(A/N: I've had a little extra time this week, so you'll get this a couple of days early. Thanks for all the nice reviews. To be nice back, I should point out this will be mostly a character driven story and not action driven. Reader "Gioia" asked about Charlie. In my mind, he was still in Romania during the final battle. However, a quick search shows 1 and only 1 reference to him running up the steps to the battle and nothing else. It was like JKR did that just to show he was there but she didn't really use him for anything. Hmm, so we're going to say he is safely back in Romania with no one on the "bad side" the wiser that he was there; I did not kill him off.)
Chapter 2
The next morning Harry was startled awake by a knock and the door opening. He turned his head but didn't see anyone as he heard Fleur's voice. "Time to get up."
"Thanks," he said softly before she closed the door.
"What if I don't want to get up?" Ginny asked just as softly. "It's warm and comfy this way."
They were on their sides with her spooned in front of him. "We'll have a lie in another day," he told her with a squeeze on her arm before he forced himself out of bed, as he did agree with her. Putting his glasses on, he could see her watching him so he smiled.
"Go on," she told him. "You need to be somewhere first and I don't have to pee that badly."
Harry just blinked at her bluntness.
"Get used to it," she told him, "we all do that and more. Now go because while I can wait a little bit I do need to go."
He shook his head and went over to get some clothes before going into the bathroom to go himself and then get dressed.
Harry came out a few minutes later to find Ginny sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard. He dug into his trunk to pull out a stack of French Francs and some Galleons from Sirius's stash. "The bathroom is all yours as is this." He dropped the money on the bed.
"Thanks, but what's that for?" she asked as she rose.
"Money for shopping. Use what you need, including any of the others like Hermione if needed," he replied.
"Uhh, all right, thanks," she told him as she kissed him lightly. "Go ahead to breakfast; it'll take me a little longer to get ready than it did you."
He watched her walk to the bathroom with interest before he left. The situation as a whole seemed a bit unusual, but he wondered if she would have moved in with him after she finished Hogwarts next year. Obviously, he'd never know what might have happened, but he did have to admit he wasn't against this arrangement.
Arriving downstairs, he found Fleur and her parents already at the table. "Sleep well?" the mother asked, while Fleur gave him a knowing smile.
"Yes, thank you," Harry answered, trying to be polite and yet not mention Ginny since he didn't know what might be said about that. "Again, thank you for letting us stay here."
"It's no problem at all," Jean said. "It's sort of nice to have company actually since Gabrielle is at Beauxbatons this year."
"Yes," Apolline agreed, "although our daughter will be disappointed she missed you. She still remembers you rescuing her." The mother smiled at him, much like Fleur had been and was now again.
"It seemed the right thing to do at the time," Harry replied and was glad Bill and George walked in as it changed the topic.
Neville, Luna, and Lee joined a few minutes later. Ginny and Hermione came in about five minutes after that.
Once everyone was there, Jean held up a copy of the Daily Prophet. "I had our house-elf retrieve a copy from Paris; they sell a few there. News of your escape wasn't mentioned, thankfully, but I did find one other thing." He looked at Harry. "I believed you mentioned you saw Lucius Malfoy in the prison and he seemed to be in charge?"
"Yes. Why?"
"The Aurors aren't sure what happened at the time the newspaper went to press, but it seems that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were killed instantly in their home last night as something destroyed their dining room. Their house-elf took their son, Draco, to St Mungo's but he died shortly after arriving. The elf reported they'd received a package but there was no magic on it."
Harry just blinked at him. "Seriously? That's, ah…"
"Two more Death Eaters gone," Ron said a little savagely, with Ginny and George agreeing instantly.
"I was going to say unexpected, but not unwelcome either," Harry finished. "Any other details?"
"Just the expected 'a great family in society', 'Aurors will find out who did it', 'it was terrible', that sort of thing," Jean commented, not seeming to be too bothered by it all.
"That would be only the start to fixing things, but I won't shed any tears after what they've done over the years and especially for putting us in Azkaban," George said a little savagely.
Most of the others who had gone to Azkaban nodded. Harry noticed that only Luna wasn't nodding and he wasn't completely sure how he felt but had to conclude the Malfoys' actions hadn't been good over the years and magical Britain would be better off without the Malfoys.
When everyone was finished, Jean rose. "If everyone who is going to Gringotts for business will join me in the other room please?" He led the way with four of the teens following him.
Inside his study, Jean closed the door. "I have a few words for each of you, although perhaps only Harry needs all of my advice. I have found over time that the Goblins tend to take their dealings with wizards as a game, although perhaps a more serious game than you normally use the word game. They can be easy to get along with or surly, depending on how the Goblin feels like playing or even depending on his mood. Beware when dealing with them, but if you understand this then you will have an easier time.
"An example of this is always look for hidden meanings and double meanings in their words; they love their word games. Also, never straight up say yes or no unless you're willing to be held to exactly what was said. If you generally agree with what they said, say something like 'That sounded fairly reasonable, but I want to clarify something' if you have any doubt about what was said. If you don't like something, try 'I'm not sure about that, what about this'. They love to negotiate and that's what you need to do to be successful with them."
He looked at Harry. "From what Bill and Fleur told me, you have a more difficult job. Bill did say that the damage to the bank lobby is already repaired, so you can attempt to point out it was minor. Of course, you'll still probably have to pay something for it. The dragon is going to be the big issue. They're going to want to yell and rant. Let them and say nothing until you're asked a question. Again, be as vague as you can. If you can find something that's minor to you but they make a big deal out of it, focus on that and eventually give in on that thing to get a concession on something that matters more to you. Remember, you're negotiating.
"Finally, Harry, I won't be able to say much even if I am there. However, if you are in doubt, look at me and I'll try to help. I'll almost always shrug or give a neutral look, but watch the hand in my lap. Palm up means neutral and it's up to you. Lifting only my thumb is a positive. A slight shake side-to-side palm down is a negative."
"All right, I think I can remember that. Should I bring up why I did what I did?" Harry asked. "There is also the fact that a goblin helped us and they received the Sword of Gryffindor back."
