Harry's Island Realm
Chapter 10
As the sun started to
rise above the ocean, the light woke Harry up. Glancing left and then right he
smiled as he saw his friends stirring. They did not know it, but last night they
passed the last of his tests. And the next time they came to his home they would
be inducted as Mage's of Atlantis. The legendary name of his island chain, long
thought to have been destroyed to cataclysmic events. Stretching his legs as the
sun played across the ocean he heard Fred say softly, “This is unbelievable. To
wake up to this visage every morning. You are lucky Harry.”
“Truly,” Draco said just as softly.
As the sun rose high enough to cause some pain as they gazed out at the ocean,
Harry told them, “We have a full day ahead of us. And,” he chuckled, “I found
time to put down time to have fun too.”
Blinking stupidly as he stretched and glanced back where he spent the night,
Draco’s mind got stuck as he kept telling himself he had been suspended all
night by magic. He had to hurry and strain to hear Harry say breakfast was in an
hour and if they wished, to join him in the pool in ten minutes. Going back to
his room, he had to stop reaching for the thong of the loin cloth to untie it,
as he realized he was naked and he had forgotten all about it. Harry was right,
no one commented or cared this morning when he stood up.
Popping the breakfast casserole into the oven, Harry added several dishes to the
warmer and headed for the pool. Swimming laps, he had finally made it to
swimming length wise instead of width wise in the shallow end. He felt the
splash of the others jumping in and finished his lap before he looked up at the
others staring at him.
“Is this what you do for exercise?” Draco asked in horror at the thought of
exertion.
“Did you ever wonder how professional duelers got so good,” Harry asked, “They
have endurance. Professor Flitwick told me that the top duelers can run circles
around their opponents while casting spells and not get tired. Swimming, the
Professor said is one of the best exercises to do to build up stamina. If you
have more stamina than your opponent, you win. Plus as a Mage, I noticed that if
I am not fit, my spell work is not as strong.” Standing up and running his hands
down the front of his body he added as his fingers skimmed his toned muscles, “I
find that swimming does not leave me looking like some brute of a muscle
builder. Looking like all muscle and no brains. I have two more laps before I
can relax.” With that he dove back in and started the last two laps.
“Our brother Charlie,” George said out loud, “He said the more fit he was, the
stronger his magic was. He works with Dragons and needs to be magically powerful
to survive. So Harry might be onto something.”
“So,” Draco looked up from his strange but satisfying breakfast and asked, “What
do you plan to do with us today?” Hand slapping over his mouth as the twins
grinned lecherously at him he mumbled, “I can’t believe I said that.” Chuckling
along with the others he finally said, “the question could have been worded
differently but it remains.”
“Well,” Harry said after swallowing, “I want to check on the animals and I know
Neville is itching to tackle my greenhouse,” seeing Neville nod vigorously he
laughed. “And I thought we could take a walk on the beach before lunch. I can
answer any questions that might be percolating in your brains from my bombshell
last night. After lunch, well, I was thinking we just talk and get to know each
other better as we do whatever catches our fancy.”
“If we were not here what would you be doing?” George asked.
“Probably finishing fixing the last section of fence and,” Harry answered after
placing his glass down, “work on clearing the path to the waterfall.” Seeing the
questioning looks he chuckled, “and I have to spend a couple of hours in the
library to complete the ward scheme I mentioned to Grady yesterday.
“Isn’t this the first year you are taking Runes though Harry,” Fred asked as
they had been shocked to find he was in their class.
“It is, but in this case the ward scheme is already done, I just have to find it
and copy it. Then I need to copy the correct modifiers that would change how the
ward activates. Grady and or one of the other Law Wizards can then do the work,”
Harry told them with a shrug.
<<>>
“Next,” the Goblin clerk called out without looking up from what it was penning
into the ledger in front of them. His barked out “Well,” died on his lips before
it could more than escape his mouth as he saw three of those demon summoners
standing before him. Sitting up slowly, so as not to be perceived as a threat,
he changed tones and asked, “How can Gringotts help you today Law Wizards?”
“It has come to our attention that one of the account managers has alluded to
putting our client in danger,” Grady said easily as the Goblin’s eyes widened in
shock. “As such we are here to dissuade that Goblins notion, that our client can
be touched, let alone kidnapped for his gifts.” Smiling he said, “The best way
to do that is to meet with the highest ranking Goblin and the Potter and Malfoy
Account managers in the pit. Less chance of blood messing up your floors that
way.”
