And here's the forty first chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!

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Clavyus, avidnarutofan, shoppingnull, JRW123, DarkRavie, FicTIuNFaN, The Shadows Mistress, NobleHumanRocks, mizzrazz72, The Phantom Keeper, TheGreatBubbaJ, nkh1, Shadowdog11, Mystogrigen, BMS, jamnaz79, mwinter1, Greatazuredragon, NorGuard, Yaw6113, et-reader97, VinCS, lonewolf 83, raigalcc, Uday Sra, Hitmen101, mrhunterjdavis, sykartracer, gginsc, old-crow, Luiz4200, Guest, Mecharic, fvdv123, Kalacakra108, TheMostPeculiarSerb1995, deoxeyses, NarutoCloud, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Jostanos, actually I've accidentally created a plot hole there since Dumbledore also had some parts of the basilisk that he could sell to pay for the ritual. Let's pretend that he had already transferred that gold into Hogwarts' vault and now can't get it back without having to explain what for does he need those Galleons?
setokayba2n, last I checked, it's not even October yet. =P
Urgazhi, didn't I say that I'm merely taking a break?
ThR1992, oh, worry not, I have something planned.
Wyrtha, the next chapter will probably deal with that actually - having Dumbledore out there hunting for horcruxes is a very convenient way of preventing him from monitoring Harry's actions too closely. And we know that Harry's big day is coming.
orion0905, well, he doesn't have a place (well, a place he owns) yet. Potter manor has burned down, remember? He'll need to rebuild it first.
magitech, no, just Hedwig being Hedwig.
Majerus, thank you for your kind words and continuous support. And about the Knight Bus, well... I must've missed that from reading the wiki. Oh well, I'm too lazy to go back and edit that part.

* AN: As always, great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.

"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
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A Year Too Soon
Chapter XLI: A Midsummer Gathering

Floo travel was still quite uncomfortable for Harry and the green-eyed teen was sure he'd never get used to flying in a mad spin through that weird space connecting Magical fireplaces all over Great Britain and, possibly, beyond. He wasn't sure how exactly the floo network operated. And, quite frankly, he wasn't especially interested in learning about that either.

At least, he had learned how to exit a fireplace without ending up in a heap on the floor. It was nice, though unfortunately he still lacked grace that everyone who grew up in the Magical world seemed to possess.

"Good afternoon, Lord Greengrass." Harry greeted after taking a moment to recover from the floo experience and spell the ash off his clothes.

"Good afternoon, Heir Potter." The man returned the greeting. "The young Ladies are waiting for you in the summer pavilion." The teenage wizard nodded.

"Thank you." He said. "But before I join them, would you mind answering a question for me?" Lord Greengrass nodded, silently telling him to continue: "I don't know whether you've heard about it or not, but the Potter manor was destroyed by a fire about a decade ago." Judging by a momentary flicker of emotion on the man's face, Lord Greengrass wasn't aware of that. Meanwhile, Harry continued: "I plan on rebuilding it as soon as my situation allows it and I'd like it to be something open and airy, similar to yours. Was the Greengrass manor designed by one of your ancestors or, perhaps, it was a hired architect who did it?"

"The manor was last renovated shortly after my great grandfather took the mantle of the Lord Greengrass in the early twenties." The older wizard replied. "And to design the new guest room and the solarium he indeed had hired an architect, Mr. George Newcastle I believe was his name."

"Thank you." Harry said. Then, after a short pause, he added: "Do you happen to know whether Mr. Newcastle was working for some firm? And if so, do you know what happened to it?" Lord Greengrass shook his head.

"I don't think I can answer those questions, Heir Potter." The man said.

"Alright, I'll see what I can find myself." Harry replied. "And thank you again, Lord Greengrass."

"Don't worry about that." The older wizard said. "In fact, I believe, I haven't thanked you for what you've done for my family, Heir Potter." It took the green-eyed teen a couple of moments to remember what the man was talking about; he'd almost forgotten that he had suggested to Daphne that Astoria be taken to a non-Magical doctor..

"Did it really help?" He asked.

"Well…" Lord Greengrass began. "I took Astoria to Muggle Healers like you suggested, but all they could tell was that my little girl has a weak heart. And because they didn't know - couldn't know - what's wrong with her, all they could do was prescribe a medicine to strengthen her heart." Pausing for a moment, the man continued: "And then I had to make Astoria eat those pulls for several weeks before our Healer could see any results. Can you imagine having to drink a potion for that long to get any effect out of them? Still, that medicine did help bring my girl back to full health, so… Thank you, Heir Potter. My family owes you a debt."

"I humbly accept your gratitude." Harry replied, just as he was expected to. Then, he added: "But Astoria is a friend." Of course, he had talked to 'Tori only a few times, so calling her a friend might be a bit of a stretch, but he liked the little ball of sunshine. That and she was Daphne's little sister. "I'd surely try to help her."