"Yes, I think mentioning why and the Sword when you need to sway them your way. Mentioning the Goblin helping you could be problematic and I'd think not," Jean told him. "If there aren't any other questions, let's go."
Apolline told Luna before they left that they'd come find her at the bank in an hour and go shopping. Neville and George were invited but each already had most of what they needed as they'd been able to visit their home, although the boys would need Muggle clothes. Jean expected he and Harry would be gone all day.
As they trouped to the bank George grinned to himself in regards to what a large phial of Erumpet fluid with a purely mechanical striking mechanism could do when surrounded by conjured small steel balls all inside of a cardboard box. Or really inside two boxes with the balls between the boxes so it wouldn't be too heavy. That also meant there was no magic to be found as the fluid wasn't a charm to be detected. Fred would be so proud of him.
— — —
After the Floo travel, Jean leaned over to Harry. "Remember stay calm and negotiate. When you arrange to transfer your vaults here, ask for gold bars for the equivalent value because those can be sold in the non-Magical world whereas a Galleon cannot. You might have to pay a small fee for that but it'll be worth it to you."
"All right."
"Also, I have my secretary purchasing tickets for you to Australia on Saturday or Sunday. That should be enough time for you to conclude your business. I'm not trying to get you to leave," Jean told him with a hand on his shoulder, "but you said you wanted to leave soon and I would agree you'll want the extra time on the other end."
"Err, do I need to worry about the Goblins telling the Ministry back home that we're here?" Harry wondered, concerned about that.
"As long as you work out taking care of the damage, then no," Jean assured him. "They'll actually view knowing where you are as a game as long as they are compensated for the damage, even if it really should be the Ministry that pays for what happened because you did the Aurors' work for them."
Harry could agree with that last part.
All too soon they were in the bank and Jean arranged for English speakers to help Neville, George, and Luna, all of whom only needed to transfer their families accounts out of Britain for safety. Since they were not considered troublemakers like Harry was, their business was easy. While they planned to only move their accounts to France, Harry was planning on closing all of the Potter vaults.
Going into a back office, Harry found an older Goblin with a second joining before business started. When the newest one introduced himself as Ragnok, Director of Gringotts of England, Harry knew he was in for a long day.
— — —
As they headed out of the bank, Jean put an arm around his shoulders and leaned down to speak quietly. "Back straight and look normal until we're out. No matter how tired you are, don't look it."
Harry did as he was told but looked at the man. "Easy for you to say."
Jean chuckled as they went through the doors and past the pair of Goblin guards. The man steered him to the side and Harry saw a small café with tables outside, with George, Lee, and Neville at a table and finishing lunch.
"There you are, took you long enough," Neville said, then "Hey! That's mine," as Harry grabbed his plate and pulled it over, to take the half of a sandwich left.
Swallowing his first bite Harry said, "Sorry, but I'm ravenous. Order two more; you know I'm good for it."
"That's not the point," Neville said as he waved the waitress over and did order two more plates and Jean ordered lunch as well. "How did it go?"
"Exhausting as they wanted to argue every little point." Harry looked at their guide. "Jean, thank you again for doing this. You've been very helpful."
Jean waved it away. "I'm enjoying it. It's sort of like having sons but not all of the responsibility," he said with a smile.
Harry nodded before looking at his friends. "I think we have the problem of the damage to the bank mostly worked out. They were a little more understanding once I told them what I was after, but I still feel like I was taken advantage of. Nevertheless, at least that's generally behind me."
George looked at him for a moment. "Harry, do you have more than the Potter vault to help you with that? You know I can help a little."
Harry realized he was again talking about a return from his original investment in the twins' shop. "Thanks, George, but I have two Potter vaults and a Black vault to pull from."
George nodded, still thoughtful. "Harry, didn't you say you did that to break into Bellatrix Lestranges's vault?"
"Yes, why?"
"And her husband and brother are dead too, right?"
"Yes, why?" Harry asked again.
"Well, technically Mum and I suppose Ginny took her out from what I heard," George continued, "but Mum's not here to take credit and it looks like you and Ginny will get together, so if you took credit for that, I'd think you'd get Bella's vault by right of conquest and you'd have that gold to help out. Then you'd be using the Death Eaters's gold against them, sort of."
"You can do that?" Harry looked between his friend and Jean, but it was Neville who answered.
"Actually yes as the Goblins believe in and uphold trial and conquest by battle. You should see if You-Know-Who had a vault as it's be yours too," his friend said as the waitress brought three plates over. Neville grabbed his and made sure it was out of Harry's reach.
"He's right and that's a good idea," Jean said as he took his plate and started his lunch.
"Err, I didn't do anything to the Malfoy's, but can I claim their money too since I don't think there are any more Malfoy's and Narcissa was a Black and I'm still the head of House Black until Teddy turns seventeen?" Harry asked before taking a big bite of his new sandwich.
"Hmm, maybe, let me think about that," Jean replied quietly. After a long moment he said, "Perhaps you can, but you may have to give up upwards of 20 to 25 percent in fees, as they'll call them, but we all know it's a bribe."
"Unfortunate, but it's better than nothing and better than letting the Ministry get ahold of it," Harry stated and saw nodding heads all around.
"Harry, I see a trunk shop not far away," Jean said. "We should go visit them to see if they have a cargo trunk available."
"George, I saw a joke shop earlier," Lee said. "Maybe we should go and see if they'd buy your extra products because we can't use an entire box of rubber chicken wands and I doubt we'll have more opportunities to sell them if we have to hide."
When George looked down, Lee put a hand on his friend's arm. "Sorry, I didn't mean it to hurt you by bringing that up."
"I know you didn't, it's just…" George had to pause. "It's sort of the end of a dream that Fred and I had."
"Perhaps it's not the end but a change of direction," Jean offered.
George smiled weakly. "That does sound a little better." He looked at Lee. "It's a good idea. We can go look at the shop today and come back tomorrow with our extra products that would work best and see if we can sell them."
As Harry finished his lunch, Jean looked at him. "Let's go look at a cargo trunk for hauling the things in your vault, then back to the bank."
Harry nodded wearily. "If we must," but he rose and bid the others good-bye.
