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The Afterlife and Times of Myrtle Potter	By : NormanCharles Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 19697 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Okay, okay. I'm NOT JK Rowlings, I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money from writing these stories, I do it because it's fun and other people seem to enjoy what I write - the best of whom write review and tell me when I get it right and

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Chapter 22: Settling in the New
Manor

The next day Harry and the
girls apparated to Potter-Black Manor, formerly Malfoy Manor and Black Manor
before that.� There was a thin layer of dust on the otherwise gleaming
furniture, but nothing was broken, pilfered or vandalized.

�Lucius kept a fidelius charm
on the Manor, and only grudgingly allowed visitors.� Narcissa explained as she
greeted her Leige lord and his ladies.� �We�ve just been tidying up the master
and some of the guest rooms.�

Harry looked slightly shocked
at Draco, �you�ve been cleaning?�

�No need to sound so surprised
milord.� He smirked (oh well, old habits die hard), �actually Mother left a
spare wand in her old room and let me use it to charm a few feather dusters to
re-arrange the dust.�

�What happened to your wand?�
Harry asked.

�Oh, Dawlish snapped it, along
with two bones in my arm when I was taken into custody.�

Harry smiled and evil smile,
�would you like to return the favor Draco?�

The blond looked confused,
�what do you mean?�

�I mean ex-auror Dawlish is now
a guest of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I�m sure I can arrange
for you to be the one to snap his wand.�

Draco�s smile was beatific,
�I�m going to enjoy being your liegeman, Milord Potter!�

�And we need to go to
Olivander�s to get you all replacement wands.� Harry offered.

�My son is really quite skilled
in charms.� His mother allowed graciously.

�Speaking of which, milord,
what will my duties and responsibilities be?� Draco asked deferentially.

�I have given it some thought,�
Harry answered, �Ginny is going to need all kinds of help to set up and then
run the rehabilitation center. �Can you see yourself working with the Kissed?�

�Milord Potter, I�ve spent the
last few months licking the soiled boots of that reptile Voldemort,� he
took a deep breath, �I would muck out the stables by hand and be grateful for
it � I never had the chance to thank you properly.�

Harry shrugged, �it�s not
necessary.�

�I�m afraid it is milord,� the
blond insisted, �I owe you a life-debt twice over, and we Blacks always pay our
debts.�

�Ginny?�

�Milord?�

�Can you use Draco�s help?�

�I can use all the help I can
get, milord, but Mr. Black and I have, um, some history between us.�

�I will not force the issue, I
just thought that maybe Draco could help you around the manor, he did, after
all, grow up here.�

�I grew older here, milord,�
Draco quipped, �I didn�t grow up until you freed me from the influence of my
father and that snake fucker.�

Ginny sniggered in spite of
herself, �I think Mr. Black could be very useful around here,
milord.�

�Narcissa?�

�Milord?�

�How long before the Manor is
ready to receive patients?�

�We could house as many as a
dozen today.� In two months time we should be able to triple that number.�

�What�s the holdup?�

�Staff milord,� she let out an
exasperated sigh, �we�re going to need a full time healer on the premises, and
we�ll need support staff, cooks and custodians and a full time administrator.�
She explained.

�When we�re fully up and
running Ginny will be the administrator,� Harry looked at his ex-girlfriend,
�if that�s okay with you?�

�I�d rather work closely with
the Kissed Harry.� Let�s let someone with management experience be the
administrator.�

Hermione spoke up for the first
time since their arrival.� �We could use some muggle expertise here.� We could
use teachers as well as doctors and nurses and nurse�s aids who have experience
working in convalescent homes.�

�Oh that�s brilliant,� Ginny
enthused, then appeared crestfallen, �but what about the secrecy laws?�

�Some of us have non-magical
relatives, or acquaintances who know about our world.� We can look there
first.� We can also accept CVs and conduct interviews with people who might be
willing to be sworn to secrecy with a magically binding oath.� Anyone who
accepts we can use; those who don�t?� Well, we�ll have an obliviator standing
by.�

Narcissa looked up from her
appointment book, �it�ll take two to three months to have Potter-Black Manor up
to scratch, ready to receive patients.�

Ginny looked depressed.

Harry spoke kindly to the girl,
�you want to work with Ron and some of the others, don�t you?�

She nodded.

