At the end of term Lydia, Sophie and Freddie were excited beyond the usual pre-Christmas levels. They were going on the Hogwarts Express together and being picked up by Freddie's parents. They would stay overnight at the Fortescue's house in the country. The next morning, they were to be picked up by Uncle Ambrose in his new car. He would drive them to the Ward family's new house, where they were to stay until they took the train back to school. There was a wonderful surprise waiting for Sophie when they arrived at King's Cross. Ambrose had arranged a car to deliver Selina, Sophie's mum, to the station to meet them. As they stepped down from the train, Selina Inkwood was standing on the platform with Freddie's parents.
"Mum!" Sophie shrieked and ran to her, leaving Freddie to load her trunk onto a trolley.
"Baby girl, how are you?" Selina asked. "What have you been doing, getting yourself into hospital?"
Sophie pulled back out of a hug and frowned at her. "Oh, mum! It was nothing. I was only in overnight for observation because I got a bump on the head playing quidditch."
Lydia, wheeling her Travelighter, and Freddie, pushing a trolley, looked at each other. They said nothing because these sorts of lies to keep parents 'off your case' were traditional for students, both muggle and magical.
"And where's your cat, Elsa?" asked Selina.
Lydia pointed to her Travelighter. "She's in here with my cat, Xander. It's all right, it's bigger on the inside. They have a whole room of their own with beds and couches and scratching posts and food and water and everything. Magic, you see."
Selina nodded, though she still seemed sceptical.
Sophie huffed. "We'll show you when we get to Freddie's, mum. It's amazing."
Selina shrugged and took her daughter's word, for now.
They went outside the station to find a limousine waiting for them.
Sophie goggled at it. "Is this what Mr Ward sent to pick you up, mum?"
Selina smiled. "Mmm, hmm. And you should have seen all the neighbours looking to see what was going on. There will be a few sore necks down the street, tonight."
They laughed. Mr Fortescue told them that the car would take them to the Leaky Cauldron, then leave. They would take the Floo Network to the Fortescue's house and Ambrose would pick them up in the morning and drop Selina home on the way past.
Selina and Sophie were as intrigued as Lydia had been to see how household appliances worked in the Fortescue's house. Penny Fortescue had prepared them a banquet for their evening meal. It ended in an assortment of the finest Fortescue ice creams, gelati, granitas and sorbets. Selina Inkwood confessed that Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was always her favourite thing about Diagon Alley. After swapping tales about Hogwarts for the grown-ups Freddie and the girls went up to settle for the night. Lydia and Sophie were sharing a room and Lydia begged Freddie to tell them one of his magical folk stories. He told them the story of The Three Brothers. Lydia knew the story from Ron and Harry but Freddie's retelling was atmospheric, dramatic and entertaining.
The following morning, a while after breakfast, they heard a car pull up on the gravelled drive outside. The youngsters rushed out to see. They found the most beautiful old car any of them had ever seen. It was a deep graphite grey with a subtly metallic sheen. The huge bonnet suggested that possibly half of the car was engine. The passenger compartment was low and sleek with only one door at either side. Ambrose Ward emerged from one of the doors.
He beamed at them. "Good morning to you all. How do you like the old wagon?"
"It's incredible," Freddie croaked.
"It's beautiful," Sophie whispered.
"Has it got enough room for us all?" asked Lydia.
"Absolutely, dearest Lydia," he assured her. "It has had a few modifications."
Sophie held up her hand. "What is it, Mr Ward? I mean, what make is it, please?"
Ambrose walked towards them, taking off his leather driving gloves. "It is a Bentley from the 1930s. This model was known as "The Blue Train", I believe because it was used by someone to race trains. It does go quite well, I must admit."
By this time the students were being joined by Xander, Selina and Ferdi. Xander strolled forwards to greet Ambrose while the humans stood and gaped.
"Ambrose, forgive me," Ferdi said. "Please come in and have a drink."
Ambrose smiled and stepped up to shake Ferdi by the hand. "Thank you, sir. That would be most welcome."
