This time, it was Vernon Dursley who met them at the door, that Saturday afternoon.
"Mister Dursley, sir?" The man in the suit asked. Vernon looked him up and down, appraisingly.
"Yes?"
"My name is Robert Fitzpatrick, and I'm a solicitor representing the Peregrine Trust. May we come in?"
Vernon did not move. Petunia had told him about the odd men who had checked the house for 'Health and Safety' or whatever the hell they had wanted. She also said that they wouldn't be back.
Fitzpatrick's smile faded slightly. "Mister Dursley, I assure you that our visit will be worth your time, sir." He handed over a card, the same one he had given Petunia two weeks prior. "Besides, as our firm owns the property, I'm afraid I must insist."
Grumbling, Vernon stepped aside. The man in the suit entered first, followed by two other men in coveralls. One of them had a large canvas bag, almost like an old surplus army bag. He carried it with both hands, as if it were quite heavy. As Fitzpatrick sat down on the couch, the workman let the bag fall to the floor with a heavy thump.
Vernon took a seat in his chair, opposite the solicitor. Petunia went to prepare tea.
"Mister Dursley," Fitzpatrick began. "I can see that you are an educated man, with a good eye for business. Am I right?" As he spoke, he took the small coffee table and rotated it, so that the narrow width sat between them. He then opened his messenger bag, pulling out a folder and a small cloth sack.
Vernon nodded. "I like to think so. What is this about?"
Fitzpatrick took the cloth bag, and emptied it onto the table. Vernon saw what looked like small chess pieces, in various colors.
"We need to discuss an upgrade to your home, sir." He looked Vernon in the eyes. "Your current arrangements are unsatisfactory, as it turns out."
Vernon fought to control his temper. If this man was going to do him a favor, then he should get on with it. But for some reason, he felt an irrational urge to shout at the man. "I beg your pardon, sir?"
"Well, simply put, we believe that part of your home is actively damaging the health of your family. We would like to fix that today, if you'll permit us."
Petunia entered with tea, and looked at Vernon. He cracked his knuckles. "That's absurd. My son is a healthy boy, full of energy, and my wife and I have never felt better."
"Indeed." said Fitzpatrick. "And your niece?"
Petunia paled. Vernon sputtered. "You're…. You're…"
"Yes, we are." He tilted his head at Vernon's growing anger. "We also own your house, so let's all relax and talk business." That shut the Dursleys up quickly. "Good. Now, If you will give me a few minutes, I will show you what was done to you, and to young Marigold, and then I'll tell you how we're going to fix it." Ignoring Vernon, he took several white chess pieces and lined them up in a row on the table.
"This is your street, and these," he indicated the pawns, "are the houses. This one is yours, number four." He picked one up. "And here, you have three people living happily together at number four." In front of the pawn, he placed three small glass beads, each a clear blue.
"A decade ago, your niece was brought here when her parents and brother were murdered by terrorists." He added a small red bead to the three blue ones. "But the terrorists knew her name, and they had ways to find her. So, Professor Dumbledore used your sister's magic to put up what we call a ward." Fitzpatrick replaced the white pawn with a clear one. "Now, different wards can do different things. And Albus Dumbledore, gifted though he may be, is not a professional warder. So when he brought Marigold here, he did what he could - but not enough."
He took out a piece of paper. "Here, as long as Marigold lives with you for part of the year, and can call this place home the rest of the time, the wards make a shield around your house." He read the paper. "If anyone with magic comes to harm someone living here, they are stopped and cannot enter. If they try to use magic to shoot at your house, the shield stops the magic. If someone has magic and doesn't know about your house or who lives here, they cannot see the house at all. And if any magical people do somehow enter your home, you, your wife, and your son, are all inclined to attack them verbally or physically, in an effort to get them the hell off your land."
Vernon and Petunia both looked at each other. Then their eyes were drawn back to the table, where Fitzpatrick was tapping the red bead on the table.
