Toppers Wallow

The dull drizzly Monday morning was a complete contrast to the high of Sunday’s Harvest Home. As that particular third-year group of students had no lessons until after lunch they agreed to partake in the practical pair’s delayed lessons during the morning. The professorial pair went in, as usual to start their lessons after coffee. That week was run-of-the-mill, only minor abrasions from the duelling club, and all the extra group tutorials were fine.



During the week; the village based magicians plus the various trainees made inroads into the re-fashioning of Milkwood; with an alerted Filius ensuring that their enthusiasm did not outstrip their energy. John and Augusta visited the Hogwarts Library; thus he was the first Muggle to use the portal. They spent almost the whole day with Madam Pince so an extra place was set at the high table for him, with Winky warning Isabel about possible missed meals. Asked to say grace, and in keeping with the atmosphere, John said it in Latin.



§§§§§



Things were fairly tame at the weekend, as the second third-year group had their first combat practice. The only thing of note was the notice that the authorities intended reopening the old Great Grumblewell and Godric’s Hollow Railway Station, under pressure from various commuters and the green lobby.



John saw our pair: “A word of warning; people are beginning to wonder how big your establishment is, because so many students appear from your door each Sunday. Having been to your library I now know how it’s done, but it might be an idea to have our new parishioners appear from different gates in the future. One idea might be for someone in the know to take over as station master, and make a portal to there. Make it hidden so that people appear only after a train stops.”



“Good idea John, we’ll look into it,” Draco appeased.



§§§§§



They went in early on Monday to have a chat with Argus to see if his son Douglas might like the job. It was the first time our pair had seen him smile, at least they though it was a smile. Argus thanked them – another first – and said he would get in touch and let them know. Harry and Draco said they would help out financially if necessary, that got them a further round of gratitude. In response to their concern Argus took them on a personal tour of the cellars under his jurisdiction. As has been suggested, there were indeed all kinds of instruments of torture there and he lovingly described their uses. Our pair got the feeling that he was a museum curator with a grisly sense of humour, more than a would-be torturer. The rest of the week was an Augusta week, so all the young professors had little spare time, Gregory, Seamus, Billy and Dean were also included in her tutorials as were Pullet and Phealey.



§§§§§



The weekend following had the grand opening and shop blessing of Pressgang’s Post Office and Press Emporium. Porlock and his family had a well proportioned flat above, and had taken D&H’s advice to run a newsagents as well as the post office. He had two agencies; one for the Muggle bank in Great Grumblewell and another for Gringott’s.



This weekend was the first for the fourth-years. Brooms and wands with paint hexes was the rule for their imbroglios.



Reminding our pair about her philosophy of diversification, Mrs Amis announced that she would be stocking some of the Honeydukes’ sweets because of the new parishioners’ requests. Mrs Amis opened up especially for the fourth-years for half an hour after dinner on Saturday; later telling Harry and Draco of her satisfaction in the experiment.



“Yere nice mister Carter arranged the stock for me. Yere students bought our sweets as well as yere special sweets, and they liked the home made dandelion un burdock that Mrs Pierce has been making for us. They were real well-behaved, too. Un that nice Mr Pressgang says ’ee can convert yere funny money into proper money”



Draco sent a quick thought to Harry: ‘That lecture about privileges you gave to them, paid off; didn’t it?’



Harry winked and smiled is affirmation.



§§§§§



There was one Hogwarts highlight during the next week, when Theodore got his bum scorched during the Wednesday Duelling Club; much to everyone’s delight and his own fury. That fury grew as he was teased unmercifully about the incident.



Argus had talked to Douglas and reported that Douglas had a long weekend coming on Friday, so Douglas and his wife received an invitation to stay at Magnet Cottage because Harry said he had a spare double room. Argus added that Douglas’s wife already worked as a ticket clerk and that they had met in one of the railway worker’s clubs. He also made further tentative enquiries about some financial help, which received an affirmation from both Draco and Harry.



§§§§§



The weekend of the second fourth-year group found Francis waiting for them.



