Chapter 22: Ding Dong, Dursley's Almost Gone
A/N: I see that the last posted chapter was relatively uninspiring with respect to reviews. Guess I wasn't thrilled with it either… I'd blame the muse if I wasn't so self-aware of my limitations as a writer. Or the fact that a new job, a new school year with homework to help with, and a new soccer team to coach has kept my mind otherwise occupied.
Okay, I'll stop whining. Thanks for sticking with me. I hope this chapter reads better, and that (good or bad) you'll write a short review at the end. Oh, and feel free to click on the hyperlinks to check out Ron and Hermione's new wheels.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc. etc.
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Friday, June 15
The day the Dursleys moved out would have been bright in the bleakest of weather; that it was sunny and warm seemed downright decadent as Harry Potter rolled his motorcycle out of the garage.
The morning's driving lesson had been cancelled in lieu of driver's examinations for Ron and Hermione; given circumstances and status, the examiner had been brought to them. Harry had promised Hermione that he'd stay out of trouble, but there was only so much driving to be done within the wards, and he intended to keep a watch out for them as they drove out into Little Whinging proper.
Harry rolled the motorcycle around the loading ramp of the lorry that was hauling the Dursley's belongings off to the Balkans and gave a wave to Roger, who was standing on the curb with a cellphone to his ear. With a look up and down the street to confirm that no other eyes would be watching him, he kick started the bike and sped off down the street.
Though Harry was some six weeks away from eligibility to take his license examination, he figured that his "Doing Queen's Business" card would get him out of any trouble with the authorities. Besides, he only needed to break the law for a half-block, at which point he had enough speed to lift off and engage the cloaking device.
Shivers traveled up and down Harry's spine as he flew up and through the anti-apparation barrier. Hermione had warned him that he might notice a surge of magical energy at the ward boundary; Ragnok had sent Bill Weasley and the Gringott's ward master to them the night previous to overlap goblin anti-apparation wards on top of his mother's protection. Though Harry had been quite confident that he'd been under Petunia's care long enough to maintain those wards until his birthday, he was more than happy to have an extra layer of protection that would last beyond July 31. The goblin's wards also provided a bonus that he'd wished he had years before; the Ministry's remote magical detection devices were useless within the protected area.
Harry leveled off at about five hundred feet and looked down upon the neighborhood, which his Fools had recently renamed "Little Wizarding" ( or "Little Wiz", for short). They hadn't been jesting about their choice in accommodations; over the past week Roger Granger had arranged for Harry's new holding company to purchase fifteen of the seventy-five houses located within the two block radius of Number Four. Offers that were well above market value had been made, in fact, to every owner of a house within the zone. There were reasons both practical and moral; fewer muggles around the neighborhood meant less worry about secrecy laws, and less worry about collateral damage when the Death Eaters decided to attack.
Three other moving vans could be seen on neighborhood streets, as families took advantage of financial incentives to leave as soon as possible. Whether the empty homes would be filled, and by whom, was open to debate. The Twins were talking openly of bringing in other Order members and members of the DA into the neighborhood for some on-site security. Plans were also afoot for MI 5 ¾ to grow right along with their little community; he'd caught Wally and Brian with blueprints and construction talk over the past week, but gotten nothing more than smiles when Harry asked what they were scheming.
It didn't take long for Harry to spot the black Bentley that Ron and Hermione were using for the exam; it was currently negotiating a parallel parking attempt (that it was faring poorly led Harry to suspect that Ron was presently behind the wheel). With his focus on the car he didn't notice Hedwig's arrival until her silent wings had delivered her to his shoulder.
"Hey, girl, I'm supposed to be invisible," he admonished with a grin, as he reached into his pocket for an owl treat. Hedgwig's hoot in response sounded not the least bit remorseful. Harry decided to tease her by asking, "How's Pounce and the boys?" That earned him a nip on his ear.
