Chapter 44
“Are they going to be magical, too?” Young Drogo Baggins asked.
“They are.” Harry smiled. “We don’t know how strong they’ll be, but their magical cores are stable and their conduits are clear.”
“Which means what?” Isadora Wellgate asked.
“Oh, an unstable core or blocked conduits would make them a squib,” Harry answered, “meaning that they would be able to see and interact with magic but not be able to perform it.”
“But they’re stable?” Camelia Goodbody asked, concernedly.
“They are.” Harry nodded. “Missus Alice did the checks, they’ll be fine.”
“Oh, good…” Camelia sat back with a sigh.
~~~
May 10th 2921
“Alright, Mr Hedger?” Harry asked. “Think you’ll be able to manage?”
The blonde hobbit nodded. “I think so, Mr Harry.” He looked around the little office again. “Yes, I do think so. The pony might have been the only issue, but if Mr Burrows will see to it’s feed and care, I can manage the rest. Harnessing and unharnessing may take me a little longer than I’d like, but I can manage.”
“Oh, that won’t do, Mr Hedger.” Harry shook his head. “Squire will see to harnessing and the like. You only have to ring this bell here, about half an hour before you’re ready to head out on the delivery run. He’ll bring your pony and cart over… and that’s another thing we need to see to. Choosing a pony. Oh, the cart? Is the cart alright?”
“The cart’s fine, Mr Harry, and please… Call me Filbert, Mr Hedger is my father, not me.” Filbert Hedger nodded. “I quite liked the pony that pulled it from Hobbiton, I don’t suppose that she’s available?”
“Nutmeg?” Harry tilted his head. “I don’t think anyone’s taken a fancy to her. I’m sure we can work something out.”
“And how much is this all going to cost me?” Filbert asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Well, see that’s the thing…” Harry said. “Essential workers are subsidised. We’ll build your smial and, as you see, we’ve already built the Post Office. We’ll provide the cart and the pony and see to her upkeep, but furnishing your smial is your concern. You can barter with just about anyone, for either items or services, exactly as you would have in Hobbiton. The deal is, that you continue in the position for a year, at the end of which, the smial is yours, outright… unless something unforeseen happens, in which case, exceptions are made.” He paused before continuing. “As for the Post Office? We’ve set the cost of a letter, within the village, as a single penny. This can be paid either by dropping a letter off and paying, in person, or by using a prepaid envelope and dropping it in the Post Box, out front. Remus has produced envelopes that are ready for stamping and the residents voted to have a thousand purchased for the Post Office, ready for use. But people don’t have to use them, they can simply seal their letters with wax, but those will have to be brought into the Office and paid for, in person. Fred’s carved a willow stamp for the Post Office’s use and the apothecary has provided ink, to go with it. Without that stamp, nothing is to leave the village. At present, we have the Bounders dropping off mail, twice a week, so Trewsday and Highday are going to be your busy days, as far as sorting and delivery are concerned.”
“That sounds fair.” Filbert nodded. “What about wages? Am I working for myself or the town?”
“For the town.” Harry replied. “You’ll be paid Ç2 week. If you have ideas for items to sell, in-store, then go ahead. Unless it impacts on someone else’s business, we have no objections. Turning a profit will increase your wage after the first year.”
“And if I were to buy an item from someone, then put it for sale in the Office?”
“No concerns, at all.” Harry shook his head. “Our only concern is cutting in on someone else’s business, but it would be advisable to inform them, that you intend to sell the item in the Post Office.”
“In that case, I’ll like to speak to… Mr Remus was the paper maker, yes?”
“Yes. That’s him.” Harry nodded. “His workshop is first on the right, on Little Pond Lane.”
“Ah, the craftsmen’s area.” Filbert nodded, they’d taken a short tour before stopping at the Post Office and discussing the position of Post Master.
“Yes, that’s the place.” Harry agreed.
