Disclaimer: I miss the me that used to read about the exciting adventures of Professor Steamhead and more so The Magical Treehouse books.
*****
Hooktooth didn't have long to wait before he was ushered into his superior's office. The senior goblin was always very interested to hear of any information pertaining to the Granger family and the information he had was quite interesting.
"Well?" the older goblin prompted.
"The Granger Heiress has agreed to purchase the company responsible for running the Hogwarts Express," Hooktooth reported. "Along with the purchase order was an unsealed note to her father stating that she planned to begin hauling cargo to Hogsmeade and a couple other small settlements on the same line."
"I see. What do our analysts say?"
"That as things are, she's in a position to significantly undercut her competitors and still make a small profit. They believe that her profit margins will increase dramatically once her coal mine reaches full production."
"Interesting. Do we know what role if any the last Potter played in this?"
"Sources indicate the Granger Heiress approached the Potter for advice and approval before making the purchase. Our analysts believe that he's been asked by her father to act as the Granger Heiress's advisor or arbiter during her test of worthiness."
"I've had a report that the Lovegood's daughter has formed a close relationship to the Granger Heiress?" the senior goblin stated.
"Our analysts are split on that one," Hooktooth admitted. "Half of them believe that the Granger Heiress is cultivating her to be the Potter's junior wife."
"Humans do not work like that," the senior goblin growled. "Everyone who's ever spent time as a teller knows that."
"We're no longer sure that's absolutely true," Hooktooth said nervously.
"Explain!"
"You are aware of the Granger Heiress's fondness for books?"
"I am." The senior goblin had a look of impatience on his face.
"We have managed to acquire a record of her purchases for the last six months. Unsurprisingly, the majority seem to be related to her school courses and business ventures, but, along with those were a small percentage of novels filled with examples of romantic interpersonal relationships between humans."
"So?"
"So the intelligence department purchased a representative sample of those books and it seems that a number of them were about females of lesser social status engaged in romantic relationships with attached males of higher social status and males of lower social status engaged in similar relationships with attached females of higher social status."
"The Granger family is of a much higher social status than the Lovegoods," the senior goblin said in understanding.
"As is the Potter family if you take the into account the fame accorded to the last Potter for his part in his parents defeat of their last dark lord, not to mention the former noble status the Potters had a few centuries ago." Hooktooth said cautiously.
"True. Do we have any more evidence to support that conclusion?"
"Observers report that the Granger Heiress seems not to mind the idea of the Lovegood forming a friendly relationship with the last Potter," Hooktooth agreed. "They note that she has not aggressively driven off the Lovegood and has instead appeared to have formed a close relationship with her. The intelligence department approached a number of human employees with strong ties to the non-magical world and several of them stated that they believed such relationships to be common among high caste non-magical humans and provided several of what they called 'gossip rags' as evidence. We have secured several of the 'gossip rags' for the intelligence department and they seem to confirm the notion that the mating practices of high caste non-magical humans are much more complex than the mating practices of magical humans and low caste non-magical humans at least upon first glance. The intelligence department promises a more in depth report as soon as one can be put together based on the new information they've received."
"Increase the intelligence department's budget by fifteen percent to research the mating habits of high status non-magical humans," the senior goblin said after a moment of thought. "What do the analysts think of our plan to dispatch a token amount of aid to the Granger heiress?"
"They believe that it will help solidify our relationship with the Granger family and they do not believe it will annoy her father," Hooktooth replied.
"Why?"
"Mostly based on the last Potter's behavior and on statements made by the Head of the Granger family. It is believed that the Head will view this as a show of support and approval by Gringotts to his chosen successor."
"Make it so." The senior goblin cracked his neck. "What do the other half of the analysts believe about the Granger Heiress' relationship with the Lovegood?"
"They believe that the heiress is courting the Lovegood and intends to either keep the Lovegood as her mistress or to take the Lovegood as her own wife," Hooktooth replied. "I have been told they are still gathering information to support their position. As yet we are unsure of what her relationship with the Potter would be if this came about. The intel staff states that they need more research materials before they can make any predictions."
"Ensure they get enough funding for research materials and ensure that I am informed if they produce anything of substance."
IIIIIIIIII
Minerva was unsurprised to find her favorite student in the engine shed with young Ms. Lovegood, both girls working on restoring the small steam engine that Hermione had received from her parents for Christmas.
"Ms. Granger!" the Professor called out to get the girl's attention.
The girl pulled her head out of the boiler to regard the old woman with a look of frank curiosity. "Yes, Professor?" She replied respectfully.
