Chapter 38
“What?” Fred turned to look at Harry, who nodded to Gideon and Fabian.
Fred’s head turned a little more, before he caught sight of the older twins’ bright red hair, then he spun around, his eyes wide as he focused on them.
“Who…?”
“Hi.” Fabian waved. “I’m Fabian.”
“Oh my gosh…” Gideon whispered. “Little Freddie…”
Fred’s brows rose sharply and he turned his head to look at Harry. “Am I seeing things?” He said in a faint voice.
“If you’re seeing redheaded twins, then nope, not seeing things.” Harry poured himself a mug of juice and sipped at it. “Apparently, they belong to you.”
“Me?!” Fred squawked. “They’re not mine, they’re mum’s!”
~~~
August 3rd 2920
“Yeah, well, your mum’s not here, Fred.” Harry snorted.
“Bollocks…” Fred muttered. This had both Gideon and Fabian choking off laughter.
“Now, now, Fred.” Harry smirked. “They’re not exactly George, but they’re still family.”
Fred heaved a sigh, a very fake sigh. “I suppose so…”
“Alright, where are we putting them?” James asked. “Dwarf-friendly accommodation is limited.”
“Well, their timing is good.” Harry said. “Kestrel and Anneg moved out of the little cottage and into their smial this afternoon. Still have to hang a couple of doors, but they’ve moved their little bit of furniture in.” He looked at the Prewett twins. “So, you can have that cottage. Then we’ll need you to pick out a place to build your own place.”
“Ah, what about our stuff?” Fabian asked. “You mentioned maybe going and getting it?”
“Oh, right, I did.” Harry nodded. “Let’s get you some wands, first, then we can go.” He frowned. “How do ghouls react to a Patronus? Anyone know?”
“Ghouls are dark creatures, just with a mobility range.” Lily said. “They don’t like Patroni any more than a dementor does.”
“Great. So, we should be able to drive them away from us, with a Patronus.” Harry nodded. “Who here can cast a corporeal one? Besides Fred, Lavender, Colin and I?”
The other magicals looked from one to another.
“I can.” Tonks said.
“Same.” Remus added.
“Me, too.” James nodded.
“I haven’t tried, not since Azkaban.” Sirius shrugged.
“Mine is a doe.” Lily said.
“Mine is a Devonshire Red bull with unpolled horns.” Cedric said from the door.
“Gid and I never quite got ours corporeal.” Fabian grimaced.
“I think it should be Harry, Fred, Lavender and Colin.” Remus said. “They’re the most accomplished at them and they’re also the most effective fighters when it comes to actual weapons.”
“Weapons?” Fabian asked.
“Lavender’s shaping up towards being a Grand Master with an axe, Fred’s got a Master’s bead for the sword, Colin’s close to getting his for the staff.” Harry answered.
“And you?” Fabian asked.
Harry sighed. “I have a Grand Master’s in knife-fighting and a Master’s with Griffin Fangs.”
“I don’t know those last ones.” Fabian frowned.
“They’re a combination of knife and axe.” James said.
“Not really, dad.” Harry argued. “They’re based on a blade called a ‘ulak’, but Gringotts made mine and they said that they knew about this world and what I could expect here. They’re not… gentle blades.”
“If Gringotts made them, I can’t imagine that they would be.” Fabian nodded. “You do know that goblin is…”
“A bad word?” Harry finished. “Yeah, we do.”
“Good.” Fabian nodded. “Alright, so… Harry, Fred, Colin and Lavender? Can you all apparate?”
“I can’t.” Colin said.
“I can.” Fred countered.
“I can, but I didn't get my licence.” Lavender said.
“Same.” Harry grinned. “Going for the test, when Voldy controlled the Ministry, simply wasn’t an option.”
“I can imagine.” Gideon said. “So, three of you know how, but the lad doesn’t…” he grimaced, “if that’s the case, is taking him a good idea?”
“He’s got a strong Patronus.” Harry said. “Was able to cast it at fourteen. It’s a spaniel of some sort. You saw it, earlier.”
“That’s his?” Gideon asked, his brows arched. “Not bad, kid, not bad at all.” He nodded approvingly.
“But not being able to apparate…” Fabian grimaced.
“What about a portkey?” Harry asked. “Can anyone make them?”
