Chapter Five
Breakfast was much more relaxed than Harry thought it would be given the events of the previous night. Genevieve made French toast while Sirius and Rebecca wondered what was taking Dumbledore so long to answer their letter. Veronica wasn't there but Rebecca had explained that when Sirius asked.
"This isn't exactly her best time of day is it? We can fill her in when the sun goes down." Genevieve looked up from her cooking and scrutinized Rebecca closely.
"That's not what you're wearing today."
"What wrong with this." Rebecca pointed to her baggy grey sweater and jeans.
"Oh, there's someone dropping by you should meet. Go change into your green sweater."
"But that's.wait a second. We're on the verge of crisis and you're playing matchmaker. Unbelievable."
"But you'll really like this one." Genevieve pleaded while putting two more slices of French toast on Harry's plate.
"You know perfectly well why I won't." Rebecca was resolute. "Besides these clothes are comfy."
"But he's just your type." The emphasis placed on the last two words caught Rebecca's attention.
"My type, as in..." Rebecca ran from the table down the hall nearly squealing. Genevieve looked quite pleased with herself.
"Do you girls ever finish your sentences?" Sirius wanted to know what was going on, and as this was not the first time pandemonium had erupted based on an incomplete sentence, he called her to task on it. Genevieve merely smiled, refilled his plate and replied,
"We don't have to."
Rebecca returned to the room wearing a green sweater and it was clear why this was preferable to her last ensemble. It hugged her form in just the right places and gave a flattering show of her figure.
"Are you going to tell us who this mystery man is?" Sirius inquired.
"Just wait, and don't do anything stupid or embarrassing." Genevieve replied poking him in the chest with the spatula. Sirius gave her the 'who me, but I'm so innocent' look which no one believed for a second.
"So who are you going to set Veronica up with?" Sirius asked taking another bite of breakfast.
"No one. I wouldn't unleash her on a dog I didn't like not to mention let a friend of mine get within one mile of her if they had such intentions." Genevieve said it with such passion that the others nearly fell off their chairs giggling.
They ate in relative silence until Harry began whispering to Rebecca, making her laugh.
"What is so secretive and funny over there?" Sirius asked, diverting his attention from the dwindling mound on his plate. Harry and Rebecca merely laughed louder until Genevieve looked up.
"You two are up to something, don't keep us in suspense. We could all use a good tension breaker right now." Rebecca suddenly became very interested in her breakfast, leaving Harry to explain.
"I-I was just wondering how on earth your ancestors, a wizard and a boggart, got together in the first place. You didn't exactly offer a lot of details last year and I have to admit it lends itself to some disturbingly funny images. Rebecca was just trying to explain it to me."
Sirius was intrigued while Genevieve stifled a giggle before taking on a scandalized demeanor.
"Well, where are your minds this morning? Go on Rebecca, why don't you relate the story for Sirius' benefit as well." Genevieve looked smug, but Rebecca was flustered. She apparently hadn't counted on telling the story out loud, in broad daylight and in front of a grown man.
"Uh, it was several generations ago, wasn't it Genevieve?" She tried to shove the story into her friend's court, but was unsuccessful.
"I told you the story years ago, it's your turn to tell them" smirked Genevieve.
"The wizards name was Herloft. He was a recluse in Scotland." Now that she was condemned to tell the story, Rebecca began to enjoy it. Fixing Harry and Sirius with a solemn stare while taking the whispered tone usually reserved for ghost stories she continued.
"He was the greatest potion brewer in the country, but refused to meet with another soul because he was so shy. Herloft would take orders for potions only by owl and lived on a remote parcel of land where he could roam for miles gathering herbs without encountering another human being. One evening, after a grueling day brewing potions, he heard a loud thumping noise coming from his closet. The closer he got, the louder it became. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. He recognized the situation from a book he had read. So, knowing it was a boggart in the closet he drew his wand in preparation for the Riddikulus charm to banish the creature. He crept ever closer until his hand reached out and opened the latch. Slowly a shimmering mist slithered out of the dark recess and took the form of his worst fear."
