Merit and Inheritance

Chapter Fifty-two

Homecoming

Morag finished up at the clinic and returned to London, to St. Mungo's. Her next schedule would be available at the administrative office. She was looking forward to a few days in London. With luck, Pansy wouldn't be over-booked and they could take a whole day for themselves. She didn't care what they did or where they went, particularly, she just wanted a day of companionship. Morag loved being a healer again, seeing patients, finding the cause of their complaints and putting things right. At the same time, she knew the value of a day without those heavy responsibilities.

"Healer Morag!"

Morag knew the voice, which was coming out of the door to the emergency section.

"Healer Daphne!" she answered. "What's up?"

"I had the same question, only for you," said Daphne. "I'm about to finish my shift. Want to go for coffee or tea?"

"I'm going to admin for a copy of the new schedule," said Morag. "Want me to come back here?"

"Perfect," said Daphne.

A short time later the two healers arrived at Potter Manor. Daphne called for Kreacher and asked for a pot of tea and some biscuits. The witches laid their cloaks over the back of a wing chair and sat down.

Daphne liked to work in wooden clogs. She leaned against the back of her chair and slipped her feet out, then pushed the clogs aside.

"Feel free," she said and Morag kicked off her flats.

The two leaned against the backs of their chairs, raising their feet off the floor, wiggling their toes and interlacing fingers behind their heads.

When Kreacher arrived, Daphne took over serving.

"What's new?" Daphne asked, handing a cup and saucer to Morag.

"Scotland is still there," said Morag. She took a sip of her tea.

"That's good," said Daphne as she stirred hers. "Do you and Pansy have plans?"

"Nothing firm," said Morag. "Why? Looking for company?"

"I thought we might," said Daphne. "Let's see…he's probably at the office."

Daphne attempted a floo call, without result.

"Hm," she said. "Maybe they're at the tea room."

She tried another call and was told neither Harry nor Pansy was there.

"That's odd," she said. "One more."

Daphne called the Leaky Cauldron.

"Not here," said Hannah Abbott. "Want to talk to Neville? I don't think we've seen them in here today but you can ask."

"No thanks," said Daphne. "I'm just trying to locate either of them."

Daphne signed off and returned to her chair, pinching her lip. She called for Kreacher, who appeared immediately, but Kreacher hadn't seen Harry since that morning. Morag sat still, holding her cup.

"Let me," she said, getting up. Morag dropped her powder and gave Pansy's floo address.

"Pansy?"

She had no more luck than Daphne. The two stared at one another.

"Morag, make another call. Livia's cottage. I don't like this at all."

Morag wasted no time and soon established the connection.

"Romilda? Morag. Daphne and I are looking for Harry and Pansy. Have you seen them?" she asked.

"We're here," said Harry's voice from the fireplace. "Want to come through?"

Harry kept his wand on the assembled and side-stepped nearer to the hearth.

"It's clear," he said.

Two barefoot healers walked out of the green flames into Livia's cottage.

"Let me catch you up," Harry said.

He did a fairly creditable job, synopsizing the Berg-Mendini effort to bring the Baron's young widow back, Marcella's rage and Dieter's efforts to stick with Marcella and keep her from murdering Romilda outright.

Dieter had supplied that detail himself, something Harry thought very convenient for him, but he chose not to press the point just then. The healers glared at Romilda and the Berg-Mendini's.

"Who talked to Laurent Selwyn?" Daphne demanded.

Amalia Berg stood and raised her hand, slowly.

"Healer Daphne, I have had time to reflect on my anger and I regret how I acted under the emotions. I know it was wrong. I only wanted to get answers to my questions, about Uncle Dieter and Aunt Marcella. We have Dieter back, somehow. I apologize for Selwyn," Amalia concluded.

"Madame Berthe?" said Harry. "Anything?"

"Oh, Lord Harry, I mucked everything up. I was just trying to keep the peace. The factions are getting more and more agitated. We didn't have a leader. Amalia was demanding answers. I overheard some English witches gossiping about Selwyn and Lady Daphne and her sister and I passed it along to Amalia. We planned to bring you to Our Place. We just wanted to know what you had done with our relatives."

Harry looked at Berthe.