“And,” Guild leader Buford added in with a smile, “It would be helpful if the
Goblin guards who were in the office of the Malfoy manager be included. I would
have words with them.” Pleased with the ‘oh shit’ look on the goblins face he
made shooing motions with his hand and told him, “Be a good Goblin and lead the
way won’t you.”
“This way,” the Goblin clerk shivered as a cold fear settled on his shoulders.
Jumping off his stool he led the way past the carts area that led to the vaults
to another line that led to the Goblin warrens. Ten minutes of break neck speeds
later the clerk glanced over his shoulder and shivered, the Law Wizards actually
liked the ride. As the cart slowed down, he pulled to one of the platforms and
growled out, “This way.”
Stepping out of the cart and stretching, Grady further unnerved the Goblin by
saying, “Such an invigorating ride. Such a shame there is only one speed.”
Seeing he had done as planned he shared a smile with Buford and Allen who
chuckled.
Entering the cavern that held the pit, the three Law Wizards walked down the
stone steps side by side in unison. Upon reaching the floor they moved apart,
Buford and Allen to opposite ends of the arena and they started to call forth
summoning circles. Grady on the other hand stared at a spot high on the wall
above the throne like chair the high goblin would sit in and let his magic draw
the summoning circle. It was just as they were finishing the goblins started to
march in.
Taking in the summoning circles around the cavern, Ripclaw did not hesitate, as
he knew he had done nothing that would endanger him as the Potter account
manager. Stopping near the center of the pit he acknowledged the Potter Law
Wizard, “Law Wizard Tibold,” he greeted as he looked up and saw the summoning
circle’s start to glow red, “I did not expect you to return until Saturday when
it was agreed upon to have the next group of files together for review, is there
an issue I need to be aware of?”
“Account manager Ripclaw,” Grady said as he turned around and faced the goblin
with a smile, “I have no issue with your efficiency. We are here today to deal
with the Malfoy account manager who dared to contemplate endangering our
client.”
Narrowing his eyes in anger as he spotted the grubworm being escorted in, along
with his contingent of guards he favored, he said in a near growl, “Rocktooth,
why am I not surprised.”
The seats soon filled with Goblins from account managers and higher, Grady
looked at the elderly goblin who took the throne like seat. When he sat fully,
he started, “It has come to our attention, that Rocktooth, the Malfoy account
manager forced the name of the crafter of a goblet that had been brought in to
be appraised, out of Mr. Malfoy at spear point,” he said as he turned to gaze at
the Goblin who was shaking near the pit wall.
“This endangers our client Harry James Potter,” Grady said as he nodded to
Buford and ignored the stink of sulfur as the summoning circle nearest Rocktooth
activated as Buford summoned a demon. He did smile as he heard gasps of shock
and cries of pain that cut off as the demon fed noisily behind him. “I am hoping
that the greed and avarice that Rocktooth showed will not be repeated by any
Goblin…anywhere,” he said as the Demon finished his meal. Glancing over his
shoulder briefly as Buford told the demon to return, in the demons own language,
he caught sight of the fear on all the goblins faces. Seeing several guards
nervously shifting their spears, he pointed up to the cavern wall, where his
summoning circle glowed red, he told them, “I would think twice about doing
something stupid. There are not enough of you to satisfy my friend if I call
him.”
Turning in place and slowly examining the faces of the Goblins, Grady nodded in
satisfaction at seeing their fear. “The client is sacrosanct. Nothing and I do
mean nothing, is to happen to Harry James Potter while in the territory of or by
any Goblin, unless you want all Law Wizards to return with our friends.” Pausing
to let that set in he pointed to Ripclaw, “if one wishes to hire our client to
craft some trinket, Ripclaw is the only point of contact allowed.” Looking up at
the high Goblin he asked, “Has our warning been effective?” seeing the old
goblin nod, he gestured for Allen and Buford to join him as he started for the
steps, throwing over his shoulder as the climbed the steps, “The summoning
circles will fade in twenty four hours, until then…” he left off as they entered
the cart tunnel and the cart and waited for the driver to take them to the
surface.
Standing up, the high goblin growled out a question that had most managers
shrinking back in their seats, “What did that worm do to bring us to the
attention of those…people?”
Seeing no one had an answer, Ripclaw spoke up, raising his voice he answered
loud and clear, “Rocktooth, in his greed while appraising an object crafted by
one Harry James Potter, demanded the name from Malfoy by spear point. He alluded
to kidnapping him for his skill and forcing him to craft priceless artifacts for
Rocktooth’s pleasure and profit. Something unwise to even think of, since Harry
James Potter has multiple bonded Law Wizards working for him full time. Or the
fact it has been verified by one of his Law Wizards, Grady Tibold, that he is in
fact an Atlantean Mage.”
