Chapter 5 – NEWTs and the Island
Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna stayed in Sydney two more days after the new year and then caught a portkey back to England the day before Harry and Hermione's tutoring was set to resume and their own studies were due to begin again back in England. All of the tutored subjects were going well and the intensive, focused attention of the tutors meant that Harry and Hermione hoped to be finished in late April or early May, when they would take their NEWTs at the Ministry in Sydney.
As for their friends, studies weren't being neglected entirely. Ginny and Luna had both returned to Hogwarts and the portkey saw them back just two days before the Express was due to leave. As for Ron, he was working at Wheezes and studying with George, Fred, and Bill's help. His plan was to take NEWTs sometime in the summer. Surprisingly working in the shop provided excellent practical charms and potions experience. Meanwhile Bill had taken it upon himself to tutor his younger brother in History of Magic, Transfiguration, and DADA. Molly wasn't happy that Ron hadn't returned to school, but she was pleased to see all of her sons joining forces to help their youngest brother. As for Neville, his internship had ended and he was now working part time in a large greenhouse. He knew he could pass the Herbology NEWT easily. He had taken a cue from Harry and Hermione and had hired a couple of tutors for several other subjects, although he wasn't taking as many as they had opted for. His focus was always going to be on plants and the rest was mainly just filler. All told the group of friends was moving on and finishing their educations in the different ways that worked for each of them.
As the studies continued, each individual began to settle a bit more on their interests and started to think about the future. For Harry, he had once dreamed of being an Auror, but was now done fighting. Instead, he was finding his course in magical business practices to be quite interesting. Understanding how businesses ran in the magical world versus the non-magical and then how some businesses worked between the two worlds was a fascinating juxtaposition. In the magical world many of the practices still easily traced to medieval roots. It also meant working with the goblins more and understanding how best to work with them.
After the new year, Harry began to apply some of his studies and looked closer into the businesses that Gringotts managed for both the Potter and Black accounts. All were minutely to moderately profitable, but he found a couple of ways where extending his investments a bit further greatly increased his profits in certain businesses and learned that it was the type of prospecting that Gringotts frowned on with their clients. For a goblin who lived four hundred years and worked for a company that had existed for over 2,500 years, letting slow profits dribble in was fine. For Harry, he began to look at ways to take a bit more risk and gradually started to take greater control of his businesses.
While Harry was discovering a knack for business, his friends were starting to look at their own futures a bit more as well. For Ron, his studies with his brothers were going fine and he thought he would be able to pull at least three NEWTs. Even having some NEWTs was more than satisfactory in his mind, because he truthfully was quite content working at Wheezes. When Fred and George began looking for shop space in Hogsmeade and talking about opening a new shop before the new school year in September, Ron couldn't have been happier. Others may have been big dreamers, but Ron saw a decent salary from the shop and he even got a percentage off products that he helped design. His mother may not be happy, but he was.
As for the two returning Hogwarts students, they were each finding their own paths. For Luna her passion for magical animals was a clear direction and she spent extra hours helping Hagrid as his special assistant outside of class. She wasn't sure how, but she knew she wanted to work with animals when school finished.
Ginny had a whole other focus. While she took the usual top subjects, her primary focus was on a Quidditch for her last year. She hadn't told anyone, but she knew she was borderline on the skills needed to make a professional team. Bill had taken her to a Harpies game for her birthday the previous summer and she had been amazed by what she had witnessed. Yes, she was quite good, but she knew she had to become much better to reach that level and that became a key focus of her school year. Unfortunately, all that changed the first weekend in February.
The start of February brought with it an important match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, who was having an uncommonly good season. Gryffindor was in the lead, but Ravenclaw was only 60 points behind them for the Quidditch cup and a win in the game could see them vault into the top spot. February in Scotland though is known for bad weather, but Quidditch never yields to the seasons. The morning of the match dawned to grey skies that soon yielded a sparse, wet snow blown about by heavy gusts of wind. Still, the game was on and everyone dressed for the weather, cast warming and impervious charms, and tried to make the best of it. The match started well, with both teams starting off with a few goals. Gryffindor was up 50-30 when Ginny got the quaffle and went flying toward the Ravenclaw hoops. What she missed in the awful weather was the oncoming bludger that she literally flew into. The bludger knocked her around and then a gust of wind aided her skewed flight as she was thrown right into the hoops. The bludger had hit her leg, but her shoulder and head went into the hoops. Thankfully Madam Hooch was below with a levitation charm that caught her as she fell toward the ground and a time out was called. Madam Pomfrey was on the pitch immediately and soon Ginny was on the way to the hospital wing while a second string chaser took over for Ginny.
