Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 242
- 243
- 244
[Note conversation=: “speech” & ‘thoughts’ & *telepathy* & #Parseltongue# & {telephone}]
ENCLAVES
Easter was late this year so, the holiday lasted almost into May. For Harry, the holiday was one of impending doom, although the children had not noticed any change in his outward behaviour. The linked seers could, however, sense his growing unease. This was his twenty-first year of being the village mage. It was also the first time when his enhanced phallus would be seen by his sons. There was no getting away with it; he knew that he would have to answer embarrassing personal questions.
The students returned to the college on that Tuesday and the first item on all their timetables was to witness an ancient fertility rite. Having ported from the village to London to catch the train, spent most of the time in its carriages, they had posted back to the annex and were excitedly awaiting the celebrating mage’s arrival. [For the magical villagers’ children it had been an almost circular journey – give or take a few yards]
Harry had steeled himself, comforted slightly by the fact that his daughter would not be there, and had started his rounds, offering his seed to the farmers in turn. Of course some of the farms now belonged to Dumbledorians, but the seven stations had to be covered as before or, for that matter, each ordinary Beltane.
His worries were really without foundation, because none of their sons made any comment at the time. For which Harry was greatly relieved.
###
The following Saturday was a lovely Spring day and Lily had persuaded Harry to come on a walk with her. Not that he had required much urging. Draco was in a non-communicative mood, being immersed in some potion problem and the two wives were out riding horses. They wandered along the perimeter path, looking at flowers, listening to birdsong and generally enjoying nature’s abundance. Being a country girl, Lily knew more of the plant’s and animals’ habits than Harry did. He also occasionally feigned ignorance so he could encourage his daughter’s communication skills. Being a country girl meant that she had witnessed animal procreation and had ‘the birds and the bees’ explained to her quite a few years ago.
“Daddy look at that stallion servicing the mare. Was yours as big as that during the fertility rite?”
Harry watched the two animals for a couple of minutes until the stallion ceased: “Not quite that big, Lily. Horses are much bigger animals, so you would expect everything to be larger in proportion.”
“Mmm … I thought they were joshing me and Jimmy.”
“Who were?”
“Scorp and Al. Jimmy was worried about taking over the duties of village mage when you die. His is quite small, I’ve seen it many times when we’ve been swimming.”
Harry wondered where this conversation was going: “He will have to wait for many years before that happens. I don’t intend dying for at least a hundred years yet.”
“Oh yes! I suppose it will have time to grow then. That wheat has grown almost two inches since we came last weekend. Will you lift me up so’s I can see into that nest. They were eggs last time I looked.”
Harry did as he was asked and had a report that the eggs had all hatched. Then they sat quietly and watched the two adult birds as they flew in bearing insects for their small brood to eat.
~~~ RESEARCH ~~~
It seems that Radovan had been teaming up with Hermione, because he could regularly be seen in the college library, either borrowing books or chatting to Uncle Travis. A week or so after the Lily conversation Radovan buttonholed Harry.
“There’s been a rumour going round Elysium that there’s another international magical colony south-east of us along the Jerusalem ley-line. So, I thought I would investigate it. I started plotting Ley-lines and the next provable one runs from the ancient Rabat at Monastir, through the standing stone at Villa Pirelli, and the dolmen at Villa San Giovanni in Calabria. Where it crosses the Jerusalem-line is Lake Prespa, that’s where the colony is supposed to be, situated on an island. The ley-line continues to the Satyr Seclusion and beyond over the Black Sea to the Crimean Peninsula. But that bit is just conjecture because I have found no markers there.”
“So, you are saying that there could be a thaumic colony on this island?”
“Yes. If it is true, then it’s called Adoresgariko. Let me show you the references.”
He could feel both Draco and Astoria using their powers through Harry’s eyes to peruse the documents Radovan presented.
D: *Looks interesting, might be worth a look. Can we go by train; I like that kind of muggle travel?*
A: *I’ve heard a couple of rumours about this island. Ginny and I can hold the fort whilst you two go exploring.*
G: *There’s only Lily at home now, I can easily look after her.*
Harry grinned at Radovan: “Is that a way of getting asked to go with us.”
