Chapter 7: Arrival at the great house, the 'show,' the warning, birthdays, and a "vacationer" arrives.

Monday, July 30th, 2018, 6:00 PM

Jimmie and Goodnight apparated to the end of the Sussex Estate's drive with a light pop. Goodnight looked around in the low light, as she noticed the two stone columns on either side of the tree and plant-lined gravel drive. To her right was the mountain road leading to St. Ann's Bay, and she noticed a drive across the way leading to a white house around the hill, which had a light on.

"The Graves are in," Jimmie said, as he nodded toward the white house. "They're probably with Mum and Da', and I'll bet Mark is here. Come on, and let's see who's visiting."

"Why apparate out here?" Goodnight asked as they began their short trek.

"I'm not sure what's parked in the parking area, and I didn't think that you would like to apparate onto the roof of an automobile, or into one for that matter," Jimmie said with a smirk.

At Goodnight's nod, both lighted their wands, as they started walking up the curving gravel drive. Goodnight was looking at all the plants at the edges of the drive, where she noticed that many of them had been in pots at their wedding reception, plus others such as Elephant Ears, including magical herbs. It was truly beautiful, even in the evening, with the palms and other trees overhead lighted up by wand light.

As the two made it to the parking area, sure enough, the other Range Rover was sitting out on the gravel, and close to the walkway where they would have apparated. Here, Goodnight looked up, aimed her wand up at the massive canopy overhead, and gasped. Two large tree's limbs stretched out like spider's legs overhead meeting in the center, and the canopy covered the entire parking area like the ceiling of a great cathedral. It was amazing.

"What are these trees, Jim?" Goodnight asked in wonder.

"Oh," Jimmie said, after looking up at what Goodnight noticed, "they're old guangoes, which some call rain trees. They can be found in South and Central America, and are known as the 'samanea saman.' They grow to a monstrous size, like these, where they really spread out, and are good for shade. They also have uses in potions, and wand wood.

"Hey," Jimmie smirked, "let's give Mum and Da' a surprise with our patronuses, and add a little roar to them, yea?"

The elder Potters had never seen Jimmie and Goodnight's patronuses, which they had kept a secret, and both thought it a good idea for a laugh. Jimmie cast a privacy ward and conjured his patronus.

Jimmie's patronus was unique, as it was a Southeast African Lion, but its huge mane was what set it apart, as it was interlaced with golden strands of magic. The tuft on the tip of its tail also carried it. It was, truly, the king of the beasts, and Goodnight noticed its huge testicles, as it pranced to the end of the parking space looking for trouble, before it turned, and came back to sit at Jimmie's feet. The lion measured about four feet at the shoulder and was huge. When it lifted its huge head up and greatly yawned, and then licked its lips as Jimmie run his hand against the magic creating its mane just behind its left ear, which it leaned into, he gave it its command.

"Go find Mum and Da'," Jimmie said, "and tell them," here, Jimmie touched his neck with his wand, "ROAR!"

Goodnight sniggered and did the same by conjuring hers. It was its mate, a huge female lioness.

Both watched as the two leonine patronuses pranced off with their tails waving about, with her's just slightly lagging behind and to the right side of her husband's, where they disappeared through the front door of the great house.

Here, Goodnight turned, wrapped her arms around Jimmie's neck, and began to snog him so hard that his toes curled.


Daphne and Harry were sitting in the drawing-room, which was at the rear of the house, and at the end of the hall. With them were Goodnight's parents, Bill and Bella, along with David and Debbie Graves, and Neville and Hannah Longbottom. The drawing-room was where Daphne held court, and it was filled with antique but comfortable furniture. The front sitting room, which she called the parlor, had more modern sofas and chairs.

The two large lions pranced down the hall, and past the front sitting room's door, where all the children were watching the telly, though Little Harry and Al noticed the patronuses, and quickly stood. This caused the rest of the children, which consisted of Lily Helen, Scorpius, Mark, and Little Frankie, and Alice Longbottom to stand, and head for the hall. Just as they walked into the hall, and to the arched doorway of the drawing-room, they witnessed a sight that would be muttered about for years.

Jimmie's lion went first, as it walked up to Daphne and Harry, where it sat down and opened its huge and frighteningly tooth-filled maw, and roared loud enough to shake the window glass. Not two seconds went by when Goodnight's lioness did the same. Next, both stood, and started prancing about the room close to the rear door leading to the back sleeping porch. Here, though, was where things became embarrassing, as Jimmie's lion sniffed underneath Goodnight's lioness's tail, licked its lips, and mounted the lioness, forcing her to squat, where the lioness snapped at the lion before the lion started to rut. Just before the huge lion started to give his first hunch, and just as it started to grab hold of the lioness by the hide of her neck, the patronuses dispersed.

