Chapter 36

To distract himself from the appalling idea of having to hire a living assistant, Harry pulled the newspaper closer while he finished his breakfast. The main article on the front page was all about the collapse of Hogwarts, with a huge picture of the rubble on the ground floor, but immediately below that was a moving picture of Harry and Marvolo helping students find their tents.

Harry Potter and friend keep Hogwarts students safe!

Snickering, Harry elbowed Marvolo and slid the newspaper in his direction. "At least we got some good press out of it."

Marvolo peered down at the article and snorted. "And friend. Honestly. The way you're looking at me in that photograph clearly shows we are so much more than friends."

Harry studied the photo again and had to conclude that yes, in between showing students where to go, Harry was rather undressing Marvolo with his eyes. He laughed as he looked up, and then laughed louder when he noticed Sirius' constipated expression as his godfather stared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Sirius grumbled, pushing a fried egg around his plate with his fork. "I was going to suggest you invite your new fuckbuddy here to our Yule dinner tonight, but now I don't think I will."

Harry shut his mouth while he gave Sirius a confused look. "The what dinner where?"

"It's Yule today," Remus explained with far more patience than Sirius was willing to offer. "It's traditional for family to come together for an elaborate meal. So, you and Marvolo are invited this evening at Black Manor."

"We'll be there," Marvolo answered quickly, but Harry hardly saw reason to object to Marvolo deciding for him. Of course Harry was going to attend a family dinner his godfather was hosting.

"It's just a few people," Remus said as he went back to slicing up his bacon.

"Oh," Harry said as he perked up in his chair. "Since it's a day for family, I can invite my extended family to come over as well."

Sirius looked surprisingly grateful at hearing that suggestion. "I'd love to properly catch up with Fleamont and Euphemia. And Lily, of course."

"It's a great idea," James said with an approving smile. "I'm sure the family would enjoy mingling and catching up for an evening."

"As for you hiring an assistant," Remus said, much to Harry's chagrin. "We've got a large batch of new residents coming in tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone wiling and capable to work as your new assistant."

"Yeah, fine," Harry sighed, realizing he might as well get that over with. It wasn't that Harry didn't want to spend time with the living. He liked the living well enough. It's just that when it came to his own work, Harry simply preferred to do things his own way and he'd learned over the years that the dead were much easier to work with than the living. The dead didn't ask annoying questions but simply followed whatever order you gave them. The living tended to need a lot more attention and such to keep them happy.

Honestly, working with the dead was just a lot more efficient, but even Harry could see that he was practically drowning in work and that there was only a lot more work on the horizon and he really needed help.

So living assistant it was, no matter how much Harry wished things were differently.

There was no denying that Magica was growing in record time, though. Back in Santika, when Harry had started developing Sildar, it had taken much, much longer for the country to grow to the size Magica was now. Partially because Harry had to go look for all the new inhabitants himself in person, and also partially because there were a lot fewer magical people in Santika to begin with when Harry just founded Silgram.

But here on earth they had no trouble finding magical people happily willing to relocate to a whole new magical country, which led to some truly impressive growth rates.

"Thanks for breakfast," Remus said as he and Sirius got up after their meal was finished. "We'll see you tonight."

After their guests were gone, Marvolo also pushed his chair back. "I should head home as well."

Harry gave him a wide-eyed stare. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Marvolo gave Harry a look full of open amusement. "I do have things to take care off, no matter how much I'd enjoy fucking you right here in the library."

"Promises, promises," Harry said with a chuckle, getting up from his seat as well.

"Tonight, after your family's dinner." Marvolo leaned closer and brushed a surprisingly soft kiss across Harry's lips. "I'll pick you up at six."

"Looking forward to it," Harry mumbled, and gave Marvolo another quick kiss before the other man pulled back. Harry watched him stroll out of the library while his chest filled with a sense of warmth and desire. Yeah, he really had it bad.

