the first rays of Dawn in the sky. Ginny showered and slipped into bed for a few hours of rest before lunch and an afternoon of pampering. She did notice that Harry was not on the other side of the room, but he had left the party early and was probably already downstairs greeting guests. However, she was more than satisfied. She was home, in her own bed, and about to have a huge party. All was well in her mind.
