Bab 444: 141-150
Sirius had arranged for a small private room at a very exclusive restaurant and was currently a worried man. Hestia had of course picked-up on this but surmised correctly that her future husband was about to perform a proposal they could tell their children about. Hestia had insisted on this but had no idea how far Sirius intended to take her request. The now ever-present mirror went off in Hestia's bag, she answered it to find a mischievous looking Tonks grinning back at her. "Tonks, this is not a good time right now. Can I call you back later?"
"Well hello to you too Hestia. It's actually Sirius I need to speak with for a second."
She handed the mirror over the table before taking a sip of the superb wine, her future husband's next words almost caused Hestia to choke on it.
"Good morning Mr and Mrs Jones, sorry about this interruption to your breakfast but it is fairly important. Let me introduce myself, I am Lord Sirius Orion Black and am calling to ask for permission to marry your beautiful daughter who I love more than life. Again I apologise that we're meeting this way but it would be my intention to get you down here so we can get to know one another before the big day."
Robert Jones looked into this man's eyes and could see the love of his daughter reflected there, it only remained to discover how she felt about this. He was already pretty sure of that or he wouldn't have let her travel half way around the world. "Lord Black, may I speak with my daughter a moment before I answer your question."
"Of course sir." He handed the mirror to his intended.
"Daddy?"
"Yes love, it's me. I've been asked for your hand in marriage and need to know how you feel about this?"
Hestia took a steadying breath before answering, "Daddy, I want this more than anything in the whole world. Sirius is the one for me and I love him."
That was all he needed to hear, Hestia could also hear her mother crying buckets in the background before she passed the mirror back to Sirius.
"Lord Black, I gladly give my permission for you to ask for my daughter's hand."
Sirius cast a quick charm on the mirror that saw it floating at an angle that gave the viewers back in Britain a front row seat to what he was about to do. He got down on one knee beside the woman he wanted to marry. "Hestia, you make me happier than I've ever been just by walking into the room. I couldn't bear not to have you in my life for as long as we both shall live. I love you and hope you will do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Sirius opened a black velvet box to show her an exquisite diamond ring.
Her voice betrayed Hestia and she could only squeak 'yes'. Sirius placed the ring on her finger to much cheering from the floating mirror. The kiss that followed was quite chase as both were aware of the audience they had.
The Jones's quickly agreed to travel to Australia though Robert did baulk at the idea of flying as a muggle, he soon relented as the situation was explained to him. Robert thought it was the least he could do to keep 'the boy who saved them all' safe from Dumbledore. Andi and Ted would be travelling with them as Tonks was sticking with the original plan to travel with Remus and the Hogwarts crowd.
Tonks trusted their mothers, Hestia and Emma to have everything organised by the time she got there and there was always the mirrors for anything they needed to check. She would be content with that. All she needed to make her wedding day perfect was for Remus to turn up.
.....
Robert and Carol Jones soon proved to be welcome additions to the house in Australia as they, along with Ted and Andi threw themselves wholeheartedly into the madness that Christmas was fast becoming. Both couples were staying in the main house despite Sirius offering the spare bedroom in their flat over the garages. There was a collective decision to reserve that room for Tonks and Remus. Since both would be here on what was effectively a working holiday, they wouldn't be able to have a conventional honeymoon. Sirius and Hestia would wait until everyone headed back to Britain before leaving to spend some alone time on Black Island, the Lupins would be offered its use for a few weeks during their summer break.
That left two bedrooms in the main house, earmarked for Xeno Lovegood and Minerva McGonagall. None of them were quite brave enough to ask the formidable headmistress of Hogwarts to sleep in a hut, no matter how luxurious they could make them.
With Ted here, they had not only a guest with a muggle background but another driver as well. Tonks had told them that every lucky auror who had managed to get themselves on the plane as part of the protection detail all had muggle backgrounds. Four of them had licences and with Tonks, her father, Dan and Emma it gave them quite a driver pool. They were hiring a fleet of Toyota eight seaters for the duration of the holidays.
Both Ted and Robert were drafted into the planning team for the other big event of the holidays, the arrival of the Hogwarts students. The four ladies would be organising the wedding while their other half's would be working with the four kids to ensure their friends had the time of their young lives. Dan was aiming for a real mixture, staying in magical accommodation but eating food outside on picnic benches. Food being barbecued or cooked over an open fire. Dan was drawing on his childhood experiences camping with the boy scouts. Everyone loved the ideas and added bits of their own, the plans were slowly cemented but the name was already cast in stone. The Hogwarts contingent would all be staying in camp Granger.
With the pool, Quidditch pitch, extensive grounds and the nearby beach, the idea was to spend alternate days on excursions. Even shopping and a hamburger or pizza was cause for excitement when you were doing it in the company of your friends. Sirius then chucked-in what was bound to be the highlight of their holiday. A day on a hired pirate ship that would take them all sailing for a day in search of dolphin sightings. With a double wedding now taking place on Boxing day, it was a varied and packed program that hopefully would contain something for everyone.
At the final get-together before they left for Australia, Remus was leading the meeting for those who were travelling in two days' time. Ginny had a batch of pictures that she was sending on to her parents but Remus had asked permission from the twins to show some of them to the group. A quick spell copied them before he transformed the pictures into slides, the ancient projector cast the coloured muggle images onto the wall.