"Any magical, sir, ma'am. You see where this is going, I trust?" Their faces showed that they did not. "Well, it's fairly simple. Professor Dumbledore put magic on your house to make you hate magical people. Then he left a magical person to live with you." He looked them in the eyes. "Be honest - you really don't care about Marigold, do you?"
Another look between the Dursleys. To Vernon's surprise, Petunia spoke quietly. "I don't really mind her, honestly, as long as she keeps her freakishness away from Dudley."
Vernon wanted to protest, but his heart wasn't in it. He really just didn't care about the girl. A puzzled look crossed his face - he hated her. Didn't he?
Fitzpatrick nodded. "That's about what I expected to hear. But if she walked in the door this minute, you'd both have an intense reaction to her. She's a magical person, in your home. At the back of your mind, you will be convinced, with absolute certainty, that she doesn't belong." He looked over his glasses at them, keeping his voice even. "And you, through your actions, will convince her of that as well."
He tapped the paper once more. "And note what's not on there. You are protected from magical threats, as is Marigold. But nothing here protects her from you. Or from young Dudley, or his friends." The Dursleys heard the change in his voice, they felt the temperature drop in the room. He knew.
"So," Fitzpatrick said, taking another paper out of his bag. "We're going to fix this house, so that it's fit to live in for all four of you."
Vernon leaned forward. "I don't care what you say, I will have no more freakishness in MY house." His voice was low, but the menace was there.
Fitzpatrick matched his move, leaning forward in his own seat. "Mister Dursley, your house is owned by the Peregrine Trust. It is the Trust that requires these changes, sir."
"I won't authorize any work. And you can't force us." He held firm. They could do nothing to him in his home.
"Mister Dursley, do you know who owns the Peregrine Trust?" The blank look said that he neither knew nor cared. "Ma'am?" Petunia shook her head.
Fitzpatrick grinned. "The Peregrine Trust is owned entirely by the estate of James and Lily Potter." He relished their look of utter shock, before laying down his last card. "Essentially, you are renting your niece's house."
oOoOoOoOo
To his utter surprise, the news did not send Vernon Dursley into a rage. He just sat there, looking at the table, at that clear chess piece, his jaw muscles working themselves every few moments. Petunia sat on the arm of his chair, holding onto his shoulder for dear life.
Fitzpatrick gave them all the time they needed. He had nowhere to be today, and they had had quite a shock.
Presently, Vernon's quiet voice broke the silence. "What now, then?"
Another sheet of paper came out of the bag. "Now, we talk about how to fix the problem." He waved his hand around them. "See, there are rules about using magic in non-magical homes. Basically, you can't." He shrugged. "The good news is that this home is owned by a magical person - so we can pretty much do whatever we want."
"So wait," interrupted Petunia. "If you can't use magic in a normal house, then how did they put those shield things up in the first place?"
Fitzpatrick grinned. "Well, they didn't exactly get permission. Think of it like a do-it-yourself project as opposed to hiring a proper contractor." He looked at Dursley. "Even if you hire someone, taking the lowest bid isn't always best, is it?"
Dursley shook his head, despite himself. Grunnings had problems with contractors all the time. "No, you're right about that."
"So, we suggest three jobs. First, we set up new shields for your house."
"What would they do to us?" Petunia asked.
"Not much." he read from his list. "If anyone shows up with intent to harm anyone living here - magical or otherwise - then the shields will keep them out. In the case of magical people, they will simply not be able to approach the house. For non-magical people, they will not be able to remember how to get to the house. Sometimes, they'll remember something they urgently need to do elsewhere." Off their looks, he waved his hand to indicate the room. "And it works even if they come to the house with benign intentions but become violent later."
"Say you host a poker game, Vernon. And one of your players gets mad after a loss and takes a swing at you. The shields will make him grab his keys and go home instead. He won't remember why, he won't think about it, he'll just know that he has to get home." Vernon nodded at the idea.