In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey began working busily over Ginny. Although she could heal her cracked leg and broken collarbone easily, there was a complication. Ginny's most concerning injury was a skull fracture and swelling in her head. Using skele-gro to heal the other breaks would also fix the head injury, which was actually allowing for the swelling temporarily. It meant that she would need to be put in stasis until the brain swelling went down with the help of potions. It also meant the injuries were more severe than she could handle at the school and necessitated a transfer to St. Mungo's.
Ginny was sent to St. Mungo's within an hour of her injury and her parents were summoned to her bedside almost immediately. All of the family was notified and Ron even managed to conquer the public telephone and make a call to Sydney to notify Harry and Hermione. Within four hours of her injury, all of Ginny's friends and family were making rotations through her room at the hospital, including Harry and Hermione, who had arrived via emergency portkey.
The next three days were long as Ginny was kept unconscious to allow her body to heal. Gradually the swelling lessened and the healers finally were able to administer the skele-gro to heal the numerous bone breaks. Four days after her crash, they also gradually started to wake Ginny up. Molly, Arthur, and Harry were the first three she saw when she started to come around. She was quite confused, and then the pain of the skele-gro became apparent.
"Mu…mum, ugh, Merlin I hurt, what happened? Harry? Why?"
"Shhh dear, you were in a bad accident in the Quidditch match. You've been unconscious for almost four days. You've got a bad head injury, that's why you're head's still immobilized. You've also got some other broken bones. The healers say the skele-gro hurts worse if it has to be delayed. Let me go see if I can find one of them and see about more pain potion."
Molly bustled out for a minute and Ginny looked to Harry with questioning eyes.
"Hermione and I both portkeyed back when we heard. We've been working in shifts. No more than three visitors at a time. You'll see her, George, and Bill on the next shift."
"Did…did we…win?"
Harry snorted and shook his head.
"Yes. 230-80. Gryffindor has a bigger lead on Ravenclaw now."
Ginny managed a bare smile as Molly arrived back with a healer in tow, who administered another pain potion that made Ginny more comfortable, but also stopped further conversation for a while. A bit over an hour later, the next shift arrived and Harry pressed a light kiss on Ginny's hand as he said goodbye and handed over the duties.
Over the next three days, Ginny made steady progress and managed to be released after a week in the hospital. She was sent back to school, but had strict orders for rest and also was banned from flying for a month and wouldn't be able to play Quidditch again until Madam Pomfrey gave her a final release. The day she was released, she headed back to the Burrow for a final lunch at home with the whole family before returning to school. The family had received quite a scare with her serious injury and they treasured the brief time they had together before everyone scattered again. As lunch finished, Ginny found herself left at one end of the table with just Harry for a moment.
"Harry, I can talk to you about anything right?"
"Of course Gin."
"Well, I've been thinking for the last couple of days and I'm not really sure about returning to Quidditch. The healers said another head injury could be permanent. I already had come to terms with the fact that I wasn't quite pro level and this injury may be the final sign I need. Maybe I should put my focus elsewhere."
"Wow, that's a hard choice. I know you love the game, but I am scared of what could happen to you. Just the thought of something permanent..."
"I just don't know what else I want to do. Be a mum I guess, but it's not like I'm planning on getting married anytime soon."
"Well, focus on your basic subjects and get a few NEWTs and you can get something with that, maybe not what you want long term, but it would do for a while. Just because you work somewhere to start, doesn't mean you have to stay there. You're young, you have time to figure this out. We all do."
"That's true, thanks Harry. I'll feel bad for the team, but I think this is what I need to do."
Harry squeezed her hand in support and soon they were joined by others as the luncheon got underway. He found it difficult to think of Ginny not playing, but he wanted what was best for her.
After the luncheon, Ginny returned to Hogwarts and Harry and Hermione made their way back to the Ministry to pick up a portkey back to Sydney. They were behind in their studies, but their tutors understood when they explained the situation.
