A night of love

New Year

The Patil home was about twice as large as the Granger’s, with more and larger rooms. It had a front yard and a back yard about four times as large, with tall hedges assuring their privacy and hiding some very efficient wards against intruders.

At first glance, it didn’t look any different than other houses in the neighborhood. It even had electricity and telephone lines coming in. Nobody needed to know that they didn’t connect to anything. The Patil house was lighted by gas lamps whose gas was magically supplied and their kitchen instruments used magic to cool, heat mix or chop as needed. Yet it wasn’t too different in the feeling it gave the Grangers, making them relax, as they had been quite apprehensive before.

They were still worried about one aspect of magic, though. Their hosts had warned them in advance, “Do not operate any electronic instrument in the house or within the wards, as Magic and Electronics don’t go well together. It may seriously damage your instruments.”

“We need to be available to our patients and advise them, at least, if they need our help,” they insisted.

“Padma and I will check if there’s something we can do to make it work. Until then, you just need to go out to the street with your phone and check for messages once in a while,” Hermione told them.

Her father grumbled.

“I can see they are very devoted to their patients,” Mrs. Patil noted. “I’d say that’s the sign of a good healer, either magical or mundane.”

Hermione smiled sadly at that. “When I was smaller, I sometimes wished they were less dedicated to their patients and more dedicated to their daughter. I always knew they loved me, but sometimes I needed to feel their love in a more concrete way, and they weren’t always able to show it.”

Both girls started a quick research at the library, which was quite big, reminding Hermione of Grimmauld Place. Harry and Parvati joined them there, but none could really contribute. It took them less than two hours to find some relevant books and they had the solution a bit later. It was surprisingly simple.

“I can’t believe nobody has ever tried it,” Hermione exclaimed.

“It’s not something that most wizards would think about, and most muggle-born have no access to such libraries,” Padma tried to explain.

“What have you found?” Harry asked, putting aside the Quidditch book he was browsing at.

“A simple shield charm should be enough. Whatever that shield can stop won’t harm the instrument. Why had nobody thought of that?” Hermione said.

“Well, none of you thought about this before either. It took you some research to reach this conclusion.”

Hermione gave it a thought and then sighed. “I think it is a common human trait, not specific to either magical or non-magical folks. We all tend to ignore what’s self evident in many cases. We look for sophisticated solutions when the simple ones are more than good enough. I’ll try to never repeat this mistake.”

Harry smiled at both his wives. “Still, you two are formidable. It would have taken others several weeks to complete such research. I’m really impressed.”

Hermione then shielded her parents’ phones, as well as the battery operated shaver that her father took with him and also a small portable radio. All worked flawlessly even in the kitchen, where Magic was denser than in any other room in the house.

“Maybe we can buy such phones and use them at Hogwarts?” Harry suggested.

Hermione considered his idea. “We don’t really need them, you know, as we stay together most of the time. Yet, I’m not sure they would be of much use there, although we can now assure that they won’t burn out. Mountains usually have poor cellular reception, and there’s no muggle settlement anywhere within many miles from Hogwarts, so I doubt we shall be able to get any reception there. Still, having cellular phones may be a good idea when we’re out of school. We should consider buying one for each for the summer vacation.”

“Of course, dear.”

Harry had another surprise once they had dinner. Although Mrs. Patil had spent some time in the kitchen. Dinner was served by a house elf, one that Harry had not noticed earlier.

“You have house elves?” he wondered loudly.

“Of course. We only have two at the moment. Trodo, here, and his mate, who is due to give birth soon, so we try not to let her do much. Every magical family has at least a few, except for the Weasley, who lost them all in gambling, a few generations back,” Mr. Patil said.

“I have none as well,” Harry said, “except for Kreacher, but I doubt he can do much”.

“I don’t think so. I know the Potter family had quite a few, and I don’t think any of them was killed in the war. I believe you already own many house-elves.”

Harry was shocked to hear it, as was Hermione. Padma only rolled her eyes at their surprise. “I do?” Harry asked.

Mr. Patil answered. “The Potters had always had quite a few house-elves to work the fields, the groves and other businesses they owned. Last I heard, you probably have about a hundred house elves who work for you.”

“One hundred and twenty seven,” Trodo corrected in a low tone.

“Why didn’t I know?” Harry asked, not directing his question to anybody in particular.

Padma replied. “It is such a common knowledge in the magical world, that it was taken for granted. Everybody could have told you that: Ron, Neville, Parvati, yet nobody thought you didn’t know.”

“Trodo, can you find and bring the house elf who is responsible for the manor, or whatever title the main one has. I think it’s about time we get to know each other. Is that alright with you?”

“Trodo will bring the main house-elf,” Trodo said solemnly. “Would soon after dinner be fine?”

Trodo was already waiting in their room when they returned from dinner with another, much older house-elf, who bowed deeply as he saw Harry.

“Twinkle is very sorry that he didn’t make his position known to master much earlier, but both Master James and Mistress Lily ordered us not to interfere in your life in any way until you finish Hogwarts.”

Harry was only attentive to one point, though. “You really knew my parents?”

“Of course, Master. They were very kind and we grieved deeply when they died.”

“Can you tell me some more about them?”

Twinkle seemed confused. His young master was not acting at all like a master. Hermione noticed and intervened. “Why don’t we start with the introductions, Harry?”

Harry seemed to be taken out of a dream. “Yes, of course, dear.”

He turned to Twinkle. “Can you tell us what your role is?”

Twinkle looked a bit surprised. “I’m Twinkle, the head house-elf of the Potter estate and responsible directly for the Potter Manor and the staff.”

