… - …
Part Two – The Water Man
Chapter Six
A Well Deserved Vacation
A/N Enchanting in this story refers to charms or transfigurations that last decades or longer – as written, it will be an interesting journey.
Summary of what's happened so far.
1993 – Harry killed the snake, confronted Lucius, adopted Dobby into his family, found The Archers' Defense of the Castle mosaic, called it quits on his friendship with Ron and became in-like with Hermione. The leadership of the Goblins took notice of Harry and decided to assist him. They sold most of the snake, treated Harry's injuries and in doing so, learned that Riddle wasn't dead. Harry acquired a great dislike of the dementors when Sirius was unjustly executed. Harry became head of the Black family.
The goblins unsealed his parents' Will, connected him with Andromeda and gifted him a hand-crafted copy of the mosaic, a Bowmaster bow and lessons with Walt, along with a portkey watch. They posted the Will in the lobby, exposing Dumbledore's lies. Harry met Emma Granger.
Harry's third year started. Snape was grievously injured while attempting to break into Harry's mind. He was sent to the long-term care unit of St. Mungo's. Sirius' Will reading seriously constrained Dumbledore and the Malfoys. Pettigrew escaped when the Twins gave Harry the Map. Harry kept up his archery practice and began hunting spiders in the forest. Hermione also took up the hobby when Harry gifted her a Bowmaster bow. They learned the disillusion charm. Harry had several candid discussions with Dumbledore.
1994 – Andromeda taught the teens apparition and they earned their licenses. Harry continued hunting spiders. Hermione began coming with. Harry and the Tonks family went to Iceland, where Harry met Earling Magnuson, an Enchanter. Harry became interested in the subject.
Crouch Junior was freed when Dumbledore took Senior to the ICW to introduce him
Lucius and the Mask Club decided to cause a bit of mayhem at the Quidditch World Cup. Not knowing who was inside, they torched Horace Slughorn's tent, along with some others. Slughorn was hosting a party. In attendance were Fudge, Umbridge, Debit, Pansy Parkinson and a host of others sympathetic to the traditionalists' cause. They were all killed. Narcissa wasn't happy. Though ill-suited for the job, Scrimgeour was elected Minister of Magic. The elves were freed, Goblin and Were rights were restored. Ted Tonks put in a bill redefining requirements for holding Wizengamot seats.
School started, Harry is entered in the TWT. Through Junior's interference, Krum, Fleur and Cedric are way behind Harry in points. Harry entered the maze first and almost immediately was abducted and brought to the graveyard. Pettigrew performs the ritual and Riddle is called back. Harry escapes. Riddle called every marked Death Eater. Harry and Hermione return, kill Riddle and all of the Death Eaters using basilisk poisoned arrows and disillusionment to great effectiveness. The two go back to school unnoticed.
Harry and Hermione contacted Ted and Dan and asked to be withdrawn from Hogwarts. They went to Gringotts where the teens were treated and the adults informed of what took place.
Dumbledore learned that the teens were gone, threw a wobbly fit and was sacked from Hogwarts.
The Grangers and the Tonks acted on Ragnok's suggestion and decided to each take the teens on consecutive, two-week vacations with the Grangers going first.
Ragnok and Barchoke planned and carried out a sizable money grab neutering the Death Eater families on a short-term basis. They intentionally gave part of the money to the ministry, part to the teens and kept some for themselves.
The moral of the story is, in my tales, small details are inserted into the story for a reason.
Tom wrote the scenes with Dobby and Ed that will appear occasionally in this tale. They're hilarious.
… - …
Tuesday June 27, 1995 (TWT +3)
The evening before Harry and the Grangers left for their Holiday in France, Barchoke and Ragnok met for their evening update.
Ragnok asked, "What is the status of the Vault Transfer project?"
Barchoke replied, "The withdrawal paperwork was prepared. I reviewed each transaction. As recorded, each occurred within a three-hour time period. I wrote and filed the paperwork to open the four vaults personally. The cart slips were signed by various cart drivers who were on duty that night. Each of the slips will pass any examination.
"The 50 deaths represent 12 Wizengamot seats; 10 of which ended vile family lines. Real Estate or business holdings were not affected. A total of 32 million galleons was confiscated. The voting block that had supported Fudge and Umbridge's agenda was wiped out as evidenced from their last meeting."
Ragnok asked, "What of the Death Eaters currently held in Azkaban?"
"There are 3 seats which were being voted by Stewards who were other Death Eaters. Their coin balances would total another 3 million."
