Chapter 13
Under the Midnight Moon
The sunrise came all too early for Draco after spending far too long in his office the night before. After wishing he could just roll over and pretend he didn't have work that needed catching up on from the past couple of days he forced himself to get out of bed and begin his day.
An hour later he found himself surrounded by mounds of paperwork. The fall harvest would happen soon and extra hands would need to be brought in to help like every year previous. He simply had no need to keep so many on staff year round when there was little to no need for them. The small staff he did employ was more than capable of handling the wines and wine production process. Though over the years the need had grown and with it the number of his staff. There was still no reason to employ so many except for the harvest season.
The harvest would have to be completed no later than the fourteenth of August. If it went so much as a day longer it would force him to accept spending only a week in their home country.
Draco pressed the button on the phone that paged Amadeo to come to the office. Within a few moments the middle aged Italian entered the room. "Lei me ha chiamato il signore."
"Sì. Sedere per favore."
Amadeo took a seat opposite Draco.
Draco looked at the man before him. He had served as second in charge of running this place literally from the moment he and Ginny had moved here. First helping to restore the vines to their former glory and later overseeing anything and everything. He knew the vines better than Draco did himself. If anyone would be able to tell him it was okay to harvest a couple weeks early he would. "L'Amadeo lei pensa che soffriremmo se abbiamo mietuto la prima settimana di agosto invece di attesa finché il mezzo del mese noi ama fa tradizionalmente?"
"Non credo che faremmo. La stagione ha cominciato giustamente presto come lei sa. Mietere une settimane di coppia presto dovrebbe causare nessuni effetti malati al prodotto finale."
Draco smiled. One obstacle down. "Molto buono. Per favore di vedere che le mani sono assunte per cominciare agosto dapprima. Assicurarsi sono veloci e regolari di mano. Dobbiamo essere no fatti dopo di il quindicesimo. Nessuno tempo può essere sprecato quest'anno."
Amadeo rose from his chair and nodded. "Molto bene. Lei avrà un elenco di mani no dopo di venerdì prossimo signore."
"Ringraziarla Amadeo."
With Draco's final words Amadeo headed back to whatever he had been working on prior to Draco's request to join him in the office.
The rest of the day passed in a busied rush. Draco spent most of the morning behind his desk catching up on two days worth of abandoned paperwork. He always balanced the books on Monday afternoons but had not had the chance due to the unexpected guests showing up and interrupting rather unexpectedly. Thankfully the most necessary portion of that task was doing the payroll and it was by far the easiest portion to do.
He had eaten lunch with Gin and the children despite having enough work left to do to have easily spent that hour in his office.
The afternoon was spent reviewing purchase orders. He had to deny two orders for the same vintage that they no longer had left. There was no doubt that 2008 was a good year.
By the time dinner was drawing near he had completed all the work he felt had to be done, he walked through the vines like he tried to do everyday, had aged the ageing of several casks, and had pulled a bottle of his favorite wine from his personal stores to hopefully ply Ginny into two weeks in Britain instead of one.
Dinner was the normal loud affair he loved so very much. The topic of conversation had remained firmly on Sere going to Hogwarts and the trip surrounding her departure from Platform nine and three quarters. The girls cooed at the thought of shopping in both muggle and magical London. Isaac tossed in his preferences to visit more traditional places such as the Ministry of Magic, Parliament, the Queen's palace, and Big Ben to name a few.
He had smiled the entire way through the meal. He knew that Kat and Gin would be lonely come September with both Isaac and Sere away. He also knew that the holidays were too far apart for his liking. Heaven forbid with one child in school in Rome and one in Scotland getting everyone home for those holidays would be the source of many a headache but doing so would allow him and Gin nights like this one, surrounding this table with kids laughing and happiness overflowing.
He would be counting the days till they returned home year after year. It seemed like part of him already was and they wouldn't even be leaving for their respective schools for weeks. Several busy weeks at that. The harvest would occupy most of his and Ginny's time for the next several weeks. Gin poured her heart and soul into a traditional start of harvest celebration every year. He had no doubt she had already begun the same this year.
The image of the girls' knee deep in mashed grapes that stained their feet and legs the darkest purple was one of his favorite things. Ginny had insisted on the celebrations with their first harvest after Amadeo's wife had told her of the tradition. She had looked like a goddess, Isaac on her hip, skirt pulled up high to keep it out of the mash, and legs stained dancing with abandon among the other wives. So young and so full of love and life. There was a picture taken from that night that he had it framed on his desk. Along with one some years later, heavily pregnant with Serenity during that year's harvest. Yes, the next weeks would be so busy, but that night would undoubtedly be full of the most amazing food, wine that flowed like water, children running and playing, beautiful women with stained legs and merry husbands.
Lost in memories Draco never noticed the kids leave the table. "Draco are you gonna sit here all night with that goofy grin on your face or are you going to join me for a walk under the moonlight?"
Draco laughed. "Are you asking me for a walk under the stars my love?"
"Yes please."
He laughed. "I would be honored." He couldn't help but have a bit of a bounce in his step. Now would be the perfect time to discuss the letter to her father and the plans for the visit home. If he got his way he could end their walk under the elm grove with that bottle of wine and would be able to ply a second week at home out of his wife.
As soon as the table was cleared Draco grabbed the bottle of wine and grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her from the house. They walked quietly arm in arm down the lane that ran throughout the villa.
Ginny glanced at Draco as they walked. "What had you smiling like a Cheshire cat at dinner?"
"I was just thinking about enjoying our loud dinners with the kids so happy. Soon it's just going to be Kat and the house will be quiet. I'm already counting the days till they will be home and they haven't even left yet."