Once Harry was alone, he eyed the pile of mail Igor had left for him and heaved a deep sigh. He might as well get all his paperwork in order before hiring an assistant. It was probably also a good idea to update his to-do list and to write down what tasks he expected an assistant to perform for him.

Violet brought him a steaming pot of tea and Harry spent the next couple of hours sorting through his mail and planning his work for the next few weeks. He didn't stop until his stomach informed him it was time for lunch. Violet served him one of her amazing pork pies, which Harry ate right at his desk in the library. V flew over from his perch and demanded some of it for himself, not that Harry could blame him. Those pork pies truly were delicious.

After lunch Harry decided to spend some time outside, to see how far along his house-elf inferi were with getting all the commodity crops sown, and how his own garden was coming along.

As Harry strolled around the castle, he saw the herd of thestrals in the distance. Keket stood amongst them while they all seemed to be waiting for something. Which turned out to be Masaru, who had come to deliver two cow carcasses for the beasts.

"Is it just me, or has the herd grown?" Harry asked once he reached Masaru.

"It's not just you," Masaru said with a laugh. "I'm counting at least ten new animals. There are also more hippogriffs on the other side of the island."

"Are you able to find enough food for them?" Harry was surprised to see Keket joining the thestrals in ripping into the carcasses. As far as Harry knew, Keket much preferred to actually hunt instead of eating ready killed animals. But apparently she enjoyed socializing with the thestrals so much she had no problems joining them for mealtimes.

"Oh yes," Masaru said with an agreeable smile, crossing his arms as he watched the animals feed. "There are plenty of downed cows, pigs and sheep to be found at muggle farms, and thankfully neither the thestrals or the hippogriffs are very picky."

"I've had some people do a little research," Harry said vaguely, not wanting to disclose that his main researchers were a trio of fourteen-year-olds. "And they've come up with a list of magical creatures they believe should be added to a new country. Think you can take care of that?"

"Since I'm the game-warden, according to you, I'm sure that won't be a problem," Masaru said while giving Harry a pointed look. "Send me the list, I'll see how far I can get."

"Thanks." Harry and Masaru spent another half hour chatting about the state of the island and the animals on it before they parted ways. Harry was very pleased to find huge stretches of land turned into ploughed fields sowed with all the seeds Harry had provided. Soon enough they would be growing a huge amount of food, for both humans and animals, which would go a long way into making sure Magica would soon truly be self-sufficient. While Harry was sure that they'd be able to buy plenty of food from the UK and mainland Europe for many years to come, you never knew what the future would bring. And Harry much preferred to be as independent as possible.

After admiring the newly created acres and acres of farmland, Harry strolled back to his own property where he was happy to see his own garden starting to sprout. Slate seemed to do a good job looking after the chickens and pigs. The pregnant sow had given birth to eleven tiny little piglets, who seemed very happy to nestle down in the deep straw inside the hut. Harry planned to raise them all up, keep one or two sows to add to his breeding stock, and sell all the rest for meat. It would also add lots of pork to his own stores. And seeing how much Harry loved Violet's pork pies, that was not a unnecessary luxury.

Once the sun got very close to setting, Harry made his way back inside his castle to slowly get ready for dinner at Black Manor. Violet cleaned and pressed his dress robes which he'd worn the previous night so he could wear them again.

"You've been quiet," Harry commented while he washed his hands and face in the bathroom.

V sat on the counter beside the sink and tilted his head a few times while he stared up at Harry. "V wants to live, V wants to live."

Harry frowned while he dried his face. He knew that V possessed human intelligence, but that his ability to speak was limited by his raven body. That's why it was sometimes difficult to decipher what exactly V meant to say. "I wasn't planning on roasting you for dinner, buddy," Harry said with a chuckle, though he carefully gauged V's response.

V bobbed his head a few times and clapped his beak in frustration. Yeah, whatever his companion wanted to say was very important to him. "V not want go back, V not want go back."

Harry stared down at the raven while he brushed his hair, utterly confused what V meant. They had already decided they wouldn't try to return to Santika.

"V is own self, V is own self." V pecked at Harry's hand, trying to get his point across.

