Ride-Along Chapter Three, Gardening Leave
Trainee Auror Harry Potter is on stress leave for a few weeks after killing a some of wizards burgling a shop
-=0=-
The Burrow
Harry wakes up again, clawing at the sheets, covered in sweat.
"What the hell is wrong with Harry" yells Ginny.
Harry flooes to Grimmauld place as soon as he's dressed.
…
Harry fidgeted at Grimmauld place. He's never like the place much, but now, stuck here instead of doing something, he understands how much Sirius hated being trapped here.
...
Harry goes back to Godrics Hollow. It's not winter, and he want to look at the house.
It's still there. The magical sign grows up like last time
Harry walks past the sign, feels a tingle as magic slips along his skin and stands on the large flat stone that makes up the first step of his parents front path. Their house is, as Harry get closer, really wrecked. The explosion ripped the wall open, and nineteen years of snow and rain have rotted out the whole back side. The roof has collapsed more since he was here during the war.
Harry turns around to look out to the lane, looking at the front hedge. On this side, there are several huge rose bushes, that are sprawling and unkempt. His mother probably planted them. He walks closer. They're healthy, but haven't seen pruning in so long they're wild. Dead canes clutter the centres.
Harry feels the urge to garden. To prune his mothers roses, trim back the encroaching wilderness, to make his parents abandoned ruined house not a mess.
He apparated away, back to Grimmauld place, back to peeling wallpaper, the stench of doxies and frustration.
Harry makes a list. A tent, gardening tools, muggle money, lots of food.
The goblins sulkily give Harry pounds. Harry buys a sack full of tools, a cheap wizarding tent and figures he can buy the rest at Godrics Hollow. He apparates to his parents ruin.
He walks around the back of the house, it's where the damage is worst, and dumps his sack and tent.
The house is broken; it needs to be repaired. Harry draws his wand "Reparo" he says, and lets his will reach out. The house shudders and the back wall completely collapses.
Fuck.
He empties the sack and heads into the village. He buys all the tinned things that look edible, biscuits, condensed milk, tea, butter and bread, and a pack of watery looking bacon.
The shopkeeper looks at his basket load. "Camping" Harry says. Fifty pounds lighter, Harry goes back to the ruined house.
The sack he dumps by the tent and puzzles over erecting it. He puts the food away, still reluctant to not know where the next meals going to come from, and puts the tools in the tent too.
He gets out the pruners and goes to see to those rose bushes.
The sun's setting and Harry's covered in scratches, but the rosebushes are some sort of shape.
Harry checks for muggles and vanishes all the pruning. He'll make a compost heap maybe, but not with rose prunings.
The tent is quiet, no Ron or Hermione; odd that… and Harry makes a cup of tea and heats up some tinned stew. He goes to sleep staring at the roof of the tent.
...
Harry has a nightmare about the dead burglars again. He sees the in the morgue, then they start talking. He can't understand them, so he in the dream he leans closer, until their strange whispers are in his ear. Then he can't move, they've grabbed him. He wakes up, and can't move for a bit.
He sleeps on the couch that night, and wakes up ten times, finally getting up with a stiff neck before the sun rises.
...
He spends a day using cutting curses and vanishing the tree growth in his fathers old quidditch pitch. By dinner time, his arms shaking. It's an odd feeling to have done magic all day.
He sips tea, holding the mug in both hands.
He falls asleep trying to read a novel someone left behind at Grimmauld place. He's not sure who the brother Karamazov are… and he's probably never going to work it out either.
…
His dreams are strange, but no dead burglars whisper to him, and he doesn't see a domestic.
He wakes up late, in a cold house to the sound of running water.
Overnight the kitchen tap has snapped. A good reparo has it working again.
Harry starts thinking about collecting some of the wood he's vanishing for the old wood stove. His mothers kitchen had a wood stove and a small magical stove. He'd kept both in the tent.