“Good, good.” Filbert rocked his head, side to side. “In that case, Mr Harry, I shall take the afternoon to see Mr Remus and settle into my smial and will start work in the morning. See if I can’t get some of the backlog cleared, before the Bounders come in on Highday.”
“Great…” Harry sighed in relief, yet another position filled. “Oh, the keys.” He pulled out a large ring and handed it to the hobbit. “The large filigreed key is for the front-of-shop’s door, the smaller, plainer key is for the staff-only door at the rear. That’s where Squire will bring Nutmeg and the cart, when you call for them. The platform there is the same height as the cart-bed, so you can step straight from the platform to the cart. There’s room for you to drive out, between the Post Office and the Store.”
“Grand…” Filbert sighed. “That will make things, so much easier. Moving boxes of mail from one place to another was going to be my biggest challenge.”
“We’ve done what we can to make it easier for you.” Harry said. “Don’t hesitate to tell us, if you come up with something that will help and want us to alter things for you.”
“Thank you.” Filbert smiled. “I’d best pop along and see Mr Remus, then I need a few things from the Store, for dinner.”
“I’ll leave you with it, then.” Harry grinned and headed for the Mayor’s Office, who knew what Isengar had for him to do?
It was a little more than an hour later, that the sound of a vaguely familiar voice pulled Harry from the reports from Isengrim and Gorbadoc, in regard to crop farming statistics and food production. He’d made a few notes, of things to discuss with Jonah before he raised the matter at a town meeting.
“Harry?” Isengar rapped on the doorframe of Harry’s Office. “There’s a group of dwarves, looking for you.”
“Dwarves? For me?” Harry frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes, they asked for you by name.” Isengar replied.
“Ah.” Harry grunted. “Alright, send them in.”
“Will do.” Isengar nodded. “Shall I make a pot of tea? We’ve some of Bellarosa’s pastries from lunch.”
“Oh, yes, please.” Harry grinned. Bellarosa’s sweets were delicious, easily as good as Mrs Weasley’s. Isengar nodded and retreated from the office, only for return a few moments later.
“Master Harry?” The hobbit returned, leading a group of dwarves. “Masters Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, Oín and Gloín.”
“Oh!” Harry leapt to his feet. “Uzbad, undu id-‘urd. Maidmî to the Whomping Willow’s Pond. Please come in,” he darted around the desk and gestured for Thorin to take a seat on the leather-covered sofa, “please sit. Isengar will bring us some tea and pastries.”
Thorin blinked, nodded and sat where Harry indicated, shortly followed by his cousins.
“Ashamâkh, Tarbûnel Harry.” Thorin said, regally. “I thank you for your welcome. But I must say… I do not recall a village, such as this, being here.”
“Ah, that would be because it wasn’t.” Harry grimaced. “We only bought the land in mid-June, last year.”
“And you’ve built an entire village in less than a year?” Thorin’s brows rose sharply.
“We, um…” He paused as Isengar carried in a large tray, consisting of a tea service and plates of sweets. “Thanks, Isengar.” The hobbit nodded, laid the tray on the low table between the seats, and left, all without saying a word. “We had help.” Harry shrugged. “The hobbits here are incredibly industrious.” He paused. “Plus…” He drew in a deep breath. “There is a matter that I would discuss with you. A matter of… of State Secrecy. Are those with you, here, permitted to partake in such Secrets?”
“They are.” Thorin said. “Dwalin is Captain of my Guard. Balin, my primary Diplomatic Advisor. Gloín, my Master of the Coin. And Oín is our Master of Healing.”
Harry sighed in relief, he’d been right, these were some of his most import people. “Excellent. In that case, I need to tell you that… the information that you were given in Tharbad is, while correct, missing a massive amount of detail.”
“In what manner?” Thorin asked.
“I said that my friends and I came from the south.” Harry answered. “And while we did, it was only recently. Prior to that…? We… we weren’t born on this world. The Valar, or some other celestial being, brought us here.”
