Chapter 5
A stop at the tea merchant’s got Harry some nice tea and a teapot, enough for a day or two, but he knew that he’d have to buy as much as he could, to take with him. Thank heavens he was a wizard and could cast shrinking and featherlight charms on barrels, he just knew he was going to get plenty of practice at that.
By that point, it was time to meet Joss to visit the horse traders and see about some ponies.
~~~
March 14th 2920
Joss and Harry, with Teddy still on his chest, stopped at the tent that was the horse traders’ office and waited until the clerk was free.
“Master Joss.” The clerk nodded to Joss and after flicking a glance back and forth between Harry and Joss, nodded to Harry. “Sir. How can we help you, today?”
“Young Harry, here, needs some ponies.” Joss answered. “At least two, but more like four. We’re putting a fifteen-foot wagon together for ‘im, along wif a small shop-cart. Four-foot.”
“Why both?”
“The wee bairn.” Joss said. “Harry ’ll need somewhere fer Teddy ta sleep and he’ll also need to make a coin, to keep him fed.”
“Oh, yes, I see.” The clerk nodded. “A lot of travelling to do?”
“Aye, the Iron Hills or the Blue Mountains, he’s not sure yet.” Joss said. “He came from one and was headed to the other, but the storm last week, it sunk the ship the dwarven party were travellin’ on. Not everyone got picked up.”
“Oh, dear.” The clerk looked at Harry. “I’m sorry for you losses.”
Harry just nodded, he was still in a bit of shock, even three days after Hogwarts. And things were moving so fast...
“Aye.” Joss sighed. “So, he’s gonna need good wagon ponies.”
“I’d say so. Just let me see… hmm… I think Dafid might have what you’re looking for. Let me call him in.” The clerk ducked to the back of the tent and pulled one of over a half-dozen ropes, once, twice, three pulls and he was back in his seat. “Dafid should be along in a bit. Have a seat if you would.”
They’d barely sat down, before a man that made Harry blink in disbelief, entered the tent and asked them to follow him. It wasn’t until they were back outside, that Harry realised that while he might have thought the man looked like Snape, the only real similarity was the hair and the way he moved.
“Now, then, Master Joss. What can I be doing for you?” Dafid asked.
“Young Harry, here, needs some ponies. He’s travelling north, to the Iron Hills or to the Blue Mountains, and as he’s got the bairn, he needs a wagon for the bairn to sleep in and a shop-cart to earn his coins, to keep them both fed.”
“What size wagon? And how big’s the cart?” Dafid wasn’t wasting anyone’s time.
“Fifteen-footer and four-foot.” Joss replied. “A plains-runner chassis that we’re building on, keeping the weight down as much as we can. The cart’s a wicker box-cart that we took the top off of and built a box on it. He’ll be looking to buy and sell locks, keys, lockboxes, coin pouches and purses.”
“Traces on the both or shafts on the cart?”
“Shafts on the cart.” Joss answered.
For the first time, Dafid looked at Harry and spoke to him. “Will you be wanting a couple of big ponies or a larger team of smaller ones?”
“I think… larger ponies.” Harry remembered working with full size horses, but he wasn’t as tall now as he’d been then and reasoned that the size comparison would be fairly similar.
“Do you want breeding mares or geldings?”
“I’m not certain.” Harry said. “Let’s assume mares but if I don’t like them, then I’m open to adding geldings. But they have to be gentle, I’ve Teddy to consider.”
Dafid looked from Harry’s face to the sleeping Teddy and nodded. “Fair enough. I’ve a few slightly heavier Standard Cob mares that might suit. Down this way.” He led them down a narrow alley between the yards and past many horses and ponies. About two hundred yards from the clerk’s tent, he stopped and laid his hand on a solid timber fence. “These are mine. Let me move some into that yard there and you can check them over.” A few minutes of ponies shuffling around and Harry found himself looking at eight or nine ponies that were milling around in second yard.
“That black’s nice.” Joss said. “For a lighter wagon pony, that’s the pick of the bunch, I’d say.”
The pony in question wasn’t all that tall, Harry would be able to look over her shoulders, but only if he went up on his toes, which put her somewhere around 14hands. She had a solid build without being top-heavy, strong legs with delicate feathering around her hooves, small ears that were pricked forward and a bright, glossy coat.