"Direct the other account managers to not make changes in the prisoners' accounts. They represent a loose end." Ragnok didn't like loose ends.
Barchoke observed, "The majority of the assets in the larger Death Eater accounts such as Parkinson were held in rental property. There are no living heirs."
"There will be no Death Certificates issued for the Death Eaters until I personally approve them. Well done. We've set them back for a few years and bought some time for Harry, Hermione and the Wizengamot. We couldn't touch the Death Eater's business holdings – the source of their income. If nothing changes, the Death Eaters' heirs will be back in power in five years or so. They'll have to act quickly."
He added, "Irrespective of the obvious justification for their actions, I hope that the two teens can learn to live with their actions. One burden was lifted from his shoulders only to be replaced by another. Unfortunately, there can be no mosaic made to commemorate their victory regardless of the magnitude."
Barchoke remarked, "Perhaps it is better that way. Withholding the Death Certificates is the best that we can do for now to thank him for his efforts."
… - …
Wednesday June 28
As they were driving through the French Countryside, Harry came to a conclusion. Without being judgmental, he decided that Dan and Emma were very different than Ted and Andromeda. He and Ted essentially had a business relationship that Ted had never let become truly personal. Ted served as the Potter and Black Steward in the Wizengamot and frequently sent Harry messages with suggestions that Harry could either say yes to or reject.
Dan was what he imagined having a dad would be like. Their conversations varied from those resembling army buddies, to inventions, things to do on dates, career plans, houses, how he met Emma, buying clothing, house repairs, computers, life with or without magic, cars, owning a business, hunting, college, gardening, or grilling steaks – just about anything.
Emma was highly organized, personable, pretty and a great parent. She had a large circle of friends, including the neighborhood book club, college friends and more than a few patients. She and Harry talked about cooking, running a business, elves, unicorns and flying horses; never about dragons, or monsters.
Harry wasn't certain how to reconnect with Andromeda. They hadn't seen each other since he'd left Hogwarts. He thought that perhaps they each needed time for the raw emotions to heal.
Dan drove and they stopped every 90 minutes, either to buy gas, snacks, take breaks, or whatever. They switched who sat in the front passenger seat at each stop to facilitate different side-by-side conversations. By the time that they reached Nice, Harry felt like they all knew each other. The only thing they didn't talk about was that night. Emma was frustrated about it but had no personal comparison; there had never been any life threatening moments in her life.
… - ...
By the time that former headmaster Albus Dumbledore found the Granger residence, they were halfway to their destination of Nice. Not informed of their destination, he decided that the next item on his list was searching for horcruxes. The first location was the old Gaunt shack. The second was a strip of cliff where Mrs. Cole of Wool's Orphanage used to take the children for summer outings.
Dumbledore had been highly skilled at delegating tasks – to house elves, Order members, prefects, Argus Filtch, Hagrid, the occasional ministry worker, and of course, his favorite, Minerva McGonagall. What he was far less practiced at was actually doing the work himself. Beyond that, he'd forgotten one of the most important adages of the newly retired; the most dangerous thing an old man can do is to pretend that he's still a young man.
He found Little Hangleton easily enough. With more effort, he eventually found the Gaunt shack that he'd seen in Bob Ogden's memory. It positively reeked with dark magic. In time, he disabled the traps, which allowed him to get near the house. Two hours after that, he disabled the traps on the floorboards. That was when his luck failed him. He found nothing of value inside the shack.
It was a long morning spent with no results. It never occurred to him that two months earlier, one of the Gringotts Security Teams had floated in using flying carpets and opened the door by pushing it open with a stick. Then, using the same stick, they opened the loose floorboard, then picked up the ring and dropped it into a lead container before leaving the area. Their effort took 20 minutes; Dumbledore's 5 hours.
The orphanage picnic site had previously taken him two days to find. One of the old residents had described where it was. At 113 years of age, Dumbledore had neither the physical strength, not the agility to climb down the cliff. It didn't occur to him to simply apparate to the waterline. He dove into the water.
Banged up, bruised and wet, he pulled himself out of the water, found the cave, found and opened the entrance, found the boat and made it out to the little island in the middle of the underground lake.
Again arrogance and luck would only take an old wizard so far. He drank the cup, pulled the substitute locket out of the basin and was pulled into the water by a cold, gray hand when his boot touched the waterline.
He was never seen again.
The Goblin Security team, using the horcrux compass pointing device never went to the cave. Regulus had replaced the real locket with a fake. The real locket had been hidden inside of #12 Grimmauld Place; a home that Harry had less than zero interest in visiting, even before it had been torched.