As Harry returned to his business studies and looking into his businesses, he also began to look at the variety of properties that he had been left by both the Potters and Blacks. There was Grimmauld Place of course, but he really hated that place. There was also a Welsh hunting lodge the Blacks had in Snowdonia. There were a number of properties associated with businesses, including a tea plantation in India. As for the Potters, there was a traditional piece of land that had once held Potter castle, but the notes said it was more a keep and that it had been in ruins for five hundred years, with the last resident having been seven hundred years previously. Harry marked that off as basically land. There was also the house in Godric's Hollow, but that was left as a ruined memorial. Then there was an interesting property that the notes said was a more recently used residence. It was an entire isle in the Isles of Scilly and it had been warded and hidden three hundred and eighty years previously. The isle was 7.2 square kilometers and was situated east of the island of St. Mary's. It had a house on the north end of the island situated near a series of hot springs. The house was last surveyed as having nine bedrooms and was listed as a 'manor house with gardens'. There was also a note that the manor's floo distance was reachable to the town of Tinworth on the mainland. Harry found the property the most intriguing and put it on his list to check out the next time he was in England.
The rest of Harry and Hermione's studies continued as normal and soon February ended and then March passed as well. April arrived and, although their NEWTs were looming, back in England Hogwarts was out for break for a long week at the start of the month. Both of the friends were missing home and decided to frustrate their tutors and make a four day trip back from the 2nd to the 5th, encompassing a weekend and limiting their time to only two days off their study schedule. It wasn't much time away, but it was welcome.
On the second, Harry and Hermione arrived at the Ministry in London at 6am and both were giddy as they made their way through customs and then went to the floos to head to the Burrow. As soon as they stepped out into the Weasley kitchen, both let out small sighs. It definitely felt like coming home. Mrs. Weasley had been aware of the early arrival and was waiting, even if no one else was awake. Harry and Hermione accepted tea and sat down to talk to her for an hour or so while they waited for a more reasonable hour to wake Ginny and Luna, who was staying over. Ron was expected to come visit later from the flat where he had moved in with the twins.
The rest of the day was spent at the Burrow and revolved around meals and friends. Ginny and Luna were summoned shortly after seven, only because Harry and Hermione were visiting. Ron showed up closer to nine, but he had to be back at the shop after lunch. Neville came to visit in the afternoon and stayed through dinner, which all the Weasleys showed up for. Also at dinner were Tonks and little Teddy, who was growing impossibly big. Molly had basically adopted Tonks into the family as well and was doing her best to help the young woman heal from the loss of Remus, as well as her own injuries. Tonks had lost three fingers in the battle, as well as taken a nasty dark curse to her hip that caused a permanent limp. The result was that she would never be an active duty Auror again, but had instead taken a position as a trainer. Harry was thrilled to see her at dinner and made a point to sit next to her and hold Teddy for most of the night.
After the long and massive dinner the night before, the next day started late for everyone at the Burrow, but Harry did have a plan that he wanted to see to and he announced it at breakfast after Molly broached the topic.
"So everyone, what's the plan today?"
"Well Molly, I don't know about everyone else, but I do have a task I wanted to work on while I'm back in England. I have a property I want to check out. It was a Potter property in the Isles of Scilly. It sounds quite intriguing. I'm still deciding where I want to settle when I come back to England and it may be a contender."
"The Isles of Scilly? I need to refresh my geography, but isn't that a long distance?"
"It's less than thirty miles off the mainland. The floo isn't hooked up anymore, but the distance can reach a floo in Tinworth according to the notes I have. Also, there was a note about a possible portkey. I need to talk to my account manager at Gringotts about several items, I thought I'd see if there is a portkey available. Once I work out transit, does anyone want to come with me?"
"Sure, sounds intriguing. In the meantime, we should maybe find a map to refresh ourselves on where we're going."
Harry nodded, happy with the prospect of visiting the property. He finished his breakfast quickly and Molly waved off his offer to help clean up and told him to get on to the bank. Harry thanked her and left after consulting some notes about some business plans he wanted to discuss with Silverclaw.
When Harry arrived at Gringotts, he was shown to Silverclaw's office immediately.
"Good afternoon Mr. Potter. I hadn't realized you were back in England."
"Only for a few days at the moment. Then I plan on returning next month after I finish my studies."
"Well then, what can I help you with?"
Harry sat down and arranged a few parchments as he began to discuss changing some of his business holdings. Silverclaw began making notes and the business dealings were done in a few short minutes. Most people didn't like working with goblins, but Harry didn't mind them. As long as you were careful and clear with them, he found that they were straightforward on most items. It was in the fine details where you had to watch yourself. With the business details taken care of, Harry moved on to the item he was most interested in.
"Silverclaw, there is one other item I am interested in. There is a property of the Potters in the Isles of Scilly. I think the island was never officially named, so it was just called Potter Island. Anyway, I'd like to visit, but the floo is disconnected. Is there a portkey available for the property?"
