My Time

Chapter 64

"What use to muggles have for our potion ingredients?" Archibald blustered, clearly caught of guard by Hayden's comment. His mind whirling, billions, billions, there were billions of muggles out there…for the first time he begun to understand just how infinitesimal they truly were. The magical world, what a joke, they were tiny compared to the entirety of the world. "They cannot make potions! It would be naught but sludge!" squibs couldn't create potions that required ambient magic to absorb or actual magic usage in the potion. Not that there were many that needed magic, it was the norm to avoid using magic whilst brewing.

Hayden moved forward to gather himself a cup, humming softly, having all their attention, "Do you not have a Muggle studies class?"

"We do, my, it's been such a long time since we thought about that," Agatha confessed, delighting in the fact that Hayden was helping himself to her food. He was far too skinny, at least her grandson had some meat to his bones. "It was ludicrous really, showing us pictures of muggle innovations, trains, planes, and cars and how they were getting around."

"Their latest fashion trends, I believe they now wear trousers," Archibald declared, his tone filled with censure and offence. One should never see the shape of woman's leg's; it was just not done in polite society.

Hayden inhaled sharply, before coughing out a laugh, before wheezing softly, grateful for the sharp pats to his back allowing him to regain his composure. Hogwarts school uniform still conformed to that standard. Girls were to wear pleated skirts below the knee, with tights on, long sleeved shirts, everything was modestly covered. You were given more allowances when you were of age.

Archibald flustered further upon Hayden's laugh, insulted most profoundly.

"I do apologies," Hayden placated the Lord, "But trousers have been in fashion far longer than you realize in the muggle world." Freezing a bit before relaxing, yes, he recalled something about it being in his aunts' magazines, trousers had come into every day wear during the wars, one and two, before becoming very common in the 60's and 70's before solidifying during the woman rights movement. Although, the magazine hadn't said when the woman's rights movement had been.

"Animals, the lot of them," Archibald commented, grimacing in disgust at the mere thought of them.

Hayden pursed his lips, unimpressed and showing it, despite the fact he had grown up normal thinking of the Dursley's as animals so how could he say anything? "Muggles for their lack of magic are capable of amazing and dangerous things. You understand they have atomic bombs that could wipe out our entire magical community and our people with the push of a button?"

"Surely you jest!" Liam proclaimed, shaking his head, already presuming Hayden was just trying to scare his parents.

"I am not," Hayden answered softly, a sympathetic smile at their ignorance, "On the sixth and ninth of August the United States detonated two atomic bombs on two of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They killed respectively one thousand two hundred and ninety thousand people and two thousand two hundred and sixty thousand people muggle and magical alike. The bombs had Japan surrendering and effectively ending World War two."

"Magical people? But how come we haven't heard about this especially Nagasaki?" Agatha asked, her hand over her mouth in silent horror. The sheer number was staggering, just as staggering as the number of Muggles Lord Peverell had claimed there were. She needed to do some research, regretfully…she didn't have the first clue where to start. Too shocked to wonder why he was using 'world war two' instead of 'the war'.

"Why would you hear about it? How would you hear about it?" Hayden pointed out gently, "The magical communities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated, not that the Brit's would care for the Nagasaki magical community, the population was seventy percent creature, or creature inheritance. Can you see the Minister wanting this information getting out? Do you understand now just how dangerously underestimated the muggles are? Can you imagine what they'll be capable of in sixty to seventy years' time?"

Orion's grip was frighteningly painful, that if Hayden hadn't been through what he had, he would have cried out from the pain of it. Hayden knew exactly how powerful they would be in seventy years' time, was this a warning of what could come? They'd never discussed muggles, he'd never been interested in that sort of thing believing himself to be superior.

The shock of hearing what Hayden said was immense, and it sent him reeling. He'd seen muggles as behind, strange and pathetic creatures that couldn't do much for themselves. How could they? After all they didn't have magic. They fought like hooligans, using their hands and feet! Pitiful things he thought they were.

"There were five magical communities in Nagasaki," Archibald croaked out, "I didn't personally know anyone from those five districts but a friend did. There were over forty thousand magical people at the last known consensus." Looking quite distressed, which was a natural reaction. In fact, his friend, had a daughter who married a lovely Japanese chap, he couldn't quite recall the name, but they had been very well off, he'd been ever so pleased that his daughter had married so well.