Little Harry and Al quickly looked at their parents, who were both gaping, with their mother blushing red-faced. One could have heard a pin drop before Scorpius snorted, and let out a laugh. "Ha! Ha, ha, ha! Ha, hee, ha, ha, ha!" This, of course, caused the rest of the boys to laugh, while Lily Helen, and Alice blushed, and stared at the floor.

"Whose patronuses are they?" Little Harry and Al questioned at the same time while trying to hold in their chortles.

Daphne, tight-lipped, and still red in the cheeks, sharply stood up with thin lips and started marching toward the door where the children stood. It must be from her eldest, she reasoned. "I'll curse Jim," she muttered, as the children parted with wide eyes, and stood back against the walls of the hall to allow her to pass. She stiffly marched to the front door, which opened with a quick twitch of her wand, before she marched outside. The children, of course, followed, with the adults finally leading up the rear.

After everyone poured outside, they saw Jimmie and Goodnight in an embrace and snogging at the end of the walk. This started the sniggers and chortles again, even from the adults.

"James Cyrus Greengrass-Potter!" Daphne hissed, causing Jimmie's eyebrows to shoot up to his hairline, as he and Goodnight broke their kiss.

"Uh-oh," Jimmie muttered to Goodnight, where he quickly plastered on a fake and innocent smile. He didn't know what he had done, but he sure knew when his mother was about to blow her top.


After Daphne scolded Jimmie while whispering something in his ear, which also made him blush, Goodnight's parents had stepped across the ward line and embraced their daughter. She was so happy that they had come, as neither were able to vacation much.

Finally, Daphne took Goodnight by the arm and led her new daughter-in-law across the ward line, where the younger witch was instructed to place a few drops of blood upon the front steps. Next, after healing her thumb, Daphne and Harry held hands and started chanting an incantation in a low voice, where her blood was absorbed into the steps. She was never able to catch the words but was told that she was now fully a part of the Potter and Black family, and could now access the house anytime she wished, which brought a bright smile to her face. Next, she hugged her new mother and father-in-law, and everyone made their way back inside the great house.

Once in the entry hall, Goodnight noticed the staircase to her left, and especially the balusters between the handrail and baserail, which were formed from flat iron into the shape of a lightning bolt, with a round curl at either end where they attached. The room was painted in a dark Gryffindor flat red, with the trim being a cream color, and it had a white ceiling. There was a large mirror hanging on the wall to her right, with a wall table just under it, and she noticed a hat and coat rack standing in one corner. However, she also noticed something that seemed new, which she pointed out to Jimmie when the front door was closed.

Jimmie looked at the front wall in front of the staircase and noticed two vertical channel-shaped metal rails attached, which were painted white, and the ceiling seemed to now have a trapdoor in it. It hit him what it was, then, as his parents had a lift installed, which looked to be about large enough for one person, and this made him frown. He knew what it was for, as his father would have bad days with his leg, where he had been shot with a gun years ago. It caused him trouble when bad weather arrived, and his father would use a cane on his worst days.

"It's an elevator," Jimmie whispered to Goodnight, as they walked toward the hall. "It's new, and I didn't know they had one installed."

As the newlyweds walked down the hall, Goodnight stopped to look at the framed photos sitting on the ledges along each wall. She noticed two black and white photos of two famous people, and they looked to have been taken at the great house. "Is that who I think it is?" Goodnight asked.

"Yup," Jimmie said, as he wrapped his arm around Goodnight's waist. "That's Ian Fleming," Jimmie pointed out, "and that's Noel Coward," Jimmie said, as he pointed at the second photo. "This house was owned by a British MP during King Edward VIII's time, and both made visits. The house is famous for having the first residential telephone in Jamaica as well, and the MP entertained many guests here.

"The MP lost his seat after he informed the king that he should abdicate over who he picked to marry. They had a falling out over that, but he did abdicate, with his brother becoming the king, which was the Queen's father during World War II"

Jimmie and Goodnight did not follow the younger wizards and witches into the sitting room, but they did follow their parents into the drawing-room, where they greeted the Longbottoms and sat down on two antique wooden lounge chairs, which had curved seat bottoms covered in padded leather. They sort of looked like two large and varnished wooden 'Js' with legs. It was like sitting in a comfortable sling or cradle. Harry mixed them both a rum punch, which he handed to his son and daughter-in-law with a smile, before taking a seat beside Daphne on one of the antique sofas in the room.

