Chapter 70
Oliver led her into the supply room and crouched down to a spot mid way back on the right hand side, close to the door that they had taken to bring in Quicksilver and turn out Starduster and Angelfire, Hermione was once again reminded of how magic can alter the state of space when she saw the panel open and Oliver beckoned to her.
"Hello, Cherry," Oliver greeted the small elf with pale pink skin and large brown eyes that appeared.
"What can Cherry do for Master Oliver?" the little elf asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Oliver said and Hermione noticed that her expression became sad, and she was puzzled. "I just wanted to introduce you to my friend," he continued and motioned Hermione closer. "Cherry, this is Hermione Granger; Hermione, this is Cherry."
"Hello, Cherry," Hermione greeted. "How are you?"
"I am well, young mistress Granger," Cherry said.
"Hermione will be with us for a few days," Oliver said. "She's here to spend some time with mother before she heads back to school at Hogwarts."
"And you, Master Oliver?" Cherry inquired.
Oliver laughed a little self consciously. "Aye, and me," he agreed. "How are Ash and Willow?"
"Willow is well," Cherry said. "She takes care of Ash while Cherry prepares meals for Cherry, Ash and Willow. Ash still hurts, but is getting better every day."
"I heard how the healers at St. Mungo's treated him," Hermione said. "I am sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Cherry, is loath to admit, as are Ash and Willow, but time to look after Cherry, Willow and Ash and not Masters Oliver and Hickory and Mistress Juniper has helped a great deal," Cherry said.
"I know you don't like to admit it, Cherry," Oliver said. "We understand, but please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help Ash. It's important to us; not just Hermione and I, but my parents too."
"Well," Cherry said hesitantly and looked back inside the room to the left where Hermione assumed was in the direction of Ash and Willow before looking back at them and stepping out, allowing the panel to close behind her. "Its just that," she began and balked.
"It's okay, Cherry," Hermione said with an encouraging smile. "You can tell us, right Oliver?" she asked looking to him.
"That's right, you can tell us, Cherry," he agreed.
"Its just that Willow and Ash would be angry with Cherry, Master Oliver," Cherry said.
"But you're only wanting to help Ash, right?" Hermione asked.
Cherry nodded. "Yes, young mistress Granger," Cherry said.
"Then tell us," Oliver said. "We can't help if we don't know what you need."
Cherry looked at them for a moment and then sighed heavily in defeat. "Cherry has been finding it hard to get herbs to heal Ash," Cherry said. "Cherry knows that there are herbs and all manner of healing salves and potions in Diagon Alley, Master Oliver," she continued. "But they won't sell such items to me. Ash could be healed in no time at all and we could go back to work if Ash were healed."
"I see," Oliver said. "Well," he paused and looked at Hermione. "Do you want to head to get your supplies tomorrow? We could pick it up when we get your things for school."
"I um," Hermione said. "I haven't gotten my supply list yet," she said, biting her lip. "But I would go anyway, yes," she said looking at Cherry and giving a nod.
"All right then," Oliver said, "Let's hope that you get your letter tomorrow, so we can take care of that for you, but even if we don't we'll make a trip to get things for Ash, Cherry."
"Thank you, Master Oliver!" Cherry squeaked. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Cherry," Oliver said. "I will let you get back to what you were doing now."
Cherry nodded and touched the door, letting herself back in the little cottage that seemed to be just beyond the wall.
"Well, that was one of them," Oliver looking to Hermione. "With luck, Ash will be healed up and you'll be able to meet him and Willow soon."
"So, what did she mean," Hermione asked as they headed out of the barn and back up to the house.
"About what?" Oliver asked.
"About not being able to get the healing salves or potions," Hermione asked.
"Oh," Oliver said and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... many healers and potioneers in the Wizarding world, and in Diagon Alley which is closest to us, don't serve house-elves. They have access to health records from St. Mungo's so they would know of my father's injuries, but they would also note that he's been fully healed, so even if we sent Cherry with a note, she couldn't get anything for Ash."