“And why was the Wizard Malfoy in the bank with an object that caused Rocktooth
to fall into greed?” the high goblin asked.
Standing up, one of the appraisers cleared his throat and told him, “As it was
told to me as I was called to appraise the goblet, Wizard Malfoy, had brought
the goblet in to be appraised, as it was given to his son as a gift. He wished
to know what it was worth so he could make sure the guesting gift his son would
take with him to Harry James Potters abode would be seen as appropriate.”
“And,” the high goblin growled out, “Its worth?”
Visibly swallowing the appraiser answered with, “there currently is not enough
gold and treasure in the bank to cover the costs of the material let alone the
crafting of the goblet. The gold is pure crystalline gold, something we can not
achieve. The diamonds are the purest crystal, the smallest diamond would
bankrupt a nation to purchase. When Wizard Malfoy was told this, he paled and
fell back into his chair. The goblet is priceless, not because no value can be
placed on it, but because there is not enough gold to purchase the materials to
craft it. And it seems the last of the Potter’s did indeed craft a set of them.”
Sitting down to the shocked cries of his brethren he shivered as he looked at
the small blood stain on the sand in the pit.
“And these fools?” The high Goblin asked as he pointed to the guards milling
around in the pit, trying to get as far away from the spot Rocktooth became an
appetizer.
“The fools who Rocktooth used to demand Wizard Malfoy give over the name of the
crafter of the Goblet,” Ripclaw said with a venom filled hiss.
Glaring at the panicked guards, the high goblin rose from his chair and started
to leave, throwing over his shoulder as he left the hall, “Throw them to the
dragons.”
<<>>
Smiling as they left the cattle behind in the pasture, it looked like they had
settled in nicely, Harry escorted his friends into the greenhouse where Neville
was busy setting up the enchanted weather posts in the corners of the sealed
glasshouse. Looking around he commented, “I see you quickly got rid of the dead
plants.”
“I did,” Neville said with a grin. “I banished them instead of adding them to
your compost pile as I was not sure what would happen or if any seeds remained
that were still alive.” As he set the last post up and started the enchantment
running, it was set to start the cycle with spring, to match the plants he
brought with him, he told Harry, “I used a sterilization charm Gran taught me on
the beds and soil after banishing the dead plants after hydrating the dry soil,
so I’m all ready to plant,” he said as he pointed to the three trays of plants
he had brought. “These three plants are easy enough to divide and by the time
fall rolls around you have enough starts to plant in the other three greenhouses
you build.”
“What did you bring?” Harry asked in excitement as he went over and peaked
through the trays and added, “Besides strawberries?”
“Raspberries and grapes,” Neville told him as he pointed out the trays of each.
“The grapes we will plant along the sides of the greenhouse, near the outer wall
to provide shade as they grow up and over our heads. And we or in this case you,
need to make sure you are careful to keep the raspberries contained in the lower
raised beds along the outer wall. They need full sun, but they like to spread
from their roots.” Picking up the tray of raspberries he walked to the end of
the greenhouse and set the plants several feet apart in the raised beds. Looking
at Harry he offered, “If you will entertain a suggestion on what to plant?”
seeing Harry nod he pointed to the side beds that were only at most two feet
wide, “I would plant asparagus in those beds, they are a permanent crop that
needs some cold to grow strong. There is enough room for a couple of dozen fruit
trees in the middle here,” he said as he waved a hand as he planted the
raspberries quickly and watered them in. “On the other side I would plant bush
fruit like blueberries or currents.”
“Neville,” Draco asked as he watched the twins plant the strawberries that
Neville had laid out, “how much fruits and vegetables can a greenhouse this size
produce?”
Looking around and planning what he would plant if this was his and taking into
account the outside vegetable and fruit orchards, he said after giving it some
thought, “most of what I think Harry is going to plant in here is things that
need cold to overwinter. That said,” he looked at Draco who was staring intently
at him, “four greenhouses, double this size, back home, would produce enough
fruits and vegetables to feed a family of six year round and have enough for
guests or to put up for later eating or making jelly and jams. I know our house
elves process into jams and such quite a lot of what is picked we don’t eat
fresh.”
“Do your weather control posts need to be larger for a bigger greenhouse?” Draco
asked as he walked around the greenhouse to see how much space was in it.