— — —
That evening, everyone was feeling better. The girls had spent most of the day shopping and were in a better mood. The boys except for Harry had gone shopping too, led by Bill; Harry would go tomorrow afternoon.
"Well?" Ginny asked. Harry explained about the morning and how stressful it was. However, the afternoon had gone better.
"Then George had the idea of trying to take over vaults of the Death Eaters we killed," Harry explained. "Tom Riddle didn't have a vault, but - I hope you don't mind, Ginny - I pressed for the claim of trial by combat with Bellatrix even though I knew it was you and your mother who took care of her; I also pointed out I was the head of her birth family. They agreed and I was awarded her vault minus some hefty fees. While I won't get the Lestrange family vault as there are other Lestranges, it seems like the Malfoys were very … err, efficient … in eliminating any competition in their family. We think there are no other Malfoys and I'll probably get their vault minus more hefty fees. Because of that, I'll actually gain money after and despite how much they charged me for the damage to the bank."
Ginny hugged him. "Good for you and I don't mind, although…" she batted her eyes and smiled overly sweetly at him, "I do expect something for that."
Harry blushed slightly and looked down. "I'm sure we can work something out."
Ginny leaned up and kissed him lightly and whispered something in his ear that caused him to blush more and have to clear his throat as if choking, which caused her to look very pleased.
When Harry was able to control his voice again, with the rest being amused by his discomfort, he added, "I have to return tomorrow for a couple of hours to wrap things up and to receive the contents of my vaults. I bought a cargo trunk at lunch thanks to Jean's prompting and gave that to the Goblins to pack up my vaults in England, plus the other vaults, and bring them in tomorrow."
"With more fees for the rush, I assume?" Bill asked lightly.
"Of course," Harry confirmed. "Still, this preserves everything and gives us money going forward. Jean and I have also worked out an agreement for him to help me have money available going forward. I have the vault that Andromeda set up and Jean can pull money out of it in the form of gold bars to sell in the Muggle world and deposit that in a Muggle bank I can access from anywhere in the world.
"I also found out," Harry said with a new grin, "that they don't like taking Muggle money and converting it into Galleons because no one ever wants to buy the Muggle money from them; they do it because the last treaty forces them to do it but they see it as almost worthless. I believe you told me," he looked at Hermione, "the rate was ten to one?"
"Yes, ten Pounds to one Galleon," she confirmed.
"Yeah, well, I'm getting twenty to one for taking it all off of their hands - all of the Pounds from the London branch, that is." Harry enjoyed seeing Hermione's mouth fall open at that. "They also brought up perhaps selling me all of the French Francs here too and I agreed. I won't have as much gold but I actually need Muggle money more right now so it's a win for me."
"I'm disappointed in myself for not thinking of that as they'll have been collecting Muggle money for many years," Jean said, "but congratulations for coming up with a big win for you that makes them feel like they won that game even if you really did. I think that makes up for them taking advantage of you in replacing the dragon, and I do agree they took advantage of you in that."
"Your secretary sent a note," Apolline spoke up. "She said she has the plane tickets you requested. They're for Saturday." Most of the group looked at her in surprise.
Harry explained to them. "We're taking an airplane flight to Australia on Saturday. That way we'll be there quickly and because it's non-magical it will be harder for Aurors to follow us."
"What will we do there?" Ron asked.
"Like we discussed, other than let Hermione and probably you look for her parents, I'm thinking we go further west, based on the fact that Jean said we need to avoid the ICW countries. I found out today that everything east of Australia until you get to North America is not part of the ICW. Most of South America isn't either, but parts of it are. That leaves us a lot of places to be lost in and yet still have a nice place to live."
"I trust you, Harry. You're doing well as our leader," Neville told him. The others agreed and Ginny smiled and squeezed his hand that she'd been holding.
"Thanks," he said with relief they were going to stick together. He looked at the last two. "Bill, Fleur, thank you for your help so far. Are you going to come with us or stay here?"
Bill looked at his wife for a moment and received a nod. "We've decided to come with you for at least a year or maybe two. We have a leave of absence from the bank. It won't help our careers, but better to be alive."
"All right, then we all have tomorrow and the day after to get ready before we leave," Harry told them. "Get whatever you need, although I can't tell you exactly what we'll be doing yet. I'd think we can get a few things in Australia if you forget something here. Oh, be sure you can pack whatever you buy in a trunk and that it'll survive in there, so no animals."
George and Lee looked at each other. "Maybe Gabrielle would like the last of the Pygmy Puffs," the redhead said and Lee agreed.
"What is a Pygmy Puff?" the mother asked with a quizzical and very unsure look that left the pair a little uncomfortable and Ginny snickering.
— — —
Harry wasn't surprised Ginny followed him into his room. Inside he saw a larger stack of bags, evidence she had been shopping. "Do you need help shopping tomorrow?" she asked as she kicked off her shoes. "Oh, I put the extra money in your bag."
"Thanks, and sure," he replied easily. "Come to the bank at lunch time; I'm fairly sure I'll be done by then. Jean offered to be my guide again."
She nodded and started searching through her clothes. He searched for his pyjamas too.
Soon, they were crawling into bed together and Ginny snuggled up against him again, although this time her emotions were in check.
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you want to do?"
"I think I'd like to find a little place where we can have a house and live peacefully," he replied. "I have no idea what we'll be doing, but that's the least of my worries right now because we have enough money that having a good paying job isn't required - just a job. As long as we have enough to buy food then I think we'll be fine. Or maybe we'll grow our own food then a job may not be required at all."
"That sounds nice. What about us?" she asked calmly.
"What about us?"
She lightly slapped his shoulder in a token warning. "Just answer the question."
He sighed. "Again, I don't have an exact answer, but I'm thinking we continue on like we are now and I think it will all work out. I expect we'll live together and eventually have a few children. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"It's a good start," she admitted. "I do hope a ring comes before the children."
"I think I can arrange that," Harry told her before turning so he was lying on his side too, but facing her. He proceeded to kiss her in the dark for quite some time before they fell asleep.