"That's awful!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Yeah, it is," Oliver said. "We agree with you. But dad has already risked action from the ministry by threatening to take Ash to a Muggle hospital for healing - that's part of why the healers at St. Mungo's did what little they did for him - they didn't want to risk the ministry really taking action against father for his threats, because they would lose funding that way, too. That is part of why mother has the business with the horses and why they have invested in businesses in the Muggle world also. Those things are under mother's name, so she would still have access to those funds if something happened to father. It was a precaution they made before I was born."
"That was smart of them," Hermione said.
"Yes," Oliver agreed. "They wanted to make sure that she was taken care of if something happened to him and ties to the Wizarding world were cut off to her," Oliver said.
"But they wouldn't be, would they?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you..."
"Like I said," Oliver explained. "It was a precaution they made before I was born. At the time, I don't think they knew they would eventually have me, or that I would show signs of magic. What theydidknow was that my grandparents on my dad's side were purists like the Malfoys. They really couldn't fully disown my father, he was an only child, so that's how he inherited the elves when my grandparents passed which wasn't long after I was born."
"So what now?" Hermione asked as they reached the house.
"Well, after mum and dad got the three piles of fresh bedding we put in the stalls," Oliver said. "They went and took care of the rest of the horses. After mom finishes with the mares, she'll be up to start dinner."
"Hey you two," Juniper called from the kitchen. "About time. Took you long enough. You're just in time to help with dinner."
"But how did you?" Hermione asked, confused.
"How did I finish before you when I had more horses to look after than you?" Juniper asked, looking up at Hermione as she and Oliver entered the kitchen, and saw Hermione nod. "Practice, and lots of it. Now come on and clean up."
"Yes, mum," Oliver said and Hermione nodded before she followed him
"Not there," Juniper said when they headed to the sink. "Hermione, you can use our bathroom, Oliver can take the shared one. I'm talking showers, you two... you smell like sweat, hay and horses."
Laughing, they followed Juniper's instruction. Hermione stopped by her room and got out a change of clothes. She then headed into Hickory and Juniper's room to their bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later, Hermione was dressed and drying her hair in her room. She found some conditioner in the shower, and found that it helped to smooth her bushy hair and make it more manageable, and got the tangles out easily. She made a mental note of the brand, noticing that it wasn't magical, and wondered why her parents hadn't ever gotten it before, and wanted to get some for herself. When she was done, she headed up to the kitchen.
"There you are," Juniper said. "You're just in time to help peel potatoes and Oliver can chop the onions."
"Okay," Hermione said, and finished tying back her hair and then washed her hands in the kitchen sink while Juniper got the peeler out for her and pulled the trash bin over. Hermione was drying her hands when Oliver came in. "You got volunteered," she told him.
"Really?" he asked. "For what?"
"Chopping onions," Juniper said, handing him a knife and directing him to the onions on the counter.
"Did all the horses get taken care of?" Oliver asked.
"Your dad's finishing up with the stallions," Juniper said, as she prepared the lamb, and got it in the oven.
"We put Starduster and Angelfire out in the corral," Oliver said.
"All right," Juniper said, "this takes three hours to make, so we can take them back in before dinner."
"Are we really eating that late?" Hermione asked as she continued to peel the potatoes and Juniper came over with another knife and began to slice the ones she already had done. "Will it be too dark then?"
"Oh, no, dear," Juniper said. "But the horses always eat before us at the end of the day. The only time that we really eat before them is breakfast. Have to have the energy to keep up with them all."
Hickory came in then, stomping his feet outside the door before stepping in and coming over to give Juniper a kiss on the cheek as he stood behind her, but she turned and batted him away.
"Oh, no, you," she scolded him. "You stink," she said making Oliver and Hermione laugh. "You go wash up. The kids have already beaten you to it."
"Theyhave?" Hickory asked. "Really?"
"We're cooking aren't we?" Hermione asked.
"Mum didn't let us into the kitchen without cleaning up first," Oliver added.
"Well, if I expect to eat, I already know I'd better go clean up," Hickory said.
"That's right," Juniper called, chasing him with a towel to the rear end, causing Hermione and Oliver to laugh again.
"They act like newlyweds," Hermione observed with a contented smile.