The huts were now all brightly painted and had picnic benches outside, when the pictures showed the interiors then everyone was ready to leave right there and then. The house in its beautiful gardens was stunning but their friends at the pool took their breath away. By the time the beach photo's showed a bronzed Harry and a bikini wearing Hermione on their surf boards, they were ready to fly there by broom.
Hogwarts in December averaged less than eight hours of daylight per day with sunshine being nothing more than a distant pleasant memory. The thought of blue skies, beaches and bikinis had everyone even more excited. They would not be travelling by the Hogwarts express, they would be leaving shortly after their last class toward the Three Broomsticks floo. A muggle coach would once again be waiting on them outside the Leaky Cauldron to take them off to the airport. Just when they thought it was impossible to be any more excited, Remus managed to ratchet it up a notch.
"As you can see, Harry and Hermione have done their best to ensure that we all have a fabulous time. There is one additional event that I have still to tell you about, on Boxing Day everyone is invited to a wedding held on the grounds of the Potter / Granger home."
This drew Minerva's attention, pirate ships may be great for the youngsters but a good wedding was more her cup of tea. Even if she didn't know the participants too well, the occasion in itself almost always brought a tear to her eyes.
Remus had everyone's undivided attention now as they waited for more details, "Lord Sirius Black will be marrying Miss Hestia Jones." This led to cheers as nearly all of them had met Sirius. Minerva was delighted that her former cub was finally settling down. Remus just loved playing the crowd and was milking this for all it was worth. "To make the occasion even more special, it will be a double wedding. The delectable Miss Tonks here has amazingly agreed to be my wife and we will marry at the same time."
The cheering this time raised the roof. The first years loved Remus and Tonks while the twins were going to be at both their idol's weddings. Minerva was now certain she would be crying her eyes out as two of Gryffindor's former cubs had apparently found the happiness they deserved. The ring on Miss Tonks finger was now clearly visible for all to see as she wrapped her arms around Remus and gave him a chaste kiss.
They filed out of the meeting in great spirits, only two more nights and then they would be off on their adventure of a lifetime. Neville noticed his girlfriend was rather subdued as he walked her back to the Slytherin dorm. "Something bothering you Millie?"
When Millie started blushing and acting all shy Neville knew this was serious, his girlfriend just wasn't like that. "I'm just worried you'll be disappointed in me Neville. Hermione was beautiful in that bikini, I look nothing like that!"
Neville smiled shyly back at her, "Well since I look nothing like Harry in my trunks, I think we should be ok. You may not believe this but, whatever you are wearing at the pool or on that beach, my eyes won't be looking anywhere else. My main worries are that you'll either be disappointed when you see me in my trunks or slap my face for drooling all over the sight of you in your swimwear."
The shy and blushing girl disappeared as his Millie made an immediate return. Her first action was to drag her wonderful, caring boyfriend into the nearest broom cupboard.
....
The twins were sending Ginny's photographs to Charlie, he would then take them to Cairo for Christmas where their dad would flip at the sight of them. The muggle glossy colour prints showed Ginny having the time of her life and the twins couldn't wait to join her. They also couldn't wait to tease Oliver when he returned from his prefect rounds with a certain Miss Clearwater. Oliver had been practically hyperventilating at the meeting and the twins were determined to discover why. The betting was pretty even between the thought of Penelope in a bikini like Hermione's and the picture of them playing Quidditch in the sunshine. Either way, he was soon going to be teased mercilessly by the rest of the team.
........
Dumbledore's plans were almost complete, he would spend the next twenty-four hours meditating in preparation for his final battle. He still expected to kill the boy quickly but complacency could cost him his life and see the dark lord triumph, something Albus could not allow.
Once again the old wizard congratulated himself on having the foresight to place tracking charms on all the first year Gryffindor's trunks, inviting all his friends to his hidden home was foolishness taken to the extreme. Tom always did think he was smarter than everyone else, Albus had every intention of showing Riddle how wrong he was.
Dumbledore had used ancient magic and his great power to construct a portkey that should blast through any and all wards, it had taken weeks and left him very tired but the result would more than justify all the effort. The trunks would take him directly to the dark lord's unknowing recruits, the boy would be close by.
Unlike Tom, it wasn't fear but Surprise that was Dumbledore's greatest weapon. He needed to kill the boy quickly or there would be a battle to end all battles. Dumbledore against Voldemort with the only rule being whoever remained alive at the end would be remembered by history as the victor. Albus intended that to be him, nothing else mattered.
Minerva McGonagall was renowned as a witch who was not easily impressed. Minerva McGonagall was currently calling on all her considerable experience of dealing with difficult parents and wayward students to stop her jaw hitting the floor and drool running down the side of her mouth. Astonishment, amazement and awe combined didn't come close to how she was feeling at the moment. For the first time in her life Minerva appreciated how parents of muggle borns felt upon hearing that magic was not only a reality but their child was a witch or wizard. Minerva was so far beyond what she considered normal that she had no frame of reference to compare it with. Thankfully for her state of mind, the shocks had built up until her present circumstances, this was the only reason the stern headmistress was able to project the appearance of coping with the situation.
Her eyebrows had first been raised when they left the Leaky Cauldron, the muggle coach was certainly eye opening. What was even more impressive though was how the children just accepted this as the norm, the few who hadn't been on the theme park outing were soon settled in as their friends looked after them. Watching while Charity used a device that allowed her to speak to everyone on the coach reinforced Minerva's belief that she'd made the correct decision by travelling with this group. She had no intention of becoming an unapproachable figure like Dumbledore and there was clearly much to be learned on this adventure. It was only old dogs that couldn't be taught new tricks, felines were a whole other matter.