Ambrose greeted all the others in turn. Sophie's mum was delighted to know that, having left her home in a limousine, she would be returning in style. And what style. Penny Fortescue greeted Ambrose in the kitchen with tea and cakes. It was the kind of greeting Ambrose relished. He told them about his car and the new house in the Oxfordshire village of Naunton Turville. The students were keen to be off in the marvellous car but Ambrose was in no hurry, as was usually the case when cakes were being offered.
Eventually, he took his passengers out to load their luggage into the car, or "the motorcar" as he insisted on calling it. While the car had no lack of bonnet the boot looked as though it would barely take a picnic hamper and an umbrella. When Ambrose unlocked it, they discovered it was cavernous.
Freddie turned to Ambrose. "This isn't… a completely muggle car, is it?"
Ambrose drew a deep breath and pondered a moment. "I did say it had had a few modifications. I had a new friend of mine give it a little more space, for comfort, you understand."
Freddie nodded and grinned as he put his trunk inside. Lydia and Sophie added their trunks and Selina put in her overnight bag. There was probably enough room left for a couple of canoes.
"You youths will have to squeeze into the back," said Ambrose, opening the passenger door. "You, my dear Selina, I would be delighted if you would accompany me in the front."
The front passenger seat slid forwards, allowing the students to climb into the back. There was, of course, plenty of room. The soft leather seats were luxurious. The polished walnut panels were opulent. The gilded clasps, locks and other details glinted where the sunlight caught them.
Ambrose said his final farewells to the Fortescues, thanking them for their hospitality. He stepped around the car and into the driver's seat.
"There aren't any seat belts, Uncle," Lydia noted.
"I believe I did mention there have been modifications, my dear," he pointed out.
"I've never known you drive before," Lydia said, suspicion dripping from her words.
"No."
"You can drive, can't you?"
"It turns out that I can."
"And you have road tax and so on?"
"I find it unbecoming of a young lady to question a gentleman about his taxation."
"And a driving licence?"
"I find it unbecoming of a young lady to question a gentleman about his driving licence."
Lydia snorted. "Tell me you are qualified to drive."
"Qualified? My dear child I even have driving gloves."
"Uncle," she warned. "Are you winding me up or are you really not legal to drive."
Ambrose turned to frown at her. "You say these things as though they are mutually exclusive."
Lydia growled at him.
"Let us proceed," he said. "And you shall all be the judges of my exemplary driving skills. Or, at least, the survivors shall be."
Ambrose started the car. Xander, who was on Freddie's lap, was purring. It was as loud as the engine. Elsa crouched down in Sophie's lap, ears flat against her head. They set off smoothly and steadily, turning on the Fortescue's driveway and heading back to the public road. Ambrose turned left out of the drive. The hedgerows on either side of them blurred as they were pressed back into their seats. There was no fuss. The engine purred a little more loudly and the passengers swayed as they took the corners but there was no drama to their considerable progress. Within minutes they had reached Sophie's hometown and were turning into her street. The sleek motorcar prowled down the street to Sophie and Selina's house and pulled up by the kerb.
"Please, Selina," Ambrose said, "let me alight and open your door for you. I'm sure the neighbours will appreciate the gesture."
Ambrose got out, walked around to the boot to retrieve her bag, then continued around and opened the door for her. He held her hand as she got out. Inside the car Sophie pointed out the neighbours peering from their windows as Ambrose accompanied Selina to her front door.
"Thank you, Mr Ward," said Sophie as he got back into the driving seat. "I bet mum loved that."
Ambrose smiled at her. "Indeed. It will give the neighbours something to discuss. I could hear the sucking of teeth from houses all up and down the street."
Sophie laughed, and Elsa squirmed in her lap.
Ambrose pushed a button on the dashboard. The wrought iron gate in front of the car slid to the right behind the beech hedge. The engine purred once again and the car eased forwards onto the block-paved drive. Sweeping around a rhododendron bush the size of a bungalow, they pulled up in front of the golden-stone house.