"Yeah, I think that's why dad was okay going against his family," Oliver said with a chuckle and shake of his head. "I think he found his soulmate," Oliver continued when she saw Hermione's puzzled expression. "They've acted like that for as long as I can remember."
"Okay, you two," Juniper said coming back to the kitchen. "Are you done yet?"
"Just finished," Oliver said, pushing the chopped onions aside.
"Don't do that," Juniper said.
"What?" Oliver asked.
"Push them aside," Juniper said.
"Well, what am I supposed to do with them?" Oliver asked.
"Put them in a pan with some oil, silly," she said. "You'll want to cook them for about five minutes or until they're soft."
"Oh, allright!" Oliver said in mock exasperation.
"I've been trying to teach him how to cook for a while, now," Juniper said.
"Can he?" Hermione asked.
"He's not too bad," Juniper admitted. "But I think he likes it when the house elves cook. Not only does it give him out of it -"
"It reminds me of Hogwarts," Oliver said. "And I'm right here."
"Cooking's a good skill to learn though," Hermione said. "This is the first time I've really had a chance to cook in a kitchen."
"Oh?" Juniper asked. "Why is that, dear?"
"Oh, no," Hermione said shaking her head. "It's nothing bad, its just that over the holidays especially, its safer to stayoutof the kitchen. My mom is like a force of nature when she's planning a big party."
"Oh, that's too bad," Juniper said with pout.
"Well, that's not to say I don't haveanycooking skills," Hermione said. "I've helped my dad scale and de-bone fish when we went camping. My mum thought it was too slimy and she wouldn't touch them. It's not exactly cooking, but it's food prep, and that's something."
"Not to mention Hermione does really well in potions," Oliver said. "And that's kind of like cooking, too."
"Well, you are welcome to come here and cook whenever you like," Juniper said. "Provided we can fend off the elves from taking over all the time." Juniper took a minute to remove the lamb from the oven and grabbed a sauce pan from the cabinet and poured the extra fat from the lamb into it before returning it to the oven. "Add some garlic and rosemary to those onions, Oliver, and cook them another five minutes."
"You got it, mum," Oliver said, stirring the onions so they didn't stick to the pan.
"Hermione," Juniper said, putting the sauce pan on the stove and turning the burner on. "There's a pan in the cabinet under the island, now that those potatoes are all chopped, why don't you layer them in the pan and season them with some salt and pepper?"
"Okay," Hermione said and rummaged for the pan, pulling it out and began layering the potatoes in it then seasoned them.
"Now, Oliver," Juniper directed, "you can layer in a third of those onions on the potatoes. Keep adding layers until you have about four."
"Okay," Oliver said uncertainly as he and Hermione danced around each other, adding their ingredients to the pan.
Once the fat had boiled down to stock, Juniper checked on Hermione and Oliver to see that they were just finishing up their layers. She turned off the burner and removed the sauce pan.
"What's that for?" Oliver asked.
"We're going to pour this over the potatoes," Juniper said. She moved the sauce pan over the pan they had put the potatoes and onions in , and grabbed a large spoon, pressing the potatoes down so that they were submerged under the stock. She returned to the oven and pulled out the lamb, and got some tongs, and used them to place the lamb on top. "Now, its ready for the oven again, and we have three hours until its done."
"So we're done?" Oliver asked.
"Nope," Juniper said with a smirk and looked to Hermione. "Now its time to introduce Hermione to the rest of the horses, and put them to bed. Hick and I finished the stalls, and getting them fresh feed and water; all that needs doing is bringing them in and giving them their brushing."
"We can do that," Oliver said.
"Sure" Hermione said.
"Okay you two," Juniper said. "Get going."
"Let's start back down at the foal barn," Oliver said. "We can brush out Quicksilver and I can show you how to clean their hooves, and then we can brush out Angelfire and Starduster, and get them turned in, then we can move on to the others."
"Sounds good," Hermione said.
They headed to the foal barn and moved Quicksilver out of her stall, and secured her with a lead on each side of her halter, to some rings mounted on the barn walls.