Minerva smiled — she thought the smudge of grease on the bridge of the girl's nose was just adorable. "There is a goblin here to see you."
"A goblin?" Hermione frowned, trying to think of why the being was visiting her. "I'd better see what they need then."
With Luna trailing behind, Hermione stepped out of the building to regard her visitor. It was a young goblin, she guessed, based on the lack of wrinkles and scars that she'd seen on most of the other members of his race she'd come into contact with. He was dressed in a clean set of dark blue overalls with a brown leather tool belt and a white canvas tool bag clutched in his left hand.
"Steam Technician fifth class Sprocket," the Goblin said respectfully, coming to attention. "I've heard that you might be hiring and wished to offer my services."
"What sort of experience do you have?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I've mainly worked in the pumping station," the goblin admitted. "But I'm qualified to work on smaller engines like you've got here."
"All right," Hermione said slowly, trying to remember what her father had told her about interviews. "Why did you decide to leave Gringotts?"
"I figured promotions would come faster in a startup," the goblin explained. "I've got another year before I can be promoted to fourth class and six after that before I can even be considered for third." Not to mention the fact that the higher up that had 'suggested' he apply may have mentioned that he could always come back to his old job, that any seniority with the Granger girl would be considered the same as working for Gringotts, and that promotions at Gringotts might come a bit faster after acquiring a bit of experience at the Granger's new company. That's if he ever decided to leave — he had a feeling that getting in on the ground floor, and staying in once he got in, would be a very good idea. The higher ups didn't pay that much attention to someone without good reason.
"Okay," Hermione agreed. "Let's see what you can do, come on." Hermione turned to her Head of House and flashed the woman a quick smile. "Thank you, Professor."
"What sorts of things does Gringotts use steam engines for?" Luna asked curiously as they walked into the engine shed.
"Lots of things," their newest employee replied. "Pumps to keep the tunnels dry, the cable system that runs the mine cars, digging machines, the machine shops…"
IIIIIIIIII
Daphne Greengrass had a smile on her face when the flames changed to reveal the faces of her father and favorite uncle. It was a pity her mother and aunt couldn't attend but she understood how busy everyone's schedules were and as a consequence how difficult it was for everyone to meet. Needs must when there was gold to be gleaned.
"Where's Tracy?" her uncle asked, starting the conversation.
"She'll be here in a moment," Daphne stated. "We caught that toad Goodwin lurking outside the floo rooms the other day and Tracy is making sure that he wasn't stupid enough to do anything." And to hex him a couple times on general principal if she knew her cousin.
"He hasn't tried anything with either of you has he?" her uncle asked intently. He'd kill the bastard and exterminate his whole stinking family if he'd been stupid enough to go against the Davis/Greengrass clan.
"He tries very hard not to show too much interest in anyone important enough to have the ability to do something about it or protected by someone able to do something about it," Daphne assured him. "We made it quite clear how our families would react if one of us showed even the slightest bit of interest in him."
"Who is he targeting?"
"No one," Daphne stated. "Every girl at Hogwarts is either too well protected or too closely watched by people who are too well protected or too unimportant to bother with. I think most of his sliminess is an act to convince his father that he's doing what he's supposed to be doing while he's here."
"What makes you think that?"
"Tracy and I broke the privacy charms he had up on a floo call he made to his father the other day," Daphne replied. "It was mostly his father pushing him to go after one of the Gryffindors and him pushing back as hard as he could. He expressed interest in finding a girl from the continent at the end of their meeting."
"The Gryffindor his father was pushing him towards was the absolute worst one to sniff around too," Tracy added absently as she walked into the room. "That may have something to do with why he was so hesitant. Self preservation is a powerful motivator for a coward like him."
"Are we secure?" her father asked.
"Not to your standards yet, daddy," Tracy replied.
"All right. Does your comment mean that you disagree with Daphne's belief that he's putting on an act?" her father asked calmly.
"I think it's possible, but I'm not convinced and I don't believe that it's worth the risk to find out," Tracy replied.
"I agree with Tracy that it's likely not worth the risk to us to find out," Daphne added. "At least, not at the moment. I just think it might be worth looking into because it might give us a way to turn him against his family in the future and destroy the rest of the whole filthy lot of them. Better for the world if they're not in it."
"Which girl did his father want him to go after?" Daphne's father prompted.
"Hermione Granger," Daphne stated. "Muggleborn in our year, supposed to be quite wealthy. Also under the protection of the Weasleys, the Longbottom family who claims kinship with her, the Lovegoods, the Boneses, and Harry Potter himself."