"Is that all?"
"No. Harvest is almost here. I talked to Amadeo today and he agrees it won't hurt if we begin a couple weeks early. First day of harvest will be the first."
"I guess that means I have some work to do."
"So you will be doing your mash feast then?"
"Have I ever missed it yet?"
He smiled. "Not even when you could have delivered Sere at any moment."
She laughed remembering how hard it was too keep her balance as she danced around in the grapes so off balance from being full term with Sere. "It's amazing I didn't end up falling down that year. I kept thinking I was going to slip at any moment and that you would be taking me to the hospital that night to have her if I did."
"So that's why you insisted you stand near the edge that year."
"Yes. I knew if I was near the edge you would catch me before I fell."
"I would certainly have tried."
She steered them into the vines. "Do you think it will be a good crop this year?"
"Fairly certain. The grapes are good and sweet this year. Just the right balance of sun and rain. Maybe even a 2008 quality wine from this year's harvest if we're lucky."
"Sounds like you are convinced."
"I am. It's been a while since I had this much faith in the vines. I wouldn't push the harvest up if I didn't think they were ready you know that."
"You have in the past."
"I only pushed them up by a week when Isaac first started school. I've never dared think of pushing it up by two weeks before."
Ginny eyed her husband. He was up to something. "So why then are you pushing it up by two weeks this year?"
"I was hoping I might be able to get you to agree to two weeks back home instead of just one."
Ginny gave him a calculating look as they made their way into the grove of elm trees that they often came to visit to escape the work around them.
"Gin, hear me out please, before you say no. I understand the madness that is going to happen when people find out we are back. I sent off a letter to mother just this morning telling her we were coming and requesting to stay at the manor the duration of our stay so that we might escape some of the reporters. They can't get within a kilometer of the manor, even that awful Skeeter woman."
Draco guided her to sit before magically removing the cork from the bottle and conjuring two wine glasses. He poured them both healthy glasses full and then took a seat next to her, wrapping his arm around her.
"We have promised the children time to see certain things, both muggle and magical, far too many to fit into a week's time. I was thinking that we could spend the first week there without anyone knowing. Visit the muggles sites first, spend time with mother as well as your family privately before your father makes the very public announcement of our return that he's bound to make. As long as we avoid magical locations the first week, there shouldn't be anyone to bother us. Though if there are magical places we want to visit we could always go in disguise. A few hair color charms and a couple well placed facial transfigurations could hide our identity from anyone discovering who we are."
"Transfiguring ourselves sounds a bit extreme don't you think?"
"Yes, but I'm trying to lay all our options out for you."
"Do you think your mother will say yes?"
"To us staying at the manor? Of course she will. I suspect she's already begun hiring a team of cleaners and redecorators large enough to service all of the Queen's castles in preparation for our arrival."
"She wouldn't."
"She would. She will settle for nothing less than perfect I can assure you. If I had to guess I would suspect she's probably picked out which rooms will belong to which child. She's probably already got a dinner plan laid out for every possible occasion while we are there. Maybe even begun plans for a welcome home ball of some sort."
Ginny laughed. She knew Draco was right. Narcissa had proved more than once over the years to be a tad eccentric.
"Gin we have to write your father…"
She took a sip of her wine. "I know. I started it a half dozen times today, but never could get past the opening salutation."
"We could sit down together and work on it together if you like."
She smiled at her husband. "Please and thank you."
"Anything for you luv. May I walk you home luv?"
"I would be honored."
Draco made the empty bottle and glasses vanish before helping his wife stand. "Think the kids are in bed yet?"
"Probably not."
"We should send that letter tomorrow."
"Work on it when we get back to the house?"
"Sure."
Ginny nodded. "I'll make sure the girls head off to bed, and then I'll meet you in the library."
"Did you find the pictures to include with the letter?"
"No I honestly didn't think of it. I was too flustered over not being able to figure out what to write in the first place."
"How about one from the family portrait we had made for your last birthday."
"That sounds good. Maybe a couple others? A copy of the picture on your office desk so dad knows for sure it's me."
"Do we have another copy of it?"
She smiled and nodded her head. "There are two other copies in Isaac's baby book, one behind another."
"You take care of the girls and I'll grab the photos."
"Oh there is a wizard photo from Isaac's first day in Milan. We're all in it I think."
"I'll take a look."
Translations:
Lei me ha chiamato il signore. - You called for me sir.
Sì. Sedere per favore. - Yes. Sit please.
L'Amadeo lei pensa che soffriremmo se abbiamo mietuto la prima settimana di agosto invece di attesa finché il mezzo del mese noi ama fa tradizionalmente? -- Amadeo do you think we would suffer if we harvested the first week of August instead of waiting till the middle of the month like we traditionally do?
Non credo che faremmo. La stagione ha cominciato giustamente presto come lei sa. Mietere une settimane di coppia presto dovrebbe causare nessuni effetti malati al prodotto finale. -- I do not believe we would. The season started off fairly early as you know. Harvesting a couple weeks early should cause no ill effects to the final product.
Molto buono. Per favore di vedere che le mani sono assunte per cominciare agosto dapprima. Assicurarsi sono veloci e regolari di mano. Dobbiamo essere no fatti dopo di il quindicesimo. Nessuno tempo può essere sprecato quest'anno. -- Very good. Please see that the hands are hired to start August first. Make sure they are quick and steady of hand. We must be done no later than the fifteenth. No time can be wasted this year.
Molto bene. Lei avrà un elenco di mani no dopo di venerdì prossimo signore. -- Very well. You'll have a list of hands no later than Friday next sir.
Ringraziarla Amadeo. - Thank you Amadeo.
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