The rise of the Black Rod
Chapter Six: Easter break
Daphne came into the office and sat on the couch "Harry" she said.
Harry looked up from the scroll he was pretending to read. "Yes?"
"It's nearly Easter" said Daphne. "The Easter break, children coming home from Hogwarts."
"Hmm" said Harry, thinking, should see about getting a small truck-load of Easter eggs.
"I'd like to give the children a special present" said Daphne.
"Special?" asked Harry. So not eggs? Chocolate rabbits?
"Something… only we can do." said Daphne.
Harry briefly considered demonstrating Daphne having a very good time while fully clothed, and rejected it as unhelpful. "Like what?" he asked.
"Like… meeting their parents again." said Daphne. "You're a Peverell, after all."
"Stone broke" said Harry. He lifted his injured hand and wiggled his fingers "memorably."
"There's a prototype in the workshop at the castle" said Daphne. "It's not portable, but we've got portal mirrors."
"Have you… tested it then?" asked Harry.
"Oh no husband, it's your family property, I wouldn't dream of it" said Daphne. And she fluttered her eyelashes.
"Can't open the books?" asked Harry.
"No, your Peverell ancestors were paranoid arseholes" said Daphne. "I'm your wife, and I still can't open the bloody grimoires."
"So you want me to do it?" asked Harry.
"We" said Daphne. "I can read while you do. In a different library, in your castle that actually looks magical."
Harry considered the Peverell castle, very tall, lots of stairs, not really inhabited. His brain went back to 'largely uninhabited' did a loop-de-loop round 'library only they could open the doors of' and he felt a sudden urge to stand up. He stood.
Daphne smiled minutely.
The climb to the library was three very tall floors up a spiral staircase, but he felt quite well today, compared to the day the broke in, so that wasn't hard at all. The library was dark and forbidding, tall shelves, a rustic table, and a long-dead fireplace.
Daphne lit the torches and fireplace in the library which was a vast improvement, and Harry summoned some more firewood, and tossed a chunk of log on. "Right" he said, and went looking for the right book.
Daphne grabbed his arm and steered him to a shelf of massive tomes "It's one of these" she said.
Harry took them down, and they went looking – Harry opening the first one. Daphne tried to turn a page and recoiled, shaking her hand "Bit me" she complained.
She eyed the book "Harry – check the inside front cover, there might be a control for who can read it."
Harry flicked back a few pages to find a depression in the back of the cover stained a dark brown. "That look like blood to you?" asked Harry.
Daphne counted books "I'm going to need a blood-replenishing potion" she said.
"I'll get the books open, you put just a drop in each, okay" said Harry "And I'll go get a potion while you work."
"It means a lot to me" said Daphne "That you trust me."
Harry rolled his eyes, and wrapped an arm round her waist "Daphne, you're my wife and I love you. Of course I trust you."
"So" said Daphne "does Harry Peverell, last scion of the dread Peverells require… a sacrifice before he grants me access to his family spell-books?" she licked her lips slowly. Harry felt light-headed.
"Sacrifice" he croaked.
Daphne nodded, and knelt, and looked up at Harry, pressing her hands together "Oh husband, mighty wizard, please grant me access to your family spell-books… I'd do Anything."
Harry lifted his eyebrows and Daphne winked.
A very ruffled, slightly sweaty Harry trotted down the spiral staircase back to the ground floor, the portal mirrors, and home. Harry got the potion he needed, and went back, arriving in time to see Daphne wincing as she dripped blood from her left index finger into one of the books halfway down the table. Harry handed her the potion, and she drank, and grimaced. And if he episkey'd her hand very carefully then kissed her fingers, well, she'd had to hurt herself.
"Thank you darling" said Daphne. "I'll check from the left end of the table, you check from the right?"
"We can meet in the middle" said Harry. Daphne's lips twitched "Again" she said.
It was Daphne that found the 'instructions'. Basically, the wheel needed to spin a lot, and wasn't portable.
"Well, we can um. Just make it like visiting Santa" said Harry. He'd seen that on TV, if not in person. Well, he'd seen Dudley crushing some shop Santa, and asking for a bike or a computer, or a walk-man.
So he had to explain. Daphne thought it was very interesting.
"And that give me a good idea" said Daphne "Testing it, obviously, but also, getting the list and checking ever parent beforehand… if only so they don't …"
"Cry, scream, plead to be returned to life?" asked Harry.
Daphne nodded "This is supposed to be a chance for the orphans to heal, not hear some diatribe."