"Who's number one on the list of students we don't want to annoy," Tracy said as she put up privacy charms. "Reliable rumor suggests that he's killed at least two professors and has faced the Dark Lord in single combat on more than one occasion. Based on a quick peek we were able to get at his medical records, we know that he rescued the Weasley daughter from a basilisk of truly epic proportions if the size of his scars and the amount of venom in his blood is any judge."
"Add that to the fact that he's got a large number of ex-aurors on his payroll and that half the students in the other three houses would follow him to hell if he gave the word, my point is he's not someone anyone wants to cross," Daphne stated. "If he decides to move in force, Tracy and I are going to do our best to join the crowd behind him and pretend we were with him the whole time."
"We're as secure as I can make us," Tracy announced.
"It's about his muggleborn friend that we're making this call," her uncle said slowly. "I'm afraid that we've received a bit of information on a new business that she's developing."
"It's not good," Tracy's father said bluntly. "We're hoping that you can salvage the situation for the families."
Both girls went deathly pale as they listened to their fathers sum up the situation. It wasn't just bad, it was potentially apocalyptic. The fate of their families and fortunes depended on building a relationship with a girl in an opposing house. No pressure.
IIIIIIIIII
Professor Flitwick was just getting ready to settle down for the night when the wards told him that there was a great disturbance in the Ravenclaw girl's dorms. In a flash, he was out the door and on his way to check on his charges. He was gratified to be joined by the school nurse en-route. Both because propriety demanded that a female professor make the initial entrance and because it would ensure any injured students got immediate medical care.
They entered Ravenclaw Tower and Flitwick waited at the base of the stairs until Poppy's voice called him up. The room was a disaster. Beds were overturned, bookshelves turned over, walls covered in burn marks, and students trembling from the effects of electrical discharge. Oddly enough, there was one corner of the room that sat untouched.
"They're going to be fine, Filius," the school nurse assured him. "That doesn't mean that I'm not going to take them to the hospital wing for observation overnight just to be sure, of course."
He nodded once and cast a couple detection charms. "Looks like they tripped some anti theft spells," Flitwick said flatly. His goblin blood giving him some very definite ideas on the subject. "Who sleeps there?" he asked his seventh year prefect, indicating the pristine part of the room.
"Lovegood, Professor," the girl replied.
He glanced at the clock. "Ten minutes till curfew," he observed.
"Yes, Professor," the prefect agreed.
"Get the other female prefects and have them help Madame Pomfrey move these girls to the hospital wing," he ordered.
"Yes, Professor," the prefect agreed.
"Poppy, I would take it as a personal favor if you would keep them till after I had a chance to speak with them tomorrow," he continued.
"No problem, Filius," the school nurse agreed.
Flitwick was gratified when his missing student returned to her dorm with two minutes to spare. "Good evening, Ms. Lovegood."
"Good evening, Professor," the girl stated politely. "What happened?"
"It appears that your roommates tripped one of the anti-theft charms you had protecting your possessions," he replied.
Luna looked at her section of the room and her heart momentarily stopped when she noticed something missing, restarting a second later when she saw her picture frame laying on the floor and apparently undamaged. Two steps brought her to it and she snatched it up, holding it close to her chest.
"May I see it?" Filius asked gently. "I promise that I will be very careful with it."
"Yes, Professor," Luna agreed. With obvious reluctance, the girl handed it over.
Flitwick was relieved to see that the picture frame did not appear to be damaged. As he inspected it, it began cycling through a number of different photos. The first was a picture of the girl's mother, the second was of her father, the third was Luna standing next to Hermione Granger, the fourth was Harry Potter in a great kilt, the fifth was of Harry Potter in a set of formal muggle clothing, the sixth was a picture of her parents together. He handed it back before it got to the seventh. "I'm glad to see that it wasn't damaged."
"So am I, Professor," the girl said softly. "Am I going to be in trouble for this?"
"You have a right to protect what is yours," he assured the girl. "Have they tried to take your things before?"
"They've succeeded before, Professor," the girl admitted. "One of my friends decided that they would not succeed again."
"Give Ms. Granger my compliments and tell her that I would be happy to lend her a couple books on the subject from my personal library if she would like," Flitwick offered.
"Thank you, Professor, I will and I believe she would."
"Be sure to tell me if this sort of thing happens again," Flitwick ordered. He rather doubted it would, not after what happened and what he was planning to do about it.
