Phineas Dodge spent the morning at his desk, reviewing magical contracts for the transfer of items of the recently deceased to various heirs. It was the more mundane part of his job, analyzing final wills and ensuring last wishes were accurately carried out for wizards and witches who had made proper arrangements before they died. He usually preferred the more difficult cases - they presented better opportunities for him to collect the important bits and bobs of people's lives, those nuggets of information that were more valuable to him than Galleons.
The mundane was better right now, because it gave him space in his brain to consider what to do about the mess that idiot witch had created in Godric's Hollow. A mess, yes, but if his intelligence was correct, maybe he could turn the situation to his advantage. He'd have to talk to Parkinson and apparently Avery too, but that conversation needed more finesse and planning especially if Parkinson was playing more than one game here, as it appeared. There was a lot to gain but also a lot to lose, and their carelessness was troubling. The Ministry witch - Carlotta something or other - could be dealt with more immediately. He'd gotten complacent, Dodge realized now, relying on Hopkirk to keep the Potter home secure. She'd left at exactly the wrong time, right when his own slow and patient efforts were close to bearing fruit. The irony that Harry had picked now to finally show interest was not lost on Dodge; still, it was better than Harry never having wanted to accept the house at all. Plans would just need to be adjusted, that was all.
Dodge finished signing his name on the last letter inviting several heirs to contact him for information about the "sentimental and possibly valuable keepsakes" they had been left by their dearly departed. As these were ordinary requests, he could seal and send them from his desk. The much smaller pile of special letters was locked away, to be charmed and sent in private later on. Now that it looked like Potter didn't need to return his invitation, Dodge was going to have to think further on that as well. Before he met with Parkinson and Avery. And Belby would need contacting too; separately, of course. It might be time to remind Felix Parkinson that he wasn't the only wizard Dodge did business with. Interest in the Potter home was at an all-time high and until it was clear who could offer him the most, Finn intended to keep all of his "clients" close. And the Ministry as far away as possible.
His official work finished, Dodge left the parchment sheets on his desk and stood up. There was time now to visit the Department of Accidental Magic and Catastrophes and no reason to delay getting that taken care of.
It wasn't official Auror business, but Harry hadn't felt right about visiting the office in charge of securing magical crime scenes without telling Gawain about it first, even though the man had already approved his previous trip there too. He couldn't say why he felt uncomfortable, doing personal work that skirted the official. It was actually rather silly; all he had to do was say the word and investigating the Potter House in Godric's Hollow could become its own case; no one would question it. But it felt indulgent and unnecessary. Harry was determined to put his full efforts into his Auror work and keep his time at his childhood home completely separate.
A few of his former classmates worked for the Department of Accidental Magic and Catastrophes, and Harry waved at Susan Bones as he walked through the outer office to the small, out of the way office recently vacated by Gemella Hopkirk. He was already thinking about how to approach the situation with this new witch, or else he might have seen Susan rise halfway out of her seat and start to say something before shrugging and sitting back down. But he didn't, which is why Harry was unprepared to have his knock on the door answered by none other than Phineas Dodge.
If the man was surprised to see Harry, he did a good job of hiding it. Indeed, he looked nearly delighted, as if he and Harry had an appointment to meet up right there, in - and here Harry hastily glanced at the new nameplate on the door - Charlotte Candlewick's office.
"Harry, of course! Wonderful to see you again; it sounds like you have been quite busy of late." Dodge stepped back and gestured Harry inside as if it was his right to do so. And the owner of the office certainly didn't say anything to the contrary. Even though he'd only seen her for moments in his parents' garden, Harry knew immediately this was the same witch. She even wore the same capitulating expression as before; Fred or George would have made a show of looking around on the floor for her backbone. Harry focused on her.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting with Mr. Dodge, Ms. Candlewick," he said politely. "I realize I did not have an appointment to see you."
"Neither did he," she muttered. A moment later she seemed to become aware of who she was talking to and a flush rose in her cheeks. She shuffled some papers on her desk "I was just telling Mr. Dodge here that Mr. Parkinson and Mr. Avery assured me they'd gotten his permission for me to demonstrate the preservation wards on the house. Mr. Avery is interested in having some for his own property, you know.." The witch was young, flustered, and obviously trying to smooth over her mistake in Godric's Hollow.
Harry didn't buy the story for a moment, but didn't let his face give anything away. Dodge was not quite so careful; if Harry hadn't been facing him, he would have missed the way the man's lips tightened for the briefest instant. Then his expression relaxed.
"As I said, it's nothing important that I need to talk to them about; just a minor mix-up with the security on items to be transferred under a will." He turned to Harry. "I have a new assistant and she isn't quite as organized as she should be."
