The Financial Consequences of Asking Questions
Myrddin Manor
Tuesday, May 7, 1991
7:30 A.M.
[SYSTEM:]You are narrating like a crime detective again. I thought we were learning to live in the moment?
We are, but readers need to know the date and time. We don't want them to assume we just went from one thing to the next. We have to set up the visual transition.
There was a short pause.
[SYSTEM:]Readers?
Josh stopped halfway through spreading butter across a piece of toast.
Chat.
[SYSTEM:]You said readers.
I meant Chat.
[SYSTEM:]You aren't streaming.
Josh's knife stopped.
That's beside the point.
[SYSTEM:]The Stream is off. Chat cannot see you. Chat cannot hear you. You are currently narrating breakfast to yourself.
Josh stared at the toast.
It's a habit.
[SYSTEM:]You have been internally describing the lighting.
Visual context is important.
[SYSTEM:]To whom?
Stop breaking the fourth wall.
Another pause.
[SYSTEM:]You started it.
Fuck you.
[SYSTEM:]Excellent progress.
Josh resumed buttering his toast with slightly more aggression than the toast deserved. Look, I don't like inconsistencies in time management. If I don't keep track of when things happen, everything starts running together.
[SYSTEM:]You have access to time travel.
That's different.
[SYSTEM:]You have Save and Load.
Also different.
[SYSTEM:]You recently spent several days in 2077 and returned approximately twelve minutes after you left.
You're being deliberately obtuse.
[SYSTEM:]I learned from you.
Did you just insult me?
[SYSTEM:]Constructive criticism.
Josh took a bite of toast and decided that arguing with the semi-sentient interface attached to his soul before finishing his first cup of coffee probably defeated the entire purpose of trying to relax.
Across the table, Harry was watching him.
Josh stopped chewing. "What?"
Harry's eyes flicked toward the butter knife in Josh's hand. "You stopped buttering your toast, stared at it for a while, then started doing it really hard."
"I was thinking."
"About toast?"
"No."
"What were you thinking about?"
Josh considered several possible answers before settling on the safest. "Time management."
Harry looked at the abused piece of toast.
"Right."
"Don't judge me."
"I'm not."
"You've got a very judgmental face for somebody who's not judging me."
Harry smiled and went back to his eggs.
Morning sunlight filled the breakfast room through the tall windows overlooking the grounds, catching on the polished table and the silverware spread between them. One window had been cracked open, letting cool air move through the room along with birdsong and the smell of wet grass. It had rained sometime during the night, and beads of water still clung to the glass.
Josh paused with his coffee halfway to his mouth.
[SYSTEM:]You're doing it again.
Shut the fuck up.
He drank his coffee.
Yesterday had helped.
His shoulders and legs were sore from the workout, and one knuckle still felt tender from where he'd gotten a little too enthusiastic with the training dummy, but it was the good kind of sore. After eating enough pizza to qualify as a poor life decision, he'd showered, found somewhere comfortable to sit, and accomplished almost nothing for the rest of the evening.
Harry had found a book. Josh had found another. They'd eventually migrated to the library, where Percival had discovered them later that night and pointed out that books would, in fact, continue existing tomorrow.
Josh had slept.
Actually slept.
No emergency quests. No alarms. No Wizengamot. No one shooting at him. No jumping forward eighty-six years. No waking up after getting his neck broken and discovering that dying hurt exactly as much as advertised.
Just sleep.
This morning he'd discovered Harry owned one pair of shoes.
Well, technically, Harry owned everything they'd brought from Privet Drive. Josh had noticed the oversized clothes yesterday but hadn't made a big deal about them. The kid had barely been out of that house for a day. Immediately dragging him through stores while throwing away everything familiar hadn't seemed like a particularly good idea.
The shoes had escaped closer inspection because they actually fit.
Mostly.
Now they were sitting beneath Harry's chair, and in daylight Josh could see that the soles were nearly smooth, one side had started separating from the upper, and the laces didn't even match.
Harry had called them his good pair.
That had started a conversation.
"When was your last eye exam?"
Harry paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I don't know."
"Alright. Dentist?"
"I don't know."
"Doctor?"
Harry thought about that one longer. "I went when I started school."
Josh lowered his coffee. "Primary school?"
"Yeah. They checked my hearing and my eyes and stuff."
"And that was the last time?"
"I think so." Harry ate another bite of eggs, then added, "I don't get sick much."
"That's good, but doctors do other things."
"I know."
"Just checking."
Harry gave him a slightly annoyed look.
Josh smiled into his coffee. There was some personality under all that caution. Yesterday had proven that. Harry just kept checking whether he was actually allowed to use it.
Fine by Josh.
"Alright. We're going out today."
Harry immediately perked up. "Where?"
"First stop is the dentist."
The enthusiasm died so quickly Josh nearly laughed.
"The dentist?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Because I already have one."
Harry blinked. "You own a dentist?"
Josh stared at him.
Harry's mouth twitched.
"Oh, you're being a smartass now."
"You said you have one."
"I go to one. Smartass."
Harry grinned and took another bite.
Josh pointed his fork at him. "Anyway, I've been going to the same place since I moved over here. Nice family. Good dentists. We're gonna stop by, get you registered, and see when they can get you in for a checkup."
"Today?"
"Probably not. We're just gonna go talk to them."
Harry relaxed slightly. "Do I have to get a filling?"
"Do you have a cavity?"
"I don't know."
"Then I don't know either."
"Dudley had one. He said it hurt."
"The cavity or the filling?"
"The filling."
Josh shrugged. "I've had dental work. It's not fun, but they'll numb your mouth if they need to do anything that hurts."
"With a needle?"
"Usually."
Harry stared at him.
Josh realized he might not be helping.
"But we're getting way ahead of ourselves. Nobody's doing anything today. We're walking in, saying hello, and making an appointment. That's it."