Heathrow Airport was mind boggling. You could fit Hogwarts, the ministry and probably Diagon Alley too inside the massive building. Young Mr Thomas was something of an aviation buff and Minerva was hearing facts her mind was having trouble accepting. This was apparently only one of the terminal buildings the airport boasted and in excess of thirty million people passed through Heathrow annually. The organisation required transporting that many people and their belongings between destinations as far apart as Aberdeen and Adelaide was too much for the administrator in Minerva to comprehend. She knew how difficult it was to run Hogwarts, the enormous scale of this operation staggered her.
When Auror Tonks appeared with their documents, including completed tags for their luggage, Mr Thomas went into absolute raptures about some business class they would be taking. Minerva had never seen a child so excited about learning. Their luggage shortly disappeared into a hole in the wall and they were all led through to a very nice lounge, complete with free drinks and snacks as they awaited their departure time.
Minerva was currently relaxing on a very comfortable seat, a seat that could change positions at the push of a button, while a young lady served her tea and biscuits. There was no sensation of being over a mile high and travelling at a speed no broom could ever hope to match. There were moving pictures displayed with sound being accessed by placing small items in your ear, she had lighting and temperature controls at her fingertips and not one bit of magic had been used anywhere. Minerva was having the absolute folly of ignoring this world undeniably driven home, anyone who thought the magical world couldn't learn anything from muggles must be mistaking their beer for befuddlement draught.
Observing as her students coped admirably with these astonishing surroundings filled the headmistress with pride. Not so much at any achievement of hers, more how the children of muggle backgrounds all helped their friends enjoy the whole experience. Minerva's gaze was drawn to three girls sitting together with the things in their ears, heads swaying in time as they obviously listened to music. That this was Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis and Miss Parkinson, Slytherin purebloods all, was almost beyond comprehension.
Something about them listing to music triggered a long forgotten memory from her childhood, playing at her best friend's house. Morag's mother had a wind-up gramophone that they played all the time, one of the songs they used to listen to repeatedly now fired off in her mind. 'How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Paree' was nothing more than a catchy tune to the two little girls. For the adult Minerva McGonagall, this was the inspiration behind her epiphany that could actually change the magical community of Britain. She had later understood the lyrics were aimed at American soldiers who had fought against the Kaiser, hinting that after seeing the bright lights of Paris they wouldn't be content with returning to farming. Minerva had no problems drawing parallels with the current situation, she would bet her salary and pension those three girls weren't listening to Celestina Warbeck.
Her friend Filius was right, the Potters had shown them all the way forward. Expose the lies and explode the myths, leave the blood bigotry with no place to hide. The children on this plane were undeniable proof of what could be achieved when everyone worked together. As headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva considered it as her job, if not her duty to prepare the children entrusted to her care for the challenges they would face in the real world. With Cornelius and Amelia making sweeping changes at the ministry, now was the time for Hogwarts to do the same.
There was Qantas stationary available in a pouch at her seat so Minerva started to write down her ideas for change, ideas that would have been considered crazy even six months ago. Then again, if six months ago someone had told her she'd be writing these ideas while flying over the Himalayas at six hundred miles per hour without spilling her tea, Minerva would have assumed they'd been at the cooking sherry. If she wasn't surrounded by Hogwarts students, she might have requested something stronger than a cup of tea herself. A wee dram would certainly hit the spot right about now.
The Grangers were watching the multiple reunions taking place in the airport though, with the amount of noise being generated, they were far from the only ones paying attention. Luna had her arms locked around her father while Ginny was being repeatedly hoisted in the air by her twin brothers. Remus and Tonks were also making some noise as they greeted their friends and future family but the commotion around Harry and Hermione easily drowned the rest out. It was when three older girls were shrieking and making a large show of kissing Harry thank you on his cheeks that Emma appeared ready to intervene, she was only prevented from doing so by Minerva's quiet words in her ear.
"Mrs Granger, those three girls are Harry's team mates. They are only teasing him in an attempt to make him blush, both Harry and Hermione are well aware of this fact and either could stop this in an instant."
Minerva's words were born out as Hermione was now laughing rather loudly as the twins were jokingly trying to kiss him as well.
"The Gryffindor team is a really close unit this year, they are also very protective of the youngest quidditch seeker in over a century. This entire squad of children behaves more like a family than a group of friends and I can't thank your children enough for initiating it. They have been the catalysts for so much that is good this year, it breaks my heart to think they may not return because a crazy old man is after them." Minerva saw Dan and Emma about to strongly object so she headed them off, "Mr and Mrs Granger, I understand totally why you did what you did and agree with your decision one hundred percent. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."
Her smile disarmed the parents, both knew their children were of the same opinion. "I think you need to call us Dan and Emma, we are going to be staying in the same house for the next two weeks."
The finally got everyone loaded into the fleet of Toyotas they had hired and the convoy headed for home. It was now evening in Australia and they still had a two-hour drive ahead of them. Dobby would have food waiting for the group when they arrived. A quick tour of the accommodation and then it would be off to bed for some much needed sleep, the fun could begin tomorrow. Harry had come to an agreement with the little guy, Dobby would only provide one meal a day during the holidays. The Potters were well aware of the elf's willingness to work himself into a state of collapse and hoped this would prevent him overworking. Only the fact that he was still going to be cooking Christmas dinner and catering for the wedding had Dobby agreeing, it didn't sit well that someone else would be doing the cooking at other times but he had to admit that these two weeks were going to be very busy. Dobby had never been happier.