"That's frustrating," Harry agreed. "The paperwork is what gets me every time myself."
Behind him the witch made a small sound.
"But I thought . . ."
Harry wasn't surprised when Dodge wouldn't let her finish. "It's all right, Ms. Candlewick, " he interrupted, "But why don't you take one of my cards in case you have any questions." He produced a small square of parchment with his photo on it and held it out to the witch, who looked confused for a second, but then took it.
"Thank you, I will," she said formally. "I appreciate you stopping by to welcome me to my new position." She stared at Harry for a moment. "Did you say you don't have an appointment? I'm extremely busy right now." She picked up the parchment on her desk and then put it back down. "I haven't even finished unpacking."
"That's fine, I can come back," said Harry easily. "I'll send an owl about setting up a time to come see you; I just wanted to introduce myself, since you'll be taking over the care and preservation of my parents' home." He pointed to the few posters that were starting to float out of boxes and attach themselves to the walls. "I've been very pleased up until now at how Ms. Hopkirk kept the place secure and I've no doubt you will be just as vigilant about security." He nodded his head in Dodge's direction. "Isn't that right, Finn? "We need to keep the contents secure while I review them." He patted the pockets of his robes. "I know I have that list here somewhere."
Dodge gave him a tight smile. "That's correct, Mr. Potter. But given recent events, maybe it would behoove ourselves to discuss any additional needs you desire for your home and its contents." He gestured to the door. "Maybe over a cup of coffee?"
"Gawain will be expecting me back before then," he said truthfully. "But why don't we talk while we return to our respective offices?"
Dodge's smile grew even more bland. "Lovely," he said. Harry noticed the man did not bother saying goodbye to the witch, who was humming lightly while she continued to levitate things out of boxes. Vowing to check on her later, Harry followed suit. He waved again at Susan as they walked through the main office of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. She raised her eyebrows and Harry added her to the growing list of people he needed to talk to. Once back in the corridor, Dodge wasted no time.
"You obviously know that that Candlewick woman was able to breach the fence at Godric's Hollow." Harry didn't try to deny it.
"We saw her, yes." And I was right that one of the men was a Parkinson. Harry thought maybe he was the father of his classmate Pansy, but he didn't really care. It was much more important to have gotten the other name. There hadn't been an Avery in Harry's year but a couple had overlapped with him at Hogwarts. Slytherins, the entire lot. And of course, the man who'd been in his parents' garden had once taunted Harry in the graveyard at Little Hangleton. He suspected their presence wasn't a coincidence but at the same time, they certainly hadn't tried to conceal themselves. Dodge seemed to follow Harry's thoughts.
"Regardless of what that witch said, let me assure you that I had nothing to do with the trespass." Dodge spoke with distaste.
"Of course not," said Harry agreeably.
Dodge swelled a bit. "I would never allow anyone unauthorized to access the property." He sighed. "And if you'd just signed the letter I'd sent you at the start, then none of this would have happened, you know." His voice took on an even more aggrieved air. "It's standard procedure with all my clients; as soon as word gets out there might be an inheritance, the greedy and curious come running. But once you sign an acknowledgement of conveyance no one else can get close to the testamentary effects until probate is complete."
Harry's lack of understanding of the legal jargon must have shown on his face because Dodge sighed again. "I can only do so much on my own. Signing my letter says you accept your role as heir, and until the transfer process is complete, your inheritance enjoys an extra level of protection." He looked pointedly at Harry. "Which means that no one could enter the property without proper authorization. There is a lot of interest in your home, you know, and not all of it by the merely curious."
"What does that mean?" asked Harry sharply.
Dodge raised his eyebrows. "Oh come now; aren't you an Auror? Surely you can imagine any number of people whose interest in your childhood home is less . . . benign than merely wanting a photograph."
Or fodder for their next newsletter. Harry bit back the comment - he didn't want Dodge to know just how much he'd learned about the man's past - and gave a grudging nod.
"There's nothing in there of interest to anyone but me and Ginny," he said, and then mentally kicked himself for mentioning her. Still, he didn't need to play dumb. "But yeah, I can imagine that it wouldn't matter to . . . certain people that there's nothing important there, as long as they had their own suspicions." Harry said all this while idly picking at a thread on his robes. He was still pants at Occlemency and didn't want to risk Dodge plucking the knowledge of Lily and James' wands out of his head.
"I'm glad you understand my concern then." Dodge spoke seriously. "As I said before, I'll do everything I can in my power to protect the home and contents, but it would help tremendously if you'd take steps to formalize the inheritance process." Harry finally looked up to find the man looking earnestly at him. "I don't want to concern you, but the interest you saw yesterday is likely the first, but not the last." Dodge stopped walking and looked around before continuing in a lower voice. " I have certain information, you understand, gleaned from my years of experience. Greed follows wealth; particularly newly acquired wealth."
