The Last Kefsen by Jardyn39
Chapter 14: The Three Broomsticks
Harry led the way into the Three Broomsticks and held open the door while Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville entered.
He closed the door behind them and then walked over to the bar where Mr Serrure was chatting with Madam Rosmerta.
"Mr Potter," said Serrure brightly, stepping forward and shaking Harry's hand.
Madam Rosmerta smiled and said, "If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you into your dining room. Lunch will be served as soon as you're ready."
"Thanks," said Harry, before turning to his friends. "You go through, I just need a quick word with Mr Serrure."
Looking curious, the five of them followed Madam Rosmerta upstairs to one of the private dining areas. Harry hadn't told them they were having lunch there as well.
Harry turned to Mr Serrure and asked, "Is everything okay? I didn't expect you to deliver the trunks in person."
"All part of the service, Mr Potter. However, I did want to warn you that we did have some trouble with the third compartment. We came up with a solution but if you are in any way dissatisfied, we'll rectify it at once."
"What was the problem?"
"It was the shear size and weight of the contents. We solved it by pinching some space from another compartment."
Harry nodded. He wasn't entirely surprised.
Harry hesitated before saying, "Mr Serrure, I appreciate all the extra fitting out you did on the trunks, but I would prefer to pay for them."
"I will not hear of it," said Serrure with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Frankly, Mr Potter, it's not every day that someone buys six trunks from us. Most of my trade comes from repeat business. I'm really only making sure you think of us first when your storage needs change."
Harry nodded and they shook hands again before Mr Serrure departed.
Harry began to climb the stairs, thinking of Jen's words. He had hoped she would be prepared to sneak out and join them today. She had refused, saying she was tired. He knew this was true; Jen had good days and bad, but he also knew that wasn't the main reason she had refused.
*
Harry entered the dining room to see his five friends sat around a large circular table which was heaving with an assortment of food and drinks.
Madam Rosmerta smiled and said, "I'll leave you now, but please ring the bell if you need anything. There are more drinks in the cupboard, and don't worry, the dessert trolley will make several laps when you're ready," before closing the door behind them.
Harry smiled and sat down.
"I hope you don't mind, but you're all going to have early birthday presents. I kind of got a bulk discount," he said nodding at the six large gift wrapped parcels stacked to the side of the room. The others looked at them curiously.
"Let's eat first and then you can unwrap them. Mr Serrure was a little concerned that Ron's might cause brain damage, but I assured him we'd hardly notice."
Harry raised his glass. The others followed.
"This is my way of apologising for all the horrible things I'm going to do to you while we're training. But for now, Happy Birthday!"
*
Harry felt he could hardly move after lunch. He sat looking around the table as his closest friends chatted and laughed.
"Hey, Harry," prompted Ron. "I want my present!"
Harry grinned at his friend and heaved himself out of his chair. It wasn't too difficult to find Ron's trunk. It was the only one that had violent orange wrapping paper. Harry lifted the surprisingly light trunk over and placed it next to Ron.
"Let's look at one at a time," he said. "I promise you, Ron's should be unique though."
Ron frowned but his curiosity got the better of him. He tore the paper off with gusto.
The trunk was made of a deep red leather with polished brass fittings. An ornate plate above the three locks read, "RBW," and on the top of the trunk was an envelope with three keys inside.
"You have to put the keys in each of the locks," explained Harry.
Ron inserted a key in the first lock and turned.
He opened the lid. Inside was an expanded trunk, probably twice the size inside as his old trunk, and significantly bigger on the inside than out.
"Hey, this is great. Thanks, Harry."
"Try the other keys," encouraged Harry.
Ron closed the lid and tried the second key.
This time when Ron opened the lid, the lining was of a green felt rather than the deep red lining before. In addition, the sides had drawer faces.
Ron reached in and pulled one of the drawers open. It was crammed full of parchment, ink and quills.
"Wow," breathed Ginny.
