Acknowledgment: Haven't taken note recently that all of this is written and published here with no claim of authorship nor expectation of gain in any form. The main characters and locations are either borrowed or derive from the Harry Potter canon by J.K Rowling.
Author's Note: Thank-you to readers who have taken the time to send or leave notes and messages. I appreciate your insights.
Merit and Inheritance
Chapter Sixteen
Dungeons—So Handy!
Harry knew he had to get to Potter Manor in the next day or two and give both of his parents a thorough de-briefing on his recent activities. James clearly wanted more information than Harry had time for. He also needed to think of some way to thank his mother properly for the tip on the wedding band. That was useful and might be useful again.
Then there was Romilda's jewelry. Eventually, Harry predicted, she would have to start disposing of it. One can live frugally but there are limits. Romilda had not completed her education so it would be difficult for her to find a job that paid very much. On the other hand, she'd been showing a knack for surviving and improvisation. Harry looked on those traits with great sympathy.
Harry didn't dither getting from Tangier to Blackpool. He made one intermediate stop in Paris, apparating to a spot behind Notre Dame, then venturing out to stroll through the bookstalls along the Seine. He stopped at one that belonged to a wizard acquaintance, spoke some French with the man, was teased mercilessly, and looked around for tails for fifteen minutes. His next stop was Blackpool.
The witches weren't in the public areas so Harry waved to the landlady and went upstairs. He knocked on the door where he had first looked over Romilda's hoard. It occurred to him that he did not know if the door to the right or the left was Pansy's.
No matter. Pansy opened the door, first a crack, then fully, to let Harry in.
"You can put the wand away," Pansy said when she closed the door.
"See anything?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Pansy and Romilda said together.
"Good," Harry said, then again, "Good. Now, Pansy didn't bring anything. Can we divide up Romilda's things and share the load? It's time we moved on. The disgruntled husband may come poking around."
Pansy and Romilda put everything Romilda had brought in three piles on the bed. Harry and Pansy drew their wands and soon had everything shrunk to a convenient size.
"Take a last look around," Harry said. "We're checking out. Pansy, anything in your room?"
"No," said Pansy. "I could stand a change of clothes, if there's a chance I could go by my flat."
"We'll get that sorted," said Harry. "Bear with me just a little longer."
Harry led the way downstairs, his wand held loosely under his right sleeve, ready to fight. They left the keys on the landlady's desk and went to the fireplace. Harry looked at the opening and wondered but it accommodated three adults, snugly, and seconds later they stepped out of the fireplace into the gloom of the salon at Potter Manor.
"Quiet!" Harry whispered as they exited. He was certain he had closed the door to the salon when he left with Daphne on his arm and Dieter in his pocket. He hadn't come in the salon that morning.
Standing still and listening, the three heard voices coming from down the hall.
"Romansh," Romilda mouthed.
Harry looked and saw Pansy was holding her wand. Harry shook his head, 'No.'
Harry pointed his wand and untied his shoes, then stepped out of them. Crossing to the open door, he stood and listened. Although he didn't understand Romansh he got the conversational tone and the two voices. Harry stepped out into the hall, walking down the tiled hall to the rear of the house and the breakfast room.
Pansy couldn't stand by while Harry went to face the intruders, so she stepped out of her flats and followed him down the hall. Just before she got to the breakfast room, Pansy heard him say, "Where is my wand?"
This was followed by two quick calls to "Stupefy."
By the time Pansy reached the breakfast room, Harry had two intruders propped up against the wall, both staring stupidly into space. Harry collected wands and patted his uninvited guests. Satisfied they were fully disarmed, he turned his head to the breakfast table. All the jewelry was there, still under the sticking charm. The men had been distracted, trying to pick the pieces up, when Harry surprised them.
"Enervate," said Harry, choosing one of the men at random and pointing his wand. "Explain yourself."
The man looked at his friend, who was propped up against the wall beside him, sporting a stupid expression on his face. No help there, it seemed.
"We came for her," said the man, a jerk of the head indicating Romilda.
"Do you recognize them?" asked Harry.
"Yes, everyone knew everyone," Romilda said. "I'll think of their names if you'll give me a moment. They weren't of the line the senior people came from. Their branch does support. Kitchens, maintenance. Slaughtering."
Pansy took in her breath suddenly, with an audible little gasp.
"How did you find your way here?" asked Harry.
"There is a trace. On something. It was here," the man answered.