Harry knew that neither of them were talking about Galleons. He thought swiftly for a moment and then made a decision. "From what I saw, and what you're telling me, I think I should let Gawain Robards know that the Aurors may want to take a more careful look."
Dodge made a dismissive sound. "Oh, I think that's a bit of an overreaction, Mr. Potter. "We aren't talking about another He Who Must Not Be Named you know. I just want to ensure that your home and its effects are protected from the wrong sort of interest. I'll send you a new approval to sign forthwith." He began walking again.
"I still have your original note, somewhere," said Harry. "But send over another if you want and I'll take a look." He refused to agree to anything.
Dodge was a master of bland smiles. This time he added a shrug and held out his hand. "I'm looking forward to our continued relationship then."
Ginny was in Holyhead, which meant Harry was able to go straight from the Ministry to Godric's Hollow without missing out on any time with her. He Apparated straight into the sitting room this time, still under his Cloak, and then, still inside, sent a stronger version of the notice-me-not spell straight through the front window. When he carefully opened the front door five minutes later, it was to an empty garden and deserted lane; he could just see the last of the curiosity-seekers hurrying off to fulfill some newly remembered task elsewhere.
Harry barely winced as his next spell opened a tiny gash on his thumb. He watched intently as the drops of blood fell into the earth, swirling in a complex pattern wrought by the words he slowly chanted; it was definitely an advantage to have an experienced curse breaker as an almost brother-in-law. The fence surrounding the front garden glowed brightly for a moment, and then the light traveled across the lawn. He watched with interest and then satisfaction as his spell dissipated as it hit the outer wall of the house, a duplicate unneeded.
That was really all he had come to do, but instead of leaving right away, Harry found himself going back inside. His run-in with Dodge had made him even more interested in the list the man had given him, but also more cautious, and he kept the parchment safely stowed away in the pocket of his robes.
What he really wanted was to see his parents again. He didn't know a lot about the Priori Incantatem spell but didn't see why it couldn't be used more than once. His mum's last spells hadn't changed, after all, and they hadn't gone anywhere. It was with a sense of anticipation that Harry returned to the nursery. He grabbed the willow wand from underneath the crib and then, on a whim, picked up his father's too. Maybe he'd leave them on the dresser this time.
The rocking chair was comfortable by now, and Harry didn't hesitate to touch the tip on his wand to the other, eager to see his mother again.
But the vision of her changing his nappy didn't materialize. Instead, Harry found himself standing up, almost without thought. His father's wand clattered to the floor and Harry left it there while he walked back down to the sitting room.
His mother was kneeling in front of the fireplace. Harry wasn't positive, but he thought this scene might have been earlier than the others; Lily looked younger, more like a schoolgirl, with her hair in a long plait down her back. Neither his father nor his own baby form was in sight. Harry couldn't see who his mother was talking to, but he immediately understood she was cross.
Well, I'd say I'm sorry, but if you'd just come to visit, I wouldn't have to resort to communicating like this. It's only temporary; now that mum and dad are . . . are gone, I'll be able to take it down for good.
The unseen person at the other end of the Floo - whom Harry strongly suspected was his Aunt Petunia - said something back and Lily made an impatient sound.
Of course James will be here, he's my fiancee! When I came to Cokeworth for tea I didn't ask that Vernon stay away, now did I?
There was more silence. Harry crept forward but he was unable to see his aunt - not that he minded that. When his mum spoke again, her tone had lost most of its annoyance.
Tuney, please be reasonable, you're all I have left. At least mum and dad knew you were getting married. They'd hardly met James, and certainly didn't know how important he is to me. A moment later she turned more fully to the Floo and her face crumpled.
If . . . if that 's how you feel, then I guess there's nothing else to say. Lily leaned closer towards the green flames so that her face nearly touched them. But Tuney, if you ever need anything . . . me . . . I'll be here.
The flames in the fireplace died away and Lily sat back on her heels. Harry could see she was crying. But instead of calling for his father or going to find him like Harry expected, she stayed in front of the fireplace and kept talking as though her sister was still there listening.
It's heartbreaking, isn't it? Not having parents to share the joy of watching their child fall in love? I hope my own children never have to experience that, if I have anything to say about it. And James, of course. A small smile played at the corner of her lips when she mentioned him. Lily sighed to herself and slowly stood up. Harry followed her image up the stairs but halfway there it faded and he was left to climb the rest of the way to the nursery by himself.
His father's wand had rolled back under the crib and Harry looked at it for a long moment before leaving it there and placing his mum's carefully next to it. His mind was racing, and even though he'd gone rushing off to find Ginny after his first trip to Godric's Hollow, he knew he couldn't do that every time something important or particularly emotional happened.
