The Pride
by Jardyn39
Chapter 3 - The Tower Fireplace
Harry stepped out of the fireplace and found himself inside a small sunlit octagonal room. The floorboards were bare timber and the walls were rough brick. The tiny green fire went out almost at once and a pleasant breeze wafted over his face.
He walked over to the open window and realised he was at the top of a tower. It sounded like there was a dovecote above in the roof too.
Harry turned and descended the spiral staircase until he emerged into bright sunlight from the base of the tower.
A small boy ran past him and into the tower. Concerned that he might fall from the low window openings above, Harry turned and discovered that the spiral staircase was gone. The child ran around inside the base of the tower and emerged looking a little disappointed but just in time to join his mother emerging from some bushes further along.
As he half-listened to the child being told off for running too far ahead, Harry found the tower was actually the corner of a much larger structure.
Justin had told him to come and find him in the Estate offices, but he realised he had no idea where that was. Since all he could now see were trees in three directions, he decided to follow the path around to the front of the building.
Harry passed through a narrow arched opening and was a little surprised to see dozens of tourists scattered in front of him and at least six large coaches parked up.
To his relief there was also a signpost pointing in several directions. Paths, openings and doorways led off the two sides courtyard but the most popular destination seemed to be a small café.
He quickly read through the signs. The House, Greenhouses, Stables, North Walk, Visitor Centre, Daycare, Cycle Trails.
None seemed to be the one he wanted, so Harry decided to go and ask someone in the café.
"Excuse me, young man?"
"Um, yes?" he asked, turning to see a diminutive old lady smiling up at him. He smiled back uncertainly.
"Would you mind taking our picture?" she asked, holding up a small camera. "You just need to press the button."
Harry obliged and did his best not to shake nor take the photograph too lopsided. He was just handing back the camera when he heard his name being called.
"Harry!"
Harry smiled seeing Justin Finch-Fletchley stride confidently across towards him. Harry held out his hand which Justin took and gave him a vigorous handshake.
"Welcome, Harry! Welcome!"
"Well, thanks for inviting me," Harry managed to say as Justin gave him a hug for good measure.
It seemed that Justin wasn't going to punch him after all.
"Come on, I want to show you everything!" Justin cried, but then noticed the two elderly ladies watching them interestedly. Harry saw that one was carrying a coloured leaflet that had Justin's photograph on the back.
"I do beg your pardon, ladies," he said, breaking away from Harry to give a slight bow. "I hope I wasn't interrupting."
"Not at all, um, Lord, um," began one, glancing down at the leaflet for a hint at how Justin should be correctly addressed.
"Your friend was just kind enough to take our picture for us," said the other.
"Well, that's Harry. Always ready to help."
"I don't suppose we could have a photograph of the three of us," she asked hopefully.
"I'd be delighted!" cried Justin warmly. "No trouble at all. Step lively, Harry, and I'll take your snap."
Harry couldn't help but chuckle seeing her face fall a little.
"I'll take the photo, Justin. Why don't you stand with your guests?"
"Oh, just as you like."
Harry took the second photograph and once Justin had hoped the ladies would enjoy the rest of their visit they moved off.
Justin quickly ushered Harry through an exhibit of rusting farm implements in a side enclosure and then finally out through a door at the back marked "Private."
They emerged into a wide open corridor and it was nice to be away from prying eyes.
"How's Susan?" Harry asked as soon as he had the chance.
"Just wonderful, thanks. She's very well," replied Justin with a smile. "She'll join us a little later."
"This is some place you have here, Justin," said Harry, and then with a sideways glance added, "or should that be Lord Um? I'd tug my forelocks to you except Hermione advised waiting until I found out where my forelocks actually are; she seemed to think I might cause offence with what I was doing."
Justin laughed and said, "I'm not entirely comfortable with the title just yet. As a matter of fact I'm not entirely sure I'm allowed to use it yet; not that the Estate publicity department has concerned itself with that small matter."
"You inherited the title?"
"Yes. It was rather unexpected, actually, but thanks to a Muggle helicopter crash it came to me."
"I'm sorry," said Harry. "Were you close to them?"
"I never even met them, Harry. They were a rather wild lot, actually. I don't know if Muggle transport interests you, but I believe the collection here includes a number of insanely fast cars and motorbikes; most of them have been crashed into trees, of course. I believe a one-of-a-kind Rolls Royse has been at the bottom of the lake since the Christmas party two years ago."
"How many were in the helicopter?"
"Too many, by the sounds of it. Regrettably, three generations of the family in-line to inherit did not survive the accident. However, it's something of a family tradition for people to vanish in suspicious circumstances. Usually it involves some financial scandal and with their absence everything fell to me."
"Well, I hope the Estate knows how lucky it is to have you."