"Oh." Harry's eyes widened when he finally understood what V was trying to say. "Oh!"

V tilted his head again as he gave Harry a searching look.

"Yeah, I don't want to lose you, either, buddy." Harry swallowed once he realized V had just opened a rather important can of worms, one Harry hadn't even realized needed opening. V was a horcrux, a piece of Voldemort's soul. V had been independent from the main soul for decades, more than a century and a half in fact. V was for all intents and purposes his own person nowadays.

But Marvolo wanted to become a true necromancer and learn how to walk the deathlands, and the only way he'd be able to do that was if he reunited his soul pieces inside of himself.

All of his soul pieces.

"Oh fuck," Harry sighed as the implications of that finally registered in his mind.

"V no go back, V no go back," V crowed urgently, hopping around the counter.

"Yeah, that's a given," Harry muttered, stroking a calming hand down the raven's back. "You're not going anywhere. Now I just have to figure out how to break the news to Marvolo he's never going to become a necromancer."

Dammit, and they'd just started fucking, too. Harry sighed and shook his head. If Marvolo took this the wrong way, it might very well be the end of Harry's new relationship. That idea was surprisingly unpleasant and sent a sharp sting through his chest.

Well, nothing had happened just yet. Harry had learned over the years not to dwell on negative thoughts concerning events that hadn't yet come to pass. Best to come up with a careful plan on how to break the news to Marvolo that wouldn't have his brand-new lover abandon him over it.

"Good, good," V crowed, head held high. He looked much happier again, much to Harry's relief.

As strange as it may be, outside of his children and grandchildren, V was the most important individual in Harry's long life, more important even than Keket. Harry loved Keket, he really did, but Keket was a much more independent soul who enjoyed staying behind on Sildar whenever Harry travelled to find now magical people. V hadn't left Harry's side for more than a few hours in a century and a half. He'd been there for every moment of Harry's life ever since the Figures had created him. That ensured that their bond went beyond intimate.

Yeah, no matter the consequences, V was staying by Harry's side and that was that.

Just as Harry was finished dressing a knock sounded through the entrance hall. Marvolo was wearing different robes that evening, ones not quite as fancy as yesterday's had been.

Harry shrugged when Marvolo looked him up and down. "It's the same robes or my usual attire. I've got nothing else to wear."

Marvolo shook his head and grabbed the front of Harry's robes to haul him in for a long, slightly filthy kiss that promised all sorts of delicious things that made Harry want to call off the whole dinner so Marvolo could simply spend the whole evening fucking him.

Tempting. Very tempting. But thankfully, Harry had more self-control than that. Not much, but enough. Barely.

Dinner at Black Manor was a pleasant affair, as it usually was. Regulus had invited Barty, Remus was there with Rachel, and Sirius seemed to harbour a bit of a crush on Kashvi, who was there as his personal guests. And Harry made sure all his family members joined them for drinks in the drawing room after they'd finished their excellent three-course meal.

Auntie Eustice sidled up to Harry the first chance she got. "James told me you two have become lovers," she said in an urgent whisper. "Well done, nephew. Make sure you get him to show you his personal library. Not the one he keeps in his mansion, but the one in his safehouse back in Britain." Auntie Eustice made a face that conveyed an enormous amount of pleasure and desire. "It is truly magnificent. Since you let him in your bed, he owes you that much."

"Thanks, Auntie," Harry said, feeling more than a little amused at Auntie Eustice's priorities. Though he was genuinely curious about Marvolo's personal library, he couldn't mention that topic without giving away he'd had his great-aunt spy on Marvolo. And that was a secret Harry wasn't willing to share just yet.

Kashvi approached him next. "She's not a ghost, is she?"

Harry shrugged and offered his business partner a sly smile. "I never said she was."

Frowning, Kashvi looked like she wanted to argue for a moment until she heaved a deep sigh. "All right, so you didn't. But how is she here then? She's a great teacher and I'm learning lots, so it's not that."