�Why not bring Ron and Lavender
and Lori home?� You can work with them on a small scale and get some idea of
what we�ll need to run a proper facility.�

Ginny sobbed and sprang into
Harry�s arms, �Oh thank you Harry!� Thank you!�

He patted her back making
reassuring sounds as he did so.

A large black bird, like an
outsized crow flew into the living room, dropped a package and flew away
without waiting for a reply.

�Gringott�s uses ravens for
delivering messages Harry.� Narcissa explained.

Harry picked up the envelope
and opened it.

�Ah, the �Peace of Mind Morning
After Potion� company is offering to settle out of court for ten-thousand
Galleons and a promise to cease and desist.�

He walked over to the
fireplace, took a small pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fire.

�Zubedia Vance, Diagon Alley!�
he called into the fireplace.

His attorney�s exotic face
appeared in the flames, �Harry! You must have received your raven the same time
I did!�

�What do you think?� Harry
asked.

�Can I come through?�

�Of course.�

Zubedia Vance stepped into the
formal living room with all the grace of a professional dancer.

Harry groaned, �Am I the only
one who falls flat on his arse every time I use the floo network?�

His ladies and liege-folk chose
diplomatic silence.

Zubedia looked like the six
foot canary that just ate the cat.

�Harry this is brilliant!� she
enthused, �six offers from companies that have been using your name and image
without your permission are all clamoring to settle!�

�So what do we do?�

�We make em� sweat!� she
grinned predatorily, �take this offer from �Peace of Mind� for example.� Sue
them for a million galleons!�

�Can we win?�

�Oh sure, but it�ll take
years.� And then the actual award will be less than half of that; and then
they�ll try to tie us up in procedures and appeals.� In the meantime, though,
their stock will plummet!� When witches and wizards find out that they�ve
cheated you they won�t be able to give the stuff away, let alone sell
it!�

�So we force them out of
business?� Harry asked.

�Nope,� she answered smugly,
�broke companies can�t pay settlements, we just convince them that we�re going
to put them out of business and then the real offers will come pouring in!�

�Ms. Vance,� Harry said, taking
her hand and brushing her knuckles with his lips, �I leave all this in your
capable hands!�

Zubedia grinned at Myrtle and
said, �Better watch this one, Mrs. Potter. �He actually doesn�t know how
charming he is!�

They all laughed as Harry
became an interesting shade of beet.

Harry and Ginny apparated to
St. Mungo�s promising to meet Narcissa and Draco in Diagon Alley for lunch.

As it happened they arrived
just as a large number of the Champions of Hogwarts were being discharged.�
They all had to stop and speak with Harry, �mate, we couldn�t a done it without
you!�

Harry turned to see Dean
Thomas, �all right there Dean?� Harry asked.

�Never better!� he grinned in
return, his grin evaporated when he saw Ginny.

�Whot�s she doin� here?�

�She�s working with the
Kissed,� Harry said evenly.� �C�mon Dean, let it go.� We all lost family in
this damn war, let�s let some good come out of it if we can, please?�

It was Harry�s heartfelt please
that moved Dean.� He lowered his head and nodded.

�See you around Harry.� The
young man muttered, then left.

Harry saw tears tracking down
Ginny�s cheeks.

�Hey, it�s okay Ginny,� Harry
said soothingly.

�No,� she sniffed, �it�s not.�
But in time, maybe. . .�

�Let�s go see Ron.�

They entered the Kissed Ward
and recognized Healer Jones.� The young physician came forward and pumped both
their hands in greeting.

�Remarkable, truly remarkable!�

�What�s that Healer?� Harry
asked.

�The progress our Miss Weasley
has made � it�s unprecedented!�

�What do you mean Healer?�
Ginny asked.

�The Kissed that you�ve been
working with?� the healer gestured to the door behind him, �They�re showing
remarkable progress!�

The excited healer led them
into the room.

�Gin-nee!� it was Lavender
Brown, smiling and walking over to her.� She was followed closely by Ron who
called �Gin-gin?�

Half a dozen of the Kissed
shuffled over to where Ginny stood with Lavender, all wanting to embrace her.

Healer Jones led Harry over to
a corner.� �The problem with dealing with the Kissed is that everyone knows they�re
a lost cause.� The Kissed live a couple of years and then they die.� This is
the first time ever that any of the dementor-kissed have shown any real interest
in anything or anyone.� I can�t explain it!�

�I think I can,� Harry offered,
�its love, plain and simple love.� It was the power that defeated Voldemort and
it�s the only thing that can defeat hopelessness.

