Harry emerged from his room only to find himself being tackled and restrained by a pair of powerful arms. He wasn't in any danger though, Hermione's laughter rang inside his head while Ron was laughing so hard that he had to hold onto a wall to keep himself upright.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" That each of Millie's thanks was accompanied by a kiss to his face was the cause of Harry's discomfort, and increased Ron and Hermione's laughter.
"Mate, you should see your expression…"
At that, Hermione appeared and asked Millie for her betrothed back. Her wink at the teenage witch, along with her wide smile, let Millie know she was joking with her.
"Oh I'm just so happy my parents are here, I can't thank you enough for asking them."
"You're giving it a good try though, and you're very welcome." Harry kissed Millie on the cheek as she released him, before taking Hermione's hand and leading the four of them down to breakfast. Food should get Ron's mind off what just happened, or at least stop him chuckling while he ate.
The Abbots and Bones were sitting together, joined by Minerva, Bathsheda and Septima. Pomona was sitting with the Longbottoms and Lovegoods, being joined by Poppy, Ginny, Fred and George. Remus also decided to sit with Pomona, hoping to help giving their Institute the hard sell to Augusta.
Noticing the Bulstrodes chatting at a table with Flilius, that's where Harry led the four of them. Harry thought he was in for a repeat performance as Glenda Bulstrode gushed her thanks to Harry for inviting them, and looking after Millie. With Dan, Emma and Sirius joining them too, the conversation flowed around the table.
"We thought today should be a day spent around here, giving people a chance to relax and catch up. We will have a barbecue on the beach this evening, and we're thinking of spending tomorrow looking around Naples."
Harry decided to let Hermione say the rest, as Millie looked so excited - and about ready to 'thank' him again.
"We want you to enjoy your stay here, but we're also still working. We're looking at the possibility of inviting prospective parents and students to the Institute for a visit, some of the things we do with you may end up being repeated during that visit. We're looking to see what works, what impresses you, and what doesn't. It goes without saying Millie already has a place reserved at the Institute, if her parents agree to her attending."
There was no hesitation from Graham Bulstrode. "Anything we can do to help, you only have to ask. One glance at Millie and we can both see this is something she really wants, so of course she has our permission to attend."
It was Graham's turn to be hugged and kissed by his daughter, as Glenda shed a few happy tears. "I don't think I've ever seen our Millie happier. How could we say no to that?"
When Filius then explained about the harder exams, and all the extras - compared to Hogwarts - that the Institute provided, the only thing stopping Graham and Glenda signing the acceptance form was said forms were still to be printed.
As the late breakfast continued, They received an unexpected but welcome visitor. Bill arrived with Barchoke.
Harry and Hermione immediately rose to greet the goblin, and offered him a seat at their table. Dobby appeared with a mug seemingly filled with a beefy gravy, this had Barchoke thanking the elf before getting down to business.
"While your endeavours against certain people have had the desired results, we always knew there would be a few innocent casualties. I met with one last week and, after assuring the head of establishment they were in no danger of closing, I took the time to prepare a full report for you."
After the shock of discovering they could have been responsible for closing an orphanage, Harry passed the file to Hermione while he asked some questions. "How fast do we need to act on this?"
"I personally guaranteed them funds to keep their operation running."
Smiling at the goblin, Harry wanted to go further. "I don't just want to keep the place running, I want to help these kids. Could we bring them here for a holiday?"
.....
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