Hayden nodded somberly, "You understand now?" why he didn't wish for them to be called animals, why he didn't want them to be dismissed so easily? Muggles were dangerous when provoked, muggles were dangerous when their perceptions were challenged. Dangerous when faced with something new and different and Hayden knew without a doubt if magic should be discovered…the war would be ugly and likely there would be nothing left on the face of the earth. Neither muggle nor wizard would survive.

"Would you like to come and see the Peverell solarium? To see what you'd be working with?" Hayden asked, turning his attention to the younger Macmillian boys. Giving both the Lord and Lady Macmillians a chance to recover from the brutal reality they were naïve of. He felt a little guilty for that, but his ire at their belief they were superior without realizing the danger was immense. He'd always felt everyone was foolish for their belief, especially when they knew nothing and had likely never seen or met a muggle in their lives.

He was here to change the magical world, to make it better, to stop the train wreck it became. He'd already begun changing things, not just with the book but with Tom. He needed to make sure Hogwarts education was better, he needed to get a seat on the board of governors. They needed to do more than whatever it was that they actually did.

"Would that really be alright?" Liam queried, excitement bursting forth, chasing away the horror of what Lord Peverell had just said. Temporary as that reprieve might be, he was glad for it all the same. The sheer incredulity of the number of people lost to these…bombs Hayden spoke of turned his stomach. No, he refused to dwell on it, flowers, herbs, potion ingredients, Merlin, he couldn't wait to investigate! Oh, the thought of all those possible finds…he felt likely to vibrate out of his own skin.

Hayden smiled, a small genuine thing, "I wouldn't have suggested otherwise," he reassured the wizard. Not surprised that he may be thinking it was an attempt to gracefully leave after such heavy conversation. It's what was done in polite society at the end of the day. It was deeply ill-mannered to just take your leave abruptly.

"Then let's depart, shall we? After all this work is best done under natural light." Callum commented, glancing up to the sky, it was true, spells were no good, plus, you really shouldn't actually use too much magic around plants, they sapped up the ambient magic that surrounds all magical beings. "We will see you later, mother, father," he added to his parents, kissing his mother on the head while his brother squeezed her shoulder before the four of them were off.

Hayden wondered if it was a pureblood thing or just something men didn't want. He had to remember he was in a different timeline. Not that he could forget, but what he mustn't forget was that there were different practices. Add wizarding society itself on top of it, it was difficult really, but he'd make do. He would need to practice patience and not just saying whatever was on his mind. Perhaps Tom and Orion were correct to a certain extent.

"Are you alright?" Hayden murmured quietly, as he squeezed Orion's hand in silent comfort. He knew if he rolled up his sleeve, he'd find marks where Orion had gripped him so tightly. The shock of it had elicited a reaction he hadn't foreseen.

"How sure are you regarding the numbers?" Orion asked, mind still reeling, as he walked, it was an automatic thing otherwise he would still be sitting at that table with his grandparents.

"Hundred percent," Hayden answered, it might be ancient history for him, but to the others it had just happened. It was quite alarming how the Ministry of magic could keep such information silent. Likely with some asinine reason such as 'not wanting the public to panic' or some such. There was a difference between knowing something and panicking. Honestly, it was like Ministers enjoyed burying their heads in the sand.

Orion nodded slowly, truly alarmed by what he had just heard. Who wouldn't be? Even his uncles who rarely shut up – outside of their parent's presence of course – were quiet and sombre as they all made their way outside of the family estate. If it had been any other time, they would have been asking questions a mile a minute or teasing him.

At least three magical communities on a whole were wiped out entirely. The realization that muggles were capable of such devastation was honestly terrifying. He'd grown up thinking he was better than them, that they were pitiful creatures to be ignored. It made something in him sink, what if they saw magic and didn't get obliviated? What if they actually did something like detonate a bomb? How much of the British magical world would survive such catastrophic damage?

How could they be so ignorant? Orion felt his entire world shift on axis. More so than Hayden's presence, and death…Merlin, that was mind boggling to confess. He'd met a god and barely reacted but having to deal with this was too much. Or perhaps it was just everything compounding into one rundown wizard who just couldn't deal with any more surprises.

