FicWad

Chapter 22: Settling in the New Manor



The next day Harry and the girls apparated to Potter-Black Manor, formerly Malfoy Manor and Black Manor before that. There was a thin layer of dust on the otherwise gleaming furniture, but nothing was broken, pilfered or vandalized.



"Lucius kept a fidelius charm on the Manor, and only grudgingly allowed visitors." Narcissa explained as she greeted her Leige lord and his ladies. "We've just been tidying up the master and some of the guest rooms."



Harry looked slightly shocked at Draco, "you've been cleaning?"



"No need to sound so surprised milord." He smirked (oh well, old habits die hard), "actually Mother left aspare wand in her old room and let me use it to charm a few feather dusters to re-arrange the dust."



"What happened to your wand?"Harry asked.



"Oh, Dawlish snapped it, along with two bones in my arm when I was taken into custody."



Harry smiled and evil smile,"would you like to return the favor Draco?"



The blond looked confused,"what do you mean?"



"I mean ex-auror Dawlish is now a guest of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I'm sure I can arrange for you to be the one to snap his wand."



Draco's smile was beatific,"I'm going to enjoy being your liegeman, Milord Potter!"



"And we need to go to Olivander's to get you all replacement wands." Harry offered.



"My son is really quite skilled in charms." His mother allowed graciously.



"Speaking of which, milord, what will my duties and responsibilities be?" Draco asked deferentially.



"I have given it some thought,"Harry answered, "Ginny is going to need all kinds of help to set up and then run the rehabilitation center. Can you see yourself working with the Kissed?"



"Milord Potter, I've spent the last few months licking the soiled boots of that reptile Voldemort," he took a deep breath, "I would muck out the stables by hand and be grateful for it - I never had the chance to thank you properly."



Harry shrugged, "it's not necessary."



"I'm afraid it is milord," the blond insisted, "I owe you a life-debt twice over, and we Blacks always pay our debts."



"Ginny?"



"Milord?"



"Can you use Draco's help?"



"I can use all the help I can get, milord, but Mr. Black and I have, um, some history between us."



"I will not force the issue, Ijust thought that maybe Draco could help you around the manor, he did, after all, grow up here."



"I grew older here, milord,"Draco quipped, "I didn't grow up until you freed me from the influence of my father and that snake fucker."



Ginny sniggered in spite of herself, "I think Mr. Black could be very useful around here, milord."



"Narcissa?"



"Milord?"



"How long before the Manor is ready to receive patients?"



"We could house as many as adozen today. In two months time we should be able to triple that number."



"What's the holdup?"



"Staff milord," she let out an exasperated sigh, "we're going to need a full time healer on the premises, and we'll need support staff, cooks and custodians and a full time administrator."She explained.



"When we're fully up and running Ginny will be the administrator," Harry looked at his ex-girlfriend,"if that's okay with you?"



"I'd rather work closely with the Kissed Harry. Let's let someone with management experience be the administrator."



Hermione spoke up for the first time since their arrival. "We could use some muggle expertise here. We could use teachers as well as doctors and nurses and nurse's aids who have experience working in convalescent homes."



"Oh that's brilliant," Ginny enthused, then appeared crestfallen, "but what about the secrecy laws?"



"Some of us have non-magical relatives, or acquaintances who know about our world. We can look there first. We can also accept CVs and conduct interviews with people who might be willing to be sworn to secrecy with a magically binding oath. Anyone who accepts we can use; those who don't? Well, we'll have an obliviator standing by."



Narcissa looked up from her appointment book, "it'll take two to three months to have Potter-Black Manor up to scratch, ready to receive patients."



Ginny looked depressed.



Harry spoke kindly to the girl,"you want to work with Ron and some of the others, don't you?"



She nodded.



"Why not bring Ron and Lavender and Lori home? You can work with them on a small scale and get some idea of what we'll need to run a proper facility."



Ginny sobbed and sprang into Harry's arms, "Oh thank you Harry! Thank you!"



He patted her back making reassuring sounds as he did so.