“No,” Neville told him quickly as he looked at Harry who was staring at him in
deep thought, “the posts are sized for a greenhouse twice this size. What are
you thinking?”
“Malfoy’s and Longbottom's are known to be rich,” Draco told them as he winced
at seeing the twins stare at him, “not Potter rich by any stretch of the
imagination, but, I think I would like the four of us to take up Harry’s
suggestion. But I want to do it under one roof, one shop that we split the costs
to run. If we split the costs of the building and the sales staff, it would be a
good third of what it would be if we did this on our own. Plus,” he said with
growing excitement. Looking around he asked, “Harry, could we go to the terrace
so we can sit down with quill and parchment and go over this idea?”
Following, Harry, to the terrace on the second level of the mansion, Draco
looked at the twins who had gone silent and had looks of worry on their faces
and told them, “I think this could work with minimum investment from any of us
up front. Maybe thirty or forty galleons from the three of us. The biggest cost
to us would be the building of our products in the beginning, not coming up with
a couple of months salary for our clerks. Once we had the initial stock, we
could then hire on, under the secrecy contracts Harry mentioned, a work force to
continue to build our products.” Taking the parchment from Harry as the twins
perked up, he looked at Neville and told him, “Neville, you already have a
product line, seeds, plants or cuttings and then you can offer the four season
posts with or without greenhouses.”
“Don’t forget Neville can offer maintenance service, planting service and set
up,” Harry said as he used his mothers pen to write the list down on the paper
in front of him.
Excitement grinding to a halt as he looked at Harry and saw the strange writing
instrument he was using, Draco asked as he pointed to the metal cylinder,
“Harry, what is that?”
“This is a pen my mum created,” Harry told him as he looked up from the paper he
was writing notes on, “It is linked to a bottle of ink and as long as you keep
the ink bottle full, it never needs to be filled. It is made of metal, silver to
be exact. I have a fountain pen that has a metal quill that is like this, but
writes like a normal quill.”
“Just how many inventions had your mum come up with?” Draco asked as he stared
at Harry who just shrugged.
“A couple of hundred easily that I would be willing to sell,” Harry shrugged it
off and reminded himself, “Before we go to sleep for the night, I plan to give
all four of you the runic trap array mum placed on me. To protect you from the
killing curse since you passed my tests.”
Closing his gaping mouth, Draco shook his head to get back on track and pointed
to the twins, “Fred, George, besides your pranks, which is a future project,
your habitat crates, have multiple applications. You can do several different
styles for people’s pets. You can do several different sizes for animal
transport, both magical or not and,” he grinned as they perked up further,
“Certain potion ingredients come from animals, having a habitat that keeps the
animals comfortable and alive means access to the freshest ingredients.”
“My own healer in a box,” Draco laughed, “lets me sell several versions. One for
animals and one for people. But the biggest plus, is it allows me to sell
potions the box uses.” Looking each of them in the eye he told them, “this is
all based off of one product, from the gift we gave or used to transport our
gift to Harry. If we spend the rest of the term, working on creating more of
what we have already done, that gives us the summer to come up with and create
new products if we plan an opening day of August first.”
“The question becomes, where do you wish to open the shop?” Harry asked as he
tapped the table in thought. “Diagon Alley, while the major shopping center,
does not have the room needed I think and Hogsmeade, while it has the room, is
not as busy. While it is not as busy,” he added as they thought about what he
was saying, “it does have Hogsmeade weekends and the students swarm the village
several times a year. Though it used to be monthly.”
“It is still supposed to be monthly,” Neville said with a frown. “Gran told me
they had to curtail it during the war, when the war was over the board told the
headmaster to put it back the way things used to be at monthly.” Shaking his
finger he told everyone, “She was also yelling quite loudly before I left at
someone through the Floo about the headmaster not carrying through on their
orders to start a traditions class before yule.”
“And my father told me the board has authorized the replacement of the brooms
every ten years,” Draco said with a scowl. “They were supposed to be replaced
last year, so he is going to call for an audit to find out where the money is
going.”
“If we get to go to Hogsmeade monthly,” George said as he looked at Fred who
nodded, “it might be better to set up shop there, we have the opportunity to
have more room to fully showcase our products and we would be close in case we
were needed.”
“Could we use space expansion charms and stay in the Alley?” Draco asked then
held up a finger, “I sort of agree with Fred and George, but want to explore all
possibilities first.”
