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Harco Empire	By : Toddy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 34430 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or films. I do not make any money from the writing of this story, just enjoyment.

Chapter List
- 230
- 231
- 232
[Note: “x-x” = speech & ‘x-x’ = thoughts & *x-x* = telepathy & #x-x# = Parseltongue]
~~~ NETWORK ~~~
It had been obvious since his first being given a broom, that Teddy did not have that talent. However, he had taken to a bicycle and had had it gradually upgraded at birthdays to an adult one. In the village he had a circle of magical and muggle friends who also owned bicycles. So the seers had promised to themselves that on passing his OWL’s he would be offered a moped. He had enjoyed that for a couple of years, but now it was his eighteenth birthday. It was suggested that he be given a pre-paid certificate to use for some car driving lessons with a promise of a car if he passed his NEWT’s.
“Some of my friends are being given proper motorcycles. I think I would like one of those instead.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s a sort of upgrade of my moped. Estéban has been allowing me to ride his big bike in the fields at the hacienda.”
D: *I’ll check with Estéban, to see if he’s proficient. *
Draco checked and it was agreed that if Teddy did well in his NEWT’s they would buy him a bike.
~~~ BELTANE ~~~
By the time the Easter holiday came round all the paperwork for Gwydion’s adoption had been completed. Having met the two students off the train in London, the whole family stayed at Number Twelve. Going the next day to attend the Wizengamot office, where a small ceremony inducted Gwydion as heir apparent to the Greengrass family and he signed the forms to become a Greengrass-Blake.
As a treat the children were taken on a private boat ride on the Thames and afterwards visited the Tower of London. Various others of the village family were included, both muggle and magical. The whole company had a ride on the London Eye. One of the muggle mothers were with the seer family in their pod and pointed out some of the landmarks, as well as explaining their significance.
Afterwards they went to the London dungeon, no-one was sure to laugh or be scared.
“Those tortures they described, Dradad. Were they like the ones Voldie carried out?”
“They were worse, Jimmy, and they had an extra thaumic ingredient, which those muggles couldn’t even imagine. Although the bloody end and the screaming were much the same.”
“I think the muggles can be dangerous too,” remarked Gwydion: “That gunpowder plot looked very dangerous. I imagine they could quite easily have blown themselves up at the same time.”
“I’m not ever going to eat a meat pie again!” said Lily vehemently: “Not ever, I could be eating one of my friends, Ugh!”
Before they returned to the academy Gwydion and the other Blake children went to Diagon Alley to buy him a familiar. Like Hermione he chose a kneazle and named him Taliesin.
“Taliesin’s for best,” Gwydion explained: “Tal is for ordinary, see.”
Once back at the village Taliesin and Crookshanks had a face off. There was a lot of spitting and squealing as they rolled around. However little damage was sustained, bar a couple of tufts of fur. Thereafter the two treated each other with a disdainful pose and a respectful distance.
###
Just after Easter George was chatting to Draco: “I hope you have no plans for the cabinets.”
“Why’s that?”
“The Spanish mages have bought every one that you’ve charmed. Carlos says that they’re making a network.”
“Well … He has asked that we convert the present portal between Cerroverde and Abdulmuralla into a postern. I think Harry and I had better see what he’s doing.”
“If you convert it at Beltane, does that mean you’ll be too weak to charm the new cabinets we’ve made?”
“I think we’ll have enough energy. It doesn’t take too much when we convert them. It’s the initial links that are the most wearing. Then again, we know more about what we’re doing, and, we’ve grown much stronger since that first almost-disaster.”
“Good! Because we’ve made more than usual. The Spanish market is becoming quite lucrative.”
"Please reserve one for our use.?"
"Of course, I will."
~~~ ABDULMURALLA ~~~
“Hi, what are you two doing here? Not another inspection I hope?”
“More of an enquiry, Carlos.”
“What about?”
“Cabinets!”
“Oh! I see. You know that there are not that many Iberian magely families, don’t you?”
“Yes! The result of the Franco régime’s depredations.”