“Nope.” James shook his head.
“No.” Lily said.
“Yes.” Sirius and Tonks both grinned.
“Yes.” Remus added.
“Me, too.” Fred said.
“Kind of illegal.” Fabian grimaced.
“Yeah?” Harry snorted. “And who’s going enforce it? The Ministry? Really? Here?”
Fabian grunted. “Huh…”
“Exactly. Not something we have to worry about.” Harry grinned. “Mum, are Gideon and Fabian right, or do they need more treatment?”
“They both need some boosters and some general treatments, but nothing that would stop them from going with you, to fetch their things.” Lily answered.
“Thanks, mum.” Harry grinned. “Alright, you guys work out who has the most experience and make us a half-dozen, something that will bring us back to the front garden. We can worry about re-usable ones later.” He looked from the adults to the younger dwarves. “Gear up. Heavy trousers, long sleeves and a leather jerkin. If you’ve got vambraces and other guards, wear them. Fred, the sword you’re most comfortable with. Lavender, your axe, whichever one you prefer. Colin, your staff, transfigure it, give it a core of fibreglass with steel tips, make it unbreakable. Meet back here in… half an hour?” He knew that Colin, as a muggleborn, would know what fibreglass was.
“Yes, Harry.” The three darted up the stairs towards the upper floors, Harry only a few steps behind them.
“Do you really think they can fight off ghouls?” Fabian asked.
“Harry trained them.” Remus said. “If he says they can, then they can.”
“And what about him?” Gideon asked.
“His Patronus kept a hundred dementor back, all at once.” Sirius answered.
The two redheads looked at each other. “Right, they’ll be fine.” Gideon nodded.
“We still need a wand, though.” Fabian added.
“Let me go and grab the wand storage box.” Sirius said. “Back in five.” He followed the younger dwarves up the stairs, leaving the Prewetts sitting in the kitchen.
“I’m…” Gideon shook his head. “This is…”
“I know…” James laughed. “Our son is amazing, so freaking amazing.”
“And so capable.” Lily added. “Within a day of meeting up with us, he’d laid out a plan for packing out house, James’ pottery and my vegie garden, for speaking to out landlord, for talking to the local Trade-Master and a rough plan for the next few weeks.”
“He’s well organised.” Tonks nodded.
An hour later, the farmyard in front of the big house, was suddenly filled with people. Harry, Colin, Lavender, Fred, Fabian and Gideon... and a wimpering dog... appeared from seemingly nowhere.
“Portkeys worked, then.” James nodded. “Good to know.”
“Yeah, they work great.” Harry grinned.
“Everything go alright, dear?” Lily asked.
“Fine, mum.” Harry nodded. “We apparated in, like planned. Me and Colin, opposite Lavender and Fred, with Gideon and Fabian between us. They summoned up all their things, while we kept the ghouls at bay. We apparated from there to the nearest point on the North-South Road and Fabian did a Point-Me for their dog, which was only a few hundred yards away. They called and the dog came, she's injured but not too badly, episky dealt with the worst of it, but she’ll probably need some booster potions. Gideon says that they’ve been on short rations for months. Then we all portkeyed home.”
“But you got their stuff?” Lily asked.
“We did.” Harry nodded. “Plus their cart and dog.”
“Oh, well done.” Lily beamed at them. “We’ve got stew for dinner and then the town meeting at seven. Don’t forget.”
“Ah, and I offered up supper, too.” Harry grunted.
“I did some sweet rolls and some savoury muffins, dear.” Lily said. “I wasn’t sure that you’d be up to cooking.”
“Oh, stars…” Harry sighed in relief. “Thanks, mum.”
Harry outlined the letters that he’d received from Albus Dumbledore and from Severus Snape, but only after he’d told the residents a brief, middle-earth-friendly, summary of his interaction with both magicals.
Finishing with, “… and neither of them have any idea of how they came to be where they were. Neither of them had access to a wand or to money.” He sighed. “We have decided to send what aid we can. But…? None of us are convinced that Albus Dumbledore is making any effort to improve his situation. And as such, we are hesitant to send him anything more than the means to communicate with us.”