“I like her.” Harry agreed.
“Aye. She’s me best.” Dafid nodded. “She pairs well with just about any of me other mares, not too fond of working with a gelding, but once she’s put em in their place, she gets on and does her job well.”
“That brown, there.” Harry gestured. “What do you call her colouring?”
“Them we call bay-duns.” Dafid replied. “But that one’s a handful. She might be too much around the babe.”
“No, not her, then.” Harry conceded. “What about that grey?”
“The one with the blue ribbon on her headstall?” Dafid said. “Aye, she’s good, nice and calm.”
“And that black there, she’s not as nice as either of the other two but still quite decent.” Joss said.
“And that yellow-dun.” Harry pointed at a mare hanging on the edges of the group.
“You want all four?” Joss asked.
“The two blacks, the grey and the dun?” Dafid asked.
“Yes, I think so.” Harry replied. “I’d like to handle each one, first. Just to make sure that I can and that they like me and Teddy.”
“Aye, might be wise.” Dafid nodded. “I’ll catch em and tie up for you.”
Ten minutes later, Harry knew that he was going to take all four mares, if the prices weren’t too high.
Five minutes into negotiations and Dafid stopped and looked at Harry, who was just enjoying the process of haggling for the sake of it.
“You’re enjoying this, ain’t ya?” Dafid asked, a smile on his face.
“Yeah.” Harry shrugged. “I rarely got to do the buying and haggling is fun.”
“Fun, he says.” Dafid shook his head. “Alright, I’ll throw you something. The black, the... smaller one?”
“The… lesser… one?” Harry didn’t quite know how to describe one pony that wasn’t as good as another. She wasn’t poor quality, just… not as good as the other mare.
“Aye, her. Five miles this side of Edhelland, is the big horse fair. It’s a permanent setup, but the traders themselves change from month to month… you take her, pay Ç2 for her and for another crown I’ll house and feed the four of them, see to having them freshly shod and getting harnesses fitted for them all. And if by the fair, you’re still doubting her, go see my brother, Horf. I’ll give you a letter explaining all this, and he’ll refund you a Ç1, Š5 for her, and her harness, and help you find a replacement or two.”
“Done.” Harry said.
“The grey and the dun are both Ç2, Š7 and I’ll do the same with them.” Dafid offered.
“Ç2, Š5 but I’m keeping them both. The grey likes Teddy and the dun didn’t flinch when the wind blew that shirt onto her pen.”
“Ç2, Š5, then.” Dafid agreed. “And the black.”
“Now, her I like.” Harry nodded.
“She’s a top mare, works well and is a proven breeder, her first foal is being broken right now and is taking to it well. Ç3, Š7.”
“That’s a bit of a jump.” Harry observed.
“That’s the difference in the quality.” Dafid explained.
Back and forth they bartered until they reached an agreement.
“Ç3, Š2.” Dafid said. “Ç3, Š2 for the black. Ç2, Š5 each for the grey and the dun and Ç2 for the lesser black. Breeder’s papers for all four mares, included. Another crown and I’ll see to having all four freshly shod, will house and feed them tonight and tomorrow night, will see to having harnesses fitted for each mare and will provide you a letter to give Horf, stating that he’s to refund a Ç1, Š5 for the lesser black and to help you replace her.”
Harry rocked his head from side to side as he thought through what Dafid was saying, before nodding.
“Agreed.” Harry said and held out a hand to shake on it, Dafid took his hand and the deal was done. “Oh, with the papers? How do I know, which belongs to which mare?”
“Each document tube has a tag on it and there’s two matching tags, one for the mare’s headstall and another for her harness or bridle.” Dafid answered as he lead them back to the clerk’s tent.
“Excellent.”
Dafid explained what he and Harry had agreed on and when Harry counted out the appropriate number of coins, the clerk wrote him a receipt. The whole transaction was remarkably quick and easy and after promising to drop in and check that everything was going to schedule, at some point the next day, Harry and Joss left.
Harry followed Joss back to the cartwright’s shed and was quietly amazed at how much Joss and his sons had got done in the six and a half hours since they’d started. Joss agreed that his sons were doing well and stated that they expected to have the wagon done and ready for delivery to Tavric’s house by mid-afternoon, the next day.