“Well the current magicals still feel unsafe. Not helped by the Seignior making raids, either. So, Johann and I have come up with a scheme of linking various magical establishments together. It also means that our ward team can keep their wards up-to-date. A sort of mini-Harco network. At the moment we’re still creating the basic route and it will be enhanced next week if you convert the present portal into a postern. That would join the older network based on Cerroverde to the new southern Spanish one based here at Abdulmuralla. Come on, let me show you.”
Inside the floo-room the portal cabinet contained two new doors. They took the one with a wine bottle symbol that led to Jerez. When they emerged, they were inside another three-door cabinet. However, they went outside and met Señor Vargas, a mage who ran a successful bodega. He explained that one of the two doors led to his family home in the main vineyard and the other door led into Portugal, where there was a small group of magicals situated near a new dam and producing vegetables. After looking around those farms, the small party was invited to a very enjoyable lunch back at the Vargas family home.
In the afternoon they went through the other door at Abdulmuralla.
“This is a longer chain,” Carlos explained: “Eventually leading to a mountain retreat called Mura near Barcelona. It has a view of Montserrat.”
"We know that place well. It was one of the places we had an adventure at."
"Do tell me."
Carlos was told the story in short bursts, during their passage of the cabinets.
The first stop was on a mountainside overlooking the Mediterranean, Cabo Maria. This was a very small thaumic community of three families who ran resort cabins for mages. There was a small beach plus a jetty and a couple of boats in the bay. The surrounding terraces had citrus trees in them. The seers were told that this community had not been touched by the Franco Régime because there was no road access and they had a cliff face occlusion. They were very pleased with the new connection and protections because their customers, when travelling, were no longer in fear of satrap attacks. They said that it was not too far by sea to Cartagena where they previously had bought their supplies. However, now they would be using the shops at Abdulmuralla, as well as supplying the spare from their citrus crop. They also had a fresh fish stall at Abdulmuralla.
The next stop was a mage’s house near Valencia. He explained that being situated in the Barranco del Diablo was a very good disguise for his hacienda. One of his doors led to the centre of Valencia where a couple of mages lived side by side. Once more cabinets were available, they had relations in the countryside whom they wanted to connect.
Instead, as Draco had expected, of going north, their next stop was east on the small private island of Tagomago close by Ibiza. Where a couple of mages dwelt. They also had relations on Ibiza. From thence to a farm near Sineu on Majorca where the trail divided. One cabinet was situated on Menorca whereas the main line – so-to-speak – went north to Mura. Using field-glasses Draco pointed out the funiculars on Montserrat. From there a number of mages hoped to have connections once the present batch of cabinets had been charmed.
Carlos explained his broad-ranging and high-flown ideas when they arrived back for dinner at his apartment in Abdulmuralla, mediated by Johann’s consideration of what was practical.
H: *I’m glad that we kept on charming cabinets now. *
D: *Alright, I take back my reservations about unrewarding work. *
Needless to say, all four seers were worn out on May Day morning from charming cabinets. George still had outstanding orders which would mean another hard session at the next equinox.
~~~ RELOCATION ~~~
There had been a couple of candidates for Timothy’s vacated curate-position at Saint Godric’s. The male applicant had had the tingle but was certain that magicals were erring and wanted all of them to give up their sinful ways. By that it was obvious that he meant practicing magic, even if he only referred to it obliquely. He was of the very earnest, lapel grabbing type; invading people’s personal space without compunction. Draco nearly hexed him when he grabbed his robes to ask if he was saved, and Gwydion said that the candidate reminded him of his previous guardians’ attitudes.
The other candidate was Veronica. Even the High-Church adherents liked her. She was sensitive to their misgivings about women priests and, by and large, won them over. One of her winning arguments was that Saint Paul, quoted as the arch misogynist had, in quite a number of his epistles, written supporting letters to a number of women who were in charge of early Christian churches. To the mages it didn’t matter as much. If she was called, and they could feel her holiness, then they would accept her as God’s representative. She was different to Timothy, but had a lively sense of humour. She enjoyed visiting Mandy’s house-shop and purchased a number of WWW wheezes, even managing to introduce a couple into her exhibition sermon.