"I can make a portkey to any of your properties. It's necessary as a property agent. If you are willing to wait a few minutes, I can make a one time portkey for 30 galleons or a recurring use portkey for a fee of 890 galleons."
Harry contemplated for a moment. The recurring use portkey was tempting, even if the cost was exorbitant, but still portkeys weren't easy to come by and a recurring use portkey would be quite handy. If the property didn't pan out though, it was a lot of money. Not that he couldn't afford it. Still, he had a feeling the property would be something special.
"Alright, please, I'll wait for the recurring use portkey. Can it please be a chain or something for a larger group to use?"
Silverclaw nodded and left the office. Harry sat back to wait for about twenty minutes when his account manager returned with a long silver chain hanging from his hand.
"Here you are Mr. Potter. I had a chain made that you can wear if you find the need. Simply tap it with your wand and say 'Ralston'. I decided to use the name of your ancestor who warded the island. Saying the same will also return you to your departure point if you need. I've withdrawn the fee from your account."
"Excellent, thank you. I think that's all I need today then."
Harry made his goodbyes and left the office and the bank. He returned to the Burrow and found a surprise when he saw Ron and Neville waiting as well as Ginny, Luna, and Hermione. Ginny provided the explanation.
"I called the guys and Ron got the day off and Neville wasn't working so they decided to come along. This is much too interesting too miss."
"Aye, hope you don't mind mate."
"No, perfect, I got a long chain portkey so I can take a group. Recurring even. Cost a fortune, but it's worth it."
Mrs. Weasley was listening from the kitchen and bustled in.
"Harry dear, how long will you be gone? I was thinking you may want to take a picnic?"
"I don't want to trouble you."
As Harry was talking, Mrs. Weasley turned around back to the kitchen and then reappeared with a shrunken, already packed lunch basket. Harry shook his head, he loved Mrs. Weasley.
"Just a few sandwiches and things. I was afraid you'd get busy looking around an old dusty manor and lose track of time."
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley."
"Yeah thanks mum."
Ron took the basket from his mum and everyone gathered around as Mrs. Weasley gave a few more words of admonishment to be careful. Harry produced the chain and everyone took hold as Harry tapped the chain with his wand and said 'Ralston'. Immediately everyone felt the familiar tug as they started spinning across the countryside. Moments later they landed on a hillside of sea grass and found themselves looking up at the 'manor house'.
The house was built out of mortared, rough hewn stone in a light tan color that was probably locally sourced. It was a long, sprawling edifice with low gabled roofs and lots of long windows along the facade. The roof was stone as well and it appeared that the Gringotts property management had kept it in good shape. It was only about two stories tall and appeared to sprawl for quite a distance. Around it, the grounds were kept in a natural style with a couple of acres of lawn that gave wave to sea grasses dotted with yellow flowers everywhere. The manor was situated on a low lying bluff that gradually sloped down to the water and a beautiful sandy beach with blue water. Everyone righted themselves from the portkey and stood a bit stunned, looking at the scenic beauty for a moment.
Harry shook off his surprise and took the first tentative steps toward the manor, stepping off the fringe of sea grass and onto the expanse of lawn. It was a fair walk from where the portkey had dropped them, but he didn't mind as it gave him a chance to look at the property. It really was a beautiful setting and he was already thinking that he had found his place to move to when he returned to England. He hoped the inside was in as good of shape. At least it appeared that Gringotts had kept the outside intact, so he wouldn't have to worry about weather damage. The group reached the front door and found it was locked, but it was Hermione who suggested the solution.
"I detect some minor wards Harry. The goblins probably kept the basics intact as part of the property management. You may need to claim the house as yours similar to how you claim a vault. A bit of blood might do the trick."
Harry nodded and drew his wand. He sliced his thumb and pressed it to the lock. A resulting click immediately proved Hermione right. Of course. Harry cast a minor healing charm and then swung the door open. The main double doors led into an open and airy entrance that extended from the front to the back of the house, with stairs on both sides leading to a landing above, and a large fireplace on one side. The floor was a polished, fine-grained stone, light in color, but similar to what the house itself was built from. Stepping through the entry to the back they found themselves on a wide sweeping back veranda that looked out over a row of flowering overgrown bushes, lawn, and then swept down to dunes and the beach. The veranda itself was flagstone and could easily hold a party of a hundred or more. The entire group took a deep breath of the lightly floral scented sea air and then stepped back into the house.
