The Third Time is a Charm

Posted: 8 February 2010

A/N I am sorry I have not updated in a while. I had pneumonia and then was trying to catch up at work so came home exhausted while trying to recover and get my strength back. Hopefully the updates will start to be in regular intervals as before. Thank you for all your well wishes and to those who emailed me to see if I was alright. I appreciate that so much. Now on with our story…

Chapter 69: Honeymoon

Severus and Harry had Kreacher pack their overnight bags for a few days and went to talk to Becca. They wanted to arrange a meeting with Dumbledore as soon as they got back. Actually, Severus wanted to arrange a meeting and leave Harry home. However, they hadn’t had that discussion yet.

They found Becca and Sal in the sitting room. Sal was reading a book and Becca was working on some papers for the company.

Severus spoke, “Becca, I would like you to send a note to Dumbledore, tell him that someone representing Prince Conglomerate will meet with him a week from today at three in the afternoon. Sign it Corporate Office of Prince Conglomerate. No personal signatures, understand?” He then turned to Sal, “I trust that will be soon enough? It will give Harry and me time to catch up when we get back and make plans on what we want to say to the old man.”

Sal nodded his head and said, “That should be fine. Who do you want to go with us? Is Harry going too?”

Harry had just walked into the room and heard the last thing Sal had asked. “Of course I am going. I want to check on a few things while I am there.”

Salazar looked at Harry and then Severus. He had a feeling this was not the last they would hear of the matter. For some reason, Severus really didn’t want the younger man to go on this mission.

“Check and make sure Regulus and Moony are available. The old coot may let down his guard if he feels he is dealing with younger, more inexperienced people. I am sure he will be alarmed when we go in there with four or five people as it is. He works best on a one on one basis; makes it easier to manipulate them. He will think if one person comes, he can pull a trick or two. Also, have Seamstress Sissy make you a basilisk skin cloak while we are gone.”

Salazar nodded in acknowledgement of Severus’ instructions. “Do you want to tell us where you are going? What if we have to get in touch with you?” The founder smirked at him with a twinkle and a knowing smile.

“It’s a surprise for Harry, but Sentry Dobby knows how to reach us.” Severus paused and then added. “Find out how many of the Death Eaters were at our wedding and lost their mark. We may need to provide them protection for them. I don’t imagine Voldemort is too thrilled about losing some of his stolen power. Be sure to contact the Malfoy’s and let them know they can have accommodations here if they need it.”

Severus changed the tone of his voice to a gentler and less business-like inflection as he addressed Becca, “Are you sure you will be alright while we're gone?”

Becca rose out of her seat to give them both a hug goodbye. “I will be fine and you two have a good trip. I will see you when you get back.”

As they left their quarters, Becca called for Kreacher. They heard her tell him he was on chaperone duty again as they stepped into the elevator. Harry looked at Severus with a laugh, “Chaperone duty?”
“Yes, evidently Sal is more traditional than we first thought. He insists on having a chaperone in the room when he and Becca are together. Of course Remus Sr. and mostly Tonks and Teddy fulfill that role when we are not there. I too, thought it was amusing when I heard about it.”

They finally reached the receiving room to portkey out of the manor. When Severus pulled the portkey out, Harry asked, “Aren’t you going to tell me where we are going?”

“No” was the simple answer as Severus activated the disc in his hand and they were whisked away. He held onto Harry tight until the gut wrenching feeling of being pulled at the navel subsided.

“Where are we?” Harry wanted to know after a few minutes of letting his stomach settle.

“The French Ministry of Magic, we have an appointment to meet the Minister.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I got dressed up then. Why are we here?”

“Remus or Moony as we are calling him now, met with the minister and his assistants on New Years Eve. The minister was invited to the wedding and was not able to make it. We are here to deliver a pensieve memory as requested. It will help establish relations with this ministry as well as the others. You never know who you may need to run to in a time of crisis.” Severus looked at Harry with all seriousness. "If we have problems with Dumbledore and the Wizengamot, we may need to live abroad while raising little Harry. This is what Becca calls contingency plans. That's how she convinced me to have so many people at the wedding."

“I thought we were going on a honeymoon.” Harry whined at the older man.

“Patience my love, we are on a honeymoon. We are in Paris, the city of love, and have a night tour scheduled this evening to see the city in lights. We are going on a boat ride down the Seine River and we have a hotel booked next to the opera house and across from Lafayette shopping center. You will love it.”

