Toppers Wallow

On Saturday morning Hamish, Gregory, Dean and Seamus indicated that they were quite happy to look after the students if Draco and Harry wanted to attend the various happenings. After breakfast the Blakes went to look for Francis at his office. They apprised him of the housing situation and asked if they could bring Granddad and his adopted family to see him.



“I have representatives of the other families who want to sell coming to see me at ten thirty; they’ll be pleased I have some prospective buyers. They were grumbling about the previous solicitor’s ineptitude. I don’t know why, they really should have instructed a house agent, which is what I was going to advise them to do. I’ll hold off, at least until the two parties have chatted together. Say an appointment at eleven thirty? Will you be coming along too?”



“If Peter’s Granddad wants us too, we will,” answered Harry. “We’ll go and see them now.”



Our pair wandered over to the Farmers Arms to find the complete Manchester party just finishing a late breakfast.



“Hello Professors, I thought you’d be monitoring the fifth-years.”



“No Septimus, we aren’t; as you can see. Your joint persuasion of Professor Holderness seems to cover the whole weekend.”



“We were just going to take our parents for a walk round the village, care to come along?”



“Why not? We need to be back for eleven thirty as we have fixed an appointment with Francis for you to meet the house sellers’ reps.”



“Isn’t it wonderful, it’s one of the vicar’s coincidences?” Peter exclaimed in innocent glee.



Harry felt his inner voice was confirming what Peter had said; Draco sensed it too.



“I think it bodes well, Peter, yes; but let’s not count our chickens until they are hatched, mmm?”



“You know, Grandson; we mustn’t appear too eager or they’ll push up the price. Much as I feel your excitement we mustn’t let it show. Do you understand?”



“Yes Granddad. Perhaps we five had better not come to the solicitor’s office; we’d probably give the game away. Err … Professors … May we use your swimming pool when you go into the solicitors, please?”



“Of course you can, Peter. Is that all right with our musicians?”



Nods of assent clinched that deal.



The walk took them into the square along Ash Street, left into Oak Lane and round the south side of Godric’s Hollow using the Pastures Way, whilst Harry described about the village wards. When the party reached the river bridge Draco explained about the additional oval of wards which covered the path to the station. They did not go that way; instead they followed the river path towards the mill. Michael was there, still tinkering with the wheel. He was glad to show them round and talk about the project. Harry and Draco privately thought that he had not progressed much further than when they had visited last time. However the mill leat was now full and did not appear to leak overmuch, so the Blakes supposed he must have been working on that.



They arrived five minutes early at Francis’s office and were ushered straight in to the interview room. It was fairly crowded but everyone had a chair and seemed to be reasonably comfortable. One of the ladies there was the one that had lambasted Harry about being a lazy villager, although she seemed to have forgotten the incident. Therefore she started off on the wrong foot with our pair. She increased their loathing when she condescendingly asked why two teenagers were attending.



“Because we value the opinion of the village mage and his companion, Mrs Gaudery,” replied Granddad.



“Ridiculous middle ages rubbish, if you ask me,” she replied. “Be that as it may, we have these five beautiful cottages to sell and we understand from the solicitor that you are interested in buying.”



“That really depends on the price and whether we like the premises once we have been shown round.” Granddad was suitably cautious.



“Of course you’ll like them, we love them, but unfortunately our domestic circumstances have changed and, loath to go as we are, we are forced to sell our comfortable extra residences. We have made many improvements especially in the utilities area …” Mrs Gaudery continued on, speaking in estate agent’s superlatives.



Harry caught Draco’s dislike of the woman: ‘Let’s cast a truth spell on her, the answers might be more interesting.’



‘Not heard of that one before,’ Draco sent back.



‘I was reading up on it yesterday; I’ve not tried it yet because it requires some strength. I reckon we could do it easily between us.’ Harry conveyed the form of the charm to Draco.



‘VERITASIO VERBUM,’ they cast silently, concentrating on the Gaudery woman.



“… Beautiful views,” she was saying when the charm took effect. “Noisy kids splashing in the stream, dreadful smells in the spring when we open the windows, we complained about it of course, but nothing was done. No one bothers to clean the roads; I blame it on the lazy villagers and they’re rude to us too, when we suggest they do something about it. The dust at harvest time has to be seen to be believed. Then there’re all these biting insects, don’t get ’em in the city, not like that.”



Her companions were aghast at her change in attitude in revealing of their real reasons and tried to stop her speaking.



Like Umbridge in full flow she ignored them and continued to make complaints about their present weekend domicile. “… So you see why we must move,” she finished.



There was total silence in the room. Granddad looked at Draco who winked and made a hidden wand-waving motion with a finger. Granddad smiled in understanding, winking back.



“Well now Mrs Gaudery, I’m quite sure that because of your obvious distaste for the countryside you would be prepared to discount your asking price considerably.”



The charm was still working as she replied. “We’ll take any reasonable offer just to be shut of our secondary homes, so what do you have in mind?”