Ron closed the drawer and closed the lid. With some trepidation he turned the third key and opened the lid. When the lid was opened fully, light flooded out from inside the trunk. They peered inside and were amazed to see steps leading down to a room.
"Let's go and explore!" said Ginny.
The six of them descended into a large room in which was a large writing desk and side table, an office chair and a reading chair and a couple of stacking seats. One wall was lined with bookshelves but the other wall appeared to have a wide window that looked like it was a grandstand view of a Quidditch stadium. It was actually the Chudley Cannon Stadium.
Out over the pitch they could see a group of players practicing.
"It won't really be like being there," said Harry, "but you should get a commentary on match days."
"Harry, I can't accept this," said Ron seriously.
"It's for school. Actually, I thought you were only getting an ordinary window in this compartment. The Quidditch stadium was supposed to be next door. Let's go and see, shall we?"
He walked over and opened the single door.
"Ah," he said looking in before he entered, "now I get it. That is only the training pitch. Come and see the proper view."
The three of them followed Harry into the last compartment.
It was quite extraordinary. He'd been told it was a games room. This was something else.
One complete side of the large room was one entire curved window that gave a panoramic view of the main stadium. The view was superb. In front of the window was a row of comfortable chairs, each with a pair of Omniocular glasses.
Behind these chairs was a balustrade which looked ideal for leaning against whist watching a game. Behind this was an assortment of pool, billiards and snooker tables. One complete side of the room was actually a fully equipped and stocked bar. A couple of doors were marked with toilet signs and the other walls were decorated with an assortment of diversions.
Whoever commissioned this trunk originally must have been a serious fan. The whole room, including the carpets, was a vivid orange to match the home team.
Ron looked stunned.
"How much did this lot cost?"
"I got it cheap. Mr Serrure made this for someone else. He thought he'd never get rid of it!"
Ron frowned.
"I admit this room is a bit more than I thought you'd be getting. They appear to have got a bit carried away. Just think of all the hard work you'll be putting into your studies this year," Harry said with a grin. "I think you deserve somewhere to come and relax a little."
"This place is amazing," said Ginny coming back out of the ladies toilet.
"Ginny, please tell me you didn't. Not in my trunk!"
"Harry, what if someone locks us in?" asked Neville.
"Well, we wouldn't notice if the trunk was moved, so that might be a problem except that it is magically anchored for as long as Ron is inside. Also, only those invited by Ron can enter. I think the full list of instructions is pasted inside the lid. The bar will restock itself from the cellar but the cellar has to be refilled every couple of years depending on use."
"Harry, this is too much."
"Well, maybe having everything in orange was too much, but nothing else. Just invite me to a couple of matches, okay?"
Ron grinned and they made their way back to the dining room.
"You do realise we're never going to see him again, don't you?" quipped Ginny as she climbed out.
"I'm afraid the other trunks aren't quite as orange inside," said Harry he watched his friends find their trunks.
Hermione carefully removed the wrapping paper from hers and opened her envelope. He took out two keys and immediately looked up at Harry. He knew at once why she was puzzled. Her trunk had four locks and four compartments, not two.
Harry shook his head slightly and Hermione nodded in understanding. He wanted to be alone with her when she explored her trunk for the first time.
She joined the others who were investigating Luna's trunk. Unlike Ron and Hermione's trunks, all of the others had large plain compartments.
Harry grinned and was about to follow when Ron pulled him back.
"Don't tell me you support another team now?" joked Harry.
"Hardly," said Ron.
"I just wanted to say thanks for all this," Ron said quietly. "You shouldn't have, but thanks. It must have cost a fortune, though."
Harry shook his head.
"Not really. Look, I even got one for myself. To tell the truth," he said lowering his voice, "I'm mostly scared that Hermione will find out how much hers cost. That one really was a bit expensive. They kind of threw a lot of extras in for free when I said I wanted six, especially with all of Hermione's modifications."
They were interrupted by the sound of a loud laugh coming from the bar downstairs. Hagrid had arrived to take them and their trunks back to school.