"You must have heard the rumours about me," Harry said quietly while he sipped his glass of wine. Marvolo was speaking with Barty and Regulus while Sirius and Remus were surrounded by dead Potters. Rachel stood slightly to the side, looking like she wasn't sure how to act with so many transparent, floating people in the room.

"Sure, I've heard plenty of rumours," Kashvi said with a shrug. "But I'd like the truth."

"I'm a necromancer," Harry said easily, since there was no reason to censor that information while they were in Magica. "I can summon souls. My family has been with me since I was a child."

"Wow." Kashvi looked very impressed for a few moments before a wave of melancholia passed across her face. "Can you summon anyone?"

"Who would you like to speak to?" Harry asked, knowing exactly where this was going. He didn't mind summoning loved ones for people once in a while, but he always made sure they knew it was a one time deal. It cost Harry energy to keep souls in the plane of the living and he couldn't be expected to keep everyone's loved ones anchored at all times. It would wear him out, plain and simple.

"My grandmother," Kashvi said with an obvious lump in her throat, her voice trembling. "She all but raised me as my parents worked and she died unexpectedly when I was at Hogwarts."

"I'll summon her for this evening only," Harry said in a firm voice that brooked no argument.

"That's more than I ever thought I'd get with her," Kashvi mumbled.

"What's her name?"

"Prisha Anand."

Harry briefly touched Kashvi's arm before he brushed his thumb across his amulet. If you had a loved one nearby the dead were usually more than willing to come for a visit. In moments an older woman in a sari appeared before them, her long, grey hair tied in a bun.

"Daadee ma." Kashvi pressed both hands over her mouth while she burst into tears.

Harry left her to it, knowing Kashvi didn't need an audience for the next couple of hours. He joined Rachel, who'd been watching him with wide eyes while he summoned a soul right there and then.

"How powerful are you?" Rachel said in a hushed voice while Harry stopped beside her.

"Is there a way to measure such things?" Harry wondered, sipping his wine.

Rachel remained quiet for a few moments as she pondered that question. "Perhaps not, but I sure as hell cannot summon souls."

"Because you're not a necromancer," Harry said easily while giving Rachel a cheeky grin. "If you learned that sort of magic, you'd be able to summon souls as well. Simple as that."

"Hm." Rachel seemed a bit unconvinced but let the matter drop. "So where is my island for saving the tiger?"

Harry laughed and downed his glass of wine. "It's on my to-do list, I swear. I'm getting an assistant tomorrow, so that should free me up some."

"Thank fuck," Rachel said in a heartfelt tone. "Remus and I have been saying for weeks that you're overworking yourself." Rachel gave him a calculating look. "I have an old classmate moving here tomorrow."

Harry quirked an eyebrow in response.

"Elmer Branch." Rachel got a look on her face as though she was pulling an epic prank. "He's very… passionate. He'd be perfect."

"I'll keep him in mind," Harry said vaguely, not liking that sly smile on Rachel's face one bit. They went back to staring at Kashvi's reunion with her grandmother, which seemed to go splendidly. Kashvi was telling all sorts of things with wide gestures of her hands while her grandmother looked on in fond indulgence. Kashvi even introduced Auntie Eustice to her grandmother, who seemed filled with pride that an enchantress like Auntie Eustice had taken on Kashvi as her apprentice.

Rachel had a look of longing on her face so Harry leaned a little closer and asked her, "Is there someone you'd like to talk to?"

Rachel swallowed once, twice before shaking her head. "There is, but not here."

"I can summon someone for you at any time. Just let me know." Harry figured that Rachel, who put up with so much of Harry's distracted planning, deserved to see a dead loved one at the very least.

"Sure," Rachel said with a small nod, unable to take her eyes off Kashvi and her familial reunion.

The evening went on for an hour more before people started leaving. Barty had to go, since Moody could only disappear for so long, and Kashvi had to open the shop the next morning so she couldn't stay either, much to Sirius' obvious disappointment. Rachel, however, didn't go anywhere, Harry noted with a smile. Go Remus.