He wasn’t all that surprised that the hobbits agreed with him and the other magicals, as far as providing assistance and to whom. Harry detailed the box that they were sending to Snape and each of the items in it, adding a brief description of the item and how he expected that Snape would use it.
What did surprise Harry was that none of the hobbits were overly worried about the probability of war, looming in front of them. As far as they were concerned, it was something to worry about, when it happened.
Not a philosophy that the magicals adhered to.
~~~
August 16th 2920
Having twelve strong magical people, in one place, meant that the settlement developed at an amazing speed.
By now, the Mayor’s Office was complete, fully clad, lined and operational. The internal offices were each stocked and ready for use. The last of the hobbit smials were done, or rather, the last of the current residences were done, and the hobbits had all moved into their new homes. Any new arrivals would have to have their smials built, while they waited.
The blacksmith and farrier’s forges were up and working, although they had yet to find themselves a blacksmith. The stables were complete and they’d even had a couple of travellers drop in and leave their ponies in Squire’s capable hands. It wouldn’t be long before he would be needing a stable-hand or two.
The brew house was finished, but Tonks had yet to start her first batch of ale, she had been focusing more on getting the rest of the settlement up and going, than on putting up her stills, planning on using most of the winter to get everything the way she wanted it. Remus’ paper workshop was complete, but like Tonks, he hadn’t done anything more than stock it, ready to start work, once the village construction was complete.
James’ pottery was up and working, he’d rebuilt his kiln and had a test firing to ensure that it still worked the way he wanted it to. He’d also collected a large number of samples of clay from different places around the village and the outer fields, but had yet to process them. Lily’s herbology garden and greenhouses were up and she was in the process of stocking them. It was going to take a few years to get the magical plants to the levels that she really wanted, but in the meantime, she’d concentrate more on the muggle plants and the potions that she could make from them.
Fred’s cottage was complete, empty but complete. He said to Harry, that he wasn’t ready to be alone, just yet. His workshop was up and stocked but he’d yet to do more than just admire it.
Gideon and Fabian had chosen a site on the same lane as Fred’s place, but much further out, across a creeklet, on what they had decided to call 'The Island'. Gideon was a leatherworker and his workshop was alongside the second of the two creeks that went through the settlement, much further to the north-west than Pond Creek. Field Creek, as the residents had taken to calling it, ran through the crops fields, down past the end of the street that Harry’s house was built on, splitting just north of Gideon and Fabian’s and running on towards the Brandywine River and the small dock, there.
Fabian was a cooper, a barrel maker, and like Tonks and Remus, he chose to have a workshop away from where he lived. Like them, he chose the little industrial complex that was quickly growing up, near the newly named Crafters Loop.
Colin and Lavender had sat down with Harry and after a long discussion, they’d built a series of small workshops opposite the blacksmiths’ cottages and forges. These were small spaces, each consisted of approximately two-hundred square feet of floor space, ten-foot wide and twenty-foot long, that the user could lay out however they pleased. Colin and Lavender had each decided to have their own space and while they laid it out the same and they were both technically jewellers, the work they did was quite different. Colin was focusing more on traditional jewellery, necklaces, rings, bracelets and in a surprising twist, watches and watch-chains. While Lavender was much more focused on hair accessories. Combs, clips, bands, even hats, hat-pins and bonnets. Hattie was delighted to have somewhere that would buy her work, without her having to deal with the public, herself.
Adelaide’s greenhouses were up and she had her first sowing nearly ready for transplanting. Isadora’s shop-smial was complete and she’d set it up as her workshop, spending many hours each day in the light and airy space. Cordelia and Camelia’s seamstress shop-smial was also up and going, the two hobbitesses had divided the space in three, one for fitting customers, one for working in and one for showing off completed works.
Anneg’s butchery was complete, but he was limited with his stock, mostly it was fish, rabbits and the odd deer that Crookshanks, Hedwig or Harry brought in. Anneg would dress the animal and in the case of deer or rabbit, he’d send the hides to Gideon, to process. Until they had a tanner, Gideon was the only one prepared to process hides into skins or leather.
Stonag’s bakery was also operating, he was slowly increasing the amount that he produced, but had realised, that if he wished to progress much further, he’d have to employ a baker’s boy to help him, as he was often sold out by mid-morning.