~~~
Back at the Tavric’s house, Harry saw to a feed and bath for Teddy, before putting the infant into the rocker/cradle, that the house’s steward provided and seeing to the sorting of the day’s purchases and where applicable, crossing them off his list. He opened his pack and pulled out Hermione’s letter and wondered whether he should check out the training memories that night, or if he should wait until he’d left the city.
A whiffle from Teddy decided him. He had to do this while there were still people around him, that could care for Teddy if Harry passed out or became ill. He retrieved the small bottles and laid them on the bed, along with the bag of marbles and the sewing kit, while everything else was tucked back into the pack and slid under the edge of Teddy’s crib.
He cupped the six bottles in his hands and whispered over them. “I solemnly swear I am up to no good”, and watched as each bottle morphed from a short, squat glass bottle, to long, slender phials, the contents going from opaque creams to the slightly iridescent, translucent shimmer that Harry associated with extracted memories. Around each one was a slip of parchment and Harry quickly eased one free and read what was written on it.
Mr Potter.
These memories were initially requested by Miss Hermione Granger, however we at Gringotts have decided to take this further than Miss Granger requested.
She requested a training memory of knowing occlumency and legilimency and a second of childcare and while we have provided them, we claimed the contents of the other four memories, as part payment for our involvement.
This was done for a number of reasons. As thanks for removing Riddle as a threat to the wizarding economy. As an apology for a goblin’s betrayal. As an apology for failing to uphold your parents’ Wills. And as an apology for failing to insist upon a meeting with you, on your return to the wizarding world, as is our standard policy.
But probably the most significant reason is because we at Gringotts, have a fair idea where the Veil will send you. This is because the few beings that have emerged from the Veil, all came from the same world. A world that requires specific tools and knowledge to survive. We may not be able to give you much in the way of actual equipment, but we can provide you with training memories of how to use that equipment, once you acquire it.
A training memory allows you to learn the theoretics of a skill, almost instantly, by placing in your mind, the memories of someone who has that skill. As you are one of the few wizards that are physically fit, you will be able to access the knowledge the memories provide and when pressed, you will be able to use the various tools mentioned above, far more effectively than most other wizards, even if not as proficiently as the original memory provider.
One memory covers both occlumency and legilimency. One will cover the basics of paediatric childcare, including how to treat most of the common childhood illnesses, both those experienced here and from the location that we believe you will be deposited into.
The other four memories are more specific. One is of archery and hunting, we understand that you are an excellent seeker, this may be of benefit to you, but we are uncertain as while goblins are acceptable at archery, we do not have the ability to loft a broom. Another memory is sword-fighting, we understand that you are quite familiar with a certain sword and have used it in defence of innocents, so we hope that this memory will be of great use to you. A third memory is knife-fighting, we have no certainty that you will use this skill, but we hope that if you do, the knowledge that we give you, will help you in protecting your godson and yourself. The last memory is the one that we were the most hesitant to provide, as we saw little true use for it, but our human employees that were consulted on the matter, all insisted that hand-to-hand-combat fighting be included.
If you decide to not use any of these memories and we suggest very strongly that you do use them all, whether you use the skills or not, having the knowledge means that in an emergency you are better prepared. But if you decide against it, destroy them, don’t leave them for a muggle to find.
To transfer a memory from the phial to your mind, simply insert the tip of your wand into the mouth of the phial and say ‘tenere', the memory with adhere to the wand tip and will automatically transfer when you press the tip to your temple. It is fairly much the reverse of extracting a memory for viewing.
If you start with the occlumency/legilimency memory first, you will find that the other memories assimilate much easier and the after-effects will be a much lower grade headache. Within minutes of transferal, you will be able to access the knowledge they contain.
The sewing kit has what equipment we have been able to provide and if you transfer the training memories, you will know what each piece of equipment is and how to use it and care for it.
We at Gringotts wish you farewell and all the best for your future.
Harry read the letter a second time and nodded, he would put Teddy down for the night and then transfer the memories, who knew what he would need and when. Then again… the better prepared he was for whatever was coming… After all, Tavric was going to have him tested the next day to see what his skills were, as he needed beads.
He still shook his head whenever he thought about it. Beads in his hair. Him? Really?