Rebecca paused, building the suspense, to sneak a glance at Genevieve just to make sure she was alright. Genevieve met her eyes with a nod and a smirk, so Rebecca continued dramatically. "Bam! Herloft fell to the floor shivering in fear for in his bedroom stood the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. For that is what this hermit feared most."
Harry and Sirius hollered with mirth at the imagery the overly theatric storytelling provided. "He instantly loved her, but was too afraid to say anything. So, Herloft worked day and night for months on a potion for the boggart woman he called Angel, all the while visiting her. Always from a distance he maintained his healthy fear of her, then moving closer only when he and the woman seemed comfortable with the proximity. When the fruity orange potion was finished and she drank, it allowed her the freedom to choose the form she would take. It didn't take long to decide to stay near the man whom she had grown to love."
"Aah, that is sweet." Sirius sighed. "And they lived happily ever after?" Genevieve took over the narrative after that.
"No. Two weeks later her new extended family and all the neighbors decided to visit for the wedding, fifty two people in all. Angel wanted to hi-tail it out of there or turn into a monster and eat them all, it was too overwhelming and the orange potion wasn't enough. So, he brewed a red one, the Stabilizing Solution that forced her to stay in one shape for extended periods of time while it ebbed away at her energies. After all, boggarts are very fragile creatures. Eventually they made it through that ordeal and regained their withdrawn lifestyle. Then, they lived happily ever after."
Sirius and Harry clapped as the narrative came to a close while Rebecca took a bow and Genevieve curtseyed briefly before returning to her cooking.
"Hello." A tentative voice called into the house.
"We're in the kitchen, come on in Remus." Genevieve invited, setting another plate deliberately next to Rebecca. Sirius stood quickly and shook hands with his old friend when he came in.
"Remus, I believe you know young Mr. Potter." Genevieve played hostess very well as she led Remus Lupin around the room and next to Rebecca. "And this is my friend from the states, Rebecca Marsh. Why don't you sit here and have breakfast. You two have so much in common." She piled his plate full of French toast to ensure he'd stay.
"Why don't you tell us all that you've been doing in Hogsmeade?" Sirius laughed as his friend eagerly stuffed his face between snippets of his experience with the Giants. It had obviously been a long time since Remus had eaten so well.
"What is Dumbledore doing about that?" Genevieve absently kept the chit- chat going.
"You can ask him yourself. He was at the Weasely's this morning and should be along any time now."
Sure enough, just after the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley came in.
"I'd like you all to come to Hogwarts for the rest of the summer. We can make that our command center and continue planning from there." Dumbledore got right to the point as usual. "That will also cut down on any chances of our plans being discovered and will be safer all around. Madame Pince and the rest of the teachers are scouring the library searching for a way to deactivate or block the watches powers, but until then we'll need strength in numbers." His blue eyes scanned the group who all nodded, understanding this necessity. "Very well. I need to discuss this with a few of my colleges and will meet you there." Professor Dumbledore apparated away, leaving the occupants of the room to stare blankly at each other through the space he'd once occupied.
"You heard the man, it's time to go." Sirius took charge.
Harry repacked his trunk and brought it into the entryway. He set it by a wooden box and turned to go into the kitchen before realizing the box was a coffin. Mr. Weasley came in at that moment holding the jewel encrusted self-filling chest Genevieve had given him last summer.
"Where's Genevieve?" he asked Harry who could only shrug.
"Mr. Weasley, can Ron come too?"
"Yes, he, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny will meet us on the platform. The twins are already in Hogsmeade."
"Mr. Weasely, how good of you to return this," Genevieve said when she came into the room. "It may actually come in handy this time." She caused it to disappear into the sack slung over her shoulders.
"I was meaning to ask you," Mr. Weasley began pointing to the box but she shook her head.
"As much as I would love to tell you about it, now is not exactly the time." She raised her palm over the coffin, causing it to hover, took the handle and dragged it roughly behind her.
"What is going on out there?" A sharp voice from the box startled Mr. Weasely.
"We're going to Hogwarts Nica. Just sit tight, it's a long ride." Genevieve jerked the coffin harder than needed toward the car with Harry right behind her carrying his own trunk.
"How long?"
"What does it matter, you're supposed to be asleep in there."