"Okay."
"Then we're getting your eyes checked."
Harry touched the tape holding the bridge of his glasses together. "They still work."
"I know."
"I can see fine."
"Good. Then hopefully your prescription hasn't changed much."
Harry frowned. "So why do I need new ones?"
Josh gestured toward his face. "Because those are held together with tape."
"They broke."
"I gathered that."
"Aunt Petunia fixed them."
"And she did a fine job keeping them together. Doesn't mean we can't get you another pair."
Harry's fingers remained on the bridge. "Do I have to throw these away?"
That made Josh stop.
"No. Why would you?"
Harry shrugged. "If I get new ones."
"Harry, you don't have to throw away something just because you get another one. Keep those as a backup. We'll get you a case for them."
"A backup?"
"Yeah. Something happens to the new ones, you've still got a pair while they're getting fixed."
Harry considered that for a moment before nodding. "That's a good point."
"Occasionally, I have those."
Harry smiled.
"After that, clothes."
Harry looked down at himself. "I've got clothes."
"You have Dudley's clothes."
"They're mine now."
"Fair enough. You have clothes that used to belong to Dudley and could currently fit two of you."
"This one's comfortable."
"Then keep it. I'm not making you throw your stuff away."
Harry looked back up.
Josh continued eating. "Wear it around the house. Sleep in it. Turn it into a flag. I don't care. We're still getting you some clothes that actually fit."
"How many?"
"I don't know. Enough."
"What's enough?"
Josh opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He'd never actually considered the minimum number of shirts required for a functional wardrobe.
"More than you've got."
"That's not an answer."
"It is in Alabama."
Harry laughed. "No, it isn't."
"You ever been to Alabama?"
"No."
"Then you lack the necessary qualifications to challenge me on Alabama law."
"That's not a law."
"See? Doing it again."
Harry shook his head, smiling as he reached for another piece of bacon.
Josh let him eat for a moment before pointing beneath the table. "And we're getting you new shoes."
Harry looked down. "These fit."
"Mostly."
"They're fine."
"One of them is coming apart."
Harry pulled the offending foot farther beneath his chair.
Josh noticed.
He didn't lean down to inspect it again. He just took another drink of coffee.
"We can fix those."
Harry looked up.
"Little glue, maybe reinforce the side. Keep them as another pair."
"They're still good."
"I believe you."
Harry seemed surprised by how easily Josh conceded the point.
Josh reached for his toast. "We're still buying more."
"Why?"
"Because different shoes do different jobs."
"I only have two feet."
Josh stared at him.
Harry smiled cautiously.
"Alright, that was pretty good."
Harry's smile grew.
"But you're still getting shoes. Tennis shoes for everyday stuff, something decent for when you've gotta dress up, and probably boots."
"Why boots?"
Josh pointed toward the windows. "Because you live in England."
Harry followed his finger toward the wet grounds outside. "So?"
"It rains every damn time the clouds get bored."
"It does not."
"Boy, I'm from Alabama. Y'all have a complicated relationship with sunshine."
"It rains in Alabama."
"Yeah. Properly. Sky turns green, sirens go off, God throws somebody's trampoline three counties over, then twenty minutes later the sun comes back out and it's ninety degrees."
Harry stared at him, eyes widening. "Really?"
"Close enough."
"Have you seen a tornado?"
"Yep."
"How close?"
Josh thought about that.
"Close enough that I probably shouldn't tell Percival the story."
Harry leaned forward. "Tell me."
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll ask questions, I'll answer them, then you'll tell Percival, and he'll find a way to blame me for something I did in another universe before I was born here."
Harry laughed. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Welcome to my life."
Josh finished his toast.
"Anyway, one pair of shoes shouldn't have to survive everything you do. If one pair gets wet, you wear another pair while they dry. If one gets torn up, you've still got shoes. That's all."
Harry was quiet for a moment. "You don't have to buy all that."
"I know."
"I mean it." Harry shifted in his chair, looking down at his plate instead of at Josh. "The shoes still work. And my clothes are okay. I don't need loads of new stuff just because I'm here now."
Josh watched him for a second.
There it was.
Not exactly embarrassment. Not exactly fear either. More like Harry was trying to figure out the point where accepting something became asking for too much.
"I'm just Harry," he added quietly.
Josh set his coffee down.
"No."
Harry looked up.
"We are not doing that."
"Doing what?"
"That whole 'I'm just Harry' thing."
Harry blinked.
Josh leaned back in his chair. "You're Harry. That's the entire sentence. You need shoes, we buy shoes. Your glasses are broken, we replace them. Your clothes don't fit, we get clothes that fit. You haven't seen a dentist in God knows how long, we get you a dentist. None of that requires you to be special enough to earn it."
"I didn't mean..."
"I know what you meant." Josh's voice stayed even. "And I'm telling you right now, you don't have to convince me you're worth spending money on."
Harry looked down again.
Josh let the silence sit for a few seconds, then reached across the table and stole a piece of bacon off Harry's plate.
Harry's head snapped up. "Hey!"
"Conversation over."
"That was mine!"
"And now it's mine."
"You've got bacon!"
"Had bacon."
Harry reached for Josh's plate.
Josh pulled it away.
"Uh-uh. Mine."
"You just took mine!"
"Life's unfair."
"Give it back."
"I already ate it."
"You haven't!"
Josh shoved the entire piece into his mouth.
Harry stared at him.
Josh chewed.
Harry lunged across the table for Josh's toast.
"Hey!"
Harry got it and dropped back into his chair laughing.
Josh pointed at him while trying to swallow. "You little shit."
"You stole mine first."
"That doesn't make theft legal."
"You said law of the jungle yesterday."
Josh froze.
Harry took a triumphant bite of toast.
"That was pizza law."
"You made that up."