Estéban came to Veronica’s induction along with the other priests attached to the magical community. Veronica was quite surprised when an Orthodox bishop was also present, but took to Vasil immediately.
During the celebratory meal afterwards, Estéban said: “I shall be taking up a new position soon, too. Monsignor Riccardo has someone to replace me at Cerroverde. He’s much younger and just out of the Seminary. I’m told that Taddeo has the tingle but knows not what to do with it.”
“We’ll be sorry to lose you, but when mother church tells you to move, you move. Where are you going?”
“You’re not losing me really. I’m to be priest in charge at Abdulmuralla. However, I shall not be taking services here again, or helping with ethics lessons at Cerroverde. That will be part of Taddeo’s job.”
“Are they retiring you, or have you put your foot wrong again? It sounds like demotion.”
“Far from it. You remember why I came to Saint Spyridon’s, don’t you?”
“Yes, biker trouble in Madrid.”
“Well … The Archbishop of Granada is more forward looking than the Madrid authorities. Part of my remit is to encourage the bikers. I have kept touch with some of my previous flock, once a month they come over from Madrid and attend mass. Some have matured well and they have found some old quarries in the Sierra Nevada which they want to make into a trial course. It so happens that the church owns the land … Need I say more?”
“What about the flora and fauna?” asked Neville.
“I’ve had a chat with Yago. He’s given it the once-over and says that there’s nothing special there. He’s rather pleased that we want to develop the sites because certain quiet tracks are enticing the off-roaders. He didn’t want to be too drastic with them because there were no real alternatives in the area. Once we’re up and running he’ll feel better about taking steps to deter those bikers from the ecologically sensitive areas.”
~~~ NEWT’s ~~~
Despite his indulgence in leat cleaning, Teddy did well in his final exams and, as promised, was given a motorbike as a slightly delayed birthday present.
“It used to happen to me too,” remarked Draco: “My birthday celebrations were put off until term ended. Mind you, the last few were fraught, what with Voldie inhabiting the Manor and my father using one as a satrap rally. All in all, I think you got the better deal.”
“I’ve heard stories about those times. I was too young to understand then. Were they really as bad as we’re told?”
“Worse! The histories don’t dwell too much on the gore and torture. There were occasions when it was like dwelling in a slaughter-house. Not that I’m going to go into specifics, you have a grisly enough imagination already. Besides, I don’t really want to remind myself of what it was like.”
Harry could feel his lover becoming agitated: “Okay Teddy, tell us what you are going to do with your qualifications.”
“I’m not sure yet. I was rather hoping you’d let me have a sabbatical year first. During that time, I promise I’ll think about my future, but I do have other things calling for my attention at the moment. After all you did advise Amicus’s father to let them have space.”
“No need for the hard sell, Teddy. We are sympathetic to the idea. Any inkling what you might be doing with that time?”
“Err … Helping Estéban at Abdulmuralla and his new project. Also, I’m still not totally happy about the water supply and its protections.”
Draco grinned: “I imagine that you’ll be putting your present through its paces too.”
Teddy grinned back: “Well … It had sort of crossed my mind. Erm … Do you think I could have a couple of scarabs, then my other mates can come too?”
“Which other mates?”
“Claud and Norm you know about; they’ve got scarabs already. Its Eddie and Reggie I’d like them for.”
“Those two muggles that you hang around with?” asked Draco slightly suspiciously.
“They know about our world, Draco,” put in Ginevra: “I told them some time ago. So, don’t get your pure-blood knickers in a twist. You’ve ogled them too, when they were using the pool.”
“I never did!”
Harry side-hugged his mate: “I’m afraid you did, because you remarked about their attractiveness and how you wished you were ten years younger.”
“Oh!” Draco blushed: “Those two … Hmm … Have you taken them to see the merpeople yet?”