Radovan scowled: “No!” he replied forcefully and then softened his tone: “I hadn’t even thought about it. Anyway, I wouldn’t go without Janos and he’s tied up delivering stuff, most days. I’m not sure I’d want to go adventuring yet, I’m still getting used to this mode of living. Besides, I’ve already had quite enough adventures on my own for the time being, as well you know.”
“Fine! Draco and I’ll go and have look then.”
“Erm … If you need a couple of helpers, Max and Vito would be willing. You see … It was them who got me investigating the possibility, because they had heard a couple of rumours, when chatting to friends inside Elysium.”
“So, you see them regularly, do you?”
“They come over most weeks, or we go over there. They’re helping me get used to being a mage and they help Janos too. Greg found him a wand and we’ve found a way of charging him up. The nearest description I’ve found says he’s like a jug which we can fill up with thaums. Then he can discharge them just like any other mage, until he needs refilling. Any of us can refill him as long as I am close by, I seem to act as a key to unlock the lid of the jug. It was an accident really. I was charging Janos’s scarab and I was thinking that it would be nice if I could fill him up. After some time, I was beginning to feel drained, then I realised that I had gone on much longer than the usual seven minutes. I stopped and sat down to drink some chocolate and inadvertently dropped my wand. Janos picked it up for me and said that it tingled. You know, like shaking hands with a discerner. When I sat down, I had slopped some of the drink on the floor, so jocularly I suggested he try a Scourgify. Equally jocularly he did, and it worked. When I told Uncle Travis he said he thought it might be a very rare possibility and only worked with certain squibs. It’s about his potential, according to what I’ve read. The Fluence only works through him when I am nearby. We’ve done a few experiments and a magi-league is the maximum. However, the cabinets alter this because of them compressing time/space. So, I can be in the college library at Godric’s Hollow and he can still function as a mage within Eden’s or Elysium’s tholus. If he goes outside the tholus then the magi-league restriction comes into force. Hermione has a theory that it’s because the Dumbledorian tholii are all connected that this works. So, you see, that’s another reason for me not coming with you. Janos can be about his business in the surrounding area and still be a mage whilst I am in Eden. When he comes back inside the tholus I can go anywhere within the connected tholii, without affecting his prowess. As Uncle Travis says, it is a very rare occurrence. Hermione and I are still working on the theory behind it. It’s extremely fascinating.”
“So, if Max and Vito come with us, that is likely to drain you, because they’ll not be there to top Janos up, so to speak?”
“No, any of the mages can do it. It just that we’re friends. Like them I hadn’t realised my thaumic heritage until I was well passed its normal pubescent flowering. So, it forms a psychological bond. Being two gay couples of much the same age also helps and we have similar outlooks. If you take them, then they can tell us about it when they come back. I know they’d enjoy another adventure, after all, it was you who gave them this one that found us. Besides, I don’t want to lose my experimental timetable Hermione’s set up.”
Harry smiled: “Fine! I get the point. You’d like your two friends to have some more enjoyment.”
“Exactly!”
Harry ported over to the Patrimonio and was met by two hopeful faces. He smiled at them knowingly: “I take it Rad’s had a chat with you.”
“Yes … Well, can we?”
“Any reason why we should?” Harry asked lightly.
“Well … Yes … Erm … Max speaks fluent Greek, and you know of the lip-synch problem already”
“And you?”
“I just tag along.”
“No, you don’t. You speak Serbo-Croatian quite well despite the minor differences between the various ex Yugoslavian countries.”
“But that won’t help in Greece.
“The island, if there is one, is on three borders, so you never know what language we’ll meet.”
“Fine! Stop arguing, you two! You’re coming. What we have to do is work out how to get there. Before you think magically, remember our disguise will be as muggle tourists, like before. Draco thinks we could do that by train.”
“Won’t that be uncomfortable?”
“No! Why do you ask?”
“Well, it’s a long way to go on a train seat.”
“I think you’ll find we’ll get a sleeping compartment as well, or, stay in an hotel overnight on the way.”