Hayden just gripped his hand more firmly, silently giving him his strength and support.

Nobody spoke for twenty minutes, until Liam asked, "Do you have a Portkey or do we need to be sidelong?" sidelong meaning side along Apparation, but saying it all was a mouthful. Portkeys were meant to be created by the Ministry only, but nearly all the old families had created portkeys for their heirs so they could return home if anything happened.

"Ugh, I hate portkey's," Hayden murmured, giving a dramatic shudder, before gripping Liam's elbow and Orion's hand. "Hold on." Waiting patiently for Orion to grab hold of his uncle. The alarm on both Liam and Callum's faces would have been comical if Hayden had seen them. "You can't possible Apparate with three…"

The smoothness of the Apparation, they may as well have been Apparating solo.

"Passengers." Liam ended, gaping at the sight in front of him.

Peverell estate was massive, it was quite frankly one of the biggest – by landmass – magical area with only a single exception. Hogwarts but only because it had Hogsmeade by extension. Most of the 'land' wasn't exactly liveable it was up a mountainside after all. Whereas every single plot of land that was owned by the Peverell family was a potential goldmine for opportunity which Hayden was seeing through.

It would make Hogsmeade pale in comparison.

"Welcome to my home," Hayden murmured proudly, he was going to do Ignotus proud, even if technically he was no longer related directly to him anymore. He was directly related to his older brother, Antioch Peverell, no Ignotus' direct descendants were still the Potters. He wondered what would happen in future now. Would he still be born? Could two of them exist? Well, yes, since he wasn't Harry Potter anymore. It was crazy to think he was related to James, his own father, or would be when he was born.

"Where's your greenhouses?" Liam queried, "Around the back?"

"We do not have greenhouses," Hayden commented, "They were built in the Netherlands in the eighteen hundreds so that a French Herbologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte could grow medicinal and tropical plants. He was well known by both the magical and muggle world, a Herbologist and botanist. It's only lately that they've gained popularity and only those with the money to afford it."

"He had a brother that was a squib who dealt with the muggle side of things," Liam nodded, deeply impressed that Hayden was so well versed in botany and herbology history. He was in his fourth year as an apprentice before he begun hearing about the history side of things. "Not many know since he wasn't permitted to use the family name."

Hayden grimaced, "Idiots," he muttered under his breathe, wondering if he'd had family and if so, who they were now.

"Perhaps," Liam answered, "So if you don't have a greenhouse…what are we doing here?" you couldn't preserve the outside world, only actual items and buildings. They must have been harnessed to something.

"They had a solarium built, which really isn't anything like a greenhouse, but worked for it's time." Hayden commented, on the move. Walking up the steps into the manor and moving right towards the solarium, commenting as he opened the doors. "It goes up two levels, and has a glass roof which survived the ravages of time. I intend to have the walls removed with greenhouses built outwardly. I'm thinking three, muggle plants, potion ingredients and perhaps fruit and vegetables."

"This here is best used for fruit and vegetable growing," Liam declared, gesturing towards the solarium. "It's simple and easy for fruit and vegetable to grow although personally I think you should erect a vegetable patch and orchard reserve the green houses for the harder to grow items."

Callum hummed his agreement, everything was completely dry, it needed a good soak once everything was revived. He could still feel the preservation spells seeping into the room. He wondered if they had warding stones under the solarium. He didn't ask, that would be incredibly rude. You did not ask anyone where the warding stones were. It was synonymous to declaring a feud.

"Holy…Merlin, are you sure this is right?" Liam asked, his voice strained, incredulous to the extreme.

"What is it?" Callum asked, making his way over to his brother before inhaling sharply, touching the little green stem with shaky hands. "Mogana's tits! Is this what we think…"

"It is!" Liam exclaimed in genuine enthusiasm! He couldn't wait to see what else was there, his eyes roamed over every nook and cranny. "Look, unused seeds still in their packets, dozens of them." Noticing the pull-out crudely created drawer under the table.

"Should we leave them to it?" Hayden asked sardonically, a wide amused grin on his face. Noticing that neither had a wedding ring on so likely didn't have children. Or at the very least children they'd acknowledge.

"I could use a stiff drink if there's any here." Orion answered, not in the mood for…well anything actually.