Kestrel had convinced Bartleby Nettling to strip as much honeycomb from the existing hives as could be done without causing a shortage for the bees over the winter. That honeycomb was heated to allow the wax to melt and release the honey, then chilled to reset it. The wax was then easily removed so Kestrel could begin to work with it.
Bartleby spent days scouring the surrounding countryside for wild swarms, carefully capturing queen bees, whenever he found them. These were set into fresh hives and placed on the edges of the crop fields and in strategic locations around the village. He’d left the wax with Kestrel, but taken the honey, cleaning it of impurities ready for sale at the coming market.
Jonah had been out with his ponies, ploughing then planting late crops of both wheat and oats. He’d also been up and ploughed the field behind James and Lily’s cottage, as Lily had decided that she needed to get whatever crops she could, into the ground before winter hit them.
Once the mill was up and going, which unfortunately wouldn’t be for another week or so, Wilibald Miller would offer already processed flours and milled grains, or would mill grain to order.
There was plenty of feed for the animals, it was the people that were going to find this winter more of a challenge. Stasis boxes would help, but only if people had produce to put in them. Harry and Fred planned to apparate to southern Dunland and visit some of the farmsteads that sold direct to the public. They’d take a wagon and a pair of ponies, load up at each farmstead, then once away from the farm, they’d shrink the load and store it in a stasis box. Hopefully, between what they could buy and what had been sent from Hobbiton, Brandyhall and Tuckborough, they would make it through the winter without risking lives. If not, they’d have to resort to apparating south of Minas Tirith to get fresh foods, and given the risk that Isengard presented(?), none of them wanted to do that.
The Gryffindor’s Den was well on the way to being complete, at least structurally. The guest rooms weren’t finished, the smials were structurally complete, although empty, while the dwarven rooms were mostly still bare frames. But there were a couple of rooms on each side that were available for guest use. The Dining Room and the Tea Room were both operational and filled to almost to overflowing. There were hobbits from Hobbiton and Brandyhall, that happily camped out in the not-quite-finished guest smials, with all the finished ones, given over to families with faunts.
And everyone was eager for the first market, the next day.
~~~
August 17th 2920
Madness!
That was all Harry could think of, when he thought about the market. Sheer madness!
Nearly every stallholder sold out of their goods. Anneg and Stonag sold out within the hour. Lily’s potions, lotions and balms, were gone shortly after. James’ pottery was literally fought over. The little trinkets that Colin and Lavender put out, were oohed and aahed over, the bonnets tried on and ribbons changed.
Gideon’s belts and bags, vanished almost as quick as he could put them out. Fred’s carving sold well, he finished the day with only three items left, two of which were chairs. Fabian’s buckets and bins sold, not quite as well as Fred’s things, but still better than he’d expected.
Harry had a constant stream of people in and out, buying a lock and key, or a box, or a purse. Even Remus’ books and pads drew interest, far more than he’d expected.
Cedric had a constant trickle of travellers bringing their ponies in, to have shoes checked or replaced.
The only one that didn’t put produce up, was Tonks and as she said, hers is a long process, she wouldn’t be looking to sell until the next year.
Bartleby sold out of his honey, just as fast as Kestrel sold out of his candles. And while they didn’t sell all their produce, Adelaide, Isadora and Cordelia all had a profitable day. Jonah spent the day working alongside Squire in the stables, while Laura helped Bellarosa and Adalina in the Tea Room, mostly running trays to tables and clearing away dirty dishes.
Even young Lena and Micah were busy, running errands for traders and residents.
By late afternoon, the madness had settled and everyone was exhausted. Most of those travelling had either retreated to their camps or had packed up their faunts and goods, and began the long march home.
Harry and his family, as large as it had gotten, met in the sunroom of his new finished house.
“Wow…” He whispered. “That was…”
“I thought Christmas shopping in London was bad.” Lily just shook her head. “I’ve not seen anything like that before.”
Everyone else just nodded.
“Our first market.” Harry grinned. “I think we can call that a success.”
“Yeah.” James nodded. “Now we just have to do it again.”
“When do we have to do it again?” Sirius asked, of them all, he and Tonks had had the quietest day.
“Monthly.” Harry answered. “Third Wednesday of the month, we’re aiming for. But the market will be open almost every day, irrespective of the monthly markets. People like Lady Isadora or Lady Cordelia, work there, most days.”