"Of course I made it up. I'm the adult."
"You're thirteen!"
"Old enough to know better."
"Then why did you steal my bacon?"
Josh considered that.
"Because I said so."
Harry laughed hard enough that he had to put the toast down.
The breakfast-room door opened.
Jack Skeeter stepped inside wearing a dark jacket over a light shirt, car keys already in one hand. His gaze moved from Harry laughing over stolen toast to Josh pointing accusingly across the table.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"Crime," Josh said.
Harry immediately pointed at him. "He started it."
Jack looked between them. "Do I want to know?"
"No."
"Probably not."
Jack nodded. "Good. Are you two about ready to head out?"
Harry straightened. "Where are we going?"
Josh looked at him. "We literally just spent ten minutes talking about this."
"I know. I mean where first."
"The Grangers' practice," Jack answered. "Assuming the itinerary hasn't changed since I was told about it."
"Hasn't changed." Josh reached for his coffee. "Dentist, glasses, clothes, shoes, lunch, library."
Harry immediately looked at Jack. "Can we do the library before lunch?"
Jack glanced at Josh.
"Don't encourage him."
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face did."
Jack smiled. "I'll bring the car around."
"Which one?"
"The Rolls."
Josh nodded approvingly. "Excellent."
Harry looked between them. "How long does it take to get there?"
Josh and Jack exchanged a glance.
"Depends," Josh said.
"On what?"
"How long it takes us to get out of the property."
Harry frowned. "We're already outside London?"
"Way outside."
"No, I mean how long to the road?"
Josh pointed vaguely toward the windows. "Depends which road you mean."
Harry looked at Jack for help.
Jack slipped the keys into his pocket. "The drive from the Manor to the outer gate takes a little while."
"How long?"
"About half an hour if the roads are clear."
Harry stared at him. "Half an hour?"
"Give or take."
"Just to leave?"
Josh grinned. "Welcome to Myrddin Manor."
Harry turned toward the windows as though he might somehow be able to see the edge of the property through them. "Why is it so big?"
"The house isn't," Josh said. "Well, okay, the house is ridiculous, but that's not what takes so long. It's the woods."
"What woods?"
Josh looked at Jack. "He hasn't seen them?"
"Not properly."
Harry looked between them again. "Seen what?"
Jack pulled out the chair at the end of the table and rested one hand against its back. "Most of the land surrounding the Manor is forest. Very old forest."
"How old?"
"The oldest sections?" Jack considered the question. "Older than most records anyone has bothered keeping."
Josh pointed toward him. "There's the sales pitch."
"It's not a sales pitch."
"Sounds like one."
Jack ignored him. "The Myrddin family has maintained woodland here for a very long time. Some of it is cultivated, some is protected, and some is simply left alone."
Harry's interest sharpened. "Cultivated for what?"
"Wand wood, among other things."
Harry stopped.
"Wands grow here?"
Josh snorted into his coffee.
Jack smiled. "The trees do."
"Oh."
"Though some of them are specifically cultivated for wandmaking. Holly, ash, hawthorn, oak, willow, yew, and several others. Different sections of the estate are maintained for different magical purposes."
Harry had completely forgotten his breakfast now. "Do you make wands?"
"Not me," Jack said.
"The family supplies materials," Josh added. "Wand wood, potion ingredients, magical plants, stuff used for enchanting and crafting. There's more out there than regular trees."
"Can we see it?"
"We're about to drive through it."
"No, I mean can we go look around?"
Josh glanced at Jack.
Jack nodded. "Provided someone goes with you."
Harry looked immediately at Josh.
Josh sighed. "Why do I feel like my schedule is being rewritten?"
"You said we were going to the library."
"We are."
"And the woods?"
"Different day."
"Tomorrow?"
"I'm supposed to be at Hogwarts."
Harry's face fell slightly.
Josh caught it. "But I'm not disappearing today. We'll figure out when."
Jack pushed away from the chair. "There are paths near the Manor you can walk without going into the deeper sections. The oldest areas are another matter."
"How old are those?" Harry asked.
Jack paused near the door. "There are places in that forest where trees have grown continuously since before England was England. Trees die, others take their place, but the woodland itself has never been cleared. As far as the family records can establish, it may be the oldest continuously maintained magical forest in Britain."
Harry's eyes widened.
Josh looked toward Jack. "You really buried the lead on that one."
"You've known for three years."
"Yeah, but nobody phrased it like that."
Jack gave him a long look. "You were shown the records."
"I skimmed the records."
"You spent four hours reading them."
"I skim thoroughly."
Harry laughed.
Jack shook his head and headed for the door. "Five minutes. I'll meet you out front."
"Yes, sir."
Harry pushed his chair back almost immediately.
Josh looked at him. "Where are you going?"
"Brush my teeth."
Josh blinked.
Harry grinned. "We're going to the dentist."
"Look at you, thinking ahead."
Harry started toward the door, then stopped. "Can we see the trees from the road?"
"Some of them."
"The wand trees?"
"Harry, we're gonna spend half an hour driving through the woods. You'll see plenty of trees."
"How do you know which ones are for wands?"
Josh opened his mouth, then looked toward the doorway Jack had just disappeared through.
"That is an excellent question for Jack."
"You don't know?"
"I know some of them."
Harry smiled. "How many?"
"Go brush your teeth."
Harry laughed and disappeared into the corridor.
Josh waited until he was gone, then reached for the coffee pot..
I know more than some.
[SYSTEM:]Of course you do.
Shut up.
[SYSTEM:]He appears excited.
Yep.
[SYSTEM:]You are also excited.
Josh poured another cup. I'm taking a ten-year-old to buy pants and shoes.
[SYSTEM:]And a library.
Okay, the library's pretty good.
[SYSTEM:]And an ancient magical forest.
We live in the ancient magical forest.
