In the end, however, elder Weasleys decided not to accompany Harry and Hermione on their shopping trip. Mrs. Weasley felt it was best that they said their goodbyes now rather than put them off which would make things more tense if that was possible. There was a long and somewhat tearful goodbye from the older Weasleys with their now former daughter after which they left for the Leaky Cauldron and the floo. Ginny remained with Harry watching them leave. Ginny wondered why it didn’t seem all that painful given all that had happened. She would wonder that for some time and learn that her new bond had something to do with why she was not a complete wreck when her parents left and later on. It made sense upon reflection. She had been an emotional wreck for almost a year. She became more of one as that meeting wore on and then things changed immediately when Harry bound her to him as his Concubine. The feelings were still there, just far, far below the surface. For the first time since she had found that diary in her cauldron, Ginny felt almost like she was again Ginny and not someone she hardly recognized or understood.
“Now Ginny,” Harry said after a moment’s pause, “remember what I said about not ordering you about?” Ginny nodded. “Actually today will be the only two exceptions unless we decide you need to become pregnant first. My first order is this: you are required to be at Stage One Intimacy with me beginning now.” He walked up to her, hugged her and to his relief she hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek. He then took her hand and led her into the Alley.
Their first stop was Ollivander’s where she was matched with a wand she knew was much better for her than her other one. It was ash with a hippogriff feather core. Harry also purchased six wand holders as they seemed like a really good idea - much better than keeping a wand in a pocket. The holders could be hung from a belt or attached to the wrist.
With their first purchases in a bag, they next went to Madam Malkin’s and Ginny got what she thought was a very elegant set of formal wizarding robes. Then it was across the Alley and down a ways to Madam Carter’s. Madam Carter’s was a store Ginny always wanted to go to but her mother said she was too young or it could be too expensive. Most of her clothes came from a second hand store nearby. Her mother insisted there was nothing wrong with that and Ginny accepted this. After all, while they were hand-me-downs of a sort, at least they weren’t from Ron. Madam Carter’s specialized in “Modern” fashions for witches and young witches. Most of her clothes could easily pass without notice in the Muggle World unlike Wizarding Robes.
Harry pretty much left her with a shopping assistant to whom he handed the list his girls had come up with. Ginny couldn’t believe how much was on there. She never had more than two pairs of shoes at any one time and now, including sandals, she had ten pairs. She had all new underwear, which probably would have drawn a comment from her mother, even if the store itself did not, as the list included “Bras, fitted or training as appropriate, five white, five may have tasteful colors or patters, age appropriate.” Her mother said she was still too young for a bra. There were also three one-piece bathing suits which again would have drawn a comment from her mother as being far to revealing to be decent. Then there were the jeans, slacks, shorts, and skirts and more tops then she believed she had ever had. “Tasteful and age appropriate” was the only restriction. There were also jumpers and jackets for her new outfits as well. Then came the dresses. Many were termed “informal” but she also had three formal summer dresses and two such winter dresses. This was followed by coats and jackets for colder weather and “age appropriate accessories” which were mostly some nice hats, belts, scarves, and two handbags. Finally, she got a nice bathrobe and three “age appropriate” night gowns for sleeping. She really had no idea what to do with so many clothes. And she was really stunned when Harry came to pay for them. Without batting an eye, he paid a little over twelve hundred Galleons.
As soon as the purchase was made, Dobby appeared and all the shopping bags disappeared. Harry then took Ginny by the hand and led her to Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.
“Why do I need so many clothes?” Ginny asked as she ate her ice cream. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she arrived at Gringotts.
“My girls think you do,” Harry said with a shrug. “While you might not think it, it seems Hermione and Luna really like having a selection of stuff to wear.”
“But… Harry there’s no way I’ll ever wear all of it! I can’t wear any of it at Hogwarts, you know!”
Harry nodded and then explained his trunk to her, including its Time Compression feature and the gardens. “So, we’ll be living there year round,” he continued, “even at Hogwarts. Hermione and Luna need to be with me for the bond and… well, I am married to all four of them and now that you’re a part of this too, you will live with us.”
“But…”
“We spend time in the gardens each day in Time Compression,” Harry continued. “Now, while I mentioned five gardens and that there may be more by summer’s end, in reality there’re only two: the Summer Garden and the Winter Garden. Right now, the Winter Garden is more than half of the Fruit Garden, part of the Flower Garden and about third of the Vegetable Garden. The Summer Garden is warm the year round. The Winter Garden has plants that need the seasons so it has the four seasons. Right now, it’s early summer and you really can’t tell much of a difference between the climates. But that will change in September probably and it will get colder and it will eventually snow in the Winter Gardens. So, to enjoy the Fall, Winter and Spring we need appropriate clothes.”