“Like the artisan’s shops?” Colin asked.
“Yeah, just like the artisan’s shops.” Harry nodded. “But Saturday and Sunday are our weekends, the market is closed to the public on those days.”
“That sounds fair.” Remus nodded.
“Have we had any luck with a blacksmith?” Cedric asked. “I’m a farrier, not a blacksmith and I can’t do most of what they can.”
“Unfortunately not yet.” Harry grimaced. “Can you manage for a bit longer?”
Cedric huffed. “I can but I’m not great at it.”
“Anything is better than nothing, Ced.” Harry reminded the ‘Puff.
“I suppose…”
“It’s top of our want list, as far as new residents are concerned.” Harry assured him. “Hopefully, we’ll have someone before Thorin gets back, but if not, he should be able to send someone our way.”
“I might know someone.” Gideon said. “He’s young, but he’s good. Not Tarbûnel, but still good. I can write to him.”
“That would be great, Gideon.”
“He’ll want to bring his brother, they’re very close.” Gideon went on. “The brother’s a hunter and good at it. Whether they’ll leave the Blue Mountains, I don’t know, but I can only ask.”
“Much appreciate it.” Harry nodded.
~~~
August 28th 2920
“Harry! Harry!” Sigi came sprinting across the bridges from the Mayor’s Office, towards Remus’ paper making workshop. “Harry!”
“Sigi?” Harry stuck his head out of Remus’ office. “What’s up?”
“It’s grandfather.” Sigi had tears running down his face. “He’s dying…”
“What?!” Harry gasped.
“He…” Sigi gasped in a breath. “He’s been getting short of breath for years now, but… Aunt Donnamira sent a letter, grandfather’s struggling to breathe and she’s not sure that he has much longer. She wants me to come and say goodbye…” Tears ran down Sigi’s face.
Harry blinked. “Shite…” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Go clean yourself up, pack a bag for a week and meet me at the Mayor’s Office, in an hour. We’ll leave from there. Don’t worry about food, we’re apparating.” Harry didn’t wait for Sigi to respond, instead he ran from Remus’ office. He needed to speak to Lily, she was the closest they had to a fully trained healer, having completed her medi-witch’s training and almost two years of her healer’s training. And that reminded Harry, they still needed a healer and a midwife.
When Harry and Lily reached the Mayor’s Office, Sigi was there, pacing up and down the edge of the meeting space, under the Office.
“Sigi? Over here.” Harry waved as he stood in the gravelled area beside the meeting space. “We’re going to apparate straight to your rooms in the Great Smials.” He held out a hand. “Take my hand. Mum, my other hand, please.” When they were both holding his hands, Harry imagined the room where he wanted to go and let his magic send him there. Unlike Dumbledore’s horrid twisting nightmare, Harry let his magic control the spin, which meant that it was considerably less violent, even if it still felt like being squeezed through a tube.
“Go.” Harry nodded at the door. “We won’t be far behind you.”
“Thank you.” Sigi tried to smile, before he darted out the door.
“How bad is this likely to be, Harry?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know, mum.” Harry shook his head. “I just don’t know.” He led Lily from the room and through to a waiting area.
“Harry?” A familiar voice had Harry turning to one of the Great Smials’ side tunnels.
“Fortinbras.” Harry said, when he saw the speaker. “We came as soon as we heard. Is there anything that we can do?”
“Unless you can regrow his lungs, no.” Fortinbras shook his head. “Grandfather liked his pipe a little bit too much. The healers say that the smoke wasn’t good for him. Especially as he got older. Drinking the amount he did, didn’t help, either.”
“Mum?” Harry turned pleading eyes on Lily.
“I don’t know, dear.” Lily shook her head. “I won’t unless I examine him.”
“Harry?” Fortinbras asked.
“Mum’s a medi-witch.” Harry said.
“Give me a minute.” Fortinbras waved them towards a seat. He was back, inside five minutes and with a nod and a smile, gestured for Lily to follow him.
Harry sat back down and waited, his leg bouncing with worry. Shortly after, a young hobbitess appeared and sat beside him, she said nothing, just sat there. One by one, they were joined by others. Young hobbits. Older hobbits. Hobbit matrons. Faunts. Tweens. Farmers. Gentle-hobbits.