Cutting out the bigger trunks and piling them up gave Harry a pile along the back of his house, and a mostly clear quidditch pitch by Wednesday. Harry apparated to Aberswyth, and bought a couple of big sacks of grass seed at the garden centre. Banishing the sacks spreads the seeds, and it's kind-of fun watching them burst. As Harry eats tinned stew for dinner, he realises that in the last seven days he's done more magic than he had in months; even when he was on the run. And all the cutting curses, banishers and gouging curses haven't hurt anyone. He could get used to this.
Harry stares at his parents house, which when Harry pokes it with the trowel, is now rotten all over.
He waits for evening, and starts vanishing it. As the sun comes up, where the cottage was, there's a stone and brick foundation, and nothing else. Some furniture is stashed in his tent.
One of the muggle neighbours, taking his dog for a walk comes over and talks at Harry later, as Harry's pruning back the bushes around the fences.
"I say, where's that old house gone" says the man, middle aged, dark hair. His dog sniffs the fence.
"Demolished it" said Harry.
"Oh, it's just it's been there so long"
"My parents house. I lived with my aunt and uncle." said Harry, feeling like a cup of tea.
"Oh.. did they die"
"Murdered" said Harry bluntly.
"Oh terrible Sorry, I'm Reece Prowe-Smootly, I live up the lane a bit. "
"Harry Potter" said Harry. "I live in London these days but I'm on leave"
"Leave"
"Stress leave. Had some difficulties at work"
"Oh, what do you do Harry"
"I'm a policeman" said Harry.
"Oh…." said Reece Prowe-Smootly, taking in Harry's creased face, and the bags under his eyes.
"Yes, it was a robbery gone wrong and yes, I did have to kill some criminals" said Harry.
"Oh my. You're with special Branch"
"Yeah" said Harry. "I got early admission, star pupil and all that" he sighed. "And mum and dad's house had rotted to rubbish."
"Er. I'd better be going then" said Reece Prowe-Smootly, pulling his dog away.
...
A day later, as Harry chopped back saplings along the back boundary, someone loudly banged on the gate.
Harry turned and it was a policeman in blue and white uniform. Modern muggle police uniform was getting closer and closer to armour, Harry mused.
"Hi, I'm Harry Potter." said Harry.
"Dan Llewellyn" said the Policeman "You're the owner"
"Yeah" said Harry.
"From the branch, on stress leave" said Dan.
"Yeah" said Harry, wiping his brow.
"If anyone give you any trouble, officer Potter, you just call 8121991, that's me office number." said Dan.
Harry nodded "I left my phone in London" he said.
"Well, it's supposed to be gardening leave isn't it" said Dan. "How'd you get the house demolished"
"I know a guy, he did it after work" said Harry.
Dan snorted "Yeah. Lets not talk about cash jobs while I'm in uniform"
Harry nodded.
"You going to move back here" asked Dan almost casually.
Harry stifled a sob. "I dunno. My place in London, it was my godfathers. Its a shithole really, and lots of bad memories"
"He?"
"Murdered too." said Harry bluntly.
"Oh… organised crime?" asked Dan.
Harry nodded "Finally rolled them up last year"
"Oh my lord, you… your own… How do you cope?"
"I don't think I do Dan" said Harry honestly. "The nightmares won't stop, my girlfriend keeps turning up in the flashbacks from this domestic I attended."
Dan looked upset "Why are you a cop, Harry?"
"My dad was a cop, my godfather was a cop… the criminals that killed everyone..."
"They're locked up now?" said Dan seriously.
"Or dead" admitted Harry.
"You've been in the wars Harry. Can you afford to stop? You seem to be enjoying the gardening?"
Harry sighed "Everyone expects me to be…."
Dan cut Harry off "Harry, you're clearly a good person, but I dunno, I'm a village bobby in wales. Maybe you need to get out of special branch, maybe out of the force. I've never heard of anyone outside the army having as bad a time as you."
"Well… my godfather left me a pile of money" admitted Harry.