… - …
Nice, on the southern coast of France was a wonderful destination to spend a few weeks. They reached the rented three-bedroom villa at 9 pm. The larger of the three spacious bedrooms was at one end of the home while the other two were at the opposite end. In the middle was the kitchen and open social area. Outside was a semi-shaded patio with a fantastic ocean view.
When they got up for a late breakfast the next morning, Emma announced that she and Dan were going to spend their afternoon visiting a few of the local shops, leaving Harry and Hermione time to explore the beach. After an hour of the teenage boy getting an eyeful of local bathing beauties, their conversation returned to normal.
From Harry's perspective, the weather was perfect and the water was warm. While they were there, the pebble beach occasionally had some soft sandy spots, or chaise loungers that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
What set Nice apart was La Promenade – a four mile long wide pedestrian walkway that overlooked the beach. There were scores of shops and places to enjoy a beverage or a meal along the walkway. They never went to the same place twice.
One afternoon, as they all were sitting on their veranda enjoying the shade and the sound of the surf, Emma asked, "What are your thoughts on Salem?"
Harry replied, "From what I've read and was told, there's no fair comparison; Salem has ten times the number of full-time students, a wide variety of housing options, part-time students, a different curriculum and learning philosophy. They also charge about twice what Hogwarts does.
"Hogwarts has just over 350 students, Salem 3,500 full-time and 1,200 part-time students. Honestly, I think that the Hogwarts Board of School Governors never quit fighting the war, went cheap and got what they paid for. Self-anointing themselves as the premier school of magic may have been true 200 years ago. According to Hermione, there were never any publications on other schools available at the bookstore in Diagon Alley. I only had one conversation with the French Champion, Fleur. They have a blend of magical and nonmagical subjects in their curriculum. For all intents and purposes, Hogwarts ignores the existence of the other 1,999 out of 2,000 people who can't wield magic, but manage to have wonderful lives.
"Half of the instructors at Hogwarts would have never been hired at another school, or would have been sacked within a semester. At Salem, we'll have an opportunity to get an education that Hogwarts simply isn't structured to offer. That, in addition to the reality that we've already met our year-mates at Hogwarts, eliminates the only real benefit that Hogwarts uniquely offers. Hermione, what do you think?"
She replied, "The same. There's no need to continue with Astronomy, or DADA. I don't think Salem offers a Care of Creatures class. Proper history classes would be useful. I can't believe that Mrs. Tonks never took proper biology or chemistry classes. As for Hogwarts, my understanding is that there was a severe drop in the enrolled students there that lasted 10-15 years. The current first year class is half again as large as ours."
Harry observed, "True, though I'm not certain that Windsong, the head of the Gringotts London Branch Healers ever took those two classes either, but she made countless improvements for me. It's OK to be different."
Emma asked, "Have you considered the dormitories?"
"Honestly, I have zero interest in bunking with three snoring lads in a room smaller than your bedroom here. I think I'll either rent a flat, or more likely, buy a home near the school; preferably one with quite a large yard. Come to think of it, the distance really doesn't matter; we could just as easily portkey fifty miles as five."
She was initially surprised at his response but admitted that she didn't know his financial situation. Come to think of it, she didn't know Hermione's financial situation either, other than a general awareness that it had materially changed in the last month.
Harry admitted, "I'm inclined to buy a home with acreage so the elves could make homes."
She asked, "Real elves? They truly exist?"
"Absolutely. Eight would come for sure; probably twelve or fourteen."
Hermione said, "Mum, there are a lot of beings here beside us. There are dwarves, elves, gnomes, goblins and merpeople."
Harry added, "Sphinx, werewolves, dragons, leprechauns, flying horses and unicorns."
After a moment, he grew solemn, then said, "And… dementors." He thought of Sirius and knew that he'd always loath dementors.
Emma didn't want to know about the and... details. She changed the subject, saying, "Tell me about unicorns."
He snapped out of his funk and replied, "The two adults that I've seen were about the size of a pony. They were silver in color, with long tails and a horn between and just above their eyes. Hagrid showed us a baby one last spring. It had a gold color, was about the size of a Labrador and was still a bit wobbly on its feet. My old dorm mate, Seamus' mum has one. I think his name is Old Joe."
Dan added, "When I was a lad, we had a beagle. Her name was Heidi."
Silence.
Emma commented, "Sorry Dan, a baby unicorn sounds a lot more interesting."