Justin continued to show Harry around the extensive grounds and it was some time later that they walked through the walled garden where tall stone walls kept the wind out and trapped the heat of the sun for growing vegetables.
Unfortunately most of the greenhouses had seen better days and few had all their glass remaining intact. Harry read with interest some of the plaques that marked when and by whom each greenhouse had been originally built.
Justin made a point of saying to the Gardeners how well the fruit trees were looking under their care and appeared not to notice the weeds that were clearly winning the battle of the flower beds.
It was then that for the first time Harry caught sight of the main house.
"Good grief," said Harry, looking up over the fifteen foot high wall.
"Oh, wait until you see it properly," Justin promised with a smile. "We'll go the longer way around to you can see the front of the house first."
They came out of the walled garden and followed a group of tourists along the path from the main car park until they emerged in front of a wide gravel expanse. Beyond that was simply the biggest house Harry had ever seen.
He counted five storeys of windows including the roof dormers but it was the width of the building that staggered him. Dozens of chimneys stood behind life-sized statues standing all along the parapets. The massive front doors were shaded by a large square portico supported on columns and Harry guessed that at one time horse-drawn carriages would have taken guests right to the door.
"Are you sure it's big enough for the two of you?" asked Harry in wonder. "This place is amazing."
"Amazingly expensive, certainly," Justin commented dryly.
"Oh, right. I suppose there's a lot to decorate."
"It isn't just that," said Justin as they approached the entrance. "This place is a Grade I Listed Building so we have to hire experts to tell us what fits historically. Naturally, they don't choose cheap materials. All the wallpaper has to be hand-printed, for instance."
"You're not tempted to sell-up?" asked Harry, making sure they were not overheard.
"No-one would buy it in the current state, Harry. The restoration fund is short by several million Pounds, which is why we are open to the public. We get funding for various restorations, but the price is that we have to open at certain times."
"I'm not sure I'd like people traipsing through my home," commented Harry.
"I tend to regard this as a place of work, actually. Susan and I have a small private apartment upstairs which feels a little more like home."
Justin gave Harry and a small group of tourists who had gathered in the entrance a complete if impromptu tour of the house. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about the history of the people in most of the portraits, and wasn't shy about where the money came from to build such a magnificent house.
It sounded like pirating and slavery had gradually been abandoned for much more profitable trading enterprises such as sugar and coffee.
It was a little after two o'clock before the two of them walked upstairs to the private apartments.
As soon as he went inside, Harry knew he much preferred these rooms. Although no wizard photographs and portraits adorned the walls, it was the look of a "lived-in" place that made it more homely. Elsewhere, everything was arranged for show or to keep mischievous fingers from touching things.
Harry was about to compliment Justin on the rooms when they heard voices.
"Ah, we have company," said Justin, leading the way through into a drawing room.
Susan was sitting at one end of a Regency couch and to Harry's delight, Hermione was sitting opposite her.
"Hi," said Harry.
Susan stood and Harry went over to greet her.
"Welcome, Harry," she said a little stiffly, giving him a peck on his cheek.
Harry smiled down at her and said, "Thanks for inviting me, er, us. If you want to just get it over with and hex me I'd quite understand."
Susan raised her eyebrows and said, "I think I can manage to resist the urge until after lunch."
She seemed to be a little slimmer than he remembered now and wore an expensive looking dress that suited her. The pearl necklace that had once belonged to her Aunt was still being worn proudly.
Harry sat down next to Hermione on the other wide couch and Justin sat down close to Susan. They had immediately clasped each other's hand and Harry could see that they were very much in love. He glanced at Hermione who returned his smile.
"I'm really sorry about that newspaper article," said Harry. "I suppose I'm a fair target but it's a bit much when they drag other people into their fabrications."
"Don't worry about it, Harry," said Justin. "Anyone who knows us couldn't possibly believe that rubbish. They did print a retraction."
"Did they?"
"Here," said Hermione, handing him a stamp-sized clipping. "It was on page nine of today's edition."
The printing was so small Harry could barely make out the words as they moved around the ink border.
"This is barely a square inch! The original piece took up the entire front page and two entire sides inside," he said indignantly.
"I know it seems unfair, Harry," said Justin hesitantly. "It's just that we thought it would be best to let the whole thing die down."
Harry nodded and handed the clipping back to Hermione.
"I was tempted to have a go at the Editor again," he admitted. "It's never worked in my favour in the past so I suppose there's little chance it working now. They usually just reprint the whole thing."
Harry looked up to see them looking at him a little apprehensively.
"Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "If you can accept that retraction then I won't make waves. Consider the matter dropped."
"Thank you, Harry," said Justin.
*
Harry decided to wait until after lunch before making any mention of the article Mr Lovegood wanted him to write.
