Pack!

               Chapter Eighteen

               After checking in with Linmy, Sirius, Oliver and Harry crowded together on Remus’s rug, looking a bit like a bobsled team, with Ollie in front to navigate and Sirius in back handling the carpet. A quick set of sticking charms, and charms to buffer them from the wind and cold, then they shot up and forward like they’d been launched from a rocket. Fifteen minutes later they tumbled from the rug in a laughing heap, uncontrollable giggles still sounding as they helped each other to their feet. They emerged from behind the barn where Sirius had landed them at Ollie’s direction, and headed for the house up the hill. It was a bit of a walk, but it gave Harry a chance to look around and see how a reasonably sized cattle operation was laid out, although it did seem abnormally quiet. He appreciate that a passing glance was no replacement for full understanding, and he knew he wasn’t going to get that from a simple walk and talk. They’d need to find someone, or several someones, who knew what they were doing to manage their livestock operations. Hopefully they already had that someone, but he supposed they could afford to leave the barns in stasis until someone got trained up, if need be.

               Ollie knocked on the door, smiling at the woman who opened it. She was older, tall and slim built, with a flowered apron over her jumper and jeans, covered in dust and holding a cloth wrapped broom like Athena standing with her spear. She pulled Ollie into a hard hug, yanking him into the house. “Oliver Wood, as I live and breathe. Who’ve ye brought to me door this braw day?”

               “Hello Mrs. MacPherson.” Oliver coughed a bit at the dust floating up from the hug. “This is my mate Harry Potter, and his godfather, Sirius Black. We’re about to flit with my parents and need to get hold of a herd of cattle and flock of sheep on the quick. Wouldn’t say no to a bunch of pullets and chickens, either. And I’ll be talking to Mr. Webb about some of his horses, if he’s of a mind to sell them to us.” Ollie turned grim faced, holding on to her hands and looking her dead in the eyes, serious as could be. “We’ve got a bit of a magical catastrophe inbound, Mrs. MacPherson. Another day or so and there’ll be no more magic to be found. We have a way out, but it’s permanent, no coming back. We need to be ready to start up a new home, and Harry remembered my family was in the cattle business, and that I probably knew people who could help. You’re our first port of call, if you’d be willing to part with some of your herd.”

               Mrs. MacPherson went from tan and ruddy cheeked to pale as day old milk. “Magic’s leaving, you say? Tell me true, Oliver Wood, no more magic, ever? How long do we have? John! John, get down here!”

               Oliver looked a bit taken aback. “Ah… we? Probably about 3 PM today? Is there something wrong, Mrs. MacPherson? Can I help?”

               Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs. “What’s the problem, Ailsa, love?” The man was heavily muscled and weatherbeaten, looking like he bench pressed the cows for fun. He had a handsome face that had identical Oliver eyes, the color of melted chocolate and lashes the envy of every girl.

               “Tell him, Oliver.” She gave Ollie no chance to speak. “Oliver says magic is leaving, today John. Today! He’n his family are leaving and want to buy stock, they need to leave and can’t come back. We need to leave with him, John. Callum and Lacey! We need to go with him.” She whirled back to Oliver. “We’re going with you. We have custody of our grandchildren, and both are showing signs of magic. Nothing we can’t handle, but I’ll not send them with you alone. John and I are coming. How much time can you give us to pack, and yes, take our stock. Take all of it.” She was clearly panicked and starting to spiral. John was holding her shoulders, whispering to her.

               Harry stepped in. “Excuse me, but I think we can help, and you can keep your stock, if this is something you want to do as an ongoing business? We’re not exactly sure what we’ll find where we’re going, but we have a need for a livestock operation, and I don’t know if we have anyone already going that has the relevant skills. Manpower we have, but specialized skills are something we’re still working out. There are a few non-magicals already in our group, we’re numbering about 300 currently, and we’d love to have you, if you’re convinced this is what you want. With a bit of legal fudging, we can take your house and any other buildings you have on the property and have you packed up in moments. So if you’d like to take 30 minutes or so to consider without panicking, we can spare that.”

               “No consideration needed, lad. Young Ollie wouldn’t lie to us about something like this, and as Ailsa says, we have magical children to consider. We’ll be going. Our operation is one hundred and six Devon Red beef cows, with a medium-ish dairy operation of thirty two Holsteins. We’ve got household chickens, two retired draft horses, as well as four working dogs and a dozen or so barn cats. Our granddaughter has four Vienna Blue rabbits and six Flemish Giants she raises for show. Our grandson has a pair of hedgehogs.”

               Harry turned to Ollie. “How do you want to handle this, Ollie? I think that makes us good on cattle, with the bonus of the dairy. Seamus is putting together a working dog concern, and I don’t know if anyone has thought about cats as pets or barn cats. A dozen won’t be enough either way. Still need more chickens, and if we want to preserve the rabbit bloodlines, we’ll need a larger breeding stock. Do we want to round up some more hedgies as well? And the horses, still to go.”