He mock pouted. Unicorns did sound more interesting than a dog that howled and shed hair on everything. He asked, "Harry, where did you family originally live?"
"My mum grew up in Cokeworth. My dad grew up in Gloucester. I inherited a tract of land there, next to the Forest of Dean. I was told that there used to be a nice house on part of it, but it was destroyed in 1981."
Keeping the conversation positive, Dan asked, "Earlier you mentioned enchanting. What can you do with that?"
Harry replied, "The short answer is it can be used to make durable, clever things."
He added, "The arrows that Hermione used to hunt spiders with were created out of thin air. They don't cost anything to make but they only last about ten minutes. That's the quickest but least durable means of making something with magic. You can't find a bottle opener... Presto. You have one.
"In the middle, you have transfiguration. Let's say that I managed to fill up the pool with sea water. I could transfigure that to fresh water. Since the two objects are almost the same, compared to a rock and a stick, the transfiguration would last a long time; maybe a year or two.
"Hermione told me that when McGonagall originally came to see you, she changed your coffee table into a pig. They're very different things. Not only was the change completely impractical; it took a fair bit of effort on her part. Far less flashy, but one that would have been more practical would have been for her to have transfigured a dull carving knife into a sharp one. It would have lasted a year or two and have actually have been of some use.
"A lot of magical people make their living helping nonmagicals. Our friend Ernie's dad has a home repair/remodeling business. He can use magic to match old trim boards and then put a seal on the change so it will last a lifetime."
Dan asked, "So you want to open some sort of fix-it shop? I still don't completely understand."
Harry continued, "I believe that magic is primarily about intent. Let's say that Mr. Weasley had a son who never got around to doing his homework. With enough effort, someone could craft him a bracelet that would encourage him to be a bit more studious. It wouldn't force him; rather it would subconsciously remind him and over time hopefully have it become a priority and eventually become a habit."
Dan lamented, "I see your point. One of my employees can't seem to get to work on time to save his life."
Emma added, "Getting Jack to come to work on time is a clever thing. Providing drinkable water for a group of people who don't have enough could be a life-changing event." Harry pondered her comment. It made sense.
Dan observed. "True. Digging out a 100 acre hole for a lake would be a massive undertaking that no one would want to pay for. Filling it would involve either serious size pipes and pumps or some sort of merlin-like effort to summon the ocean water. Cleaning the water might take a weekend, or be a full-time job, I don't know. Unfortunately, most of the water would either seep into the ground or evaporate. You'd be lucky to have 25% actually go to people. Unless you found Merlin's staff, it's probably moot."
He added, "The real problem would probably be some bureaucrat arguing that you haven't completed the proper forms to perform a near-miracle."
They laughed at the truth in his jest.
… - …
Meanwhile, Dobby could hear every word that his kind master had said. He told the other elves, "Harry Potter Sir wants to buy a home with trees where we could live and work. Elves could be growing trees there with Harry Potter. Dobby will suggest that Harry Potter's Hermione should be living there too."
Winky, who had also heard everything added, "Maybe Harry Potter would bring unicorns to new home too. Dobby should be telling Harry Potter."
The other elves looked hopeful.
… - …
After the teens had gone down to the seashore, Emma asked, "What do you think of their idea to buy a home?"
"I think they're going to live together regardless of what we suggest. I don't think having one or the other of them scream about killing terrorists in their sleep in front of three roommates would be beneficial to anyone. If he bought a house with four acres, it would likely have enough extra room so we, or their friends could come visit, or even transfer. As for the house itself, I'm certain that he can afford it and if their elf friends help them take care of it, all the better. What's the look for? They've been living in a castle for years. If they were going to boink like bunnies, they've had the opportunity to anytime that they wanted."
She shook her head in loving amazement and observed, "You have such a way with words."
… - …
Hermione had changed. In previous trips, she'd have been the one reading the tour books, creating timetables designed to stuff the proverbial seven pounds into a five pound sack, with respect to what they'd see or do. This time, she seemed quite content to walk the Promenade, or just sit in a shady spot and listen to the surf; never more than 20 feet away from Harry. Then again, as she had just come out of the water, wearing her new wet, white bikini. Harry had zero desire to be anywhere but by her side.
No one needed to talk with her about the justification for putting down the Death Eaters. There was only one person on the planet with whom she had any interest in talking about it – Harry.
The one time Emma had brought up the subject, her well-intended words came out as, "How many people did you kill?"
She'd been the one to dash into the bathroom when Hermione had replied, "I didn't have time to count them all." Emma didn't know or want to know if that was the truth.