"Uh, there is a bottle in the tent, I left it there, it was to be a gift to you for our betrothal," Hayden gestured towards the direction of the tent. "The rest are all in Gringotts." He wasn't about to leave them in the property where people were coming in and out all day. He'd warded all the passageways, tried to ensure that nobody paid attention to them but that's not to say they wouldn't be found.

Orion's tense ashen pallor eased up and redness returned to his cheeks, "Those gifts usually only go one way." The male gifting the female, to showcase their suitability of a husband.

"Oh? You deciding you want things to be done proper now?" Hayden teased him, as he approached his fiancé.

"I thought you were already engaged?" Liam asked, his head popping up over the desk looking as if Yule and his birthday had come all at once.

"We are," Hayden grinned, quite proud of that fact. "But you should have seen the gifts Orion originally got me." Tutting playfully as he shook his head, "It's like he didn't know me at all."

"That's because I didn't," Orion said ruefully, he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He'd been operating under the wrong illusions but they'd gotten there. He'd thought showing off his wealth would guarantee him a partner he desired above all else. It still pained a part of him that if he'd gone and bought a few cheap trinkets or given donations to charities Hayden would have loved it better. "We got there." He added with an air of wistfulness.

"What did you send him, nephew?" Callum asked, giving his nephew his undivided attention.

Hayden smiled fondly; the pocket watch was definitely one of his fondest gifts even if it was beyond extravagant. It wasn't him, but he loved it, the inscription more importantly. "The first one…the one I shall carry with me always despite its…opulence, a pocket watch, with my initials and an inscription that I must confess I adore."

"All pureblood children are gifted with watches when they reach their majority." Orion explained, "It's usually a parent or guardian so I decided against an actual watch. Instead, I chose something similar, and had an inscription inscribed. I thought you didn't care much for it?" he'd made himself more than clear after all, so this was news to him.

"They were all over the top, but this could have been a ten-galleon pocket watch with that inscription and I'd love it all the same." Hayden murmured besotted.

Orion grimaced aghast at the idea of buying something for his love that was so cheap.

"The second was a hair accessory," Hayden added thoughtfully, sitting down gratefully as Orion conjured up two comfortable chairs for them. "I would honestly be surprised if it affixed my hair given its' weight." It was rather weightily, and would likely just slide back down.

"The pin that goes through it keeps it in place, the hair and the accessory," Liam called out, "I remember Mel saying exactly the same thing." Sniggering as he recalled his sister's grumbling complaint regarding the piece, which ironically enough, she wore most often, including her bonding. "She ended up loving it though, even wore it when they bonded."

"You mean you actually made this for me?" Hayden asked puzzled, looking over at his fiancé in silent query.

"No, it's a family heirloom, it belonged to my great- great- great grandfather, who had it fashioned for his son, who never used it, it's languished in the vaults since. It's one of the oldest most expensive pieces we have." Well, for a hair accessory anyway, there was a massive vault filled with nothing but jewels, crowns, hair pieces, rings, pendants and even gems, in five different chests. One of the Black investments was a jeweller. It had a shop that sold premade pieces and a jeweller that did custom pieces, it made a lot of money, and there was a time where they were paid in jewels instead of money until the shop took off. This was way back when Diagon Alley was just beginning, there was like one shop, Ollivander's which was in 382 B.C the jeweller was in 382 B.C if he recalled correctly.

"And you didn't want that?" Liam asked, a blank look on his face as he glanced over at the wizard. It was unfathomable to him to think someone would throw such wealth back at someone. Sure, the Peverell's were or had been well off…considering what he was doing it might mean there was more to the vaults than anyone knew. Unless, he was writing books and consolidating all the funds into making sure this estate got up and running again. Cocking his head to the side, blonde hair moving with him, "Why?" truly at a loss.

Hayden smiled, they'd never understand, they'd likely never gone without. Sighing softly, his desire to be understood thrummed through him nonetheless. "I grew up with nothing, quite literally, I wasn't given a single thing of my own. I grew up wearing my cousins' cast offs, which might I add, were five sizes too big, he was wearing adult clothes by the time he reached eight because my 'aunt' couldn't find anything to fit him. muggles and people not well-off use premade to fit clothes not custom made or bespoke."