"Between the time change and you jerking me around it's hard to sleep."
"Tough." Genevieve put the coffin then Harry's luggage in Sirius' magically expanded trunk then slammed the door down. Harry made a mental note never to get on Genevieve's bad side. Sirius, Remus and Rebecca came out soon afterward and they all piled in the car, though through careful orchestration on Genevieve's part Remus and Rebecca ended up alone in the back seat.
The train ride from platform 9 ¾ was dissimilar from the same journey when taken on September first in several key ways. First, the Hogwarts express was nearly empty. Second, the food cart was stocked with healthy sandwiches and salads instead of candy. And third, but most importantly, no Hermione. The adults (and the casket) spread themselves in adjoining compartments, each wanting time alone to think or sleep but Harry, Ron and Ginny were too wound up. They played several rounds of exploding snap and talked of each quidditch team's chances for the world cup. Harry and Ron, on several occasions instinctively turned to where they thought Hermione was to ask her a question only to feel stupid for having done so.
Genevieve was in the compartment across the hall from them writing in a book until Mr. Weasley and Sirius knocked on her door. Harry, Ron and Ginny quieted to hear what was going on.
"May we come in?"
"Sure thing, just let me finish up here." Her ball point pen glided over a few more lines on the page before she put it down. "What may I do for you?"
"Sirius was trying to explain to me what the trunk was, but couldn't. Would you mind?"
"Alright. But first let's get the whole audience into one cabin. I don't want to have to raise my voice." Genevieve looked straight at Ron who blushed. Mr. Weasley was confused until he turned to see three faces straining in their direction. Ron, Harry and Ginny came in, embarrassed but glad to be included.
"It's pretty simple dad." Ron tried to sound knowledgeable and show off for his father. "The box refills itself with money every full moon so long as it's never completely empty."
"Close, but you have been reading too many fairy tales Ron. That box is the bane of my existence."
"How can an endless supply of money be bad?" Ginny asked.
"In more ways than you think Miss Weasley, if that's what it actually did. Let me start my story at the very beginning. My ancestors used to be in the employ of a very powerful witch named Portia. From all accounts she was a kind and generous woman but she was concerned about others who were not. She would constantly disguise herself as a beggar and approach people asking for food or shelter. Those who gave it to her found themselves richly rewarded. Those who didn't she cursed until they learned better. You know the legend of Beauty and the Beast, right?" The cabin's occupants nodded and she continued.
"That was her handiwork, changing the prince into an ugly monster. Interesting concept, but it didn't always work. My mother once told me that a lot of people she similarly cursed died before they found anyone willing to see through the appearance, but that's another story completely. After one of these excursions she came home to find my ancestors and a group of wood elves gambling, a past time she strongly disapproved of. So she conjured each member of the gambling ring a present.
"To one she gave a bowl that would never be empty of porridge, other objects held the ability to grant wishes. One even got a goose that laid golden eggs, and my ancestors got the chest. But each object held crucial stipulations. None of them could be used by the person who owned them, nor could their contents be used for overtly gluttonous and greedy desires without serious consequences. They also can't be given away permanently, trust me I tried and it only found its way home. So, back then they had to learn to be as kind and generous as she was, loaning out the use of these objects to those they deemed worthy with the hope that the person would return the favor and take care of them. The story goes that the elf who got the porridge bowl died of hunger, but his children are doing better with it."
"Why not just remove the last coin and deactivate it?" Harry proposed.
"That would be nigh unto scandalous. First of all, I've gotten used to helping people. Money from the box helped pay for the building in Colorado that allows muggle friends of mine to live nearly rent free to get back on their feet. We created a community where people help and protect and work for one another in that building. I wouldn't jeopardize that for the world. Second of all, if the last coin were to be removed the money would start coming from me instead of Portia's old estate."
"But I thought." Ron started but Genevieve interrupted.
"You thought the coins just magically appeared, common mistake but think about it this way. There is a law of conservation of matter in science that says 'matter cannot be created or destroyed'. While magic sometimes bends the rules of science, it is still subject to it. Money can't be created with a flick of the wand, but it can be withdrawn from an account at Gringotts and appear in this chest with the full moon."
