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
- 46
- 47
- 48
[Note: conversation =: “speech” & ‘thoughts’ & *telepathy* & #Parseltongue# & {telephone}]
~~~ NEW COTTAGE ~~~
Sunday 13th was the first time Ollivander and Fiorello were cabinetted over. They were a bit shaky upon arriving, but felt well enough to attend the service and the communal lunch afterwards. The usual noisy atmosphere was hushed because the members found that Ollivander, once he had drunk a couple of glasses of fleur wine, was a great narrator and had a fund of stories to tell. Admittedly in the afternoon he sat in one of Harry’s comfortable chairs and nodded off for a couple of hours. However, both of these two older mages decided that the uncomfortable feeling of apparating from their flat to Number Twelve was not for them, and so did not come over with George and Percy again.
After the service Samantha had buttonholed Harry and Draco.
“Harry, we have a problem.”
“How can we help?”
“Come into the vestry, please.”
They both went towards the chancel and turned left, going through a small arched doorway into a vestibule with stairs leading up and down. It was where they had been when Samantha had showed them around the church. There was another door; leading to a room nestled outside in the corner between the chancel and the crossing. Harry glimpsed the priest’s vestments hanging in a cupboard and a desk covered in money and envelopes. Richard and Mr Foley were there counting.
“Hello Harry, come to help with the count, have you?” Richard asked.
“Um … I’m not sure, Samantha asked me to come.”
“Oh, I know! It’s about these strange coins we keep getting in the collection. We have quite a few golden ones now, but the bank won’t accept them. At least the couple at the Post office won’t, and they’re supposed to be the agents here for our bank in Great Grumblewell. Then there are a number of silver and copper coins also. We suspect that they are the goodwill offerings from your group, but what use are goodwill offerings if we can’t put them in the church’s account. As it is we have great problems in meeting our share of the incumbent’s fees.”
“Incumbent, what do you mean?” asked Harry.
“Oh, Sorry! Church-speak. The incumbent is John, and we have to pay him a living wage. This is done via the Diocese and we pay so much per month towards the general expenses of the whole church on top of that, which in turn pays John.”
“Diocese, what’s that?”
“A group of churches centred round the Cathedral, the Bishop’s church, which looks after our area group’s well-being.”
“This is getting complicated. Let’s get back to that pile of Galleons.”
“Is that what you call those coins? What are they worth?”
“About five pounds each in your muggle money.” Harry realised immediately that he had used the wrong word.
What’s a muggle, Harry?” asked Mr Foley.
“You are!” Then Harry realised he’d dug himself another grave. “Um … Let me see … Oh … You are aware that Draco and I belong to a rather special group of people; you know; green men and all that kind of thing.”
“YES!” Three curious faces regarded the mages.
“Um … Well … We have a special name for all those who aren’t part of that kind of group. Muggle is the name we use to refer to all the other people who don’t belong. It’s slightly technical, same as when you use names like diocese or incumbent.” Harry smiled hopefully.
“Right us’ll accept that. Now what about all this ’ere money we can’t bank?” Mr Foley asked.
“Let me talk to Gallus, he’s my personal banker, I’m sure he can come up with a solution. I know our bank converts galleons into pounds, because we have a muggle account with the post office here. I’ll fl … sorry … get in touch with him this week and ask him. I suggest you lock the gold away safely. How much do you have?”
The problems of wizard accounting came next with its peculiar multipliers. Draco rolled up his sleeves and started counting the coins. His dexterity in counting and multiplying had everybody’s admiration.
“There,” he said, “You have just over sixty-five galleons worth. That should be something in excess of three hundred pounds in muggle money.”
“That’s nearly a quarter of the parish precept, oh sorry, the monthly payment to those higher up. If we can cash it regularly, it’ll keep the Archdeacon off our backs for another quarter.” Samantha looked awed.
Harry allowed the new name to pass, assuming he was someone to do with the diocese who looked after the income. Draco helped bag up the coins and they were deposited in the church safe. It was a massive metal affair with three locks, one key for each Churchwarden – Samantha and Mr Foley – and one for John, the Vicar; each key had a different profile.
Richard held John’s key usually and Harry found out, as they wandered over for lunch, that it was because Richard was the church treasurer.
~~~ RIVER OF LEARNING ~~~
The normal pattern was now set, and the professors plus their students settled down to a regular flow of study and practice. There were rocks on the way, of course, but the stream of endeavour managed to ripple round them, reducing them, in retrospect, to pebbles. Each weekend brought new insights and achievements and major festivals gave islands of delight. It is on these that we shall concentrate the continuing saga.