Harry was a little nervous as they all piled into a van Jean had rented through his company. Thankfully, a driver came with it, one who didn't know about magic so they had to be careful. Nevertheless, they would be at the airport in an hour to start their journey on Air France which would take a full 24 hours with a couple of stops in the middle. While Bill and Lee had a little knowledge of traveling like a Muggle, Harry felt like he wasn't much better and so Hermione was the only expert - as she'd been traveling like this every summer for most of her life. They followed her every direction. Jean had given them a few pointers, as he traveled like this about once a year for business, but he said he wasn't an expert either. Therefore, this was going to be an adventure.
To help, Harry now had a credit card with a large limit and he still had cash thanks to Sirius. All of the remaining money from the Goblins were in shrunken trunks which would stay that way and had charms on them to not be noticed and not stolen either.
Harry was also nervous about Winky coming with them. She promised she could stay invisible and find hiding places on the airplane, despite the fact she didn't know what one was. With great reservation, Harry agreed she could stow away and made her promise to come find him if there was any trouble at all.
All of the Francs and Pounds from the Goblins was in Harry's Muggle bank account and gave him a large balance. Harry had also left half of his gold bars with Jean. Per their agreement, Jean had promised to sell two bars of gold a month from what Harry left him and then when that ran out he'd get more from the Black account, depositing all of the money into Harry's Muggle bank account.
Andromeda was selling off Black assets she didn't want and also calling in old loans made by Sirius's father and grandfather in order to deplete the money from some of the Death Eater families. Despite Harry trying to make Jean take some money for the service, Jean and Apolline had refused, citing this as their contribution to helping the group because of the persecution from their home government.
On the airplane Hermione was pleased, and told them they should be also, to find their seats were in business class. Harry and Ginny did enjoy the comfortable seats, even if they didn't have any comparison to make to it, as they'd never traveled this way before.
During the flight, Harry and Ginny switched seats from time to time so they could each look out the window.
"We're so high up," Ginny exclaimed quietly after her first look.
Harry agreed when he had the opportunity to look. He also saw something else that gave him an idea. He didn't mention it to Ginny as he was sure she wouldn't be able to tell him anything useful. He almost asked Hermione but didn't think she would either. Nevertheless, when they stopped in Abu Dhabi Harry walked around to a few book stores in the airport and actually found a book that looked useful.
Ginny was sticking close to him so as not to get lost. "Why do you want that book?"
"I saw one earlier when we were flying and wanted to know more," he told her vaguely; she didn't ask him more as she continued to watch all of the people around them and still hold his hand or arm so as not to lose him.
They slept a little on the airplane, but it still had been a long trip when they arrived in Sydney. After collecting their luggage, they found it took four taxis to take all of them and their luggage to a hotel. Jean had arranged their reservations here too, so Harry only had to present his credit card so they could collect their room keys.
Ron wasn't pleased to find out Ginny was staying in Harry's room, but a look from Hermione and a glare from Ginny kept him quiet. George didn't care and Bill just gave a thoughtful then resigned look before they all turned in early to recover from their long journey.
They all slept in late and took it easy the next day to recover. Harry and Ginny lounged around the hotel and also took walks in the area. At dinner he found that Hermione had spent much of the day trying to find some evidence of her parents and had found nothing so far. She did have the idea to get mobile phones; so Harry went with her to a store and bought two mobile phones with pre-paid time so they could keep in contact when the party split while she searched.
After dinner, Harry invited everyone to his room to explain the next part of his plan, or so he hoped. He even had Winky sit with them. He passed his new book around as he said, "I think I've found our new home."
"Harry, this is a book about boats," Neville said as he held it up.
"I know," Harry said with some excitement. "I was thinking I could buy a big yacht and we could live on it. We could sail wherever we wanted, so if we became tired of one place we could go on to somewhere else. We just have to stay away from ICW countries, but we could go all over the world."
"Seriously?" Ron asked dubiously. "Live in a boat? Would it be big enough to hold us all?"
"Yes, Ron, yachts are huge compared to the boats that took you to Hogwarts," Hermione said as she took the book from Luna who'd barely even looked at it. "See, they can be very large," she showed a picture of one, "but those are also very expensive." She looked at Harry and waited with a pointed look.
"I think it fits our need," he answered a little stubbornly.
"Who is going to sail it? And work on it? These things take a crew, a crew whom we can't tell about magic," she pointed out. "This one here says it takes a crew of eight to twelve."
"Well, I thought we could learn," he answered slowly. "I'm sure Winky would be willing to cook." He looked at the elf who nodded happily. "I and at least one other person could learn to steer it. Others can do other jobs too. We won't be sailing all of the time, so there will be time to relax."
Hermione handed the book to Bill. "I think you're underestimating what it will take to do this." She sighed. "I'll wait another day to look for my parents as I think I need to be there when you go looking for this, at least for the first one or two."
Despite her looking and sounding doubtful, Harry wasn't dissuaded from at least looking into this.
"I'm not sure about this," Bill said slowly, "but I can see the appeal of being able to move around and be comfortable while doing it … or some of these boats look really nice." Fleur agreed as she looked at the book with him.
"Daddy and I sailed on a boat around Norway one summer," Luna said quietly. "It was very nice."
Harry smiled at her and was pleased she smiled back. He hadn't heard her say much since they'd escaped and he was a little worried about her. Looking at Ginny, he could see his girlfriend looked worried for the blonde too.
"We'll go look tomorrow then," Harry said happily. "I found out there is a builder and seller not too far away, sort of on the edge of Sydney. No one has to go, but if you want to, let's all be ready to go by nine."
The next morning, George, Lee, and Neville wanted to go look at the magical community here, but the rest wanted to go with Harry. So Harry hired a van for the day to take them wherever they wanted to go.
An hour later they were being dropped off at a ship builder's yard with the driver finding a shady tree nearby to wait under. They walked into an office and were quickly taken to the sales office where they saw an older man with a head of salt-and-peppery gray hair talking on a phone. He waved them in and pointed at the chairs in his office as he quickly finished his conversation.
Since there weren't enough chairs, Hermione almost pushed Ron into one before she sat on his lap. Fleur thought that was a good idea and did the same with Bill. Ginny indicated to Luna to take the last chair and she stood near Harry to show support.
