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Category: Time-Turner Challenge (2014-2), Time Turner Challenge (2014-2) Characters:None Genres: General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 33 Summary: **Winner of Best Overall and Most Creative for the Time-turner Challenge (2014-2)** In January of 1998, Harry goes back in time ninety-seven years to learn about his ancestors. Hitcount: Story Total: 18643; Chapter Total: 2913 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: Harry gets to spend some quality time with his family during a dinner he will long remember. Thanks to all of my readers who have shared their thoughts with me. |
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1745 hours, Monday, 13 May 1901 When the last ewe ran up the bank, bleating her fury that her dignity had been besmirched, Mr Potter called to his men, “That’s it for today. Good work, men. Seth, Peter and Robert, I’ll see you tomorrow morning at dawn. Harry, Cameron, we have two last tasks before we can call it a night. I want you two to go up to the north pasture and bring down the rest of the sheep. Take Rex, Franny and Shep with you. Cameron, you show Harry those whistles I taught you to start the dogs working the sheep. Bring them down to the holding pen and lock them in. They’ll be all right over night, I think.” “What will you be doing, sir?” Harry asked. “The clean ewes are spending the night in the sheep shed, Harry. Some of them aren’t quite dry and I don’t want them to catch cold. I’ll take the rest of the dogs and drive the clean ewes to the shed while you’re bringing down the dirty ones,” Mr Potter said. Grateful that his great-uncle had answered his question, Harry trudged off after Cameron, deep in thought. The revelation that his employer wasn’t his great-grandfather, but rather his great-uncle, made much more sense than his original guess that his great-grandfather was a Squib. Harry was pleasantly satisfied with the discovery, despite the fact that he wouldn’t get to meet his great-uncle’s brother, Cameron’s father. He was a bit saddened at Herry and Amelia’s misfortune regarding children, but somewhere, sometime he had read that childhood mortality rates were much higher in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries than they were at the end of the latter. A multitude of reasons for why his ancestors chose not to try for more children raced through Harry’s head and by the time he and Cameron reached the north pasture, Harry was ready to put the subject to rest. “Harry, shepherds work their dogs using a variety of whistles. Can you whistle?” Cameron asked. “Not very well,” Harry answered, remembering the three days he’d spent in his cupboard after he’d out-whistled Dudley when they were six. “Show me anyway. Who knows what’ll come out?” Cameron commanded the dogs to sit and stay, then said, “We command the dogs using both voice commands and whistles. If you absolutely can’t whistle, there are devices you can buy that produce a good whistle, but they’re hard to use. Let’s see how you do. There are five basic commands. ‘Away’ or ‘away to me’ tells the dog to go to the right.” Harry mumbled the commands, committing them to memory, while watching Rex, Franny and Shep. The dogs’ ears wiggled and their expressions were comical as they tried to understand what Harry was saying. Cameron continued, “When you want the dog to go left, call ‘come by.’ ‘Walk on’ means forward, ‘lie down’ is the stop command, and ‘that’ll do’ recalls the dog to the shepherd. Think you can remember those?” Harry nodded, still muttering. “Now then, the whistle for going right is this,” Cameron said, then demonstrated. The whistle sounded easy enough, so Harry puckered up and gave it a go. Nothing but air came out. Embarrassed, he tried again. More air. He finally gave up after a couple of minutes when he became so light-headed he needed to bend over. “Come on, Harry, Rex wants at the sheep. You can work with him to get that small group back to the larger one. I’ll work with the other dogs,” Cameron said, pointing. “Oh, you don’t have to use a big voice. Rex will hear you if you talk normally.” Smiling nervously, Harry first made friends with Rex and then commanded him to start moving the sheep. It was slow going because Harry became mixed up with his commands a bit, but eventually, he and Rex managed to merge the small group of sheep with the larger one. Harry was thrilled with his and Rex’s accomplishment, he having learned more from the dog than he thought possible. “We did it!” Harry cried when he recalled Rex to his side. Cameron, who was on the other side of the pasture, hailed Harry over and after congratulating him, showed him another group to bring in. Forty-five minutes and six groups later, the main flock began moving slowly towards the burn and the sheep washing station holding pen. When the last ewe’s tail crossed between the gate posts, Cameron closed and locked the gate and turned to Harry. “Good job, Harry. You’re a natural, I think. Rex really likes you,” Harry fondled the dog’s ears, causing Rex to wag his tail. “I like him too. What happens now?” “Dinner and then early bed. We’re up before the sun feeding and checking the sheep.” “Sounds good,” Harry commented, and followed Cameron back to the house. “Get changed and join us for dinner. There’s a pitcher of water next to each of your basins if you’d like to have a wash,” Mrs Potter told Harry and Cameron as the boys walked into the kitchen. “Dinner is in fifteen minutes.” Harry moved toward the barn as Cameron headed for the stairs and began peeling off his sweaty clothes as soon as the door shut. He was exhausted; five hundred sheep were a lot of sheep to move from one place to another, especially since many of them were rather stubborn about going where Harry had wanted them to. At the basin, he poured a little water from the pitcher and splashed it over his face and back, letting the droplets sluice down his body. The water was cold and felt good on his hot skin. When he was dry, he changed clothes and went back into the kitchen. “What can I do to help, Mrs Potter?” he asked. She looked at him in surprise. “Oh, well, lay the table for four, please. Everything is in the bureau,” she said, sounding flustered. Harry smiled shyly at her and went to find the utensils, cups and plates. As he was finishing laying the table, Cameron and Mr Potter came in. “Ah, Harry, you’re not required to help in the kitchen,” Mr Potter said. Without looking up from his task, Harry answered, “I wanted to.” Mr Potter and Cameron exchanged a glance and took their seats. Harry returned to where his great-aunt was standing and asked, “What else needs to go