Harry smiled as they were approached by a guard.

“Bonjour Messieurs, veuillez exposer l'objet de votre visite." The guard demanded. (Hello Gentlemen, state the object of your business)

“Bonjour Messieur, Je suis Septime Sévère Prince et c'est mon mari Harry Prince, nous sommes ici pour voir le minister.” Severus replied as Harry watched on. Severus knew his pronunciation was not as flawless as he wanted it to be, but it was the best he could do having not practiced in awhile.

“Ah, you are the gentlemen from Prince Conglomerate, the ones with the werewolves cure. I am much honored to meet you. The minister is expecting you, please come this way.” The guard said.

Harry looked at Severus as they were following the guard. “I didn’t know all those language lessons from the founders would be needed so fast.”

“It is only good manners when traveling to address the local people in their own language. It lets them know you care enough to find out a little about their lives and makes for better relations.”

“And that was spoken like a true Slytherin. Impress the people around you and keep up your mask. Don’t let them know you understand everything but put them at ease by greeting them in their own language.”

Severus smirked and nodded. He would turn Harry into a Slytherin yet.

They went through the corridors and up the lift to the minister's office. Standing there waiting to greet them was who they presumed to be the minister and his wife or assistant and two children about the ages of four and six.

"Bonjour Gentlemen, I am Minister Everard, this is my wife Michelle, and our two children, Jean Jacques and Jeanne Marie. We have been expecting you. When I spoke with my cousin, the German Minister, I was so regretful that I had missed your festivities. We have been quite impressed with your success of the werewolves’ cure and some of the other things I have heard about.”

“Thank you, Minister” Severus replied. “It is good to know we are doing some good to make our world better.” He slipped his hand in the pocket of his cloak and brought forth the item he had been requested to bring. As he handed the minister a vial, he said “Here is the pensieve memory you asked for, I trust it will not be released to the public.”

“Have no fear, gentlemen. Your secrets are safe with me. I would, however, ask permission for my wife to see it, also.” The Minister said.

“As long as she can give us the same reassurance I have no objections.” Severus responded.

The minister’s wife nodded her head and said “You have my promise not to reveal anything. I too was disappointed to not be able to go to the wedding. I wanted to offer my gratitude, as my best friend in school was bitten by a werewolf a year before we graduated and I am most grateful that you were able to help her get a cure.”

Well, now they knew why the werewolves were more accepted in the French Ministry and how the word spread so fast that Remus had been busy here for several days. He had said it was phenomenal how they processed the deliveries and the people volunteered to distribute the potions. There had been medical staff and ministry workers volunteering on off days to get the cure to as many werewolves that wanted it.

“You are most welcome, Madame. We are happy to be of service.” Severus replied.

Harry had stayed quiet during this whole conversation. He knew in some cultures that the dominant partner was always to address the host first, unless the sub was addressed directly with the dom’s permission. It was strange, but the pureblood ways were prevalent in society and he didn’t want to create problems. He nodded his head in the appropriate places and let Severus do the talking.

As he looked around the room, he saw the office was decorated in mostly tables and chairs from the Renaissance period. He recognized some of the style that Severus had in his office. He looked at the two children and smiled. The little boy smiled back, but the little girl he thought was about four, turned her face into her Mother’s robes in a shy sort of way and kept turning her head to peek at him to see if he was still looking at her. He thought the child was extremely charming.

After they spent the afternoon with the minister and his family, they were escorted to a nearby wizard’s hotel where their rooms were booked. There was a spectacular view of the city. The Eiffel Tower was lit up and they could barely see the lights along the River Seine. They were booked on a tour at nine that night to see the lights of the city.

Harry was excited since he had never traveled before. The city was so beautiful and he hoped they could visit some of the museums during the day. As he and Severus sat in the small tour bus, Severus with his arm around Harry, they not only drove along the Seine, but saw the Arc de Triumph, the bus drove down Champs Elysees which was all shopping for about anything you would want to buy. Some of the fountains they drove by were actually painted in gold and lit up. They made plans to take a tour bus the next day to see more of the sights.

Harry and Severus were very tired by the time they returned to the hotel. They had always heard that the people of Paris were rude, but they did not find it that way. There were some rude people, but the majority of the people they met were helpful and friendly.