"Sell the place in London, get someone to build you a new house here, all mod cons, and look after them roses."
"Mum planted them,. I think" said Harry.
"Well, you take care of yourself, Harry, and I'll have a word with Russel down at the shop."
"The shop?"
"Russel gouges tourists. You're a local boy, you should pay local prices" said Dan.
Harry started "He what?"
"Just because Godrics Hollow is a sleepy little town, doesn't mean we don't have criminals. The prices Russel charges for bacon. That's a crime" said Dan, half smiling.
Harry laughed.
"Harry, you think about getting out of the force eh chum"
"Aren't we all supposed to be keeping each other in the force?" said Harry.
"You need peace more than the Special bloody Branch needs a door kicker" said Dan.
Harry flinched.
"How'd you get here" asked Dan.
"Motorbike. It's in the bushes at the back"
"Don't leave it where people can see it, and get a lockup shed; some of the local boys are a bit too light fingered." said Dan glumly.
"Officer, are you saying you can't control the local hooligans"
"Stuff it Officer Potter" said Dan jokingly "My office is down off the square."
Dan left.
...
Harry's mind kept returning to Officer Llewellyn's words as he cut down saplings along the back property boundary.
...
When the crack of apparation put Harry's hair on end, and wand in his hand, he ducked and turned.
There was a pair of red-robed Aurors standing at the gate of Harry's… empty section, he realised. They had their wands drawn and looked alert.
Harry lowered his wand and walked the length of his section to the gate.
"Oy, stop right there" said the first Auror; Harry thought she was called Hammer.
Harry frowned. The other Auror, Harry thought was a Dawlish, had their wand levelled on Harry.
"What are you two doing here? Have I been taken off stress leave?" asked Harry.
Hammer blinked "Harry Potter" she asked.
"Yeah" said Harry, stepping closer.
"We've had a complaint that someone demolished the old Potter house" said Hammer.
"Yeah, it was all rotten" said Harry "falling apart"
"You.. had it demolished" asked Dawlish.
"Vanished it. Took bloody ages; did it an night, statute compliant" said Harry.
"You can't. It's a historical monument" said Dawlish. Hammer nodded.
"It was my parents house, it's mine, and it was all rotten" said Harry.
Hammer winced. "Can you um… make a statement" said Hammer.
"No" said Harry "I'm not in the commission of a crime, nor under suspicion of one. I can remember something from my classes" said Harry.
Hammer apparated away. Dawlish put his wand away "You… have to understand, the house, it was a monument"
"It's where my mum and dad died, and it was rotten. I'll see about getting a new house. I quite like it here" said Harry.
"But it's the Potter house… people come.. you've seen the sign… it's a pilgrimage" said Dawlish.
"The sign's going to have to go too" said Harry "It's on my lawn" he said, enjoying this.
Hammer reappeared after a while, with Percy Weasley.
"Harry!" said Percy, then looked ashen "You… the house is gone"
"I told them, I got rid of it a day ago"
"It's a ministry monument" said Percy.
"Percy, did the ministry pay me for the house and land?" asked Harry.
Percy looked at Harry "But it's the Potter house"
"And I'm the only Potter." said Harry.
Percy apparated away.
Hammer and Dawlish came in the gate and cast some charms
"Muggle repelling charms" Hammer said.
"They're my neighbours"
"We don't want them seeing us" hissed Hammer.
"Well, you could try to blend in" said Harry, and went back to the back fence line and used his wand and diffendo to cut down small trees. If the Aurors were going to provide secrecy, he'd use it.
Percy reappeared half an hour later, looking constipated.
"Hi Percy" said Harry casually.
"Harry, you can't just get rid of the Potter house" said Percy.
"Ministry didn't own it, did they"
"Well, no"
"So… politely, unless the ministry wants to build me a house that looks like the old one, and charm it so that wizards think it's derelict… well, you're welcome to stay for tea. I've got some sausages in the tent.