By the time the others had sat, the man hung up the phone and stood, holding his hand out to Harry. "I'm Simon Cummings."
Harry shook his hand. "James Evanson. I'm looking for a yacht. I'd like it to have at least eight cabins and be able to run mostly on its own so it only needs a small crew. We don't really need people waiting on us."
— — —
As Simon Cummings was finishing his phone conversation and giving a hasty good-bye, he looked at the small group that had been shown in. It wasn't uncommon for a wealthy young man to come in with an entourage, although generally they were older.
Normally, the person was about the age of the red-haired man with a scar on his face and the very pretty girl with him, who had to have dyed her hair as it seemed to have streaks of silver in it. What these two did wasn't obvious, perhaps support in some way.
The little blonde was interesting as it seemed like she was barely aware of what was around her. A few more seconds though showed her to suddenly turn and look at him, almost as if dissecting him. He started to wonder if she was one of those who only looked spacey but in reality could probably describe everything in his room including the paperclips on his desk after only a single glance around. He'd met a few like that in his years.
He didn't have a read on the other pair in the chairs yet, but the young man looked something like a bodyguard with the way he was looking around while the girl on his lap was looking at a book on yachts; so maybe she was the advisor. Then again, if he was really a body guard he wouldn't have had the girl on his lap, so maybe just best friend?
Who was going to be buying was obvious. The others deferred to him even if it was subtly; he was obviously the leader and looked to be barely eighteen. He was also the best dressed of the lot.
The girl at his side, who looked a little under eighteen, which wasn't his business if she was or wasn't, was the bimbo girlfriend … or so he thought until she looked at him directly. Those eyes, they had seen things others haven't, he concluded. Then there was her stance; near him but not encumbering. Smart, she was a guard, probably one in training since he didn't see an obvious weapon and she did look young.
This would be an interesting but probably unprofitable morning, he thought as he hung up the phone and stood to greet the prospect. "I'm Simon Cummings." He was pleased to receive a firm handshake.
"James Evanson. I'm looking for a yacht. I'd like it to have at least eight cabins and be able to run mostly on its own so it only needs a small crew. We don't really need people waiting on us."
"That many cabins will make it larger than normal, unless you're looking for a smaller one with smaller cabins," he offered, curious what the young man would say.
"I think a larger one," Evanson said. "I'd like to be able to sail the Pacific Ocean and we'll be spending a lot of time on it."
"Good choice as that makes it safer. A new custom one or used?" Cummings asked, wanting to find out how serious he was. He'd never heard the name Evanson before and Cummings knew almost every name who could afford a new and custom super yacht in this part of he world.
"An existing one as I'd like it soon, preferably within the next week or two."
Simon nodded, ready to ask the final initial question. "We have a few. What's your budget?"
"I'd like to stay under 10 million Francs," the young man said without batting an eye.
Simon grinned on the inside without changing his expression. Maybe he'd make some money today after all. "I have a couple of choices available now, although only one would be considered larger. I have a picture of it over here," he said walking to the side of his office. "It's about thirty meters. It only has six cabins, but we could convert a few of the crew cabins to make a seventh and eighth. It'd probably only take us about a month. Would you like to go see it?" He handed the large photo to the young man and was pleased to see his eyes light up.
"Excellent, let's go see The Maiden of the Sea. It's actually 32 meters and has a double-hull for safety," he started as he led the group from his office. "It has all required safety equipment and ratings and is fully insurable by Lloyd's of London."
An hour later, they were finishing the tour and Simon was still feeling positive about this. He'd found they really only needed six or maybe seven cabins now, but thought they might pick up another couple soon. He thought it amusing the "advisor" didn't look happy to hear that for some reason, but he was used to the "leader" making decisions that his followers didn't like but did anyway.
He'd finished the tour on the bridge and was taking them down to the foredeck at the front of the boat.
"Mr Cummings," Evanson said, "we'd like a few minutes alone of you don't mind."
"Certainly, as long as no one tries to go swimming, either in the hot tub or overboard," he said with a chuckle and most laughed with him. "Can I provide you with lunch? It would probably have to be simple since I didn't know you were coming beforehand." The longer he could keep them here the more often he made a sale, or such was his experience. The younger lanky friend/bodyguard nudged his buyer friend, who smiled back and gave a yes.
"I'll be up on the bridge making a few phone calls and have the food brought to us. Wave when you need me," Simon said as he left.
As he hurried one deck up, he pulled out his mobile and called his secretary. "Courtney, order a tray of the good sandwiches, better make it two, and bring them out to The Maiden with drinks as fast as you can. Offer a big tip to speed them up. Oh, and I know you like to flirt with the buyers, but whatever you do don't flirt with this one. I have the feeling his little redheaded bodyguard wouldn't like that. Hurry girl!"
He hung up and watched the group take seats on the deck chairs. "That's right, make yourselves comfortable like you own the thing," he said to himself with a grin before called the head engineer to find out how long it would really take to convert the smaller cabins.
A half hour later Courtney was coming with food and one of the yard boys had been conscripted to bring the cooler of drinks. True to his warning, Courtney behaved herself. Normally he didn't mind her flirting and thought it probably helped him a bit. However, his read on this group said that would be bad and the unwelcoming look the little redhead gave the busty Courtney proved his guess correct.
After they had eaten in the big dining room, Simon had to ask. "So, Mr Evanson, what do you think? If I don't need to do any conversion of the cabins, I can have it ready for you in a few days, as that is how long wire transfers generally take - that's assuming if you have a captain's license. It might take a few more days beyond that to round up a crew if you don't have the license. If you would like us to convert the crew cabins into passenger cabins I can have that done in three weeks." The young man smiled and continued to be polite, for which he was thankful. He'd had to deal with a number of "entitled jerks" over the years.
"It's really very nice, but it's too small."
That surprised Simon as he thought it would have been just the right size. He would have been happy to have sold a larger yacht but he didn't have one at the moment. "We have a 48 meter yacht on the line, but it'll be another four months before it's ready. Can you wait that long?" he asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. I guess we'll have to go elsewhere."