[SYSTEM:]Yet you internally described it for Chat.
Josh stopped pouring.
Don't.
[SYSTEM:]The Stream remains off.
I know.
[SYSTEM:]There is still nobody watching.
Josh put the coffee pot down.
I fucking know.
[SYSTEM:]Excellent. Living in the moment.
Josh took a long drink.
He was going to find that mute button.
...
By the time Harry came back downstairs, Jack was waiting for them in the entrance hall.
"Ready?"
Harry nodded, considerably more energetic than he'd been when Josh first found him that morning. "Yeah."
Josh pushed away from the wall. "Dentist, glasses, clothes, shoes, library."
"And lunch," Jack added.
Josh pointed at him. "See? This is why we keep him around."
Jack opened the front door.
Morning sunlight spilled across the entrance hall, and Harry stepped outside with Josh following behind him.
The Rolls-Royce waited at the bottom of the steps, black paint polished nearly mirror-bright beneath the May sun. Harry slowed almost immediately.
Josh noticed.
"What?"
Harry looked at the car, then at him. "We're taking that?"
Josh glanced toward the Rolls. "Unless Jack has developed a sudden desire to walk."
Jack continued down the steps. "I haven't."
Harry followed, still looking at the car. "It's a Rolls-Royce."
"Yep."
"Uncle Vernon talks about them."
That explained that.
Josh shoved his hands into his pockets as they crossed the drive. "Well, don't tell him you rode in one. He might explode."
Harry smiled.
Jack opened the rear door for them, and Harry climbed inside. Josh followed, settling beside him while Jack went around to the driver's side.
The interior was all leather, polished wood, chrome, and enough legroom that Josh didn't immediately resent whoever had designed it. At five foot eleven, he'd already reached the point where a lot of cars were becoming uncomfortable. Considering Percival remained convinced he wasn't anywhere near finished growing, Josh had started paying considerably more attention to that particular feature.
Harry buckled himself in.
Then looked around.
His eyes moved from the wood trim to the switches on the door, then toward the window.
Josh caught it.
"You can touch things."
Harry looked at him.
"It's a car, Harry. You're not in a museum."
Harry reached for the window switch and pressed it.
The glass lowered.
Cool morning air rolled through the opening, carrying the smell of damp earth, leaves, and something flowering somewhere beyond the drive.
Harry smiled and lowered it a little farther.
Jack started the engine.
The Manor gradually disappeared behind them as the Rolls followed the long road into the trees.
Harry stayed near the window.
At first, there wasn't much conversation.
There didn't need to be.
The grounds nearest the Manor were carefully maintained, but that changed quickly once the road entered the forest proper. Massive trees crowded either side of the drive, their branches stretching overhead until patches of blue sky disappeared beneath green. Ferns covered portions of the forest floor. Moss climbed old stone walls that appeared beside the road for a few hundred feet before vanishing back into the undergrowth.
Sunlight moved across the interior as they drove beneath the canopy.
After several minutes, Harry looked toward the front.
"How long until we get out?"
"Out of the forest?" Jack asked.
Harry nodded.
"Twenty-five minutes or so."
Harry stared at him.
Then looked at Josh.
Josh grinned. "Told you."
"I thought you were exaggerating."
"I was deeply wounded when you accused me of that the first time."
Harry ignored him and looked outside again. "Is all of this yours?"
"House Myrddin's," Josh said. "And not all the forest you can see from the road, but a lot of it."
Jack glanced toward Harry in the mirror. "The estate is unusual even by magical standards. The forest surrounding the Manor is believed to be the oldest continuously maintained magical woodland in Britain."
Harry looked back outside.
"Maintained how?"
There it was.
Josh leaned into the corner of the seat.
Jack smiled faintly. "Keep watching."
The road curved around one of the larger trees, and the forest opened on their left.
The change was obvious once Harry knew to look for it.
The woodland beyond the road was still thick, but it wasn't wild. Trees of different ages grew in broad sections with enough room between them for sunlight to reach the ground. Narrow paths wound beneath them. Small plaques stood beside some trunks, while other areas were divided by low stone borders.
Several estate workers were gathered around an enormous tree farther into the clearing.
One held a shallow wooden tray.
Another appeared to be talking to the tree.
Harry leaned toward the window.
"What are they doing?"
"Negotiating for wand wood," Jack said.
Harry looked at him.
"With the tree?"
"With the Bowtruckles."
Harry blinked.
"The what?"
Josh smiled.
Right.
Of course he didn't know what a Bowtruckle was.
Jack slowed the Rolls slightly. "Look at the lower branches. Near the man holding the tray."
Harry leaned closer to the open window.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a thin green shape moved against the bark.
Harry straightened.
"I saw something."
"Keep watching."
The creature emerged far enough for Harry to make it out. It was tiny, green and narrow, almost like a collection of twigs that had decided to grow arms and legs. Long fingers wrapped around the bark as it climbed down toward the worker.
Another appeared farther up the tree.
"What are those?"
"Bowtruckles," Jack said. "Small magical creatures that live in trees suitable for wand wood."
Harry's eyes remained fixed outside. "They live in them?"
"Among the branches and hollows, yes. They protect the trees from anything they consider a threat."
The worker lifted something from the tray.
One of the Bowtruckles crept closer.
Harry's face moved nearer the window.
"What's he giving it?"
"Probably woodlice," Josh said. "They love those."
"Why?"
Josh opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
"Because they're Bowtruckles?"
Harry looked at him.
Josh shrugged. "I don't know everything."
Harry returned his attention to the tree.
Jack continued, "Harvesting wand wood here is done selectively. The staff inspect the trees, determine what can safely be taken, and negotiate with the resident colony before removing anything."
"You have to ask them?"
"They're intelligent creatures," Jack said. "And that's their home."
Harry nodded as though that made perfect sense.