"We're aware," Liam said wryly, "We had friends at Hogwarts that we questioned extensively on the muggle world."

"Clearly not the right things," Callum muttered under his breathe, but he was heard nonetheless. "So, you literally knew nothing about your heritage? Magic? Everything?" he couldn't believe anyone could be so utterly clueless, what did he think he was doing when magic occurred?

"Well, I found out eventually, taught myself best I could," Hayden explained, having to be very careful here, this was where his life deviated drastically. He hadn't gone to Hogwarts in this timeline, home schooling was his only other possible explanation. It's not like he could claim to have been educated in another schooling institution. It would be all too easily exposed as a lie, when he had no admissions and such or everyone having no recollection of a Peverell in their classes. That and his accent, clearly from Surry, so claiming abroad was also out of the question. "Since coming here I've been able to focus a great deal on my studies. I'll be taking my OWLS and NEWTS soon; I'll be glad when it's one less thing on my busy schedule."

"I don't envy you that," Liam winced, as he climbed up to the second level to see more of the plants (which were luckily labelled very well in Latin). "I can't imagine taking them together. Doing them two years apart was bad enough." His voice slightly louder so that he could be heard despite the distance.

Hayden made a sound of agreement, "It's going to kick my ass, I agree, but it's not the worst situation I've been in." his tone wry.

"So, were you going to Diagon Alley when you ended up Apparating to Grimmauld Place?" Callum questioned. Merlin, he needed to write down everything, he wasn't going to remember everything. Presuming he was heading there for books and information on taking his OWLS and NEWTS.

"I really should interject," Liam interjected, "You should take some time between your OWLS and NEWTS, they are not called nastily exhausting for nothing. I mean honestly, you need to sleep and if you try to take them all you'll be biting of far more than you can chew. Not even Tom would be able to do what you're attempting. He was one of the brightest wizards that gleaned the highest scores on record especially for Defence."

"He knows, Tom and Hayden are related, they're distant cousins," Orion promptly explained to his uncle.

"Is he just as smart?" Liam asked, returning down the ladder, jumping to a stop, wiping his hands off on his trousers, luckily, he was wearing his casual wear that was comfortable whilst doing his work.

"Is that possible?" Hayden snorted, "Powerful, yes, without a doubt, but Tom is…off the charts intelligent. I mean he even bet out the likes of Dumbledore who had the highest scores before him."

"Don't remind me, he beat me out every year until I left," Liam groaned, "Do you know what it's like to be beaten by a first year at fifteen? It sucks, my parents weren't overly impressed…especially since he wasn't from a known family at the time."

"The school found out he was the heir of Slytherin?" Hayden whispered to Orion, arching a brow, and silently impressed, he'd thought Liam was older than he actually was if he'd attended Hogwarts in any capacity when Tom Riddle was there. He'd always assumed that it had been a secret Tom only revealed to his closest followers.

"Merlin, no, but I did date the lovely Adele Avery, she did regale me with a lot of information on what happens in the common room." Liam grinned salaciously, causing Orion to groan, he did not wish to hear his uncle's sex life thank you very much. Honestly, neither of them had an ounce of shame between them. The only time they were moderately respectful was when his grandparents were around. "He did ask me not to spread it around. I being the perfect gentlemen agreed. Personally, I didn't understand it, being the heir of Slytherin isn't something to keep quiet about. It could open a lot of doors for him if his grades couldn't do the trick." Which he found highly unlikely.

"You're going to have to put a lot of wards in here," Callum declared, as he moved towards the two, his tone grim. "If word ever gets out about what's in this solarium, you'll have people trying to break in, in order to get them. One alone is…priceless, you could get anything you wanted for them by any botanist, Herbologist or any enthusiast with money to burn. They're unique, one of a kind, ninety percent of the seeds in here are. They're names I've only ever seen in books…"

Hayden straightened when the tone of the conversation took a grim turn.

"If you ever do decide to sell them, don't do it via word of mouth, for your safety and everyone else's, get Gringotts goblins to act as a go-between. It costs a bit of money but honestly it would be worth it, the goblins take confidentiality very seriously." Liam interjected his own thoughts, not that they differed from his brothers.

"It does seem like they didn't have the more common herbs and potion ingredients here," Callum added thoughtfully, "Which is highly strange, were there any other places found like this? With more common plants?"

