Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Here are some answers to your questions. MNF
Chapter 14:
Words Can Speak Truth or Be Meaningless
Friday, 1 September 1995
Padfoot's Wiltshire Mansion
"I'm glad I don't have to be anywhere today," Harry said, throwing the paper down with force onto the breakfast table. "As if people didn't gossip about me enough. Now they know some of what happened that night. Honestly, an Order of Merlin award? I thought I was going to miss my pants during the whole thing!"
"Harry, I know you're upset," Sirius said, putting his hand on his son's shoulder, "but people needed to know. You realize you made the country safer. Can you imagine if the Death Eaters were still running amok and we were without wands?"
"Fine, the people who needed to know did know; why did they have to tell the public?" Harry winged. "What am I going to do when we need to go to the Wizengamot meeting on the eleventh? I'm going to be mobbed in the Atrium!"
"No, you're not," Remus said gently. "You're going to look like a sandy blonde, skinny boy with a very unfortunate case of acne. His name is Willy Inglis and I tutor him in reading twice a week. I plucked a few hairs from his sweatshirt when I was at his home on Tuesday last."
"Thanks," Harry said unenthusiastically. "Won't they think it's odd that Willy whatever is wearing my robes and sitting in the Potter seat in the Wizengamot?"
"I'll provide you with the antidote once we're inside," Sirius said. "And you'll be sandwiched between Neville and me."
"They're still going to get pictures of me," Harry said petulantly. "If that Skeeter woman accosts me again...sorry, Pater, but I need to go for a run. Ginny is coming over today and I'm just not prepared to be gawked at in my own home right now. Maybe burning off some of this nervous energy will help." Harry stood, shoved his chair back under the table with a bit more force than necessary before leaving.
"Maybe we should reschedule Miss Weasley's visit?" Remus suggested.
"No, Hermione is looking forward to this," Sirius said, "and Sirius needs to work through what he's feeling without insulating himself from the world. Ginny is either going to be invited to join the study group, or he's going to cut the Weasley family out of his life."
"I hope not," Remus said. "Molly loves him like a son and Arthur cares very much for Harry, not The-Boy-Who-Lived. It would be a loss to Harry if he were to cut them out."
"Personally, I think it's about fifty-fifty on how the day will turn out. Harry needs to know who he can rely on. Come on, lets get a move on our days too, I have some reservations to make for us to be fitted with wands in beautiful San Francisco in the middle of November."
The Burrow
"That's amazing," Arthur said as he handed the family copy of The Daily Prophet to Molly. "Harry, alone against all of those Death Eaters and Voldemort and he is the one who comes out alive!"
"He's an amazing wizard, Dad," Ginny said proudly. "He just…remarkable." Ginny sighed, which made Arthur nervous. She was warned he wouldn't like it if Ginny acted like a love-sick puppy when she visited Sirius's house today.
"I always knew he'd do something wonderful with his life," Molly said, as she read the article. True to her word, Amelia Bones did a full press release to be printed today. There were select photos, taken from Harry's memories, which showed Pettigrew killing Cedric Diggory, Voldemort, and the unmasked Death Eaters, and a truly terrifying one of Voldemort casting the Cruciatus at Harry.
To protect Harry, the article put forward the supposition that it was a spell cast by Voldemort which caused the wands to disappear. There were a handful of people in the know, but none would ever betray Harry and everyone else who had been in the graveyard was dead. The article continued with the promise of Harry being nominated for an Order of Merlin, First Class. It also stated that he was in the care of his godfather at an undisclosed location.
A second article went on to explain how the Ministry was handling the issue of the loss of wands. Mr. Ollivander had begun training Four apprentices and his shop would begin creating wands with all five working in tandem. In the spring of nineteen-ninety-six, these wands would be put up for sale. They were importing wand cores from the United States, Canada, and Australia. The Ministry of Magic would be subsidizing the cost of these wands, since cores were significantly more expensive than before The Great Wand Out, so that they would be affordable.
For the Aurors, Hit Wizards, Healers and others who must have a wand to perform their duties, wand makers from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan would be bringing their wares to the Ministry of Magic for fittings beginning in the very near future. These fittings would be by appointment only, but once the designated group had purchased their wands, some of the dealers might be willing to make sales to others. While the Ministry was furnishing replacement wands for those professionals who served the public; any other sales would be at the price and discretion of the sellers. The article said the wand makers had stated the mark-up would be significant, as they were selling wands privately at three to four times what they were charging in May.