They party arrived home to be greeted by thousands of twinkling festive lights strung all over Camp Granger. As much as Sirius wanted to, the rest of the family had drawn the line at items like illuminated and animated Santa in a hot air balloon. One shop managed to go too far even for Sirius, the life-sized plastic figure of Santa with his trousers at his ankles while taking a dump down a chimney had the outraged marauder reaching for his wand. Only Hestia's quick actions had saved them from becoming embroiled in an incident that would have taken some explaining.
"But love, imagine a kid seeing that. Imagine our kid seeing that, that shopkeeper deserved to be hexed."
No one disagreed with the thought behind his objection, it was only the method Sirius chose to vent those objections that they had to curtail. Hestia was so pleased at the thought of 'our kid' that she raised no objections when her fiancé bought enough fake reindeer to start his own herd. They were placed tastefully in groups around the camp. Each hut also had its own Christmas tree for its occupants to trim, decorations would be purchased on their first shopping day.
Tomorrow was an acclimatisation day, they would lounge about while making use of the camps many facilities, giving them all a chance to recover from the long haul flight. The dozen friends of Tonks and Hestia were sharing three huts along with Charity and the aurors.
The food and drink was laid out as a buffet and people helped themselves while milling around and discovering their home for the next fortnight. No one was disappointed that they would be staying in camp tomorrow, the news was actually greeted with enthusiasm. Oliver took it a step too far though when he called a Gryffindor Quidditch practice for the afternoon, thankfully Penelope was able to move from his side quickly enough to avoid the food thrown at her boyfriend. Although they vocally voiced their objection, the other six players were looking forward to doing some flying in the sunshine.
Dan and Ted were slaving over a massive hot grill and loving every minute of it. They had regiments of sausages, acres of bacon and eggs frying by the dozen. A large cauldron of beans was suspended over a camp fire and Sirius had even transfigured a tubular metal triangle for Dan to hit while shouting 'come and get it!' The fact that most people were already up and in the queue for food didn't lessen his enjoyment of the dingala..dingala..ding one iota. Sirius and Remus were on tea, coffee, fruit juice duty while Robert had bread rolls, butter and jams on every table. Before the party left from Hogwarts, the mercury had barely risen above zero degrees Celsius for a fortnight. Add in the wind chill factor and you got the usual weather report for the Scottish Highlands in December, bloody freezing.
Eating breakfast al fresco in the beautiful Australian sunshine was an instant hit amongst the very happy campers. Lunch would consist of a mountain of sandwiches that the ladies would prepare and of course there was fruit in abundance at every meal. This would allow Dobby time to make their evening meal.
Although the youngest, Ginny found herself showing the older bunch around. Fred and George had asked for a tour with their Quidditch team mates and Penelope tagging along. Luna was doing the same with her father, she'd missed him so much and planned on spending the entire day by his side.
The adults were all going over wedding plans while the aurors, minus Tonks of course, were checking the perimeter inside the wards to get a better understanding of the place .Harry and Hermione were catching up with their friends as they all walked down the path to the private beach, with the Quidditch practice this afternoon Harry wanted to spend the morning just hanging out and having a few laughs. Everyone was just in shorts and t-shirts, more concerned with getting their bearings than a tan at the moment.
Millie was watching the waves and reassessing her decision to give surfing a try, "Is surfing really hard to learn Harry?"
"Well that depends on whether the board you're using is jinxed or not Millie."
This led to multiple cries of 'what' while Hermione's complexion became more like a Scottish tomato than English rose. "How..when...why?"
Harry smiled at his wife. He'd been so happy that she'd actually attempted a prank, Harry had actually fell off his board a few times on purpose. "When the board started moving against the flow I soon figured it out, you seemed so happy to think you got away with a prank I didn't want to spoil it for you."
This earned Harry a loving kiss from his wife as Neville let out a theatrical sigh. "Ok, let me see if I've got this right. Hermione pranks Harry, Harry knows she's doing it but says nothing and plays along, this earns him a grade one snog? How in Merlin's name are we ever supposed to understand girls?"
Hermione had her head on Harry's chest while wrapped in his arms as she answered, "You're not supposed to understand us Neville, we don't understand ourselves half the time!"
Lavender pretended to be angry, "Hermione, you're not supposed to tell the boys our secrets."
Justin just laughed, "Don't worry Lavender, I didn't understand a word of that."
It was Dan who needed to be restrained that afternoon, watching Oliver shout encouragement to the twins firing cannonballs at his son was not the dentist's idea of fun.
It was his daughter's hand that gripped his arm, "Dad, it's part of the game. They train like this so those things don't get near him in a real match. Harry's the most natural flier I've ever seen so don't worry, those things won't touch him."
Dan and Emma had seen the kids on brooms before but this was oh so different. It was like comparing a commercial jet aircraft to a Mig fighter, both might fly in the air but there all similarities ended. The Granger parents watched in terror as Harry appeared to fall from the sky before pulling up with a glint of gold escaping from the fingers of his raised clenched fist.
Emma was the first to speak after the applause had died down, "Hermione, I don't think my heart could take watching Harry play Quidditch."
Hermione replied with real feeling. "Believe me mum, I know exactly how you feel."