The next day, after a scrumptious continental breakfast of fruit, croissants and juice, they walked a few blocks to a bus stop that the concierge had told them about. The bus was a tour bus and when you bought the two day ticket, you could get off at the different sites and then get on the next bus to the next attraction. They rode the bus for an hour listening to a special recording with some small ear phones. The recording was in eight different languages and you selected the language you wanted to hear by pressing on the flag of your country. It gave you the history of the sites you were driving past and other information about the history of the city. When the two men had completed the round trip they started to get off the bus and look more closely at the unique places around the city.

Harry decided they had to come back because three days was not enough time to see one tenth of the city and he was enchanted with the history and museums. It would take at least four days just to see all of the Musee du Louvre. He thought it interesting that the huge structure was actually a castle that one of the kings of France decided was too small to live in, so he built another bigger castle and this structure was made into a museum.

For lunch, they stopped at one of the many vendor carts that sold crêpes. This one was located close to the river and across the street from the Tower. Harry watched as the vendor poured the batter on a huge flat hot plate then added whatever filling was ordered. They even had chocolate which is what he chose.

Severus, who had gotten a cheese filled crêpe, said in a snarky tone, “You will not be allowed to do that often. You have to think about the nutritional value of your food. I want a healthy baby, not one addicted to sweets. But since we are on our honeymoon, I will let it go.” Severus smiled at his husband to take the sting out of his tone and then put his arm around Harry as they made their way to the line for the Eiffel Tower.

“This coming from the man who lets Becca eat those pickles with chocolate sauce? I hope you will be a little more indulgent.” Harry snarked back.

“I have tried to get her to stop, but she does eat very nutritionally first and does take her vitamins every day. I have been keeping tabs on her too, so don’t feel all alone.”

They spend their last evening having dinner with Minister Everard and talking about some of their business strategies. They spoke about how the magical creatures were working together to make the magical world stronger and better. The two men also discussed some of the medical breakthroughs that Doc had come up with for magical core regeneration and core fatigue. It was a nice visit, but now they needed to get back home to see how Becca was doing.

Back at Prince Manor…

Becca watched as the two newlyweds walked out the door. There was something different about Harry this morning and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She looked at Sal and asked, “Did you take a good look at Harry this morning? I feel like something is different.”

“Becca, they had a huge power surge last night, of course something is different.” Sal looked fondly at the woman but puzzled at her statement.

“No, I think there is something else going on. I just can’t put my finger on it though.” Becca said, a little lost in thought as though trying to puzzle it out.

“I am sure if there is something they want us to know, they will tell us. Don’t worry yourself about it sweetheart.” Sal then called for another elf to come to the room.

“Yes Master Slytherin, what may Assistant Millie do for you?” the little elf asked.

“We need parchment and quills so we may write a few letters.”

“Right away” the elf said as it bowed and left the room with a crack.

They worked all afternoon with the list of guests that had come the night before. Then calling on Regulus to come and tell them who the known Death Eaters were that came to the ceremony. They had to do some damage control and fast before Voldemort found out about their non-Death Eater status. Salazar still couldn’t figure out how the dark marks were removed from Malfoy and Snape. He didn’t want them to be in danger and he knew Harry and Severus were very protective of them also.

The Malfoys declined the offer, saying they already had contingency plans in case they were attacked in their home. They had Sentry Dobby make some emergency portkeys that would take them to Grimmauld Place if needed, buy Malfoy Manor had very strong wards and they could not add the wards to keep out anyone with the dark mark.

Severus Snape moved all his belongings to Prince Pharmaceuticals. They had a few accommodations there that he could stay in. He was not unhappy to leave Spinner’s End for a while.

The only other former You-Know-Who supporters that lost their marks were Parkinson and Rasmussen whose wives were members of the women’s club and had already had their marks removed. The wives were both pregnant and heard what happened to the Malfoys so decided to protect their children from a similar fate. Both of these Lords were in similar circumstances as the Malfoy’s in housing and wards. They of course didn’t have the money the Malfoy’s had, but then again who did?

When Sal and Becca finished going through the list, it was found out that a third Death Eater had been at the festivities, but his mark was only faded and not removed. It seemed that the further away from the power blast you were, the less it affected you. They also found out that other than the seven at the altar with the two participants, the power boost for the guests was fading with only the memory of how the surge made them feel. It still was awesome to have experienced it.