Ginny could only nod at this explanation for she still felt she had more than she’d ever need. When they were finished, Harry called for Dobby and they both took the Elf’s hand. Diagon Alley faded away and a small bedroom with dilapidated furnishings appeared in its place.
“Where are we?” she asked. Even by her standards this room was tiny and it lacked any sort of homey feel.
“My relatives' house,” Harry said. “Specifically, the smallest bedroom in the house which they allow me to use, although I doubt they’re happy about that.”
“Why are we here? Where’s your Trunk?”
“There,” Harry said pointing to a large but fairly normal looking trunk by the bed. “Dobby could’ve brought us in, but to key you into the wards we need to be outside. Besides, everyone else came in by trunk.” Dobby appeared and handed Harry and Ginny their wands and Harry explained how to key herself in. A few minutes later, after being asked to give Dobby her wand, she was climbing down the ladder into the Trunk ahead of Harry.
It still didn’t look like much. But, while unfurnished it was arguably nicer than the last room. “This is just a cloakroom of sorts,” Harry explained. He led her through the door and into the Entry Hall and Ginny’s jaw dropped. “And this is just the Entry Hall,” Harry explained. “These doors lead to the other access trunks I’ve activated and the fireplace can be connected to the floo. I flooed to Gringotts, you see. Now I said I had one more order for you and it’s this. Take off all your clothes!”
“What?” Ginny asked in shock.
“Take off all your clothes!”
She wanted to refuse, but now she felt the power of the bond as her hands refused to obey her. “Aren’t you going to turn around?”
“No,” Harry replied.
She wanted to disobey but could not and soon she stood before him naked trying to cover her bits at least until he told her not to. He was obviously looking her over and she was both embarrassed and wanted to be angry and scared. What did this mean?
“You’re very pretty, Ginny,” Harry said. “And one day no doubt you’ll be very beautiful. Now take my hand and come with me and don’t worry about those clothes.”
She did as she was told, worried about what would happen next. He had made certain promises to her parents and now it seemed he was going to break them in her mind. He led her into the Great Hall with all of its seating areas and walls seemingly covered with tapestries and paintings, none of which seemed to move at all. Then, he led her off to a side door and she was now starting to get very afraid of what would happen next. They entered the room. It was much smaller, but still very large as compared to any of the rooms at her former home. She was led towards a couch where there were four naked girls seated. Between her and the couch was a low table with a silver tea service upon it. She only recognized one of them for certain - Hermione. She was pretty sure another was Luna Lovegood even though they had not played together since she was about seven or eight. She knew the names of the other two, but not which was which. Harry stopped before the low table.
“How’d it go?” Hermione asked.
Harry described the meeting at Gringotts including the fact that the elder Weasleys had been probably obliviated and were as offended by many of the details in the contract as they had been.
“They had no serious objection to a betrothal between Ginny and me,” he said. “But the extreme measures were another thing. I really don’t think they read the contract before they signed. They certainly had issues with almost everything but the betrothal itself and the Hogwarts tuition and they explained that to my satisfaction.”
“We still couldn’t get out of this,” one of the other naked girls said.
“No,” Harry agreed, “we couldn’t. But your idea of a backup betrothal agreement… well, they signed it after reading it.”
“So they’re on our side in this?” the girl asked.
“Can’t say that. They’re just not truly against this.”
“That’s more than we expected,” Hermione said.
“Introductions?” the other girl said.
“Yes,” Harry nodded. “Sorry. Forgot. Ladies, this is my Concubine and Betrothed, now Virginia Ellen Potter. Ginny, this is my wife by Soul Bond, Lady Hermione, Countess Designate of Finchley.”
Ginny was still trying to figure out the naked bit and just stood there and stared her mouth agape.
“In a formal introduction,” the other girl whom she didn’t know said, “and especially to a Lady with a title, it is proper to curtsy and say ‘Your Grace’ it is a privilege to meet you' or some such.”
Ginny did that, although curtsying while naked seemed both awkward and a little silly.
“My wife by Soul Bond, Lady Luna, Countess Designate of Hwicca,” Harry said next and Ginny went through the silliness again. “My wife, Lady Daphne,” he said meaning the other girl who had been talking, “Countess Designate of Abengale.”
When Ginny did the silliness again, Daphne spoke. “I hope you don’t have the same problem with Slytherins as your brother Ronald. I didn’t want to be sorted into that House, you should know, I just was. We’re not all evil or Pure-blood Supremacists. Load of rubbish that, if you ask me. I do my best to have nothing to do with most of them. Malfoy’s family is after my hand - they won’t get it now! I’d rather marry anyone but him or his friends or anyone that thinks like them and marrying into an Ancient and Noble House? Like there’s one of them that can offer that? I hope we can become friends in time, Ginny.”
Ginny could only nod in reply.
“Finally, my wife and Consort,” Harry continued. “She’s my Line Continuation wife; Lady Hannah Abbott, Baroness of Tinworth.”