“No Dracoz! I think they’d have difficulty in seeing them. They’re still getting used to magic, never mind the other beings. They’re alright with elves and goblins; I don’t think they’ve met the broonies either.”
“Are they gay?”
“It’s not a subject we’ve discussed, really. Water-sports and motorbikes are their passion, that’s why I want to take them to Abdulmuralla. Maybe we’ll stop by Guéthary on the way. I don’t think they’ve tried surfing yet. They’re ace at canoeing though.”
H: *Do you think they can be trusted Ginny? *
G: *I wouldn’t have told them about our world if I’d had any doubts. *
A: *I agree. They’re the same breed as the Stamps and Yates – close-mouthed northerners with an earthy sense of humour and a high regard for personal privacy. *
“Fine! We’ll give you two scarabs for them.”
“Thanks a bunch! I will reiterate about the secrecy of our world. I imagine they’ll be slightly shocked when we take them through the portals first time. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to it.” Teddy giggled: “I’m interested in bikes, but they’re fanatical.”
Draco chuckled: “So you’ll be practicing some subtle one-up-man-ship, will you?”
Teddy grinned: “Well … It had crossed my mind.”
“Get them to take a sat-nav with them, that’ll help.”
“Got the idea, thanks Dracoz.”
“Um … How will Victoire fit in? I thought you two were very close.”
“She still has another year to do at college Goddad, so I wouldn’t have been seeing as much of her as I do at present. That’s another reason for the year’s space. We have an understanding that we’ll try to form a work team when she graduates.”
“Only a work team?” Draco’s eyes twinkled mischievously.
Teddy blushed: “You already know that we are dating, Dracoz. I haven’t formally proposed, but I’m almost sure that when I do, she’ll accept me.”
“Don’t be like your Uncle Ron, he almost left it too late.”
“Being magicals we’ll have longer to live so we’ll not rush into things.”
“Don’t forget that even when you’re married it will take time for your magics to agree.”
“You’ve got a potion for that haven’t you?”
“It’s best to try to do it naturally. That potion is a last resort.”
“Yes! I know!”
~~~ RETURN ~~~
When James and Gwydion came back at the beginning of July, they were surrounded by the gang who would be in the next first year batch. As well as Albus and Scorpius, there was Enrico Zabini, not forgetting two Weasleys: Percy’s and Audrey’s Molly, and Ronald’s and Hermione’s Rose, plus Lee’s and Mandy’s Fenella. Although James had told them things at previous holidays, they had paid little notice. Now it was imminent, or at least to them it appeared to be, they were full of questions and suppositions. Eventually it was his pseudo-father who rescued James and Gwydion from the mob.
“Thanks, Dradad … Erm … In the next few days would you mind giving us a few hints on our potions holiday projects, please?”
“Yes, of course, but I’ll not write it for you, you know.”
“Yes. Just a few pointers, and book titles would be useful.”
Gwydion persuaded Harry in the same way for DADA, and James twitted Hortulanus for Herbology.
“Why not ask your Uncle Neville?” asked Hortulanus.
“It’s him who set us the projects.”
“Yes! I see!”
As far as their projects were concerned both James and Gwydion seemed to have it all in hand. Not rushing at it, as Draco would have done, nor leaving to the last minute, as Harry usually did. Each pseudo-brother seemed to encourage the other one. Occasionally they had a companion in Scorpius who worried that he would not reach the level he thought his father and Grandmothers expected of him.
“Look Scorp. We have been learning charms etc. for a year. Much as we’d like to help you practice them all, that would take longer than the six weeks we have – remember it took us nine months to learn. We’ll show you all one or two of the beginner ones, but together. You shouldn’t be trying to steal a march on your friends and family. Remember what our Dads and Mums say about helping each other.”
“But what if I can’t keep up?”
“You’ve managed so far, so don’t worry so much. When we’ve finished this assignment in two days’ time, we’ll show you all a simple summoning charm, okay?”
“Yes, I s’pose so.” Scorpius sounded resigned and reluctantly left James and Gwydion writing in the study.
Then his demeanour changed. Smiling, he walked up to the gang who were waiting outside.