They decided to tour the west wing to the right of the entry first and began to catalogue the rooms. The ground floor included a large kitchen, formal dining room, two parlors, a family room, two offices with library space, a game room, and a breakfast room. There was also a separate set of stairs from the grand set in the entry. Taking the stairs up, the group found that upstairs included all the bedroom suites. The master suite looked out over the ocean and included a separate office, as well as a ladies' sitting room, bathroom, two closets, and the bedroom. In addition, the floor included four more en-suite bedrooms, three smaller bedrooms and one hall bathroom.
Harry was still stunned when he stepped out onto the landing overlooking the entry and realized that he had only seen half the house. The entry divided the house into two halves. Deciding to start on the second level, he led the way to the other side. The landing above the entry itself was a large and spacious common room and game room. The entire house had been left furnished and, although a bit old-fashioned, would suffice for a while until Harry could gradually update a few things. The common room above the entry alone included three different seating areas, two card tables, a billiards table, and two dart boards, as well as a massive fireplace and spectacular views out over the veranda. Harry was a bit stunned by it all as he realized that the descriptions he had of the place were obviously out of date and the manor was much more than described.
The group continued into the next wing and immediately had a sense of familiarity as they looked around. The furnishings were quite a bit different, but the layout was identical to the other wing. Once they went downstairs, they found the same thing and Harry realized that his manor was actual two large, grand houses in one with a common space between. The reason for it intrigued him, but his immediate question of the suitability of the house for habitation had been answered more than adequately.
A question that did remain throughout their wanderings was regarding electricity. Surprisingly, the house appeared electrified. Or perhaps not too surprising, it wasn't like the island had a source of gas for lamps. The problem was that none of the lights worked. It wasn't a problem on a sunny day with copious windows, but it was something that Harry would have to deal with quickly if he decided to move in.
Once the tour of the main two levels finished, Harry next decided to explore the basement, which had a separate set of stairs off the back of the entry hall. The first problem as they descended to the basement was light and everyone cast lumos maximas to provide plenty of illumination as they went. Harry wasn't expecting much more than storage and perhaps workout space. What he found surprised him even more. The basement encompassed the entire length of the manor, but half of the space was taken up by a giant pool. It was also dug out much deeper than a standard basement, with ceilings at least fifteen feet high. The pool was designed like a Roman bath, with elaborate tile work throughout and columns spaced around. It was a bit over the top, but Harry found that he kind of liked it. Of course, it was drained. Along with the pool, there was a hot tub that could easily fit twenty and there was a fill valve to the side that Harry decided to turn on out of curiosity. As soon as he did, he was met with a surprise as steamy water spewed forth.
"Harry! Didn't you say something about hot springs?"
"Um yeah. Looks like the pool is fed by them. Wow, this will be nice, but wow, that's really hot."
"There's a cold water valve too Harry, but best not to fill it too much for now."
Harry nodded and turned it off. Still, he was grinning at the prospect as he decided to explore the rest of the basement. He soon found a large sauna and saw similar valves around at different points for the sauna and pool. He really would need to check the offices upstairs and look for some more information on the manor.
In the middle of the basement was a large gym with an array of equipment. Most of it was a bit dated, but Harry figured it was something else he could work on updating. It would be good to be able to keep in shape. Finally, the far end of the basement yielded what he had originally expected to find with a selection of storerooms, as well as a fully stocked wine cellar. Hermione became excited, as she was more a connoisseur than anyone else.
"Wow Harry, you've got a fortune just in wine. I'd love to try some of this, but it's way too valuable."
"Help yourself Hermione. You can appreciate it and I don't need the money. I'm glad to have someone who understands what's here."
"Well, maybe we'll pick a less expensive, but pleasant vintage for lunch…"
Hermione picked out a bottle and they left the cellar to look in a variety of other storerooms. A few were empty, while others held a variety of furniture and other items. Some looked to be extra, while one room held stacked tables and chairs that were obviously all extras held in reserve for large parties. Once the survey was done, everyone made their way back upstairs.
The tour had taken a good while and everyone agreed they were hungry, so they decided to head down to the beach for a picnic. The weather was pleasant at around 12 degrees, just right with jumpers as they setup a blanket and enjoyed the bountiful feast that Molly had packed, as well as the wine selection from Harry's cellar. The sun was shining and the group of friends couldn't have been happier.