"Stay with her," Oliver said and stepped into the supply room. When he returned a few minutes later, Hermione, who had stepped closer and was petting Quicksilver's shiny coat, noticed that Oliver was carrying what looked like a wooden tool box filled with brushes and a soft rag.
"Okay," Oliver said setting the tool box down and pulling out a tool that resembled a hooked pick. "This is a hoof pick. We use it to clean out the dirt and other things that can get caught in the horse's hooves and shoes." Oliver moved over to the side Hermione was on and patted Quicksilver. We always want to let the horses know that we're here, so talking is good, and then petting them at the shoulder and then down the leg before you lift their foot, like this. Hermione watched him move so that he was facing Quicksilver, and did exactly as he said, petting Quicksilver her nickered softly, but allowed him to lift her foot, and Hermione watched as he used the pick to clean the grass, mud and small stones from the shoe and underneath it. "We want to make sure we do this every day, because they can step on stones and hurt themselves if they get a sharp one stuck, or they could throw a shoe."
"What does that mean?" Hermione asked. "Throw a shoe?"
"That means that one of the nails that holds the shoe in place comes out," Oliver said.
"Why do they wear shoes?" Hermione asked. "Don't the nails hurt them?"
"We shoe them to help protect the hoof wall," Oliver explained, as he moved to the next hoof. "They can develop cracks in their hooves, particularly if they are raised as racers or jumpers. The horseshoes offer protection to the horse's hooves, they provide strength to landings and additional traction to prevent the horse from slipping. When the shoes are nailed in, the nails are placed on the outer section of the hoof. There aren't any nerve endings there, so the horse doesn't feel any pain, lass," he finished and looked up at her with a smile as he put Quicksilver's second hoof down, and patted her as he moved to the other side, starting in the rear. Hermione watched how he always kept his hand on the filly, who whinnied and shifted but was otherwise quite as he moved behind her, and turned so that he was at her side, rather than behind her before he ran his hand down her hind leg and she allowed him to lift her foot."You never want to move that close behind a horse without touch them or they could get spooked and kick."
"That's good to know," Hermione said.
"I didn't tell you that to scare you," Oliver said with a laugh as he finished with Quicksilver's hoof and allowed her to put it down before he pet her and moved to her front leg, sliding his hand down and picking up her foot. "There's no reason to be afraid. So long as you touch them when you're going around behind, or walk around them at a distance of more than one and a quarter meters, you'll be okay. I know it sounds crazy, but the closer you were to the horse, touching the horse, even if it kicks you, and it hurts, you'll be better off than if you were standing between half and a meter and a quarter. The further you are, the more power he can get in his kick." Oliver let Quicksilver put her foot down and patted her as he stood up.
He moved back to the store room and brought out a stool. Moving to Quicksilver's side, he patted her as he sat it down. "Easy girl," he said calmly. "We're still here." He reached down and moved the tool box from the floor to the stool. Hermione saw Oliver slip the hoof pick from his back pocket back into the tool box. "You can come around, lass," Oliver said. "Just pet her face around her forehead, cheek and neck, and moving slow, lift the lead enough for you to go underneath."
"Um, okay," Hermione said nervously, and swallowed when she reached up, but Quicksilver shied away with a knicker.
Oliver stood up straight and came over, petting the filly to calm her. "It's okay, girl," he said. He reached out for Hermione's hand and moved it toward Quicksilver's forehead, covering it with his own. "Don't show your nervousness," Oliver said. "Move slow, but deliberately, she's still nervous around you because you're new."
"Okay," Hermione said as Oliver moved their hands up and down over Quicksilver's forehead. Slowly, Oliver removed his hand and Hermione slid her hand around to Quicksilver's cheek.
"That's right," Oliver praised, and Hermione saw him slowly lift the lead. She breathed a soft sigh of relief that he lifted it enough for her to move along Quicksilver's side, and the filly danced and nickered for a moment before she settled once more. "Very good," Oliver praised, and lowered the lead. "Now," Oliver said turning to the tool box. "Let's see if this lesson can move a bit faster, shall we?"
He looked up at her and Hermione nodded.