“That sounds interesting! When do we leave?”
“We’d better go see Douglas first.”
“Who’s Douglas?”
“Our stationmaster friend at the village.”
“Right! Let’s go!”
And so they ported to Godric’s Hollow and Douglas’s front room
###.
“Hi Douglas, we want to go to Lake Prespa. Can we get a train to its shores?”
“Where is Lake Prespa?”
“Accio map! … Here!”
Douglas found a magnifying glass and peered at the map: “There are no train lines marked in the vicinity. The nearest stations appear to be either Bitola in Macedonia or Florina in Greece.” Douglas clicked his computer keys for a minute or two: “Sorry! But Bitola is not in the international timetable. That’s not unusual for Macedonia they only show Skopje which is the capital. Now, Florina shows up and there’s some form of bus service from there to Prespa. Where do you want to start from?”
“Somewhere near one of our establishments,” ventured Draco: “Say … Venice or Vienna.”
“Okay.” More rattling of keys: “You’d have to change at Villach – they don’t appear to have through trains to Beograd. Problem is that you’d have two hours there in the very early morning.”
“I don’t fancy that. Can’t we do what we did before? Go across the lake from the Chalet, catch a train and have a meal in Zurich.”
“How long for the meal and what date do you want to depart?”
“At least an hour for the meal and as soon as you can find bookings.”
“Okay!”
A few minutes later Douglas came up with an answer: “Here you are,” and handed Draco a sheet.
The two boys peered over his shoulder whilst Harry read through his partner’s eyes.
“Is that the same train we used, before; when we went to Vienna first time?”
“No. That leaves almost an hour later. On this train you can go right through to Belgrade in the one set of compartments from Zürich. That set I can book so you have adjoining doors.”
“Very good! So guys, are you happy with that?”
“We’re in your hands, you’ve done it before. The last jaunt worked okay before. Err … I thought you said it was a night-train? That one seems to take all day as well.”
“That’s why I suggested it. You can be sure of your privacy all the way to Beograd.”
“Great! We can learn some more defence charms from Harry and Draco can tell us about potions. That’s an area where we are fairly deficient.”
Harry and Draco *Groaned * to each other but smiled at the two Italians.
~~~ GETTING THERE ~~~
Three days later Maximiliano and Vittorio met the two male seers at the chalet where Nubbins Junior took them to Lausanne in a boat. Arriving nicely in time they found their seats on the twenty-past hourly train to Zürich. Once arrived, the restaurant had a table reserved for them, courtesy Dudley, under a canopy overlooking Zürichsee and surrounded by low bushes for privacy’s sake. Their walk back to the Hauptbahnhof gave them ample time to settle-in before the train pulled away into the growing darkness.
The first thing the Italians did, was to inspect the bag of goodies which was resting on the cover of the washbasin. Towels, shuffle-slippers, water, various toiletries and a quarter-bottle of bubbly wine, were its main contents. Then the attendant called in to collect their passports and tickets, so that their sleep would be undisturbed as they crossed various countries’ borders.
He looked at his schedule quizzically: “Are you only going as far as Beograd?”
“No. We are changing trains there for one to Thessaloniki and changing again.”
“May I see those tickets as well, please.”
It was Draco’s turn to look quizzical as he handed them over, however, he made no remark.
“As I expected, you are booked through in this carriage. Had you not noticed that the carriage and compartment numbers were the same on both reservation tickets?”
Harry grinned: “We were taking it one day, one train at a time. But we are relieved not to have to pack and unpack half-way.”
“Then I shall look forward to seeing to your needs all the way.”
“Isn’t that against the rules?” asked Maximiliano.
“What do you mean?”
“Well … You’ll be on duty for thirty-six hours.”