“Your Grace,” Ginny began as she curtsied.
“Actually,” Hannah said, “as Baroness and not Countess, I’m only Milady.”
Ginny nodded.
“Have a seat,” Hermione said indicating a chair that was close to the table but across from the four of them. Ginny did as she was told.
“Well, I leave her to you,” Harry said. “Gotta get to the kitchen, you know.” With that Harry left.
“Do you know why you’re naked?” Daphne asked.
Ginny shook her head.
“It’s because you’re a Concubine and not a wife for now,” Daphne continued. “As a Concubine, except for special occasions such as your Birthday or a Harry Date - and while there haven’t been any of those for us there will be - society expects you not to out dress his wives. You can dress as well, just not better aside from those exceptions.”
“S-s-so wh-why are you n-naked?” Ginny asked.
“We choose to be,” Daphne said. “When we’re alone here, what we wear or don’t wear is our business. Luna and Hermione chose to be naked their first day here when they were alone with Harry. Luna likes being naked and Hermione…”
“I’ve grown to like it as well.”
“It’s certainly helpful in the Girl Sex department,” Hannah said. “No need to undress.”
“Hannah and I took a little longer to make this - um - style choice, but we did. So as we are all naked and running about, you will be too.”
“All the time?” Ginny asked.
“Only when we’re alone in the Trunk and the weather in the gardens is nice,” Hermione said.
“And Harry?”
“Oh, he does check us out a bit,” Hannah said, “but he’s a perfect Gentleman. He goes no further than our chosen stage with him. He did tell you about the stages of intimacy here?”
Ginny nodded. “A little. Stage One for certain, a little about the others but not many details.”
“You’ll be at Stage One until you reach bonding age,” Hermione said, “and longer than that if it’s your choice. Stage two is lip kissing and cuddling…”
“It’s quite nice,” Luna said.
“And you’re allowed to sleep in his bed,” Hermione continued. “The four of us are at Stage Two. Stage three is full on snogging with tongues, caressing and touching without rules or limitations, hand and oral sex. That certainly won’t happen until Luna and my bond with him is fully stabilized. You won’t be allowed to go there until sometime after Luna has. I hope Harry mentioned that.”
“Not the sex bit,” Ginny said, “or at least not that detail.”
“It’s all by your choice when you do it after you’re allowed,” Hermione said. “He won’t order you past Stage One unless you’re still there if and when we decide you need to become pregnant.”
“W-will I have to?”
“Maybe,” Hannah said. “But that’s a last choice thing, isn’t it? Hermione doesn’t want to go there that soon and Luna and Daphne prefer to wait until after Hogwarts. As for myself, I have a House to think of. I need and heir and a spare and maybe another spare. Harry has the four of you for his House, I’m the only child bearer for mine and I have as much need to see to its future as Harry does so that means a large family, especially ‘cause I want at least a couple of daughters as well.”
“But Harry said his family tends towards daughters rather than sons,” Ginny began.
Hannah nodded. “Doesn’t mean he will, but that’s true and I… well, my duty to my House… I don’t mind. If that means eight or more children to preserve my line so that it does not die out, so be it. And, if I’m to have such a large family, why not start earlier rather than later? I don’t need N.E.W.T.s to be a mum and with elves, I won’t have to do the cooking, cleaning and laundry unless I want to so I can be a mum. As for jobs? I really haven’t thought of that yet. I need to consider my House Vote in the Wizengamot. But do I really want a job? I don’t know, Ginny. And I don’t have to decide now. As long as I’m pregnant before you have to be, then pregnancy for you will be when you’re ready and there’s a good chance I will be after my O.W.L.s.”
Ginny was actually a little relieved by what Hannah said. Harry made it seem as if her not finishing Hogwarts was all but a certainty when it seemed it was not all that certain after all. She thought about this for a moment and began to think that the way he said it was more for her parents so that they could get used to the idea than it was as a statement as to what had to be down the road.
“Tea?” Hermione asked. There was after all a tea service before them and four cups were already in use.
“Thank you,” Ginny replied.
“Sorry. We don’t use sugar here,” Hermione said as she poured the fifth cup. “We grow most our food you see. We have plenty of our own honey which actually works well with this tea. It’s also best with lemon as opposed to cream or milk, but you can use that if you wish.”
“Lemon’s fine,” Ginny said as she squeezed a slice into her cup and put in some honey and stirred before taking a sip. “It’s quite nice, thank you. But why did Harry buy me all those clothes if I’m gonna be naked all the time?”
“You’re not going to be naked all the time,” Hermione said. “We are only this way when we have no reason to leave here and when we’re not expecting any visitors and, as the wards prevent visitors except when they are specifically invited, that means we’ll know when to dress appropriately. We have seven days of Time Compression between now and the next real day - Saturday. On Saturday we’ll be having visitors: my parents, Hannah’s mum and Daphne’s family. On real Sunday, we’re going to France with my parents until early August…”
“But Harry said he needs to be here for the wards or some such!” Ginny protested.