"So we should go test it now?" asked Harry.
Daphne checked her watch. "We've got forty minutes before afternoon tea."
Harry found himself bent to a crank, winding the massive wooden wheel on it's slightly squeaky bronze bearings, while Daphne puttered around the workshop, cleaning off the dust, and looking at things.
"We should put some of this stuff in a vault – the spare wands for one thing" said Daphne.
"Huh?"
"Harry, we will have teenagers roaming this castle soon. Leaving a bucket of very powerful wands in a locked room is asking for trouble."
Harry had a thought. "Daph?" he asked, while still spinning the wheel "Is putting stuff in Gringotts partly about stopping kids from messing with it?"
"Partly." said Daphne "And paranoia about theft. Someone like Granger, suitably motivated would be an able burglar."
Harry tried to imagine Hermione as a thief. "Seems unlikely" said Harry.
"Harry, you and her literally did a bank job at Gringotts" said Daphne.
"We had help" said Harry. "Ron's brother Bill told us secrets."
"Harry… you three are literally the most notorious burglars in the country. It's just that you also saved the country."
"So it evens out" said Harry.
"No, you're more on the wonderful side than naughty." said Daphne.
"Oh" said Harry, concentrating, and putting a hand on the axle. The room darkened slightly, and flickering ghosts of his parents appeared.
"It WORKS!" shouted Daphne, and she jumped up and down.
Harry kept cranking and concentrating.
"Oh Harry!" said his mum in a whisper like wind in the trees.
"That's the girl" said his dad.
Daphne straightened her robe and said "Mr Potter, Mrs Potter, I'm Daphne, I married Harry – this is the Peverell's prototype resurrection stone. Well, wheel."
"Hi mum and dad!" said Harry, continuing to crank the wheel.
Harry's mum floated over to the wheel and eyed it. "So it only works when spinning." she said.
"Stick a perpetual spinning top on the stub axle" said James. "Save loads of effort."
Harry's mums sighed "That's just typical James. Harry dear, your father has a mind like a corkscrew."
"Would it work?" asked Harry.
"His ideas usually do. Jammy git" said his mum. "NOT Counting the jelly!"
"What jelly?" asked Harry.
"Nothing" said Lily. "Your father made some dreadful orange jelly with carrot. It was vile."
"It was in your mother's Woman's Weekly, how was I to know it was worse than a medical potion!" said James. Harry wondered what that had been all about.
"Well, let's get some proper introductions shall we?" said James.
Daphne nodded minutely "Daphne Potter-Black, nee Greengrass. My mother's Roxanne Greengrass nee Bathory, my father's Cryus Greengrass. We're the Appleby Greengrasses."
"Cyrus Greengrass?" asked James "Wasn't he a ravenclaw?"
"Yes" said Daphne. "Mummy was an exchange student, starting in sixth year. She was sorted into Slytherin, and met daddy at a tutoring club."
"Before our time" said James, partly to Lily, "I think I met him at some boring thing grandfather organised."
"So… any plans to make us grandparents?" asked Lily, with a smile that looked to Harry a bit like teasing.
"Oh, that's well underway," said Daphne, "we're using surrogates in Australia. Muggles."
"Surrogates. Isn't' that illegal" said James. "Dark lord thingy."
"Screwpine, and not any more," said Daphne, "Harry agreed that because I was afraid of pregnancy, we'd skip it."
Lily crossed her spectral arms. "So you're going all dark family on us then" she asked lightly.
"Oh yeah" said Harry, and he concentrated and hissed out "$Surprise Mum!$"
"Did he just hiss?" asked James. Lily blinked "What the hell?" she asked.
"Harry's a parselmouth. So, this talent runs in the family… but like a lot of those, it needed some fresh blood to get it going." said Daphne "I actually expected her to understand that."
Lily shook her head.
"Oh" said Daphne, then to Harry "A less well-researched witch might doubt your mother is the link."
"What link" asked Lily.
"Oh, um Slytherin" said Harry "Got the ring and title and stuff. It's a bit cursed."
"It's a lot cursed" corrected Daphne.
"What are you on about?" asked James.
"Lily Evans is a Slytherin descendant via squibs" said Daphne "Harry inherited control of the family from You-know-who once he killed him."
"Are either of you in discomfort?" asked Harry.
"A bit" said Lily.
"Have you tried stopping and restarting it?" asked James.
Like shook her head "This is what my entire adult life was like. Harry – do try."