“It’s forty, actually. Not that I’ll be awake all that time, I have my own compartment with a bed and all comforts. One return trip takes four days and then I have four days off, whilst my opposite takes over. The pay’s all right and I get four days with the family. Works quite well because I have the same coach for every duty. It’s like a home from home. Then the other advantage is that I can buy things for the wife in the various capitals and get the cheapest prices. All of us attendants tell each other about the bargains as we move along.” He showed them his mobile and the list his wife had given him. “Now, what are you having for breakfast? Tick this list off, it’s in various languages, just choose the page. For your other meals there is a restaurant-car attached in the morning at Zagreb. It’s a different one after Beograd. There’s no problem if you’ve bought your own food, either. Just picnic in here. Goodnight, Sleep well. Don’t forget to lock your doors from the inside, you can’t be too careful. As you are together, I’ll bring a table to hang on one of the doors and you can use the other for access.”
“Thanks for the info. The table would be good, but tomorrow please? Goodnight!”
Once the attendant had gone, they unpacked and sat on the lower bunks sipping their wine and nibbling the provided biscuits. Vittorio looked at Harry: “Are we picnicking then?”
Harry chuckled: “Not if Draco has his way. Lunch and dinner in the restaurant-car are all part of the fun, aren’t they, Lover?”
“Oh yes. Not quite as good as house-elf service, but very passable. Then there’s the passing scenery as an addition. We’d better turn in early, sometimes it’s a bit difficult getting to sleep without a partner to snuggle up to.”
“Couldn’t you wave your wand like you did on the ship?”
“Not advisable. Imagine the attendant or a nosy customs officer looking in whilst we’re asleep.”
Harry chuckled: “I have the bottom bunk, so Draco spends a little time with me before climbing aloft.”
Draco grimaced at Harry: “Tomorrow I have the bottom bunk.” And the two Italians giggled.
###
The seers time together was not athletic – it was a cuddle and an internal swapping of the day’s experiences before Harry floated Draco aloft. The other two were physical before separating. During the night they woke a couple of times; mainly because the train had stopped moving at some border post or to swap carriages, as at Villach, but they soon went to sleep again.
Upon nearing Ljubljana, Manfred – the attendant – knocked on their door and converted their bunks into chairs after which he fitted the table and served them their breakfast. Coffee was for all of them, but thereafter their choices were different. However, there was an amount of tasting, whatever one of the others had ordered. Breakfast took longer because they kept on gazing out at the valley of the Sava.
Not long after leaving the Slovenian capital they had crossed over the river and were now hugging its northern banks as far as Krsko. Breakfast finished as they crossed the border at Dobova into Slovenia and spending twenty minutes in Zagreb’s station. The land flattened out and became less interesting so, they closed the door and practiced various charms with Harry.
Their stomachs told them it was time for lunch so, they trolled along to the restaurant car for a leisurely meal. The countryside was flat and, apart from an occasional glance through the windows, they applied themselves to the delicious food and wine. There was time for Draco to explain about one of the potions the Italians had misunderstood before they reached Sid and the half-hour customs inspection for Serbia. An hour and three-quarters later, they were in its capital and a quick taxi ride to see Alicia in her house near the Kalemegdan Fort.
On arriving back, their carriage was not on the platform where they had left it. This was somewhat worrying until they saw a smiling Manfred beckoning to them.
“We are part of a different train now,” he explained: “They split up the incoming trains and remake them, so we have carriages from Moscow, Istanbul and various other capitals attached to us.”
It was nearly seven o’clock when the train pulled out of the station, so as it climbed through the suburbs they went to the new restaurant-car and partook of another leisurely meal. Arriving back at their cabins they found that Manfred had converted them back from seats into beds. Not feeling too tired they thaumically sealed the cabin and played exploding snap, occasionally glancing at the flat countryside passing by until it was dark. By Nis, they were ready for bed. This time Harry and Draco were the active ones before Harry was floated to the upper bunk.
###
It was an early breakfast whilst the waited in Gevgelija and crossed the Greek border to Idomeni. The journey between the two stations was short but an hour and a half was taken. Mostly because they had to advance their timepieces by one hour. When they alighted at Thessaloniki they had changed their clothes and now resembled backpackers. Draco had their clothes in his pack, whilst Harry had the tent. Same for the other two only their share was the food and certain miniaturised furniture.