"They could have been done outside, but everything is overgrown," Hayden posited, watching Callum and Liam transfigure chairs for themselves, feeling right at home. "The front has naturally been cut back by me and the workforce as they continue to work on the area."

Callum nodded, "It might also depend on their profession, do you know what their expertise was based in?"

"The brothers left home when they came of age," Hayden explained, "This estate used to be a thriving community. All living under the Peverell banner, without fear of persecution due to the wards they had up. Something caused them to flee, once everyone was gone, the magic itself put Peverell Estate into lockdown or Lord and Lady Peverell did so, maybe when they were running to preserve their home. Regretfully, nobody returned and it was left to languish until now. There are journals, but they're written in old English so it's taking me a lot of time to translate them." Especially given his already large workload.

"Journals?" Orion queried.

"Well, I'm calling them that but they're really just information written down in the form of letters bound together. I only ever found her letters which was rather strange. If anything, you'd expect to find the letters from her sons not the ones she wrote." Hayden confessed wryly.

"Depends on her age, she might have been forgetting things, might have copied them to bring clarity." Orion deduced, he saw his grandmother Hesper doing it frequently, not just with official correspondence but personal missives as well. "It might be that she kept everything both personal and official correspondence. Are there more letters that you haven't gotten through yet?"

"Plenty, the box has been spelled larger on the inside it isn't as good as the spells we have now naturally. However, it is like blindly feeling for wooden cabinets, six drawers, filled with letters and everything. However, it isn't bottomless." Hayden informed them.

"Should be emptied and put into the museum, I mean an old spell that's still active? It's something they'd love to see." Callum suggested, impressed himself. "Perhaps if it's investigated it might end up proving rather fruitful. Maybe even make a stronger version of the one we use right now."

"It won't need investigated," Hayden revealed shaking his head, "There was a school here, or rather a large room filled with dozens of chairs, for the children of the estate to be tutored. For some reason they always wrote in Latin for their school work not old English. I haven't investigated much into it; I'll leave that until I have more time."

"The solarium wasn't the only place preserved, was it?" Callum asked, his jaw unhinged as he stared at his nephews significant other. The sheer scope of what he was imagining was too much to be possible…nobody was that powerful, it was just beyond ludicrous to think so. Right?

Hayden shook his head, "No, it wasn't, the entire estate and all it's rather significant acres, if you want to see how people lived in the old ages there's plenty properties preserved in time." Cocking his head to the side, a thoughtful frown on his face. People paid to go to museums, what difference would it be to see different places here? What if he kept it all? No, that would put weaknesses in his wards, he couldn't have that. No, this place was too important. While it wouldn't affect him personally, it would affect his tenants which he would be gaining once one of the properties were rebuilt, renovated and retrofitted.

Orion groaned, "Merlin, help us," he uttered, seeing his uncles staring at him in curious bafflement, neither had seen him so laidback before. Oh, they'd tried to loosen him up, make him smile, but nothing worked. He was always so serious, nothing like he'd been as a child, it hurt them to see their nephew that way. Now? Oh, now he was smiling, groaning dramatically, he was happy and they were in awe of the changes. They hadn't seen him in seven or eight months, caught up with him in Diagon alley just before Christmas. "That's the look he gets on his face when he makes a awful decision!" dreading what Hayden was going to come up with next.

"Hey, the books weren't a bad idea!" Hayden faux complained, "Just an idle thought, it's not a good idea, I take my security very seriously." After going seven years running for his life, you're damn right he'd rather everyone think he was paranoid as Orion than stupid and dead. Then again…what did that make him considering Ginny had managed to kill him so easily? It's a good job Voldemort wasn't less dramatic and sneaky as a teenager girl otherwise he would have been dead a lot sooner.

Ironic really, all things considered.

"What was the thought?" Orion asked, genuinely curious despite his earlier dramatics. Despite his words, Hayden thought outside of the box, and he was going to usher the world into a new era. He was going to ensure that Dumbledore went down.

Liam and Callum remained quiet, watching their interactions, they would need to speak to Orion on his own at some point. They wanted to know how and why, they'd only given their parents the bare bones, and likely romanticized version of it. They might have been willing to accept it but they weren't. It wasn't as if they were against Hayden, no, he seemed to do their nephew the world of good. Hopefully they'd be able to catch him alone before their niece's wedding.