Percy instinctively made apologies "I can't Harry, Penelope's expecting me after work"
"That's okay Percy" said Harry.
"Well, I could do you lot a pot of tea?" asked Harry.
Hammer looked torn, but Dawlish looked annoyed. "So we just bog off?"
Percy turned to Hammer and Dawlish "Er… it appears the ministry has had a um… gentleman's agreement"
"Bollocks Percy" said Harry. "I was a baby, then too busy."
"We ah.. should probably leave"
"Percy, say hi to Kinglsey for me." said Harry.
Percy flushed and apparated away. Hammer and Dawlish following soon after.
...
Harry apparated to Diagon Alley and bought a copy of the Daily Prophet. He needed something to read after supper anyway.
He apparated back to his tent, put some sausages on the grill and started reading the paper.
Harry ignored the front page, and turned to the sports section.
Settling into a litany of quidditch results, he read happily… turning the sausages when the started to hiss a bit.
He picked the Prophet back up and a small advertisement on the sports page drew Harry's attention.
"Beeks Breeks
Builders
No Job too tricky
floo: Breeks building"
...
Harry feels this might justify a trip back to Grimmauld place.
...
Harry floo-calls Beeks Breeks.
The other end is someone's living room.
Mister Breeks, a jolly lean wizard in rugged overall like robes listens carefully
"A two level bungalow that can pass for muggle? Well, that sounds simple enough"
"I think if you paid us say, a thousand galleons, we could make one for you"
"A thousand galleons"
"Well, more for magical features of course" said Mister Breeks.
"Uh… well yeah" said Harry, and ended the floo call.
'I'm going to have a house of my own' thought Harry happily.
Walter Breeks turned to his wife "Sadie, that ad in the prophet just paid for itself"
Sadie Breeks, an apple shaped witch with a permanently worried look said "But it's Harry Potter."
"Yes, I know, but he only wants a simple house. I can do this Sadie" said Walter.
"He's willing to pay a thousand galleons. We can repay the Arnels for that difficulty"
"Yes Walter" said Sadie, nibbling her fingernails.
"Gertrude!" called Walter. Gertrude Breeks, a young blonde witch with terrible taste in robes and a chocolate problem walked into the sitting room to see her dad.
"Gertrude, have you still got those pictures of the Potter house" asked Walter.
"From my history project. Yes" she said.
"Well, Harry Potter's hired me to rebuild. Fancy drawing some plans?"
Gertrude swallowed "Dad, shouldn't you get an architect to draw the plans?"
"Oh don't worry lass, you draw what it should look like, and I'll build it." said Walter.
...
Harry Apparated back to Godic's Hollow to find a familiar looking Red robed Auror surveying his house foundations.
"Captain Price" said Harry.
Price turned and looked at Harry, his blonde moustache twitching "Your Parents house used to be here" he said.
"I had to demolish it. It was falling down" said Harry.
"Certain important people are not very happy about that, Trainee Potter" said Price.
"Well, honestly, I don't care." said Harry. "It was my house, and it was all rotten."
"There will be repercussions" said Price.
"I don't care" said Harry. "I've had some time to think, and you know what, I quit. I quit the bloody Aurors and important people can go stuff themselves."
"You don't mean that" said Price. "You have a responsibility"
"No" said Harry, feeling angry "No I bloody Don't. I took this bloody job a favour to Kingsley, and it sucks. I can't sleep for nightmares and from what I hear, the bloody job will only make them worse. The Aurors can find another bloody door kicker. Goodbye Captain Price"
Price turned on the spot and apparated away.
"Pillock" said Harry.
...
Harry found that Magical builders worked a lot faster the Muggle ones.
"All the usual muggle-repelling charms, and extra ones during construction… to keep them from seeing anything" said Walter.
...
Four weeks later, the house was sort-of constructed.
...
"Well, we're nearly done" said Walter Breeks.
...