Simon watched the sale figuratively fly out the window … unless. "I have many contacts. Perhaps you'd like to stay here and enjoy the boat while I make a few phone calls. I'm sure I can find something you'd like far faster than you could." It was a lot less commission for him this way, but he still make some money for getting the lead if he brought the lad in and he made the purchase.
The young man looked at the bushy-haired advisor and she gave a nod. "Very well."
"Make yourselves comfortable," Simon said and hurried to his office. He really did know everyone in the business in this part of the world.
— — —
Although it had been a pleasant afternoon on the large boat, and eye-opening to see a boat like this in person, Harry felt it was late enough they needed to be leaving. Guiding his friends back towards the offices, Cummings came out just before they arrived.
"Mr Evanson, good timing," Cummings told him with a smile and thrust a sheet of paper at him. "It's only a fax of a photo so it's not the best picture, but I found a 54 meter super yacht with ten cabins. You really should have a crew of at least twelve, but you could probably do with four to six if your group is willing to help out. The décor and features are comparable to what you saw on The Maiden and it can sail over 3000 miles if you start with a full tank of diesel. It can also be ready in a week. The bad news is that you'll have to travel to Singapore to look at it and they won't be ready to receive you until two days from now, but since it's an eight hour flight and you won't be leaving before tomorrow morning that works out for you."
When the man paused, Harry nodded as that did sound about like what he wanted, and although the picture in his hand was a little grainy, it still looked like decent boat. "And the cost?"
Simon did his best not to wince as he said, "While it is ten years old, I'm told it's in pristine condition. When I mentioned you'd be paying in Francs they asked for ten million." Almost everyone gasped, all except for Evanson.
"I see," James Evanson said slowly as he looked the man right in the eye. "What do you think, Mr Cummings; is it really worth 10 million."
Cumming was surprised the young man asked that so evenly based on the reactions of the others. "I will have to point out I haven't seen the boat, Mr Evenson, so maybe it is but perhaps not."
"That's a lot money," the advisor said softly.
Evanson nodded an acknowledgement but looked at the little redhead, making Cumming wonder if she was more than a bodyguard.
"It is a lot of money," Glenda/Ginny said, "but you're also buying eight houses and common rooms as well as making them all mobile." She turned to look at Cummings. "If we decide we no longer want it in ten years and we bring it back in 'pristine' condition to sell, how much could we get for it?"
Cummings thought that was a good question. "No one can predict the future," he wondered why a few of them smiled at that, "but you should get at least half back, maybe a little more if it's a sellers marker and you have it in pristine condition and modernized where needed."
"So in the long term, he's not really spending 10 million," Glenda said, "but only half or less."
"That is a smart way to look at it," Cummings agreed readily, trying to encourage that thinking.
Evanson smiled at the girl who smiled prettily back at him, making Cumming think there was more than a professional relationship there, even if it was only starting to bloom.
"Art," Evanson looked at the older redhead, "what are your thoughts on traveling to Singapore?"
"I don't foresee any problems there," the older redhead said.
"Can I assume you get something for this, even if you don't sell us your boat?" Evanson asked Cummings.
"The finder's fee is small, but it does exist." Cummings saw no reason to lie about it.
"Very well. I'll go take a look at this boat on the condition that you come too and look at it honestly, for you seem to have been honest with us as far as I can tell. In addition, I'll give you ten percent of what you save us off of that 10 million. What do you think, Mr Cummings?" Evanson smiled at him mischievously.
Cummings chuckled softly. "Good negotiation and I accept if you'll pick up my plane ticket and hotel."
"If you'll make the reservations I'll pay for it," Evanson countered.
"If you'll step into my office, we'll make the reservations for you and your crew to be to be flying tomorrow morning." Cummings waved them in.
Half an hour later, including a phone call to Jean for him to go to the bank and have a letter of credit faxed to show he could pay for it, Harry and his friends were traveling back to the hotel to prepare for a flight to Singapore the next morning - except for two of them.
As Hermione looked unhappy and Ron didn't look much better on the trip back to the hotel, Harry felt like he had to say something. "I know you want to come with us, but you must find your parents. It's one of the reasons we came here and honestly, that is important enough I won't let you come until you find them and fix the problem." He wanted to say "restore their memories", but that had to be implied because of their van driver.
"I know but-" she started before he interrupted her.
"I know, but you feel like you're being left out. Look," he sighed and did his best to lower his voice as he had become a little passionate and raised it before. "Look, family is more important. You find them and fix it. I promise you, nothing short of death will prevent us from coming back and picking the two of you up. The offer for your parents to join us is also always open; it's why I wanted the extra cabins."
Hermione looked down and nodded slowly.
Since she had accepted it, he now turned to Ron, who didn't looked thrilled either. "Ron, I'm sorry if this isn't an adventure you want right now, but I really need you to go with her. No one should be alone. I'd go but I have to take care of the boat and only I can do that. If you, if either of you, think you need it, then talk to George or maybe Neville. I'm sure either of them would go if you asked." He saw the two mentioned nod but Harry was fairly sure the couple wouldn't ask.
Ron nodded stoically. Harry felt that acceptance was a win here. They both knew it needed to be done and was the right thing to do. With a grin, Harry added, "Besides, this could be a good time for some personal conversations."
While Ron glared at him, Hermione piped up a little accusingly, "What about you and Ginny?"
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and smirked. "We have been," they both said at the same time, causing each other to laugh. Hermione looked piqued but didn't press the issue any more.
Harry wondered why Bill or Fleur hadn't said anything, but they looked happy and carefree, seemingly along only for the ride, and maybe to prevent anything too crazy from happening.
The next morning there were almost tearful good-byes as most of the group readied to leave. Harry had Ginny keep Ron occupied while he pulled Hermione aside.
"The hotel is paid for no matter how long you stay," he told her. "So stay here until you're sure they're not in Sydney and you have a good lead to follow." He pulled out a thick envelope and pushed it into her hands. "When I was getting a credit card at Jean's bank, I had an extra made with your passport name on it just for this trip. I know you'll be careful with it, but it's there for when you travel and hotels and anything else that's expensive."
"Harry," she practically hissed, "you don't need to do that."
