"Tyler honey, make Mama happy and shut her up." Miss 'Thornhill' called out to the guy on the other side of the conservatory. "Permanently."
"He is not on your side." Wednesday's monotoned delivery was disheartening.
"Tyler does everything I tell him to do." Miss 'Thornhill' moved to re-establish her connection with the Hyde.
QTR
Just as the ghouls lifted the body of the late Headmistress Weems into the casket, the Shapechaner sat up and coughed, before turning to the side and purged the blue liquid that had been injected into her system.
"Remind me to thank Adams for mentioning poisoning before going in. How long was I out?" The Headmistress asked the head of the morgue.
The pale man shrugged, "You were delivered yesterday, and Nevermore Academy was closed two days before that. You were declared dead by poisoning. Nightshade. Or you would not have been buried. Three ghoul clans have bids on your body. I will forward you the details." He waved his hand at a closed door off to the side. "You should find something to wear inside."
(Personally I don't believe that Weems is gone. She seems to be the kind that you have to behead to kill. A.N.)
QTR
Potter stood on the walk, watching the black cab vanish into the distance. Sighing, he turned and picked up his case and approached the door. As he got within feet of the door a bark was his only warning before Hedwig landed on his shoulder. He reached up and scratched her breast plate but avoided her itchy places.
He pushed the button on the side of the door.
"Jane, the money is in the clip!" A woman's voice called from deep in the house.
The door popped open and a crinkly haired teen froze… before her ears popped from the top of her head. She inhaled through her fangs… "Harry? Is something wrong?" A sleek yet bushy haired cat tail waved behind her from under her jersey… her red with gold Gryffindor Quidditch number Seven jersey.
Harry smirked. He knew that Potter was written across her shoulders.
"Hermione. Yes and no. One, your pussy is showing. Two, I fear I have been taken from Surrey. Dumbledore might think that I have been kidnapped since I was last seen in the company of a deranged madman wanted in connection to my parents murder. Can we come in? We have some things to talk about with you and your folks. School type things."
She waved the lad and his owl inside before looking around, then closing the door.
" That was quick." A man's voice called from upstairs. "I thought I would have another twenty minutes. " A man that just screamed military came trotting down the stairs.
He stopped to look at the Lad with an owl on his shoulder. "Evening Hedwig. A bit early for bacon, but I see that you have delivered a lad. I know that my daughter is of the age to begin to seek a mate, but how do I know that he is worth her interest?"
Bark.
Hedwig groomed Harry's hair before preening on his shoulder.
"Oh, so he is your Lad. So, he is housebroken, but is he good enough to provide for her? For her children?"
"Dad!"
"Sir, as to the topic of my being housebroken, Hermione has overseen my last three years personally. As to the question of am I good enough for her… no, but then what lad is? As to the question of my being able to provide… " Harry set the case on the table. "That is half the reason that I am here tonight. I am leaving England for the Colonies. I am here to ask Hermione if she wants to go too. The school that my Godfather and Uncle on my Father's side has arranged for me to join includes the American answer to our A levels and my Uncles will be tutoring us in any subjects not covered by the standard classroom setting. A bonus, she is just a phone call away, but mail will take even longer. Besides I am taking Hedwig with me, and Uncle Lupin is waiting at the airport right now. He has to buy some things to keep Padfoot entertained for the whole flight." Harry turned to glare at Hermione, "And no, chew toys are enough to keep him distracted."
"Chew toys?" 'Dad' asked as Mom entered the room.
"Padfoot is a big dog." Hermione sighed.
"No. He is not just a dog." Harry smiled at Hermione, "Just to prove that she is not a complete hack, Professor Trelawney was correct in many of her foretelling.
She saw a shadow of death around me, and with the dangers that I faced, I can't really blame her. But my tea reading… She was right. I was being hunted by a Grim. But he was not hunting me as a predator but as a Guardian. Padfoot is a Grim. Prongs was not just a Stag, but a Forest Lord. And you know about Moony."
" Do I need to answer you tonight?" Hermione asked as her parents watched the floor show.
Harry pulled the plane tickets from his inner pocket. "I have to catch my flight and according to what I overheard from Patil, I need to be there two hours before to pass through security."
Hermione took them from his hand and looked at the tickets. "Three one way, first class, priority boarding, with deluxe drinks and meal options."
"Damn." Both adults chorused.
"Harry, this is Malfoy class money here." Hermione was wide eyed as she gapped at the boy that wore rags when not in uniform.
"Oh, you mean those albino paupers?" Harry smirked.
The Grangers glared at the boy… Hermione knew just how rich Draco was and had written home during one of her rants.
"You know how every pure blood witch is always watching me? Yeah, so it turns out that there are two houses richer than the Malfoy. In second place is House Potter. We are as liquid as Malfoy, but we own at least a third of Diagon Alley and
A large portion of two-thirds of the business there. Plus acres of lands across the isles."
