Chapter 34
Lunch at the Kulkarni’s was as pleasant an experience as Harry could’ve imagined. They were wonderfully laid back and didn’t ask the usual slew of annoying questions about Harry’s school days. He was happy to be on a first name basis with Liam and Pash. Even Draco was enjoying himself, talking to Pash about muggle medical practices since she had been a nurse before they moved and had the baby.
“Oh it’s so nice to have company. Most people in this area are older and retired.” Liam sighed and leaned away from his plate.
“What do you do Harry? Li said you recently quit ministry work.” Pash asked.
“Oh he’s a sheep farmer now.” Draco said sarcastically.
“Really?” She tried not to laugh.
“Oh yeah,” Harry ignored Draco’s snide remarks. “I’m buying a place just up the road. Though I’m not sure it has enough sheep to be considered a farm.”
“That’ll be the old Bennington place. Nice piece of land.” Liam said approvingly.
“It’ll be wonderful to have you as a neighbor!” Pash smiled.
“I’m looking forward to it. When I get the place fixed up a bit you’ll have to come for dinner.” Harry returned her smile.
After a few more glasses of wine they decided to say goodbye and head back home. Inside Grimmauld the scent and sound of the city seemed more annoying than ever. Draco left to check back in with the case at the infirmary. Harry sprawled out on the couch and sighed.
“Oh Harry, there you are.” Narcissa moved into the room.
“Is something wrong?” Harry turned his head and watched her settle into the chair.
“Would you come with me to view an apartment tomorrow?” She asked with anxious eyes.
“Sure, I have business in the morning but I’m free in the afternoon.”
“That would be just fine.” She still looked nervous.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just so nervous. I don’t know how to do this. What if I pick somewhere horrible or my neighbors are horrible or the whole thing crumbles down around me?” The words flooded from her.
“I promise to help you find the perfect place.” Harry reassured her. How hard could it be? After all, just today he had stumbled upon his perfect place by accident. Narcissa relaxed at Harry’s promise and they sat in a comfortable silence as the sun slipped from the sky.
When Narcissa went to eat dinner Harry excused himself upstairs. He stopped in the workshop to grab his notebook. In the suite he sat at Draco’s desk and opened to the page that he had drawn the house on. For a long time he just stared at the little graphite house. Grabbing Draco’s script pad he wrote a short note and placed it on the open book where Draco was sure to see it.
I drew this, it’s what my perfect home would look like. Familiar? First you and now the house, it seems all my dreams are coming true. -H
Harry climbed into bed and stretched out. It was too early to go to sleep but that didn’t stop him. He wasn’t sure what time it was when he felt Draco crawl under the covers next to him. Harry rolled over and pulled Draco’s back against him. Content he drifted back to sleep.
In the morning Harry woke up cold and alone. He rolled over to find a book where he wished Draco might be. He picked it up and opened the cover to read the title page: Sheep Husbandry. He laughed and set the book down, checking his watch. With a swear he jumped from the bed and got dressed. It was much too late in the morning for him to be lounging around. He grabbed Draco’s gift and his workbook, throwing them both into his satchel.
Outside he pulled down the knit cap and ran to catch the train. Once he found a seat he let out his breath and relaxed. Checking his watch again, Harry calculated that he would have enough time to make it to the office. He pulled out the book to pass the train ride.
When at last his stop was announced Harry closed the book and felt slightly overwhelmed. How could there be so much about sheep he didn’t know? He let the bewilderment consume him until he reached the bank office. The woman was waiting for him, along with a man from the bank with a stack of documents.
Most of the meeting was boring legalities and burdening financial nuances. Harry's real attention was on a large satellite picture of the grounds with a thin stripe of red tape outlining the borders. Behind the paddocks the grounds extended into the woods. Harry could see from the image that there was a clearing with a pond some ways into the trees.
“Now, the seven acres here do not have to be purchased consecutively.” The banker waited for Harry’s response.
“I want it all. That’s what we agreed on.”
“It is,” the woman agreed. “And he will have it for the price we already worked out.”
“But the land is worth much more-“
“I’ve given my word.” The woman cut the banker off.
“Yes ma’am.” The banker shuffled his papers to find the correct forms.