A large black bird, like an outsized crow flew into the living room, dropped a package and flew away without waiting for a reply.



"Gringott's uses ravens for delivering messages Harry." Narcissa explained.



Harry picked up the envelope and opened it.



"Ah, the "Peace of Mind Morning After Potion" company is offering to settle out of court for ten-thousand Galleons and a promise to cease and desist."



He walked over to the fireplace, took a small pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fire.



"Zubedia Vance, Diagon Alley!"he called into the fireplace.



His attorney's exotic face appeared in the flames, "Harry! You must have received your raven the same time I did!"



"What do you think?" Harry asked.



"Can I come through?"



"Of course."



Zubedia Vance stepped into the formal living room with all the grace of a professional dancer.



Harry groaned, "Am I the only one who falls flat on his arse every time I use the floo network?"



His ladies and liege-folk chose diplomatic silence.



Zubedia looked like the six foot canary that just ate the cat.



"Harry this is brilliant!" she enthused, "six offers from companies that have been using your name and image without your permission are all clamoring to settle!"



"So what do we do?"



"We make em' sweat!" she grinned predatorily, "take this offer from "Peace of Mind" for example. Sue them for a million galleons!"



"Can we win?"



"Oh sure, but it'll take years. And then the actual award will be less than half of that; and then/they'll try to tie us up in procedures and appeals. In the meantime, though, their stock will plummet! When witches and wizards find out that they've cheated /you they won't be able to give the stuff away, let alone sell it!"



"So we force them out of business?" Harry asked.



"Nope," she answered smugly,"broke companies can't pay settlements, we just convince them that we're going to put them out of business and then the real offers will come pouring in!"



"Ms. Vance," Harry said, taking her hand and brushing her knuckles with his lips, "I leave all this in your capable hands!"



Zubedia grinned at Myrtle and said, "Better watch this one, Mrs. Potter. He actually doesn't know how charming he is!"



They all laughed as Harry became an interesting shade of beet.



Harry and Ginny apparated to St. Mungo's promising to meet Narcissa and Draco in Diagon Alley for lunch.



As it happened they arrived just as a large number of the Champions of Hogwarts were being discharged. They all had to stop and speak with Harry, "mate, we couldn't a done it without you!"



Harry turned to see Dean Thomas, "all right there Dean?" Harry asked.



"Never better!" he grinned in return, his grin evaporated when he saw Ginny.



"Whot's she doin' here?"



"She's working with the Kissed," Harry said evenly. "C'mon Dean, let it go. We all lost family in this damn war, let's let some good come out of it if we can, please?"



It was Harry's heartfelt please that moved Dean. He lowered his head and nodded.



"See you around Harry." The young man muttered, then left.



Harry saw tears tracking down Ginny's cheeks.



"Hey, it's okay Ginny," Harry said soothingly.



"No," she sniffed, "it's not. But in time, maybe. . ."



"Let's go see Ron."



They entered the Kissed Ward and recognized Healer Jones. The young physician came forward and pumped both their hands in greeting.



"Remarkable, truly remarkable!"



"What's that Healer?" Harry asked.



"The progress our Miss Weasley has made - it's unprecedented!"



"What do you mean Healer?"Ginny asked.



"The Kissed that you've been working with?" the healer gestured to the door behind him, "They're showing remarkable progress!"



The excited healer led them into the room.



"Gin-nee!" it was Lavender Brown, smiling and walking over to her. She was followed closely by Ron who called "Gin-gin?"



Half a dozen of the Kissed shuffled over to where Ginny stood with Lavender, all wanting to embrace her.



Healer Jones led Harry over to a corner. "The problem with dealing with the Kissed is that everyone knows they're a lost cause. The Kissed live a couple of years and then they die. This is the first time ever that any of the dementor-kissed have shown any real interest in anything or anyone. I can't explain it!"



"I think I can," Harry offered,"its love, plain and simple love. It was the power that defeated Voldemort and it's the only thing that can defeat hopelessness.