" Dare I ask who is the richest? " Dad asked stiffly.
Harry popped the locks on the case and knocked on the lid. .
The lid lifted as a human head rose out of the depths. "Ah, Pup?"
"Be at ease, Padfoot." Hermione stepped back to allow him out. "The night you flew off on Bucky, I wrote a letter explaining everything to my Parents. Hedwig delivered it the next morning and by the time we boarded the train they knew everything that I knew."
Then the doorbell rang.
Harry turned and answered the door, more out of habit. He opened the door and there stood a youth a little older than percy, a Vespa sitting on the curb behind him and the square boxes in hand clued Harry in instantly.
The guy blinked, "You are not Hermione or Dan."
Harry stood up, and in a Soho accent, "No… I'm Harry from her private school up north."
"Thought they were all girls." The guy scrunched his nose.
"Yes and no. The whole school is both, but I go to St Brutus's. A place for trouble makers that the military doesn't want. She is in our sister school across the vale, that only accepts the brightest girls… that can't bribe their way into France. "
" Harry!" Hermione swatted Harry's shoulder as she came to collect the pizza from the young man. "Shut it."
Harry grinned, "Yes, my Queen." Looking at the guy, "What's the damage? If you hurry you should be back in 30 to 45 minutes. "
" Forty Pounds, plus tip." The guy sounded confused.
Pulling his wallet from an inner pocket of his open robes, Harry handed him a one hundred pound note(just go with it). "If you can make change, you can keep it." He closed the door and followed Hermione to the dining table. "Sir, sorry to do this, but can you reorder the pizzas and three large meatlovers with double extra bacon. I overheard our witch here arguing with another muggle raised in my dorm over the best toppings and she said that you preferred ham and pineapple. When you reorder it, add bacon."
"Okay. Before I go do that, I am Dan, and my Wife Emma." The military man offered his hand.
" Potter, Harkon James." Harry shook the man's hand, "my friends call me Harry. That's my Godfather Sirius Black. And you know Hedwig."
The man nodded and walked off as the female humans set the table for four. When the pies were plated, Black drew back in revulsion.
"Problem? " Emma asked.
" Broccoli."
" Yes, Broccoli and Cheddar on Alfredo sauce. " Emma stood straight.
" Padfoot is Allergic to Broccoli." Black said with a serious face. "Can ruin a couch at twenty paces." He frowned, "And gets my butt hair nasty and tangled."
" Your… ?"
Sirius shimmered as he took on his alter ego. Padfoot.
As Dan returned to the room, he spotted the dog standing in front of his wife. "Wife?"
"At ease." Emma smiled as she turned to look at her husband. "Professor Mittens."
Harry frowned and turned to Hermione.
"Codewords. They can exchange whole lines of data with only a handful of words. He asked if she was okay, not recognizing Snuffles here as Padfoot, in threat range to her. She said she was as safe as when he left the room. Then explained what was going on."
Harry nodded. The Foxes did something similar. The twins had a form of telepathy, but Ginny would only need a word or two to interact with them.
They were quickly seated and fed the first round of pizza, before a ringing doorbell broke the scene. Harry pulled out his wallet and handed Hermione £150. Before he frowned and followed , drawing his wand from his sleeve.
QTR
Mike smiled as he swung off the Shops Vespa. The scooter was fun to ride. Not as fun as the restored Triumph he was rebuilding, but still fun. He unslung the pizza boxes, and his smile turned to a cocky grin. The Hawaiian was Dr Granger's favorite and the Broccoli and Cheddar was Dr Granger-Puckle's. The Veggie Deluxe meant that young Hermione was home.
He approached the door and rang the doorbell… and waited.
But the person opening the door was not either Dan, nor sweet Hermione. There stood a runty fop in a fashion that looked like a cross between some things that a yank and an easterner would wear.
You are not Hermione or Dan."
Harry stood up, and in a Soho accent, "No… I'm Harry from her private school up north."
"Thought they were all girls." Mike scrunched his nose. Hermione stepped around behind him and smiled at him, her lips sealed over her oversized incisors.
"Yes and no. The whole school is both, but I go to St Brutus's. A place for trouble makers that the military doesn't want. She is in our sister school across the vale, that only accepts the brightest girls… that can't bribe their way into France. "
" Harry!" Hermione swatted Harry's shoulder as she came to collect the pizza from the young man. "Shut it."
Harry grinned, "Yes, my Queen." Looking at the guy, "What's the damage? If you hurry you should be back in 30 to 45 minutes…"
" Forty Pounds, plus tip." The guy sounded confused.
Pulling an American Biker style wallet from an inner pocket of his open robes, Harry handed him a one hundred pound note. "If you can make change, you can keep it."