Marvolo walked Harry home through the darkness. At least there was a cobbled road to follow so they made it back without any problems. Their entry into Harry's castle wasn't quite as frantic and heated as the previous night, but they still couldn't keep their hands and their lips to themselves as they stumbled up the stairs.

Once they were naked inside Harry's bedroom and Harry threw himself backwards onto his bed, Marvolo crawled over him and brushed a fingertip across Harry's entrance. Harry couldn't hold back a slight wince.

"You silly man," Marvolo said while shaking his head. He aimed his wand and cast a quick healing charm which took care of the problem at once, Harry was happy to note. "I don't actually get off on causing others pain, no matter what some people might think of me."

"Glad to hear that," Harry said with a grin, relaxing against the sheets now that the important parts of his body were good as new. "I don't get off on any of that, either. I just prefer to get a good fucking."

"Well, that can certainly be arranged," Marvolo replied with a bit of a leer, and then no more words were said for a good, long while as Marvolo gave Harry exactly what he wanted.

Afterwards, as they lay side by side, catching their breaths, Harry contemplated telling Marvolo about his inability to become a necromancer, but he decided against it. He didn't want to ruin the relaxed, peaceful mood, plus he wasn't quite sure yet how to explain things exactly. Perhaps he should break the news in stages. Harry wanted to consider his options for a while longer before potentially ruining his growing relationship with his new lover.

The next morning they received no surprise visitors, thankfully, and Marvolo was more than happy to repeat his performance of the previous night, much to Harry's delight. They shared a quick shower, followed by a quick breakfast in the kitchen, since Harry had to hurry to Town Hall. A large batch of new residents was coming in and Harry had to select a new assistant.

With promises to meet him for dinner at Gaunt Mansion, Harry waved Marvolo off before he flew to Spellbridge. Without a broom. V cackled the whole way, even though Harry showed much improvement and could almost fly in a straight line.

Once Harry stepped inside Town Hall, he noticed the piles of papers on the desks that Remus had set up. Remus was reading through a list of new addresses Sebastian, their head of the construction crew, had dropped off, muttering as he made notes on the long list of new inhabitants they expected that day.

"Looks like I'm not the only one in need of an assistant," Harry said with an amused chuckle.

Remus looked up at him in surprise. "Harry. Morning. And I can still manage." Remus shuffled some papers and released a short sigh. "For now. If we get many more inhabitants in a single day I might very well need help, though."

Harry thought about that as he sat down beside one of the desks. "Perhaps we should have a meeting, with all the officials working for Magica. So we can see how everyone is doing and what everyone's needs are."

"That's an excellent idea," Remus said, just as the sound of a portkey arriving outside announced their first new citizens.

"I'll put it on the agenda of my new assistant," Harry said, winking at Remus before he focused his attention on welcoming the man who stepped through the door.

They received a lot of new people that day, but a few stood out for various reasons.

There was a pair of young muggleborn sisters, one three years older than the other, who were interested in opening a lunchroom and tea shop.

"We love tea," Cecelia Flowers said, the older of the two. "And we love cooking simple dishes."

"We can sell an assortment of teas from around the world," her sister Briony agreed. "And serve soup and sandwiches alongside it."

"We'd love to have you," Harry said and hooked them up with a storefront, one of the last ones available in town square. There were still plenty of them available in the adjacent shopping street, so any future entrepreneurs had lots of space to choose from.

There was also a recently divorced muggleborn witch in her forties with two children in Hogwarts. "I'm a hairdresser. I went to school for that in the muggle world after I couldn't get a job in the wizarding world."

"We don't have a hair salon yet," Remus said with a welcoming smile.

Libby Patterson got the last storefront in town square, so she could open her own hair salon, much to her obvious pleasure.

There was also a muggleborn wizard and his obviously pregnant squib wife, both in their late twenties. "Logan and Fern Sadler-Black," the woman said politely.

"I'm sorry, did you say Black?" Remus asked as he looked up in surprise while he was writing down their names.