Thorin’s eyes widened.
“For some of us, it was only recently, but for others, it happened years ago.” Harry said. “On the world where we lived, there was a war. A magical war. It started before I was born and didn’t really end, until I died.” The expression of shock on Thorin and Dwalin's faces were clear. “By the calendar used in that country, I was born on the 31st of July 1981 and the year before I was born, a prophecy was given about a Dark Lord and the one to end his reign.” Another deep breath. “The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. Born as the seventh month ends, he will be marked as the Dark Lord’s equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.” He sighed. “It could only apply to my parents and another couple, they were the only ones expecting children at the end of July. It meant that both couples went into hiding under a spell of secrecy…” He spent the next two and a half hours telling his story, his complete story, to Thorin and his advisors.
Finally, he sat back with a mug of tea and waited for them to speak.
“Huh.” Dwalin grunted. “What you told us, in Tharbad? It were the truth, but only a small part of the whole.”
“Yes.” Harry admitted. “I didn’t want to lie and after talking about it to Fred and Lavender, we decided that leaving things out was better than lying. But even then… we knew that at some point we were going to tell you everything.”
“Why?” Gloín asked. “Why tell us anything more than what you already had?”
“Thorin, of course.” Harry replied. “We’re dwarves, now, whether we like it or not. And Thorin is our king.”
“And do you like it?” Balin asked, curious about the answer.
“Personally, yes.” Harry replied. “I know that mum’s not the most comfortable with it, but that’s only because dwarrowdams have a rough time in child-birth and she wants more kids. Aunt Alice and Missus Gina aren’t too happy, either, for the same reason. Dorcas and Pandora don’t seem to care. Lavender is more put off by the beard issue, human females don’t have beards. As for the males? I think the only one that’s worried, is Fred, and that’s more a twin thing. His twin is back in England, still human and Fred’s here but not human, anymore.”
“Aye.” Thorin said. “I know what it’s like to miss a brother.” It was an old sadness that filled his voice.
“Fred and George are like their Uncles, Gideon and Fabian.” Harry added. “They’re what’s called ‘soul twins’. Their souls are shared between them, mixed up, like a bag of nuts.”
Dwalin snorted at Harry’s description.
“Ah,” Balin nodded, “being separated would definitely not be a pleasant experience, then.”
“No.” Harry remembered seeing George’s reaction to Fred’s death. “We’re doing what we can to help Fred. Being with other people, living with them, seeing people constantly… It helps. I just don’t know howlong it’s going work for, though.”
“Ah.” Thorin nodded. “That would be a concern.”
“Yeah.” Harry nodded. “We’re all aware of it and we’ve structured parts of the village around it. Fred’s workshop is between my locksmithing workshop and Kestrel’s chandler’s workshop. Fabian’s on the other side of me, Remus is on the other side of Kestrel and Tonks is opposite Remus, so he’s pretty much smack in the middle of the craftsmen’s block.”
“And you planned it that way?” Balin asked.
“Like I told Fundin, Fred’s like a brother to me.” Harry replied. “If he needs help, I’ll give it.”
“As all should do, for those they claim as kin.” Thorin nodded.
“So, what now?” Gloín asked.
“Well…” Harry grimaced. “I’m hoping that you’ll still work with us. We’ve people that need trialling, we’ve put together Family Beads for them, but we weren’t prepared to do that with Craft Beads, they’re just too important. And anyway, Judging them? I wouldn’t want to do that, I’d probably be harder on them than you and that’s not fair to them. They deserve an impartial Judge.”
“That sounds fair.” Balin agreed.
“So, where’re we stayin’?” Dwalin asked. “That big building? The… Den?”
“You could.” Harry nodded. “Or…? How many of you are there?”
“Six.” Balin answered. “The five of us and young Halphi, the Beadsmith.”