               Ollie thought a bit. “I think we can get all the current animals in one cattle barn, Harry. Mr. MacPherson, can you talk to your daughter to see if the rabbits are something she’d like to keep on with? Bearing in mind that there won’t be any rabbit shows for quite a while, if ever, but for pets yeah, we can make that work. If she’s up for it, meat and pelts would be something that could be useful if she wants to make it a going concern. Or we could outsource the production rabbits if she want to stay with pets.”

               John spoke slowly and with consideration. “Ailsa, love, the school bus should be arriving any minute. Why don’t you drive down to catch the kids before they get on, and bring them back to the house. It’ll give you a bit of time to calm and a chance to talk to them without pressure. I’ll take young Ollie and his friends out to the barns and see what his plans are for the stock.”

               Mrs. MacPherson took the keys her husband held out to her, running for the back door where an engine started up shortly thereafter. Mr. MacPherson then led the way to the nearest barn, another long walk back the way they had come. The quietness of the barns was due to it being feeding time, he explained. They stock came to set points in the field or barn for feeding and the dairy cows were in for milking, it being just gone seven in the morning.

               Harry and Ollie both noted that the electric milkers wouldn’t be an option, but neither had any idea if a magical dairy was even a thing. That said, Sirius thought it wouldn’t be a problem to charm the equipment to run on magic instead of relying on electrical power, but repairs would be an issue, and they’d probably wind up finding a some sort of happy medium between hand milking and the current setup. That was going to need to be a later problem, for now Ollie and John were deep in discussion about moving in the cows, if they had a sufficiently diverse set of bulls, and that they should outsource meat rabbits; at just gone eleven, Lacey was too young to take that on. Harry promptly sent a Patronus to Seamus saying they have a cattle ranch and dairy with it’s owner operator, and letting him know to ask if anyone wanted to start up a rabbitry for meat and fur, as well as someone obtaining a selection of cats or kneazles for pets and/or barn cats, and that they also already have someone for pet rabbits. And if anyone was doing the cats/kneazles, to check with Moppy as there was at least one they could have from Magical Menagerie, maybe more.

               Sirius had Harry set up one of the cattle barn doors, and he, Ollie, and Harry levitated hay bales in a magical bucket brigade into the loft. The loft was clearly expanded as they never seemed to make progress in filling it. John excused himself to go call his neighbor Jim Webb in regards to purchasing some of his Belgians. Jim agreed to sell eight young adults, six of which were mares and two were neutered males, as well as two older stallions. While John was at it, he placed a call to his frozen cattle sperm broker, asking for two dozen different bloodlines in Ruby Red and three dozen in Holstein. He about bankrupted himself on that deal, but he’d be able to pick it up within a few hours. He was taking it on faith that young Oliver had a way to keep it frozen long term. He called the rare rabbit breeder his daughter had obtained her initial rabbits from and asked for everything they were willing to sell, to include their papers. That got him two litters, one of eight and one of twelve, of Flemish Giants and three unrelated adults as well as four more Vienna Blues, two male and two female, not related to what Lacey currently had. He hung his hat on the hope that Oliver could assist with transportation and called his cousin Matt, asking if that herd of goats he won at his poker game last Friday night was for sale and if he’d be willing to sell him some of his Berkshire pigs, he wanted as many as he’d give up, to include a few boars.

               When Ailsa and the kids came back to the house, he sent them out to town. They were to clear out all their personal bank accounts, but not the farm account. He’d already about drained that one. Using their personal funds, no credit cards, he wasn’t going to skip out on a debt owed, thank you, they were to stop at the pet store for rabbit supplies, and he gave Ailsa the numbers of new rabbits. They’d need supplies for building new hutches and enough feed for at least a year. Every book they could find on medical care for the rabbits and hedgehogs, and if the pet shop had them, more hedgehogs with related supplies. They’d need to go to the breeder to pick up the rabbits and then to the cattle sperm bank to pick up his order. And to make absolutely sure they took the specialty cooler to transport that, he knew Ailsa understood they’d be pretty close to financially ruined if there was any damage. They should go now, it would take them a few hours to make the rounds and they needed to get back as quickly as possible.

               He walked back to the barn as they finished loading the hay he had on hand. Probably a good thing he’d recently bought that load. He filled in the trio on his acquisitions and asked about transportation for the freshy bought livestock. “I can go fetch them with the trailer, but it’d take hours, and I don’t believe you were saying we had many of them to spare. Also not sure I have enough cash on hand for gas, after all that,” he said, half shamefacedly.

               “Not to worry, Mr. MacPherson. If you want to sell any of the livestock to the community for someone else to take over that portion, we’ll buy it from you at a fair price, now or later. I’m also offering to float no-interest loans, so long as the loan is taken before we cross over, to anyone wanting to buy supplies for their business. It’s in everyone’s best interest that we arrive as stocked up as possible, both on a personal level and for community supplies. As a group, we’re seeing to feeding everyone for up to a year at our expense, and ensuring we have enough supplies that those that had to run with very little to their name will have access to enough to get themselves going. We’re going to take care of our own, sir.”