"Can they talk?"
"Not in English," Josh said. "But they'll make it pretty damn clear if the answer is no."
Harry watched until the workers and Bowtruckles disappeared behind the trees.
"Are all those wand trees?"
"Some," Jack said. "Different wand woods require different conditions. Some grow well here. Others don't. The estate cultivates considerably more than wand wood."
That was apparently the invitation Harry needed.
"What else?"
Jack began pointing things out as they went.
A grove farther uphill was maintained for potion ingredients that required mature magical trees. Another section was deliberately kept wet, fed by a narrow stream that had been redirected through several shallow pools. There were fungi cultivated beneath heavy shade, flowering plants Harry couldn't identify, and fenced areas where the vegetation was dense enough that even Josh couldn't see what was growing inside from the road.
The forest stopped looking like one enormous collection of trees.
Harry started seeing what it actually was.
A farm.
A preserve.
A laboratory.
And in some places, something closer to wilderness that everyone had collectively agreed was better left alone.
"How long has your family been doing this?" Harry asked.
Josh looked toward Jack.
Jack answered. "In one form or another? More than a thousand years."
Harry turned slowly toward Josh.
Josh raised both hands. "I didn't plant them."
Harry laughed.
A few minutes later, glass flashed between the trees.
Harry noticed immediately.
"Greenhouses."
"Good eye," Jack said.
They came around another bend, and the forest opened into a large cultivated area.
Long rows of plants stretched across the clearing beside several glasshouses. Some were planted directly in the ground. Others grew in raised beds or beneath canvas shades. Estate staff moved between them with baskets, tools, and wooden crates.
Jack nodded toward the nearest section.
"There's Tiffany."
Josh looked automatically.
Tiffany Bellamy was twenty-five, a half-blood Hufflepuff who had entered House Myrddin's service before Josh ever arrived in Britain. She was around five foot six, athletic from years of fieldwork and combat training, with a lightly freckled olive complexion, hazel-green eyes, and thick dark-brown curls pulled into a loose ponytail while she worked. After graduating Hogwarts, Myrddin sponsorship had taken her to America for advanced combat training before she returned six months ahead of Josh, and she'd been one of his occasional instructors ever since while working toward a Potions Mastery under one of the family's contracted Masters. Somewhere along the way she'd gone from instructor to older friend, though that had never stopped her from assigning homework when she thought he was getting lazy.
She was standing beside one of the raised beds, talking with another member of staff. Her sleeves were rolled above her elbows, dirt streaked one forearm, and a leather work belt sat around her waist with several small pouches and tools attached to it.
Tiffany looked toward the road.
She recognized the Rolls and raised a hand.
Josh waved.
Harry hesitated for half a second before waving too.
Tiffany spotted him immediately.
Her eyebrows rose.
Josh pointed toward Harry and nodded.
Understanding crossed her face, followed by a broad smile. She waved directly at Harry before returning to her conversation.
Harry watched her as they passed.
"Who's Tiffany?"
"One of my teachers," Josh said.
Harry looked back at him. "You have teachers here too?"
"Yeah."
"I thought you went to Hogwarts."
"I do."
That clearly did not answer the question.
Josh smiled. "Hogwarts isn't the only place you can learn magic."
Harry's attention sharpened.
"You can go to another school?"
"Sure. There are magical schools all over the world."
"I meant while you're at Hogwarts."
"Oh. Definitely."
Jack nodded from the front. "Hogwarts provides a general magical education. It isn't intended to teach every branch of magic to professional standards."
Harry looked between them. "What's professional standards?"
Josh thought about how to phrase that.
"You know how going to school doesn't make somebody a doctor?"
Harry nodded.
"Same basic idea. Hogwarts teaches you the foundation. If you want to become really specialized afterward, you keep studying."
"Like university?"
"Closer to an apprenticeship in a lot of cases," Jack said. "Although magical education uses several different systems."
Harry looked back toward the clearing.
"What's Tiffany learning?"
"Potions right now," Josh said. "She's working toward a Mastery."
"What's a Mastery?"
"The magical equivalent of proving you know a subject well enough that other experts recognize you as one of them," Josh said. "More or less."
Jack nodded. "The requirements vary by discipline. Some are academic. Some require an apprenticeship. Others demand practical examinations, published research, demonstrated work, or combinations of all of them."
Harry absorbed that.
"So Tiffany wants to be a Potions Master."
"Yep."
"But you said she taught you."
"She already knew plenty before she started the Mastery."
Harry thought about that for a moment.
Then his eyes narrowed toward the disappearing clearing.
"What was that thing on her belt?"
Josh glanced back.
He hadn't paid much attention to it at first.
Then he caught the shape riding against Tiffany's right hip beneath the edge of her work vest.
A holster.
Not for a wand.
Josh smiled slightly.
"That is a longer story."
Harry immediately looked interested. "What is it?"
"A gun holster."
Harry's eyes widened.
Jack glanced toward the mirror.
"Empty at present," he added.
Harry looked back through the rear window as though this information had somehow made Tiffany visible again.
"Why does she have a gun holster?"
"America," Josh said.
Harry looked at him.
Josh nodded solemnly. "It does things to people."
Jack's mouth twitched, but he continued before Josh could elaborate.
"Tiffany spent several years training in the United States. House Myrddin arranged it after she finished Hogwarts."
"Training for what?"
"War Casting," Jack said. "Battle magic. Defensive combat. Battlefield medicine and magical triage. Several related disciplines."
Harry frowned slightly.
"Why would she need to learn war magic?"
That question took some of the humor out of the car.
Jack was quiet for a moment before answering.
"Because Britain has endured two major magical wars within living memory."
Harry listened.
"The first spread across much of Europe. The second happened largely here. In both cases, a great many people discovered too late that being able to perform magic and being prepared to protect yourself with it are not the same thing."