With his newfound wealth Ron had decided it was finally time to get a familiar that he could be proud of, and had purchased a male Great Horned Owl that he'd named "Pounce" (after the way he snatched his meals). With Charlie's help, they'd also imported a half-dozen owls from the Continent to become Clan Potter's Mail Service. Harry had spent a lot of time with his familiar reassuring her that she was his first and favorite, and she'd responded by organizing the new arrivals into an ersatz air force. These days, there was always at least two owls flying over Little Wiz on a surveillance mission, and if they happened to pounce upon a gangly rat with a silver paw sneaking amongst the shadows, so much the better.
Harry watched as the Bentley pulled to the curb and Ron and Hermione traded seats. After a few more minutes he started to search for two other vehicles that were supposed to be making their way towards Number Four. It didn't take to spot long the convertibles, driving down the arterial with identical mops of red hair in the front passenger seats. He grinned and swooped down towards them.
He pulled out of his silent dive fifteen feet above the two cars and followed them until they reached Privet Drive. Once he caught sight of the straight patch of empty street in front of him, Harry flipped off the cloaking device and silencer, and inverted his motorcycle. With toes gripping under the seat and a roar of his engine he buzzed the two cars upside down with a modified sloth move.
It said something about Wally and Brian's comfort level with magic that they didn't crash the two cars as Harry flew over their heads. At the end of Privet Drive Harry flipped the bike back upright, nudged it down to the ground and pulled it back around in front of Number Five. He got a look of admonishment from Hermione's mother, who'd been chatting with her husband the front yard.
"Harry Potter," she said, "if you think that your antics will make me more likely to allow Hermione to ride on the bike with you…"
Harry replied with a grin, "Yes, mum."
"Give him a break, dear," Roger said, "were I in the same situation I'd be doing cartwheels over the Dursleys departure."
The two vehicles that Harry had been chasing finally pulled up next to Harry and the Grangers.
"Oh my goodness, Harry," Roger said. "What have we here?"
"What we have here, Mr. Granger," replied whichever twin was in the lead car, "are two certified wizard-friendly automobiles….tested them out ourselves, we did."
"Is that true?" asked Emily Granger.
"Yeah, it is," Harry confirmed. "Took a bit of work to find cars old enough to have computer-free engines and the bare minimum of electronics."
"Doesn't hurt that they are both classics either, eh Harry?" Brian asked.
"Well then, go on," Roger said with impatience, "pop the bonnet and let's have a look."
"Which one?"
Roger snorted. "Like you even have to ask."
"It can wait, can't it?" Emily asked. "Harry did say these were going to be presents, and they'll be around presently?"
"Yeah, I guess," Roger mumbled. "Hey Harry," he asked, "who gets the red one?"
Harry broke out into a deep laugh.
"Like you even have to ask."
Just then the door to Number Five open and Steve yelled out. "They're coming around the corner." That gave the Twins just enough time to conjure tarps that covered the two cars before Hermione carefully pulled the Bentley up and into the driveway of Number Four. After putting the car in park she and Ron bounded out of the vehicle and ran across the street.
Harry asked, "Hey, how'd it go?"
Hermione, who had reached him first, grabbed his arms and gave him a quick kiss and a smile. "It went great. I think Ron did well enough."
"No question that Hermione passed, of course," said Ron with a bit of whine in his voice. They looked back over at the examiner, who at that moment handed some papers to Brian and shook his hand. Steve crossed the street to drive the man back to the examination station, passing Brian as he approached the Trio with a smile on his face and valid licenses in each hand.
Hermione squealed and gave Ron a bear hug. "We did it…we did it both!" she exclaimed.
"Do you have to sound so surprised?" Ron asked, as Harry shook his hand with congratulations.
"Well, we didn't know you could stop a car without the Womping Willow's help," explained Fred.
"Sod off, Fred."
"Hey now, mind the language," Harry said. "lest I reconsider your rewards."