‘Bloody good charm, Harry.’



‘Yes, isn’t it? Took quite a bit of energy though.’



‘Definitely worth it, wouldn’t you say? Have a bit of chocolate.’



Two Blakes sat there with beatific smiles on their faces, munching restorative chocolate whilst Granddad clinched the deal, subject to inspection. Mrs Gaudery’s companions looked daggers at her, but had to agree the price.



Each set of parents went with one of the sellers to inspect the cottages; Draco and Harry stayed behind with Francis.



“I think you two had a hand in what went on. Didn’t you?” said Francis offering them coffee and biscuits.



“Yes … She’s a stuck up snob … She got up my nose on the day of the demonstration, and didn’t improve my opinion of her when she was so dismissive of teenagers,” replied Harry.



“Harry read up a truth charm, it’s not used very much as it takes a lot of energy. We found it quite draining, but it was definitely worth it,” added Draco.



“Would you prefer drinking chocolate?” Francis offered.



“YES PLEASE,” was their unison reply.



Francis buzzed his secretary to alter the refreshments; then continued, “Her companions thought they’d picked the most hardnosed of them to force a good deal. They’ll be furious with her for letting them down. How long does the charm last?”



“I’m not quite sure. It was used in the questioning of suspects before one of Draco’s ancestors invented Veritaserum,” explained Harry. “The book said that it made it easier for the guards to settle convicted prisoners in, but failed to say how long the effect lasted after that.”



“I suspect that if Peter’s Granddad’s families like the houses, we should be able to close the deal today before the charm wears off.” Francis giggled at the thought and rubbed his hands in anticipation of his transfer fee. They talked about his researches into the lord of the manor titles, from which nothing startling had emerged; then Francis went to see his secretary about the standard conveyance forms.



Draco promised Harry a drink as a reward for the morning’s entertainment. They said goodbye to Francis and his secretary, crossed the road and up a couple of houses to the Farmers Arms.



Noting that Richard was stocking a range of magicians drinks as well as his normal Muggle stock; the pair decided that Fire-whisky was a bit heavy for that time of day and settled for a glass or two of fleur-wine. They were on their third glass when Granddad’s family arrived.



“All right you two, what did you do to her? Not that I’m complaining one bit. She was still niggling about the awful countryside when we left after signing the contracts.” Granddad rubbed his hands together in anticipation.



“Harry read about a truth charm yesterday, so we tried a little experiment on her. It looks as though it works.” Draco tried to act nonchalant, but his pleased smile spoiled the effect.



“Please don’t try it on us.”



“It’s quite draining so you’re safe for a couple of days, at least,” Harry pointed out.



“The least we can do is buy you lunch. We got a very good deal; some of her blurb was quite near the truth. We won’t have to raise such a big bridging loan from Gringott’s, despite her acquaintances trying to up the price when we looked at the houses. All we have to do now is sell our houses in Manchester,” Septimus’s dad put in.



“That nice Mr Scalar next-door-but-one said he would give us a decent bargain. He wants to gather his extended family together, you know,” his wife added.



“That’s a good idea, Love; I’ll have a chat with him on Monday. The Smiths got a good price when he bought their house from them, so old Bert said. One extended family selling to another one seems to be very fair.”



The five students joined them for the meal.



“How soon do we move in?” asked Honorius.



“At the end of November, if all goes well, Chicken.”



“Aw Mum! Please don’t call me that in front of my friends.”



Four sets of student barnyard noises were his only answer; immediately followed by his mum hugging him and everyone giggling at his further discomfiture.



Richard came to take their orders.



“What do you recommend, Richard?”



“We have some very tender roast chicken with all the trimmings.” Richard was unable to get an answer as the whole party roared with laughter, including Honorius. When they had recovered they went along with his suggestion, Draco explaining quietly the cause of the joke. When the meat was served Honorius got the biggest helping.



“Just to even things out,” Richard muttered in Honorius’s ear, “I was called chicken by my mother, too.”



There was time for a leisurely coffee or two in the lounge bar before the party went to the station. The Mayor of Grumblewell was there to open the station officially. Peter played a fanfare on his trumpet, accompanied by his pals on woodwind. His worship cut the ribbon and John took over, blessing the various parts of the station and the accompanying house. A light buffet was laid out under the station canopy ready for when the railway dignitaries arrived by train. The greeting ceremony over; those present partook of afternoon tea. Dorothy’s team, all in spruce Muggle uniforms, served and cleared away in best country-house fashion, much to the Mayor’s and Mayoress’s delight.



Draco conveyed to Harry that he thought the Mayor and his wife had ever been treated to proper servants before; earning himself a thump on the shoulder from his grinning partner.