Justin continued to talk happily about their new circumstances and while Susan was fairly quiet she didn't seem at all unfriendly towards them. Hermione, though, was much more quiet and reserved than usual.
Then, as Justin handed out cups of tea, Susan spoke.
"Hermione was telling me earlier about the article you are writing on the League."
Harry smiled at Hermione to thank her and said, "Well, I'd like to try. Mr Lovegood did an interview with me about the Defence League but it got delayed and then he wasn't too keen on publishing. Luna thought it would be better if we could re-write it as an article and include things from your perspective."
Justin cleared his throat softly.
"I think it's time we came clean."
Harry frowned slightly as Susan said, "Yes."
"The truth is, Harry, we asked Luna to spike the story," said Justin. "Mr Lovegood didn't particularly like the piece much anyway, but anything with your name on still sells so he was going to run it regardless."
"Have you changed your mind?" said Harry. "I only did the interview because I thought you wanted the Defence League's contribution publicised."
Susan smiled and said, "We appreciate that, Harry. As a matter of fact I would very much like certain events clarified, but the truth is I allowed you to believe we wanted the article. I'm sorry about that."
"Why, though?" asked Hermione before Harry had the chance.
"We knew the Prophet would run a spoiler piece, although to be honest we were a little taken aback by the allegations they made about us," said Susan.
"I'm sorry," said Harry. "I still don't quite understand."
"Someone wanted the Defence League discredited."
"Why bother?" asked Harry before he could stop himself.
Susan hesitated before answering with, "Well, quite."
"I'm sorry, Susan," said Harry. "That was uncalled for. If anyone knows the help you were in fighting Voldemort it should be me."
Susan smiled sadly and said, "You're right, though. The public perception is that the League is a joke."
"So," said Hermione slowly. "What does this mean?"
"It means someone is onto us," said Justin. "We'd like to bring both of you into our confidence. It's one reason why we were so keen for you to come here."
"Luna," said Harry. "She's never been a member of the Order. Is she with your group?"
"Yes, of course," said Susan. "Luna tried to make sure both of you would come here today. Right now she is following another line of enquiry for us."
"Why go to so much trouble?"
"For some time now, we've been receiving activity reports. Up to now there's been no concrete evidence of actual wrong-doing, but we are beginning to become concerned.
"There have been a couple of disappearances and we suspect at least three people were coerced into taking early retirement. Mostly, though, a number of individuals have become very wealthy with no obviously legitimate explanation. As these are all Ministry people, we felt in independent investigation was warranted."
"I wonder what the Ministry will say to that?" said Harry.
"I'd expect they'd say their Aurors can be trusted to investigate without any bias."
"I take your point, but you should have at least told the Minister. He wouldn't want corruption in the Ministry any more than we would. Unless he's under suspicion as well."
"No, he isn't," said Susan. "We understand that a file is being prepared for him, but the League isn't entirely satisfied he won't try to brush everything under the carpet. He is a politician, after all."
Harry just shrugged.
"Harry, you've known for some time now that we operated as a group within the Dark Force Defence League. Up until now, few people have known about us and fewer still know of Justin's true level of involvement or mine. However, we believe we are now compromised."
"Susan, I didn't tell anyone," Harry assured her earnestly. "Well, not until-"
"Until we wanted you to," said Susan cutting across him. "Once you began to talk to a few trusted individuals, it was only a matter of time before someone linked us to the unknown agents who had been spying on them."
"Oh," said Harry.
"In fact, Harry, you knew very little that could damage the League today," Susan assured him. "Neither of us has been actively involved since You-Know-Who was defeated."
"We, um, had a visit from an old friend a short while ago," continued Justin hesitantly. "They claimed the Ministry wanted an assurance that we wouldn't use magic to cut a few corners on the restoration works."
"Is that usual?" asked Hermione.
"We've never heard of it happening before, but then all they really wanted was an excuse to poke around here for a few days."
"Did they find anything?" asked Harry.
"Yes. We'd left a few clues of our involvement, such as a list of members killed on duty. The true membership is somewhat larger than the League's public listing, of course."
"So these people are bracing themselves for when you make a public accusation?" asked Hermione.
"No decisions have been made yet, Hermione," Justin assured her and she and Harry exchanged a quizzical look.
"However, because of a discovery made very recently it seems something will need to be done soon," continued Susan. "You'll appreciate that Justin inheriting his title and this Estate, as well as numerous properties scattered around the counties, has meant a great deal of legal paperwork. The paperwork for the title deeds alone practically fills an entire room."
"Um," said Harry, "what has that to do with what the League discovered?"
"Quite a lot. You see, we have discovered that a number of amendments have been made to the legal paperwork. These are Muggle documents that go back hundreds of years that have been magically altered."
"Altered?"