"Why did you connect me with any of your business in the first place? How did I come to your attention?" Harry demanded.

Berthe looked at Romilda.

"The widow," Berthe said, her voice a study in contempt. "If she was faithful to my brother, Lorenzo, that didn't stop her from making plans for her future. An owl lost its message on the floor of the owlery. The widow wrote a short note to her close friend, Ricardo, informing him she had arrived in London and looked around Diagon Alley. Some friends from school own a pub and one of her witch friends works for Harry Potter."

"We just started from that note," said Dieter.

Harry looked at Pansy, with whom he had shared some close calls during their adventure. The two of them turned as one and looked at Romilda, who tried looking back in defiance, but eventually wilted under their gaze.

Harry was at a loss for words. He looked from one to the other, finally standing, closed-mouth, shaking his head.

"Well," Harry said at last. "You now have a leader. Dieter, do you want this troublesome congregation? If I decide to let you go, will you keep them out of my business? No, you know what? I want you to keep them out of this island. Ireland, too, for that matter. Romilda, I want you out of here, too. If you and Ricardo have plans just move up the date, will you? Ricardo?"

The Berg-Mendini's looked back and forth. Amalia moved first, crossing the room to stand in front of Dieter.

"Uncle," she said, kneeling, bowing her head and holding out her two hands, taking Dieter's when he extended it.

"Baron Dieter, I pledge my fealty, so help me God," said Amalia before she kissed Dieter's hand.

Harry would wonder later why she spoke English. Was the oath even binding for a Berg if it wasn't in Romansh? He settled on manners. They wanted the witnesses to understand.

Berthe and Ricardo pledged fealty as well, just as Amalia had. Everyone stood very still, staring at Romilda.

Romilda looked only at Ricardo. Ricardo looked back. Pansy had had enough.

"For Merlin's sake, Mendini, do you want her or not?" Pansy asked, not using her indoor voice.

"No, he doesn't," said Romilda. "Don't flinch so, Ricardo. I know. You have someone in Salzburg, don't you?"

Ricardo looked around the room, making a silent plea for someone to do something or say the right thing to end his quandary.

"That is enough from all of you," said the newly-ascended Baron. "Romilda, you are my widowed step-mother, and the mother of the Baron-presumptive. I am unmarried and will stay that way. Would you be interested in a position at Our Place? The protocol people will have to determine what is possible, according to the laws and precedents. We could ensure the eventual succession of your son to the position, if you are willing to work with me."

"It's worth discussing," said Romilda. "I'll need someone to look out for my interests, won't I? It isn't like brokering a marriage contract, exactly. It's something like it, though."

Dieter turned and looked at Harry. Pansy opened her mouth but Morag saw her and raised her flat hand immediately. The two exchanged some looks.

"I've never done such a thing," Harry tried.

Daphne leaned over to Harry, whispering in his ear.

"Go ahead, Lord Harry," she said. "Negotiate a good deal for Romilda and Dieter and get yourself an affiliation on the Continent."

Harry had a response set to go about an affiliation with the Bergs being the last thing he needed or wanted. Daphne had never steered him wrong, though. She DID know a lot more about the old magical traditions than he did. Harry looked back at Dieter.

"Baron Dieter, will you accept me as Romilda's agent and advisor in this matter and work with me in good faith?" Harry asked.

"Lord Harry," said Dieter as he glanced around at the three members of his fractured family present in the kitchen of Livia's cottage. "I don't think I have a choice. Yes, let's work together."

The members of the two delegations made short work of some testy farewells and the Berg-Mendini's left by floo. Harry didn't know the destination, because he didn't speak Romansh. He didn't want to know. He did want it to be outside Britain.

Romilda stayed in her chair. Pansy was still keeping an eye on her, confiding later that she would trust Romilda Vane about half the distance she could throw her.

"I'll keep you informed," said Harry. He crossed the room and looked down at James Parkinson Vane. "You too, Lord James."

With that, Harry went to the front door, crossed the yard to the stile and didn't stop until he stood in the middle of the lane. Pansy and Daphne weren't far behind. The three of them waited for Morag who they could see was having words with Romilda.

"Daphne!" said Pansy. "Why do you want Harry involved with those people? They mess everything up! Everything they touch gets complicated and stupid."