“Only at nights,” Hermione replied. “During the day, he can be anywhere else with no worries in that regard. We will move back and forth from wherever we are in France and here through my Access Trunk,” which Hermione then described. “You’ll be getting one too before we return to Hogwarts. We’ll use them to get from our dorms to our new home so we can come home every day - or night as it may be.”
Ginny sipped for a few minutes. “Doesn’t our being naked like this cause problems?”
“What sort of problems?” Luna asked.
“Well, he’s a boy, right? I don’t know the words but aren’t we letting him, I don’t know…?”
“Objectify us?” Hermione offered.
Ginny nodded.
“And where is the problem with that?” Daphne asked. “We are his wives. He’s allowed.”
“But I’m not! Not yet…”
“You are in all ways but the marriage certificate,” Luna said. “You are in all ways a Lady Potter and will be his wife in time. He’s allowed to… what’s that word?”
“Objectify,” Hermione offered.
“Yes, he’s allowed that word with us so why not with you too?”
“But he could… ,” Ginny began.
“He could,” Daphne said. “There’s nothing we can really do to stop him if he did. We are his wives and that sort of thing comes with the territory and you’re his Concubine and it really does come with that territory. But he hasn't…”
“And however much we may want it, he won’t for now,” Luna added. “His bonding with Hermione and me prevents it so we’re safe from that which gives us all time to get to the point where we all will want him to take that step to higher intimacy. Here’s the thing, Ginny. We don’t know how long this bonding thing will take. Normally, it’s about six months… six months of Hermione and me sleeping with him every night and having to get our jollies either with each other or our sister wives or by ourselves. But two bonds? We’ve read nothing about two bonds. It might take longer with two. And all three of us are younger than most bondings we’ve read about and younger bonds take longer. When the bonds are complete and when he’s ready, Hermione and I will move to the upper stages - short of the final stage of course.”
“Me too,” Hannah said. “I want this. I need it for my family!”
“And don’t count me out in this,” Daphne added. “I haven’t made that decision just yet, but do you really think I can do better for a husband than Harry a Head of an Ancient and Noble House? Besides, he’s really nice and not hard on the eyes at all!”
Ginny could understand that. She had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived since before Hogwarts and that was without seeing the real Harry before. The real Harry was cute, a wonderful Quidditch player and very different in many ways from the story books. He wasn’t as great at magic or as confident about his abilities as the fictional Harry. It didn’t make him any less fanciable to her, just more enigmatic. It was her crush on him that got her in trouble with that diary in the first place and she knew it. She had never truly thought about his status as Head of a House. She really hadn’t thought much about his life before Hogwarts - not his real life anyway as she believed those books. But nothing about Harry Potter was like the books. He didn’t swagger like that character did. He seemed to avoid glory all the time, unless it was on the Quidditch Pitch and the fictional Harry didn’t play. But when her life was truly in danger, he was at least as heroic as the fictional Harry, but without any need to add to his fame because of it. She really needed to figure out this real Harry from the fake one. Even after a few hours, she was really beginning to like this real Harry and was thinking the fictional one was as much a fraud as Professor Lockhart had been and she had him pegged within a couple of weeks.
“So you’re trying to get him all worked up or something?” she asked after a long pause and a few sips of her tea.
“Yes,” Luna replied, “in a way. While we are bonding, he won’t do anything about it. He also has things to work through before he is ready for any of us.”
“His life outside of Hogwarts until now was not pleasant,” Hermione said. “He was not well treated…”
“I saw his room, if you could call it that,” Ginny began.
“That luxury suite is recent,” Hermione said. “Until he got his first Hogwarts letter, his room was a cupboard!”
“But… that’s so wrong! Are muggles like that?”
“Only the absolutely worst sort of ones and Harry’s relatives are the absolutely worst sort. He has no memory of his real parents. He seems to sense they loved him very much. But the best times he ever had since they died and before Hogwarts was when his relatives chose to ignore him completely. I hugged him at the end of First Year. It’s the first hug he remembers from anyone. I kissed him and it’s the first kiss he remembers. He’s not The-Boy-Who-Lived who always gets kissed by the girl in the end and is always loved and respected. His life has always been far more complicated especially as You-Know-Who is still out there in some form for some reason and wants him dead…”
“But he died!”
“Where’s the body?” Hannah asked. “They found his robes and some blood that night, but no body. The Ministry would’ve paraded it before the press! But there was no body! They never said he died, only that he was destroyed somehow and as no one really knows what happened that night… after all the only other witness who lived was Harry and he was just a baby… there’s no telling what happened!”
“So everything they say about him - Harry’s a lie?”