"Ginny really loves Ron, and the others. She couldn't wait to get back to them today."



"The real problem dealing with the Kissed is that they have no will to live, somehow Ginny has gotten through to them."



"Well Healer Jones, it just so happens we're going to need a full time staff Healer at the Genevra Weasly Rehabilitation Center. Are you interested?"



The physician held out his hand, which Harry grasped and said "count me in."



"Don't you even want to know what the job pays?"



"Hell, I'd work with this lot for free! I've already published two monograms on the subject, and I expect to finish a full research paper by the end of the year!"



The healer snapped his fingers"Merlin, I nearly forgot! You have to see something!"



He walked quickly out of the ward an into a potion's lab, Harry trailing close behind.



"Now where did I put that? Ah! Here it is!" the healer pulled down a small cylindrical jar in which aviscous black fluid was writhing. Something about the fluid was disturbing and familiar.



"Ever seen this stuff before?"the healer asked.



"Yeah, it came out of me when Voldemort died."



"This sample came from Miss Weasley; do you know what it is?"



Harry shook his head.



"It's soul essence, the ichors of possession!"



"What are you saying Healer Jones?"



"I'm saying, that at some point Miss Weasley was possessed by Voldemort," the healer shook the jar, "and this proves it!"



"She was possessed by an avatar of Voldemort when she was eleven years old." Harry muttered, "But we thought he was gone when the avatar was destroyed."



"Nope," the healer looked shocked, "that tiny slip of a girl has had Voldemort's soul blended with hers since she was a pre-teen?" He shook his head, "it's a wonder she's not mad as a hatter!"



"Is she still?" Harry started.



"Possessed?" Jones asked. "No, that's just it; all of Voldemort's essence was trying to get back to his body when you killed him. Now that he's truly dead this stuff is just an obnoxious animated tar."



"And Ginny?"



"Dispossessed since the end of the battle." The healer confirmed.



"Does that mean?" Harry began.



"That our Miss Weasley cannot be held responsible for her actions while under the thrall of the most powerful dark lord of the 20th century!" the healer finished.



Harry's "whoop!" echoed throughout the halls of St. Mungo's. He practically dragged the healer to the next room where everything was explained to the diminutive red-head.



"I knew something was broken when Tom died," she said, "I've been at peace in a way that I haven't been since, well since before I started attending Hogwart's."



"Don't you get it Ginny?" Harry cried, "All that stuff, the boys, the stuff you did with the death eaters, Malfoy, it wasn't you!"



"Sure looked like me," Ginny said, sadly.



"But it wasn't you, it was /him/; and he's gone for good and all!"



"I need a fireplace!" Harry looked around frantically, "I need to make a call!"



"Who?"



"Rita Skeeter," he said with awicked smile, "this is the kind of story she'd love!



"And once it's published the Wizengamot will acquit you of all charges, you'll be well and truly free!"



It was a very jubilant Harry that bounced into Fortescue's Ice Cream and Sandwich Parlor. As usual Mrs. Fortescue wouldn't accept Harry's money, but he got around that by insisting on tipping the waitress, and the cook and the guy who swept up after them. On the way out he decided that Florien Fortescue's would be the first business that he endorsed, gratis.



The group trooped into Ollivander's where the old man was taken aback by the sight of two Hermiones, one of whom he could not read at all, the other he recognized as Myrtle Frisbee. "Mister Potter, you have given me a day to remember." The elderly wand maker smirked.



He insisted on purchasing wands for Narcissa, Draco and Ginny. When the wands were matched to their new owners Narcissa said, "Milord, please present your wand."



Harry did and all three of his liege-folk touched their wand tips to his. They all solemnly intoned, "This wand will never be used against that of my liege lord, and may be called upon at any time for any reason. This I vow on my magic and my life; so mote it be!"



Just then Hermione gasped,"Harry, we must get to Hogsmeade!"



"What's happening there?"



She became very agitated, morphing quickly between her human and essensential forms



"Dark ones, Harry; black wraiths are feeding!"