               “Son, that sounds just fine. I wouldn’t want to be keeping the goats, horses or pigs if you have someone willing to take them on. If you don’t, I can handle it for a bit, but I’ll need a fair few extra hands. I’m already at my limit running the dairy, and I’m old enough to think it might be time to pass that along too.”

               Harry ensured the man was serious about his wish to keep only the cattle part of his current business and was about to contact Charlie when Ollie spoke up. “Harry, I think I’d like to take on the horses. They’re almost as much fun to ride as a broom, and I’m thinking I have a fair few teammates on Puddlemere that might be interested in joining me. We could have as a team business, maybe. Sponsor ourselves, even,” he said, eyes dancing. “Mr. MacPherson, if you’ll tell me what you paid for the ten you just bought, I’ll pay you for them now. Harry, I want to buy one of the horse stables from you and can I please have a loan?”

               “All right, Ollie, can do. I’ll ask Dobby to pop over here in a few minutes, you can talk to him about what you think you’ll need. Ask for more than you think you’ll need, it’ll save time. Oh and here’s your stable, just add 20 galleons to the loan. I’m now realizing was an amazing gift these were from Mr. Stowe, please name at least one of the horses after him. Patronus message to Seamus Finnegan, Seamus, Oliver Wood is starting up a horse concern, and taking ownership of all horses we’re currently acquiring. Ask if anyone wants a herd of goats, a thirty-two cow dairy operation, and/or eighteen pigs, either all together or separately. If they do, they should Patronus Ollie in the next hour or so. He can give them directions to come see, they should come ready to buy. Arrangements can be made for Ollie to transport the stock and turn it over on the other side. For anyone in the room that is on the Puddlemere team, please have them contact Ollie, he has an idea. Oh, and please ask Dobby to pop over to me, I’m within easy range, no boost needed.”

               With that, Harry paused for a few minutes to think out his plans, then turned back to Oliver. “Ollie,” he paused as a Patronus arrived for Oliver. “Hey Ollie, it’s Jasper and Kent. Whatcha got going?” Harry held up a hand before Ollie could reply. “Ollie, I’m going to leave you here with your stable, plus the two barns. If Mr. MacPherson needs a loan, work that out with Dobby as well. I’m keeping the second stable for now in case we find more options for animals. Fill what you have as you please, you’re now livestock and feed acquisitions, it sounds like everything needed is pretty much here in this area. Sheep are dealers’ choice, but I’d strongly recommend getting breeds known for fine wool, the meat is nice but the wool is what we’re after, nobody wants to sleep with a scratchy blanket. Horses will be up to you personally, but here, this is for anything you’re buying on behalf of the community. If nobody comes through on the ad hoc livestock Mr. MacPherson purchased, buy them from him, we’ll figure out what to do with them later.” Harry handed Ollie a dozen stacks of bundled bills, all of them bearing a $100 face. Send a note to Seamus or Charlie if you need more community funds. Just take the stable and barns with you and load wherever you buy, screw the statute. You’re also in charge of getting the MacPhersons Pack!ed up. Here’s a couple trunks, should be enough for the house and outbuildings as well as any miscellaneous items. Sirius and I are going to head out on our manor house run, we’ll check back in with you every hour. If you want to drive back to Hogsmeade and floo back up to the castle you’re welcome to, or we can make arrangements to side along everyone to the school gates.”

Dobby popped in, startling Mr. MacPherson something fierce. “Dobby is here, Harry Potter sir, how can Dobby help?”

               “Dobby, Oliver needs a loan, and if you could listen for Ollie if he calls for help? We have two muggleborn children and their family to get back to Hogwarts, so any assistance you can provide to Oliver as he helps get them ready would no doubt be appreciated. Also, would you please tell Linmy that Sirius and I are travelling, looking for magical manor houses? We’ll check in every hour, but Oliver is going to be based here for at least a few hours. Oliver, if you’re asking your teammates to partner up, give them directions to fly out here, they can help you out and get things moving as fast as possible. You’ve got a hella lotta feed you’re going to need to load into the barns, more hands, light work, yadda yadda. Oh, and make sure you own the buildings for Pack!ing purposes. Okay, we’re off out. Sirius, rug, please.”

               “As sir demands; your chauffer awaits.” Sirius laid out the carpet, and bowed, handing Harry onto the carpet as if he were a maiden wearing the most delicate of gowns. “Jerk.” Harry commented, tugging on the hand holding his and pulling Sirius out of his bow and into a stumble onto the carpet, then Harry froze. Oh. Oh hell, now that’s a thought he should have had days ago. “Dammit all. Sirius, we need to get back to Hogsmeade, we can floo to Diagon. I just thought of something I bet nobody else did. Patronus message to Charlie Weasley, please let Linmy know Sirius and I are heading to Downing Street, I don’t think anyone bothered to inform the Prime Minister, and I have a galleon that says so. Any takers?”