“Oh, grand.” Harry grinned. “So, you can stay at the Den, or Fred’s cottage is empty, he lives with Lavender, Colin, Sirius and I, but wanted a place of his own, as we’re hoping that one day, he’ll be able to live in it. For now, we use it for magicals-only meetings and when we have new magicals turn up, they'll stay there until we can build them their own homes. It’s got four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. The ground floor is a single room, a large kitchen-cum-living room, there’s not much furniture, but it’s liveable.”
“We’d much appreciate it.” Balin said.
“There’s room for your wagon and ponies, too.” Harry added.
“And would there be a forge, that we can use?” Thorin asked. “I did say that your people need weapons suitable to their skill levels.”
“There’s actually a couple.” Harry replied. “There’s a blacksmith’s forge, just near the livery yard and stables, along with a farrier’s Forge, at the other end of the same building. Also our cooper and I share a smaller forge between us.”
“Would your blacksmith take issue with us using his forge?” Thorin wanted to know.
“I sincerely doubt it.” Harry answered. “Fallon’s a good dwarf, but he’s only a tarbûn. For the chance to watch a Tarbûnel at work? I think he’d happily hand over control of the forge.”
“Then if you’ve not objections,” Thorin nodded regally, “I will accept the use of the cottage and would ask for an introduction to the blacksmith and your assistance with procuring the use of his forge.”
“Certainly.” Harry agreed.
“I’d like the day, tomorrow to rest, then on Friday, I would meet with Lady Lavender.” The bladesmith decreed. “If she’s improved, as I expect she will have, I will forge her an axe worthy of the Sigin’Tarbûnel she will become.”
~~~
May 12th 2921
“What’s the verdict?” Harry asked Lavender.
“I need to find a length of wood for axe-hafts.” Lavender huffed. “Master Gloín suggested Boxwood or Mulberry.”
“Go have a chat with Fred.” Harry suggested. “I’m sure he’s got every tree within five miles, marked out on a map.”
“Ooh, that might help.” Lavender grinned. “Thanks, Harry.”
~~~
June 7th 2921
“Wow…” Harry studied the axe on the bench.
“I know…” Lavender nodded fervently. “It’s beautiful…”
“Not exactly the term I would have used.” Dwalin chuckled. “But they are rather nice. The throwing axes, in particular.”
“Ooh…” Lavender almost squealed when she saw them, bouncing on her toes and shaking her hands in excitement.
“You approve, then?” Thorin said, from where he stood, off to one side.
“They’re perfect.” Lavender gave the tall dwarf a brilliant smile. “I can’t wait to try them out.”
“Not until they’re paid for, Lavender.” Harry reminded her.
“Oh, my goodness.” Lavender’s eyes widened. “I forgot about that. Thanks, Harry.”
“These are my best work.” Thorin said. “Within hours of starting the heating of the ore, I knew that they would be my Grand Master’s work in blade-smithing. I can do no better than these.”
“Oh, my…” Lavender gasped.
“Aye.” Thorin nodded. “And as a Grand Master’s Trial, it’s not my decision of how much to charge, for my work. That will be decided by the Bladesmith Masters that Judge my work.”
“That would be why you asked us to send messages to Bree and Tharbad, then?” Harry asked.
“It was.” Thorin agreed. “Sorren, Dwilik, Havrin and Sheltin responded and they have Judged my work. I have yet to be informed of their verdict. As they are commissioned items, Lady Lavender will be notified of the cost, before I will be told if I may add mithril rings to my Master’s bead.”
“And when is that likely to happen?” Lavender asked.
“Well, given the fact that the four of them are standing over there,” Thorin nodded to blacksmith’s yard’s exit onto Pond Lane, “clearly waiting and watching Lady Lavender? I would say that such a statement is imminent.” One of the four dwarves nodded, obviously having overheard Thorin’s comment. “I would suggest that Lady Lavender approach them and hear their verdict.”
“Thank you, Uzbad Thorin.” Lavender gave him a deep curtsy. “I’ll do that, immediately.” Barely had she finished that sentence before she was moving in the direction of the four waiting dwarves. After a few seconds of speaking with them, she turned back to the forge. “Harry? Would you come over here? Please?”