"Yes, Professor, I will," Luna agreed.
"Good. Have a pleasant night, Ms. Lovegood." Filius walked down to the common room and stopped the first male student he could find. "Go up to the dorms and tell the first prefect you find that I want to see them in my office right bloody now," he ordered.
"Yes, Professor," the boy squeaked.
Flitwick's seventh year male prefect arrived at his office only a few minutes after he himself did. It was time to end a problem he hadn't known his house had been afflicted with.
"You called for me, Professor?" the boy asked nervously.
"Were you aware that Ms. Lovegood's roommates were tormenting her and stealing her things?" the diminutive charms professor asked mildly.
"I knew that they were picking on her," the prefect answered. "I did not know they were stealing from her."
"Is there some reason you did nothing about it?" Flitwick demanded hotly.
"I told one of the female Prefects to look into it, Professor," the boy answered quickly. "I'd have handled it myself but I can't get into the dorm to do my own investigation."
"I see." He stared at the boy for a few moments. "Were you aware that Ms. Lovegood is in young Mr. Potter's circle of friends? One apparently close enough for him to have Ms. Granger to place anti-theft charms on her things?"
"I was not, Professor," the suddenly pale prefect choked. Seemed the boy had some idea how young Harry Potter would react to an attack on one of his friends and had no illusions on how he or any of his fellows would fare against Gryffindor's champion. Good. Maybe there was a chance that further violence could be prevented.
"Were you aware that Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Potter spent the holiday at Ms. Granger's house?" Flitwick asked, rubbing salt into the wound.
"I was not aware of that either, Professor," the prefect replied sickly.
"Were you aware that Mr. Potter considers Ms. Lovegood to be one of his very good friends and are you aware of what happens to those that go against Mr. Potter?" Filius cracked a smile. "If you are not, I have some pictures I could show you provided you've skipped dinner tonight. Best to hold off if you haven't. I have no desire to replace my carpet, you never seem to get the smell of vomit out no matter how skilled at charms you are." Speculation among the staff was that Snape survived because Harry figured no hell could be worse than being a Snape. Others figured it was because Snape was at least intelligent enough to mostly leave Harry's friends out of his vendetta against the boy's father. He himself had five galleons on Harry gaining a decisive victory in less than two minutes if Severus was ever stupid enough to press his luck.
"I've heard what happens, professor," the prefect said.
"Speculate for me, what do you think will happen when you inform the investigating female prefect of what you just learned?"
"I think she'll step up her investigation, professor," he replied quickly.
"No need for that, please inform her and the other prefects that I've already dealt with the matter personally."
"I will, professor."
"While you're at it, let them know that I do not like having to deal with these matters personally since that's what I'm supposed to have prefects for."
"I will, professor."
"Since I'm doing the work of my prefects, it seems to me that I have no need of them at all," the Professor continued, "it's something I'm going to have to think about over the coming weeks. I suggest that you all demonstrate how useful you are."
"We will, professor."
"Tell me, do you happen to know if there's any rule that prevents me from appointing prefects from the ranks of another house?" Filius continued. "It occurs to me that Mr. Potter's robes could use some adornment."
"I don't know, professor, but I can find out the answer for you if you like, professor," the prefect said miserably.
"Splendid idea. While you're at it, find out if it's possible to be a prefect from two houses at once — be sure to inform me on what you've found at our next meeting," Filius finished.
"I will, professor, I'll also be sure to let the others know what we talked about."
"See that you do." Flitwick's gaze intensified. "Dismissed."
IIIIIIIIII
Daphne and Tracy woke up early the next morning to discuss strategy. The most important thing, they decided, was to be calm and polite. Everything they knew about the girl suggested that she'd be reasonable so long as they gave no reason for her to become unreasonable. Much better than the usual sorts in magical business.
The two girls left Slytherin long before most of their housemates had awoken and spent nearly two hours staking out the area where their target met her little blonde friend from Ravenclaw every morning.
"There they are," Tracy whispered. Both girls stepped into the middle of the hallway.
"Granger, Lovegood," Daphne said tightly, trying to will her pulse to slow. The fact that the next few minutes could prove to be vital to their family's future did not help matters.
"Greengrass, Davis," Hermione replied. "What do you want?"
"To talk," Daphne replied. She held up her hands when the other two girls gave them looks of disbelief. "Really."
"When have we done anything to antagonize either of you or Potter?" Tracy added. "Neither of us is or has ever been one of Malfoy's minions."
"All right," Hermione agreed. "Talk."