“Harry! It seems that both of you have had ancestors here,” Francis informed them over the chocolate drinks. “Nigrus, Niger, Noyre, Blake, and Black keep on recurring in my researches. Even Marcus had a Black or two in his ancestry. I can now prove both of your multiple connections to the title and its inheritance. When the Black family disowned someone there was another hidden Black family who accepted them. Only they added an ‘E’ to make it Blake, Rosmerta was part of that second family. It seems that the dark side of the Black family had all the money and the light side had all the morals and was smaller. The Blakes deliberately avoided the limelight. Most of Draco’s connections came from the wealthy side, whereas even more of Harry’s came from the moral one. Not that either of you didn’t have some connections to the other. I think that Harry can claim the Blake’s ‘Semper Integer’ for his motto, especially as he was left Grimmauld Place by his godfather. As to inheritance; Draco has nineteen connections whereas Harry has forty-three.”



“How was it that the wealthy family kept the Black name, if Harry has so many connections?” Draco asked.



“The eldest female kept changing her name when the male line died out. Same as they altered ‘Semper Integer’ to ‘Toujours Pur’. The present Black surname should really be Arthur. I had a look at Narcissa’s connections, she has only eighteen. I suspect therefore that the bulk Lucius’s fortune, inherited via Draco’s mother and brought into House Malfoy, is probably legally more House Blake’s and therefore yours Harry, more than hers. With your permission, I shall file a counter suit claiming it back for you. More of a tactic to make Lord Malfoy look like a scheming money-grabber and disregarder of young people’s rights, than anything else, but you never know, do you.”



Harry smiled and then looked worried. “Off the record, Francis, I would not want to have Draco’s Mum left penniless. His dad I care nothing for, perhaps if we win we could make her a generous allowance or something.”



Draco gave Harry an enormous thank you kiss, which had Harry breathless and Francis blushing a bright red.



“I think her dead sister’s inheritance should be your’s also. That would be much easier to stake a claim to. The Ministry holds it in confiscation. An application to the Wizengamot would fall on receptive ears, I’m quite sure. It would put a warning shot across Lucius’s bows too. Surprising as it may seem, Muggle courts take cognizance of the Wizengamot’s decisions. They regard it as part of the same division as the church’s consistory courts and some of the almost defunct manorial courts.”



“Yes, go ahead with the Bellatrix claim. I’m not sure about depriving Narcissa, though.”



“I could post a notice of intent, without proceeding, if you like. It would give them a warning, but we don’t have to proceed; especially if they start talking about settling out of court.”



“Are you happy with that, Lover?”



“Mmm … Yes … Especially if we intend to let Mum have an allowance. Maybe I could write to her secretly when Francis posts his notice of intent?”



“It would have to be secret, are you sure Lucius won’t get a whiff of it?” Francis looked worried.



“Oh yes! Mum and I had a special way of sending letters. We used it when my Father was in one of his ‘get Draco’ moods. I escaped quite a few beatings because of it. Likewise, when he was ranting about imbecile females, I used to send her a warning and she went to the Lestranges until things cooled down. He never caught on,” Draco giggled.



“Let’s get the Lestrange money back first. That will be comparatively easy. I can see the Prophet’s headlines: ‘Ministry grants He-who-lived-twice His second rightful inheritance’, or some such words. Rita will be scurrilous, of course, but that will only strengthen the right-tinkers resolve to let you have it. The Minister will grumble, but in the present political climate he won’t dare oppose us. The Master will see it and be furious, but he’ll also see it as a warning. I imagine he’ll attack somewhere, pity he can’t find Grimmauld Place, isn’t it?” Francis had a big grin on his face.



“I rather he didn’t find it either. We have a lot of Duindhu heirlooms stored there,” said Harry, hurriedly.



“Duindhu? Of Course! I found a couple of references to them also. Silly really, my memory must be slipping! It’s where your money came from Draco.” Francis slapped his own head in mock exasperation. “There was another one too: ‘Draigdu’ was another of the earliest relatives mentioned. This Black Dragon was the guardian of the temple of Cerrunnos.”



“I bet that’s the ruin where the secret tunnel comes out,” said Draco enthusiastically. “Seamus says it has an Ogham inscription in ancient Welsh.



“Really? Will you show it to me, please?”



“Okay! Tomorrow, when it’s light. It’s about time we told our story to the students.”