Dan was now too engrossed with watching the girls pass a rugby ball to each other with a speed, skill and precision that took his breath away. If this was just the chaser drills, he couldn't wait to see a real match. Dan's first love was football but it would be a number of years before he could go to an English match and not know the score before kickoff, here was a sport Dan could really get into.
Dobby had continued the camping theme for dinner, massive cauldrons filled with delicious soups and stews suspended over camp fires were all around the camp. The little elf could have used the same stasis charms he had placed on the breads, fruit, vegetables and many deserts he had laid out on a long table but thought this fitted the camping theme better. Even Minerva enjoyed waiting in line to fill her plate with this wonderful food, the climate and company making it taste even better.
Ted soon had the big screen assembled outside, he may have a mugle background but was a wizard after all, while Dan set up the projector. Ted had also been a great help in choosing what films to show and they decided to make movie nights part educational as well as entertaining. They were starting the whole movie experience with some real classics, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The films would be progressively more up to date until they were ready to proceed to a cinema and experience the latest offerings. Loud laughter rolled over the camp as these masters of comedy enthralled a totally new audience. Minerva McGonagall had something else worth adding to her list of things she wanted to introduce to Hogwarts, just as soon as she stopped shaking and the tears of laughter allowed her to write again. Dan hadn't the heart to tell her that all these films were at least half a century old. He was really looking forward to seeing their faces when they watched one of his favourite movies. In Dan's opinion, there was no better way to let your Christmas dinner digest than by sitting down for a few hours with your family and watching the Wizard of Oz.
The cruise ship had also reached Oz but this had unleashed a new set of problems for the Dursleys. Petunia currently couldn't take her eyes off the new gown she'd bought, she'd also been sweating buckets while she'd waited for the credit card transaction to clear. They had began to max out their cards but it was imperative she had something new to wear for the Christmas Eve Ball held on board the ship. Their new friends still suspected nothing and they needed to keep it that way, a new ball gown became a necessity. Dudley would just have to survive with fewer presents this Christmas, Marge could deal with the fall-out back in Britain.
A knock on their cabin door had Vernon moving to answer. They suspected it was some of their friends but they were very wrong. In the doorway stood the ship's chief purser, accompanied by two uniformed Australian police officers.
The trio entered their cabin before the chief purser spoke. "Mr and Mrs Dursley, if that is your real names, your little scheme has been discovered."
At the back of his mind, Vernon had been wondering when the kick in the stones would be administered. Things had been going a shade too well for the Dursleys and the usual downturn had been overdue. Petunia though was clueless and wondering why the police were here. "Excuse me sir, there seems to be some mistake here."
It was one of the policemen who answered, "Yes, and you made it. One thing we Australian's hate is con artists. Did you really think you could get away with it?"
While Vernon felt the feeling of dread begin to overtake his body, Petunia answered in all honesty. "I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about. We won this cruise fairly and squarely."
It was the chief purser who answered. "We never disclose the circumstances that led to our guests being on board, it's entirely up to them if they wish to share it with the other passengers. You took that to the most extreme case it has been my misfortune to witness. It has come to our notice that the company you supposedly won your holiday from is nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Perpetrated no doubt by yourselves."
Vernon was now half expecting something like this to be the case since the police were involved but Petunia exploded with righteous indignation. "Why the hell would we want to do something like that?"
The other policeman now looked at the couple in disbelief, "You expect us to believe someone went to all this trouble to play a prank on you? If you weren't in on this then someone must really have it in for you two."
Vernon and Petunia shared a quick glance, they instantly suspected the freaks were behind this. If that little girl could turn their table into a living, moving pig, forging a few documents should be child's play.
It was the chief purser who informed them just how deeply in the shit they were. "This cruise package for this grade of cabin costs thirty thousand pounds."
Vernon knew at once they were screwed, no wonder their friends had money to splash about if they could afford to spend that on a holiday. Their annual trip to Brighton hadn't really prepared them for this experiance.
There was worse to come, "While all food is included in that price, drinks from our bars isn't. Your bogus holiday scam had your bar bill covered and you have been very generous in ordering drinks for your friends. Since we left Southampton, you have managed to amass a bill of over ten thousand pounds." This figure surprised everyone in the room. Both policemen knew they couldn't afford something like this cabin, far less being able to spend ten grand at the bar. It began to look as if these two here couldn't afford it either and had scammed their way onto the ship. They would be experiencing a severe downgrading in accommodation and catering very shortly.
The chief purser continued. "It was only the size of the bar bill that led to us performing further checks which uncovered the fraud. Had you just quietly went about your business, you would probably have pulled it off." After giving this a few seconds to sink in, he had to cover himself in the very slight chance they had made a mistake here. "If you can pay the forty thousand pounds you now owe us, these gentlemen can leave and no one aboard ship need be made any the wiser. If not, the company will press charges of fraud and these gentlemen here will arrest you."
Neither the purser nor the police had any doubt to where this pair would be spending Christmas. Petunia was desperately searching through her folder for the documents from the company they won the holiday from. Unfortunately, it was now full of illustrated menus telling her where to get the best kebab's in Little Whinning. Vernon knew they were done for, he couldn't pay a tenth of that at the moment. A police conviction for fraud would cost him his job, the house would have to be sold anyway to pay off their debt to the cruise company and their credit card bills. Anything left over from the house sale would disappear into the hands of the lawyers. Vernon so wanted to rant and rave he could almost taste it but these weren't British police, their Australian counterparts had guns instead of truncheons. His only wish now was to avoid significant jail time.