on the table?” Mrs Potter handed him a bowl of runner beans and another of mashed potatoes and followed him with a loaf of bread and a platter of roast chicken. Every dish smelled heavenly and Harry wanted to fill his plate immediately, but resisted as his family bowed their heads and his great-uncle said grace. “Tell us about your family, Harry,” Mrs Potter said, once everyone had been served. Elaborating on what he’d told Cameron that afternoon, Harry talked about his parents and the Dursleys, leaving out the very important fact that he had spent so many years with his aunt’s family due to being orphaned at such a young age and pretending his mum and dad were still alive. In turn, the family shared that this was Cameron’s first visit to the farm in several years because of how long it took to travel from one place to another by horse or cart and how expensive the journey by train was… and in the end, one still needed a horse or cart to get from the train station to the farm! That caused several chuckles and Harry glanced at Cameron, wondering if he’d learned to Apparate and was keeping that fact about himself hidden. “Were you surprised at how he had changed since the last time you saw him?” Harry asked his great-aunt. She blushed a bit and patted Cameron’s hand while saying, “Of course I was. I think I was still expecting the little boy with messy black hair, ripped trousers and muddy boots and not the polished young man you’ve become, dear.” Cameron turned a delicate shade of pink at his aunt’s praise, but didn’t say anything. Harry looked at his great-uncle. “What’s it like having your nephew here working with you?” he asked. The question seemed to catch Herry off guard and he took a moment to answer. “A blessing,” he answered simply. “Why, Uncle?” The question Harry had wanted to ask was voiced by his grandfather. “Because I get to teach you about sheep farming, show you the things I would have taught my son.” He glanced at his wife, whose face had taken on a melancholy expression. “If you know the value of something, you’re not likely to throw it away.” There was silence around the table as everyone reflected on what Herry had said. Harry realized that his great-uncle was worried that Cameron would sell the farm after he was gone or could no longer run it and that it was important to him that someone should remember how Herry and Amelia had contributed to the world. Eventually, someone cleared their throat and the conversation turned to events in the district, how the weather had affected lambing this year and then the news that Robert Scott was going to explore Antarctica. Scott was getting there in the newly-launched RSS Discovery, a beautiful wooden steam barque with three masts that was powered by both coal and the wind. After a time, the conversation turned to the day’s events. “It would be so nice if our fleece was purchased by one of the big wool mills,” Mrs Potter said wistfully. “I’d love to see it become the yarn for tweed coats or suiting instead of horse blankets.” “Now, my dear, you know that once I’ve sold the fleece I have no way of tracking what becomes of it. I’m just happy that prices seem to be a bit higher this year than last,” Mr Potter chided his wife affectionately. Then slapping his knees, he announced, “I don’t know about you boys, but I’m off to bed.” Cameron quickly stood and followed his uncle, but Harry stayed in his chair. “Would you like some help with the dishes, ma’am?” he asked. For the second time that evening, his offer of help seemed to surprise her. “That would be very welcome,” she finally murmured and began clearing the table. “I noticed you have planted an herb garden,” Harry said conversationally as he picked up the plates and carried them to the sink. “What have you planted?” “Oh, the usual. Healing and cooking herbs such as peppermint and wintergreen, rosemary, St John’s Wart, lavender, parsley, dill, chives, basil, lemon balm, thyme, and yarrow. I don’t have a specific plot for my herbs because it’s easier to place them amongst my cabbages and carrots and beans. Planting them with my food crops helps keep the weeds down. I know some plants planted with other plants help the two grow; they seem to benefit from each other’s existence,” she answered. Harry cocked his head, thinking about what he’d learned from Professor Sprout about mutual plantings. “You’re absolutely right about some plants helping others to grow. I’ve read that just like people some plants help other plants be resistant to disease or insects and that scientists are trying to prove this.” “That’s good to know, Harry. It’s nice to have my own observations confirmed,” Mrs Potter said as she finished washing the last plate. Harry took it from her, wiped it dry and set it back in the bureau. “If we get finished early enough, could you show me your garden?” Harry asked hopefully. “I’m interested in horticulture and seeing what is grown in various parts of the country.” “I don’t think my garden is much different from any of the other kailyairds you’ll find in this district, but if you want to see it, I’ll show it to you.” She paused and then added, “I’ll bid you good-night now, Harry. Don’t stay up too late.” Harry watched her hang her apron on a hook next to the sink. “Good night, Mrs Potter. I look forward to seeing your garden tomorrow,” he said. She smiled at him and left the kitchen. Harry stood for a few seconds longer, watching his great-aunt ascend the stairs, and then lit a lantern and took it with him into the barn. As he made his way to his straw mattress, he passed two sturdy-looking horses, four cows and the six dogs he and the men had worked with that day. Only Rex, the beautiful black and white border collie, raised his head and looked directly at him. To Harry, the dog seemed to be smiling at him. A few minutes later, Harry had finished washing his hands, neck and face and had stripped down to his shirt and pants to sleep in. It was rather warm in the barn and even though it was quiet, it was still somewhat noisy with the rustling of mice in the hay overhead and the breathing of the animals. Harry closed his eyes feeling quite contented and was nearly asleep when he felt the wet nose of a dog nuzzle his hand. He opened one eye and discovered Rex standing next to him. Smiling, Harry scooted over a bit and patted the mattress. That was all the invitation Rex needed. The big dog hopped up next to Harry and lay down with his head resting between his paws, his eyes watching Harry. “Good night, Rex,” Harry said. The dog closed his eyes and for the first time in a long time, Harry fell asleep feeling safe and contented. |
| Reviews 33 |
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