~~~
After a pleasant meal with Tavric and his household, Harry said goodnight and retreated to his room. He fed Teddy again and changed yet another nappy, placing the dirty one in the bucket the staff had provided. Then he sat on his cot with his back to the wall, Teddy on his lap, telling the boy stories of his parents. And pointedly ignoring the tears wetting his own cheeks.
Only once Teddy was asleep in his cradle, did Harry turn his attention back to the memory phials. Thankfully, each was clearly labelled, so he took a few deep breaths and transferred the occlumency/legilimency memory and let it set into his mind.
It was the strangest feeling, to suddenly understand what Snape meant, when he’d been trying to teach Harry occlumency.
The next five memories were transferred with only a few minutes between each one, just long enough for him to understand what each contained and then let his newly acquired occlumency place them in his still forming mindscape.
Then he lay down and went to sleep.
~~~
March 15th 2920
Harry woke to the distressed whimpers of a fretting Teddy and after a heart-stopped second, before he realised what he was hearing, he leapt to his feet and staggered across the small room to Teddy’s cradle and scooped the baby up into his arms.
“It’s okay, cub, I’ve got you. It’s okay.” He kept a mantra of this up, until Teddy settled slightly, then he quickly set about removing Teddy’s dirty nappy and cleaning him up, before fastening him into a fresh nappy and clean clothes. Then he set out to find the kitchens, he needed fresh water for Teddy’s bottle and some tea for himself.
The cooks were pulling fresh bread from the ovens, when Harry peeked his head around the doorframe, and they waved him in with smiles and assurances of tea and a hot breakfast. He told them what he wanted and why and in minutes Teddy was sucking away at his bottle while Harry had a plate of still steaming bread, thick creamy butter, fried eggs, bacon, sausages and tomatoes and pot of tea, alongside a jug of fresh milk and a jar of honey.
“You’re early this morning, Harry.” Tavric greeted him as he entered the kitchen.
“Good morning, Tavric.” Harry saluted him with a mug of tea. “Teddy woke me, he needed a change and a feed.”
“He seems quite happy there.” Tavric grinned.
“Hopefully that will keep him topped up for a few hours.” Harry replied. “There’s a lot still to get done and I’m running out of time.”
“Talking of that?” Tavric said. “We’ve a Master Beadsmith staying with us, I suggest you meet with him, first, and let him get started on some replacement family beads for you and maybe get a set put aside for Teddy.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Harry agreed.
“Then once your breakfast has settled, we can look at some trials for you.” Tavric offered.
“Probably a good idea.” Harry nodded.
“I’ve offered the Beadsmith my office, at least to start with. And he’s even earlier at rising than you are.”
“Well then…” Harry grinned. “Would he object to me taking a mug of tea with me? Would you?” It was his office, after all.
“Nay, lad.” Tavric laughed. “I took him a pot in, only a few minutes ago, but a fresh one’s not a bad idea. Oh, and the steward found a portable bassinet with folding legs, he had it put in my office as he knew you would be meeting with the Beadsmith this morning.”
“Ooh, that might come in handy.” Harry finished his tea and as Teddy had finished his bottle, he approached the sink and one-handedly washed and dried the bottle and dropped it in the small satchel that now hung from his belt. Then he made up a fresh pot of tea and blinked as the cook prepared a tray with the teapot, milk, sugar, lemon, honey and some delicate little savoury scones/biscuit things and hooked a handle over a pair of brackets on the tray’s ends.
“That’ll work.” Harry grinned. “I need to pick up a bag with some things that the Beadsmith might be able to use, before I head his way.”
Back in his room, Harry checked Teddy’s nappy and was pleased to find him still clean and dry. He then pulled out the bag of marbles and dismissed the goblins’ transfiguration on it and its contents. He had no real idea of what was there but other than his parents’ wedding rings, he didn’t really care. Then he hunted up the few silver and gold ingots that he hadn’t changed for sovereigns and crowns, along with the bag of mithril and a bag of gems. Maybe the Beadsmith could use them?
It took him less than two minutes to get from his room to Tavric’s office. He tapped on the open door’s frame to announce himself and nodded politely to the Beadsmith, when he was called in.
“Have a seat, lad.”
The Beadsmith gestured to a seat beside what Harry assumed was a portable cradle/bassinet. And as Teddy was whiffling his little snores, Harry had no problem slipping him into the cradle and giving it a little push to see how it moved. It bounced gently, up and down, and Harry let it move as it would and turned his attention to the Beadsmith.