Hermione shrugged. “Never read that rubbish.”
“I have,” Luna said. “It’s quite entertaining so long as you see it as fiction. Harry’s not like that boy at all and in many ways he’s much better than that boy could ever be.”
“The truth is,” Hermione said, “you should know that You-Know-Who is trying to come back…”
Ginny gasped, “HOW?”
“The diary!”
“But it was from some boy named Tom!”
“Whose full name is an anagram for I Am Lord V-V-Voldemort. His full name as you should know is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Scramble the letters and you get the other bit. Harry didn’t know that until the Chamber of Secrets. And this wasn’t the first time either, and I don’t meal what happened when we were all babies. He tried to come back our First Year and tried to kill Harry three times! Harry won out in the end of that one as well, but You-Know-Who remains and is probably still out there hoping for another shot at our Harry,” Hermione ended with a sniffle.
“I didn’t know! How could I know?”
“You couldn’t,” Hermione said. “I’m not sure there were many who knew You-Know-Who’s real name and seeing as most people don’t even use his made up one… I am surprised you weren’t told this sooner.”
Ginny shook her head. “I didn’t know the diary had something to do with You-Know-Who ‘til just now. The first I heard it was You-Know-Who somehow was this morning when Harry was explaining the Life Debt to my… well, my former parents, I guess.”
“Why didn’t they tell you sooner?”
“Guess they thought I had other things going on that were more important.”
“What things?” Luna asked.
Ginny blushed and whispered. “The urges.”
“Have you gone through menarche yet?”
Ginny shook her head looking disappointed.
“You’re not yet twelve,” Hermione said. “I didn’t go through it until after I was twelve.”
“None of us did,” Hannah added.
“I was the early bloomer of the four of us in that way,” Luna said. I went through it about two months after I turned twelve. But I’m a late bloomer up here,“ she said indicating her breasts which were the smallest of the four wives but far more than Ginny had.
“I was the early bloomer up here,” Daphne said, “but the late bloomer down here. I went through menarche about eight months after my twelfth birthday. So the fact you haven’t begun to noticeably develop in either place doesn’t mean a thing yet. None of us were either at your age.”
“I know,” Ginny sighed. “It’s just so many of the others have begun…”
“You’re the youngest in our year, Ginny,” Luna said. “But you are having the urges which means it’s all starting for you.”
“It’s not just that,” Ginny said. “I didn’t feel the urges until after what happened and then, I couldn’t help it. I had to do it all the time almost! Madam Pomfrey thinks that whatever that diary was, it was… it was… what’s the word?… suppressing me in a way. When I… when it… when it was all over, it was… I had to do it all the time! I’d do it all the time! I went home and could barely make it through meals before I needed to do it! I was doing it until I all but passed out from exhaustion!”
“Rubbed yourself raw, did you?” Daphne said.
“Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion so that wouldn’t happen, but without it I would’ve and it wouldn’t stop me from doing it again! I was doing it over and over, at least once an hour and sometimes more than that and I couldn’t stop! Madam Pomfrey said it was some kind of magical blockage and my Mum let me spend most of my time in my room to deal with it. It was… I know what we witches must do, but it was humiliating that I always had to do that! Fortunately, it’s eased off. Two or three times a day is more than enough and I’ve come to like it too.”
“Well then,” Hermione began.
“A couple other things,” Luna said. “First, if you’re having your monthlies, you are expected to wear knickers even on naked days. This rule only truly applies here in the house. You can remove them outside if you with. Secondly, if you feel the need to… you know… diddle yourself, on naked days just don’t do it in front of Harry. We don’t have our Girl Time in front of him… not yet at any rate…”
“Not yet?”
“Once two of us move to Stage Three with Harry,” Hermione said, “that rule no longer applies if it just us here.”
“After all,” Daphne said, “should we decide to go there and when we do, we want him to know how to meet our needs and watching… as you will learn… is one part of a girl’s mentorship so we decided when we go there with him he’ll kind of be in a mentorship as well. We want him to know how to see to our needs, you know.”
“Um…” Ginny began.
“That’s several months away at least,” Luna said. “Our bonding - well Hermione and my bonding - seems to suppress those kinds of needs in him…”
“According to the books,” Hermione added.
“You said that already, I think,” Ginny said.
“And so far,” Luna continued, “the books are right. After that, things may change. Once Harry is ready for us, Hermione and I will probably move rapidly to both Stage Three and Stage Four. That’s also the bond. The other two here will move to that stage only when they’re ready, as will you if you do and if we don’t need you for a baby any time too soon.”
Ginny received her betrothal ring, which was similar to that the other four wore aside from the main stone - her birth stone - that night following dinner. As odd as this house seemed to be and certainly as shocking as it would be to her mother, the other four girls seemed to work hard to make her seem welcomed and to continue to insist that she was, at the very least, truly betrothed as another Lady Potter. It was explained she would become at least a Baroness upon her marriage to Harry. The Countess was a possibility as well, but she would have to agree to raise their son as “part-Muggle” for he would be a part of the Muggle Peerage and may have duties associated with that title.