Once the newly married couple was seated, Goodnight asked Jimmie about why he was scolded, which made everyone else in the room look the other way, as Jimmie whispered in her ear, and told her about his lion patronus' debauching activities. He wondered if it had something to do with their bit of a make-out session before everyone came outside, and then, with a smirk, he declared his lion to be a bit of a rake. This caused Goodnight to snort, and blush to her roots. The young witch couldn't look her parents in the eye for a good fifteen minutes after that. Both, though, could hear the younger ones in the sitting room muttering and laughing about what had occurred. Neither would live that tale down for the rest of their lives.


"Professor Longbottom, it's good to see you here," Jimmie remarked. "How do you like Jamaica?"

"You don't need to call me professor, now, Jimmie," Neville said, "but we love it here, as I've become involved with your father in a joint venture to grow tropical herbs here, on the estate. Your grandfather will be the importer.

"These are plants that can't be grown in the UK; even in the Hogwarts' greenhouses. We're looking at building a couple of greenhouses where the old nursery is that you helped build."

Jimmie thought that over, as they had built a primitive nursery or greenhouse using straight tree limbs, and had covered it with clear plastic wrap as a temporary measure to try the idea out, and it worked. He grew banana tree seedlings there, on top of many other different plants that his mum and da' had collected over the years. "That's great Lord Longbottom! If I have time, I would love to help."

"Neville's fine, Jimmie," Neville corrected him again and waved off the titles.

Neville went on to explain that they had arrived at noon, had dined for lunch and that Harry had taken he and Bill on a tour of the estate. They were going to rehabilitate the stepped terrace garden on the hillside behind the house's rear terrace, and the new greenhouses would be behind the guest cottage, and over the hill, where the old nursery was located. He then went on to brag about all the different fruit trees on the estate, such as the papaya, the guava, the otaheite apple, the breadfruit, the noni, the mango, the mulberry, and the naseberry, etc. Neville was in seventh heaven, Jimmie noticed, as he caught sight of Hannah rolling her eyes at her husband, while she sipped her rum punch, and chatted with Daphne, Debbie, and Goodnight's mother.

"Just think of bringing all those fresh fruits to Hogwarts for the students!" Neville exclaimed with a huge smile. He went on to tell Jimmie that he had helped Harry cut down two stalks of bananas from a broom, which were given to he and Bill, and then helped Harry cut down the old plants while leaving the growing suckers to produce. He had learned to chop up the old stalk of the plant, which would not produce any new fruit, and use it for fertilizer around the remaining plant. It looked like his da' had been teaching Neville the secrets of banana farming.

Jimmie also knew that his father-in-law could profit off the fresh fruit and that many mixed drinks used them. It was a win-win solution all around.


It was getting late, so Harry poured himself, Jimmie, Bill, David, and Neville a glass of expensive cognac, and motioned for the men to follow him. They all walked out onto the sleeping porch and took a seat on the wicker furniture arranged about, where Harry offered them all a cigar. He lighted his, leaned back in his chair, sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment, as he rubbed his right shin. Finally, he looked over at Jimmie and frowned.

"Jim," Harry said, "I have something to tell you."

"Wha'?" Jimmie asked, wondering what was bothering his father, as he noticed the rest of the men take on a serious look.

"Did you see the article about the Jamaican being found at the croc farm," Harry inquired, "or what was left of him?" Here, Jimmie slowly nodded.

"That was us, Jim," David spoke up, as the other men grimaced. "He was a hitman working for Abazi, and we caught him armed, mind you, while trying to slip into Goldeneye on the night that you arrived."

Jimmies eyes grew big at this. "You don't think that he was after Goodnight and I, do you?"

"We don't know," Harry said with another sigh, as he rubbed his tired eyes, "but something's up; what with the annual intel training coming up."

"We had Mr. Blackenwell to move from his farm temporarily," David explained, "and move to Goldeneye so that we could watch over him. He's been hosting us now for many years, so we don't know who their targets are, but we're trying to find out."

"It could be just a coincidence, Jim," Harry said, "but watch out for yourself and Mary. We would prefer it if you both moved into the guest house or in here. That's what your mum and Bella wants."

Jimmie studied his father. "How long will you be here?"

"We'll be leaving for Britain in a couple of days," Harry replied, "but Dave and Debbie will be here the entire week."

Jimmie thought about it, and he knew that he paid out a lot of money to rent the villa, which he would lose some of if he did that, plus, they would lose their privacy. "No," Jimmie said, "we'll be staying at the villa."