"Yes. We've had them tested using Muggle laboratories and the changes can't be distinguished. That means that if challenged in a Muggle court, we'll probably lose the Estate. We're not too concerned for ourselves, but we employ over a hundred Muggle workers here."
"Someone wants this place?" Harry said. "A group of wizards?"
Justin smiled and said, "I appreciate that perhaps you might not want a place like this, Harry, but we've grown attached to it."
"It isn't a group of wizards, actually," said Susan. "Only one wizard wants this place that we know of."
"Why would they want it?"
"Well, although my family is all Muggle now," said Justin, "this branch of the family was originally magical. A good number of the paintings around here show witches and wizards and at its peak this house was an entirely magical home."
"So the documents name a different beneficiary?" said Harry. "Who is it?"
"They don't name any one individual because the documents are so old. The title usually follows ownership of the land and property and although this Estate is the most valuable property right now, it isn't the oldest. The original ancestral home is some miles away and has long been abandoned.
"It is the site of that original ancestral home that is of particular importance here and surprisingly it is rather modest. Although only a few sheep might live there now, that land was the source of the family's wealth many, many years ago.
"Thus, our legal people think it will come down to whoever is the current owner of a patch of scrub land on the other side of the country."
"Who owns that land now?"
"A very old and very respectable Muggle Doctor owned the land until very recently. We're sure he had no involvement in any wrongdoing and may not even know he ever owned the land. However, the Land Registry has recently been advised of a new freeholder."
"So should this Doctor have inherited everything instead of you?"
"We don't think so, no. We think Justin's family retained the land so he should have inherited. It's complicated because the key deeds have been altered, or that's what we suspect."
"But, won't the Ministry be able to tell if the documents were altered?"
"The Doctor's family has owned land all around there for generations and even without the forgeries he may have had a claim. Several parcels of land around there have been disputed over the years."
"Who is the new Freeholder?"
"The Doctor's name is Worrell, but we don't have a name for the new freeholder yet. The paperwork won't become publicly available just yet, but we could hear at any time," said Susan as a large carriage clock behind her chimed the hour.
"Worrell," repeated Harry quietly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Justin, we have a meeting in five minutes with the farm manager. It would be rude to put him off."
"Of course," agreed Justin standing up. "Would you both excuse us for a couple of hours? Please make yourselves at home. Perhaps you'd enjoy one of the walks around the grounds?"
*
Almost as soon as they were left alone Hermione said, "Harry, would you mind terribly if I went?"
He'd been expecting this and tried not to show just how much disappointment he felt.
"Why not stay?" he asked gently. "Okay, Justin doesn't look inclined to feed me to his tigers, but I'm bound to put my foot in it sometime."
Hermione smiled and said, "Lions, Harry. You can hear them roaring in the distance from outside."
"Well, you can certainly smell them then the wind direction changes."
"Actually, I suspect that was the farm animals."
"Is that what they call the inner-city tourists?" he asked, earning himself a roll of her eyes.
"Please, stay. We could count the number of people in the portraits that have Justin's nose," he suggested.
"As fun as you make that sound," said Hermione, taking out a small leather pouch. "Are they connected to the Floo Network here, or should I use the tower again?"
"I don't think they have. Why not just Apparate?"
"I'd prefer to use the Floo. Do you remember the way to the tower? This place is so big it's confusing."
"I'm sure we'll find it."
Twenty minutes later he bid her goodbye at the top of the tower and then spent a few more minutes looking out of the open windows. He listened hard but couldn't honestly say he heard any roars, although the smell of fresh manure reached him a few times.
Harry spent some time up there mulling over what Justin and Susan had told them. In the back of his mind the name Worrell seemed to stir something, but he couldn't remember why the name should have any meaning for him at all.
He'd heard the stories about shadowy Ministry officials before. Some serious bribe money had been rumoured to have changed hands just before the trials of Voldemort's remaining henchmen but nothing had ever been proved. That had been ages ago, too.
Harry had been surprised that the League was conducting their own investigation and regretted the fact that this might cause Justin and Susan to lose their new home. He was curious to know what else the serious side of the League was up to these days too. A long time after one of their night-time meetings, Susan had admitted that the majority of the Council whom she reported to had actually surrounded them, pretending to be other customers. Apparently the then Chairperson had even been the Waitress who brought their teas.
He smiled remembering. As terrible as those times had been, he had enjoyed so many moments and now felt a little guilty remembering them. His smile faded as his mind returned to the present.
He wondered why they hadn't approached the Minister directly, but then perhaps he had become used to a degree of access not open to most people. For himself, he actually trusted the new Minister on the whole; although he might not admit it if asked.
"Worrell," Harry said again to himself. "Who are you? Why does your name mean something to me? Have we ever met?"
The harder he thought, the less likely it seemed it would come to him, so Harry went back down the stairs and out into the warm afternoon sun.