To keep the process orderly, individuals hoping to purchase from one of these wand makers needed to petition the Ministry and if their reasoning was sound, they would be issued a purchase permit. The permit only allowed the person to get into the line for a possible sale after the designated group had been fitted. There was no guarantee there would be wands available, or whether the individual could pay for it. When Ollivander and his students put their wands on sale, different permits would be issued that were a guaranteed wand and at a similar price to what was paid by most first year students.
The Daily Prophet also reported on a scheme that the Goblins were running of issuing permits themselves for wands they had been buying from around the world. A team of fitters would be present, and anyone could purchase their permit, which did promise you would be fitted with a wand. The goblin wands came with a catch, however. Money would be directly deducted from your vault and if you did not have enough gold to cover the price, you were forced to use the Gringotts financing plan, which came with a hefty fifteen percent interest rate. Prices were not pre-posted, nor was there information about where the wands came from or who made them.
The Ministry/St Mungo's replacement sales began on Wednesday 1 November as did the goblin's sale. Finally, the article stated that those who had the funds available to them would be allowed to purchase Portkeys to whatever city they would like to attempt to purchase wands in, beginning on Wednesday 15 November.
"Dad, do you think you'll get your wand right away?" Ginny asked as she put the paper down. She desperately wanted someone to have a wand, so the laundry wasn't such a chore. She was concerned about doing it in the cold weather.
"Yes, Ginny," Arthur said. "My job is considered vital, and I will be in the second grouping getting their wands. Law Enforcement and Healers are the very first."
"Can I borrow it to do the laundry? I don't want to be washing clothes by hand when it's snowing," she explained.
"I'm sure we can work something out, Gingersnap," he said, calling her by his childhood nickname for her. "When do you leave today?"
"Professor Lupin will come through the Floo at eleven to get me," she explained, "and then take me to wherever Harry is living now. They're going to close the Floo on the other end so that the trip can't be traced."
"It's sad that it needs to be this way," Molly said, "but I understand why." She turned back to her newspaper, wondering about the state of the world when a fifteen-year-old boy saves the world, again, but needed to be protected from the boy who used to be considered his best friend. She and Arthur were disappointed in their youngest son.
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Professor Lupin arrived on time to escort Ginny to the manor in Wiltshire. Arthur had left for work, however Molly was there and when she hugged her daughter, she reminded her of the behaviour expected of her. Unfortunately, Ron chose that moment to enter the sitting room from upstairs as he'd just awoken. Seeing Remus Lupin, Ron pounced on the chance to ask about Harry.
"Professor Lupin, what are you doing here?" Ron asked and the other three looked between each other before he chose to answer. "Have you seen Harry?"
"I'm here to escort Ginny to Sirius's home for the day," he said carefully.
"You're going to see him! Why are you going and not me?" Ron lunged toward his sister, but Remus gently pulled Ginny behind him. "I'm his best friend. I was his first friend. It's my right to see Harry!"
"Ginny was invited by Hermione, Ron," Molly said, taking her son by the arm and pulling him back.
"Why was she invited and not me?"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you haven't been acting like a friend at all. Have you even written a letter to Harry?" Ron said nothing. "Remus, you should be leaving. Ginny, have a good day and we will see you this evening." Molly then pulled Ron into the kitchen. When Remus was sure that the pair were out of hearing range, he called out the Floo name Sirius had given his house.
"Padfoot's Doghouse." Remus struggled not to roll his eyes at the name, but it made Ginny giggle.
Landing in the foyer of the house, Ginny was amazed. She knew it was a big house, Hermione had explained about it in her letters, but her descriptions didn't do the entirely marble space justice. She looked up at the stained-glass dome which was at least four stories high. The staircase was grand, wider than many at Hogwarts, and those were designed in places for four or five people to comfortably pass. Ginny couldn't wait to see what else this mansion held.
"Ginny," Hermione said, hugging her friend. "I am so glad to see you. Come on, everyone is in the sunroom." The room had become the teens favourite place now that the weather was turning cooler. Today was cloudy, cool, and threatened to rain at any moment. The sunroom had been an orangery about a century ago, but the plants had died between when Arcturus was last alive and when Sirius took over the home. Now the space was full of couches and comfy chairs, the television and blue-ray player and a huge audio system and Sirius's recently rebuilt record and CD collection. The best part though, was that the whole room was charmed to feel like it was sunny and seventy degrees. No one asked how Professor Flitwick had done the spells, but the teens all hoped they'd learn someday.
Hannah and Susan were reading some Muggle gossip magazines, they'd needed something to fill the gap left when Witch Weekly stopped printing. Neville was studying a seed catalogue, making a list of what he'd like to plant in the empty greenhouse for the winter. He'd confirm his choices with Nicola to ensure they'd be used in the kitchens. Harry was flipping through a book about magical theory that Professor Flitwick recommended.