"You're a good man, Heir Potter." Lord Greengrass said. "Now, you shouldn't keep Ladies waiting." Nodding, Harry thanked the man for hosting their little get-together and headed out into the manor's garden. Just like the previous summer, the garden was filled with immaculate rose bushes and beautifully-blooming flower beds. And in the center of this splendor there stood the summer pavilion. Inside, Harry could see his girlfriends and the Greengrass sisters talking to each other while having some after-lunch tea. Tracey, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen and probably hasn't arrived yet.

"Good afternoon!" Harry called as he approached the pavilion.

"Harry!" The girls greeted him back. Flora and Hestia got up from the table to give him a couple of passionate kisses. Once they finished showing their boyfriend how much they had missed him, the twins led Harry to the table and seated him between them.

"How's everyone's summer so far?" The green-eyed wizard asked as he helped himself with some iced tea. Astoria was the first one to answer:

"I've been well since our Healer said I don't have to take potions or eat those horrible pills anymore, Heir Potter. Why did you have my father make me eat them? I hate you." She told him accusingly.

"Astoria!" Daphne hissed quietly, surprised that her sister would say something like that to someone who had helped her get back to her feet after the Blood Curse had hit her. Thankfully, it looked like the little witch was just being over-dramatic - an act that Harry could see right through.

"No, you don't." He said with a small laugh. 'Tori pouted for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh.

"Alright, I don't." She conceded. Then she added: "But those pills were still awful, Harry. I don't want to eat them ever again."

"They did help you, though, didn't they?" The young Potter asked back. Receiving no answer, he decided to change the topic of the conversation: "Are you looking forward to going to Hogwarts this fall?"

"Of course I am!" Astoria proclaimed, fiery passion back in her eyes. "Daphne has told me so many stories about the castle. I can't wait to see it myself! And I'm really looking forward to learning Charms! That gotta be the most fun subject taught at Hogwarts! Now, Herbology on the other hand..." The little witch made a pause, before continuing: "Too bad no one wants to tell me how the Sorting is done. I want to be in Slytherin with you!"

"Well…" Daphne chimed in. "The way the sorting is done is supposed to be a secret shared only by those who have already been sorted." She said. "But seeing how you're already plotting your way into the Snake den, I'm sure they'll have no other option but to make you a Slytherin." Pausing for a moment, she added gently: "But don't worry, we will still love you even if you end up in a different House."

"Thank you, Daph." Astoria said. There was a rather long pause then, which was broken by the Greengrass heiress:

"And what about you, Harry? What are you planning to do this summer?" She asked. "You aren't thinking of spending all your summer in Diagon Alley, are you?"

"Nope." The green-eyed wizard replied. "I'm planning to finally visit the Potter manor - whatever is left of it after the fire, anyway - in a couple of weeks. And, if stars align, I might even be able to start rebuilding it. Plus, I'm sure, this won't be the only time we meet up. But other than that, yeah, I don't think I'll be leaving the Alley much."

"Oh, Tracey is here!" Astoria announced. And, indeed, Ms. Davis had finally arrived and was now making her way through the garden. With Blaise out of the country for most of the summer, she was the final member of the clique and so everyone was here now. After the greetings were exchanged, the conversation went back to everyone's summer plans.

"So, Tracey, are you looking forward to seeing Corfu?" Flora asked as she accepted a slice of cake from a house elf. "That's where your family will be traveling to, right?"

"Yeah." The said girl confirmed with a nod. "And, yes, I can't wait to see the island. We might even go visit the Magical sites there." Tracey's father was a muggle, but one definitely aware of Magic. "I would love to see what Magic was like in Ancient Greece. Why can't Professor Binns ever talk about that instead of Goblin rebellions?"

"Well, he's been a ghost for Merlin knows how long. He has probably forgotten everything else." Daphne pointed out. "But, seriously, as nice as an extra period to do whatever you want is, I'd rather we have a History Professor that talks about interesting stuff." She received nods of agreement from everyone but Astoria, who was yet to have a class with Binns.

From there on the conversation began to die down as everyone focused on the delicious meal in front of them.

After the cake and other sweets were eaten and tea was drunk, the question of what to do next arose. And Astoria was quick to suggest going to the nearby stream. She seemed to really like going there and, recalling how lovely the creek was, Harry had no trouble seeing why. 'Tori's suggestion also quickly found support from Flora and Hestia and as no one was actually opposed to this, Daphne had the house elf bring them a beach ball and the clique hit the road.

A short walk down the grassy hill covered in blooming wildflowers later, they arrived at the stream. It looked a little more overgrown that Harry remembered it from the previous year, but still a beautiful place with crystal-clear water and reeds and sedge growing along the creek's sandy shores.

'Tori quickly kicked off her shoes and ran off into the stream, letting out a small yelp as cold water touched her skin. Not a minute later she was joined there by Tracey and the rest of the teens followed her soon thereafter.

Flora and Hestia exchanged a glance and, nodding to themselves, launched an 'attack' against unsuspecting Harry, showering him with twin cool splashes.

"Hey!" The green-eyed wizard called, before returning 'fire' with a splash of his own. This water-fight quickly devolved into a free-for-all with the three laughing teens throwing water spatter at each other. Within a couple of minutes they all were wet through. "Alright, alright, ceasefire!" Harry called as he tried to get out of the stream. The twins sent one last splash after their boyfriend - which missed him entirely - and went to join him on the shore.