"There are four types of brushes, three of which are used on grooming the body," Oliver said, and laid out the brushes. "You can just watch if you like, and I can finish up. Or you can help, its up to you; but either way, you might find this information useful. The first brush we start with is the curry comb, we use this brush down their neck and along their body except their legs, the skin there is too thin and sensitive. You want to use small circles with this brush to loosen any dried dirt, sweat or shedding hair," Oliver said, slipping his hand beneath the leather strap on the brush. "Watch her," he directed. "She loves this."
Hermione watched and saw the filly twitch in certain spots when Oliver began using the curry comb on her, and watched her sides contract, then expand accompanying a whoosh of breath and a shiver that coursed through her whole body, finishing with a shake of her head.
"See," Oliver said. "They love getting groomed. It will only take a few minutes to finish this up, and we'll go to the next brush."
Hermione nodded, and leaned back against the wall, watching as he worked his way around Quicksilver.
"Next," he said, coming back around to the tool box and putting the curry comb away, "is the hard brush. This brush has stiffer bristles and is good for getting the dirt down near their skin. This brush is used in short, straight strokes in the same fashion as the curry comb. It will brush out the dirt that the curry comb loosened." With this short explanation, Oliver once again began making his circle around Quicksilver.
"How long does it usually take to groom one?" Hermione asked.
"It usually takes fifteen to thirty minutes for a good groom," Oliver said. "It depends on how dirty they are."
"And you have twenty horses, that's at least five hours!" Hermione said in surprise.
"Yes," Oliver said with a smile. "Now you know why many people either don't have horses, or many of them, or don't work alone, and have stable hands to help."
Hermione shook her head. "I-I never imagined that it would be so much -"
"What?" Oliver asked. "Time? Energy?"
Hermione swallowed, not really knowing if he was upset with her. "Well, yes," she admitted. "But I was going to say fun. I mean, yes, it's a lot of work, and it can be tiring, but it can be rewarding and wonderful also."
Oliver turned and smiled at her.
"Is it like this all the time?" Hermione asked. . "I mean, I enjoyed my classes at school for the most part, but I - well, I never considered Care of Magical Creatures as more than a chore really, even with Hagrid teaching."
"It has its ups and downs,"Oliver said. "Don't get me wrong. It's no fun getting thrown from a horse, but my falls in Quidditch were worse. Honestly, if I had to choose, I would still say I like Quidditch better, but if there was a time where I had to leave the Wizarding world behind, you can bet that this is the kind of thing I'd want to do with my life."
"You'd really leave the Wizarding world behind?" Hermione asked.
Oliver sighed. "Maybe this is a conversation for later," he said. "We still have a lesson to finish."
"Oh," Hermione said with a laugh and moved closer. "Of course."
"This third brush, is a soft brush," Oliver said. "It can be used all over their body including their face and legs. It shines up their coat when used on their body after the other brushing."
Hermione laughed again. "I didn't know her coat could get any shinier."
"Come on, " Oliver said. "We're almost done with her. After this, there's just three more things to do, and then we can put her to bed and start on the others."
"That's still five hours of work," Hermione said.
"Nah," Oliver said. "I don't think so. I think dad and mum helped us out today, but we'll check as we head up to the house."
"Okay," Hermione said.
"Now with the soft brush done," Oliver said. "We can take a damp sponge or soft cloth and clean their eyes and nose, and another to clean under their tail." Oliver laughed when he saw the face she made. "Sorry, cleaning up after any pet is just a fact of life. Lucky for you, we only do that one in the mornings," Oliver said. "So we don't have to do that before dinner."
"Good," Hermione replied, laughing. "What's next?"
"Next," Oliver said, "is the wide tooth comb. We brush out their mane and tail with this. The best way to do that is to start with small sections, holding each section at the top and working your way to the ends. We have another comb in here, if you can work on her mane, I'll work on her tail."
"Um, sure," Hermione said.
"Great," Oliver said and dug the extra comb out of the tool box and handed it to her. "With your help, we can finish faster, even if you just help with brushing out their manes."