"Now, Vernon, Petunia, this shield also works on you. If Marigold tries to use magic to harm you or Dudley, the shield would stop her. And if you were to try to hurt her, the shield would stop you." He smiled. "Boys will be boys, of course. But if Dudley gets too rough with her, the shield will stop him too."
"Dudley is a good boy, Mister Fitzpatrick." Petunia said, coldly.
"Excellent! Then he'll never know that there were shields in place, will he?" He flipped another page. "Oh, this is a good one. Anyone who is a member of that terrorist group we mentioned, they won't be able to learn or remember Marigold's address. If they see it on a piece of paperwork, they won't be able to read it. If they hear someone mention the address, even the street name, they will ignore it. And so on. The fact that Marigold Potter lives here is behind a shield of its own."
"We're going to keep the magical person shield, but add a ward book for you. Any magical person will not be able to enter your home, except for people who live here like Marigold, or people who work for the Potter family - like myself and my associates, here. We also have to allow someone from Marigold's school, so her Head of House will be allowed to enter." Fitzpatrick took out an ornate, leather bound book. "This book will have a list of magical people who can enter your home. There's a page for permanent names, like Marigold, and one for temporary names, for when one of her school friends visits, for example."
"You expect me to do freakishness?" Vernon almost stood up, at that.
"No, not at all, Mister Dursley. All you have to do is write names in the book. We'll make it easier for you, and set it up so that Marigold can write names too - that way you don't even have to deal with it."
Vernon sat back in his chair. "And that book will, it will keep your lot out of my house?"
Fitzpatrick sighed. "Yes, Mister Dursley, yes it will."
Vernon nodded, as if it had been obvious.
"So, how much does all this cost us?" Petunia had wondered. This all sounded fantastically expensive.
Another grin from Mister Fitzpatrick. "Well, ma'am, the normal cost for wards like these would be in the range of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and I can assure you that these are the best money can buy. But for you, we've discounted it to a five quid surcharge on your next lease payment." As he saw their looks of shock, he laughed. "This is for the safety of your family. Not to mention the health and happiness of your niece." He tilted his head toward the staircase, indicating the cupboard. "The first eleven years of Marigold Potter's life weren't exactly happy ones, as you well know. Our goal here is to make the next one better. That's worth the cost, in our estimation."
Vernon and Petunia looked at each other again, in relief at getting something like that for free, and in horror at the realization that this man knew what they had done. His voice brought their attention back to him, where they saw a stern expression.
"But let me be clear, we are also adding a set of emergency wards as well. If Marigold Potter does come to harm in your care, and it does not matter how it happens, then half a dozen very angry members of my staff will be in your home within ninety seconds." He looked at them over his glasses, making eye contact with both. "Her blood sugar gets low because she doesn't eat? We know. She breaks a bone, somehow? We know. She gets a concussion? We know."
"I suspect that, when we remove the old shields, you'll have a much easier time getting along with your niece. Do not try to go back to the old ways of doing things. It won't work, and we'll know."
To his immense relief, both Dursleys nodded solemnly. Fitzpatrick had been worried that he would have to play rougher with them, for despite the state of the blood wards, he was not convinced that they had been the cause of all of the hatred and abuse from the Dursleys.
That was part of why he had neglected to mention the ward that applied low-level cheering charms to the three Dursleys, when Marigold was in the room. As well as a ward that functioned to encourage benevolence and tolerance toward magical children. The design goal had been to make it so that Marigold could have a friend over if she wanted, and the friend would be made welcome.
If Marigold Potter was going to spend the summer here, then she would be properly comfortable.
"You said three projects?" Petunia asked.
"Ah, yes. Well, the first are these new shields. The second is that we're going to take the existing shields and limit them to your fence line. See, they are powered by stones at the corners of your property, so we're just going to shrink them down. That way, Dumbledore will not know that we removed them, but they won't bother your house. And even though they are basically off, they feed power to the new shields, so that those end up stronger."
"And the third?" asked Vernon.