They were all there. Waiting to hear about the Thain, about their grandfather, about their friend, about their leader.
It was nearly an hour before Lily came back. And when she did, she gave Harry a sad smile and sat beside him, not at all surprised that a space simply appeared.
“I can’t do anything more for him, Harry.” Lily sighed. “His lungs are riddled with the residue from decades of smoking.”
Harry sighed. “I kind of felt that might be the case.”
“All I can do is ease his pain.” Lily went on. “He’s taken some potions. They’ll make things easier for him, remove some pain and clear his head. But I can’t fix the damage.”
“How long do you think…?” An older hobbitess asked.
“A matter of hours, Madam.” Lily sighed.
“Then, if you would excuse me? I should be with my husband…” The hobbitess gave them a sad smile and stood up.
“Grandmother?” Fortinbras approached them. “Grandfather’s asking for you.” He offered the elderly hobbitess his arm and guided her down the hall.
Two and a half hours later and Fortinbras was back.
“Grandfather is gone.” He whispered. “Uncle Isengrim is Thain, now.”
“Will there be a funeral?” Harry asked.
“Aye.” Fortinbras nodded. “Tomorrow. Midday.”
“Is it open to the public?” Harry asked. “I think some of our residents would like to attend.”
“Aye.” Fortinbras repeated. “But we’d be much obliged if you could arrive in a more… restrained manner.”
“A couple of carts?” Harry asked. “We could portkey onto the Stock Road, a mile or two out of town.” He offered. “Somewhere that’s a blind space.”
“Much appreciated.” Fortinbras nodded, tiredly.
~~~
August 29th 2920
Gerontius’ funeral was as much a surprise to Harry, as the hobbit himself had been. And like his first meeting with that hobbit, Harry wasn’t sure why he was surprised.
The Shiremoot was a massive chamber within the Great Smials and laid on a table in the centre was the body of Gerontius Took, the twenty-sixth hobbit to hold the title of Thain. At midday, his wife and ten of his surviving eleven children entered the chamber. Over the following two hours, they washed and dressed Gerontius’ body, telling stories about him. Things he liked, things he did, things he encouraged them to do and stories that he’d told them.
Once they’d finished, Adamanta stood and invited his grandchildren to share their stories. Then it was his friends’ turn. Hobbit after hobbit stood and regaled those gathered with tales. Some amusing, some sad, some had Harry and Fred holding their aching ribs as they laughed.
Harry stood and told the chamber of his first meeting with the Thain and how the hobbit had claimed that the title was a pain the rump and only landed him with paperwork, this had many nodding.
A young hobbit stood and told the chamber how the Thain had caught him, red-handed, stealing cranberries from under the windows of the Thain’s library. And all the older hobbit had done was tell the faunt to gather them up and had escorted him to the kitchens and made the lad help him to make sweet pies.
Another faunt, a lass this time, stood and told of the old hobbit’s habit of carrying a bag of sweets, just in case he should meet a crying faunt, who would then be plied with sweets and bounced on a knee or if only a small fauntling, they might be lifted up, to ride on his shoulders.
As sunset as drawing near, Gerontius’ body was lifted by his sons and grandsons, and carried from the Great Smials. Outside, he was carried across the village to a massive granite slab, easily ten-foot across, and laid upon a pyre that sat on it. As each person walked around the pyre, they added a piece of timber to the cords of wood that stood on end, forming a structure that reminded Harry of the wooden walls of Bree.
As the last light faded from the sky, Adamanta and Isengrim walked up the aisle formed by spectators, a lit torch held between them. Point by point, they lit the pyre, touching the torch to the waiting tinder.
Isengrim stood at the head of his father’s pyre and spoke.
“The Old Took!” He cried. “May the stubborn old hobbit watch over the Shire in death, as he did in life.”
“The Old Took!” The mass of hobbits echoed Isengrim’s cry.
~~~
August 30th 2920
“Harry? Fortinbras and Isengrim would like to speak to you, before we leave.” Sigi said. “Not business, more a private matter. And I thought you might want to bring Isengrim up to date with a Disclosure?”
“Of course, Sigi.” Harry nodded.
~~~