Harry smiled at the house elf, as if to reassure him of his position. “Well, you already know I’m Harry Potter, son of James and Lily, and recently Lord Potter. I still have a lot to learn, I’m sure.”

He turned to his wives. “This is Lady Hermione Potter, and she can probably give you better advice than I can. And then we have Lady Padma Black, my other wife, who’s just as smart and as beautiful. Can you handle the Black estate as well?”

Twinkle seemed suddenly sad. “The Black estate has currently only one house elf – Kreacher – who is too old and too stubborn to do any good.”

“What happens to old house-elves when they can no longer perform their tasks?” Hermione asked.

“Most masters set them free, and then they die miserably within a month or two. Some kill them outright – the Black were notorious for doing so. Few let the old house elves retire respectfully and live the remainder of their lives with their family. The Potters did that.”

“Does Kreacher have a family?” It was natural for Harry to ask.

“No. His parents and siblings are long dead and he never had a mate, at least none that I know of.”

“Can you help him. Maybe with some help, he can resume his role and feel useful until his day comes.” Hermione was still the SPEW founder.

Twinkle shook his head doubtfully. “Twinkle can try, but Kreacher is very stubborn. Maybe a direct order can help.”

“Kreacher!”

The old house elf popped into existence in front of Harry. “Master called?”

“Yes, Kreacher. I want to do some renovations at Grimmauld place, and I believe you may need some help to do it the way I want it. Twinkle, or others of his team, will help you clean and renovate the house to be fit of Lady Black, who is a beautiful lady, as you can see, and I want the house to be beautiful as well for her.”

The old house elf was still stubborn. “Kreacher can do it alone. Kreacher needs no help.”

Harry sat down, to be closer to the old house-elf. “Kreacher, we shall need to move some walls, make new rooms, change stairs and so on. It’s a work for a team, not to mention the cleaning needed after such massive remodeling. I don’t want you to die of exhaustion, as I may need your services for many years to come, so I must insist you get help.”

This seemed to have touched the old house-elf’s heart. “Yes, Master. Kreacher understands. Kreacher will show Twinkle the house and then see what changes need to be done. Kreacher is honored to serve new Master and Mistress.”

“Fine, then. You may start as soon as you’re ready.”

Both house elves disappeared at once.

“Oof! I felt like I was talking to a little child!” Harry sighed.

Padma came at his side. “You handled him beautifully, making him feel needed and assuring he got some help.”

Harry sighed again. “I wish it was simpler, though, but nothing really is.”

With the house-elf issues solves, Harry hoped to be able to resume his normal life, despite it being far from what others considered normal.

While Hermione and her parents were happy to spend their time there, Harry was soon becoming less than happy, mainly due to the library. Hermione was fascinated by the large library, containing many books that were not available at Hogwarts, and started spending a lot of time there, dragging Padma along. This left Harry with Parvati only. Harry knew she was beautiful and attractive, just like her twin, but he didn’t have much to talk about with her, as their areas of interest were quite different. He didn’t think he should spend most of his time with his parents-in-law either.

Yet it was his fathers-in-law who noticed him sitting dejectedly alone. While Mr. Granger started talking with Harry about some changes he was contemplating in his house, now that his only daughter was married, Mr. Patil went to the library.

“Do you two love Harry?” he asked the girls, who were quite immersed in reading.

It took them a moment to even notice that he asked them a question. They both looked at him. It was evident that none had heard the question. He repeated it, making sure they both paid attention.

“Of course we love him,” both answered together.

“Then how come he’s sitting alone, looking bored and a bit depressed while you two are here? Aren’t you supposed to keep him company, to make him happy? By staying away from him you do the contrary.”

Both blushed. Padma closed her book and prepared to put it back. Hermione didn’t budge, though. “Harry loves our company and we love being with him, but each of us has other interests as well. We shouldn’t ignore our husband, but we shouldn’t sacrifice our interests either. We just need to make sure not to neglect either interest. We’re usually with him for much longer than most couples. He should miss us occasionally in order to stay interested. It also works in the other direction, as we shouldn’t take him for granted either.”

While he agreed in principle with what Hermione said, Mr. Patil still insisted. “That’s usually true, yet family is supposed to spend some time together during the holidays. I’m sure he feels a bit neglected now.”

Hermione concentrated for a moment, trying to sense Harry’s feeling. She then closed her book reluctantly. “Well, we can continue our reading some other time. It seems like Harry really misses us.” She still looked longingly at the rows of books, but then she returned her book to its place and stepped out determinately.

Mr. Patil stayed last in the library, smiling to himself. He knew that some might be jealous of Harry, having two such beautiful wives, yet he knew how difficult it sometimes is to live with even one smart, opinionated wife, and Harry had two.

They returned from the winter vacation feeling closer than before. While Harry still felt he loved Hermione more, one would be hard pressed to find any difference in the way he treated his wives. Padma certainly didn’t feel less loved nor getting less attention than Hermione. Sometimes she wondered how Harry could give so much love to both of them and marvel at her luck for getting such a wonderfully loving husband, forgetting that she was giving just as much love back.

The train ride was as peaceful as the previous one. With all the junior death-eaters dead, and the dark families much reduced, nobody tried to bother the Potters. Neville came to chat, of course, and Ginny came a bit later, sitting not too close, yet causing Neville to blush. Parvati also stayed with them part of the way, until some boys asked her to join them.

Hogwarts felt more secure now. McGonagall wouldn’t accept any bullying and that had been demonstrated a few times before the winter holidays. It was now safe even for young muggleborn girls, much safer than the average street in a city.