The Dursleys were led off the ship in handcuffs as all their new friends watched. When several of the ladies raced back to their own cabins, loudly proclaiming they were going to ensure none of their jewellery was missing since the Dursleys had been in there, Petunia began to cry.
These were not the kind of memories she had hoped to brag about at her bridge club. Then again, with the house gone, so would her club be. It would probably be a council estate for them now and she doubted many of them played bridge. A stay in jail would soon help Petunia Dursley set her priorities right, there were more important things in life she should have been worrying about. Both Dursleys were so lost in their own thoughts they never even noticed the small press contingent that was waiting at the bottom of the gangway. The photographer's flash added another level to their pain.
Christmas Eve had been a massive shopping trip that included lunch and dinner, Minerva had to buy more stationary as her list of things that needed changed at Hogwarts grew with her experiences. How she was going to explain pizza to the castle elves was just one of the challenges facing her when they returned to Scotland. It was a weary but happy bunch of shoppers who returned in the Toyotas to the camp. Dobby had gallons of delicious hot chocolate waiting on them, and they were soon revived and ready for the tree trimming competition.
Sirius had found a really spectacular star, the sequence of its glittering coloured lights made it appear almost organic. That it played Christmas Carols when someone walked passed was an added bonus to the marauder. The winning hut would have the star displayed on their outer wall, proclaiming their superior tree trimming skills to the entire camp. With Xeno and Minerva acting as the judges, dressed as Mr and Mrs Claus of course, the tiredness was soon shed as the fun continued.
Sitting around camp fires, toasting marshmallows while singing Christmas carols might have seemed a bit strange. After the experiences they'd had since leaving Hogwarts, even McGonagall, still dressed as Mrs Clause, conducting 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' with her toasting fork didn't rate a mention.
Harry had a surprise planned for his fiends tomorrow before dad showed the big movie, he would wait until after dinner to reveal it. Dan was also delighted with how well things were going. With Boxing Day being all about the double wedding, the kids were then going to spend the following day on the pirate ship. This should give the newly married couples the house to themselves for the day. Emma was beside him with her head on his shoulder, as the first few bars of 'Silent Night' came from one of the young auror's guitar, both looked toward their children. Seeing them sitting there, safe, happy and surrounded by their friends was all a parent could ever wish for. Who knew what the future would bring, the other magical timeline was so altered as to be useless as a guide from now on. They could only enjoy what they had and face anything that came their way as a family. 'Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, All is bright.' As they sang the words, Dan was left wondering 'but for how much longer?'
...
Dumbledore had spent hours staring at the clock before deciding it was time for action. Not knowing what part of Australia they were in meant his local time of arrival calculations were always going to be at best a guess. He used his wand to activate the portkey and could feel it struggling to overcome what must be very powerful wards. His elation spiked as it forced its way through and he vanished, Albus Dumbledore had left the building!
....
Harry sat amongst the large group in camp and had to concede he was right, his first Christmas in Australia was easily the best one of his life. It had nothing to do with gifts and everything about spending it with his family and friends. Hermione had privately jokingly hinted that she might get him a planner for Christmas, he was surprised however when she handed him an Australian newspaper carefully opened at a specific page. His green eyes flew wide open at the sight waiting on him there, his aunt and uncle were in Australia?
Both were clearly wearing handcuffs and accompanied by two rather large Australian policemen, it looked like the Dursleys may be staying in Australia for a while. The story proclaimed the British fraudsters had been living the high life while Vernon passed himself off as a prominent businessman from a well-to-do family. Their background has since been checked and it can now be revealed the husband is a mere salesman for a drill manufacturing company while the wife stays at home in their little box-like house in Surry.
The article went to great lengths painting them as stupid Poms who had a good thing going, claiming they won the cruise in a competition. The punch line was that they blew their own scam by trying to convince everyone they were high rollers and the entire house of cards came tumbling down. The reporter hoped they would enjoy their new accommodation and once more highlighted their stupidity, claiming a ten thousand pound bar bill was something even an Australian would struggle to match.
Harry looked deeply into his wife's eyes and she stared right back at him, answering his unasked question. "I gave them a chance Harry, that's more than they ever gave you. They could have sat back and enjoyed the holiday of a lifetime but no, that's not the Dursley way. They have such an inbuilt need to feel superior to others that they treated you like a servant and locked you in a cupboard for ten years. You can just picture them, sitting at the captain's table and showing off by ordering champagne for everyone from the waiters. Their greed triggered the spells to change all the documents back to their original forms. This year you won't be sitting looking through the cupboard door slats watching them eat the Christmas dinner you helped cook, they'll be the ones behind bars. Meanwhile, we'll be enjoying a wonderful meal with our family and friends!" The tears were beginning to make their way down Hermione's cheeks now as her emotions were running high. "No one locks my love in a cupboard and gets away with it, they deserve this and more. I hit their pride and finances, I really wanted to see them thrown overboard in the middle of the Pacific but I can live with this result."
He could sense she was worried about his reaction so Harry wrapped his wife in his arms, he'd put the Dursleys completely out of his mind but Hermione clearly hadn't forgotten about them. He kissed her cheek and used this closeness to whisper in her ear. "Thank you love, that was a marauder worthy prank. Can I assume that article will appear in every paper in Surry?"
