章 96: Chapter 096

As Harry knew would happen and also knew that was why Hermione sat him to her father's left, Wendell was asking some rather subtle questions about his relationship with Hermione. However, he wasn't getting much help from her in answering them as she was getting similar questions from her mother.

The two aurors answered questions when asked, but seemed to spend most of the time being amused watching the interplay between the two muggle adults and the two magical teens.

Both aurors knew very well what the two adults were trying to learn and both teens seemed utterly unaware of it.

During a break in the 'interrogation' the female auror, the senior of the two, said across the table to Harry, "Just so you're aware, Lord Potter, we're not supposed to dine with you. And we're certainly not supposed to dine together. At least one of us is supposed to be standing guard."

"Senior Auror Standish, right?" asked Harry.

"Auror First Class, My Lord."

"Thank you," he nodded. "Well, while you're supposed to be my bodyguard - and that's not something I ever agreed to, just so you know - you're also Doctor and Doctor Grangers' guests.

"On top of that, I know you and your... contingent... have thrown up plenty of your own wards and alert charms since well before I started cooking and both inside and outside the ones I had caused to be erected. Whether you're eating or just standing and watching will not make a skerrick of a difference in whether or not you'll be ready if trouble comes a-calling."

"Wards?" asked Wendell, just beating out Hermione to the question.

"Yes, Sir... Wendell," Harry replied before the auror could. "Which reminds me. Before coming here I organised with my account manager at Gringotts to organise a team of Ward Masters to come and place wards and charms on your home that will greatly reduce the chance of a magical attack being successful against you.

"On top of that, there is a ward that will redirect the attention of any non-magical who comes to your home with the intent to cause mischief; such as breaking and entering, burglary, swindling, that sort of thing. Sorry, but that was about the strongest sort of wards I could have installed on your home that did not get me in trouble with magical law."

"What are the other wards; the ones against magicals?" he asked.

"There's an alert ward that will let me know if a magical attempts to attack your home, one that will stun a magical that tries to attack your home... and Dobby will alert the aurors if that ward catches someone... one specifically erected to stun Albus Dumbledore if he tries to come to the home, a fire retardant ward on the outside of the home and two wards that will block anyone from using two forms of magical travel that can see them suddenly arrive, for instance, right in the middle of your daughter's bedroom - that sort of thing."

"Anti-portkey and anti-apparation?" Hermione immediately asked.

"Yep," he replied. Looking back to Wendell he said, "You actually won't have any inkling they're even active until someone tries to attack or illegally enter. And then Dobby or one or all of the aurors, if they're still here at the time, are suddenly going to move real fast!"

"How long will these wards remain in place?" pressed Wendell.

"The ones the aurors erected this afternoon are only temporary. It depends on the amount of magical power they pump into them and, even then, a determined mischief-maker can break through them pretty quickly. However, the aurors who put them up will know as soon as he or she tries; hence the reason for them.

"The ones I had caused to be put up are permanent. Or, are permanent until you ask me to have them taken down.

"Which leads to a formal question I must ask you," said Harry. "Do you have a middle or more names?"

"Yes, it's Marcade," replied a slightly confused Wendell. "Why?"

"Because I need to ask the question using your full name," replied Harry. Sitting up straighter, placing his cutlery on the table before him and looking fully at Wendell with quite the serious expression, he asked, "Wendell Marcade Granger of House Granger, do I, Harrison James Potter, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient of Potter, have your retroactive permission to have erected upon your home wards to see to the protection of you and yours as long as you and or they reside in this home?"

Not knowing why, but also knowing he had the right to say no, he replied, "I, Wendell Marcade Granger of House Granger, do so permit." Then looked shocked at Harry.

Harry grinned back and said, "Magic's determined you would allow it so gave you the words to respond in the affirmative. If you wanted to say no it would have given you those words to say, instead. I also think it proves you're not as much a muggle as people seem to think. You'd have to have at least a little magic for the magic of the request to have had an effect upon you."