“I heard about the storm, lad.” The dwarf said. “I’m sorry for your losses.”
“Thank you.” Harry nodded. “So am I.”
“You lost all your beads.” The Beadsmith said.
“I lost almost everything.” Harry said, letting the dwarf think he meant in the storm.
“I’m Master Sílor, son of Tarin, son of Rinnic.” The Beadsmith said formally.
“And I am Harry, son of James, son of Fleamont.” Harry replied just formally. “The whiffler there,” he jerked his head towards the cradle, “is Teddy, son of Remus, son of Lyall.”
“I understand that we need to replace everything?” Sílor phrased it as a question.
“Yes, please, Master Sílor.” Harry said.
“First family beads. Have you any family left?”
“Other than Teddy? No, I don’t and neither does he.” Harry shook his head.
“In that case, you have two options.” Sílor said. “You can replicate your family beads, identically, or you can recreate them, redesign them, create something new.”
“Would I have to use the heavy geometric symbols, or could I do something totally different?”
“In what way?”
“My parents died when I was very young, little more than a year old. Their friends told me stories about them. My father had an affinity with stags. Could I use a stag on his bead, rather than a block design?”
“Oh, that would depend on the design. It’s traditional to have angular designs on family beads, but angular doesn’t necessarily have to be squared or blocky.” Sílor replied.
“So, if I had an angular drawing of a stag, you could use that?” Harry asked.
“I could. Depending on what type of bead you want. A traditional bead or a more versatile clasp.”
“I don’t understand, why would it matter?”
“Size mostly.” Sílor replied. “Putting an image on a traditional bead is nigh on impossible, the surface is so small. Best off to use a block shape. A clasp, however, has a larger and oft-times, flatter surface. Better for images. Most Craft-beads are actually clasps, as opposed to traditional beads.”
“Right…” Harry nodded his understanding. “Let’s go with clasps. What about materials?”
“Family and mourning beads are usually done in silver or gold. You can add gems or other metals, as you please. It’s only Craft-beads that are done in steel, but we can talk about those after your Trialling.”
“Let’s see about a stag for my father.” Harry said, suddenly glad that he was making beads for his parents, that he would wear for the rest of his life. He had a quick thought, that maybe he could consider tattoos, they’d be even more permanent. Later, beads first.
“A stag.” Sílor nodded in approval. “Metal?”
The next hour flew by as Harry designed beads for his parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, Fred, George, Dumbledore and McGonagall. And surprising Harry, Snape. He also wanted to do one each for Tonks’ parents, which was really difficult as he didn’t know anything about them. Eventually, he figured he could a star for Andromeda and a stylised version of the healer’s winged staff, with two snakes, in memory of Ted’s medical assistance after Harry and Hagrid had crashed Sirius’ bike. He actually took longer to decide on something for Tonks but finally, he went with a butterfly, a bit trite maybe, but he always associated Tonks with the colour purple and purple with butterflies.
Sílor waved him off with instructions to pop back after lunch, he should have family beads for James, Lily and Harry done and possibly a few of the mourning beads for some of the others.
Gathering up Teddy and the portable cradle/bassinet thing, he did a quick stop in his room to change Teddy, again… before headed to the courtyard where Tavric was waiting for him.
“Ready, Harry?”
“No.” Harry laughed. “I’ve never done this, so…?”
“You’ve not been Trialled before?” Tavric's brows rose in surprise.
“Nope.” Harry shook his head. No, the only trial Harry had been through had been a legal one not a physical one.
“Ah…” Tavric grunted. “Right. Well, first we’ll test you in hand-to-hand. Not a lot of people teach that, these days, but every now and then we find someone that teaches the old ways. Then it will be knives, throwing them and fighting with them. Then axes, throwing and fighting. Followed by the sword.”
“Right.” Harry nodded. “I’ve never used an axe for anything other than cutting wood, so that should be interesting. Oh, can we test for archery, too please? I mean, obviously I’ve got no bow but…?”
“We can, I’ll send you with Harlan for that.” Tavric said. “Hand-to-hand and knife-fighting are with Karol, he’s the most skilled I’ve ever seen. If you can stand against him for close to two minutes, we take that as having qualified for your utrab bead. Four to six minutes gets you a Tarbûn bead. Anything longer and you get a Tarbûnel bead.”