“Well, did they say they would?”
“Yes. A summoning charm in two days’ time. Now it’s your turn Ricky. Once they’ve shown us that one you can do your excited bit and get them to promise another.”
Albus grinned: “Then it’s you three girls’ turn. They won’t dare refuse me once you’ve all had a go.”
“YES!” they agreed.
“That gives us two days to cajole one of the Dads to take us to Uncle Garrick’s Shop and buy us proper wands,” proposed Rose.
“Now let’s go and have a swim,” suggested Fenella.
~~~ INSPECTION ~~~
The following day Captain Jeremy paid the last of his official visits; passing the cave railway as fit for passenger use and taking a ride on it. Thereafter the Train team kept running free trains for the villagers whilst they tried out the complicated timetable they had worked out. The new triangle near the Muggle station was the governing junction where outgoing and incoming trains could hold each other up. It took just under half an hour for the caves to be transited, but that included a swap of engines at the picnic site halt. The pseudo-electric gave up its cave-train and one of the steam engines took over. However, that train did not return to the quarry, it continued to the Somerford turning circle and then went to the village before returning to the Quarry via the Station. The whole circuit taking just under an hour and a half.
One of the worried village commuters asked: “Does that mean I will have to get up an hour earlier to catch my train?”
“No, we will run to Somerford first because there are a few commuters there, and then to the village,” replied Jocasta: “Give or take a couple of minutes your train will be the same. However, in the evening I’m sure you won’t mind taking a detour via Somerford first. Then we treat the commuters from each village fairly. Of course, if you are in a hurry, you could always alight at Pastures halt and use the footpath.”
“An evening trip with the family, travelling through the countryside, would be a nice way of winding down, thanks. Err … How do the caves and picnic area fit in to the schedule?”
“Between nine-thirty and Five, the trains will make the complete circuit. We don’t think we’ll get any tourists after that. Your seventeen thirty-five from the station will run via Somerford and two more hourly ones thereafter.”
~~~ GUARDIANS ~~~
Gallus’s suggestion of a Board of Guardians was the next thing to catch the Seers attention. It was brought on by Caius approaching Draco:
“They’ve sorted out my inheritance. As the lawyers expected, my two cousins, being in prison, are no longer allowed to administer the estate. That leaves just me. That poses another problem, the family trust must have at least three administrators. I was talking to Goodman Griphook and he said something about a Board of Guardians who could fulfil that role.”
“It’s something we’re thinking of, yes. I’ll let you know in a couple of weeks’ time.”
“Thanks.”
The next piece of news was that, once the Seignior had found out about Abdulmuralla, he flew into a rage and tortured Cassius, who had eventually died. That left Johann as the sole administrator for an equivalent family trust.
The upshot was that the Gringotts and Harco joint Board of Guardians was formed with two directors from each. It was argued that if an even split in the vote was encountered then the family member concerned would have the casting vote. Two family trusts were to be immediately administered. Warrington and Bole/Buhler.
The Warrington estate was relatively easy to transfer, and its investments would give Johann and his descendants a reasonable income. He insisted that certain dubious investments be cashed in and the proceeds invested in ones that were not so precarious. Something that the Guardians agreed with. So various businesses at Abdulmuralla who needed capital to equip their premises benefitted from this new source of investment.
It seems that the suspected Nazi sympathisers were part of the Buhler connection to the Bole family. This information had been uncovered by the goblins in the family vaults under the Vienna branch. The major property owned by the Buhler side was somewhere near Berlin. This caused a debate within the Harco organisation as to Caius’s reliability. At Harry’s suggestion the problem was explained to Caius who voluntarily undertook to make the same oath that Johann had.
So it was that Harry and Draco accompanied Caius on what would eventually be his first multi portal journey. He already knew about and had used the postern connections both to Hogwarts and to Diagon Alley and had heard about the educational posterns between the academies. On their outward journey they used the Educational posterns to Durmstrang. Where Gerhard had procured a small cruiser for them.
“Do be careful. People like that tended to booby trap their premises.”