A number of DA members had not been able to come to that first defence of the dance. Some had never returned to the Academy, like Gregory. Others had been injured or their families moved abroad. Slowly the other ones re-joined their mates. One such was Lee Jordan who had joined George, Ronald and Percy, helping to run WWW which was now doing extremely well. George and he had been friends and collaborators and so it was natural for them to get together again. With two of them in the shop always, Percy could see to the books, George could work on an invention, or Lee could add finish and saleability, without having to drop everything to serve a customer. Two day’s each and Sunday’s off seemed to work well. With Ronald as a very competent cashier and general helper, there were always two mages actually in the public part of the shop. Most of the Sunday daytimes were spent at the cottage and they would occasionally bring London based friends with them.
~~~ WEEK 14^th – 19^th ~~~
Monday had little disturbance with Mordant very able to demonstrate to his newly learned defensive charms. Tuesday had Pansy and Theo in a slightly more co-operative mood. Wednesday had a brilliant duel between Justin and Millicent, with multi-coloured hexes and accurately aimed shields. Thursday evening had Draco and Harry noses in books and scribbling wildly, having suddenly realised they had not started on the assignments due to be sent off to Augusta at the end of the week. They definitely burned the midnight oil that night. Luckily the early Friday lessons were repeats with the second batch of fourth years. Even so; it took some very strong coffee to have them alert enough to teach.
“I’m not doing that again,” said Draco as he tied his assignment to Regent’s leg at ten o’clock on Friday night.
“I agree, but I bet we’ll forget again,” Harry sighed in relief as Erwin took off with his project: "There'll be no rest for us this weekend – we’ll be here on staff duty.”
“I’d forgotten. I wonder who we’ll catch doing something forbidden?”
“I hope we don’t. Your scowl and my hard-stare seem to scare the pants off most of them. You spinning Theo in the air, after that first bout, seems to have frightened the naughtiest ones. Most don’t want to misbehave anyway.”
“Says you! You were always ‘getting up do something’ as Uncle Sev would say.”
Harry gave a brief chuckle: “And what about someone glamorising his henchmen as female lookouts?”
“Touché, but those were desperate times.”
“Perhaps, but now Lucy’s taken over Voldie’s baton.”
“His skill isn’t as great.”
“He still could be very destructive. If Voldie subverted students so could your father.”
Draco shrugged: “Ye-e-e-es … Theo’s a good candidate for that kind of thing.”
“Prune-face doesn’t attend your classes, does she?”
“No. She failed her OWL’s abysmally and didn’t return.”
“Probably why they wanted to marry her off to you.”
“Hmm … Quite likely.” Draco shuddered.
They wandered off chatting idly to do their rounds, not really realising that anyone up to nefarious purposes could hear them coming and hide until the prattle died in the distance.
They did, however, on the nineteenth, manage a quick diversion to Number Twelve where Hermione was celebrating her nineteenth birthday.
The weekend passed without any serious incident and a new week started.
~~~ WEEK 20^th > ~~~
The new professors were quiet and slightly worried because they knew Augusta was looking through their assignments. The pair also had a Wizengamot briefing to look through; not that any of it was earth shattering or too intricate. Mostly it seemed to be applications for licences and permissions. There was one case to be heard, but the satrap concerned was pleading guilty to all charges. Draco got the feeling that the man was only too pleased to escape his father’s clutches; even if it meant a couple of years in Azkaban. For a change neither Neville nor Mordant made a mess and Pansy was actually pleasant to Harry.
~~~ FRIDAY 25^th ~~~
Justin, Anthony and Blaise asked if they could use the cabinet early that weekend, and were offered the use of the four bunk room in the barn’s attic.
“Thanks,” said Justin, “Would you mind if Michael joined us? He’d like to be in the Imperio group as well, but that would make two Ravenclaws.”
“I have no objections; Draco might be joining too. Will you tell Michael what we’ve done so far please?” said Harry, smiling.
At dinner in Chantry Cottage, on Friday; Hamish looked pleased with himself.
“Okay Hamish, spill the beans. You obviously have something to tell us,” Draco encouraged.
“You know that cottage that was for sale further down the row, this side of Ginny’s and Astoria’s soon-to-be abode. Well I’ve managed to buy it. Gallus wangled a bridging loan for me from Gringotts, and my old family house is up for sale. I wasn’t spending too much time there anyway. There were too many memories of my wife and kids whom the death eaters tortured and killed.” Hamish looked sad.
Various people offered their condolences, saying that they had not known.