"I had no idea such things were possible." Mr. Weasely commented.
"Very few people know what magic can do when it is tapped properly. While it takes a lot more work and energy, the outcomes are astounding."
"Like that bit of levitating you did without a wand back at the cabin?" Mr. Weasely was enchanted.
"Precisely. But even with all the research, study and practice I have done, what I realize most is how little I actually know." A long silence followed which Ron finally broke.
"You should teach this stuff at Hogwarts." This sparked Mr. Weasley's idea.
"We could make you the guest speaker at the ministry symposium next spring." Genevieve shook her head violently.
"Me, teach? Yeah right. You may as well have a vampire lecture to a group of cross bearing preachers eating garlic bread. It's not going to happen."
"But you know so much others can benefit from and would be a great teacher." Mr. Weasley continued undaunted.
"For an extended period of time, a group of eight to ten friends is my limit". Genevieve explained. Sirius saw that Mr. Weasley wasn't catching on so intervened.
"Masses of people don't sit well with her boggart tendencies. No amount of logic can change her mind and for once it's not because she is being stubborn." He flashed Genevieve a good-natured smile but she could not decide if she should be grateful for the bale out or insulted. Harry changed the subject before she could.
"While you are in true confessions mode where did you get that bag? It's always empty, but produces what you need on demand. Doesn't that break the conservation law?"
"That is harder, much harder to explain." Genevieve searched for words but didn't seem to find the ones she was looking for, so proceeded hesitantly. "I don't think there is a word in English for how it was made. Boggarts would call it Kozza, but the best that translates as is 'ultimate gift'. When I figure out how to explain it I'll let you know. The only way to describe how it works is inaccurate and overly simplistic at best. Imagine the perfect blending of expanding, summoning and personal recognition charms. Nothing comes out of here that hasn't been put in before hand. An item is then summoned when needed. I'm afraid that will have to do for now."
"I didn't know Boggarts had a language of their own." Ron was amazed but Genevieve awkwardly shifted in her seat. Sirius saw this and ushered every one out, the now familiar sound of her potion bottle being opened popped their ear drums as they left
Breakfast was much more relaxed than Harry thought it would be given the events of the previous night. Genevieve made French toast while Sirius and Rebecca wondered what was taking Dumbledore so long to answer their letter. Veronica wasn't there but Rebecca had explained that when Sirius asked.
"This isn't exactly her best time of day is it? We can fill her in when the sun goes down." Genevieve looked up from her cooking and scrutinized Rebecca closely.
"That's not what you're wearing today."
"What wrong with this." Rebecca pointed to her baggy grey sweater and jeans.
"Oh, there's someone dropping by you should meet. Go change into your green sweater."
"But that's.wait a second. We're on the verge of crisis and you're playing matchmaker. Unbelievable."
"But you'll really like this one." Genevieve pleaded while putting two more slices of French toast on Harry's plate.
"You know perfectly well why I won't." Rebecca was resolute. "Besides these clothes are comfy."
"But he's just your type." The emphasis placed on the last two words caught Rebecca's attention.
"My type, as in..." Rebecca ran from the table down the hall nearly squealing. Genevieve looked quite pleased with herself.
"Do you girls ever finish your sentences?" Sirius wanted to know what was going on, and as this was not the first time pandemonium had erupted based on an incomplete sentence, he called her to task on it. Genevieve merely smiled, refilled his plate and replied,
"We don't have to."
Rebecca returned to the room wearing a green sweater and it was clear why this was preferable to her last ensemble. It hugged her form in just the right places and gave a flattering show of her figure.
"Are you going to tell us who this mystery man is?" Sirius inquired.
"Just wait, and don't do anything stupid or embarrassing." Genevieve replied poking him in the chest with the spatula. Sirius gave her the 'who me, but I'm so innocent' look which no one believed for a second.
"So who are you going to set Veronica up with?" Sirius asked taking another bite of breakfast.
"No one. I wouldn't unleash her on a dog I didn't like not to mention let a friend of mine get within one mile of her if they had such intentions." Genevieve said it with such passion that the others nearly fell off their chairs giggling.
They ate in relative silence until Harry began whispering to Rebecca, making her laugh.
