Daphne was thinking about how to break it to Leo. The task Harry had given her was finished. Leo was stronger at Occlumency than most wizards. His Legilimency was progressing quickly, there was no way to separate the two.
The Transfiguration lessons were going well, Leo continued to soak up everything magical at a rapid rate. Daphne wanted to ask Harry if someone else could carry on the lessons. She needed some time to investigate a new story for her column. At least, that was the excuse she was giving out for an extended absence. Daphne had submitted four weeks advance copy for her columns to her editor at The Daily Prophet.
Louisa entered 15 Purbeck Square by the not-so-secret side door. She knew that Leo had been invited to a family event. Leo had not given the right answer. She knew he was in his library waiting for an appointment. As she approached the main stairway a young woman came in from the entrance hall.
“Oh, you must be Leo’s next appointment. I’m Louisa, Leo’s mother. Sorry about butting in, but I need a few minutes with Leo to sort something out.”
“That’s quite OK. I’m not in a hurry today. Let me introduce myself. I’m Daphne Greengrass. Leo has told me quite a lot about you. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Louisa studied Daphne, “Leo hasn’t said anything about you, I suppose I have to get used to that. He is an important man now in the wizarding world and in his old life. Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but can you tell me what your connection is to Leo?”
“I have been tutoring Leo in magic, some of the basic skills he should have got from when he was eleven. You know that if his gifts weren’t supressed by on old family curse, he would have had a place at Hogwarts. He and I would have started there at the same time.”
Louisa shrugged, “Yes, Leo told me about that. I’ve met Harry Potter and some other magical people; they’ve all been kind to me. But I can’t help feeling caught between the muggle and magical worlds. It’s not always a comfortable place to be.”
Louisa entered the library and shouted at Leo, “What do you mean turning down that invitation. This is your cousins wedding, Leo. I want to keep the peace with some of my family even if you don’t. Explain yourself.”
“Mum! My cousins, from that family, were snobbish bullies. When I was a kid, they tried to beat me up. The girls were worse than the boys. I don’t have any happy memories of them. I don’t want to go.”
Louisa glared at Leo, “If you don’t show up, my brother’s wife will gossip and spread silly stories about you. Please do this for me and my brother. His existence is unpleasant enough without any more problems, it won’t hurt you.”
Daphne waited at the door, an interested spectator.
“I don’t have anyone to take. The invitation said, ‘and guest’.
‘Don’t use that excuse. Call them up right now and tell them you are free to come. Your motorcycle ride or whatever you’re doing will have to wait.”
Louisa turned and marched out. As she passed Daphne whispered, “Just like my family.”
Leo called out, “No whispering you two! Daphne, please come in.”
Once Louisa was safely away Leo mumbled. “She’s given me an idea. I’ll turn up on my motorcycle in full leathers.”
“It’s your funeral Leo. If it were me, I would do it for my mother. But that’s me. Now to business, I have finished the job Harry gave me, which was to get your Occlumency to the stage where you can be let out on your own. I’ve asked Harry to find someone else to help you with Transfiguration. I have another job to do for the next four weeks, at least. Research for a new article, it might turn into a book if I turn up the right answers. The answer to your next question is, no I can’t tell you what it is, and I’m working on my own.”
The wedding was a day to forget. Pimlico Security would not let Leo go without a full squad. At least there was no Rolls-Royce or Bentley. The team selected were the tallest, most obvious looking tough guys Leo had seen. His cousins kept sneaking nervous looks at him and stayed away. His uncle chatted with him until he was moved on by his aunt. The photographer was a pest. At last Louisa gave him the sign that he could leave.
The gossip pages on the next day contained the first ever photographs of the new Viscount Pimlico at a wedding reception. Breathless accounts of how he was one of the richest men in the country were sandwiched in between snatches of sickening stories about what a fine young gentleman he was before he was discovered.
That was the end of his anonymity. Louisa joined Leo for breakfast at the kitchen table in 15 Purbeck Square. “I’m sorry about the photographs Leo, I didn’t know my sister-in-law would be such a traitor. I asked her not to talk about you. After you left, she was talking to that photographer a lot.”
Leo shrugged, “It was only a matter of time before it came out. Don’t worry about it. I never got to talk to your guest. Who is he?”
“Ah! Now I have to let my secret out. His name is Graham Proud. We have been seeing each other for a few weeks, just about since we moved in here. He is a policeman, a chief inspector, uniform, you know, speeding tickets, traffic accidents, public order.”
“Is he kind, polite and considerate? You couldn’t stand it if he worked every weekend.”
“Leo, he is all of those things. He is, most importantly, not overcome by ambition for promotion. I get to see him at least once a week. He has been asking me out for months.”
“Mum, I want you to be happy living here. You know there has already been an attempt by criminals to kidnap me for ransom. Does Mister Proud know about that attempt?”
“Yes, he spotted all the security around me on the first day. He told me that it was obvious the people looking after us now were concerned about kidnapping. He also told me that he thought Roland and Robert were selected for more than their ability to serve tea properly. He thinks that they are both armed all the time, but he can’t see how it’s done. He is also intrigued by the house and all the things it can do. He says that it is way above conventional security systems.”
It was Leo’s turn to be concerned; “I’ll tell Harry about that. If Mister Proud is to become a permanent fixture around here, then he will have to have better answers to his questions. Do you think he will ask you to marry him?”
“Oh Leo, he would have asked me a year ago if I had stayed still long enough.”
“Mum, if you like him, then let him catch you. It would remove one concern of mine.”
“What’s that?”
“That you would feel lonely and isolated here. I would much rather you had someone to share your life with other than me. You know, there are big houses in Ireland, Scotland, and France that I haven’t seen yet. How do you feel about taking Mister Proud with you to try out the villa on the Côte d’Azur?
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