§§§§§



Early on Saturday morning a motorcycle was heard drawing up outside the cottage door. Harry, being nearest and curious, went to see who it was. Two figures dressed in black leather stood outside, wearing enormous helmets with darkened visors. He was a little nervous when both of them strode towards his door, so he thought up a mirror shield and held it ready.



“Harry,” came a muffled voice, “so good of you to ask us over for the weekend.”



Harry relaxed, realising that it was Douglas behind the disguise. “I didn’t realise you were a biker,” he smiled, dropping the shield and holding out his hand.



“I’m not really,” said Douglas, taking off his helmet. “Marilyn my wife is the road hog, I’m merely a passenger.”



Marilyn had taken off her helmet and was stroking her long auburn hair straight. Under her upturned nose was a cute smile. “You must tell me more about the attack on his train, Mr Potter; my hubby’s very reticent about it.”



“Call me Harry, please. You are aware of the kind of establishment we keep here, aren’t you?”



“Yes. My father-in-law tells us about the goings-on at Hogwarts when he visits. I’m dying to meet some real live elves and goblins.”



“Elves you’ll meet quite soon, the goblins on Sunday, unless one of them calls round. Do come in.”



“Is that barn your garage, Harry?”



“Not really, it’s a magical disguise for the dormitories. I think your bike will be safe here, as long as you thief-lock it. I suppose I could miniaturise it, but I may not be here when you need to go out to see the station. I’ll do that before it gets dark, just to be on the safe side.”



“Will it hurt the Harley-D?” Marilyn looked worried.



“No! When we were on the run from Voldie earlier in the year, we carried a magic tent around. It had bunk beds, a bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen in it. We miniaturised it each morning and enlarged it each evening. Everything seemed to work okay. I think Hermione used the same process on her parent’s car one Christmas, too.”



“Okay! That will keep it safe after dark, thanks.” Marilyn gave Harry a quick hug.



Carter appeared to take their cases.



“It’s all right, Kreacher,” Harry said, “they know about our establishment.”



Marilyn gave a gasp as the elf transformed into his normal self. Douglas took it in his stride; smiling indulgently at his wife. Draco came to see who was here and was introduced.



“I imagine you’ve seen elves before, when visiting your dad at Hogwarts,” observed Harry to Douglas. “Will you be seeing him this weekend?”



“Over a thousand mile return trip just to see my old man. That’s stretching filial piety very thin,” Douglas chuckled. “We’d be sleeping most of the time once we arrived.”



Draco’s eyes twinkled. “Come with me, I have a surprise for you.”



“You take them Love;” Harry knew what Draco intended. “I’ll look after the hordes and breakfast. Have you eaten?”



“Yes thanks Harry. We were both on earlies last week so we woke at half-past three. That’s why we didn’t come round last night. We had a leisurely shower, an equally relaxed breakfast, packed and set off. It took us just over an hour to get here; the roads were practically traffic free.” Marilyn gave Harry another hug, making him feel all warm inside, whether from happiness or embarrassment he was not quite sure.



Ten minutes later Argus and his family appeared, all looking slightly shocked.



“I didn’t know squibs and Muggles could use your portals, Harry,” Argus said, as he accepted a mug of coffee.



“John, our vicar did; when he visited the library.”



“Yes, I know, but according to the students, he has the tingle. So I supposed …”



Marilyn had gone into one of her bags and came downstairs with a road map. “This is where we are, isn’t it? And that’s where Hogwarts is, or thereabouts. So we covered that distance in two strides? Unbelievable!”



“We were quite surprised when we made the portals, too.” Harry remarked.



“It nearly killed them, so the Headmistress said,” added Argus.



“Yes, well. That’s why the cabinets were made, to contain the magic,” explained Draco.



“I hope you’re not thinking of bringing those evil things back to Hogwarts.” Argus put on his usual grim expression.



“In themselves, they’re not evil.” Harry interceded, as he could sense his lover feeling mortified. “It’s the use the Death Eaters put them to, that was evil. Not that we’re thinking of making anymore at the moment.”



“I had a look in the room of requirement a few days ago.” Argus appeared mollified. “The fire has gone out and the fire-makers aren’t there any more. It still smells of fire, but the house-elves have made the ashes disappear.”



“Are you coming with us to see the station, Dad? We’ll have to walk if you do. And the appointment is just over half-an-hour away.”