'Sixty pound gratuity. I am definitely catching the next order." Mike bolted to the Vespa and red lined it all the way back to the shop.
As he bolted into the shop, he ran to the register where the owner's wife was reading the Sun.
"Hey Ma'am, I need to make some change. Granger's order included my tip in the bill." He knew she was thinking that Dan had given him a £50 note as he passed her the receipt and let her ring up the order, before he slapped down the £100 note. She froze. Just then the phone rang.
Only her hand moved to catch the phone. As the phone reached her ear, but before she could speak, he heard Dan's voice "Evening, Granger here. Need to reorder. That's one large Hawaiian only now we want to add bacon. Three large pies, meat lovers with extra bacon, and two veggie deluxe. Thanks luv," the line went dead.
" And he paid you sixty in a tip? " the Matron frowned at him.
" No the Fop courting His Daughter." Mike smiled. "Give you twenty if I get the order that just came in.?
The woman frowned as she looked at the board. The only order under 'Delivery'
Was the Granger house. "Refuel the Vespa. She needs to be ready when the order comes up." She quickly scribbled the order out and posted it for her husband to fill.
"Oh Hell No!" Her husband appeared in the window to the kitchen. "Who ordered bacon on the Hawaiian?"
"Dan Granger. He knows your objection but the lad courting his daughter just paid for their last order with a £100 note." She grinned.
They don't print hundred pound notes. " The chef was red faced from working with the pizza oven.
They are only used when you are dealing with large numbers. Like royals moving millions. If that lad is in possession of these notes… There is money involved. You slap that on the bank counter, and your whole stock in the bank shifts."
The pizza baker grunted and turned to finish the order.
QTR
Hermione opened the door to see…
A black robe and a bone skull mask. The wizard drew a wand from his snake headed can, just twisted and pulled…
A colourless flash of spellfire streaked across her right shoulder striking the wizard in the chest.
Hermione ducked low and to the left as Harry stepped forward and caught the wand out of the air, as his wand discharged another bolt of light, this time it was red.
The masked wizard was knocked back from the force of the blow. As he rightened himself to demand his wand back from the mudblood… only to be blasted again by a simple stunner.
Harry huffed as he moved to stand over the downed wizard. Using the snake hilted wand, he whispered the spell.[ Incarcerous] Leather cords mixed with thorny vines in a braided rope bound the wizard from just below the shoulder to the ankle. Then Harry picked up the cane shaft and lifted the death eater clear of the ground and entered the house heading for the case in the sitting room.
Dan and Sirius watched as the lad fed the bound wizard headfirst into the case.
"Ah… Pup? Are you collecting strange wizards?" Sirius asked.
"More like collecting wizarding trash. First it was England's most wanted, and now a Muggle Baiter." He snapped the wand into the cane, just before a thump came from the case. "Shortly a ministry owl should be showing up as I threw a disarming jinx followed by a stunner. If it is for you, have whoever comes check your wand. If they must know, knock on the case. I will resurface and we'll tell them the truth. Riddle's number one agent came calling and I had to risk the statue to protect the people in this house. Black get in, and go to your room and lay down as Padfoot. Other than being my Father's Familiar… "
Sirius huffed but climbed into the case.
Harry smiled at the witch. "Give everything to the pizza guy. Then you can bring the pies and the rents down. Include the familiars." Then he too climbed into the case, closing the lid behind him.
"What was he talking about?" Emma frowned.
"The reason I can't do magic at home. It is one of the ways the pure bloods are screwing muggleborn over . After Harry's accident I did a little light reading. There are acceptable reasons for me to use magic during this time, but I am not wanting to go into them if I don't have to."
Emma frowned. "Ok young lady. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Your boyfriend from school shows up and says he is leaving for the colonies. And you don't even blink. Are things that bad for him here? " She reboxed the uneaten Pizza to take below.
" No " Hermione frowned as her ears formed on the top of her head. They twitched before pulling back in discontentment. "And yes. I don't go into every detail in my letters, but his relatives are not nice people. Relatives not family. He makes that very clear when he talks about them. That place is just where he goes to wait until school starts again. Since 91, he has not been able to stay the whole summer before his magic flares and he has to run. Last year he blew up his Uncle's sister. The year before that, the twins had to rip the bars off the window so they could rescue him. And each spring he is sent back."
" And then there's School." Her ears pulled tighter to her skull. "Every year, like clockwork, something happens on Halloween that sets up the whole year. Then there's the bullying and name calling." Her ears relaxed " Infact, now that you bring it up, I think I will take him up on it. And before you worry, I have thought this over since he brought it up. If everything was packed into that case of his, you would only need an overnight bag of things you don't want to have to dig up from the case. I can rest and relax in comfort, with Harry and Sirius below while you two and Professor Lupin enjoy the comfort of first class pampering that only muggles would know how to enjoy."