"What is so secretive and funny over there?" Sirius asked, diverting his attention from the dwindling mound on his plate. Harry and Rebecca merely laughed louder until Genevieve looked up.
"You two are up to something, don't keep us in suspense. We could all use a good tension breaker right now." Rebecca suddenly became very interested in her breakfast, leaving Harry to explain.
"I-I was just wondering how on earth your ancestors, a wizard and a boggart, got together in the first place. You didn't exactly offer a lot of details last year and I have to admit it lends itself to some disturbingly funny images. Rebecca was just trying to explain it to me."
Sirius was intrigued while Genevieve stifled a giggle before taking on a scandalized demeanor.
"Well, where are your minds this morning? Go on Rebecca, why don't you relate the story for Sirius' benefit as well." Genevieve looked smug, but Rebecca was flustered. She apparently hadn't counted on telling the story out loud, in broad daylight and in front of a grown man.
"Uh, it was several generations ago, wasn't it Genevieve?" She tried to shove the story into her friend's court, but was unsuccessful.
"I told you the story years ago, it's your turn to tell them" smirked Genevieve.
"The wizards name was Herloft. He was a recluse in Scotland." Now that she was condemned to tell the story, Rebecca began to enjoy it. Fixing Harry and Sirius with a solemn stare while taking the whispered tone usually reserved for ghost stories she continued.
"He was the greatest potion brewer in the country, but refused to meet with another soul because he was so shy. Herloft would take orders for potions only by owl and lived on a remote parcel of land where he could roam for miles gathering herbs without encountering another human being. One evening, after a grueling day brewing potions, he heard a loud thumping noise coming from his closet. The closer he got, the louder it became. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. He recognized the situation from a book he had read. So, knowing it was a boggart in the closet he drew his wand in preparation for the Riddikulus charm to banish the creature. He crept ever closer until his hand reached out and opened the latch. Slowly a shimmering mist slithered out of the dark recess and took the form of his worst fear."
Rebecca paused, building the suspense, to sneak a glance at Genevieve just to make sure she was alright. Genevieve met her eyes with a nod and a smirk, so Rebecca continued dramatically. "Bam! Herloft fell to the floor shivering in fear for in his bedroom stood the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. For that is what this hermit feared most."
Harry and Sirius hollered with mirth at the imagery the overly theatric storytelling provided. "He instantly loved her, but was too afraid to say anything. So, Herloft worked day and night for months on a potion for the boggart woman he called Angel, all the while visiting her. Always from a distance he maintained his healthy fear of her, then moving closer only when he and the woman seemed comfortable with the proximity. When the fruity orange potion was finished and she drank, it allowed her the freedom to choose the form she would take. It didn't take long to decide to stay near the man whom she had grown to love."
"Aah, that is sweet." Sirius sighed. "And they lived happily ever after?" Genevieve took over the narrative after that.
"No. Two weeks later her new extended family and all the neighbors decided to visit for the wedding, fifty two people in all. Angel wanted to hi-tail it out of there or turn into a monster and eat them all, it was too overwhelming and the orange potion wasn't enough. So, he brewed a red one, the Stabilizing Solution that forced her to stay in one shape for extended periods of time while it ebbed away at her energies. After all, boggarts are very fragile creatures. Eventually they made it through that ordeal and regained their withdrawn lifestyle. Then, they lived happily ever after."
Sirius and Harry clapped as the narrative came to a close while Rebecca took a bow and Genevieve curtseyed briefly before returning to her cooking.
"Hello." A tentative voice called into the house.
"We're in the kitchen, come on in Remus." Genevieve invited, setting another plate deliberately next to Rebecca. Sirius stood quickly and shook hands with his old friend when he came in.
"Remus, I believe you know young Mr. Potter." Genevieve played hostess very well as she led Remus Lupin around the room and next to Rebecca. "And this is my friend from the states, Rebecca Marsh. Why don't you sit here and have breakfast. You two have so much in common." She piled his plate full of French toast to ensure he'd stay.
"Why don't you tell us all that you've been doing in Hogsmeade?" Sirius laughed as his friend eagerly stuffed his face between snippets of his experience with the Giants. It had obviously been a long time since Remus had eaten so well.
