Professor Potter

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Harry, Ginny and James were sitting at the kitchen table having Saturday morning breakfast. James was doing a commendable job of trying to feed himself and creating only a marginal mess on his high chair. Snuffles was making quick work of anything that hit the floor and therefore containing the overall damage. It was the first weekend in December and Harry was enjoying the relative warmth of the south of England as opposed to the harsh weather that had settled on the Highlands. It didn't look like it was going to be as bad as two years earlier but even a normal winter was not to be scoffed at. Harry was finishing up his second plate when Abagail practically skipped into the room.

"Good morning, family mine. How are we all doing this morning?" she said in her barely there voice.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Ginny said as Abagail came up and gave both she and James quick kisses.

Harry got a hug around the shoulders to go with his kiss on the cheek and he smiled as he watched her drop down into a chair. He tilted his head as he looked at her and said,

"Someone seems to be in a particularly good mood this morning," Harry said.

"Well, I have some pretty good reasons to be in a good mood. My second book has gone to print and I just recently received my first royalties for the Magical Creatures book. It's not a fortune but surely nothing to sneeze at. I started my own account at Gringotts," she said with a grin.

"That's great, sweetheart," Ginny said. "That's very responsible of you."

"I agree, I'm very proud of you, young lady," Harry said in his most serious voice, but spoiling the effect with a wink. "And is your new found financial success your only reason for being so happy?"

"No, I'd say it's just the result of the general goodness of my life right now," she said.

"General goodness?" Harry asked, his eyebrows up.

"Yup. My own term, just made it up," she said with an impish grin.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks but didn't press the matter. They had both observed a definite upswing in the girl's mood since Halloween. But such matters were going to have to wait. Christmas was barely three weeks away and that would be followed by the arrival of the ten teacher candidates from the new, as yet unnamed school for magic in Bulgaria. Based on that number it appeared they were still two short. Harry wondered if it was from lack of candidates or a very careful screening committee. Considering what occurred at Durmstrang, he couldn't really blame them.

Speaking of Durmstrang, that afternoon Harry received a visit from Milligan. Kreacher showed him to the library after announcing his arrival. Harry looked up from his reading, a new tract taken from the later part of the Tome, and said,

"Good afternoon, Milligan. What's new in the world?"

"Some interesting bits and pieces coming out of the east from our friends the animagi. It seems they took it upon themselves to keep an eye on Durmstrang after your visit. It's gotten very quiet there. After your explosive exit and then the visit from that big green dragon, most of the remaining students bolted. Not more than a handful left now. There's still the creatures, the giant is pretty active around the place, but not much of anything else. The wizards tend to stay in their living quarters or workrooms and rarely venture outside the building. It appears you managed to capture their attention."

"I'm glad the trip was worthwhile. I just hope they stay that way. I wish there was something I could do for the three anamagi that helped us out, even if it's just to say thank you," Harry said and then he stopped and looked at Milligan. "Wait a minute. How did you know about the dragon? Ron and his team left, who weren't supposed to be there by the way, before it showed up."