Harry stopped the wheel – his parents vanished, and with a bit of sweating, got it spinning properly again. Lily and James reappeared.
"So, Lils, okay?" asked James.
"Yes dear." she said "God he's going to be insufferable." she added.
"So, mum's a Slytherin by squibs" said Harry "Dad, the Peverells are, well Necromancers."
"I had gathered" said James drily "You an animagus?"
"Never got round to it" admitted Harry.
"Where is the stone?" asked Lily.
"Oh, it exploded." said Harry.
"In his hand when he was being a moron, and interrupted my duel" said Daphne.
"You duel?" asked James.
"I made it to the semifinals of the European under-21's" said Daphne "He distracted me."
"I was worried!"
"And you called out, and I looked over and got hurt."
"I thought she'd died" said Harry quietly.
"He was actually in hospital longer" said Daphne. "Show your mum your hand, dear."
Harry cranked one-handed, and Lily looked at his scar.
"That's terrible." she said. "It does work properly though?"
"Mostly" admitted Harry.
"Oh god he's his father's son" said Lily. "Handsome and reckless."
"I actually think inheriting your green eyes are one of his better attributes" said Daphne.
Lily smiled a little smugly, and Harry put both hands to the crank.
"So. We're getting a grandchild" said James.
"Seven" said Daphne. "Seemed like a good idea at the time, two per family line."
"What, Potter and … Slytherin?"
"And Black and Peverell. This is Peverell castle, by the way. Captain reckless waded in and broke its protections using brute force" said Daphne. "Knocked himself out, and messed his eyes up."
Lily shook her head "I blame myself. I was doing so well at resisting him, then he went and got responsible, and grew a foot."
"Yes dear" said James. "So… Harry's married, and Daphne's got seven children coming.?"
"Oh, and I adopted every magical orphan. Potter manor is quite full" said Harry.
"Every orphan?" asked James, looking wide-eyed. "Why?"
"At St Mungo's, we had money and spare rooms." said Harry. "Better off than in the orphan wing at St Mungo's."
"How… many are you talking?"
"More than forty" said Harry. "Oh, and we made a school out of Slytherin castle. It's just a little keep."
"Two schools, and every orphan going?" asked Lily.
Harry nodded, and Daphne quipped "he's also helping his friends organise political reforms. You know, simple stuff, basic right for house-elves, better treatment of non-humans. Oh, and we got a huge pile of gold and loaned it to Gringotts."
"And Daphne is an official Goblin warrior, she's got a suit of battle-armour." said Harry.
"You on the other hand, have yet to bring any scalps to the Snake clan, and it's a social embarrassment among the goblins" said Daphne.
"I'm trying to cut down on violence" said Harry.
"I'm only doing that in self-defence!" countered Daphne.
"Self defence?" asked Lily.
"Various supporters of Voldemort" said Harry.
"Getting sore" said Lily "See you again soon?"
"After afternoon tea with the horde" said Daphne. "Harry- stop the wheel."
-==0==-
By dinner-time, Lily had explained about a few things, and then she dropped James in it.
"And of course, your father came up with a very convincing load of bull about you escaping a Death-Eater attack on your kiddie broom, so we sacrificed your ability to floo or portkey. Then he revealed his master-plan to have you play Pro-Qidditch." said Lily.
"That" said Harry sourly "Explains a lot, mostly a lot of painful floo-network landings."
"Well, there's still time to go professional" said James.
"Shut up dear" said Lily, with a sideways look at James.
The next morning, Harry made a list of his orphan children's names, and went to St Mungo's to get all their parents names. With a side-trip to get an ever-spinning top. Dad had been a genius, of a sort.
As he bought it, he mused that Hermione would have found his dad super-annoying.
-==0==-
The deceased parents were surprised to be contacted. And enthused. And in a few cases insistent that they be fully resurrected.
"I don't know how" admitted Harry. "This is the best I can do – we'll do it every Easter."
A few were rude, and clearly had died in their Death Eater regalia. Daphne suggested sharply that if they wanted to see their children they would get changed, shut up and smile.
-==0==-
Daphne had decided that they, as the operators of the grotto should wear something dignified. Harry disagreed – something not too hot, as the wheel still needed hand-cranking to start and stop.
Dark robes made of light fabric, and some more fabric draped over the workshop to make it less… attractive to small hands.
Of course it ended up taking three days, with the number of children involved.
Harry got the staff to hand out chocolates at the exit.