" You would have to extend your sabbatical to include the weekend, but knowing you two, that would be the time to repack, buy the tickets and such. Odds are we are going to New York, and on from there. That's Broadway and Time Square. Then it's just a ride down the coast to Atlanta, Orlando, or even Miami. Then you can fly back from there."
" Meanwhile, I have Ilvermorny and Salam Witches Academy to inspect before whichever school Harry is going to. Not to mention the libraries and museums. And Harry will take care of me and if I need to come home… he can buy me a portkey home, if not a plane ticket."
" And I am to just trust my one and only Princess to a boy, not even in secondary? How do I know that the moment I turn my back he won't have you in that case … violating you repeatedly? "
Hermione's ears twitched, before she hissed in annoyance, her ears flat. "One, his age. He can't talk to other girls yet, and I am his best friend. He came to me rather than vanishing completely. Two, if I was to be in that case being violated repeatedly, not only would it be my choice, but I would have to teach him how and what to do. And he would risk his health, life, and magic to see that I was screaming like mom on your anniversary nights. "
"Jane! " Emma hissed, blushing redder than a Weasley.
"Don't worry. I am going to wait until after my fifth year before I get into that kind of activity. As to Harry protecting me. He truly is my Knight in Armor. He is the blade to my mind. He has got power. Real power. In Fact if I screamed right now,
He would explode out of that case, his wand in hand and fire in his eyes. I am safer with him than I am with Dad. For one reason and one reason only, he will kill anything attacking me, trusting me to care for myself. Dad would have his attention split between the attacker and me."
" When the Pizza gets here, take it into the case." Emma spoke up. "Your dad and I are going to the den to talk. I think I need a drink." She placed the boxes beside the case before she turned and walked off.
" Leave the lid up, when you go down. Call us if you need anything." Dan frowned before kissing her between her tuffed ears. He too headed for the den.
Hermione huffed, before going to the door, arriving just as Mike rang the doorbell. She took a deep breath and shifted to full human. Then she opened the door.
"So… is he your boyfriend?" Mike grinned at her as she passed over the two bills for seven boxes.
"No. Not yet. Neither of us are of dating age. Nor mind set. He is just my best friend from school. He is a trouble magnet, but keeps the real riff raff at bay. In a couple of years, I might decide to take it further… if his mistress will let me."
" His Mistress?" The late team squeaked.
" His Owl." Hermione smirked. "The only female he has more contact with then me." She closed the door before he could ask anything more.
QTR
In the Case, Dan looked about and whistled. Potter set the boxes of pizza on the table and turned to look at the adults as Dan helped Emma climb down the ladder.
Hermione leaned into the case, handing two cocktails to Dan, before she rolled forward and landed beside the man on her toes. Because in her furry mode, her feet could be either cat pawed or human footed. Her tail waved again as it brushed her shoulder blades.
"There are four quarters, an armory, and potions lab." Harry pointed out the rooms. "Me and Padfoot have chosen our rooms. Hermione can choose hers and Moony can take what is left. As the three of us and our familiars will be traveling down here while you two and Moony are enjoying first class pampering. I don't know if the case is shielded, but if Hermione would like to, she can bring her School trunk packed with everything that is not clothes, and a full duffle of everything she wants to wear across the pond."
Harry looked at Dan,"If Dan is willing to play the Beard, Padfoot needs to go to the Colonies' answer to the Ministry. He just needs to walk a black dog on a leash, and the Grim will take care of everything else. Or he can join me and the ladies on our shopping trip… "
Dan leaned in the open door," You hear that Padfoot? When we get to New York, we are going walkies."
Padfoot woofed and thumbed his tail.
"Harry, do you have any idea what kind of hell you are tempting here?" Hermione purred. He could feel the vibrations where she sat scratching her orange toms ears.
"Barchoke passed me the name of his American counterpart, the address of their preferred bank in New York. The little coin buyer is already running everything through the muggle banks to see if there is anything My Father left behind. I am thinking we can check into a suite at a fancy Hotel, and I think I can cover a week with what I have in my pockets." Harry sat, popping open the pizza box with meat special with extra bacon. Hedwig, reading his mind, dropped through the hatch and back winged to land on his shoulder. As he picked pieces of bacon off the pi, "I am planning on drawing on my accounts over there to find our shopping trip. Padfoot will also need a one hour shopping trip once he gets his muggle clothes. I also need to arrange for your return trip to London."
Padfoot stood from the bed. "Not to mention restocking our cupboards. How are you going to do that?" He thrust a vile vail under Potter's nose.
Three years of care under Poppy's care, Harry had slammed the vail back out of habit.
First the taste hit. Super sweet coffee, soured, then strained through Ron's socks.
Next was a lightheadedness causing Harry to swoon and fall off the bench…
Then his guts cramped.
Tbc