Harry threw a grin at Thorin and trotted over to stand beside Lavender.
“Sigin’Tarbûnel.” All four nodded to Harry.
“Lady Lavender has said that you are the current head of her family.” One of them said.
“I am her Head of House.” Harry corrected. “Where we came from, that's a little different than the head of a family. Many separate families often band together under a single banner. Sometimes they will be blood kin, sometimes only distantly connected, sometimes their only connection is via marriage, but they will band together and choose one person to carry the Banner for them all. Lavender’s father would have been the head of her Family, but I have the honour of being her Head of House.”
“Ah.” The dwarf grunted. “We had wondered. Thank you for the explanation.” He gave a slight bow, one Sigin’Tarbûnel to another.
“Certainly.” Harry bowed back.
The four exchanged looks and the other three dwarves took one step backwards, leaving the one who had spoken stand with Harry and Lavender.
“I am Sorren, son of Fedren, son of Worren, Grand Master Knife-Smith.” The dwarf said. “Along with my compatriots, I have Judged as Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, worked to forge blades for Lady Lavender.” Behind him, the other three nodded their agreement. “We have watched, as over the past sixteen days, Thorin has worked to produce four axes. A double headed broad axe, a single headed pike-axe and a matched pair of throwing axes. We watched, as he took raw ore and crafted blades worthy of a Sigin’Tarbûnel.”
Lavender’s smile grew.
“Aye.” Sorren nodded. “Shortly, Thorin will have the opportunity to add a mithril ring to his beads.”
“Oh, that’s grand.” Harry smiled, too. “He said that you would decide the cost of the axes?” It was phrased as a question.
“Aye.” Sorren nodded. “That’s standard for Judging a Grand Master’s work. The Judges determine the cost of the item and how much the applicant will pay for their Trial.”
“I see…” Harry nodded. “So, it could be anything from a mere token, to a significant amount.”
“Correct.” Sorren agreed. “This is often influenced by the item, whether the applicant produces work to the standard needed and the person for whom the work is being made or if it is only made for the Trial.”
“Right.” Harry nodded.
“In this case, the work is most definitely to the expected standard.” Sorren went on. “That both Thorin and another Sigin’Tarbûnel have declared that Lady Lavender has the potential to be a Sigin’Tarbûnel of the Axe, has a bearing on our Judgement, we would not see a Grand Master of the Axe receive substandard weapons. We have watched Lady Lavender, as she trained and we wholeheartedly agree. Further, we would ask that she be Trialled, as we believe that she is no longer a tarbûn but has reached the level of skill of shown by a Tarbûnel.”
“Oh…” Lavender gasped.
“We would ask if finances are a limitation to payment?” Sorren continued. “The cost of Grand Master’s work is no small matter and purchasing four such axes, even less so, but if the Lady Lavender is to trial for her Master’s bead, combining the two is going to be costly.”
“Cost is no factor.” Harry replied. “I would see Lavender armed with blades to match her skills. As her Head of House it is my honour to provide them.”
“Harry?”
“Hush, Lavender.” Harry looked sidewise at the girl. “I got this.” He ignored her snort of annoyance.
“A Master’s Trial is usually worth an unfilled sceptre, divided between the Judges, pending on seniority.” Sorren explained. “Then there’s the actual bead, they can cost anything from Ç5 to another sceptre. Anything more than a sceptre is considered flashy and is seen as a waste of money. Whereas a Grand Master’s Trial can be twice that of a Master’s and the rings can be that much again, depending on access to mithril.”
“Understood.” Harry nodded. “I have laid aside a fair amount for both Lavender and Colin, for Trialling and Beads. Colin has the skill to be a Master of the Staff and possibly even Grand Master, if he continues his training.”
“Ah.”Sorren nodded. “You thought ahead.”