"Ginny," Neville said first, as he'd just put his bottle of squash back on the low table in front of him and was picking up a different catalogue. "It's great to see you." He stood and went to give the girl an awkward one-armed hug. Ginny couldn't believe the difference a few months had made in Neville. His skin was a beautiful golden hue, so much better than his usual pallor between bleached-sheet white and grey. His hair had grown over his ears, which hid the way they stuck out and he looked more muscular, if that was possible in such a short amount of time. In the past, Neville wouldn't have been the first person to shout out a greeting, here he was offering her a hug, even if it was a bit odd. Then again, they'd gone to the Yule Ball together and she was familiar with him.
Susan and Hannah both stood and hugged Ginny as well, wanting to know how she was faring and how things were at home. Ginny took a few minutes to give a general overview, what her father's new job entailed and how each of her brothers were helping keep the family going. Save Ron, who she chose not to mention due to how Harry felt about her youngest brother.
Finally, when everyone else had shared their welcomes, Harry stood and went to Ginny and gave her a gentle, brief hug. "Hi Ginny, glad you could come over today. Hermione has been very excited about it. Me too, no one else wants to talk Quidditch beside Sirius, and his stats are all from the seventies."
"I'm glad to be here," she said with a laugh, trying to remember what teams did well back then. "This house is amazing. Hermione said Sirius owns it?"
"Yup," Harry replied. "It was his grandfather Arcturus's house during the war. He wasn't a follower of Voldemort, but he wasn't willing to back Dumbledore either, so he moved into this formerly Muggle mansion and kept quite a few Muggleborn witches and wizards and some squibs from being killed. The pastry chef is looking forward to meeting you, he's the son of your Great Aunt Tessie, Alexander Prewett."
"Alex? Seriously? Everyone in the family thought he'd been killed," Ginny said excitedly.
"Nope, he was here and he's amazing at what he does," Harry said. "My birthday, er, confection was amazing. So much more than just cake. Let's take a tour of the house and we can end in the kitchens so you can meet him."
They exited the sunroom and Harry took them up what would have been the servants' stairs to the third floor. "There is a fourth floor, but those are the staff accommodations and out of respect we don't go up there. There is some storage too, and should you ever need clothes from like the twenties, there is a bunch up there. This floor is for guests and friends." He opened a door to a well-appointed room that seemed to have no personal items inside. "This will be Seamus's room when we start classes next week. He's mostly going to Floo to his house, so he can help his dad in the bar when necessary; but it's good for him to have a place to sleep if he needs it."
"What do you mean classes?" Ginny asked. All she knew was Hogwarts was closed.
"Pater, Sirius, and I decided I couldn't wait for Hogwarts to reopen. With Neville and his gran, we have employed several people to teach us things like defensive and magical theory, Muggle and magical history, runes, arithmancy and wandless magic. Hermione's parents are going to teach us maths and sciences." Hermione couldn't quite get a read on whether Harry was excited or not.
"Wow, I wish I could go to school like that," Ginny said quietly. She didn't mean for it to sound like she was asking for an invitation, but Harry heard it as such and walked away.
"Ginny, be careful," Hermione whispered before she pulled the other girl to catch up with her friend. The only other thing, besides bathrooms and other bedrooms on the third floor, was the room which had been converted into a classroom. Each student had their own desk with a flip-top lid to keep supplies and books in. The room would be used for classes where physical activity wasn't needed, like theory classes and runes. There was a different room with mats on the floors and walls that would be used for things like hand-to-hand combat and anytime they needed to cast spells.
The group went to the second floor, where the 'family' had their rooms. Sirius took the master suite, which included his office, a small library, a sitting room, and the bedroom and ensuite loo. Hermione opened the door to the office and was surprised to find a mess, so she closed the door next. Harry's suite was next to his pater's and nearly as large, he just lacked an office. Harry's rooms were neat, and he showed Ginny everything. Remus and Hermione were the only others on this floor. There was also a more private sitting room that Harry and Hermione had been using as their study space. Sometimes Neville joined them, but it was usually just the two friends.
The first floor was full of public rooms, including the massive library, the ball room, a billiards room, and the room that had been a 'gentleman's lounge' which had been turned into their physical education space. Passing through the first floor, Ginny saw the dining room, which shocked her that they ate at the table which seated twelve.
"Madame Longbottom and Neville live in the east wing of the house, along with Madame Bones, Susan and Hannah, who chose to share a room. They're on the top floor." Harry said. "Professors Flitwick and McGonagall have their rooms on a lower floor of that wing. We all eat at least dinner together each night."