Fern Sadler-Black gave Remus a bit of a suspicious look. "Granddaughter of Marius Black, in fact."

"Now that is a familiar name. My friend Sirius Black is related to Marius. He'd be happy to meet you, I'm sure," Remus explained eagerly.

Logan Sadler got a very confused look on his face. "Isn't Sirius Black dead? Executed by the ministry?"

"Long story," Harry offered with a solemn nod. "He's alive and well and innocent."

Logan and Fern shared a bewildered look between them but seemed at least willing to just go with the flow, at least for now. When Remus asked them what they had in mind for careers, they both immediately warmed to the subject.

"We were thinking of opening a muggle specialities store, if that's allowed," Fern said while Logan nodded along. "Sell muggle wares, like magazines and board games and specific muggle foods that people who've grown up in the muggle world might like to buy."

Remus gave Harry a questioning look, so Harry shrugged in response. "I don't see any problems with that. You're welcome to start such a store."

"Thank you!" Fern practically bounced on her feet while Logan signed an agreement to rent a storefront in the shopping street, which Harry decided to call High Street from then on, since that seemed an appropriate name for a such a location. The alley leading off High Street he dubbed Fantastic Alley, much to Remus' amusement.

Next was Rachel's friend Elmer Branch, a young, slightly portly man with bright blue hair and very large eyelashes. His eyelids were canary yellow.

"Oh my lord, you're Harry Potter," Elmer Branch all but shouted and then attempted to envelop Harry into a firm hug but V's furious pecking kept him at bay. "I've heard so much about you while I was at Hogwarts, how you saved us all."

Yeah, no, Harry wasn't about to hire one of his adoring fans to become his new assistant, no matter how much he needed one. Remus looked quite constipated from trying not to laugh at Harry's sudden discomfort.

"I cannot believe I get to meet you," Elmer prattled on, waving his hand around, showing off very long and very colourful fingernails.

"What would you like to do for work?" Remus asked to spare Harry further embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm a nail artist." Elmer wriggled his fingers, showing off those ridiculous nails again. Harry had never even heard of such a profession, but Remus seemed to take it all in stride as he nodded along with Elmer's answers. "I would love to open my own nail salon, even though I might not get a lot of customers at first, but I'm sure I can convince plenty of my new neighbours that getting your nails done professionally is a human right. And I'd really like to open a proper store, since I've been doing this at my kitchen table for years now and I deserve better than that."

By the time Elmer left, Harry's ears were ringing and Remus laughed right in his face for a good minute.

The second to last arrivals put a smile right back on Harry's face.

"Midge, Marge!" Harry jumped up from his seat to welcome his favourite hags. "I've created a storefront in Fantastic Alley just for you."

"Is the rent still free?" Midge asked, squinty eyes narrowed.

"For you, always," Harry said with a huge grin.

"That's why we're here," Marge agreed.

"More will follow," Midge said as Remus wrote down their information. "We've convinced most of Knockturn Alley to move here."

Remus looked up in alarm, but Harry wasn't worried in the slightest. "All are welcome here," Harry told the sisters and he meant every word of that. Midge and Marge seemed most pleased as they trotted off to their new, free home from where they could sell their skins and pelts.

Right before their last new resident was to arrive, Harry gave Remus a hopeless look. "Not one proper candidate for an assistant."

Remus smiled at him in sympathy just as the final portkey arrived.

The door opened very slowly and a short woman in her late twenties with long, straight white hair poked her head through, giving Harry and Remus a questioning look with her very large, blue eyes.

"Please come in." Remus gestured at her to step inside, which she finally did. "You seem familiar," Remus said as he picked up his quill. "Have we met before?"

The woman smiled, which made her seem a little unsure about life in general. "My older brother Xenophilius is quite famous. He runs his own newspaper. My name is Sabrina Lovegood."

Remus frowned for a moment until he understood what Sabrina was talking about. "Ah, it's called the Quibbler, right?"