“Oh, yes.” Harry laughed. “With not just Lavender and Colin but also Fred dependent on me, I had to make plans. They didn’t always work the way I expected and they’ve frequently had to be remodelled, but they were always there.”
“Good to hear, young Master, good to hear.” Sorren nodded approvingly. “The cost of the blades will depend slightly on whether Lady Lavender passes her Tarbûnel's Trial. If she does then we recommend that she, or you as her sponsor and the one to commission the axes, pay Master Thorin Ç10 each for the two throwing axes, Ç15 for the pike-axe and Ç20 for the double-headed broad-axe.”
Harry quickly added those in his head. “Ç55 for the four? One filled sceptre, plus another Ç5. That’s a lot of money.” He nodded as he thought about that. “And if she doesn’t pass? Not terribly likely but still…?”
“Double the estimates.” Sorren said bluntly.
“So… We pay Thorin Ç55 now and Lavender gets the axes.” Harry summarised. “Lavender has her Trial. If she passes, a sceptre goes to the Judges. And a Master’s bead is commissioned. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“But if she fails? The Judges still get the sceptre. No bead is commissioned. And Thorin gets another Ç55 as the final payment for the axes. Correct?”
“Correct.” Sorren replied. “A Grand Master’s Trial works are exceptionally rare and the quality of them is oft times much higher than work the Grand Master may produce afterwards. Many put so much more into their Trial work than they do on a day-to-day basis.”
“I see, that makes more sense.” Harry nodded. “Who would you recommend as Judges for Lavender? I’m not familiar with the Axe Masters, except Master Gloín.”
“Two of us can Judge.” Sorren answered. “Myself and Sheltin, although, I would recommend getting Harden up from Tharbad. He’s old and may not have all his limbs, but he’s a Grand Master of the Axe. The only one alive. Earned his mithril just before Azanulbizar, he did.”
“If we were to send a cart for him, would he come?” Harry asked.
“To see a new Master’s Judgement? And the possibility of a Grand Master’s? Aye, he’d come.” Sorren answered. “And if you were to offer to house him for the winter, I’m fairly certain that he’d see to additional training for the Lady and would send out the call for Masters, or possibly even Grand Masters of other Crafts, to Judge her Grand Master’s Trial, come next summer.”
“If you were to send for Master Harden,” one of the other Masters stepped forward, “I’d suggest asking Master Gloín to travel with whoever you send. As a formal envoy, if you will.”
“Hmm…” Harry mused. “Would Master Harden be offended if we were to send a youngling, as well? Colin’s yet to reach his majority, but he already has more than half-a-dozen tarbûn beads and the potential to reach Grand Master of the Staff, according to Master Oín.”
“Oh, now, that’s interesting…” The dwarf hummed. “No, Master Harden would likely see that as an enticement. Perhaps, the lad might be ready for his Master’s Trial, while Master Harden is here…?” The dwarf asked, slyly.
“He might at that.” Harry laughed.
“Oh, dear…” Lavender sighed and shook her head. “Stop plotting, Harry…”
“Master Gloín?” Harry called to the redheaded dwarf that stood outside the forges. “I’m assuming that you heard the last part of this conversation?”
“Aye, I did.” The fierce redhead nodded. “And aye, I’ll travel with the lad.”
“Master Harden’s mobility is an issue.” Sorren said. “Missing a leg makes getting up and down from a wagon difficult. I’m hoping that you’ll have a way around that, for travelling?”
“Hmm… Maybe a Matron’s cart or something like the Post cart?” Harry offered.
“Well, it’s nearly mid-summer.” Sorren stroked his beard as he thought. “The weather should hold, so maybe the Matron’s Cart would work.”
“Not by itself.” Gloín cut in. “Nowhere for any supplies to be kept.”