"It's amazing, although isn't it odd to eat dinner with the professors?" she asked.
"Actually, they've been an immense help to us," Hermione said. "Professor McGonagall has made Transfiguration theory far easier to understand and she and Sirius are working with Harry, Neville and me on our Animagus transformations."
"Wicked," Ginny muttered.
"You sound like the twins," Harry said. "How is their business fairing?"
"They've nearly sold all the inventory they had, but they've been coming up with all sorts of new stuff," Ginny said as they took the stairs to the basement. "It's going to be an issue of getting supplies to make more inventory."
"Tell them I'll send the 'decoy owl' over next week so they can send me a list of what they need. Sirius or I might be able to have things imported for them. People are going to need a laugh. Hedwig is too recognizable, and someone tried to follow her back to me. We had Remus purchase a very non-descript barn owl now. We call him Decoy." The trio made it to the lowest level, and Harry directed them to toward the kitchen. Nicola was surprised to see him.
"Harry, is there a problem?" Nicola asked. "I'll have luncheon ready in another half hour, although if you need it sooner –"
"Nothing is wrong, Chef, I just wanted to introduce my friend, Ginny Weasley to Alex. He's her cousin," Harry explained, and Alex came out of his area to the main kitchen and looked at Ginny.
"You look like my cousin, Molly."
"She's my mum," Ginny said. "I had no idea you were alive. Mum believed that you were killed when my uncles were."
"No, they brought me to Master Arcturus and he hid me," Alex explained. "They were sworn to never tell the truth about where I was." He scooped her up in his arms and swung her around, hugging her. "I can't believe you're here! Thank you, Master Harry."
"You're welcome, but I'm just Harry."
"Alex, I need the pudding for lunch finished, but then you can a few hours off this afternoon to meet with your cousin," Nicola said kindly.
"Thank you, Nic. Tell me, Ginny Weasley, what is your favourite pudding?"
"That's easy, raspberry tarts. I love raspberries."
"Good thing we have some in the greenhouses Mas, er, Harry and Neville have created. You need to tour them, it's amazing what they've done."
"I'm going to take her there next," Harry said.
Hermione took his hand and leaned to whisper in his ear. "You're a good man, Harry Potter."
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"So, Red," Sirius had decided to give Ginny the nickname he'd sometimes used with Lily before he'd settled on her being called Petal. "Your brothers have created all of these amazing pranking items on their own?"
"Well, they have a financial backer," she answered with a smirk. Sirius already knew about Harry funding their business, just didn't know the specifics of their company. "But yes, they've done all the creation. The best is the Portable Swamp. It looks like a frisbee, but you throw it at the floor and it expands into a small swamp, including the smell. It's awesome."
"Oh, the pranking possibilities of something like that," Sirius said with a loud clap. "I might have a proposition for your brothers. Don't say anything to them, but..."
"So, Mr Potter, the world now knows of your heroics, how do you feel about that?" Professor McGonagall asked, dreading when school restarting, and these swamps would be everywhere in her hallways. She needed a different discussion topic.
"I'm glad I was among friends all day," he answered honestly. "I'm dreading going to the Ministry for the Wizengamot meeting in a few weeks. Pater says I'll use Polyjuice to get in, but I know people will be staring."
"Let them stare, Harry," Susan piped up. "You have done more for the wizarding world in the last fifteen years than the entire Ministry of Magic, sorry Auntie."
"You're speaking the truth, Susan, so there is no need for an apology," Amelia said. "I also want you to Floo into my offices. We can get you into the Wizengamot gallery without many eyes seeing you. Then once you're there, you and Neville will sit with Lord Black. Once we have a new Chief Warlock or Witch elected, I'm sure Lady Longbottom will join you."
"So, I have a question," Ginny piped up. "They listed the Death Eaters who were at the graveyard. What is going to happen with their estates? Shouldn't their money go to helping others, now that we know they were basically committing treason?"
"Oh, Miss Weasley, I like the way you're thinking," Augusta said. "As a matter of fact, we've already seized them. Those discounted wands that others will be able to purchase in the spring, the Death Eaters blood money is paying for them."
"Excellent," Ginny said. "I can't wait until I have a wand. I hate doing laundry by hand." The room laughed and Harry looked at Sirius, who had a glint in his eye.
"Ginny, I think I need to introduce you to a washing machine," Harry said. "By the way, how do you feel about taking some classes with us?" Sirius nodded at his son, knowing he did the best thing for them all by inviting this intelligent and engaging young woman to join their group.