“No … Well … It’s not something I like to dwell on over much. I shall bring things that have happy memories attached to them, and leave the scarred and burnt memories behind. Here, I feel safe and I’ve made friends. Time to start afresh and there are musical opportunities too, they were missing at my last home.” Hamish had a look of happy defiance on his face.
The Dean/Seamus team offered their services in sprucing the place up. Some of the elves said they would tidy the garden; which Hamish had admitted looked like a jungle. Harry thought there was still something left unsaid and indicated the same to Draco.
Some of the after dinner mass-cabinettors arrived and Hamish told them: “I’ve just bought Granary Cottage down the road, I could sleep there. I’d be camping out and use the bathroom here, but it would be fun.”
Pop: “No need to use the facilities here Goodman Hamish, we’ve cleaned the place thoroughly once we'd heard you’d bought it,” Kreacher advised. “Harvey and Hilda have asked me to ask you if they can move here as well, they say they’d like to join our team.”
“Who are Harvey and Hilda, Hamish?”
“My two old house-elves, Harry; I take it you have no objection.”
“None at all. Your domestic arrangements are your affair.”
“Master Harry, they want to join the team here, not just look after Goodman Hamish.” Winky reminded him.
“Oh … Sorry … I hadn’t taken that in. Are you and Kreacher happy to add them?”
“Masters should tell us what they want … Not ask us if it is convenient, but yes, Master Harry. They’re very good cleaners.
“You forget the new regime is in force here, Winky. Hermione would have my ears for garters if I ignored it … Well Hamish, are you happy with that arrangement?”
“Of course Harry, I think my two got a bit bored because I was away so much.”
Pop: pop. “Thank you Goodman Hamish.” Hilda said hugging his knees. “We’ve moved the bed you use into your room, but you need to tell us what other furniture you want. Here are the keys to Granary Cottage. That nice vicar called in yesterday. He says he’s going to bless Bagshot Cottage after church on Sunday and wondered if you wanted yours blessed at the same time.”
“Have you moved your things yet?” Hamish looked compassionately at his breathless house-elves.
“Sort of, Goodman. Err …”
Pop: Kreacher appeared. “Master Harry. Your five elfin students so like the garret dormitory that they asked if they could move there permanently. I said they could, that gives Hilda and Harvey a room in the barn attic so that they will have private elf-space, too. Is that all right?”
“Of course Kreacher, you and Winky organise things just as you want them in your domain. No need for the iron just yet.”
Kreacher chuckled and thanked Harry, so did Hilda and Harvey.
“I’ll go and see John tomorrow and arrange the blessing, thank you Hilda. Now come and conduct me to our new home, please. Would you like to come, Harry, Draco?”
“Tomorrow, Hamish, once you’re settled in and have your furniture, we’d love to.” Draco replied tactfully.
~~~ SATURDAY 26^th ~~~
Saturday daytime had the two seneschals attending the Wizengamot and the Dumbledorians helping with the ploughing at Woodyates. Hermione and Gregory had a walk around the village wards doing some repairs that the Slyth was unsure about. Coleman finally capitulated when Hamish combined the various hexes and charms into a multiple enchantment. He now agreed that magic was probably a more efficient way of ploughing.
At teatime, Harry and Draco were recovering from almost a solid fortnight’s constant work when Hamish wandered in.
“You promised to come and see my new abode.”
“Have some Earl Grey first,” said Draco starting to lift the pot.
“No! You come and sample some of my hospitality.”
Harry could see conflict looming: “Fine … Draco put that down … Let Hamish reciprocate … after all he’s stayed under our roof quite a few times.”
Draco saw reason and quickly got up. It did not take five minutes before they were being welcomed into Hamish’s new abode.
The front parlour had been made into a book-lined study with a big leather topped double desk in the middle; there were also a couple of Albus-like machines puffing away near the window, none of them resembling the Pink Toad’s apparatus, Harry was pleased to note. The main room was equipped with deep leather chairs; Draco told them about remembered peeping visions into his father’s den in happier times, with smoke curling from thoughtful mage's pipes. A closed gate-leg table stood against one wall flanked by two ornately carved dining chairs. The kitchen was tiled in delft-ware and had a single-place breakfast table against the wall. Outside, the back yard had been enclosed by a small glassed-in patio and overlooked a pleasant paved area with potted shrubs and flower boxes.
Upstairs, the previous owners had divided the larger main bedroom. The front and slightly larger part was for Hamish; making the converted rear section into a bathroom. The other small front bedroom contained three two-tier bunks and a higher curved ceiling using part of the attic to accommodate the extra height. The rear and smallest bedroom had been extended over the scullery and also contained a heightened ceiling and another two-tier bunk.