Harry glanced toward Josh.
Josh didn't interrupt.
Jack continued.
"After the last war began, several old families changed how they trained their people. House Myrddin was already inclined in that direction. The family has always maintained that anyone working directly for the House should have the opportunity to learn how to defend themselves."
"Everyone?"
"To an appropriate level," Jack said. "Not everyone needs a combat Mastery. The objective isn't to turn gardeners and researchers into soldiers."
Harry looked outside again.
"Then why Tiffany?"
"Because she wanted more," Josh said.
Harry turned toward him.
"And because she was good at it. Really good."
Jack nodded. "America has some of the finest instructors in several combat-related Masteries. Britain once had a much stronger tradition of advanced defensive magic and competitive dueling, but both suffered badly during the last war. Masters died. Others retired. Some left the country."
"So she went to America."
"She did."
Josh looked back toward where Tiffany had disappeared.
"And apparently came back with opinions about firearms."
Harry looked toward the empty road behind them.
"Does she carry one?"
"Not around the estate," Josh said. "Wouldn't make much sense."
"Why?"
Josh gestured toward the window.
"Because she's surrounded by witches and wizards, magical security, and enough wards to make getting attacked here somebody else's really terrible life choice. Plus, Britain gets weird about guns."
Jack gave a small nod. "There are circumstances where mundane weapons are useful. There are others where they are an unnecessary complication."
Harry accepted that more readily than Josh expected.
"What does battlefield medicine mean?"
"Treating people while everything is still going wrong," Josh said.
"And triage?"
"Deciding who needs help first when you can't help everyone at once."
Harry's expression changed.
"That's horrible."
"It can be," Jack said. "Which is why people train for it before they're ever forced to make those decisions."
For several seconds, only the engine and the rush of air through Harry's open window filled the car.
Then Harry looked outside again.
"Does everybody who works here have to do that?"
"No," Jack said. "House Myrddin expects its staff to have appropriate defensive training. What that means depends heavily on their work."
He gestured toward the forest.
"Some people here work with dangerous potion ingredients. Others handle cursed objects, experimental magic, or creatures capable of seriously injuring someone who makes a mistake. The House also maintains and assists with several protected magical habitats beyond the estate."
Harry perked up again.
"What kind of creatures?"
Jack glanced at him through the mirror.
"How dangerous would you like the answer to be?"
Harry thought about it.
"Very."
Josh smiled.
There was the Gryffindor candidate.
Jack considered his answer.
"House Myrddin does not currently raise dragons."
Harry's mouth opened.
Josh knew exactly where this was going.
"There are dragons?"
"Yes."
"Here?"
"Not here," Jack said. "But House Myrddin assists with land and protected regions bordering several dangerous creature habitats. In Scotland, that includes territory associated with Hebridean Blacks."
Harry stared.
"What's a Hebridean Black?"
"A dragon," Josh said.
Harry's eyes got even wider.
"A large one," Jack added. "Native to the Hebrides. Dark-scaled, aggressive when threatened, and not something anyone approaches without considerable training."
Harry was silent for perhaps two seconds.
"How large?"
And that was it.
The questions started again.
Josh leaned back into the leather seat while Jack explained that magical creatures were classified by the Ministry according to the difficulty and danger involved in dealing with them. Harry immediately wanted to know the classifications, what lived in Britain, what lived on Myrddin land, whether dragons could actually breathe fire, whether anyone had ever ridden one, and whether the forest contained anything more dangerous than a dragon.
Josh listened with a grin as Jack tried to answer without giving Harry the impression that wandering alone into the woods looking for monsters was a reasonable afternoon activity.
This was better.
Harry wasn't sitting quietly waiting for someone to tell him what he was allowed to know.
He was asking.
About everything.
And every answer only seemed to produce three more questions.
Josh's eyes shifted toward the small icon resting unobtrusively at the edge of his vision.
STREAM: OFF
He'd turned it off for a reason.
Harry had needed privacy. Sirius had needed privacy. Josh himself had needed a little time where his life wasn't being watched by ten people scattered across realities.
But now Harry was halfway out an open window asking Jack whether Bowtruckles could be trained to guard a bedroom, and they were driving through an ancient magical forest on their way to buy the kid his first proper set of clothes.
Josh stared at the icon for another second.
Okay.
Maybe this was worth sharing.
.....
[STREAM: ONLINE]
For a few seconds, nothing changed.
Harry was still leaning toward the open window, firing questions at Jack almost as quickly as Jack could answer them. Josh settled back into the seat and let the Stream take in the same thing he had been watching for the last several minutes.
Then the first message appeared.
BillionairePlayboy: Well, that's a Rolls-Royce.
Josh looked at the message.
Of course.
Good morning to you too.
BillionairePlayboy: Priorities.
AncientLibrarian: I would have thought the enormous magical forest was the priority.
BillionairePlayboy: Forests are naturally occurring. That interior isn't.
Josh smiled and looked across the seat.
Harry was still wearing the same oversized hand-me-downs he'd left Privet Drive in. His shirt hung loose around his shoulders, his pants were bunched where he'd belted them into submission, and the battered shoes he'd called his good pair were planted against the floor as he leaned toward the window.
The contrast between Harry and the car wasn't subtle.
Apparently Tony noticed it too.
There was a pause before his next message.
BillionairePlayboy: Those are his clothes?
For now.
Nothing smart followed.
Josh appreciated that.
Then another name appeared.
LawLord: That's really me.
Josh's eyes settled on the message.
He looked at Harry.
Ten years old. Messy black hair. Round glasses held together with tape. Skinny enough that Dudley's clothes looked even more ridiculous on him.
And currently more interested in everything outside the car than anything else in the world.
Yeah.
Several seconds passed.
LawLord: I really was tiny.
Josh had to bite the inside of his cheek.