*
Hagrid had been thoughtful enough to bring a large hand-drawn cart for them to carry back their trunks.
This was particularly handy, as this proved a convenient way to transport Hagrid back to school.
"How on earth did he get this drunk so quickly?" whispered Hermione as she levitated their trunks ahead of them. The other five were pushing or pulling the cart.
"Well, if we hadn't told him these were all birthday presents, it might have cut down the number of toasts," said Neville.
"I doubt it," added Ron dryly.
Harry grinned as Hagrid woke up again and sang yet another verse of a rather rude drinking song.
*
Harry slumped down in an armchair and put his feet up on his unopened trunk. It was now very late and he'd just said goodnight to his friends. It was now his custom to be the last to leave the common room because invariably, Jen liked to talk to him then.
Harry heard paper tearing and smiled. He opened his eyes to see Jen opening the envelope.
"Harry, you've got three different keys," she said. "Two of them are tied together with a blue ribbon. Which one do we use?"
"No, those keys are Hermione's," he said tiredly. "How are you? I wish you'd have come with us, and I'm not just saying that because Hagrid was so heavy."
Jen smiled at him and pushed his legs off the top of the trunk.
"Hang on," said Harry, waking up. "Why has my trunk got only one key?"
The trunk was a luxurious deep brown leather with polished brass fittings. A small brass plate bore the initials, "HJP," on the front over the four keyholes. Harry noted that the key arrangement was slightly different than Ron's as this had a single large escutcheon plate rather than four separate escutcheons.
He looked in the small envelope and found a note.
The note advised him that his trunk was fitted with a new type of lock that required only a single key to select compartments. Additional spare keys would be found inside one of the compartment drawers.
Harry inserted the key in the first lock and turned it. He opened the lid and looked in. As expected the trunk was somewhat larger than it appeared from the outside but was otherwise unremarkable. Harry noted the rich deep red coloured lining and again felt a little uncomfortable at buying such an extravagant item for himself.
He closed the lid and locked the trunk again. He then turned the second lock and opened the lid.
Harry was surprised to see that this compartment was lined with polished wood and appeared to be the same size as the outside of the trunk. He allowed the lid to fall back so that it was fully open. As he did so the bottom of the trunk rose up until what looked like a thin tallboy wardrobe appeared in front of him. It stood about six feet tall but was the plan size of the original trunk.
"Is this normal?" asked Jen.
"I honestly have no idea," replied Harry.
He tentatively pulled the brass ring pull at the front. A door in the same polished timber opened and Harry looked in. It was a complete walk-in wardrobe. On two sides were hanging rails separated by an assortment of full length mirrors and at the back were a generous number of clothes drawers with shoe holders underneath.
They both stepped inside and looked around. As he walked towards the rear of the room he realised it was deeper than he thought. There was a fold away ironing board, a trouser press, a dressing table with mirror and a small safe.
Curious, he bent down and touched the metal face of the safe. Instantly it opened with a click. There was only a note inside telling him that the safe was keyed to his personal touch and that no key or combination was necessary.
He stood and noticed a door to the side. He opened it and was startled to find a small bathroom. It was equipped with a toilet, shower and wash hand basin and was tiled throughout in white marble. Otherwise it was plain and functional.
He walked in and turned a tap. Hot soapy water gushed out. He instinctively held his hand under one of the many wall mounted metal nozzles. Hot air blasted out, drying his hand almost at once.
As he exited, he looked again at the similar sized door directly opposite. He had assumed it was just a cupboard. Opening the door, he found a bedroom complete with double bed, side tables and dressing table. All of the furnishings were simple and restrained. He supposed it made sense to provide emergency accommodation if there was room.
Harry sighed and walked out again to join Jen who had already exited. This was rather more than he thought he was getting. As he closed the door and watched the wardrobe descend back into the trunk he realised that even a standard wizard would be likely to have these sorts of features. He mused that he would probably never have enough clothes to fill a fraction of the space available.
"Stop it, Harry," said Jen, knowing exactly what he was feeling. "Try the third lock."