Harry got up from the tent bed and got out of the tent in his new bedroom. The room was a bit bare; plastered walls and wooden floors. Harry opened the door to go to the bathroom of his house, and the door fell off. Harry ended up holding the door, as it swung by the doorknob, the hinges pulled out of the door frame.
...
Arthur Weasley stayed after the Weasleys left.
"Harry… your builder. He didn't do a very good job"
"Yeah.. the doors keep falling off" admitted Harry.
"Well, I can pop round next weekend with Bill, and we can ah… set some things right"
"My builder really should do this" said Harry "But… every time he tries, something else breaks"
"Er yes" said Arthur. "I'm not sure he's the best builder in the world"
...
Harry woke up in bed. He looked at the white plaster ceiling. Daylight played across it. Harry looked over to the windows, and the simple curtain on a rod blocked out most of the morning light.
...
Harry got up and did what he usually did in the morning first thing.
...
That afternoon, he went to the Puddlemere stadium and watched a home game, Puddlemere versus Appleby.
The opposite side of the pitch, the Appleby fans; stood, in coats, holding large banners in light blue.
For an away match, there were at least forty fans. Harry thought he vaguely recognised some of the Appleby fans from that long ago patrol of Appleby. There were a couple of girls.. well the kind Harry looked at, wearing Appleby colours, holding a comically oversized silver arrow on a pole each, and they waved their arrows about , like chasers. Harry thought they looked vaguely familiar. One was dark, the other blonde.
...
The Appleby keeper was doing a great job, and Harry groaned aloud every time a Puddlemere quaffle was kicked or bashed away from the hoops. For all that it was a home game, and Appleby the inferior team, the Puddlemere chasers weren't keeping possession of the quaffle.
Finally, Puddlemere scored
"Yes!" yelled Harry, along with the rest of the Puddlemere fans.
...
Two hours later, the score was pretty even, Appleby's keeper making life very difficult to Puddlemere. Still with the score at 210 to 180, a snitch would, as usual, decide the game.
Harry started really looking for the snitch. Competition snitches moved faster than school ones.
Finally, after some really dangerous double corkscrew flying, the Puddlemere seeker caught the snitch.
Harry joined in the chant "We Won, We Won We Won… yeah yeah yeah, We Won".
Harry felt electrified. It had been a close game, his team had won, and he was singing the song along with everyone… in Puddlemere colours. Over the pitch, the Appleby fans looked a bit dejected. The two girls lowered their giant arrows and unhooked them from their poles. They hugged one another. Harry mused that hugging either girl wouldn't be too bad. They were forty yards away, but neither looked exactly like hags.
"Cone on, we're off to the pub!" yelled some Puddlemere Fans and Harry let himself be swept along on the tide of people, to the local pub, where everyone bought something to drink, and sang the We Won song again, loudly. Harry felt… happy. If this was being irresponsible and selfish, he wanted to keep doing it.
...
He ate fish and chips, sipped butterbeer and listened to the other Puddlemere fans pass-by-pass critique of the match. Everyone, well, almost everyone was saying that Appleby's Keeper, Dennis Pritchard, had played the match of the year.
The pub roared with excitement, when the Puddlemere team, and their subs came in, in clean robes, their hair looking a bit damp. The fans started another chorus of "We Won"… which faltered when the Appleby Arrows team came in and sat with the United.
Harry watched as the bloke Harry was pretty sure was the Puddlemere Captain bought the Appleby team a round of drinks "Fabulous match." said the quidditch player, to his competition.
"Ah, but your seeker won it" said the other captain, shrugging.
"But it was bloody brilliant game. Dennis played the game of the year." The Appleby keeper blushed.
"We'll play you lot at home in three months" said the Appleby Captain.
"Yeah, well, you'll probably beat us" said the Puddlemere captain. Harry was amazed. These players were playing… for the love of the game, without animosity. If Hogwarts quidditch had been like this… it would have been better.
Harry finished his fish and chips and went home.