“I’m told the previous owners had a series of twins and now needed more space to house their growing family. As you can see we have a patio, but not as roomy or ornate as yours. With armless chairs we can accommodate the maximum of twenty plus a couple of extras. If we move the big table to one side, this makes an adequate musical practice room also.”
They returned to the lounge and Draco sat in one of the chairs; accepting a mug of coffee from Harvey: “So you’re planning some goblin musical event.”
“Quite a few goblins are musical. And I’m thinking of rejuvenating the choir at school. A number of them will not be going home at Christmas and Minerva has given permission for me to bring them here.”
“Any musical elves in mind?” Harry asked.
“Yes, but they are unable to focus on holding their images and concentrate on the music at the same time. So I’m holding back on involving them at the moment.”
“We’ll have to address that soon, or risk a feeling of racial exclusion.” Harry looked thoughtful.
“Before you start fishing again, you promised me a walk around the village and I’ve not had one yet.” Draco pretended to look cross.
“Count me out, Harry. I still have a lot of books to sort out.” Hamish picked up one of said items from his desk and waved it onto a half empty shelf.
“Would you mind putting off that delight yet again, Draco? We have Gran all next week, in case you’d forgotten. I want to be up to date with my marking so’s to be free for her classes.”
“Spoilsport … Hmm … Yes, I had forgotten … I’ve got marking to do also.” Draco heaved a big sigh or two: “Honestly Harry, I’m not sure my mental capacity is up to it tonight. It’s going dark so I wouldn’t see much. How about we go and laze about for a bit, have an early night and cabinet over to Hogwarts after Sunday lunch. I find that our apartment is more conducive to work than here.”
“That’s good,” remarked Hamish: “The cottage blessing is next week. I hope you two will be compos mentis enough to attend.”
“Um … We’d love to Hamish, but I’m having a couple of glasses of butterbeer before we retire. Goodnight Hamish, see you at church in the morning.”
Hamish replied in the affirmative and two shattered seneschals ambled back to their pad. The lounge was boisterous, Dumbledorians all chattering at once, or playing noisy games. Splashing in the pool took too much energy and the thought of sitting in the study was too much like work. In the end they took a flagon of butterbeer and two glasses, plus a small lantern; using the secret passage to find quietude poolside by the old temple. A couple of hours later they trickled to bed and set up a duet of snores.
~~~ SUNDAY 27^th ~~~
They were feeling much better when the bells called them to divine worship. In John’s sermon he talked about ‘grasping the nettle’. It was probably about listening to the Spirit’s promptings, and then acting upon them immediately. However, for Draco and Harry they felt it was a message about doing boring and unwelcome jobs. Their blessing at the altar rail gave them the courage to go and start marking their students’ papers which had been neglected owing to a duty weekend and the Wizengamot meeting that weekend.
Their meal at the Farmers Arms was not leisurely; they wanted to get on with the task before they were tempted to while away their time. Somehow they kept each other on the straight and narrow; cabinetting with Hermione, Blaise and Justin, who were bent on the same course. To keep their momentums going they purloined a small classroom, sitting around a table with their work in neat piles. There were a few light moments, when one or other of them found a hilarious mistake, but by and large they kept each other’s nose to the grindstone. No dinner, but sandwiches and a mug of soup kept them at it. Ten thirty and a number of sighs of relief had them up-to-date.
“Fancy a bit of supper, Hermione?”
“Mmm … Come to think of it I do feel empty … Yes, please, Draco?”
Pop: “I’ve set out your meal in the Green Ladies Room. Don’t let it go cold.”
“Thanks Winky,” Hermione chuckled: “You sounded a bit like my mum used to.”
She smiled: “There’s a fish soufflé just coming out of my oven, so be quick.”
“That’s one of my favourites.” Draco got up and ran to the door; Blaise was two places behind him. Harry and the others were more sedate only arriving at table twenty seconds behind their gourmand mates. The meal was delicious, the sweet was crème brulée surrounded by glacé cherries.”
Draco was feeling mischievous: “Quite an acute meal, don’t you think, Hermione.”
“Yes, the accent was on our enjoying ourselves,” she replied light-heartedly.
Harry chuckled quietly.
Justin looked bemused: “How can a meal be called cute? It’s not a proper description. Now I’m quite happy to call my boyfriend cute …”
He was drowned by roars of laughter, before Draco explained about French spelling.
Five minutes later Hermione was still giggling as she wished the two seneschals goodnight.
- 46
- 47
- 48
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Harco Empire