Fitzpatrick looked at the fireplace. "You're a busy man, Mister Dursley, and we don't believe it worthwhile to make you take Marigold to and from the homes of her friends from school. So we're going to suggest upgrading your fireplace so that magical people can use it to let Marigold go to their homes and back again."
Petunia shook her head. "The thing with the green flames?"
"Yes ma'am." He saw the expression on Vernon's face, and held up a hand. "No one could come through to your home, sir, unless their name is in that book. So it's perfectly safe. And it would let Marigold visit her friends, perhaps for weeks at a time, staying out of your way." He could see the appeal that idea had for the Dursleys. "And if there is an emergency, you all could escape that way as well."
Vernon and Petunia looked at each other, as if they were having a silent argument. Without looking over, Vernon spoke. "How long to do all this work?"
"We can leave the stones here today, so that they can charge up. Then we adjust the old ones next week." He grinned and started putting away the chess pieces and glass beads. "The rest, we can do when Marigold gets back in June."
Petunia gave a small nod. Vernon sighed, then nodded himself. "Fine, do your work."
"Thank you, Mister and Mrs. Dursley." Fitzpatrick said, standing up. "We'll take care of everything."
"You'd better," Vernon grumbled, but even now Fitzpatrick could see that he just wasn't all that interested in fighting. It was as if he was trying to be disagreeable out of long habit and inertia, nothing more.
Which made sense, from a certain point of view, seeing as how Mister Christopher had disabled the aversion ward before they walked in. Otherwise, there would have been no discussion, no admonishment to treat Marigold properly. Just stunners and a quick and dirty install. The pressure was already off.
This way was better, he thought. And he was right.
oOoOoOoOo
Marigold Potter tossed her bag onto the couch in the Gryffindor common room, before taking a seat next to Hermione. Her friend looked up, and saw Marigold's unreadable expression.
"It didn't go well, did it?" she asked. Marigold shook her head.
"The Headmaster says that there are protections on the house that keep me safe. As long as I live there and stay for a few weeks every summer, I can do what I want." She looked at Hermione. "But I have to stay with those people for at least a few weeks."
"That's not too bad, though, Marigold." Hermione said. "That gives you seven weeks to visit me, or Ron, or Neville, or maybe even all of us."
"Yeah," she replied, unsure. "If they let me go."
Hermione leaned over, bringing her voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. "My parents can be very persuasive, you know." That got both girls laughing.
"Besides," Hermione continued. "I'll make sure you have my phone number, just in case. We can be there in an hour, if you need us."
"I know." She gave Hermione another hug. "Thanks."
They chatted for a while, and Marigold knew that it was Hermione trying to distract her. The fact that the girls weren't discussing their upcoming exams just told Marigold how hard Hermione was working at it. It hammered home how lucky she was to have someone like that watching her back.
Eventually, Marigold excused herself to go take a nap before dinner. The dorm was empty, but she closed the curtains on her bed anyway, just in case.
Rose? Harry? She thought.
No joy, Mari, thought Seeker Potter. The Headmaster seemed sympathetic, but then he gave me some nonsense about wards at the house.
Same, confirmed Rose. I have an open invitation to Daphne's house, and no way to get there.
Neville's gran invited me over for a joint birthday party, said Marigold, and probably a few week's stay, besides.
Ron invited me to the Burrow, reported Seeker. Which will be bloody lovely after a few months locked in the spare room.
Chaser's timid voice popped up, then. At least we'll all have each other? That, at least, got a few chuckles.
oOoOoOoOo
A small, brown owl delivered a letter to Marigold the next morning, at breakfast. Hermione took over bacon duty as Marigold opened the envelope.
"It's from a solicitor." she said, puzzled.
2 May 1992
Marigold Potter
Gryffindor House
Hogwarts
Heiress Potter,
My name is Robert Fitzpatrick, and I am a solicitor for the Potter family. In essence, I work for you - but usually, I end up doing work for the Potter Regent. I also represent several businesses in and around London and Hogsmeade, both magical and non-magical.