So instead he Apparated back to his flat, where he half-heartedly tried a few housekeeping spells Mrs. Weasley had taught him. After folding some laundry and pushing the dust on his window sills around a bit, he gave up and flopped back on his sofa. He considered pulling out his Pensieve, but this didn't feel like the right time to view some of the memories of him and Ginny's he'd stored for use during particularly long road-trips. He wasn't randy.
What he was, was much more eager to take Ginny back to the house, now that he knew there might be new images of his parents to see. He wasn't at all surprised that Petunia hadn't wanted to come visit Godric's Hollow and he was nearly certain that Lily never would have gone to Surrey, whenever her sister moved there. He wondered if she had been at Petunia's wedding, and then realized he didn't really care, and he was positive that his aunt and uncle and not seen his parents wed. From the few stories he'd heard about the event, it had been small and private; both James' and Lily's parents were gone by then.
An image of Ginny, dressed in white and beaming at him from the end of an aisle, floated into his head. As the only wedding he'd ever been to was Bill and Fleur's, the details looked rather like theirs, and he found himself wondering if Ginny would want something similar. Minus a Death Eater invasion in the middle, of course. They'd likely have to ward the place just as strongly though - he could just imagine how much the Prophet or worse, one of the lesser rags would pay for a photo of the ceremony or reception. Or to find out where they planned to honeymoon. Harry shivered, just thinking about getting away alone with Ginny for a week or even more.
His fireplace suddenly flared green and Harry sat up, hoping that Ginny had found some way to get alone in front of a Floo of her own. Last time there had been a single, bare breast floating in the flames and Harry had spent a glorious ten minutes fondling, licking and sucking until he'd heard a commotion on her end and it had suddenly disappeared. He'd not yet been brave enough to return the favor but Ginny had a longer road trip coming up and Harry had a feeling his hesitance would evaporate around day three.
But instead of even part of his girlfriend, the entire, and fully clothed, top half of his boss appeared instead. Harry stifled a sigh.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quickly. Gawain shook his head.
"I'm heading out on holiday for the weekend with my wife and wanted to try to catch you before we left. Are you free for a meeting on Monday? 10 am? There are some new developments I'd like to discuss with you."
Harry didn't bother asking what sort of development Robards meant; if it was benign enough to wait the entire weekend then he was certainly not going to argue. He quickly agreed and wished his boss a nice holiday; apparently he was taking his wife to the Maldives for her birthday.
Harry leaned back into the sofa again, thoughts swirling between beach vacations and the information he'd gotten at the Ministry today, which certainly needed some thought. He'd learned quite a bit more than he'd expected, and possibly more than Dodge intended to reveal. There were a lot of threads, and having several minds working on untangling them would be helpful. He shot a spell at the magical doorway between his and Ron's flat and after a moment, it swung slowly open. Ron appeared a moment later, a bun in his hand. Hermione joined him, holding a glass of wine. Harry was relieved to have interrupted them eating. They promptly agreed to a dinner the following night with him and Ginny in Muggle London and Hermione brought him over a glass of wine.
"This is more than just a double date, right?" asked Ron shrewdly. "Because ordinarily you'd want my sister all to yourself after she's been gone."
Harry nodded. "There's been a lot happening and I'd like your thoughts."
"About wizards getting into the garden at Godric's Hollow," said Hermione. "Have they figured out who it was?"
"How did you . . ." began Harry. He shook his head. "Nevermind; I should have known it would get out. It's probably all over the Ministry by now." Indeed, it occurred to him that that was the purpose of Robards' earlier Floo call. As distasteful as it was to realize he was again the object of intrusive gossip, he was again reassured by the fact that Robards had not seen it necessary to cancel his vacation. Now he nodded.
"I want to talk to all of you at once; I think it will be easier to figure out patterns and things to be concerned about if we're all looking at it together." He wasn't surprised that both Ron and Hermione agreed right away, but what he didn't expect was that Hermione would start them discussing possible restaurants for the double date.
"I expected you to start asking me a million questions so you could get a head start on thinking about things," he confessed. The bottle of wine floated over and refilled his glass and Harry huffed in appreciation. Hermione gave a pleased shrug.
"Ron's only told me a dozen times that sometimes the best strategy is to sit with a problem for a little while instead of jumping to try to figure everything out right away." She gave her boyfriend a smile. "And it turns out that he was right."
"Always the tone of surprise," Ron joked.
They all laughed, and Harry felt a little more tension ease out of him. Even without Ginny here, he was comfortable and content. He'd see her tomorrow and hopefully also be able to figure out answers to some of the questions and clues he was starting to put together. And then he could take her back to Godric's Hollow.