“What about that little wagon that you got for the Mill’s deliveries?” Lavender asked. “It’s too small for them, but it would be fine for supplies for two or three people and a pair of ponies, for the couple of weeks it’d take to get to Tharbad and back? Colin’s going, so he can use Willy or Hazel.” She’d shortened Willow’s name to Willy, once the village had been named Willow’s Pond, not wanting to confuse people when talking about one or the other. “Take the larger Matron’s cart and he can take both, one for it and one for the wagon.”
Harry blinked a few times and nodded. “That’s do work.” He nodded again. “Yes, that’d work fine. There’s plenty of room in the cart for three dwarves and both Willy and Hazel are used to being tied to a cart or wagon in front and not having a driver.”
“I’ll go and find Colin.” Lavender nodded to Harry and curtsied to the other dwarves. “If you’ll excuse me?” She didn’t wait for an answer but headed out the Pond Lane driveway.
“Who gets to tell Thorin?” Harry asked.
“That would be my task.” Sorren replied. “As senior Judge, it is my honour to inform him of our verdict and to witness the laying of sigils in his ledger.”
~~~
June 18th 2921
Remus emerged from the hospital carrying his daughter in his arms, a tired smile on his face.
“Oh, lovely, you’re all here.” He saw the magicals all gathered in the hospital’s courtyard, sitting on benches and logs. “Meet Calypso Hope Lupin. Dora and I would like James and Lily to be her Hands.” They had begun to use ‘Hand of Eru’ as opposed to ‘Godparent’ as more of the village residents would understand the phrase.
“Sweet…” James grinned. “Sirius got Harry, Remus got Rosen, Gina got Briar and Harry got Teddy, it’s my turn, now.” He held out his hand and made a gimme motion and grinned as Remus slid the bundle of pink into them.
“How Tonks?” Harry asked.
“Good.” Remus nodded. “Calypso’s delivery wasn’t nearly as hard as she was expecting, Lily’s potions made a huge difference.”
~~~
July 9th 2921
“Welcome to the Whomping Willow’s Pond, Master Harden.” Harry said to the old dwarf.
“Thankee for the invite.” The dwarf nodded back.
“Colin, take them up to Fred’s, we’ve added a suite of rooms to the cottage’s northern end.” Harry told the younger magical. “Just a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom, with access from the cottage’s living room and a separate outside entryway.”
“Nice.” Colin nodded.
“And we’ll do a Public Disclosure at dinner.” Harry added. “I’m sorry, but I gotta go. Briar and Rosen did some accidental on dad, and mum can’t reverse it.”
“Ooh, ouch…” Colin grimaced, then blinked. “Geez, they’re young for accidents like that.”
“Yeah, Alice says the younger they are, the stronger they’ll be.” Harry shrugged. “Apparently, I was doing it, just a couple of minutes after I was born.”
“Which is why she thinks you can reverse it…” Colin nodded. “Got it. You’d better go, then.”
“I’m gone.” Harry laughed and ran down Potter’s Row, towards his parents’ place.
~~~
July 14th 2921
Magpie ~ Cauldron (sent 7.12pm, July 14th 2921)
Afternoon, Professor
Just thought you might like to know, Lavender passed her Trials.
She’s now a Tarbûnel and already has her Trials for Sigin’Tarbûnel booked in, for next summer.
Fred
Tarbûnel Woodcarver
PS, Yes that’s new, too. I wasn’t expecting to Trial until next year, but we had a Master Carver call in and he Judged me. All good.
Cauldron ~ Magpie (sent 7.37pm, July 14th 2921)
Good afternoon, Mr Weasley.
Congratulations, a Mastery is no easy feat. You should be proud of yourself.
As a former Professor of yours, I am.
I’ve sent Miss Lavender my congratulations, via her own linked book.
If she wishes you to know what was said, I’m sure she will show you.
I hope that things are progressing well, outside of your professional life?
We have been given chance at a new life, do not forget to live it.
We owe it to the memories of those not with us.
Something I am forced to remind myself of, regularly.
Again, my sincerest congratulations.
Severus
MoP
~~~