The next morning, which her new Elf told here was under Time Compression, she saw green cards on her door and no clothes laid out. She was led down to breakfast by her Elf Sunshine wearing nothing but the ring Harry had given her the night before. She arrived in their smaller, informal dining room first and watched as the other girls arrived, also naked as the day they were born but for their rings. Harry was almost the last to arrive, attired in jeans and a tee and shoes before Hermione, who did what Luna told Ginny was her daily strip down for Harry. The rest didn’t bother with it but Hermione always did it. After Harry enjoyed the show, he kissed each of his wives on the lips and Ginny on the cheek and then breakfast was served to them all. Ginny was still nervous about this new life but soon realized the others seemed quite comfortable with this odd lifestyle and soon relaxed and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with them, although she didn’t really say much to them. She just observed.
After breakfast she was given a short tour of the Main Floor and Floors below and the other girls explained their daily routine to her: mornings through lunch in the Gardens, an hour or so in the pool as Harry learned to swim and for exercise for them too, and then they would spend time in the Library working on their summer assignments or reading about the Potter family or working on other research projects until dinner. After dinner, they usually spent a couple of hours talking in the Great Room and maybe some more time in the Library before retiring for the evening. They then descended the final stairs to the “Ground Floor” which led to the Gardens.
“And now, Ladies,” Harry said, “for my second and third surprises.” He then explained this to Ginny who, after all, joined afterwards but did not reveal what the surprises were. They stepped out and the four who had been here all along knew there had been a change. Instead of stepping out directly into the Garden, there were now two walls on either side with doors. Overhead was a glass, arched roof to allow in the light and beyond opened to the gardens. The walls were maybe ten feet or a little over three meters long and less than that in height.
“What’s this all about?” Hermione asked.
“Not that great a surprise,” Daphne added.
“Actually, the surprises are on the other side of the doors,” Harry said. “I thought about it when I truly realized how big the Gardens really are. We could spend the whole summer walking about and still not see all of it, I should think. So…” He opened one of the doors. Beyond was a long room with its own glass arched ceiling and a row of what looked like lockers along one of the walls.
“A broom locker!” Ginny gasped. “You’re giving us brooms? And why so many? There’re only six of us here.” There were thirty such lockers.
“Yes, broom lockers,” Harry began.
“You know I don’t like those things,” Hermione huffed.
“I’m not that good with them either,” Hannah said.
“I already have two brooms, Harry, and you know that,” Daphne said.
Harry nodded. “A training broom for young children and a Comet 210. The 210’s not a bad broom - unless you want to play Quidditch. We don’t have a pitch here so… Why the training broom?”
“I’ve had it since I was little,” Daphne replied. “It’s still in good shape ‘cause I was not reckless on it like some people we know,” she added getting snorts or giggles from the others, “and I kept it so that one day… maybe… my kids can learn on it. As for the 210, it’s a touring broom. It’s good for just flying about and rather forgiving unlike those rubbish things we had for flying lessons at school.”
“Right then, aside from Hermione who else first flew under Madam Hooch’s instruction.” Hannah said that she had. “Daphne’s right about those brooms. Many of them are dodgy and the others are probably a terrible idea for most beginners. They’re too fast, too sensitive and they won’t stop you from falling off or running into things if you fail to control them. Then again, if we had brooms that were truly suited for beginners, I probably would never have made the Quidditch team. I’d have gotten a detention instead. There’s no way I could’ve caught Neville’s remember-all on a true beginner’s broom. This way ladies.” He started to head to the far end of the shed.
“Why so many lockers?” Hermione asked.
“For our magical guests,” Harry replied, “at least those who can fly. There’s another shed for those who can’t or won’t.” He opened a door at the far end. It too had a glass ceiling and its walls were lined with far more than thirty brooms.
“Wh-why so many?” Hermione asked.
“First, ‘cause I got a really good discount for buying so many and second 'cause it gives our guest a choice. First we have Comet 110’s, it’s a beginner’s touring broom that even you can handle. It’s probably what should be used at Hogwarts. It’s easy to handle, won’t fly too high or too fast and won’t let you run into anything. It’ll stop or avoid it whether you try to hit it or not. It’s also hard to fall off of unless your feet are actually on the ground. For you, Hermione and perhaps Hannah too, this broom is a good choice until you gain confidence. I don’t expect any of you to become Quidditch players even if we could almost field our own team and you sure can’t play a real game on these really. Still, it will allow you or our magical guests to move about the gardens far more quickly than walking.”
“Harry, I don’t know… ,” Hermione began.