Hermione held him tight and just gave a slight nod, she had been so afraid Harry would be angry with her. She felt his breath as he once more whispered in her ear, "If you're satisfied with the outcome then that wipes the slate clean. All that's left now is the happy ever after bit, as long as you're with me it will be!"
All around them, the camp occupants were reaffirming their opinion that you never piss off a Potter. All had heard snippets about Harry's life before coming to Hogwarts, there was no sympathy for the Dursleys in this group. It was the twins though who put the camp's feelings into words, in their own inimitable fashion of course.
"Hey guys, you going soft in your old age?"
"Yeah, wasn't there a handy tower you could dangle them from?"
"Aw George, that's not fair. They're not even teenagers yet and you would have them settling into a rut already. These two are more imaginative than that."
"Naw Fred, I'm still mad that Draco was cut down before I got to see him dangle, I don't want to miss the next one."
It was Harry who answered, "Well George, if we were still at Hogwarts I could do my best to arrange you getting a bird's eye view of the next one. That is if you really want to?"
George actually fell off the bench he'd been sitting on in his haste to assure Harry that was not necessary. This was met with roars of laughter, especially from those who the twins had played pranks upon.
The laughter was broken by Andi, "Oh Dear, with all the excitement of the wedding I forgot all about Draco. Guess I won't be meeting him during the holidays after all." This was the last time his name was mentioned as everyone want back to enjoying themselves, even Pansy never thought about the blond Slytherin again for the rest of the holiday.
....
Draco was currently lying in bed, unable to sleep. This was hardly an unusual occurrence for youngsters the world over as Christmas beckoned. What was unusual though is that it wasn't excitement that was keeping the boy awake, Draco No-Name had simply nothing to get excited about. The Australian buzz in Hogwarts had only been overshadowed once in the last few weeks, straight after Professor Lupin had announced he was going to marry the pink haired auror. That this auror was the daughter of the woman he was looking forward to meeting over the holidays almost certainly meant Draco was heading for another disappointment.
If the Potters had arranged for all their friends to be in Australia, it was a given that the parents of the bride were going to be flown out there too. With Sirius Black also getting married, the chances of Draco being accepted into any of those families was dwindling fast. There would probably be little Blacks and Lupins running around soon. Andromeda Tonks would then be a grandmother and an aunt, she wouldn't want him hanging around as a reminder that both her sisters were staying an Azkaban.
Anyway Draco figured it, he could see no other future for himself but the orphanage. With no name, family, bloodline or gold, he was all out of options. That was enough to stop anyone sleeping and seriously diminished his Christmas spirit.
.....
Albus was ecstatic, right in front of him were the trunks he had the foresight to place tracking charms on way back in the school term. His portkey had been worth all that effort, it had done its job exactly as it was designed to. The trunks sitting squarely at the bottom of the four-poster beds tripped some internal alarms for Albus and, as his elation started to fade, he soon began to realise what was so very wrong with this scene. The trunks were exactly where they had been when he placed the tracking charms on them, sitting at the bottom of the children's beds in their Gryffindor dormitory. How could this be? He was supposed to be in Australia, not Scotland. How could they possibly go on holiday without taking their trunks?
His special portkey was only charged for a one way trip and Albus knew better than most he needed to get outside the wards before he could escape by apparition. He badly needed time to figure out how his plan had been foiled. Since Albus was no longer the current headmaster of Hogwarts, the castle wouldn't allow portkeys made by him to pass through the wards. Another special portkey was also out of the question, he had neither the time nor the energy required to create one.
Albus was also aware that his unauthorised entry through the wards would have triggered an alarm with whoever had been left in charge of the school, the portraits, ghosts and house elves could already be looking for him. Albus needed to get out of here but, as he passed through the portrait hole, he was reluctant to leave the castle. Fleeing Hogwarts with his tail between his legs undeniably alluded to him being wrong about something, his deteriorating mental condition refused to accept that as a viable outcome.
He began to wander aimlessly around the castle corridors, trying to avoid being detected while attempting to solve the problem of why those trunks weren't in Australia. Noticing the corridor he was currently passing through had no portraits, just a tapestry with some wizard trying to teach tolls to dance, Albus decided to stay around here for now. He wished his problem was as easy to solve as the wizard's in the tapestry. Compared to discovering how people could travel half way around the world and leave their trunks at home, teaching trolls to tours en l'air would be a doddle! Albus walked up and down this somewhat safe corridor as he considered the mess he was in, all his mind could concentrate on though was his need to kill Harry Potter.
Albus must have been really distracted, he'd walked up and down here at least three times and never noticed the large oak door. On opening it, the answer to his problem became glaringly obvious. The trunks weren't in Australia because their owners weren't in Australia. Voldemort had faked his own death to disguise his possession of Harry Potter, a fake holiday would be easy to contrive compared to that. The reason for Dumbledore's absolute certainty for a seemingly unlikely conclusion was right in front of him, namely one Harry James Potter.
The room he now cautiously entered was enormous and appeared to be constructed from great slabs of granite. About twenty meters in front of Albus was a circular raised platform. Sitting exactly in the centre of this platform was a chair that more resembled a throne, it was currently occupied by a frowning Harry Potter.
"Hello old man, I should have known you would be the one to figure this out."
Albus couldn't contain his grin, "Hello Tom."
The boy's eyes flashed red as he growled, "Don't call me by that disgusting name, I am Lord Voldemort."