He locked the trunk again and opened the third compartment.
This time steps led down to what looked like a fairly plain room. He stepped into the trunk and went down the steps which were of a ship's ladder type and didn't have the rope handrails that Ron's trunk had.
As his foot reached the floor of the room, lanterns lit themselves.
"Ah," said Jen reaching the bottom of the steps. "Plain and simple," she mocked.
This compartment was indeed much more to Harry's liking. The room was square and one wall consisted entirely of drawers of varying sizes. Opposite was a large white board surrounded by cupboards of different sizes. The floor was bare and in each of the remaining walls there were doors that looked like store rooms for larger objects.
Harry noticed that each drawer and door was labelled with a number.
There was some writing on the whiteboard over which was a plate bearing the inscription, "Inventory."
Harry looked in his pockets and found a silver Sickle. He opened a small drawer and dropped it inside. As he pushed the drawer to close it, the drawer closed under its own motivation. On the whiteboard some new text appeared. It gave a description of the item and its location.
He grinned. He liked this compartment.
He was about to climb back up the stairs when Jen said, "Hey, we might as well look in the larger storerooms as well."
He gasped when he looked in the first. It was a fully equipped potions preparation area. All of the walls were lined with glass fronted cupboards and drawers brimming with potions materials and delicate measuring devices. Cauldrons of various sizes scattered the room next to solid looking benches. A bookcase stood with rows and rows of potions books.
Harry was a little relieved to find that the adjacent door had nothing but a plain empty room. It was clearly just a storeroom, and he proceeded quickly to the doors opposite.
He opened the third door and knew immediately that this one wasn't a storeroom either. The floor was covered in a luxurious red carpet. He opened the door wider and groaned.
It was a small library. He walked in and looked at the titles that filled the shelves.
Harry nodded to himself. The shop had mixed up the order. These were the very same books he had ordered for Hermione's trunk.
He sighed, realising that although it might take a while to move the books over, at least she would have them.
He exited and looked in the last storeroom.
Jen took one look inside and said, "Boring! I'm going back to the common room."
Harry thought this was a much more interesting space, though. It was plain with stone lined circular walls and stone flag paving. The ceiling was high and brick vaulted. Lanterns were suspended from the ceiling.
This area would be ideal for practising Defence Against the Dark Arts, he thought. He walked over to the other side of the room. It was deceptively large.
He opened a door on the other side and found it was stockroom, filled with targets, cushions and the like. He closed the door, but immediately withdrew his wand and spun around. A cloaked figure stood in the middle of the room facing him.
"Who are you?" demanded Harry, advancing on the figure.
"I do not have a name," said the figure calmly.
Harry realised he was of a similar height and build as himself. He sounded young too.
"Remove the cloak so I can see your face," ordered Harry. The young man did so and grinned at Harry before giving a short bow.
Harry was now no more than ten feet away from the youth. He could see clearly now. There was no mistake.
Harry was looking at himself.
"Perhaps I should explain. I take the form of whoever wishes to train in this room. You activated me when you walked over that painted circle over there. You will find I'm as agile and strong as you are, but I cannot leave this room. In addition, I cannot actually kill my opponent nor fight a child. A full list of safeguards is on the back of the door you came in from."
"Are you part of a standard trunk?"
"My knowledge is limited. I know nothing beyond this room."
"How are you deactivated?"
"Render me unconscious or leave the duelling zone. The zone is marked by the yellow line around the room."
Harry nodded and said, "Thanks. Maybe I'll see you later. Will you remember?"
"No, all my memories are reset when I deactivate."
Harry closed the door behind him feeling distinctly uneasy.
He climbed the steps. He needed to make some enquiries with the shop. He would also ask Lupin's advice.
He locked the third compartment and then stood for a while, deep in thought.
"Harry, have I got to wait all night?" prompted Jen impatiently. "Come on, let's look in the last compartment!"
Harry smiled at her and inserted the key into the fourth lock.
It wouldn't turn though.