As such, her conversations with her husband focused on leaving Britain and the magicals' apparent fixation on maintaining the status quo. While the teens were walking the Promenade, they made plans to sell their practice and put their home up for sale. They called Ted, who contacted Barchoke, who'd taken the necessary steps to expedite the visa and work permit applications. Between Gringotts efficiency and the Dobby express delivery service, both their business and home were ready to close at at the end of August.
… - ...
Tuesday July 4
The regularly scheduled Wizengamot meetings were held at 10 am on the first Tursday of the month. Augusta Longbottom did a quick count; they had enough members in attendance, but the Silver Mask Club was somewhere else for the day. Taking advantage of the situation, when asked for new business, Rufus proposed a hastily drafted document, restoring full rights for all currently classified sentient creatures. He was focused on the Weres, but unintentionally included the elves and goblins.
Ted Tonks, acting as the Potter and Black Steward, seconded the measure and it was voted on before most of the members had actually read the document. By the end of the day, the lobby was abuzz - the elves had all been freed and the Nation could purchase and live in property wherever they chose.
Immediately after the first bill passed, Ted put in a second bit of business – clarifying the requirements to sit a Wizengamot seat. He explained that the current requirements were that a person had passed their NEWTS and had at least one NEWT in a wanded subject. He continued, "Not all of our members are scholars; that doesn't invalidate their opinion."
Everyone believed that he was referring to the Crabbe, Goyle and Carrow types, but being polite society, names weren't mentioned. He continued, "The Board of School Governors has previously taken this into their own hands and forced the Wizarding Examination Board to deviate downward from the International OWL and NEWT standards. The Board of School Governors did the same at the school, forcing the Hogwarts Headmaster to water down the classes."
This wasn't a secret and Dumbledore wasn't there to refute him. It simply wasn't mentioned in polite company. Ted continued, "My bill would cover two points; First, restore the International Standard for Britain's OWL and NEWT examinations. Doing so would encourage the Hogwarts staff to teach to the International Standard, improving the recognition of our children's achievements to the rest of the world. Second, as it has been demonstrated that one can be an effective Seat Holder without being an academic, my bill would change the requirements to that of having the new seat holder pass at least one OWL taken by the Ministry Examination Board."
He originally was intending to include language that the OWL had to be in a wanded subject but realized that Herbologists and Potioneers were valued members of magical society as well.
As Ted hoped, Scrimgeour seconded the bill. In this case, Rufus thought that Ted was throwing a bone to the Silver Mask Club that couldn't really hurt anyone. Rufus never considered the fact that neither Fudge, nor Dumbledore ever actually introduced, or directly sponsored bills themselves to dodge any negative fallout.
Meanwhile. Amelia recognized what Tonks had actually done and had a resigned look on her face.
… - …
The next day, the Daily Prophet reported that Minister Scrimgeour sponsored bills freeing the house elves and allowed both the elves as well as the Gringotts Goblins to purchase property and live where they wanted to. It barely mentioned Weres. While no one would ever come out and directly use either the E, G, or W words, the general sentiment was, Not in my neighborhood. The final impact of the new law was that it effectively created an At Will Employment Agreement with the elves.
As for the first new law, being on the Board of School Governors, Amelia immediately caught the unstated impact; it had nothing to do with Crabbe or Goyle. The original requirement was that anyone wanting to take up their seat in the Wizengamot needed to attend Hogwarts and pass a NEWT. As such, it effectively forced parents to send their children to, and support Hogwarts. The new law wouldn't exclude Squibs as long as they could pass Potions or Herbology. Nor would it exclude a person who chose to be educated at other schools such as Beauxbatons or Salem.
Unlike Augusta Longbottom, Ted realized that he was but the Steward of his seats and had discussed the two proposals at length with Harry and took his direction to introduce them.
… – ...
Saturday July 15
"Good evening, Mr. Wick. I have an important task for you. I want the last of the Death Eaters eliminated."
"When you say the last, you're implying..."
"Your disillusionment charm had been put to very good use."
"I understand. You're referring to Azkaban?"
Ragnok replied, "Yes. There are seven that we're aware of; Augustus Rookwood, Timothy Travers, Antonin Dolohov, William Mulciber and the three Lestranges."
Wick asked, "Are you preferring a visible, or an invisible action?"
"Continue."