Having two hours to spend waiting for the next train, Draco was all for visiting the museum, but it was a bit too far so, they found a café. The proprietor was very pleased to provide them with a packed lunch and so was not averse to them lingering over their coffee cups. Then it was back to the station and aboard the Greek train. The carriages were older than the ones they had travelled in so far. One advantage was that, instead of being climate controlled with sealed windows, the passengers in each compartment could pull down the windows to let the breeze in. Our four mages commandeered one such compartment. It should have seated six people, but strategically placed luggage dissuaded other passengers from entering. In fact, there was ample room, and they were only following what other locals were doing.
From the deliberate speed of the previous train this one was very leisurely. It left ten minutes late and wandered through the Greek countryside, stopping at most of the stations. Some of which were just gravel spread on the earth with no real platform. Eventually the conductor/guard came through to collect their tickets.
“What time do we expect to reach Florina?” asked Draco anxiously.
“Is someone meeting you?”
“No. We hope to catch the bus to Lake Prespa.”
“All of you?”
“Yes?”
“My cousin has a taxi. He’ll take you there for the same price. Most people stay in Florina for the night and catch the early bus. You would have to run in order to make the connection.”
H: *I think he’s had this conversation many times before. It’d be easier using a taxi.*
D: *Very good!* “Then we’ll use your cousin’s taxi.”
The conductor opened up his mobile and chatted to his cousin. Confirming that he had a group fare to Prespa.
When the railway officer moved on Maximilian grinned: “I think they set off late in order for the cousin to get orders for his taxi from worried travellers.”
“That’s what Harry thought,” Draco grinned: “Still, I think I’d prefer a taxi ride to the bus.”
To begin with, the scenery was flat and agricultural. However, the traditional architecture was different. Maximiliano kept them entertained, translating the various signs and posters that they saw, whilst slowly munching on the packed lunch. By Edessa the countryside had become more interesting and they had passed through a few tunnels in the foothills of the Pindus mountains. Not long after leaving the station the passed over a massive curved metal viaduct at the head of a U-shaped loop. Thereafter a number of tunnels and viaducts took the party further into the mountains. They found the lake and thought they had arrived early, joshing Draco for his worries, only to find that this was Lake Vegoritida, when they stopped in Arnissa station. They looped around the northern end of the lake to stop next at Aminteo, where a young man selling drinks from an ice box obtained their custom through the window. A further set of loops had them arrive in Florina well in time to miss the bus by half an hour.
Not that it mattered, the smiling cousin was waiting there to take them forward.
“Where do you want to go on Lake Prespa?”
“A quiet campsite near the shore,” replied Maximiliano: “Preferably one without too much noise and loud pop-music.
“My great aunt has such a campsite; it is very secluded.”
“Sounds okay,” Maximiliano replied, after a consultation with the others. The taxi driver then used his mobile to contact Aunt Euterpe.
“I hope she gives us delight,” observed Draco.
“,So you know your mythology,” replied the taxi driver in reasonable English.
Harry chuckled: “He may but we don’t.”
Thereafter some of the journey was an explanation of the muses and the fact that the driver’s auntie was musical, too.
The site was certainly secluded. First of all, the metalling in the narrow lane disappeared, then the gravel surface degenerated into two lines running through the green herbage, zigzagging up the hilly peninsula. Harry began to worry that they had been duped, but he soon saw that his fears were groundless as they topped a hill and saw the lakeside view before them. There was a farmstead and a green field at the water’s edge, with a number of olive trees providing shade.
“Aunt Euterpe likes to use the olive grove for discerning campers, it gives her an added income. We thought you were the kind of people who would appreciate the site.”
“It looks ideal,” remarked Harry enthusiastically.
D: *I cannot see many facilities.*
H: *It doesn’t matter; we have our own. Remember we’re backpackers now, not wealthy tourists enjoying the luxury of the restaurant-car.*
D: *Point taken!*
As the taxi drew into the forecourt, a grand-dame appeared in the farmhouse doorway. She was carrying a tray with some glasses on it. Harry supposed the white substance the glasses contained was some kind of milk. There was also a wooden dish containing small traditional nibbles.