"Oh, so you have a big bank account to draw on?" he quipped and she had nothing to refute him with. "I also put some of Sirius's extra money in there. You'll have to have it changed to the local currency, which you should do soon as you can, but at least you'll have some cash for emergencies that way. Be bloody careful and call me at least every other day even if only to tell me you're still looking." He pulled her in for a tight hug, which she returned.
She also sniffled once and said softly, "Yes, dad."
He chuckled and pulled back. "In that case, avoid magic so as not to draw attention to yourself but have a little fun too. All right?"
"I will."
"And don't be frantic in a hurry; I'd rather you be safe. I'm sure it'll take us at least a month to sail back - assuming we like this boat - and we can take longer if you need the time." He hugged her again, though quickly this time, before leading her back to a worried looking Ron.
Harry gave Ron a quick manly hug. "You'll do fine, just follow her lead … sort of just like with your homework for school."
"Ha - ha - really funny," Ron replied sarcastically. "You'll take care of her?"
There was no doubt who he was worried about. "Yes, Ginny will be fine. Besides George and Bill and Fleur will be there too."
Simon Cummings joined them at the airport and soon they were heading towards Singapore, with Winky stowing away again.
— — —
The next morning, the group took a van to the shipyard here. Simon led the way. He took the spec sheet from a man he introduced as Mr Li, who also joined them on the tour and had excellent English.
It was everything Cummings had said. It was probably a little more luxurious than the boat in Sydney had been. There were ten passenger cabins and a dozen much smaller crew cabins. The owner's cabin was double sized, and two other cabins were a little larger than the remaining seven "normal" cabins, which were luxurious in their own way. They found a hot tub for twelve as well as a lounge area that included a piano. There was also a large motorized skiff hidden in the back to act as transportation between the yacht and shore since the yacht would routinely not be able to dock. The bridge had every modern instrument required and a few extras. It didn't look ten years old it was in such good condition. Even the engine room looked spotless.
Mr Li understood their need for a discussion without them asking and said he needed to check on something and left, promising to return in a half hour.
Harry looked at Cummings. "I like what I see. What do you think think in regards to the price?"
The man sighed and looked at the spec sheet in his hand for a moment. "Honestly, the boat is in very good condition and is probably worth what they're asking; they've done a good job on fixing it up. About the only leverage you have is that they've had the boat for almost a year. I don't know how many potential buyers they've had looking, but perhaps they'd come down a little in order to make the sale. Yes, perhaps they will as I know they have another large new boat about to be completed soon just like we do."
"So…" Harry tried again to get more of an answer.
"I'll probably be able to get you a small price break, but I'm not sure how much. Make yourselves comfortable." Cummings pointed to some bottles of water left for them before he left.
Ginny looked at the others and smirked. "Harry and I call dibs on the owner's cabin." Everyone except Luna gave her an eye-roll.
By the end of the day, Harry had spent nine million Francs and depleted much of his bank account until Jean sold some more gold, but he had a new super yacht to show for it. Provisions for a month were also thrown in and he gave up the piano as a concession since no one knew how to play it. Mr Li was also willing to put out a call for crew, but the expense for them was Harry's responsibility. Simon Cummings was very pleased with his extra 100 thousand Francs.
Six days later when the boat was ready and wire transfer had completed, Harry and his group moved themselves aboard and settled in. Harry and Ginny took the "owner's cabin". Bill and Fleur took one of the larger cabins and the other larger cabin was reserved for Ron and Hermione when they rejoined the group. The others took the first passenger cabin they found since the remaining ones were all the same size and still very nice.
Winky was given one of the crew cabins over her protests about it being too large. Neville used another crew cabin to set up plants in, along with a few spells to produce artificial sunlight before it was locked so the Muggle crew couldn't get in. Winky could still get in of course in order to pick herbs and other things as needed.
Lee and George agreed to Harry's request to learn about the engines and other maintenance tasks, since they had inventive minds. Harry and Ginny planned to learn to captain the boat and get licensed. Winky was in charge of the kitchen as long as she made sure the Muggles didn't see her. They all would keep the boat clean as needed, but Luna was put in charge of overseeing that, which mostly meant reminding them to pick up after themselves when they forgot.
Part of his offer to the crew they hired was that the crew needed to willing to teach the group how to operate the boat in exchange for a bonus as well as a plane ticket to anywhere they wanted to go at the end. With those incentives and an expected cruise for only two to three months, it hadn't been too hard to find volunteers to hire. Simon had told him that it was expected for crew members to not ask personal questions, so that helped.
One of the first conversations with Captain Moore had brought up the travel time.
"Captain," James/Harry asked, "how long will it take to sail to Sydney from Singapore?"
"Twelve days won't be hard. We might could do eleven if you really needed to. However," the man smiled, "if you want to learn how to be a captain, it will take at least two months of hard work - perhaps more. That also means at least a few stops along the way for experience with ports, which will add to the twelve days. You can do the extra time either on the way or around Australia."
Harry wondered how quickly Hermione would accomplish her task. He also considered he needed to give her long enough she and her parents could get to know each other again too. "Let's plan for a leisurely month to reach Australia itself, then we can go fast or slow around the coast as needed until my friends are ready to be picked up."
"Very good, sir, we can do that," Moore answered. "Perhaps our first lesson should be on navigation and route planning. Then I have some books for you to read once we're done with that." Harry called Ginny up and they started some new "classes".
— — —
As dinner approached, Harry and Ginny returned back to their cabin. "I think that was interesting; I had no idea what it took to travel by boat. What did you think?" he asked.
"Damn, I spilled something on my blouse. I hope it wasn't that way all afternoon," Ginny groused and started taking her top off.
Harry just stared at her in her bra as she walked into the closet to find something else to wear. She had started wearing a little less around him since they had come to Singapore. When she first did it she claimed she wasn't ready to show everything. While that had disappointed Harry at the time, he now saw the wisdom in going slow and working up to more intimate times. Nevertheless, this sort of thing was still very new to him.