“Can I ask you when the last time the house had an inspection?” Harry asked.
“We had it done when it was appraised, it’s perfect but old old old. They did say you can expect to need to redo the roof in a few years.” She made a face as if Harry’s dream home were her nightmare.
“The report-“ The banker tried to hand Harry the official inspection paperwork but he declined. He had no reason to look at it now. He figured getting the seven acres for the original price was worth any repairs it needed.
“Honestly Warren, is there anything else you’re required to say or can we get on with it? I want to sell the damn house, he wants to buy it.” The woman gripped.
“Sign here.” He gave her documents marked with little red arrows where her signature went and little green arrows for Harry’s.
“Now the official papers will be done up and sent out by the end of the week, assuming you’re still paying upfront?” He lifted an eyebrow at Harry.
“I plan to have the money transferred directly today if you have the time.” Harry answered.
“Great.” The woman stood and threw the keys to Harry who managed to catch them even though it was unexpected.
“You should wait for the transfer to go through.” The banker tried to explain.
“If it doesn’t take the keys back. I’ve got lunch plans.” She strode from the room leaving Harry and Warren staring blankly after her.
“Shall we?” The banker said at last.
By the time Harry had finished it was nearly a quarter to one. He wouldn’t have time to take the train back. He found an abandoned alley and apparated. Narcissa was waiting for him in the front entrance.
“I’m sorry.” Harry apologized as she pulled a long gray coat over her turtleneck.
“We have plenty of time.” She smiled but Harry still felt bad. A car pulled up and took them across town. Harry had offered to drive but apparently Draco’s stories of his ability had been more than enough to disway Narcissa.
The front of the building was flat and industrial. All the mixing metals made it feel cold and sterile. Inside wasn’t much better. The whole thing was one giant open, and not to mention ugly, room. Across the ceiling were exposed vents and pipes with odd proportions. The kitchen was really just a wall of cabinets and one lonely hob. The listing agent showed Narcissa two miniscule bedrooms as Harry stared out the large windows that didn’t open. He tapped his foot against the concrete floor and frowned at the space.
“Thank you for showing us. I’ll be in touch.” Narcissa said politely as she was being led out of one of the bedrooms.
“Well don’t take long, there are only two units left and I have seventeen showings left today.” The woman pursed her lips and walked to the kitchen. With a sigh Narcissa motioned Harry that she was ready to go. Outside on the street she was quiet.
“So that was…” Harry couldn’t think of a good word.
“Awful.” Narcissa finished for him. “I’m never going to find anything.”
“Yes you will. Come on, I have a quick errand to run and then we are going to sit down and figure this out.” Harry extended his hand and she took it. In a blink they were standing in front of the farm house.
“Is this the place Draco was telling me about?” She said with awe.
“Yes, and-” Harry held the keys up in front of his face with a smile. Narcissa clapped her hands together and did a little jump. Harry almost laughed to see her behave so.
“Well let’s see it!” Harry gave her a little tour around the outside and the brown dog was quick to find them. She waggled excitedly when Harry went to pet her. He frowned when he felt mud frozen to her belly. In the barn he found the large dog food bowls were empty and the water was green. He got fresh water and put out food while Narcissa looked out at the sheep. Seeing the barn door open, the white dog quickly herded all of them inside. Harry did a quick count and found that there were twelve. The dogs ate greedily while the sheep nestled down in the warm hay.
“What are their names?” Narcissa asked, pointing at the dogs.
“I don’t know yet, Draco is supposed to be working on that.” Harry shut the barn doors and left the sheep to sleep. The pair then turned back to the house with the brown dog following behind. Inside she sprawled out on her side on the kitchen floor. There was another food bowl in the house that was also empty. He filled that too before sitting down with Narcissa at the table.
“It really is a lovely place. I can see why you wasted no time.” Narcissa smiled.
“What is it that you want in a place?” Harry asked, grabbing a scrap piece of paper and a pencil from the counter.
“Well, it should have character.” She decided.
“Of course.”
“And regular, formal rooms, with walls and doors.”
“A must really. A room for Draco to visit, or maybe your sister?” Harry added.
“Yes, and a nice place for Tillie.”