Harry, David, and Bill started to open their mouths to complain, but Jimmie shook his head. "No, Goodnight, and I want our privacy, and I will not allow thugs to ruin our honeymoon. We'll be extra careful."

Jimmie noticed his da' look at David, and give him a subtle nod. He didn't know what that meant, but he guessed that he would find out.


At 9:00 PM, everyone made their way to the dining room, where Daphne brought out a red velvet birthday cake decorated with red and gold icing, which said "Happy Birthday!" It had two numerical candles in the center showing that he had reached thirty-eight years of age. Daphne levitated it onto the center of the dining table, where Harry sat at the head and lighted the two candles.

Harry smiled at everyone crowded into their dining room, before he and Neville stood, and blew out the two candles. Here, Daphne wrapped her arms around Harry's neck from behind, after he had sat back down, and kissed him on the temple, before whispering in his ear that he was going to become a very lucky man that night, which caused Harry to smirk.

Bella, who had helped Daphne bake the cake in the great house's long kitchen, which she couldn't stop admiring over all the windows and views, cut the cake, and served everyone. The adults were seated at the table, including Jimmie, Goodnight, and Mark, as the younger ones took their cake and drinks back into the sitting room, where they were now playing video games, and having a grand time.

While there, Mark told Jimmie and Goodnight that he was quitting the Auror force, and would be joining them for their training on the first of the month. This brought smiles onto the newlywed's faces, as they would be attending with someone that they not only knew but were very good friends with.

"Don't tell Teddy that yet, eh?" Mark said. "I don't want to distract him over he and Vic's upcoming nuptials, and I don't want to give him any ideas about coming into this, as he's happy with the Aurors like his mom."

"We won't, mate," Jimmie said, "and mums the word." Goodnight nodded as well.

"I'll let him know," Mark explained, "as I'm to visit the UK with mom and dad before we leave.

"Shame that he couldn't get the time off to be here, and his grandmother couldn't as well, nor, according to your parents, could your grandparents and your aunt and uncle, who I believe is in Paris on business. It was a pleasure meeting the Longbottoms, though!"

"Yea," Jimmie muttered, "the Longbottoms are great people, and Neville is close with dad. He became really close over the war, and especially afterward when his parents finally passed on. His gran isn't doing too well either," Jimmie continued, which only Goodnight and Mark heard.

"Sad thing, man," Mark muttered back, as he knew that Jimmie had never met his paternal grandparents; only his maternal. Mark's were getting up there as well.

Mark thought of something, as he glanced over at Jimmie. "Why hold your dad's birthday today?"

"Today's actually Neville's birthday," Jimmie quietly explained, "and Da's is tomorrow. They sometimes get together and hold one between them. It's about both having been born when they were, and why they were targeted by Voldemort."

Finally, Mark changed the subject since the conversation was becoming too dark-themed, so he grinned at the newlyweds. "So, how's married life, and especially your honeymoon so far?"

Here, the newlyweds smiled and began to fill Mark in on their new lives so far. Mark had a huge laugh over their new car and Dame Daphne's reaction to it.

"A Mini, really?" Mark chortled, before eating the last piece of his cake.


Tuesday, July 31st, 2018, 10:00 AM

Jimmie and Goodnight were lying back on the beach's lounge chairs in front of their villa and were enjoying the sun the next morning. Both had walkmans, and they had earbuds in their ears, as they sipped their mixed drinks, and enjoyed the view.

They had run into Mr. Blackenwell at the Bizot, and had breakfast with him, where they thanked him for the champagne the night before and told him about the Potters and Gudmundsson's being in the area. Both noticed, though, that the man seemed a little twitchy, and nervous, as he invited their parents to Goldeneye for the steel drum band that night.

As Jimmie sat his drink down on the small teak folding table between he and his wife, and after he lie back to close his eyes, someone plopped a lounge chair right beside him, and they leaned back with a loud groan.

Jimmie cracked his eye open and looked to his right, where he noticed a tall and older blond man with a huge smirk on his face, who was lounging beside him in Bermuda shorts, and no shirt. He was wearing sunglasses just like him, but no Panama hat. It was his cousin.

"Ernie!" Jimmie exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" This got Goodnight's attention as well.

"Well, kiddo," Ernie drawled, "your parents were good enough to allow me a spot of vacation, so I'm here for the week, and I'm lookin' forward to seein' all the chicks! It beats rainy ol' bloody Britain all to hell!"

Fuckin' bloody hell, Jimmie thought, the nanny had arrived. Goodnight scowled as she lie back, and pulled her large-rimmed sun hat down low on her brow, as she thought the same thing. Bloody parents, she complained!