One of those businesses is a cooperative known as the Peregrine Trust, which is how I happen to be writing today. The Trust owns various properties around the United Kingdom, usually in muggle areas. The house at 4 Privet Drive, which was built by Lily Potter as a wedding gift to her sister, is one such property. During a routine inspection of the house, we determined that the existing wards were not fit for purpose. I met with your relatives and discussed the matter, after which they agreed to certain upgrades to the ward structure on the property.
We have also connected your relative's home to the Floo network, which will allow you to travel at will to any of your friends' homes over the course of the summer. Your relatives agreed to this change as well - which I took as a positive sign.
Please refer to the attached summary for a list of the old and new wards. If all goes well, we fully expect the new wards to provide for your constant protection, both from magical and non-magical threats, inside and outside of the house. For however much of this summer holiday you spend in Surrey, know that your safety is assured by the best wards money can buy.
We've also set aside a modest budget for upgrades to your room, specifically. Home decorating can be a treat where magic is involved, so we leave those decisions to you. On your return from Hogwarts, we will have a crew ready to go to work.
At your uncle's request, I will conduct you to Surrey once the Hogwarts Express arrives. There we will finish preparations for what I hope will be a much more relaxing summer than in years past.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about these upgrades, or about any other matters for which I may be of assistance.
I remain,
/s/
Robert Fitzpatrick
Farrow, Kerry, & Fitzpatrick
Solicitors and Advisors
Hogsmeade, UK
Hermione was reading over what looked like a work order, while Marigold finished the letter. Neither girl was quite sure how to react. Marigold looked over the ward list, including the list of old wards and the summary as to why they were being removed.
"So let me get this straight," began Marigold. "Dumbledore says I need to stay because of the wards, but the wards are why my relatives hated me?"
"Where do you see that?" Hermione asked. Marigold pointed at the aversion ward.
"There. That one causes the Dursleys to get angry with magical people who make it onto the property, so that they clear off." She waved her hand. "Oh hey, I'm a magical person, and I fucking live there. So how does that work?"
"Language," said Hermione, automatically. Marigold huffed.
"Ten years of hell, Hermione, and I should be preparing for a comfortable summer because whoops! Someone broke the weird magic stones around your house." She pointed at the top of the letter. "And oh, by the way, your family owns the house. So all those years of being labeled a burden, when they're living in MY house?" Marigold shook her head, angrily folding the letter.
"I mean, if he's right and things do improve?" Hermione said, weakly.
Marigold sighed heavily. "I don't know. Maybe. I just can't even, right now." The letter went into her robes, but her interest in breakfast had waned.
Apparently, she was the early riser this morning. Before she left the great hall, she heard Seeker practicing his Goblin curses in her mind, followed shortly by Rose's annoyed grumbling.
Spellforged summarized their angry reaction the best, when the five spoke later that day. "If the house is owned by the Potter family, somehow, and they can sweep in and drop thousands of Galleons on new wards that will keep you three safe, then where in hell were they years ago?"
Not one of them could answer that question. Marigold looked forward to asking Mister Fitzpatrick to explain himself, when they meet in June.
A/N: A dense chapter, but necessary set-up for summer. The culpability on the part of the Dursleys will continue to be an open topic, as not all of their actions over the years can be attributed to prolonged exposure to mal-adjusted, hurriedly installed, amateur blood wards. Were the wards a factor? Sure. Dursley taking a pay cut in a bad economy might be a factor as well, and admitting that wouldn't make it all OK, either. It's less about how badly we punish the wardens at Durzkaban, and more about how the situation affects our five. Spellforged's question at the end really gets to the heart of the matter, though - and some of the five might not be thrilled with the answer.
Don't forget, the girls had very different experiences from Seeker. That factors as well.
Thank you again for the reviews - even if I don't get a reply to you, know that it is appreciated.
Feedback, as always, is welcome.