"There are two hundred dementors and seven to ten Death Eaters. Options range from sneaking into the prison and eliminating the remaining Death Eaters, to invading the prison and attempting to eliminate the dementors at the same time. It is likely that the basilisk venom which Mr. Potter and Miss Granger so effectively used on the acromantula would be equally lethal on the dementors. It is reasonably likely that sleeping gas could be used on the guards; not that I expect that they would interfere with anyone who was destroying those nightmares. All it would require would be someone capable of conjuring a large quantity of arrows. It would not be out of the question that three or four arrows would be needed to destroy each dementor."
Ragnok pointed out, "Your use of the word likely leaves much to chance."
"I freely admit that. The options would be to attempt the mission based upon faith, or fly to the area and attempt to destroy one, or suggest the plan to a trusted person within the ministry."
"Continue."
"If all 200 dementors were in a position where they could freely move about, it would take a large force to ensure that none escaped and went rogue. If the venom was lethal, it is likely that they would attempt to flee rather than charge. Several hit and run style attacks could also work; meaning fly to the perimeter of the wards, attack the dementors until they got close and portkey away. The effectiveness of that plan is largely dependent on the number of hits needed to bring one down.
"As to the other option, it's not unlikely that a person from the ministry could call the guard staff away from the Island for a few hours to attend some all department meeting, or similar. If it were voluntarily done, there could be significant backlash to the person's reputation. If it were involuntarily done it would be important to leave no traces that would lead back to us.
"Are you suggesting imperiousing Scrimgeour to call all of the guards to London for an all DMLE meeting? It would be problematic if they went back to discover that the dementors were either dead or more likely missing and all of the Death Eaters who had life sentences were dead."
Flitwick replied, "It is at least a possibility. Perhaps it would be better as two separate operations. One of the dementor repelling medallions wouldn't be impossible to replicate. Once on the island, getting into the appropriate floor would be possible. That could be combined with an attack on one dementor.
"If we chose to, the other prisoners who are up for release could be asked if they'd join the Dark Lord. If they do, they represent a future risk." He decided to ask, "Director, are these The Nation's problems to solve?"
Ragnok admitted, "Currently not. That said, I believe that those witches and wizards could as easily be helped to escape as killed in their cells. It may be difficult to get out of a cell once locked in, but as you pointed out, getting into the prison is quite possible. If they represent a threat to our nation, I would prefer to stage a battle on Azkaban Island than one in our lobby, or the living areas. The resources that you requested are not unreasonable. Decide what assistance you would need to eliminate the Death Eaters and report back in two weeks."
… - …
Tuesday July 25
Dale Dawlish's wife Karen, had filed a missing person's report; or at least a part of one. Like so many of the Death Eaters' spouses, she understood why he had left; the Dark Lord had called her husband. The only other facts that she knew were;
An hour after he left, he'd gone to Gringotts and made a large withdrawal from their vault.
The other Death Eaters had also been called.
After that night, no one who she'd spoken with had mentioned seeing them.
Recently, the ministry had stopped paying his salary.
What she told Inspector Hammer was, "Dale wasn't feeling well the day of the tournament. He'd seemed nervous. I suggested that he go to St. Mungo's. On the way there, he'd stopped in at Gringotts and I haven't seen him since."
Connie asked, "Do you have any idea where he might be?"
"No. He wasn't at the Minister's residence the next evening for the start of his shift."
"Has he been back to Gringotts since, or used his vault key to make any purchases?"
"I don't think so."
Connie remarked, "Auror Dawlish was disciplined for taking an unauthorized trip to Bangkok two years ago. I believe he went with several of his old friends. Is it possible that he went someplace similar?"
Karen admitted, "I suppose." She didn't know where they had been sent.
Connie had suggested, "Let's meet again in a month."
… - …
Tuesday August 1
Augusta Longbottom asked, "Is there any new business?"
Marcus Flint stood and said, "I wish to be recognized and take up my family seat."
… - …
A/Ns
Flitwick as a capable, part-time operative is one of my favorite story threads. I love getting him out of the garage and letting him work. He and Harry strike up a legitimate friendship in this tale.
A drop in birth rate and deaths associated with the war is a perfectly reasonable reason for Hogwarts having far fewer students than logical math would suggest. That holds especially true id Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in Britain.
I've long felt that the Wizengamot was one of the more useful tools in fanon. It's barely mentioned in Her seven books. Storytellers have long assumed that Augusta was the Steward of the house seat that Neville would take up. Again, that's not in the seven books. In most fanon, she exhibits little progress in actually handing those things off to Neville.
Rune1806, thank you for the happy memory.
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Thank you for reading.
Cheers