"Don't you think we should have our discussion some place a bit more private?" Tracy asked with a smile.
"Come on," Luna said suddenly. "Harry showed me how to get into the kitchens — it's private enough if you don't mind the house elves." And it would make her feel a lot more comfortable if they had Dobby backing them up in case something went wrong. The boy had introduced her to the odd house elf shortly after their return to Hogwarts.
"After you then," Daphne agreed.
Both Slytherins noted with approval the fact that while Lovegood took the lead, Granger trailed behind. They'd have been somewhat worried if the other girls were willing to show any hint of vulnerability at this stage as it'd have shown a frightening amount of confidence or complacency. Neither of which would inspire good feelings for them.
"What's this all about?" Hermione demanded after they'd reached the kitchens and taken their seats around a large round table.
"Your new freight business looks to compete with our families' existing freight business and our muggle world imports," Tracy replied. 'Worse, according to our accountants, it looked as if the muggle born would win any direct conflict and drive us out of the market,' Tracy thought unhappily. The war chest the other girl had to fall back on was nothing short of awe inspiring.
Daphne sighed. "Which is why we've come on behalf of our families to negotiate with you. We're not throwing in the towel, we're here to talk about how we can all work together to make gold which, I'm sure you will agree, is much better than working against each other and losing it."
"What are you offering?" Hermione asked, hiding her confusion at just what the other two girls were talking about.
"We've got existing contracts and extensive contacts," Tracy said calmly. "You've got trains and know how. We put those together and we've got a smooth and profitable transition."
"There's enough profit for all of us and I don't think anyone wants a trade war," Daphne added, a touch hopefully. "You might win, or you might not. Either way, it would cost you money." There was no doubt in Daphne's mind that the other girl would win and win easily.
"I'm not too concerned with profit," Hermione admitted. "It's nice to have, but not something I'm dependent on."
"So this is all to run our families into the ground?" Daphne said with a slight waver in her voice, she did not like the direction this conversation was heading.
"I have no reason for doing that so I have no intention of doing that," Hermione said to the immense relief of the other two girls. "Have your families send me your offer, I'll show it to Harry and my father. We can go from there. Deal?"
"Deal," Daphne said with relief.
"Deal," Tracy echoed, ruthlessly suppressing the urge to break out into happy hysterical giggles. Looked like their families wouldn't be driven into poverty after all. Might even be able get into a better position than they were before. Things were looking up.
IIIIIIIIII
Filius was in a rather jocular mood when he got to breakfast the next morning having just received a bit of information that would be perfect for teasing one of his colleagues with.
"Did you know that there's no rule stating that you can't appoint prefects from other houses?" Flitwick asked with a grin. "Course, it means the automatic transfer of the newly named Prefect to the appointing house."
"Over your dead body ye wee bloody bastard," McGonagall replied flatly. "They're mine and what I have I keep."
"Just an interesting bit of trivia and a new source of motivation for my current batch of prefects," Flitwick assured his colleague. "You know I'd never dream of stealing your best students from you, Minerva."
"Not unless you thought you could get away with it anyway," McGonagall stated, giving the man a suspicious glare.
"You know he's just winding you up, Minerva," Sprout laughed. "Calm down and let me be the first to commend you on how loyal your students are to their friends in other houses." She turned to the charms professor. "Incidentally, did your research reveal if a prefect could be appointed if they're already serving as a prefect for another house?"
"Nay chance of letting yeh get yer hooks inta one a'mine either, yeh bloody badger," Minerva said firmly.
IIIIIIIIII
Anne was somewhat annoyed by how little attention her husband was paying her at breakfast the next morning. It was always more than a bit aggravating to be temporarily widowed by matters of business or state.
"No business at the table," she said after it had become clear that he wasn't going to rejoin the world any time soon.
"Hmmm?"
"Neglecting one's family to slightly increase one's chances of making a bit of pocket money is exactly the sort of behavior one expects from the low commercial class," she sniffed. "I should have known that you'd cast me aside to go down the first metaphorical drain you saw to do a bit of toshing, but I allowed myself to believe that you could rise above your humble origins. Woe is me, how could I have misjudged your character so?"
"Good one, darling," he said with a grin. "But I'm afraid you've unjustly accused me this time. Please don't worry, I can't blame you for failing to rise above your roots or join the modern age in which paltry things like evidence of wrong doing is required before making charging one with a crime. I would tell you not to beat yourself up about the matter but I would assume that you completely lack any sense of shame or self awareness due to your aristocratic upbringing."