Harry burst out laughing.

"True," he said. "Complicated and stupid. I don't flatter myself that I can make progress on either. On the other hand, if Daphne thinks it is a good idea, I'll do my best. You'd think she would have an aversion to them after what happened, wouldn't you? And yet, she thinks it is a good idea. As a Gryffindor, I'm obliged to fulfill her expectations."

The two Slytherins couldn't get a response in before Morag crossed the stone wall at the stile and joined the group.

"Can we take you home and see what Kreacher can put together on short notice?" asked Harry.

Daphne did have a good idea after all, and one year later Harry and Daphne headed a delegation to Our Place that included Narcissa Malfoy, the Marshal of the Blacks, the Healer Morag MacDougal, Ms. Pansy Parkinson, Associate of Harry Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Draco (Astoria) Malfoy. The occasion was the formal elevation of Baron Dieter, an appropriate period of mourning for Lorenzo having passed. Certain delicate matters (the still-missing Marcella and Derek's embarrassing cause of death) were handled with finesse and a 'Let's let bygones be bygones' approach. Harry and the Our Place Office of Protocol had negotiated an arrangement so that Romilda was treated something like a regent or dowager, complete with a Romansh title that was untranslatable.

Dieter and Romilda worked surprisingly well together, trying to defuse the tension between factions. Some unhappy parties from both sides left for other pursuits. Ricardo began remaking the Berg-Mendini business organization, replacing outsiders with Bergs and Mendini's when he had the opportunity. He engaged a goblin from the Salzburg Gringotts branch and contracted for the first outside audit of the Berg enterprises since skiing began its boom years in the 1950's. Our Place hadn't been cheated, exactly, but there were lots of places where profits were lost through inflated salaries and unfavorable contracts. Ricardo and his cousins began attending to those, one by one.

The family credited Harry with its change of fortune, something Harry thought very silly since all he had done was make it possible for one widow to return to Our Place with her son, the presumptive Baron James. Dieter tried to explain the local sentiment.

"My cousins are very superstitious, Harry," Dieter said. "Signs and portents, portents and signs. They were at a loss when my father died. It was a bad omen, the old Baron dead, followed shortly by Derek, then I was missing for months. You would say they were getting jumpy. Worried about the future. Then things started getting better when I came back and you arranged for Romilda and James to join us. They associate the good fortune with a clear succession for which they give you the credit."

"Please convey a thank-you from me, if the occasion presents itself," said Harry. "Make it gracious, won't you?"

The Potter-Black delegation brought a number of gifts for the Berg-Mendini's and their hosts reciprocated. Harry visited his hoard in the Potter vault, picking out a generous selection of items with no family or historical significance. He had presentation boxes made up with the date and 'Investiture of Baron Dieter' printed on the lids. Witches received a ring, brooch or bangle while wizards got gold watches and chains or cufflinks.

Word had somehow gotten to the Bergs that the delegation had become quite taken with the intersex portrayal of the portrait Venus as well as the standard of the XII Legion Fulminata. Neither had a strong connection with the Berg-Mendini's. Dieter learned of the interest and ordered that both would be sent home with "My good friend, Lord Harry."

Venus got to Potter Manor and went straight on to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa always assured Daphne she was giving Venus the best of care but Daphne never saw Venus after that. Astoria admitted knowing where Venus was but refused to tell her sister anything further.

Julia the Roman eagle loved the company of sweaty men, their boisterous lives and profanity. The standard of Legio XII Fulminata settled quickly into her new home among the Potters' athletic trophies. With the addition of Julia to their household, Lady Daphne conveyed upon her husband her personal, private title of Your Imperial Majesty and amused them both by paying obeisance in all kinds of imaginative ways.

The End

All: This is the end of Merit and Inheritance, a Harry Potter-Daphne Greengrass fan fiction romance. The author makes no claim to anything in this story, aside from the plot, as most of the characters, magical institutions and locations appear in the Harry Potter novels of Ms. J.K. Rowling. The author further wishes to thank Ms. Rowling for tolerating the community of readers and writers of fan fiction.

Thank-you to all the readers who have left reviews or sent personal notes, of which I am most appreciative.

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