"What is Dumbledore doing about that?" Genevieve absently kept the chit- chat going.
"You can ask him yourself. He was at the Weasely's this morning and should be along any time now."
Sure enough, just after the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley came in.
"I'd like you all to come to Hogwarts for the rest of the summer. We can make that our command center and continue planning from there." Dumbledore got right to the point as usual. "That will also cut down on any chances of our plans being discovered and will be safer all around. Madame Pince and the rest of the teachers are scouring the library searching for a way to deactivate or block the watches powers, but until then we'll need strength in numbers." His blue eyes scanned the group who all nodded, understanding this necessity. "Very well. I need to discuss this with a few of my colleges and will meet you there." Professor Dumbledore apparated away, leaving the occupants of the room to stare blankly at each other through the space he'd once occupied.
"You heard the man, it's time to go." Sirius took charge.
Harry repacked his trunk and brought it into the entryway. He set it by a wooden box and turned to go into the kitchen before realizing the box was a coffin. Mr. Weasley came in at that moment holding the jewel encrusted self-filling chest Genevieve had given him last summer.
"Where's Genevieve?" he asked Harry who could only shrug.
"Mr. Weasley, can Ron come too?"
"Yes, he, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny will meet us on the platform. The twins are already in Hogsmeade."
"Mr. Weasely, how good of you to return this," Genevieve said when she came into the room. "It may actually come in handy this time." She caused it to disappear into the sack slung over her shoulders.
"I was meaning to ask you," Mr. Weasley began pointing to the box but she shook her head.
"As much as I would love to tell you about it, now is not exactly the time." She raised her palm over the coffin, causing it to hover, took the handle and dragged it roughly behind her.
"What is going on out there?" A sharp voice from the box startled Mr. Weasely.
"We're going to Hogwarts Nica. Just sit tight, it's a long ride." Genevieve jerked the coffin harder than needed toward the car with Harry right behind her carrying his own trunk.
"How long?"
"What does it matter, you're supposed to be asleep in there."
"Between the time change and you jerking me around it's hard to sleep."
"Tough." Genevieve put the coffin then Harry's luggage in Sirius' magically expanded trunk then slammed the door down. Harry made a mental note never to get on Genevieve's bad side. Sirius, Remus and Rebecca came out soon afterward and they all piled in the car, though through careful orchestration on Genevieve's part Remus and Rebecca ended up alone in the back seat.
The train ride from platform 9 ¾ was dissimilar from the same journey when taken on September first in several key ways. First, the Hogwarts express was nearly empty. Second, the food cart was stocked with healthy sandwiches and salads instead of candy. And third, but most importantly, no Hermione. The adults (and the casket) spread themselves in adjoining compartments, each wanting time alone to think or sleep but Harry, Ron and Ginny were too wound up. They played several rounds of exploding snap and talked of each quidditch team's chances for the world cup. Harry and Ron, on several occasions instinctively turned to where they thought Hermione was to ask her a question only to feel stupid for having done so.
Genevieve was in the compartment across the hall from them writing in a book until Mr. Weasley and Sirius knocked on her door. Harry, Ron and Ginny quieted to hear what was going on.
"May we come in?"
"Sure thing, just let me finish up here." Her ball point pen glided over a few more lines on the page before she put it down. "What may I do for you?"
"Sirius was trying to explain to me what the trunk was, but couldn't. Would you mind?"
"Alright. But first let's get the whole audience into one cabin. I don't want to have to raise my voice." Genevieve looked straight at Ron who blushed. Mr. Weasley was confused until he turned to see three faces straining in their direction. Ron, Harry and Ginny came in, embarrassed but glad to be included.
"It's pretty simple dad." Ron tried to sound knowledgeable and show off for his father. "The box refills itself with money every full moon so long as it's never completely empty."
"Close, but you have been reading too many fairy tales Ron. That box is the bane of my existence."
"How can an endless supply of money be bad?" Ginny asked.