"Oh?"
"It's personal. It seems Hermione was correct when she stated her acquisition of the Hogwarts Express was a sound business decision. She's been approached by her main potential competitor with an offer to merge."
"What does Harry say about it?" She grinned in response to her husband's pout. "Or did our daughter not immediately ask for his opinion?"
"She did of course, but you weren't supposed to just flat out ask," he huffed. "You were supposed to pretend you didn't know until I proudly announced that he sent his own report along and . . . oh never mind."
"Did I ever tell you what your former sister in law had to say about your love for the dramatic?" she purred.
"I imagine it was just as worth hearing as everything else she said," he said blandly. If he'd said it once, he'd said it a thousand times. The family was well rid of her.
"It was," his wife agreed. "You were, however, supposed to pretend you didn't know so that I could reveal the fact that she saw it as yet more evidence of your preference for other men." And subsequently as another argument as to why their marriage should be dissolved.
"And yet another reason she gave for you to divorce me before we could produce an heir that would make it even harder for her to get her hooks into the family money," he finished, echoing his wife's thoughts.
"She didn't put it quite that bluntly," Anne giggled. "She stated that if I really loved you, I would leave you and help you come to terms with who you were so that you could be happy. I believe that she thought she was being subtle and, if one is to be honest, I am quite surprised she was able to think up that much."
"Greed has a way of helping some people overcome their natural limitations," Phil said with an unconcerned shrug. "Limitations being something she was always blessed with along with the looks that attracted my younger brother and allowed her to ensnare him. She's rather fortunate she didn't decide to go further than the odd comment."
"Oh?"
"Contingencies were in place, darling, in case she decided to take a more active role in removing obstacles. But we're getting off track."
"We are," Anne agreed. "What did Harry have to say?"
"He advised us to offer them ten percent more than they want with a clause stating that we can take it back for a number of reasons plus a further twenty. Flint, one of Tonks' people, suggests that we ignore his advice and lists a number of reasons why following it would be a very bad idea."
"Oh?"
"Has to do with magical culture. She states that the Greengrass/Davis clan would likely take it since we have them over a barrel, but that it would leave a bad taste in their mouth which would almost certainly cause trouble later. She also disclosed that she owes them for helping her with her elopement and states that they're okay sorts for what they are."
"Is she repaying a debt or telling the truth?" Anne asked mildly.
"Both according to my best intelligence," Phil replied. "Their company is a family business. One partner from a magical family, one from a normal family. Best friends since they started at school and brothers-in-law since shortly after."
"Decided to seal the partnership the traditional way then," Anne said with a nod. "Did Flint have anything else to say about this?"
"She did," Phil agreed. "She suggests dealing fair even if it does cost us some concessions we could likely gain and that we be sure to include groundwork to make a potential future severing of our business relationship as easy as possible."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to send this to Harry with a note asking what he thinks of this," Phil said honestly. "Flint said that Harry's idea is a good one providing we wish to subjugate the other two families and leverage ourselves into pureblood society once Hermione becomes head of the family. She added that there are better stepping stones if that is our intention."
"Is it?"
"I don't believe so," he said thoughtfully. "But of course one must always remember to keep one's options open."
"And that's what had you so distracted?"
"That and a note Hermione and Luna sent along," he replied.
"What was in the note?"
"Our daughter wishes to know if anyone has ever made a steam powered car and requests that I send along any plans if the answer is yes."
"Has it?"
"Several times over," Phil replied with a grin.
"So you were distracted by the thought of all the cars you were going to have to add to your collection and the fact that you can probably get our daughter to maintain them for you," Anne asked with a raised eyebrow. "The thought that our daughter might do an honest day's work in her life, especially in, gasp, one of the trades, oh the horror!" She raised the back of her hand to her brow and acted as if she might faint at any minute.
"Console yourself with the thought of your great uncle's wildly impractical garden and all the work in it that he insisted on doing himself."
"The difference there is that his hobby cost the family quite a bit of money to maintain then and now, whereas our daughter's threatens to make it. The shame, the absolute scandal that one of my blood could do such a thing."
"Just goes to show that your step mother was correct when she said my red blood would dilute your blue," he said smugly.
"Perish the thought that, that harpy would be correct about anything." Anne giggled. "Nothing for it, I suppose, but to give Hermione more pocket money and with instructions that she wastes it on something frivolous."
"I suppose one can hope this will be one of the few times she decides to listen," he agreed. "Probably a vain hope, but it springs eternal."