After lunch it was time to check out the rest of the property. There were stone paths leading from the house and buildings could be seen in the distance, so the lunch basket was packed up and everyone made their way to the nearest small stone shed. It wasn't much, mainly a gardening shed, so they moved on to another small building which housed a series of mechanical equipment that was a bit confusing. Thankfully there was a shelf nearby with a large book and Harry breathed a sigh of relief to have finally found some documentation. He scanned it for a minute and then looked at his friends.
"Well, I'm not the most mechanically minded, but this room appears to be some kind of generator system for the house's electrical. Best I can figure, it works off steam from the hot springs, thus the chimney."
Hermione was enraptured as she circled the equipment, but Harry just put the book back where he found it for a time. It didn't look like the machine was too difficult to start up, even if it did look old.
Moving on, they made their way to a larger building that was a barn with stables for ten horses. The property maintenance obviously hadn't included the outbuildings, so the barn was showing a bit of wear, but the stone had held up fairly well. The wooden doors and beams were in a bit of disrepair, but Harry thought it could be put to rights before long. He kind of liked the idea of learning to ride a horse across his property since he had quite a bit of it.
Not far from the barn they came across some untended fields and it was obvious that the land had been worked at one time. Harry thought about it and wondered if the land had been used for magical or mundane crops. He really liked the property, but he knew so little about it. He couldn't wait to find more information and hoped his ancestors had left journals in one of the offices. That would have to wait though. He would have time after he returned to England in a few weeks' time.
The rest of the day was spent wandering the island. It was quite good size and included a stand of forest as well as a creek on the western edge, and a couple of more good beaches that they found. And that was just in what they managed to explore on foot. Part of Harry wished he'd brought his broom, even though it was nice to just walk slowly and talk with his friends as he went. The island was quite beautiful and everyone agreed with his choice to move in permanently when he returned. Eventually the sun began to lower and everyone took hold of the portkey and headed back to the Burrow.
Conversation at dinner that night revolved around the island and manor, with everyone chiming in about how impressive it was. Molly still thought it was a bit far away for Harry to live, but that was a hard argument to win given magical travel. The twins had come to dinner and were more than a bit jealous that they hadn't been able to come visit, but Harry promised that there would be plenty of opportunity in the future.
With his largest task completed successfully, Harry had nothing else to do while he was back in England and he and Hermione spent their last two days at the Burrow or visiting friends and enjoying the brief break from their studies. On the fifth of April they returned to Sydney and were into the last month of their studies before they took their NEWTs.
The month of April flew by and for Harry he was beyond ready to be done. After visiting Potter Island, he wanted to be back in England. He had been away for the better part of a year and had enjoyed his travels, especially his extended stay in Sydney, but he was feeling homesick even after having visited just a few short weeks before.
One night in mid-April Harry and Hermione were lying in bed after making love and just enjoying a peaceful cuddle. They didn't sleep together every night, but had settled into a comfortable routine and found their way together several nights a week. This night the subject came up about their pending return home in a couple of weeks.
"So Hermione, what are your plans when we get back? You haven't really said anything beyond your talk about your rune ideas."
"Yes, I think I really want to focus on rune studies. I still have plenty of money that I don't have to work for a good while. I guess I'll go to the Burrow for a bit, then maybe find a flat. Right now I'm so obsessed with NEWTs that I've kind of put any planning on hold. It's nice to know that the Burrow will always be there for us."
"True, but you know I also have a massive house I'll be moving into. You're welcome to stay on the island. I plan on getting the floo hooked up as soon as possible and we can portkey until then. I could probably even apparate to Tinworth if it's floo distance. I know apparating over water isn't recommended, but we're both powerful enough for the distance. Hmm, but I'm not sure about how the wards work. Alright, portkey for now and then floo. Anyway, I've got plenty of space. You could take one half of the house and have it to yourself even."
"Like I'd want to. I guess that sounds like it will work, I mean we've been living together for months."
Harry pulled her closer and kissed her as they both drifted off to sleep, happy that another decision had been settled.
Both Harry and Hermione had decided to spread their NEWTs out from April 28th-30th, then take a weekend off and finish their tests during the first week of May. The plan was to leave for England immediately after, so rather than pay rent on the house for May, they were moving into hotel for a week. They could have stayed with the Grangers, but preferred to have their space. The NEWTs lived up to their name and were definitely exhausting, but by May 6th they both breathed sighs of relief when they finished. They spent one last night out with Hermione's parents, who had gotten quite close with Harry. They would miss seeing the Grangers as much as they had, but it was the decision that Neil and Jean had known when they had decided to stay in Sydney.
The following day, they took their portkey back to England permanently.