"Uncle?!" Lydia squealed. "How can you afford this?"
Ambrose turned to smile at the youngsters. "Do you approve? It was formerly the rectory to the parish. In response to your somewhat impertinent query, I have liquidated a rather successful investment I made many years previously."
"Are you rich now, Uncle Ambrose?" Lydia sounded awed.
"We, my dear," he smiled, "are comfortably well-off. Much of the capital went into the purchase of the property, but we have my pensions and a certain amount of pocket money."
"How many bedrooms is it, Mr... Ambrose?" Sophie scowled.
"Sufficient," Ambrose said.
"Which is how many?" Lydia pressed him.
Ambrose was not given to grinning, but he made an exception this time.
"Seamus's Uncle Fearghal came to visit for a while. I provided him with a place to stay, out of the disapproving gaze of the officers of Magical Law Enforcement. He treated me to some unusual home improvements. Chief among these was the provision of precisely the correct number of rooms for the number of people to be accommodated. I should be immensely grateful if you did not mention this to anyone. I am not convinced that I am legally entitled to such alterations."
"There must be some limits, surely, Mr Ward?" Freddie reasoned.
"Indeed, there are, young sir," Ambrose assured him. "I am exceedingly selective of my prospective visitors. You three, of course, are the crème de la crème – 'family', so to speak."
"I am family!" Lydia protested.
Ambrose held up his hands. "Which is exactly what I said. I see no call for your aggrieved tone."
Lydia's companions laughed.
"Well, we are honoured, Mr Ward," Freddie informed him.
They slid out of the car and walked around to the boot to retrieve their luggage.
"And please, Freddie, call me Ambrose," Lydia's uncle implored him as he opened the boot. "After all, I am not a parent so I am, effectively, the same generation as you three."
"That's not how it works, uncle," Lydia contradicted.
Ambrose wore a pensive frown for a moment. "Mayhap I might claim parity under the rules of impending second childhood?"
"Not when you own a house and decide what time you go to bed," Lydia ruled.
"In that case," Ambrose said as he offered her her trunk, "the others may call me Ambrose. You may address me as 'Your Effulgent Majesty'."
"Baron von Bonehead, more like," Lydia muttered to herself as she turned to take her trunk.
The others struggled with their heavy luggage.
Ambrose looked perplexed. "Can you students not levitate your trunks?"
"Not allowed to use wands outside school," Sophie reminded him.
"Ah, of course," Ambrose conceded. "Forgive me. Please leave your trunks. I will have them brought in presently. We should go inside and see who is waiting for you."
He opened one of the car doors. "Xander, please join us. Bring your friend."
Xander sprang to the floor. He turned back to look at the car seat he had recently vacated. The dark form of Elsa crept over the edge of the seat then jumped down beside him. Xander turned to the house and swaggered his way towards it. Elsa slinked after him. The others, who had watched this ceremony, smiled at each other and followed, leaving their trunks on the ground behind the car.
Xander reached the front door and stretched up towards the shining silver doorknob. Ambrose stretched his arm past the youngsters to operate the bellpull. A few moments later the door opened.
"Hello, Xander," Lydia's mum cooed, bending down to the cat. "I see you have brought guests."
With a yelp of joy Lydia sprang to throw her arms around her mother and hug her. "Hi, mum!"
"Sophie, I'm Catherine, Lydia's mum. It's lovely to meet you, at last. And hello again, Freddie. Please come in, it's nice and warm inside."
They bundled past her into the entrance hall. It was spacious and oak-panelled, with three doors leading off and a staircase with oak banisters to their right.
"The cupboard under the stairs serves as a cloakroom, where you may hang your outer garments, with a washroom beyond," Ambrose smiled. "You will discover that the size and layout of the various rooms fails to respect the normal laws of geometry. Fearghal Finnegan is a supremely non-Euclidean architect. You, of course, will be used to such things from your experience of Hogwarts. Ah, Fenton. There are some trunks out by the motorcar. I would be ever so grateful if you could transfer them to the respective guestrooms."