“Thanks for the warning Gerhard, but we think that it’s a blood ward.”
“They’re difficult at the best of times. I hope that Caius’s blood isn’t too diluted.”
“When we opened up Abdulmuralla we had to have more than one sample,” Draco answered: “Bearing that in mind I had a look at the genealogies. Now my Duindhu heritage had a daughter who married into the Buhler family in the Victorian age. Then Harry’s ancestor Charlus had a daughter that married into it during the Edwardian times. When the Nazis took over, one side of the Buhler family moved to Britain and anglicised their name to Bole. The other Teutonic side stayed. However, they were all wiped out during the muggle Second World War. It’s their home that we’re going to claim for Caius.”
Caius giggled: “So my so-called pure-blood has some Malfoy and Potter in it. Any more?”
“Yes, the Blacks, seven generations ago, and the Zabinis, nine generations ago. At least you won’t suffer from the inbreeding defects.”
“Do you think it’s the bad Black and Malfoy blood that made my brother go wrong?”
“As a pure-blood I shouldn’t say this but, it’s what you make of your heritage. I was heading the wrong way, but Harry put me back on the straight and narrow.”
That sent them into fits of giggles, all except Draco who looked slightly cross.
“Oh! Now what did I say?”
“Straight is not how we would describe our relationship. Don’t you think, Lover?”
Draco half-smiled: “Understood, bad description, but you know what I meant.”
“Shows how much you’ve changed. Your schoolboy self would have hexed someone who was laughing at you. Probably me.”
“I still want to be efficient and all this jawing is not getting us on the boat Gerhard has so kindly provided,” was Draco’s dry and short reply; delivered from a very stern face. Not that it fooled Harry, he sensed the subterfuge via the link.
Gerhard took them to the Durmstrang quay and provided them with a map of the local waterways. Caius enacted a ‘point me’ charm. They all looked in the direction his wand was pointing.
“That looks like land and trees.”
“Judging by the inclination of your wand,” Gerhard observed: “Where you’re looking for is about here.” He indicated a group of small lakes on the map: “So you’ll have to take this set of waterways. When you get about here you should cast again. As you can see there’s quite a labyrinth of smaller channels. Quite a few are lined with boathouses. The owners are mainly weekend navigators, so you should be relatively undisturbed.”
They thanked the headmaster and jumped on board. The two seers went into automatic mode. Draco seeing to the lines and Harry grabbing the wheel and casting the propulsion charm.
“Err … Can I do anything to help?”
“Two things, see if there’s any tea and make some, then cast the ‘point me’ occasionally.”
“Okay!” Caius found the small gas ring, but had no clue how to operate it. Draco, free of sheet duties, went to help.
“I’ve done it before on our cruisers at the Scillies or on Lac Léman. This where you turn on the gas and an ignition charm lights it. Now, while the kettle’s boiling, we search for the tea-pot, mugs and other items.”
With a few chuckles and rattling of crockery Harry soon had a mug of his favourite in his hand. Standing slightly astride he looked the epitome of a well-tanned sea captain. As Gerhard had said there were few leisure boaters around, only on the wider waterways did they come across commercial freight carriers.
“Draco, why do you cast that noise charm when we go under bridges?”
“To preserve the Statute of Secrets.”
“I don’t understand?”
“Harry’s propulsion charm is silent in operation. However, the muggles expect us to have a motor on board or to have the sails up. Sails would be difficult in narrow waterways, but they have the most bridges. Bridges usually have a few gongoozlers on them. Don’t you think that the muggles would think it odd if there was no engine propelling us? Think of our railway at home. The goblinesses developed a charm to make their engine hum so that the muggle villagers would think it’s electric.”
“Got it. Will you teach me that charm, please?”
Draco and Caius spent an enjoyable couple of hours fooling the muggles with various engine noises and keeping Harry topped up with tea; occasionally casting ‘point me’ charms. Eventually this led them up a narrow canal lined on both sides with boathouses. Harry cut the speed to dawdling whilst Draco and Caius looked for runes.