Afterwards there was time enough to attend the debrief and make notes on the outcomes before getting ready for the monthly dance. Many of the DS Members arrived. Those staying in the cottages used Magnet Alley to get to their abodes thus diffusing the number of people coming out of Harry’s front door. The fifth-years were not enamoured of the impending jollifications, but promised to come along just to support Harry and Draco. Ginny and Daphne arrived wearing dirndl skirts and some of the other girls had followed suit. Draco giggled when he saw them, and beckoned Harry up to their room.



“What we need are lederhosen, but I don’t fancy bare knees,” Draco said.



“Why?”



“To compliment the girls dresses, nitwit.”



Harry giggled.



Draco got to work with his wand. Soon both of them had leather knee-breeches on with wide leather braces joined by a broad chest strap, decorated with stylised flowers. White full length socks and a white shirt complemented the attire and to complete the set a long open green waistcoat.



“You sure this is all right, Draco?”



“It shows your bum off very well. How about mine?”



“Mmm delicious, stop flexing or I’ll attack you.”



“Great! Let’s go down.”



The girls were overwhelmed.



“You look really edible, Harry,” Ginny said. “Thanks for dressing up to partner us.” And gave both of them a peck on the cheek. Daphne followed suit.



A number of DS Members looked at their leaders’ get-up and disappeared. Half an hour later a regular Bavarian troupe led the way to the village dance. The fifth-years followed at a distance, no doubt wondering what they had let themselves in for. As soon as Mr Foley saw the Germanic group he called them over.



“I can call a couple of Austrian dances if you like?”



“Which ones?” asked Draco.



“A progressive Ländler and a Polka.”



“I’ve danced those before, all we need is the music.”



Crassus was nearby. “We have tunes for both, if you want,” he offered.



“Okay, but not at the beginning; let us get into the mood first.”



During the second dance Draco took a group of eight and went through the steps with them.



“This Ländler is very much like a waltz,” surmised Seamus.



“Yes, it is,” Draco replied, “the waltz grew from Ländler roots.”



“I think we could carry it off, don’t you?” Dean suggested.



They nodded agreement and went back to the fray.



Draco nudged Harry. ‘I can’t see any fifth-years sitting down, can you?’



‘No! They’re all on the floor making fools of themselves and thoroughly enjoying it.’



After their demonstration and the consequent free-for-all the leather clad party were enjoying some Butterbeer when John came up.



“Well done Dear Boys, you’ve got the parishioners talking about theming the dances, could be a lot of fun. I must say your students have taken to it. Look at them?”



The Blakes had to agree, some of the DS Members were taking a breather, but the fifth-years were all up and bouncing. Draco had agreed a progressive polka with Mr Foley and after another quick coaching session the second demonstration took place. Everyone piled on to the floor jostling in the tight packed space, tighter than a disco club with rave rockers.



Sitting it out for the next session; our pair were approached by two old ladies.



“Thank you for the polka, it brought back such happy memories for us. Our husbands came from Austria, and we were married there between the wars. We escaped just as the Nazis moved in; we had dual nationality then, so it was comparatively easy for us. Many of our friends disappeared, but that’s past waters now. Thank you again, it was wonderful.”



During a sit-out two or three dances later, a pair of perspiring students came to their table bearing pint glasses of Butterbeer. Harry was about to scold them about underage drinking in public, but one of them beat him to the draw.



“Professors, we clubbed together to buy you these drinks as a thank you for bringing us here. We never thought it would be like this. We all thought your demonstrations were real cool. Cheers!”



Harry looked round and saw all the students waving to them, so he raised his glass, alongside his partner, and toasted them silently; not that they would have been heard above the music and jocularity.



DS Members and fifth-years were raring for more when the dancing stopped. They pestered the wind band to continue. Draco had an idea and went to chat to the Smiling Ones and Mr Foley.



“Form up for a conga,” he called.



After a quick demonstration they thought it would be fun. Draco took the lead and had two rounds of the marquee before heading out towards Magnet Cottage. The wind band had great fun, whilst three of them kept the repetitive theme going the remaining one would improvise. Two or three rounds inside the cottage weaving through the rooms and garden, managing to pinch snacks as they trolled through the kitchen, then someone stumbled and a pile of laughing students brought the line to an end. In sorting themselves out, they began to realise how exhausted they were; stumbling off to bed in a semi comatose state.



Harry shambled up the stairs with a very attentive Draco following him, eyeing every revealing flex of his lover’s leather trousers. Once inside the bedroom he pounced, stroking Harry’s increasing tension through the leather.



“I thought you were tired?”



“A certain body encased in tight leather has altered my mind.” Draco’s hand were caressing between Harry’s thighs.



Harry quivered in delight as the hands rose higher, rubbing against his trapped and straining monster. Harry latched on to Draco’s obsession, duplicating it to his great satisfaction. It took them ages to undress each other; each pausing to keep his mate’s libido at near boiling point. Only the threat of permanently stained lederhosen freed their appendages for the final fumbling fruition. Somehow the hot shower revived their passions and a further gratification took place beneath the cascading water; only then, after drying each other, did their bodies remind them of much needed slumber.