“Welcome to my demesne, gentlemen.” She said as they climbed out of the taxi: “I hope you enjoy your stay in my olive grove.”
Maximiliano knew the custom and with a slight bow, thanked the lady for her generosity; followed by the others.
Harry grabbed Draco’s hand: *She’s more that she seems.*
D: *I agree, but her vibes are positive.*
“Do you hope to go out on the lake?”
“That is one of the possibilities we had considered, Madame. Two of us hold skippers’ tickets for small sailing craft.”
“No doubt, then, you would like to borrow one of ours.”
“That would be very kind.” Harry took a large sip of the milk and found that it was not what he expected: *It’s alcoholic,* he sent with watering eyes.
D: *Ouzo, traditional drink, usually mixed with water.* and toasted their hostess, before sipping his.
The taxi driver departed; and Euterpe took them down almost to the water’s edge: “I think I recognise two of you from our newspaper,” she observed quietly.
“We suspected that you were a witch when we saw you,” Harry smiled and held out his hand: “I’m Harry Potter-Blake and this my consort Draco Malfoy-Blake. Our two colleagues are Maximiliano and Vittorio from Patrimonio Zabini in Italy.”
“I’m very pleased to see you all. I think the Island may be in trouble, because I have had no communication from them recently.”
As Draco shook hands: “Do I suppose you are the agent for Adoresgariko in Greece?”
“Yes, and there are two other ones for Macedonia and Albania on their respective shores.”
“Would you like us to reconnoitre the island?”
“That would be a good idea, but I’m afraid that you will receive a hostile reception.”
“Are you telling us that it has been taken over by the satraps.”
“I hope not! No, it’s because I cannot tell them of benign mages approaching. Our daffodils have ceased to work, and I thought I saw lightening over the island last night. It could be natural, we get those kind of storms sometimes, but with the daffodils not working, I’m no longer too sure ...”
“Then we shall fly over and have a look.”
“Please don’t get yourselves killed. If there are satraps there, then it’s likely there’ll be more than just four.”
“Max and Vito, will you set up camp. Draco and I’ll go over and have a look. Fear not, Euterpe, we’ll be invisible, and only have a look,”
They accioed the duple and mounted it, took off and, using their Hendy disguises, disappeared.
###
There was an amount of guesswork where the invisible island might be, so Draco was the one who steered the duple whilst Harry, touching skin, closed his eyes and searched for an occlusion’s magical signature. They found an island, Golem Grad, this was the one they expected to find, but it was further away from the camp than the one they wanted, according to Euterpe’s directions. Turning around they commenced a more thorough search for Adoresgariko somewhere near where the three borders met.
H: *Over there. It’s further out in the lake.*
Draco turned and followed Harry’s directions. They were cautious as they approached and swapped roles, so that Draco could listen for magical minds. He noted that the island’s tholus inhibited his kind of scrying; as he would have expected.
D: *The tholus seems to be intact, but there are a couple of thaumic minds outside it.*
H: *Let’s go and find those.*
They found two grumbling mages. It was almost a play-back of finding two satraps patrolling Cerroverde. However, this time they were patrolling to ensure that nobody got out of the enclosure. From their conversation, the two invisible listeners learned of an impending attack, and that a previous one, or maybe two, had failed. Also, that Lucius’s army were encamped somewhere on Macedonian soil.
D: *If we attack these two, my father will suspect that we are in the vicinity and be prepared for us to attack his army. He’ll probably come looking for us and five of us would not be able to withstand a concerted attack for too long.*
H: *Fine! Let’s have a quick search to see if we can find what is inhibiting the daffodils.*
It did not take long. Firstly, Harry memorised the charm that had been used. Then he reversed it, putting a false cantrip in its place so as to fool any casual inspection. Then they flew back to Euterpe’s farmhouse, intending to tell the three mages what they had done. There they found two elves as well.
“Why are you here, Robbie?”
“Serving my master,” Robbie grinned: “We put a homing beacon in the tent pack. As soon as Vito cast the erecting charm it activated the beacon.”
