Chapter 15: Letters
The meeting with the minister took almost two hours, and by the end of it Harry was more than half starved, dealing with a raging case of frustration and he also had a headache. To make matters even worse he really didn't feel that much if anything had been accomplished, unless one counted the fact that all present agreed that this was a problem that needed to be dealt with fairly quickly.
Harry's small core group left the ministry and made their way to a little known restaurant close by that LaRay knew of that catered mostly to a magical clientele. Once the group was seated, Harry started to rub his forehead as he pursued the menu trying to decide what to order. Duncan noticed the action and quietly reached into a pocket and produced a potion which he handed over to the boy.
Harry looked up inquiringly after he reached out and took the vial. Arching an eyebrow, he waited for an explanation.
"Headache potion. I always carry two with me. I get migraines sometimes and this is the only thing that helps."
"It's not a migraine, ;will that matter?"
Duncan shook his head no. "It's just a bit stronger than a normal headache potion, that's all. You might want to only take half and if that doesn't work then take the other half."
Giving the man a nod to show he understood the instructions, he uncapped the vial and took a quick swallow, grimacing a bit at the rancid taste, but the results were almost immediate as the headache receded back to a manageable level. "Thanks, Duncan." Harry said in relief after the headache was gone.
It was a bit of a surprise that dinner was so calm and uneventful, especially after the day the seven had put in. Harry enjoyed the orange glazed salmon steak he had ordered and everyone else enjoyed their dinners also. Although talk centered around the little white creatures and the ministry's probable reaction to them nothing was decided or settled but the problems didn't seem quite as insurmountable as they had when the group had sat in the Minister's office earlier.
On the way out the door just out of curiosity Harry checked the restaurant for magic and was not surprised to find the calming spell hanging over the building. With a mental shrug, he dismissed it. After all, it made sense. This place, according to LaRay was used primarily by workers from the Ministry. Harry wondered how often potential problems, arguments and disagreements had been derailed by a quiet business dinner there.
The group apperated back to Hogwarts and walked past the wards. Before going back to their room, Harry took the time to give the Headmistress a brief report on his day spent away from the school.
After the excitement of the day before, Harry was sure he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon but he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and his sleep was peaceful. He woke up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. After grabbing a shower, he hurried down to the great hall to enjoy breakfast with his loved ones, his guards following right behind him. It was a good thing he was feeling so well rested, because he had barely seated himself before the first letter was delivered by one of the owls from his estate at Land's End. Unfolding the letter, Harry let his eyes drift down to see who had written before he read the content. He was a bit surprised to find the letter was from his former potions professor. His interest sharpened he read the letter, his face growing more puzzled by the second. Finished, he passed the letter off to Hermione with the softly asked question. "What do you make of this 'Mione?"
Potter,
You went to a great deal of trouble to insure that I was not incarcerated at the death eater trials and from that action I can only assume that you have found something about myself that you believe to be redeemable. For that you have my thanks, but I have had an Epiphany which I am bringing to your attention. I find that my character is sadly lacking and feel that a short stay in Azkaban might be just the thing to correct flaws I had noticed in myself. Perhaps the stay should extend to the length of your relatives' visit here at Land's End?
Failing to agree to that, have you ever considered my taking up a recreational hobby? Recently, I have been investigating muggle intrusive surgery and feel that after reading up on the subject, I could remove, with minimal pain on the part of the recipient, the human larynx. The beauty of my taking up this hobby would be that there are several persons here at Land's End I could practice on without causing any concern in the greater world. I also feel that as an added benefit this hobby would cut down on noise pollution (a greatly underestimated danger to human life). If you do not agree to this hobby, I have one other I am proposing to you.
Target shooting with muggle projectile weapons. A PT99 hand gun that uses 9mm projectiles or even a Vanguard with a .460 cartridge would be more than acceptable. Of course an M-160 rocket launcher would take out a target with minimal fuss but one might be a bit concerned with collateral damage although I think the complete destruction of the target would more than make up for that concern.
Well, I'll leave you to think on this, although, I would appreciate it if you would respond with your answer soon.
Severus Snape
Hermione read the letter and passed it on to Neville before she answered her friend with a grin. "I'm thinking that Snape doesn't like sharing house room with your muggle family. When and why did you send them to your home, Harry?"
"I forgot that you folks didn't know what happened yesterday. My family was run out of their home in Surrey by those little creatures that invaded the school the other day. Those little guys decided to give their home a complete makeover and my aunt, uncle and cousin ended up in the Leaky Cauldron overnight. I sent them on to Land's End untill I could figure out what else to do with 'em." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose before he continued. "In hind sight I guess that wasn't one of my most brilliant moments. I should arrange to send them to a hotel or something, because I'm pretty sure they are just as unhappy living in a magical house as Snape is at having them there."
Hermione and Ginny both started to snicker at Harry. Boys could be so clueless sometimes.