Fenton, it turned out, was a Free Elf. He wore a smart uniform. Lydia was convinced she recognised him.
"Hello, Mr Fenton," she said. "I'm sure we've met before, somewhere."
"Yes, Miss Lydia," he beamed. "I used to work at the Three Broomsticks. I was being... I was called Towser, then. When Miss Hannah moved to London Mr Ambrose offered me a job. And please, miss, it is Fenton, now. Just Fenton."
Lydia grinned. "I thought I remembered you. It's lovely to see you again. You used to have hair, though. What happened?"
"It was a wig, miss," the elf said, hanging his head. "An elf is not having, does not have hair. I wanted to try it but it was silly, it kept slipping off. Mr Ambrose says I should be proud to be a Free Elf. I am, miss."
"Good for you, Fenton!" Freddie cheered.
"I am pleased to meet you all," the elf chirruped. "Excuse me while I tend to your luggage."
They made way for him to exit the front door and went to hang up their coats.
"Will he be able to manage?" Sophie asked.
"Good gracious, yes," Ambrose smiled his crinkle-eyed smile. "His folk are exceptionally magical. A few clicks of his fingers and all the luggage will be waiting for you in your rooms. Now, if we have quite finished milling about in the hall, I think we should remove ourselves to the sitting room and take refreshments. After that we should mount an expedition to investigate the house. Who knows, perhaps we might come across the aforementioned guestrooms?"
Fenton reappeared through the front door as they filed through one of the doors off the entrance hall. A spacious sitting room lay beyond, looking like something from the set of a period drama. Lydia almost expected Miss Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters to sweep into the room in rustling gowns.
Fenton provided them all with a traditional afternoon tea while the three youngsters told tales of their life at Hogwarts. Elsa curled up in Freddie's lap, while Xander wandered from one human to another. Eventually the cat sprang onto Ambrose's knee and sat imperiously, listening to the conversation.
"Are you all right with the cats, mum?" Lydia asked at one point, explaining to her friends, "Mum's always been a bit allergic."
"I'm fine, Lydia," her mother told her. "It must be the country air, here. I don't seem to have any allergies anymore."
Lydia noticed her mum glance at Uncle Ambrose.
Ambrose nodded. "We cannot say for certain until we have spent a year here. There may be particular pollens which cause problems. The signs, thus far, have been encouraging, I am delighted to say."
"So, are you moving in, mum?" Lydia asked.
"Already moved," she beamed. "I've been here for weeks, and all your things are in your room upstairs."
"I hope that is acceptable to you," Uncle Ambrose ventured.
Lydia bounced in her seat.
"I gather from your near-levitation that you approve," he chuckled.
After their afternoon tea they did, indeed, go on an expedition around the house. There seemed to be enough rooms and corridors and staircases to rival Hogwarts, though on a more homely scale. The cats soon tired of the guided tour and took themselves off to explore on their own. Ambrose led the rest of them onwards. There were garden rooms, sun rooms, games rooms, studies, libraries and laboratories. There was a sizeable ballroom, with climbing frames, slides and a large ballpool at one end.
"I am not convinced that Fearghal quite understood the concept of a ballroom," Ambrose mused. "It all cost me a small fortune in Irish whiskey. Perhaps he had imbibed a little too much by the time we arrived at this point."
They laughed. Freddie was keen to try out the ballpool, but Ambrose suggested that the time had perhaps come for them to find their respective rooms.
"Which way, uncle?" Lydia enquired.
"Generally, I have found, if you know where you want to be it will be through the nearest door," he explained. "Unless it is on a different floor, in which case there will be a staircase through the nearest door, leading exactly where you need it to lead."
"If only Hogwarts was that easy," Sophie lamented.
"If, however, you are not sure where you want to be, the optimum expedient is simply to call out for Fenton. He delights in assisting the guests, or inmates," Ambrose smirked. "Fenton, if you would attend us...?"
With a pop the elf appeared, smiling.
"The young people would like to see their rooms now, my dear friend," Ambrose told him.
"As you wish, sir."
8