Draco looked cross: “That’ll have alerted the satraps to our presence here.”
“It’s highly unlikely” replied Bobby: “Griswold’s team have perfected a beacon that emits a concentrated beam, based on the elves’ transportation charms, and that beam was directed at Eden over Albanian territory. Anyway, it’s switched off now.”
“Fine! What’s the date?”
“Thirteenth of July, why, Harry?”
“Tomorrow is the last day of the Spring equinoctial quarter. Do you think we might make a portal? We need some reinforcements.”
They had to explain to Euterpe what a portal was. Astoria was listening in and had a pair of miniaturised cabinets brought to Eden.
A: *You two stay there, Megan will bring a miniaturised cabinet over. Ginny’s with me because we suspect it’ll probably take all four of us to create a portal this near the quarter’s end. *
The elves briefly switched on the beacon and Megan arrived. Making the portal was difficult but nowhere near as draining as the seers had expected.
###
The first people to be handed through were Probert and Zacharias.
“We’ve come to set up a tholus round your farm, Euterpe, if you will allow it.”
“I would like a better one that I already have, but won’t making that attract the satrap’s attention?”
“We’ll set it up just inside your tholus, so there’ll be no thaumic leak. Later, we would like to see the charms for your existing tholus. You seem to have included a ‘notice-me-not’ charm. Something we’ve not been able to do terribly successfully, so far.”
“Of course, you may, do you need some help?”
“Seven magicals would be ideal … Let me see … Yes … Max and Vito, Robbie and Bobby, us two and you, that would be great. The two seers need a little recuperation time, by the look of them. Megan, would you keep watch over them, please.”
Harry could feel Draco bristling: *I feel tired and I can feel that you are bushed also. Just let someone else look after us.* “Thanks that’d be great, we’re off to bed.”
All four seers slept soundly that night, two at Eden and two in the tent. The ones in the olive grove did not hear the quiet bustling as their friends came through the portal and set up camp under the trees. When they awoke, they found the corps of elves coming through the portal, disapparating with full hands and re-apparating with empty hands.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re resupplying Adoresgariko,” replied Sonny, who seemed to organising things: “When you altered the curse, it not only allowed the daffodils to work again, but stopped inhibiting elfin apparition. We think that the blocking of the daffodils was an incidental by-product of the curse to stop apparition. The satraps were using the old besieging tactics of starving the defenders out. The Adoresgariko tholus seems to have fooled the satraps when they attacked it. Probably very ancient magic from pre-roman times.”
“So, where’s Kreacher?”
Pop: “I’m here, should you need me.” He looked at Harry and Draco’s puzzlement and realised the thinking behind the question: “I’m beginning to feel my age, Seers, so I’m training Sonny to be my deputy. I offered the job to some of the other Captains Butler, but they all said that a younger person should be in the job, and we felt that Sonny was the most suitable.” Kreacher grinned semi-mischievously: “You don’t object, do you.”
Draco had an equally mischievous grin as he replied: “I suppose we could replace him, if he isn’t up to the standard we expect from you, when you pop-your-clogs.”
“I don’t expect my immediate demise, but I am about four times your age.”
“You seem to have worn quite well.”
“Tell my bones that, when I get up in the morning. I have chatted to the healers, before you suggest it, they say that my organs are just wearing out, potions can only alleviate the pain, not regenerate every bit of me. It’s not that they are broken, thaums can only re-grow tissue that has some life left in it. Not that I grumble any longer, I think the curmudgeon I used to be, was a reaction to my treatment by the former Black family. Now the Blakes have taken over, the atmosphere is congenial. So, I can now contemplate my demise in comfort. I think it was Bindweed who taught me the proper way to envision my end with ease and preparation. However, unlike Bindweed I have not been informed of the Maker’s timetable for me.”
Harry smiled benignly at his reeve: “It’s time you took things a little easier, Kreacher. We’re pleased that you looked to the future and, despite Draco’s jibes, we approve of your choice. Do I need to institute him as my assistant reeve?”
“Not really, just confirm his office when he succeeds me.”
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Harco Empire