"How did you get in? Are you in the habit of entering other people's dwellings without asking permission?" Harry demanded.
The man shrugged.
"It looked abandoned," he said.
"If you were to get Madam Berg under your control, what did you plan to do with her?"
"She has a home. She belongs there. Ask her, she knows," said the man, talking to Harry but keeping his eyes fixed on Romilda.
"Didn't her home reject her?"
"That is not for me to say," the man said.
Harry looked at Romilda.
"They take orders," Romilda said. "They don't make decisions. I'm surprised they got here on their own."
Harry knew he couldn't let the two go and have any hope they would not be right back on Romilda's trail, not to mention Pansy's and his own. He'd be justified in killing them, since they had invaded a wizard's home and were caught red handed. That was probably what the men expected. No one in Britain would pester him about it, if word leaked. Outright murder could trigger a feud with the Bergs, though. Harry had long term plans. There were things he wanted to accomplish. He had had enough of lifelong enemies, living every day knowing he might have to kill or be killed. He preferred to think about his goals and how he would achieve them, rather than how to avoid or better yet, ambush his foe.
"Rest assured, sir, magical Britain does not see Madam's situation as you do, or your family does," Harry said, addressing the man, who was still the only conscious member of the pair. "I want you to go home. It may take some time to make the arrangements for that. There will be difficulties, of course. We don't even know who to talk to, or how to contact them. You'll have to be patient. We will try to make you as comfortable as we can while you are our guest."
He turned to Pansy.
"Can you stand watch for just a couple of minutes?" he asked.
Pansy nodded, Yes.
"Stupefy!" said Harry, returning his prisoner to a passive state.
"Be right back," he said, then, "Romilda? I'll need you down here."
Romilda moved with Harry. She wondered what 'down here' meant but he'd been leading the way and keeping the Bergs away from her so she assumed he had something in mind to further their joint goals.
Harry opened a door and Romilda saw some steps leading down. A little twitch of Harry's wand lit up wall sconces. They got to a landing and Harry led the way to another flight of steps that went down into more gloom. There was another little wand motion and the sconces again lit for Harry.
"Take a look at this," Harry said. "Got your wand or did you have to leave it behind?"
Romilda lifted the tail of her blouse and Harry saw there was a sheath for a wand sewn into her skirt. He didn't see any need to wait.
"Accio wand!" he thought and caught Romilda's in his left hand.
"Harry! What? Merlin, Harry Potter, if you'd asked I'd have given it to you," said Romilda, almost shouting. "I'm getting creeped out now, Harry, I want Pansy back, now!"
"Be quiet and listen," Harry said. He didn't shout. He purposely kept his voice down, almost growling.
"I don't know what is going on, but it won't get sorted with me talking to you or those Bergs with the others present. I want to believe your story, Romilda, I really do, but we will take this step by step. Reconcile yourself to a little inconvenience. I suppose some uncertainty is inevitable, too. Now I'm going to pat you down. Just so I don't have to stupefy you."
Satisfied Romilda didn't have more magical artifacts on her, Harry opened a barred door. He took Romilda's upper arm and invited her to enter, then he closed and locked the ordinary lock before silently passing his wand before the door.
"What have you got here, Potter?" asked Romilda, a bit of stress apparent in her voice. "You have a dungeon? Do you use it for what I suspect you use it for?"
"Not yet," said Harry.
"Can't you afford a proper stasis cell? This is like something they show the tourists in the Tower," said Romilda.
"Well, the house is really old, you see…" Harry said as he crossed back to the stairs.
Two flights up, Pansy still had the two Bergs under her care. Harry strode into the breakfast room, straight to the table that held Romilda's haul from her late husband.
Harry unstuck the hoard with a 'finite,' then breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was afraid it was something complicated," he said. "I was wondering how we'd use the table again if I couldn't remember how to reverse the sticky spell. Now, I want you to go over each of these. Use everything you can think of, but I want to be certain none of these are enchanted. I still don't know if I believe that other piece was all it took to lead them here."
Pansy separated the jewelry, the hair combs and other pieces and went to work. When she was done she looked at Harry and shook her head. Harry took over, using all the revealing charms he knew.
When he finished, Harry agreed. "Nothing," he said. "Ready for a mid-morning?"
Pansy thought Romilda ought to be back.
"Romilda?" she asked.
"Downstairs," Harry said. "Witness protection. Kreacher!"
Kreacher appeared with a little popping sound.
"Kreacher is here, Master," Kreacher said. The elf looked around.