By the time the letter had made its way to Luna, Harry had four out of five friends laughing at his mistake and that's when the second owl found him. Harry accepted the letter from the owl and before he opened it he asked his friends, "What do you want to bet it's from Mrs. Malfoy complaining about my family?"
Ginny giggled and shook her head slowly. "No way am I taking that bet."
Harry looked down at the opened letter and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You should have, you'd have won. It's from my uncle."
Boy,
Your house guest, Severus, informed me that you have no television, telephone, electricity or computer here. Also, your aunt does not appear to get on with the blonde freak. Fix it.
He passed that letter on after reading it and Hermione had to ask, "How can you tell it's from your uncle? It isn't signed."
"Oh it's from my uncle, right enough. He's the only one who would call me 'boy' and tell me to 'fix it' like that. Hmm, I wonder what's going on with my aunt and Mrs. Malfoy?"
This was as far as he got before the third owl made an appearance.
Harry opened it and started reading. When he was finished with it he just held his hand out to Hermione and gave her the letter. His head thunked down on the table as a fourth owl winged its way over to the small group.
Harry,
Well we got here alright, but after that good looking blonde woman you have staying here tried to lock us up in the attic, mum blew her stack. The two started screaming at each other about who was in charge and who had the right to give orders and stuff and before I knew it they were scratching and slapping at each other and pulling each others' hair. Dad and the other man staying here pulled 'em apart and all of the little big eared thingies made a 'pop' sound and vanished.
The tall man with the black hair did something with his stick and mum and the blonde woman both had to sit down at a table and couldn't move or even talk till the man let 'em, which he didn't for a long time.
Then the big eared little guys brought tea and the blonde woman started in about how we had horrid table manners and mum threw her spoon at her and then she started throwing the little sandwiches back at mum and before I knew it the two started screaming at each other again. I thought for a bit that they were going to climb across the table to pull each others' hair again, but before they could the tall man got up from the table and threw his cup of tea down on the floor and stormed out of the room mumbling about how children were much easier to deal with and how Ask-a-ban would be easier than this.
Dad went off to find a telly and we haven't seen him since. I think he's lost or maybe he's just is hiding like the man is. I'm not sure which.
Well anyhow, the blonde woman grabbed a piece of paper and a feather to write you a letter which I thought was a good idea so I did too.
Hope you're doing good.
Dudley.
He didn't want to take the letter from her. He was developing a nasty headache and right about now going back to bed was starting to sound real good, but the stupid owl just pecked the back of his head and pulled his hair till he had to either take the letter from her or kill her and he somehow doubted that killing someone's owl at breakfast in the great hall would endear him to his school mates. With a sigh he raised his head and opened the letter the strange owl dropped in front of him.
Lord Potter
Order of Merlin First Class
Dear Sir,
This letter is in regards to the creatures that you used in the remodeling of your family home in Surrey. We at the ministry are concerned about the publicity these animals have garnered in the muggle world and ask your help in controlling the rumors and speculation that are being spread by the muggle media.
A meeting has been arranged with the Department of Muggle Relations, the Minister of Magic, the Prime Minister, and yourself on Wednesday the 15th of May at 1:00 p.m. at the Ministry of Magic. Please be prompt and come with plausible ideas on how to control the damage already done.
We also ask that in the future, if you wish more of this type of work done you use accredited remodeling companies either muggle or magical. It will save us from having to deal with this sort of problem in the future.
Thank you,
Travis Greind
Magical Liaison to the Prime Minister.
Harry moaned after he finished reading that one. Merlin, could it get any worse? Of course it could, he was Harry Potter after all. He didn't pass this letter on to his friends. Instead he gave it directly to Shacklebolt to read before he stood up. "I'm going back to … Damn!" Harry stopped talking as he watched two more owls heading in his direction. Once they got to him, he quickly relieved them of their burden but instead of opening them to read he just handed them off to his friends. "As I started to say before I was so rudely interrupted, I'm going back to bed." With that he turned and calmly walked out of the great hall and headed back to his room and hopefully a little bit of peace.
Hermione grabbed both letters and after opening them she scanned the content before she dissolved into quiet laughter. Her shoulders shaking slightly she passed the letters on to her friends and dug back into her breakfast.
Dear Harry,
You need to get rid of that empty headed blonde tart.
Aunt Petunia
My Dear Lord Potter,
I am pleased to inform you that your unfortunate relatives arrived safely and as your acting hostess I have done my best to see to their every comfort.
Knowing that these people are sadly handicapped in magic, I had the house elves prepare a suit of rooms for them located on the fourth floor. I also instructed two of your family house elves to see to their every need and to insure that they caused you no embarrassment.
Unfortunately, with your busy schedule, you apparently didn't have time to properly instruct your family of their place in a magical household and because of this the house elves seem uncertain of whose orders they should follow first.
As I am sure this was just an oversight on your part it will be fairly simple to rectify. All you need to do is pop over here and let your staff and family know that I hold the highest rank of those here and thus am the acting head of this house in your absence.
With respect
Lady Narcissa Malfoy.