"Yes," Sabrina said, brushing a hand down her long, colourful skirt. "I'd like to start my own newspaper here in Magica, but the Nargles told me Harry needed help first, so here I am." Sabrina gave Harry a wide-eyed look that seemed to see straight through him.

"I do need help," Harry agreed, unsure how Sabrina even knew. Then again, she was the only potential candidate out of many new residents, so beggars couldn't be choosers. "If you want the job as my new assistant, it's yours."

Sabrina stepped up to Harry, staring up at him with her slightly unnerving gaze. "Thank you. I don't think you understand how much you've changed, about your own life, but also about all of ours." Sabrina blinked her large eyes a few times. "And you should just tell him. He appreciates honesty more than anything, especially from you."

Harry watched his new assistant turn her attention to Remus, to sort out her new accommodations, while his thoughts were in turmoil. He had been thinking about Marvolo and what to tell him quite a few times that day, and here Sabrina had hinted at knowing what Harry should do about it. Was she some kind of mind reader? She didn't seem dangerous but harry vowed to keep a close eye on her nonetheless.

"I'll come to your castle tomorrow after breakfast," Sabrina announced after all her paperwork was taken care off. Before Harry could even reply she quietly slipped out of the door.

"Having her as your assistant should be interesting," Remus said, proving he was a master of understatements.

"Weird witch, weird witch," V agreed with a few bobs of his head.

Harry shrugged. "If she doesn't work out, I'll just hire someone else. See you later, Remus." And with a wave goodbye, Harry left Town Hall, tired and hungry after a full day of welcoming new people to Magica. He couldn't even be bothered to fly to Gaunt Mansion, so he apparated instead.

Marvolo welcomed him inside with a smile and a kiss, and at once something fell off Harry's shoulders he hadn't even noticed being there in the first place. Harry released a deep sigh and followed Marvolo to the dining room, where Dobby had a delicious meal of coq au vin waiting for them.

"They've started repairs at Hogwarts," Marvolo said as they sat down opposite each other. Dobby served them both glasses of red wine, which Harry accepted gratefully. "Have you found a new assistant?"

"I have," Harry said, taking a few long sips. "She's weird."

"Weird how? What's her name?" Marvolo asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"Sabrina Lovegood. Her brother with an unpronounceable name runs some newspaper."

Marvolo sat back in his chair and chuckled. "Ah, that kind of weird."

Harry couldn't quite join Marvolo in his amusement. "She seemed to know things she shouldn't. She might be some kind of mind reader."

That only made Marvolo chuckle louder. "I sincerely doubt that. Your Occlumency shields are magnificent, darling." Then Marvolo frowned for a moment before giving Harry a considering look. "Though there are rumours that the Lovegood family is blessed with the Sight."

"Huh." Harry didn't really believe in soothsayers and such, but Sabrina had seemed to genuinely know things she shouldn't. "Whatever it is, I'll keep a close eye on her."

"That seems a good idea no matter who she is, if she is to work closely with you," Marvolo easily agreed. They ate their excellent dinner and made small talk until their plates were empty. "If you don't mind me saying, you seem a bit distracted," Marvolo said while he refilled their wine glasses.

Harry had been a bit distracted because he couldn't stop thinking about Sabrina's advice. Perhaps he should just say it. "I've learned something I know is going to disappoint you," Harry said, giving Marvolo a sympathetic smile.

Marvolo offered Harry a level look in return, face giving nothing away. "I'd rather just know what you have to tell me instead of you trying to wrap it up to ease any pain."

Harry briefly ducked his head before he looked Marvolo right in the eyes. "I've learned that you cannot become a true necromancer."

"And why ever not?" Marvolo sat up in his chair at once, wine forgotten in his hand. "I've been studying every text you've given me and I understand all the information, I assure you."

Harry help up a hand to stop Marvolo from rattling off all his accomplishments so far. "I don't doubt your intelligence," Harry said softly. "It's just that a person with a broken soul cannot walk the deathlands, and you can only become a necromancer once you've done so."

Marvolo blinked once, twice. "Well. That is a disappointment."