“Okay…” Harry drew the word out, clearly showing his disbelief in his skill.
Three hours later and Harry was exhausted.
He weakly smiled at Tavric and headed for his room, he needed to change and feed Teddy and wash himself, before he even thought about food and meeting with Sílor, again.
A nap would be nice, too, but he couldn’t see that happening, mores the pity.
Dunking both he and Teddy in the warm water of the bath-house and watching the tension drain out of the boy’s tiny body, lightened Harry’s heart, even if it didn’t do anything to alleviate his own tiredness. A bottle for Teddy and a massive hot sandwich for Harry and the afternoon started. First, with a lightening fast visit to let Sílor know that he still had a few more trials left to do and would be back once done with Harlan. Then it was across the city to the City Guards’ Training ground to meet with Harlan, who was a very tall man, almost as tall as Hagrid.
Teddy dozed in the cradle in the shade of a canvas awning, on the edge of the archery butts, while Harlan put Harry through a series of challenges, testing him at different distances and target sizes, before calling out the names of items placed around the field and expecting Harry to hit them. This went on for nearly an hour and if Harry hadn’t been subtly casting episkey after episkey on his fingers, they would have been bloody and quite probably shredded.
By two o’clock, Harry was done with the expected trials. Tavric escorted him to Sílor and the three of them sat down together.
“Well, Tavric, how’d he go?” Sílor asked.
“Quite well.” Tavric replied. “Far better than we expected, given what Harry had implied.”
“Really?” Harry blinked.
“Really.” Tavric laughed. “You’re eligible for utrab for axemanship, although only just. Tarbûn for Hand-to-hand, knife throwing, axe throwing, swordsmanship and archery. But knife-fighting? Oh no, there you can claim Tarbûnel bead, if you want.”
“Tarbûnel?!” Both Harry and Sílor gasped.
“Aye.” Tavric nodded. “If you had family, I'd recommend claiming the bead, but not wearing it for a few years. You’re so young, there will be people who wouldn't accept it, if it were just you on your own or with your parents. But alone with a nadan dependant on you? It’ll be far easier to accept, people will assume you’ve worked harder because of him.”
“Yeah. “ Harry nodded. “Fair call.” He tilted his head in thought, while he’d been with Karol, he’d done a lightening fast bout of legilimency to gain a working understanding of the dwarven language and the runic alphabet they used, which wasn’t that different from the Elder Futhark that Hermione had taught him over the last year, and now he wondered if it was possible to claim a bead for that? “Question?”
“Yes, Harry?” Tavric asked.
“Is there a bead for… scholar?” He wasn't sure if that was the term that dwarves used, or not.
“Scholar?” Tavric frowned. “I don’t know that word. What does it mean?”
“Someone who studies, writes, reads, works with books.” Harry explained.
“Oh, a scribe.” Tavric said.
“There is.” Sílor added, nodding. “Tavric can test you on that, but before you get into that, craft beads are steel, they can be tempered to change their colour,” Sílor pointed to a series of metal disks, “so what colour would you like yours to be?”
Harry studied the disks and after a few moments, pointed to a simple grey. “I’m assuming, that I can polish them to a shine?” He asked.
“Of course, lad.” Sílor said. “Now your family beads and the mourning beads are almost done, but I haven’t laid in any gems, yet, I’d like to talk to you about them a bit more. I can have your Craft-beads done by supper, but the gems need good light, so I’d like to leave them ‘til morning.”
“You’re the Master,” Harry said, “whichever is easiest for you.”
“Harry’s going to come with me and I’ll test him on his scribe-craft and get him to look at a couple of locks and see if he can fix them or make new keys for them.” Tavric said. “By then Joss should be by with the wagon, which means that Harry’s going to busy putting his things into it and getting it set up right.”
“And I still need to get feed for the ponies and food stuffs for Teddy and I,” Harry sighed. “Tomorrow’s going to be so busy.”
“And you have to be out of the city before sunset.” Sílor added.
“Yeah…” Harry sighed again.
“Well, a few minutes with will tell me how capable you are with your runes.” Tavric said. “And if Joss isn’t here, you can do a run to the markets and have your purchased delivered.”
~~~