“Look, you guys are teaching me to swim, right?” Harry replied.
“You can’t swim?” Ginny gasped.
“I am learning,” Harry replied. “But before this summer, no. My relatives wouldn’t think of something like that. Since you’re teaching me how to swim and since these are safe brooms, I’ll teach you how to fly. Not Quidditch or Seeker flying - unless that’s what you want - but enough so that you can move about the gardens. These 110’s have a top speed of about thirty miles-per-hour and that includes in a dive. My Nimbus tops out at over a hundred in level flight and much faster in a dive if I start high enough and it will fly me into the ground if I let it. These won’t unless you are landing and they land at a slow walking pace.
“Now, if any of you are more confident fliers we also have 210’s like Daphne’s which can reach forty and can run into things if you don’t control them or aren’t paying attention, but you still have to try to fall off and their newest touring broom, the 310’s which top out at sixty…”
“Ooooh!” Daphne exclaimed, “can I have one of those?”
“Of course,” Harry said handing her one.
“Thanks Harry,” she said kissing him on the cheek.
“I’ll take a 210,” Hannah said. “I did pretty well in flying lessons even with those relics we used.”
“There’s plenty,” Harry said. “You can move up whenever you’re ready.”
“Thanks.”
“I don’t know, Harry,” Hermione said. “I really don’t like those things. Besides, my parents can’t use them.”
“I didn’t expect any of you to be thrilled about all three surprises, Hermione. But I don’t want you left on the ground by yourself. You’ll learn and the 110’s perfect for learning and getting about the gardens.”
“What if I fly too high? Won’t I crash into the top of this Trunk?”
“There’s a ward that prevents that from happening. It’ll also keep you or anyone from flying into the walls even if we can’t see them.”
“I suppose,” she said but clearly without enthusiasm as she reluctantly accepted her 110.
“Got anything sportier?” Ginny asked.
“Really?” Harry replied in surprise.
“I am a Weasley,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I’ve been flying ‘grown-up’ brooms since I was six. Currently, I fly a Comet 280 at home…”
“That’s a real Quidditch broom!” Daphne exclaimed. “It was International Standard twenty years ago! Until Malfoy’s dad bribed Snape with the Nimbus 2001’s to get Draco on the House Team as a Seeker - and a lousy one at that, it’s what Slytherin flew if they didn’t have a better one.”
Ginny shrugged. “My brothers Fred, George and Bill have 280’s. Bill lets me use his. Charlie - who was a Seeker at Hogwarts - has a Cleansweep 7. Charlie took his to Romania with him ‘cause he doesn’t want Fred, George or Ron to touch it. He’s afraid Fred and George will do something to it as a prank and that Ron will wreck it. Ron’ll say he’s a good flyer, but he’s not as good as he thinks. Percy’s not into Quidditch. He’s got a 240 as does Ron. Well, all my brothers have 240’s.”
“Those brooms aren’t exactly cheap even today,” Harry began. “The 310’s about the same price as a 240.”
“My parent’s didn’t buy them. That was my Grand-aunt Muriel who’s somewhat well off. She’s my Mum’s Aunt and never had kids of her own and we’re all the family she has left after the War.”
“But not you?” Hermione asked.
“She does not consider flying a ladylike thing and certainly not Quidditch. Mum disagrees, but it’s not her money. Then again, Aunt Muriel does not consider much of anything ladylike. A lady walks. She never runs or skips. She certainly does nothing that might cause her to perspire.”
“Talk about old fashioned,” Daphne snorted. “Probably thinks a lady should not dance too long or do much more than serve tea.”
“Pretty much. And she can be petty. She finds out I’m flying she’ll demand my parents to put a stop to it or something. She might even ask for the brooms back and my brothers would hate that - well, maybe not Percy and Bill and Charlie are of age but the others might lose theirs. Only Bill and Charlie know I can fly. I keep it a secret from the others. If it weren’t for the fact that the brooms came from Aunt Muriel, I doubt my Mum and Dad would care. Maybe they wouldn’t anyway. But Percy’s all about rules and such, be they Mum and Dad’s or Aunt Muriel’s or Hogwarts. Fred and George probably wouldn’t care. Ron? He doesn’t think girls should play Quidditch - at least not if he’s playing and he can’t keep his big mouth shut. So, I fly at night when no one’s watching - except Bill or Charlie when they’re home. I’ll accept a 310, Harry. Given my - um - circumstances I really can’t complain but…”
“It just so happens,” Harry began walking over to a table that had a cloth draped over it and what looked like seven brooms underneath. The girls gasped at the brooms when the cloth was removed. Even Hermione knew what six of them were.
“Nimbus 2001’s?” she asked.
“And a Cleansweep Seven!” Ginny exclaimed.
“How much did this cost?” Hermione asked accusingly.