So it was that they soon had Quicksilver completely groomed and Oliver finished her off with some fly spray. Hermione was surprised when she stepped back, passing under the lead so that she sood in front of her and looked at Quicksilver, that the filly stretched her neck forward and nudged her nose into Hermione's chest and hands, causing her to laugh out loud.
Oliver looked around the filly's back at the sound and smiled. "See," he said when she looked over at him. "She likes you."
"Are you sure about that?" Hermione asked uncertainly as Quicksilver headbutted her hands and chest again.
"Sure, I'm sure," Oliver said. "She's thanking you for brushing her."
"But I didn't do much," Hermione protested.
"But youdidbrush her," Oliver said. "And she's thanking you for it."
"Well, you're welcome, girl," Hermione said when Quicksilver headbutted her again and she gasped.
"What?" Oliver asked, looking at her in concern. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"
"No," Hermione said, her voice filled with awe and amazement. "Her nose," she continued. "It's so soft!"
"Aye, lass," Oliver said finishing up and patting the filly's rump as he walked around and put the brushes away. "Softest thing in the world," he said unfastening the lead from one side, lowering the clip to the wall so that it didn't bang and spook the filly, "the nose of a horse," he finished, going around and untying the lead from the ring and leading Quicksilver to her stall for the night.
Oliver was right. Grooming Angelfire and Starduster went faster even if all she did was work on their manes, and to her surprise, they thanked her just as Quicksilver had done, and she scratched their foreheads goodnight after Oliver returned them to their stalls.
On the way back to the house, they stopped at the mare barn as well as the stallion barn and found that Oliver had been correct in his guess that Hickory and Juniper had tended to the other horses earlier, so that all they did on their way through the barns was introduce Hermione to each of the other horses. In the mare barn were two empty stalls where Angelfire and Starduster generally resided, their names on brass plaques on the doors.
Nearly each mare, Hermione noticed, had a different color pattern and appearance, and as she passed down the row, talking to and petting each inquisitive face, she read their name plates.
"Pippa's a light chestnut, though in America she would be called a sorrel," Oliver said. "She's an American Quarter horse."
"Wait, I thought you said she was a sorrel," Hermione said looking at the mare that was reddish brown with matching mane and tail.
"I did, " Oliver said with a laugh. "Light chestnut or sorrel is in reference to her coloring, and American Quarter to her breed. Raindrop a dapple grey in color, but her breed is Lipizzaner which is famous for jumping. Sugar here," he continued moving down the row to a mare had half her body covered in a reddish color and white spots in a snowflake pattern, "Is a red roan Appaloosa, and Shimmer, in the next stall over, is a bay roan Appaloosa."
"So, the red and bay roan refer to their color and the Appaloosa is their breed?" Hermione asked.
"That's right," Oliver said with a smile. "See, you're learning.
Hermione returned his smile as they continued down the row.
"Akasha and Stargazer are black Arabians, and this small diamond shape on her forehead helps to tell them apart. Peaches is a Palomino American Quarter, and Sierra is a dun American Quarter, and Quest is a Paint. Finally, Snowblossom down there at the end is a white Arabian, and the last four, Fantasy, Treasure, Jewel and Mysteri shared the same parentage, and were actually two sets of twins. They're dark bay thoroughbreds."
"They're so beautiful," Hermione said in awe.
"We're not done yet," Oliver said. "There's still one more barn."
In the stallion barn, Hermione saw the three stallions had several stalls between them and each of them looked different. Diablo was like a mirror of Akasha.
"Arabian, right?" Hermione asked.
"That's right," Oliver said.
"So um, what kind is this one?" Hermione asked as she came to Stormdancer who was also completely black but his mane and tail were long and wavy.
"Stormdancer is a Friesian," Oliver explained. "As you can see, his mane and tail are exceptionally long and wavy."
Hermione held out her hand as Oliver had shown her, and when Stormdancer came to her, his mane fell over her hand. "Soft, too."
"Aye," Oliver said. "He has so much hair, that when he gets his bath, we have to use conditioner on his mane and tail."
Among the three, Icarus was the odd one out, being solid white.
"And finally," Oliver told her, "There's Icarus, he's a Lipizzaner, like Raindrop."