Capping his pen Harry stood up, “I was going to show this to Neville and suggest
he might like to go with me in the spring to visit, but let me show you
something. Follow me,” he said as he walked into the den they were sitting
outside and through the house to part of the workroom that had the travel
mirror. For now, he would not explain what it was, but instead let them assume
it was like a scrying mirror.
Touching one of the pictures at the top of the mirror, where he had saved the
nursery in California, Harry zoomed in, “This is a garden center. The Wizarding
world has nothing like it, instead relying on orders through other shops who
might or might not be able to find what you want.” Zooming inside the building
he pointed out, “As you can see, there are aisles of seeds and pots, soil, tools
and books on the inside, including some plants that are delicate enough not to
take being outdoors all the time,” looking at some of the plants he added, “Or
expensive enough it is not a good idea to let them be somewhere you can’t keep
on eye on them. Everything you can think of you would need to garden with can be
found here, including tiny greenhouses for those who don’t have the room for
large ones,” he told them as he moved his hands over the mirror so he could go
up and down the aisles.
“That is the inside,” he told them as he followed the path out the door into the
side lot, “Outside, has trees ready to plant and all kinds of plants just
waiting to be put into the ground.” Harry then after they had a chance to look
around, tossed the image to the top and opened another one, this for a specialty
store that had departments, “this store, while not a single type store like the
garden center, has departments, unlike the Wizarding world, this type of store
is designed so people can find what they need in one location. The reason why I
am showing you this store, is so you can see how it is possible to have several
small shops under one roof and only have a couple of sales staff run the whole
thing. While the sales staff is not as knowledgeable as a specialty store like a
garden center, they do have knowledge of and are well versed in the products
they sell.”
Shutting down the mirror Harry told them, even to Draco’s uncomfortable looks,
“Magicals can do better than non Magicals. We can take their best ideas and
improve them for our use and still be better than what we have now.” Looking and
pointing at Neville he told him, “Through expansion and lighting charms, you can
fit an entire garden center inside a building that across the aisle has a
section to buy potions for Draco’s inventions,” he looked at Draco as he said,
“And near the front can be Fred and George’s pet or habitat section, just past
the potions and healing cube of Draco’s. And when they get to inventing and
ready to put Zonkos out of business, a section by a small tea room for their
joke products.”
“Why a Tea room?” Neville asked as he looked at Harry who had blown his mind and
he wanted to find time to go to that garden center in person.
“If you build in Hogsmeade, you want the students to linger, to take time to
explore your shop and think about trying to get their parents to buy your items.
To do so, you need to keep them inside the store as they eat a light lunch,
where they have no choice but to look around as they talk to their friends and
keep glancing at what they want to buy.”
“If you do it right, the sales from the tea shop from food and drink that can be
taken back to Hogwarts, will pay for the staff needed to run the store,” Harry
told them as he saw he had them sold on the idea.
Looking at his brother, George said what they were both thinking, “We need to
get back to the terrace and seriously start making notes, because if we do this,
we need to start working on our plans and know our costs and prices. We also
need to figure out how long it will take to build an item so we can stock up.”
“Do we have somewhere in Hogwarts we can use as a secure workroom?” Fred asked
as he led the way outside, back to the terrace.
“You can use a corner of the classroom I took over,” Harry told them as he
leaned back as the sun hit him and just let the sun warm him up. “I only use a
corner for potions class. As your products are finished I can have them moved to
the store front. I’ll send a note tonight, after supper, which we will be
grilling outside, to Grady and have one of the law wizards set everything up.”
“What about you Harry?” Draco asked, “You have all your mothers inventions
besides the Werewolf one you just came up with.”
“That one needs to be done at a clinic, not a store,” Harry pointed out, “and as
far as the other inventions of mums, I just have not had a chance to really look
through them, to find out what I am willing to market and what needs to stay in
the family. I know I could market the killing curse trap mum came up with if I
so wanted, but I am going to reserve it for those who have given me their oaths,
like you four.” Shrugging he said, “I’m just not ready or have the time to go
through mums inventions right now, maybe once I have house elves again, so far
there has not been any wanting a new family.”
“We want you to be part of this Harry,” Neville said firmly. “And not because it
will split the costs four ways, but because you see the potential where we
overlook it. So, what if we volunteered to help you out on the weekends with
your chores, so you can go through your mums inventions and pick out a couple to
start off with.”
“Because frankly,” Fred told Harry, “Without you putting the idea in our heads,
we would not have given it a thought.”
“Let me sleep on it, I’ll think on it as I watch the moon rise tonight,” Harry
broke down and agreed to at least think about it.