You're ten.
LawLord: I remain capable of observation.
Congratulations.
Harry dropped back into his seat long enough to think of another question, then immediately leaned forward again.
Josh watched him for a moment before another message appeared.
LawLord: And Sirius?
His smile faded slightly.
He didn't need clarification.
Free.
Nothing appeared for several seconds.
Then:
LawLord: Good.
That was it.
Josh let it be.
BillionairePlayboy: Context?
Harry's godfather. He spent about ten years in prison for something he didn't do. Never even got a trial.
There was another pause.
AncientLibrarian: And you said he's free now?
As of yesterday.
BillionairePlayboy: I have questions about your government.
Get in line.
LawLord: How is he?
Josh considered that.
Better than he was. He's got people around him. He's eating. Sleeping. He's not in a cell anymore.
It had only been a day. Anything beyond that was going to take time.
LawLord: Good.
Another message appeared a few moments later.
LawLord: I'd like to meet him.
Josh stared at that one longer.
There were several layers packed into six words that he wasn't touching while sitting beside ten-year-old Harry.
Still...
Yeah.
He looked out through Harry's open window at the passing trees.
Maybe someday.
A soft chime sounded inside his head.
A new icon appeared beneath the Stream controls.
[OPTIONAL OUTER QUEST AVAILABLE]
Josh frowned at it.
Seriously? Now?
[SYSTEM:]Optional remains an accurately descriptive word.
Then it can optionally wait.
He pushed the notification aside.
Whatever cosmic nonsense had just landed in his lap wasn't going anywhere. Harry, on the other hand, was still discovering an entire world he'd barely known existed three days ago.
The Stream stayed open.
That turned out to be a good decision.
Harry didn't stop.
Every answer became another question. Which creatures were native to Britain? Which ones migrated? Did magical animals avoid normal people? Could a Muggle accidentally find a dragon? Why did some creatures need protected habitats if they had magic? Were there magical fish?
Jack handled most of them.
Josh filled in what he knew.
Chat occasionally supplied commentary that Josh mostly ignored.
Eventually Harry settled back against the seat.
Not because he'd run out of questions. Josh was pretty sure that was physically impossible.
He was thinking.
Harry looked through the window at another group of estate workers moving between the trees. A wagon followed them along a narrow side path, loaded with wooden crates. Farther back, one of the cultivated groves disappeared behind a low stone wall.
Then Harry looked at Josh.
"How big is your family?"
Josh blinked. "What?"
"Your family."
"That's usually what 'your family' means."
Harry rolled his eyes.
Progress.
"I mean all of it."
Josh glanced toward the front.
Harry continued, "You said House Myrddin owns the forest, and Jack was telling me about all the people who work here. Tiffany's been here longer than you have, and there were all those people at the Manor..."
He gestured toward everything outside.
"How many Myrddins are there?"
Josh opened his mouth.
Jack beat him to it.
"Here in Britain, or around the world?"
Harry stared at the back of Jack's head.
Josh slowly turned toward him too.
Chat reacted considerably faster.
BillionairePlayboy: Oh no.
AncientLibrarian: That significantly changes the scale of the question.
LawLord: I was wondering about that.
Josh frowned at the messages.
Why is everybody reacting like he just said something ominous?
BillionairePlayboy: Because "which part of the planet?" is not how people describe a small family.
Harry leaned forward between the seats.
"Around the world."
Jack considered it. "If we're speaking strictly of close blood relatives, the number is manageable. Once you start including the larger family, marriages and related family lines, considerably more."
Josh nodded. "Dad had four brothers and two sisters. One of his sisters died when she was a baby."
Harry's expression softened.
"Only two of his brothers carried the Myrddin name," Josh continued. "So even on Dad's side, not everybody related to us is named Myrddin."
"And your mum?"
"Mom has one older brother. He's not a Myrddin. Americans acknowledge biology and "mundane science, so even when people with the same last name get married, they aren't actually related to each other. He is a Bagshot."
"So, not a Myrddin?"
"Nope. Mom's side."
Jack added, "Which is why counting surnames alone isn't particularly useful with a family this old."
Harry nodded slowly. "And you have two sisters."
"Yep."
"How many cousins?"
"Seven that I know of."
Harry stared at him.
"What?"
"You said that like there might be more."
Josh considered it.
"With this family, I've learned not to make assumptions."
Jack's mouth twitched.
Josh pointed toward the mirror. "Don't."
"I said nothing."
"You're thinking loudly."
Harry laughed.
"Most of my immediate family's back home in the States," Josh continued. "Mom, Dad, my sisters, my grandparents. Home's Alabama. The Manor is the old family seat, and I stay there when I'm not at Hogwarts, but that doesn't make me British. I've only lived over here since '88"
Harry looked outside again. "So your family has a lot in America too?"
Jack answered.
"Quite a lot."
Something about the way he said it made Josh look toward the front.
Harry heard it too.
"What kind of things?"
"Land, businesses, investments and research facilities. The mundane holdings are spread across several countries."
"Mundane?"
"Non-magical," Josh said.
"Oh."
Jack continued. "Agriculture, forestry, shipping and property. The family also maintains petroleum interests in Saudi Arabia and mineral interests in several parts of Africa."
Josh nodded along.
Then Jack added, "Including diamond mines."
Josh's head turned.
"Mines?"
Jack glanced into the mirror.
"Yes."
"Plural?"
"Yes."
"Huh."
Harry looked at Josh. "You didn't know?"
"I knew we had mining interests."
"Your family owns diamond mines."
"Apparently."
BillionairePlayboy: Apparently?
I'm thirteen. I don't monitor my family's apparently insane levels of wealth.
BillionairePlayboy: I did.
Of course you fucking did.
AncientLibrarian: That may say more about you than him, Tony.
BillionairePlayboy: Nobody asked you, Daniel.