When she came back out of the closet shrugging on her new blouse, she told him, "I was confused at first because there was so much information. However, after I understood that our speed multiplied by time sailed equals our distance traveled, then a lot of it suddenly made sense. I'm not sure I could accurately plan a trip yet, but I think I could plan one and not be off by more than a half a day to a day."
Harry nodded and walked over to her. Gently, he grabbed her hair and pull it out of the back of her blouse; he also kissed her neck before letting the hair go. "I see what you mean. Fortunately, we're not in a hurry to go anywhere, so if we're late by a day it probably wouldn't matter."
"Thank you, and true. We'll get this." She turned around and put her arms around his neck and kissed him languidly. "Considering how much you've enjoyed watching me in just my under things, I think we should try out the hot tub tonight. Fleur talked me into a two piece swim suit that I think you should like."
He couldn't help his grin. "I like the idea. You know, it seems like you and Fleur have started getting along better now." He left his question implied and could tell she understood as she sighed.
"We have because we don't have much choice." She looked at him intently. "If I'm fully honest, will you keep this to yourself?"
"Of course."
Ginny sighed again. "She's never going to be my best friend. I still find her to be fairly arrogant and then there's the whole Veela thing that I can't begin to compete against…"
"There's not a competition," he injected into her explanation.
"I know, it's a girl thing; but it's still there so don't try to understand it," she replied. "Anyway, we're sort of forced together and I have figured out that we're going to have to live together for a longer time than a summer. I mentioned being around each other more to her and she agreed and pointed out that if we weren't friendly with each other it was going to get a little lonely amongst us girls. So we've sort of called a truce and are trying to get along and it's mostly working."
"Mostly is a good start and I'm glad you two are doing this." He kissed her more soundly than before. "Thank you for trying and for sharing."
"You're welcome. Shall we go to dinner?" she asked as she let go.
At dinner with just their group, as the crew ate separately, Ginny announced that she and Harry were going to try out the hot tub this evening that she'd seen earlier and everyone was invited. Lee perked up and had to explain to George (so the others were reminded too) what a hot tub was.
As it grew dark, the group started to make their way to the hot tub on the foredeck. Harry found the switch for the lights and turned all but one off to make it a little more private. Ginny dropped her robe and Harry was just stood there and enjoyed Ginny in her black two piece walk into the huge tub and get comfortable in the water. It wasn't one of those itty-bitty bikinis as it covered everything, but the black bikini was a nice contrast with her pale skin and her red hair. With a grin, he joined her in the warm water.
"This is really nice and we can see a lot of stars too," she commented as she pulled her hair up and kept it up with a band she'd brought.
"True, but not as nice as you," he quipped.
"Stop it," she said with a blush and a tone that indicated she didn't really want the complements to stop.
Harry watched her sink a little until her breasts were just at the surface of the bubbling water. Based on her grin at him, he knew she'd done that on purpose. "You are a tease sometimes," he told her softly as he heard the footsteps of others coming.
"You seem to like it," she returned. "Hi Luna. Come sit beside me."
Harry noted the blonde had a one piece swimsuit on, but she looked good in it. Fleur and Bill came next, with Fleur also in a one piece, which was probably for the best. The three boys were coming behind her and didn't seem to be in a hurry as they were watching her. He looked at Ginny and saw her shaking her head at the boys' obviousness.
Sitting back with his arm around Ginny's shoulders, Harry kept up with the conversation as they all talked about the boat and what the first day of sailing was like, including the few other ships in the distance. Captain Moore had said they'd see more boats and ships for the next day, then not so many, and then more again when they neared Australia.
While Harry was content to just sit and talk about whatever, he noticed that Ginny was asking the others about the boat, what they liked, would like to do, and things like that. When Fleur mentioned the Yule Ball at Hogwarts over three years ago, Harry was surprised to see Ginny's eyes light up.
"I know, we should have a formal dinner, on Friday night I think," Ginny said excitedly. "Everyone can dress up. I'll also lock the doors to make it private so we can talk about anything we like. What do you think, Harry?"
Harry saw that Bill and Fleur seemed to like the idea, as did Neville. Luna didn't seem to care. Lee looked amused, while George seemed to be the only who didn't care for the idea, but he didn't say anything either. "Sure, that could be fun to do occasionally."
"You're right," she continued in her excitement, "if it goes well we could do it every Friday evening." Now George groaned. "What?" she asked him with an expectant look.
George sighed. "Never mind, it's fine. Not sure if I brought anything smart with me though."
Ginny lifted her hand out of the water and waved it a little in the motions of a transfiguration spell. "Just fix it."
George shrugged and didn't say anything more.
Ginny looked at Harry in puzzlement. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I could be wrong, but my guess is he isn't enthusiastic because it reminds him of Fred. Be gentle."
She gave him a silent "oh" before she whispered, "Thanks." Turning the group, she asked, "Any requests for food?"
After a while, Lee and then George got out and went to the bow of the boat and looked out, having a private conversation for a few minutes. That seemed to be the signal to the rest and they slowly started to get out and then leave for their own cabin.
Ginny grabbed Luna's arm as she started to leave. "Are you all right?"
Luna shrugged. "I don't know. I seem to have a terrible infestation of Wracksports and I don't know how long it'll take to get rid of them."
"Let me know if I can help," Ginny offered.
Luna looked at her and then Harry before she smiled. "I don't think you can, but I'll let you know if that changes."
As she left, Ginny looked at him; it was now only the two of them left. "I tried; I think she's depressed about her father."
"You did," he agreed, "and we both will keep on trying. I think you're right about her missing her father. We all need time to find normal again, or our new normal. Stand up please?"
She was confused as to why but did. She was then pulled onto his lap where she was held securely around the waist.
"I have you now."
"What are you going to do with me?" she asked in amusement.
"I think kissing sounds like a good start."
"I think that's about all you're going to get," she told him, "at least for now. I haven't made up my mind yet about moving things forward, but be a good boy and it'll happen."
"So good kisses then," he grinned at her before starting the kissing.
Eventually, they returned to their room. They still slept together, but it was still just sleeping. Harry wondered when it would go further.
(A/N: No, I don't have the means to live on a yacht of any size, but I can read about them. Pretty much everything mentioned about them is true about yachts in general or at least one I found online.)