“Okay, this is good. How about location?”
“I want somewhere close to shops and restaurants but not necessarily right underneath foot all the time… and maybe somewhere close to a park if Teddy was over.” She thought more about the location while Harry looked over the list.
“Narcissa?” Harry wrinkled his brow. “I think I’ve figured it out.”
“What?”
“This,” Harry held up the paper and tapped it. “This is Grimmauld. Grimmauld is your perfect place.”
Narcissa looked at the list and then at Harry. He set down the paper and waited for her to speak.
“I guess maybe I’ve enjoyed it quite too much.” She chuckled nervously.
“Well why don’t you just stay put then?”
“Oh Harry I couldn’t-”
“Of course you can! I can’t very well be shlupping back and forth all the time, what with the dogs and the sheep and the work. I need someone to watch after the house… and Kreacher.”
“So you would lease it to me? I’d be your tenant?” She asked. Harry could tell she would not stay at the house as an act of generosity.
“You’d be more of a permanent…” Harry waved his hand in the air as he struggled to find the right title. “Estate manager.”
“Estate manager?”
“Sure, you run the household and pay the elves and manage the property. In return you earn room and board.” Harry hoped he had framed it right.
“I don’t know…”
“Sirius wanted that house to have family in it.” Harry reached and grabbed her hand. “If you’re there and Teddy visits, and Andromeda visits, and I visit… then that fulfills his dream. It’ll kill me to have it sit empty.”
“Alright.” She smiled and Harry knew he had won. She sneezed suddenly and scratched her nose. Narcissa pulled her wand from her skirt pockets and flicked it through the air. With a simple curse all the dust and grime was gone from the house.
“There,” She sniffed. “That’s better.”
“Well that’s plenty. There will be no more magic for this restoration.” Harry stood and the brown dog jumped up. He looked down at her big sad eyes and knew she was lonely.
“You’ll have to take the train back.” Narcissa interrupted his thoughts.
“What?”
“You can’t apparate with animals like that.” She pointed to the dog.
“Well I certainly can't take her on the train like this.”
“She’ll probably be fine one more night on her own.” Narcissa offered, but Harry didn’t buy it. He looked again into those sad brown eyes and knew she was heartbroken. Her owner left, that bizarre woman came and left her outside, and now someone was here who would take care of her. Harry couldn’t leave.
“I might as well stay, I’ve got the keys anyways.”
“In that case, I’ll stay a while longer. Maybe we can get this kitchen cleaned up.” Narcissa took off her coat and opened a cabinet. The inside was packed with mix matched china dishes. She gave Harry a disparaging look. He took some out and found each plate and bowl was unique. He opened another cabinet where he found a collection of glasses that also didn’t match.
“Oh dear.” Narcissa stood in front of the open fridge. Harry looked around her and saw one badly curdled bottle of milk, a pack of old bacon, and several shriveled things he thought might be petrified beets. There was also a glass jar with medical writing on it. Narcissa threw all the food in the bin and did the same with the freezer. Harry left the glass medicine jar alone, he would find out how to get rid of it properly later. They worked to throw away old magazines and bits of paper. Finally the kitchen was clean and usable. Harry wiped down the counters and table while Narcissa opened a door on the far side.
“Oh.” She stared into the open room. Harry came to join her. They had not seen this room during their tour. It was a formal dining room with a heavy ornate table. There were six chairs and a hanging light fixture. Harry turned and looked at the table in the kitchen, it could easily fit eight.
“Well I certainly don’t need both.” Harry let out a half laugh.
“But it’s so pretty.” Narcissa touched the carved edge.
“Take it home then.” Harry shrunk the table set down and placed all the chairs and table into Narcissa’s hands.
“I thought you said no more magic.” She teased him.
“Special exception, just this once.” He winked and she carefully put the miniature furniture into her pocket.
“I expect Kreacher will have dinner ready soon.” She said squinting out the back window. “Should I tell him about the new house arrangement or do you want to do it?”
“Go ahead, if you tell him he won't have to hide his glee that I’m leaving.” Harry sat down at the table and Narcissa grabbed her coat.
“Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” Narcissa smiled and snapped into the air.