This confirmed all Dumbledore's suspicions, an admission straight from the boy's mouth. "I know Tom and that is why it must end it here today."
At hearing that hated name again, the boy sprang to his feet. Harry's wand was out and a green beam was heading toward Albus before he had time to blink, far less react. Only Fawkes flashing to his aid and swallowing the killing curse saved the old wizard's life. Albus didn't have time to scoop his brave, now small featherless friend up at the moment, he was too busy trying to stay alive.
Tom was relentless as curse upon curse rained down on Albus, each one darker and more powerful than the last. Albus was calling on all his experience and power yet still barely holding his own against the boy. The room being constructed from granite blocks was probably the only reason it was still standing instead of coming crashing down on them from the amount of magic on display, even the air they breathed appeared magically charged as the two most powerful wizards in the country fought for their lives. The throne that had been present when Albus first entered the room was now reduced to nothing more than kindling and ash. As the battle raged on, it soon became clear that Tom had the upper hand. Albus had a few close brushes with death and began to fear he had bitten off more than he could chew. It appeared Voldemort wasn't going to settle for just killing Albus, he wanted to prove once and for all who the greatest wizard in the world was by slowly taking Dumbledore apart. Tom Riddle though was becoming overconfident.
Albus was currently struggling to defend himself against a large dragon that appeared to be constructed from fiendfyre while Tom's laughter reverberated off the now heavily scorched and scarred walls.
"You've finally met your match old man. Even in this child's body, Lord Voldemort is far too powerful for you."
As Albus dodged the dragon's fiery tail, he was forced to conceded Tom was right about one thing. After draining his power to make that bloody portkey, the boy was indeed more powerful than he was. The now exhausted old wizard noticed something else though, while Tom was taking the time to taunt him, Riddle's guard was down for a moment. Understanding this might be the only chance he would be offered, Albus used his flame whip spell. A coil of brilliant white light shot out the end of his wand and sliced through the dragon's wing before, with a flick of the wrist from Albus, it abruptly changed direction and caught Harry neatly on the shoulder.
Voldemort's right arm came off so quickly and cleanly, his wand was still clutched in his dismembered hand when it smacked the stone floor. With the breaking of the spell, Voldemort's flaming dragon disappeared in a puff of smoke and left behind a one armed eleven-year-old boy sitting whimpering in pain on the edge of the raised platform.
The green eyes were beseeching Albus as he walked toward the wounded boy. "Professor Dumbledore, you did it sir! You banished Voldemort for good. He's gone sir, there's only me, Harry, in here now."
Dumbledore's eyes had their twinkle back again. "Nice try Tom, but that is exactly what I would expect you to attempt. For the greater good of the entire world, this time you have to die for real."
The boy's eyes flashed red once more, "Curse you Dumbledore, I told you never to call me by that name again. I killed all the Riddles before I left Hogwarts as a student."
"You're wrong Tom, there's one left and the sad duty of ending that line falls to me. Goodbye Tom Riddle."
"No sir! Wait, it really is me. Surely you wouldn't kill a defenceless boy? You have to believe me..."
The green light that hit the young body silenced the begging and ended the reign of terror that Lord Voldemort had not only instigated but orchestrated with such deadly efficiency. It also killed the body that once belonged to young Harry James Potter and for that Albus was truly sorry. He could only hope that if he met James and Lily on his next great adventure, they could find it in their hearts to forgive him.
He recovered the now baby Fawkes from the ashes that the killing curse had buried him under, with his friend nestled safely in his pocket Albus left the room without a backward glance at the child's lifeless body. He got less than half-way down the corridor though before an expelliarmus hit him squarely in the chest and robbed him of his wand. The old wizard was exhausted with nothing really left to fight for, Albus offered no resistance and just let it happen. Amelia Bones and a dozen aurors now had their wands trained on him from both ends of the corridor, there was nowhere for him to go and nothing left for him to do anyway.
"I'll come quietly Amelia, it's finally over. The dark lord possessed Harry Potter but I managed to defeat him. I'm sorrier than I can say that there was no way to save the boy, for the greater good he had to die. You'll find the body behind that door."
Amelia wasn't alone in feeling an icy shiver of fear run down her spine at those words. The only reason the old fool was still standing there and not already blasted into little pieces was the glaring misconceptions in his statement. Having given permission for Susan to spend the holidays with the Potters and arranged the auror escort for the entire party, Amelia was certain Lord Potter wasn't within ten thousand miles of Hogwarts. There was also the fact that where Dumbledore indicated the boy's body lay contained nothing but a solid stone wall without a door anywhere in sight.
His next statement settled her nerves and destroyed the doubts anyone had, especially when Dumbledore held out his clearly empty hands. "Amelia, could I impose on you to take care of Fawkes? Just until he grows strong enough to look after himself once more, he's been a faithful friend and I would be most grateful to you."
Amelia made a great pretence of carefully taking the nonexistent phoenix from the old wizard. She was sure her entire team were sharing the same type of thoughts as their boss, Albus Dumbledore was as crazy as a shithouse rat!
The head of the DMLE was a pro though, as six of her aurors were dispatched to escort the disarmed Dumbledore straight into a heavily guarded holding cell at the ministry, the other six were scouring the castle for any sign of a body. Amelia was certain they wouldn't find Lord Potter's body inside Hogwarts, just as she was certain Dumbledore's future would be spent in a secure room at St Mungo's that had extensive use of cushioning charms on the walls and floor.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
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-- Power
stone