“There it is! Look it’s got ‘¶♫☼ß’ written small under the faded name. Not that the name is legible. Perhaps it’s Schloss? Maybe not!”
“Very good … Caius, now cast the opening charm.”
“It’s not working!”
“It has. Look under the padlock.”
“That’s a drip tray to catch the oil.”
“It wasn’t there a few seconds ago.”
“Got it. Please steer in close Harry, I’ll prick my finger.”
They glided past at an almost imperceptible speed and Caius managed to shed a few drops into the pseudo drip tray. As they circled; the doors slowly drew open to show an orderly but empty boathouse. Harry steered slowly in, and the doors closed behind them.
A cuckoo clock on the wall opened its little doors and a bird looked out: “Denen die Einreise begehrt?”
“Der rechtmäßige Erbe,” Caius answered.
Draco and Harry understood that Caius had answered ‘who desires entry, with ‘the rightful heir’
“Ihr Blut verdünnt wird, fühle ich mich Potter gibt und Malfoy. Wenn zwei Seers unterstützen Sie dann können Sie geben.” And a small dish appeared out of another door in the clock.
“I think the bird wants a drop of both your bloods in that dish, please?”
Within the confines of the boathouse there was little free-water. Thus, it was easy to reach over and deposit a couple of drops in the bird’s tray. It dipped its head into the minimal liquid and appeared to drink.
“Willkommen Magier drei!” it chirped, and the back of the boathouse opened up to reveal a narrow canal totally shrouded in evergreen trees, mostly holly with a thick undergrowth of long-thorn brambles. They sailed along this green tunnel for quarter of a mile, or thereabouts; until it opened out into a small lake with a wooded island in the middle. Although the prickly barrier continued around the lake’s edges the island had more welcoming trees. Out the top of which a newly unfurled Buhler banner fluttered on the top of a flagpole.
“There must be a building supporting that,” remarked Draco, drily.
“There’s a gap in the trees, Caius pointed: “Steer for that please, Harry.”
Harry did as he was asked, and with a little wiggle of the rudder they navigated a tight curve between two islands. One was small and served to hide the landing stage for Schloss Buhler. There was another boat alongside with two elves manoeuvring it by its lines to make space for the incoming cruiser. Harry stopped the charm and coasted gently up to the quayside. Draco threw the lines to the elves, who secured them to the bollards.
“Welcome Masters. Gringotts flooed and said you were coming. We were quite surprised that you didn’t apparate in. We recognise the two seers from Prophet International, we are honoured to have your presence with us. This young master must therefore be the new Graf von Buhler. You are very welcome. I hope you had a reasonable journey Master.”
“Thank you … err?”
“Faulpelz, mein Graf. For forgetting to tell you my name I shall beat myself hard with the mace.”
Harry bristled; Caius felt the anger: “You will not beat yourself Faulpelz. Seer Potter would beat me if I allowed you to beat yourself. I imagine you were excited at having a new master and forgot. No harm done. You may have read in the Prophet that we don’t require that kind of discipline anymore.”
“I had, mein Graf, but didn’t believe it.”
Caius chuckled: “Well I think you should.”
“Yah, mein Graf. The other elf is my son; he has not yet been named. He will show you the way, because I must see to my partner,” and popped away.
Caius looked at Harry in bewilderment. Draco caught on and whispered: “Kurt? Place you hand on his head when you name him.”
Caius beckoned to the teenage elf and did as Draco suggested “You shall be Kurt and become a wise councillor to me and to your father, whom I suspect isn’t a lazybones, despite his name.”
“Yah, mein Graf, he has never been lazy. We have kept your castle in good order, awaiting your return. My mother, Verbrannt, awaits you inside. She apologises for not greeting you and hopes you will forgive her. She has great difficulty in moving. I thank you for my reasonable name.”
“Was she punished by the previous Graf?”
“Yah, mein Graf. Very severely, however she has retained her sense of humour.”
“Perhaps we should enter the Schloss and see her?”
“Please to follow me.”
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Harco Empire