"Can you pass us the ball?" Daphne called. With a nod, Harry tossed the ball towards the stream, where it swiftly fell into Astoria's possession. Soon after the three girls still in the water began playing, Harry noticed Flora and Hestia inching towards him with mischievous smiles on their faces and an almost-predatory glint in their eyes.

"Uhm, girls?" He began, only to be shushed by the twins.

"Shh… Be quiet, Harry." Flora said. "Let's go somewhere more private." And with that she and Hestia took his hands and began pulling him behind a large osier-bed bush nearby. Once there, the girls gently pushed him onto grassy ground before undoing the top halves of their robes. It wasn't the first time Harry saw them like that, but he still froze in place with a deep blush blossoming on his face. The twins were quick to break him out of this stupor with kisses to his lips.

"We need to get warm after our little splashing match, and wet clothes get in the way." Hestia 'explained' as she broke her kiss with him. "You should take yours off too." Nodding dumbly, Harry began sloppily undoing his shirt while his girlfriends pressed themselves against him and pulled him into an impassioned make-out session.

Needless to say, it was quite a while before they were done 'warming' each other. And, thankfully, Daphne and Tracey were kind enough not to go looking for them, thus sparing the trio much embarrassment.

~/ *** \~

It took Peter Pettigrew a couple of weeks to reach the Crouch manor and another week to find a good spot he could spy on the manor from - Bartimer Crouch Sr. certainly liked his privacy and made sure that his home was well hidden from the prying eyes. At least, all of his efforts weren't for nothing and it wasn't long before he spotted a man staring blankly out of a partially-curtained window all day long with single-mindedness that could be explained only with an Imperio-enforced command.

And even though this man barely resembled Barty Crouch Jr. from their days in the Dark Lord's service, the rat animagus was sure that it was him. It made no sense for Crouch Sr., the former director of the DMLE and a well-known champion of Justice, to keep anyone else imprisoned within his manor instead of sending them to Azkaban. And if Senior really was using Imperius, it could only mean that his son was still loyal to their Master, and would eagerly help him bring the Dark Lord back..

Now he needed to save his fellow Death Eater from his imprisonment by his moronic father. Great.

Unfortunately for Pettigrew, he had none. He wasn't powerful enough to breach the wards surrounding the Crouch manor through sheer force, nor did he possess the knowledge necessary to quietly dismantle them. And even if he somehow managed to get past the wards, there still was the issue of Crouch Sr. himself. The old bastard would have Hit Wizards breathing down their necks the moment he notices Junior was gone from the manor. Killing him wasn't an option either as it would draw the Ministry's attention. No, Crouch Sr. needed to be taken alive and put under the Imperius curse - something easier said than done since the man was no pushover when it came to Magical combat.

Still, Peter wasn't giving up on rescuing Barty just yet. As far as he knew, Junior was the only Death Eater not in Azkaban that hasn't turned their back on the Dark Lord. And the rat animagus would rather have someone whose loyalty was unquestionable working with him to resurrect their Master. After all, those traitors had renounced the Dark Lord once already to save their worthless hides, where were the guarantees they wouldn't do that again and sell him out?

Shaking his head, Peter returned the pair of binoculars - stolen from some Muggle in a nearby town - that he was using to check up on Junior into the pocket of his robes. Then he transformed into his animagus form and went on yet another inspection of the wards hoping to find a hole he could slip through. There should be one somewhere. He just needed to find it.

~/ *** \~

Following his conversation with Lord Greengrass, Harry did his best to track down information about George Newcastle and his architectural business. Which turned out to be a surprisingly-difficult task as pretty much no record he could easily access mentioned anything beyond the man's blood status and the House he had been in while attending Hogwarts.

Yet, the Potter heir eventually managed to learn that Mr. Newcastle had indeed founded an architectural firm shortly before the First World War. Later, the business was inherited by his son, Henry, who helped rebuild a number of Magical houses that were damaged or destroyed during the Blitz. In the following years, however, the firm didn't do so well and was eventually closed down in the late sixties.

What's more, it looked like the other firms - however few of them there were - too had gone out of business around that time. Probably because there just weren't enough wizards and witches in Magical Britain to provide them with enough jobs to be profitable. Voldemort's rise to powers probably played at least some role in this as well. And since Death Eaters rarely left anyone alive, the Blood War didn't result in many people that needed their homes rebuilt. And since there were no jobs for them to undertake, architectural firms were unprofitable.

Of course, it didn't mean that there were no architects anywhere in Magical Britain. They just did other things most of the time. Still, this situation made contacting and hiring an architect much more difficult. It made determining whether someone was good rather more troublesome as well since there were no publicly available portfolios.

That wasn't good news, but Harry took things calmly. He was sure that even if he failed to find a good architect willing to design the new Potter manor himself, the Goblins would find him someone for the job. For a fee, of course. That's how the Goblins were. But, of course, he will try himself first.

Now, where would he start?..

That's all, folks!
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