Jack continued.
"Your father's influence has shifted a considerable amount of family investment toward electronics and computing over the last decade, particularly manufacturing and development in Taiwan."
That part was also news to Josh.
"Dad's been pushing computers for years, but he's only a computer programmer..."
"Rather aggressively," Jack agreed. "But he's a deciding voice for the company."
Harry looked at Josh. "Why?"
"Because Dad thinks they're the future."
Jack gave him a look through the mirror.
"What?"
"That may be the most abbreviated explanation of your father's position I've ever heard."
"It's accurate."
"Technically."
Harry looked between them. "What does he think they'll do?"
Josh leaned back.
"A lot."
"That's not an answer."
"It is in Alabama."
Harry pointed at him. "You used that already."
"Damn."
Jack rescued him.
"Ivan believes personal computers will become commonplace rather than remaining primarily business and specialist machines. He expects communications technology to develop alongside them, and believes the companies controlling the underlying hardware and infrastructure will become enormously important. So MAMTech works to do just that."
Harry nodded.
Then frowned.
"Wait. MAMTech? I've heard of them."
Josh turned toward him.
"You have?"
"Yeah. I've seen adverts. Uncle Vernon complained about them before."
That immediately made sense.
"What'd he complain about?"
Harry shrugged. "Computers. Foreign companies. British jobs. He complains about lots of things."
"Fair."
Jack smiled faintly.
"Myrddin Applied Machines and Technology. MAMTech. It's still a relatively young company, but it consolidates a significant portion of the family's newer mundane technology interests."
Harry repeated the name under his breath.
"Myrddin Applied Machines and Technology."
Then he looked at Josh.
"Your name's on it."
"Apparently we're not subtle."
"Nope," Jack said popping the p on the end.
Josh looked toward the mirror.
Jack remained perfectly straight-faced.
Fair enough.
"MAMTech is primarily focused on computing, electronics, communications and materials development at present," Jack continued. "There is also considerable investment in cleaner methods of energy generation and storage."
Chat immediately moved.
BillionairePlayboy: Energy generation and storage?
You're already trying to figure out what Dad knows that 1991 doesn't.
BillionairePlayboy: Obviously.
He's a computer nerd with more money and foresight than I ever knew apparently.
BillionairePlayboy: That description is uncomfortably familiar.
Josh smiled.
Harry was still trying to fit the scale into something he understood.
Jack apparently decided to help.
"You know the Iron Man comics made by Marvel?"
Harry nodded immediately. "Yeah."
"Think Stark Industries, but bigger."
Chat stopped.
Josh's eyebrows rose.
Jack continued, completely unaware of what he'd just done.
"Not WayneTech from Batman in DC Comics big, but bigger than Stark Industries easily. The major difference is that MAMTech isn't primarily interested in weapons. Computers, communications, materials and cleaner energy are the priorities."
There was beautiful silence inside Josh's head.
Then:
BillionairePlayboy: Excuse me?
A notification immediately appeared beneath Tony's message.
[SYSTEM OFFER]
Relevant Cultural Reference Identified
Acquire the specific Marvel Comics issue currently serving as Jack Skeeter's point of comparison?
Cost: 0 Points
Josh stared at it.
His mouth slowly curled upward.
You're doing this because it's funny.
[SYSTEM:]Cross-cultural educational opportunities should be encouraged.
BillionairePlayboy: What are you talking about?
Josh selected YES.
[ITEM ACQUIRED]
A comic appeared in his inventory.
Josh didn't even bother opening it.
[TRANSFER ITEM TO: BillionairePlayboy?]
Absolutely.
The item vanished.
Three seconds passed.
BillionairePlayboy: What the hell is this?
Reference material.
BillionairePlayboy: You sent me a comic book.
The comic book.
Another pause.
BillionairePlayboy: This is actually the issue he's using for comparison?
Yep.
Silence.
Josh waited.
BillionairePlayboy: Oh, come on.
Josh's shoulders started shaking.
Harry looked over. "What?"
"Nothing."
BillionairePlayboy: THAT IS NOT HOW TRANSISTORS WORK.
Josh turned toward the window.
It's 1991.
BillionairePlayboy: I KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS THERE.
LawLord: Apparently Stark Industries isn't doing very well.
BillionairePlayboy: You don't get to participate in this.
LawLord: I believe I just did.
Josh lost the fight and laughed.
Harry stared at him.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Fantastic."
"You're laughing at nothing."
"I remembered something."
Harry narrowed his eyes.
Josh looked innocent.
It didn't work.
Eventually Harry gave up and returned his attention to the window.
For the next minute or two, the forest rolled past while Tony continued making increasingly offended observations about the comic Josh had dumped into his lap.
Then Harry went quiet.
Thinking again.
Josh was beginning to recognize that as dangerous.
"The oil and diamonds and MAMTech..."
"Yeah?"
"That's all the normal stuff."
Josh frowned. "Normal?"
"The stuff without magic."
"Oh. Yeah. Mundane. Normal gives the wrong impression."
Harry thought about that.
Then turned toward him.
"So what's the magical side?"
Josh opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He looked toward Jack.
Jack looked back through the mirror.
Josh frowned.
"Jack."
"Yes, sir?"
"What's the magical side?"
Jack's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Josh saw it.
"Oh, don't do that."
"Do what?"
"That little smile."
"I'm not smiling."
"You're absolutely smiling."
Harry looked between them, already grinning.
BillionairePlayboy: Wait.
Josh's eyes moved toward Chat.
BillionairePlayboy: We just spent all that time discussing the non-magical holdings?
Apparently.
LawLord: I believe Harry asked the more interesting question.
Josh slowly settled deeper into the leather seat.
Yeah.
He looked toward Jack.
"All right."
Jack's smile finally escaped.
Josh pointed at him.
"Hit me."