"Just a museum of some sorts, you know to show how others had lived their lives in a different lifetime. I even found a dozen staffs; can you believe it? each had a different gem imbedded inside as a focus stone." Hayden said ruefully, "One actually called to me…and that I mean I didn't even get that feeling with my wand."

"Only the strongest wizards in the world wield staffs," Callum's breathing hitched, "The Peverell brothers, Merlin, Nicolas Flamel until he begun using the stone, Morgana, Mordred, there's not been anyone since Mordred if the list is accurate."

"Really?" Hayden said in fascination, "I thought…well, I thought they used wands." History made it seem so at any rate. He wondered if it was Ignotus' staff that had seemed so compelling to him. He might enquire with death to find out.

"They could have done both, they all had their individual crafts." Orion pointed out, "Unfortunately, not much else is known about the Peverell family, but legend of them being necromancers never dies."

Hayden smirked, a devious look that had both Liam and Callum wary, the hair on their arms standing up on edge. "For now," he replied, one day he'd have a compendium of books, filled with information about the family. So that his and Orion's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren would know their family. None of them would be left to flounder and find information out second hand, fed to him in little pieces.

"So, how do you usually work? I assume you work for Macmillian nursery and are mostly self-sufficient?" Hayden asked, sitting forward.

"That's right," Liam agreed with a nod.

"You don't help others start up; you just sell your products?" Hayden enquired for confirmations sake.

"Yes, normally," Liam confirmed.

"If I promised you your pick of two plants each, would you get it up and running? All the while training at least three House-elves to work in the nursery so that they can continue after you go back to your normal schedule?" Hayden asked, already knowing they would agree, especially if the plants were as rare as they seemed. It was good, it meant more funds solely for the estate.

It would work even if by some miracle there was any Slytherin in the pair of Hufflepuff's.

"This is six to ten months' worth of work at the very least, with no guarantee of a favourable outcome. Not all seeds germinate, I trust you understand that?" Callum spoke, a frown on his face, "Plus, all the orders will need to be picked, packed, then posted, we get over a hundred orders per day, we're barely getting by running it on our own…what do you think…should we take on an apprentice?"

"One of us coming here, the other and someone running the nursery?" easily keeping up with his own brothers' thoughts. "Three days each, with Sunday off." It was a statement, not a question.

"Even busier if you do intend to take it into the muggle world," Hayden pointed out, even Orion had stopped commenting on it when he saw the first few statements coming in. The money they were making from the muggle world was mindboggling. It would quadruple their income, Orion deduced, within five years to a decade.

"Is it doable?" Liam murmured thoughtfully, it would exhaust them to the extreme, it would be one of the most challenging years they'd have yet. However, to get their hands on four of those plants would be well worth it. They could grow their own with a single cutting, make more, put them on the endangered list instead of extinct.

"Good job we only have your wedding and a few parties on our social calendar." Callum nodded, "Alright, you have an agreement. We'll figure out a contract when you have a free moment." Nobody in the Macmillian family were going to be stupid enough to do anything without a contract. They would never allow themselves to be stiffed, and yes, Hayden Peverell might be betrothed to Orion it didn't mean he might not try to do them out of what they were due for services provided.

"Speaking of, I don't suppose you know what you both might like as a wedding gift?" Liam suggested with a hopeful note to his voice, clearly Hayden didn't care for extravagance but Orion most definitely did.

A/N – so owls, newts, weddings oh my 😉 along with Wizengamot meetings I'm beginning to feel like this story is never going to move lol 😊 I'm going to be here forever which is disheartening, why do I feel the need to write down all the nuances of a story! Ah, well hopefully most of you like all that! And of course, some chapters before Hayden and Orion's I still need a few betrothal gifts that fit the pair of them! I just can't seem to figure it out, the pocket watch was well received even if it's way too pricy 😊 is there anyone else you want to see in the story before we advance on? Someone I could be forgetting? Will we see Walburga's wedding? Or will Orion and Hayden 'excuse' themselves from attending? Or will they have to go as future Lord Black-Peverell's? one last glimpse of her before Orion and Hayden Apparate off into the sunset? 😉 hahaha