‘You go with them, Lover. I’ll go half and half with you if they need finance,’ Harry sent.



“I’ll come with you to show you the quick way,” suggested Draco, winking in acknowledgment to Harry. ‘Shall we buy it if it’s for sale at a reasonable price?’



‘Why not. It’s only just across the road from Woodyates.’



Draco took his party down the shrubbery and across the woods via the second Apparating entrance. Harry went back to the patio to listen in whilst the others organised the fourth-years. Afterwards he donned the invisibility cloak, mounted his broomstick and observed the exercise; thinking of ways to make the fifth year curriculum more challenging.



Coffee break came and no Draco. Harry sat quietly and sent out a probing thought.



‘Good news Love,’ came back, ‘we are about to own some more property. Come over to Francis’s office to sign up.’



Harry walked into the square and round Mr Foley’s shop, waving to him in the process. Arriving chez Francis; Harry met Draco in the foyer, where they sat down.



“I get the feeling that the railway people have had no other takers, so Francis is beating them down to a reasonable price. That notice we heard about seems to have been their last forlorn hope. The station house is uninhabitable as it is, but the home team will be able to put that right fairly quickly. Once the transaction is over Francis wants to talk to us about the Manor and Black inheritance.”



“What about the portal idea?” asked Harry.



“Let’s not make a portal, but an open Apparating area situated inside the shell of the old goods shed. Then an oval of village-type wards along the pastures path until it meets the true village wards by the bridge over the River Gryff. That will help us not to distribute too many galleons.”



“Good! I was getting a bit worried about the number given out. I’d hedged my bets with Porlock. That Apparating area would be nearer, too. Ginny was saying that she’d heard of other magical families wanting to take up residence. I think we should limit the medallions to DS and Order Members plus the owners of the row of cottages that back on to Magnet Alley. Minerva told me that Griphook has been offered Order status, subject to a vote of members, you are included too.” Harry hugged Draco.



“Recognition at last,” Draco said in a half mocking tone, hugging Harry back.



“It followed on from the DS making you a member, really. There may be others; I’ll let you know after the next meeting, not that I know when it is.”



Francis’s secretary came out: “Gentlemen, the solicitor is ready to see you now.”



“Thank you.”



Francis’s office was all that would be expected of a country lawyer. A slight musty smell, not repugnant, was apparent. The Victorian cast iron fireplace had a small fire burning in it, casting flickers of light over the bookshelves and muniment cupboards which lined the room.



“Hello you two. The others are in the interview room. I thought we’d better meet before you signed the contract. As you can see we managed to beat them down considerably.” Francis showed them the various papers and explained the details of the contract of sale.



“Now, before you sign, I think you ought to consider something else. If you keep on acquiring property, quite soon you will draw the attention of the Inland Revenue. What I suggest is that you form a family trust. Pooling your money and properties in this area, and promoting the resultant charity as an educational trust. That way you avoid all kinds of tax problems. Most of the family trusts allow its directors a place of domicile within the estate’s boundaries, so Magnet Cottage would remain the same, to all intents and purposes.”



Seeing that he had eager recipients, Francis went into more details. Explaining that many of the great families, Muggle and magical, had similar trusts. In the end the Blake Trust was agreed to be formed, Draco and Harry would therefore be signing the contract with the railway company as trust directors.



Francis promised to draw up various other transfer documents for next weekend. After that they went into the interview room and made the various contracts legal. Once the railway people had gone the party stayed in the interview room, sipping a pre-lunch sherry, and discussing the actualities of rent, repairs etc. Agreeing on a free period, then a rent and later still, some recompense or profit sharing. His secretary having left, Francis closed-up his offices and they all went to brave the hordes at Magnet Cottage for lunch.



In the afternoon Draco took the Filches on a tour of the Village, introducing them to John and Richard, whilst Harry invisibly supervised the students. The Filches sat in whilst the Blake Pair conducted the debrief; Argus asking one or two pertinent questions. After Dinner Argus returned to Hogwarts; leaving his son and daughter-in-law to be introduced into the delights of exploding snap.



After lights-out, Harry and Draco enjoyed a very sexy shower followed by a rowdy romp on the mattress. Being too tired to do anything more, they kissed and hugged in creeping dreaminess.