“All told, including twenty 110’s, twenty 210’s and ten 310’s, eight hundred.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Daphne said. “The 310’s are fifty a piece last I checked. A Seven is well over a hundred. The 2000 a lot more than that, or at least it was. Don’t even want to think how much a 2001 is.”
“The 310’s are still fifty a piece and the 110’s and 210’s are twenty-five. But I got the lot for half off ‘cause I bought so many. The Seven’s are now going for under a hundred as well 'cause of the 2000 which is replacing them as International Standard. They used to run 300 a piece, but the pros are replacing all their Sevens so the ones that were not sold are much cheaper since the old pro ones that can be resold are practically being given away. I actually got twenty-five Galleons off for this one. The 2001’s were five for the lot.”
“Why?”
“No one wants them,” Harry said. “This was supposed to be the top end Quidditch Broom, and it is faster at its top speed than my 2000. But it lacks the acceleration and above about sixty, it can’t turn all that well. A 280 is a better all around broom for Quidditch than these 2001’s. Over a good distance, this will beat any broom around, but a Quidditch Pitch is only two hundred meters or so long and a hundred wide. While speed is part of Quidditch, so’s turning and changing speed quickly. If you watch Slytherin play this year, they looked fast and they were but they had to make broad turns at speed ‘cause they couldn’t turn well and, if the Quaffle was intercepted, it took their fast moving players out of the game for that possession. Malfoy’s inability at Seeker aside, the Chasers on all three teams outscored Slytherin last year on a handful of Sevens and 280’s and a fair few 240’s.”
“What about as a straight racing broom?” Hannah asked.
“The one thing the 2001 has that my 2000 and the others don’t is a front shield charm like racers to protect the rider from the wind. But it was supposed to be a Quidditch broom. The distance racers - and they don’t do that here ‘cause there’s too much of a chance of the Muggles seeing you - those brooms are much, much faster than a 2001. Twice as fast at least. And that same shield charm stops Quaffles. A backhanded pass to a trailing Chaser bounces off - as Slytherin learned to their detriment.”
“So,” Daphne laughed, “Mr. Malfoy paid close to 2,500 to get his son on the team last year when he could’ve done the same with those brooms for six galleons or less today?”
“Yep,” Harry replied.
“What an idiot!” Hermione said.
“Who?” Daphne asked. “Malfoy or his father?”
“Both.”
“So these are useless then?” Hannah asked.
“For Quidditch and racing, yeah,” Harry nodded. “Unless, of course, everyone’s using them to even the situation. But as a trunk broom, I thought they’d be perfect.”
“A trunk broom?” Ginny asked.
“As long as you’re not trying to fly like a Quidditch player or weave through the trees, these are not all that much harder to fly than a 310. With the front shield, the wind won’t bother you at all and you can get from here to there in the gardens faster without having to worry about the wind knocking you about.”
“Why would that matter?” Ginny asked.
“Do you know how large the Gardens are? Or how far away the nearest wall is?”
She shook her head.
“If the nearest wall is called ‘North’, it would be in the direction of the house and it’s almost two miles from here to that wall. To the South - directly away from the house, it’s nearly six miles and to the East and West over two and more miles. As of today, the Gardens total almost forty square miles and I’m going to add another twenty-two and a half to it this summer. That new part will include a recreational area and it will be at least two miles from here - probably beyond the Fruit Garden. That Garden is about nine and a third square miles in size and it’s the third largest of the five. The Garden just outside is the Flower Garden and at only 187 acres it’s the smallest. The rest of us have walked maybe a mile or two into the Fruit Garden and that’s it.”
“Uh… uh… uh… ,” Ginny stuttered.
“It is a bit much, don’t you think?” Hannah chuckled.
Ginny could only nod.
“That’s why I got the brooms and my other surprise,” Harry said.
“A car perhaps?” Hermione asked eagerly.
“Can’t get one legally ‘til I’m seventeen - or one of you are - and we’d need a Driving License and all that. Don’t think I didn’t think about it 'though. Also, unless it’s all taken apart, there’s no way to get it in here.”
“Oh?”
“According to the manual, an inanimate object must be able to fit through the trunk opening without magic. A car won’t fit obviously. According to Dobby, it must be something a single Elf can pop into the trunk and even small cars are beyond them.”
“But horses and cows…?”
“Are living things. Somehow that’s different.”
“Oh. So what did you get?”
“Ladies, gather up your brooms and we’ll put them in your lockers and then see. That means the one you asked for and a 2001. You may never use it, but it’s yours anyway.”
“But I don’t have a broom,” Ginny said in disappointment.
“Pick any one of the others and it’s yours.”
“Any? Can I pick the Cleansweep?”
“Can you handle it?”
“Please! True, it’s faster than the 280 I flew before, but it’s not harder to fly.”
“Then it’s yours.”
Ginny immediately hugged Harry. “Thank you,” she gushed.