"Oh, Master is at Potter Manor!" Kreacher said. "Such powerful magic in this house."
Kreacher liked the magic at Potter Manor almost as much as he liked #12 Grimmauld Place. Kreacher told Harry once that the elves experienced magical households as a tactile phenomenon.
"I believe it is like the human feeling you call tingle," he had said.
"Kreacher, we need some food and beverages. How about a ham, cheese, tomato and chopped lettuce on a half baguette, for everyone? That is, five, I guess. And five butterbeers. Have you checked on Master Regulus?"
"Yes, Master, Master Regulus is comfortable in his room," said Kreacher.
"Do you get any sense of whether he is conscious, or thinking, or capable of anything?" Harry asked.
"No, Master," said Kreacher, his voice saturated with regret. "Master Regulus appears to be very dead to Kreacher."
"Sad," said Harry. "Well, Kreacher, I promise you I am working on a solution, along with everything else. I can't say anything just yet."
"Kreacher will return with your sandwiches, Master," said Kreacher. Harry sensed the subject of Regulus Black was still too painful for Kreacher to dwell upon.
"Right, then, while we wait," Harry said. He directed Pansy to search one of their guests while he searched the other. They removed coins, medallions, rings and belts from their prisoners and put everything on the table.
"Watch 'em?" asked Harry, then left and went down the tiled hallway without waiting for an answer. Harry went into the salon and got back into his shoes. He took down a trophy from the mantle, a great silver cup of James' for some quidditch accomplishment and returned to the breakfast room.
"Just so we're clear, what you're about to see is strictly between us, are you all right with that?" asked Harry.
"Absolutely," said Pansy.
Harry raised both hands above his head and sent the drapes over his parents' portraits away somewhere. James and Lily blinked in the light.
"Harry!" they said, more or less together. "Who's this?"
"Pansy Parkinson, a Hogwarts classmate, remember? I mentioned her when I was here before," said Harry. "Pansy, these are my parents. Lily Evans Potter, may I present Pansy Parkinson? James Potter, may I present Pansy Parkinson?"
Pansy stood there, jaw dropped, mouth open. She knew of James and Lily, of course. Everyone did. Still, they'd always seemed to be more legendary than real. Pansy had never, in her wildest imaginings, thought she would be introduced to the portraits of the heroes who had made the hero of heroes, her employer Harry Potter.
"Honored," Pansy managed, throwing in a curtsy for good measure.
"See if everything will go in the cup," Harry directed.
"The ring is in a remote location. If they find it, fine. It won't help anyone," said Harry. "Now, we have two people who were part of the team that chased us out of London. Pansy and I have taken all of their personal possessions, and their wands, and the odds and ends from Romilda that you already saw, and we're going to put it in this cup and put the cup in the garden. Just to see if there is anyone else nosing about. These two came here and broke in while no one was looking. They said they followed a trace on some object. Could have been the ring. Could have been something else."
"Did you look through all the rest?" Lily asked.
"Yes, without result," said Harry. Pansy nodded agreement.
"Anything else we should try?" asked Harry.
"If it's family magic," James began.
"Yes, James, it could take some very esoteric queries to get a useful answer, one way or the other," said Lily.
Harry nodded. "That's what I was thinking," he said. "So the cup goes to the garden, with some stickum, and we wait and see what wanders through."
"That could work," said James, looking over at Lily to see if she had an opinion.
"Give it a try," said Lily. "What are you going to do with your boarders?"
"Stash 'em downstairs until we sort this out," said Harry. "Guess I need to take care of that now."
Harry turned toward the two Bergs, who were still slumped against the wall.
"You've got that one," he said. "I'll be back."
Harry showed James that levicorpus, which James misused at Hogwarts, had an actual, useful purpose. Each of the Bergs got a single accommodation in the Potter Manor Dungeon. While Harry was finishing up, Kreacher came back with the sandwiches and butterbeer.
"Just in time," Harry said. "Come on along. You too, Pansy."
Harry led the way down to the dungeons.
"One sandwich and a butterbeer each, Kreacher," Harry said.
"Pansy, he locked me up!" wailed Romilda through the barred opening in the heavy wooden cell door.
"True, but he locked you up in his house, didn't he?" Pansy asked. "As opposed to an enchanted cave in a seaside cliff. Have a bite and relax. This will all get sorted."
Harry smiled his appreciation and led the way back upstairs. He wondered how long his stupefaction hex would last.