"In more ways than you think Miss Weasley, if that's what it actually did. Let me start my story at the very beginning. My ancestors used to be in the employ of a very powerful witch named Portia. From all accounts she was a kind and generous woman but she was concerned about others who were not. She would constantly disguise herself as a beggar and approach people asking for food or shelter. Those who gave it to her found themselves richly rewarded. Those who didn't she cursed until they learned better. You know the legend of Beauty and the Beast, right?" The cabin's occupants nodded and she continued.
"That was her handiwork, changing the prince into an ugly monster. Interesting concept, but it didn't always work. My mother once told me that a lot of people she similarly cursed died before they found anyone willing to see through the appearance, but that's another story completely. After one of these excursions she came home to find my ancestors and a group of wood elves gambling, a past time she strongly disapproved of. So she conjured each member of the gambling ring a present.
"To one she gave a bowl that would never be empty of porridge, other objects held the ability to grant wishes. One even got a goose that laid golden eggs, and my ancestors got the chest. But each object held crucial stipulations. None of them could be used by the person who owned them, nor could their contents be used for overtly gluttonous and greedy desires without serious consequences. They also can't be given away permanently, trust me I tried and it only found its way home. So, back then they had to learn to be as kind and generous as she was, loaning out the use of these objects to those they deemed worthy with the hope that the person would return the favor and take care of them. The story goes that the elf who got the porridge bowl died of hunger, but his children are doing better with it."
"Why not just remove the last coin and deactivate it?" Harry proposed.
"That would be nigh unto scandalous. First of all, I've gotten used to helping people. Money from the box helped pay for the building in Colorado that allows muggle friends of mine to live nearly rent free to get back on their feet. We created a community where people help and protect and work for one another in that building. I wouldn't jeopardize that for the world. Second of all, if the last coin were to be removed the money would start coming from me instead of Portia's old estate."
"But I thought." Ron started but Genevieve interrupted.
"You thought the coins just magically appeared, common mistake but think about it this way. There is a law of conservation of matter in science that says 'matter cannot be created or destroyed'. While magic sometimes bends the rules of science, it is still subject to it. Money can't be created with a flick of the wand, but it can be withdrawn from an account at Gringotts and appear in this chest with the full moon."
"I had no idea such things were possible." Mr. Weasely commented.
"Very few people know what magic can do when it is tapped properly. While it takes a lot more work and energy, the outcomes are astounding."
"Like that bit of levitating you did without a wand back at the cabin?" Mr. Weasely was enchanted.
"Precisely. But even with all the research, study and practice I have done, what I realize most is how little I actually know." A long silence followed which Ron finally broke.
"You should teach this stuff at Hogwarts." This sparked Mr. Weasley's idea.
"We could make you the guest speaker at the ministry symposium next spring." Genevieve shook her head violently.
"Me, teach? Yeah right. You may as well have a vampire lecture to a group of cross bearing preachers eating garlic bread. It's not going to happen."
"But you know so much others can benefit from and would be a great teacher." Mr. Weasley continued undaunted.
"For an extended period of time, a group of eight to ten friends is my limit". Genevieve explained. Sirius saw that Mr. Weasley wasn't catching on so intervened.
"Masses of people don't sit well with her boggart tendencies. No amount of logic can change her mind and for once it's not because she is being stubborn." He flashed Genevieve a good-natured smile but she could not decide if she should be grateful for the bale out or insulted. Harry changed the subject before she could.
"While you are in true confessions mode where did you get that bag? It's always empty, but produces what you need on demand. Doesn't that break the conservation law?"
"That is harder, much harder to explain." Genevieve searched for words but didn't seem to find the ones she was looking for, so proceeded hesitantly. "I don't think there is a word in English for how it was made. Boggarts would call it Kozza, but the best that translates as is 'ultimate gift'. When I figure out how to explain it I'll let you know. The only way to describe how it works is inaccurate and overly simplistic at best. Imagine the perfect blending of expanding, summoning and personal recognition charms. Nothing comes out of here that hasn't been put in before hand. An item is then summoned when needed. I'm afraid that will have to do for now."
"I didn't know Boggarts had a language of their own." Ron was amazed but Genevieve awkwardly shifted in her seat. Sirius saw this and ushered every one out, the now familiar sound of her potion bottle being opened popped their ear drums as they left