"And what might that be?" Hermione asked, as she appraised the two covered cars with interest.
"What, my kiss isn't reward enough?" Harry asked in mock pain.
"Not when you're teasing, it isn't"
"Fair enough," said Harry, as he threw two sets of car keys at his friends. "One for you, and another for you."
With the sound that was the Hermione had ever come to a squeal she pulled the tarp from first one car, then the other. She and Ron then both stepped back and gawked.
"Merlin, Harry, they're beauties," Ron exclaimed.
"Oh Harry," Hermione said, "they're wonderful…which one's for me?"
"Like you even have to ask," said Ron, as he walked towards the second car.
Roger look towards Ron with a tinge of sympathy. "You know, Ron," he said, "the Morris Minor is probably the most beloved classic car in all of Britain, and it's pretty rare to see a convertible like this one these days."
"No, it's great," said Ron, as he opened the door and sat behind the wheel. He gave the horn a good honk, then looked down with some confusion at the floorboard. "What's this other brake pedal for?"
"Oh, that's the clutch," said Harry. "We were only able to find one magic-friendly car with automatic transmission…sorry, mate, but you'll have to learn to drive stick."
"And that car with automatic transmission would be this one?" Hermione asked, as she ran her hand along the side of her shiny red car.
"Yes," said Roger with no little amount of awe.
"It's a Bentley, like the one across the street, isn't it?" she asked.
Harry opened the door for her and she sat down on the white leather seat. "1962 Bentley S3," he said, more for Hermione's father's benefit than for her. "6.2 litre eight cylinder engine, duel carburetors." He leaned over the car door, reached around Hermione's shoulder, and pointed towards the steering column "and four-speed automatic transmission."
Hermione turned and kissed Harry's cheek then whispered into his ear. "Thank you Harry…it's beautiful."
"Not even close as beautiful as you are, sweetheart," he replied.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, you know."
"I'm counting on it," Harry replied with no small amount of cheek.
"Why don't you kids go for a ride?" asked Emily.
"Good idea," chimed in Brian. "we cancelled your afternoon classes."
"But what about the Dursleys?" Fred asked. "They ought to hang around to give them a proper hexing at their sendoff."
"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry looked at her, then stood and looked around at Fred and George, the Grangers, Brian and Wally. He then looked back over his shoulders at Number Four, where he spied his aunt, uncle and cousin looking out from the living room window in utter disbelief.
"You know," he said, "with all of the changes, all of the good that's happened these past two weeks, it's like they're already gone. The Number Four and its neighborhood that I knew and dreaded returning to each summer…they're gone too." He walked around to the front passenger side and climbed in. "I think I've got better things to do and better company to keep then to dwell in the past just to wait to see them leave."
Hermione's eyes glistened as she leaned over and kissed Harry again, this time on the lips. "Oh Harry, I'm so proud of you."
Harry looked over at Ron. "So are you coming, or not?"
Ron jumped into the back seat. "I'm in, but where to?"
"I'm thinking we should take a nice ride out to Devonshire," Harry replied with a wink.
"Excellent idea," beamed Ron, as he leaned back and imagined Luna by his side on the rear bench.
"Have a nice time kids," Emily said, "but remember that we've got a little celebratory dinner planned, so be back by seven."
"Yes, mum," Hermione said excitedly, as she turned the ignition and revved the engine. Harry reached into the glove box and pulled out three pair of Oakleys and a white silk scarf. "Have to be properly attired to drive this vehicle, my dear," he grinned, as Hermione wrapped the scarf around her hair and all three of them donned their new black sunglasses.
"Hey Fred and George," Harry said, "just because we won't be around doesn't mean my Clan Fools can't give my Aunt and Uncle a proper send off, right?"
"You can depend on us, Chief" the Twins replied, as they clicked their heels together and gave salutes.
Hermione put the car into gear, and the three headed out towards a future that, given the present state of the wizarding world, seemed just then to be unnaturally bright.