�Ginny really loves Ron, and
the others.� She couldn�t wait to get back to them today.�

�The real problem dealing with
the Kissed is that they have no will to live, somehow Ginny has gotten through
to them.�

�Well Healer Jones, it just so
happens we�re going to need a full time staff Healer at the Genevra Weasly Rehabilitation Center.� Are you interested?�

The physician held out his
hand, which Harry grasped and said �count me in.�

�Don�t you even want to know
what the job pays?�

�Hell, I�d work with this lot
for free!� I�ve already published two monograms on the subject, and I expect to
finish a full research paper by the end of the year!�

The healer snapped his fingers
�Merlin, I nearly forgot!� You have to see something!�

He walked quickly out of the
ward an into a potion�s lab, Harry trailing close behind.

�Now where did I put that?�
Ah!� Here it is!� the healer pulled down a small cylindrical jar in which a
viscous black fluid was writhing.� Something about the fluid was disturbing and
familiar.

�Ever seen this stuff before?�
the healer asked.

�Yeah, it came out of me when
Voldemort died.�

�This sample came from Miss Weasley;
do you know what it is?�

Harry shook his head.

�It�s soul essence, the ichors
of possession!�

�What are you saying Healer
Jones?�

�I�m saying, that at some point
Miss Weasley was possessed by Voldemort,� the healer shook the jar, �and this
proves it!�

�She was possessed by an avatar
of Voldemort when she was eleven years old.� Harry muttered, �But we thought he
was gone when the avatar was destroyed.�

�Nope,� the healer looked
shocked, �that tiny slip of a girl has had Voldemort's soul blended with hers
since she was a pre-teen?�� He shook his head, �it�s a wonder she�s not mad as
a hatter!�

�Is she still?� Harry started.

�Possessed?� Jones asked.� �No,
that�s just it; all of Voldemort's essence was trying to get back to his body
when you killed him.� Now that he�s truly dead this stuff is just an obnoxious
animated tar.�

�And Ginny?�

�Dispossessed since the end of
the battle.� The healer confirmed.

�Does that mean?� Harry began.

�That our Miss Weasley cannot
be held responsible for her actions while under the thrall of the most powerful
dark lord of the 20^th century!� the healer finished.

Harry�s �whoop!� echoed
throughout the halls of St. Mungo�s.� He practically dragged the healer to the
next room where everything was explained to the diminutive red-head.

�I knew something was broken
when Tom died,� she said, �I�ve been at peace in a way that I haven�t been
since, well since before I started attending Hogwart�s.�

�Don�t you get it Ginny?� Harry
cried, �All that stuff, the boys, the stuff you did with the death eaters,
Malfoy, it wasn�t you!�

�Sure looked like me,� Ginny
said, sadly.

�But it wasn�t you, it was him;
and he�s gone for good and all!�

�I need a fireplace!� Harry
looked around frantically, �I need to make a call!�

�Who?�

�Rita Skeeter,� he said with a
wicked smile, �this is the kind of story she�d love!

�And once it�s published the Wizengamot
will acquit you of all charges, you�ll be well and truly free!�

It was a very jubilant Harry
that bounced into Fortescue�s Ice Cream and Sandwich Parlor.� As usual Mrs.
Fortescue wouldn�t accept Harry�s money, but he got around that by insisting on
tipping the waitress, and the cook and the guy who swept up after them.� On the
way out he decided that Florien Fortescue�s would be the first business that he
endorsed, gratis.

The group trooped into
Ollivander�s where the old man was taken aback by the sight of two Hermiones, one
of whom he could not read at all, the other he recognized as Myrtle Frisbee.�
�Mister Potter, you have given me a day to remember.� The elderly wand maker
smirked.

He insisted on purchasing wands
for Narcissa, Draco and Ginny.� When the wands were matched to their new owners
Narcissa said, �Milord, please present your wand.�

Harry did and all three of his
liege-folk touched their wand tips to his. �They all solemnly intoned, �This
wand will never be used against that of my liege lord, and may be called upon
at any time for any reason.� This I vow on my magic and my life; so mote it
be!�

Just then Hermione gasped,
�Harry, we must get to Hogsmeade!�

�What�s happening there?�

She became very agitated,
morphing quickly between her human and essensential forms

�Dark ones, Harry; black
wraiths are feeding!�
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The Afterlife and Times of Myrtle Potter