Chapter Two: The Garden in the Morning

Chapter Two: The Garden in the Morning

Johannes stood from his crouch beside the bed of culinary herbs he had been cleaning up. This was only his second day on the job, and he was doing a lot of very basic work on the kitchen gardens. Madam Tyree had assigned two of her house-elves to help him, but until he had finished sorting out what he wanted done, he had told them to wait until he called for them. He had originally planned to hire a witch or wizard or two to help him...there were a few gardeners whom he worked with regularly...but Madam Tyree and her sister-in-law said they preferred not to have strangers working on the grounds unless it was absolutely necessary.

Johannes wiped his hands on his heavy apron before drawing his wand from its Charmed loop and casting a spell to get rid of the dead plants and other debris he had cleared that morning. Some might have used their wands to do the clearing, but Johannes felt that he got a better sense of the plants and the soil when he did most of it by hand, and he also felt that, regardless of what the wand-wavers might claim, he could be more selective when actually getting down on his knees and weeding and grooming the beds. He found it hardly any faster using his wand, either, and he preferred expending his magic on more sophisticated tasks. Besides, it was satisfying to smell the earth and to feel it between his fingers as he did the work, just casting occasional gloving charms on his hands when he needed to protect them.

He looked over the plots he had cleared, and nodded to himself. The herb garden looked better now, and he could see its original bones, but he thought that the layout could be both more aesthetically appealing and more useful. It was early spring, and although it was too early and too cold to plant a Muggle-style herb garden, with some judiciously applied light microclimate charms, he could plant some new annuals, and with some care, he could have the house-elves help him to move the perennials around.

Johannes turned to the stone table he had Transfigured from a rock earlier that morning, and unrolled the large parchments on it. He moved around so that he could both see the current herb garden and look down at the new plan for the garden that he had carefully drawn on the topmost parchment. After he'd cleared the primary portion of the garden the day before, he had sketched the current layout of the garden, and then that night at his kitchen table, he had drafted three new variations. The one he liked best, the one that he was looking at, changed the layout of the paths and included a few new features, including some raised beds of useful flowering plants. This was the version he planned to recommend to Madam Tyree, but he wanted to do so in the context of an overall plan for the gardens, and he wanted to be able to present the plan for the gardens in conjunction with a plan for the overall grounds. First, though, he had to have a clearer picture of those grounds, and of any existing plans and maps.

The previous day, Madam Tyree had told him that in the library, there were old plans for the house and grounds that he could consult. Johannes drew out his watch and snapped it open. Almost nine. Hopefully a decent enough hour to go up to the house. He had no idea what the witches' daily habits were like, but certainly a house-elf would be able to let him into the library.

Johannes took off his long work apron, quickly cast a few charms to clean up, and slipped on his loose burnt-umber-coloured over-robe. He left his broad-brimmed hat on the table with the work apron and headed up to the house, going to the backdoor off the large kitchen pantry.

He knocked, and a lilac-coloured house-elf wrapped in pink opened the door to him.

"Good morning, Professor!" the elf greeted cheerfully. "You be needing your breakfast?"

"No, thank you," Johannes replied. He heard voices and laughter coming from beyond the kitchen. "Is your mistress available?"

"Madam Siofre or Madam Lydia?"

Johannes hesitated, then said, "Madam Siofre, although if she is unavailable..."

"Please, if you comes through the kitchen, Madam Siofre is in the morning room. I let her know you wants to see her." The house-elf nodded and Disapparated, leaving Johannes to find his way. Although he had cast a cleaning charm on his clothes and hands, he wiped his boots on the coconut fibre mat before stepping into the pantry.

Following the sound of the voices, Johannes walked through the pantry, pushed open the swinging door into the kitchen, then looked around. There were four doors, two on the level and two that each had a few steps leading up to them. Johannes took the steps up to the door to his left, knocked lightly, then opened it to find himself in a bright, cheerful room painted pale blue above a white chair rail, with stencilled designs running along the wall near the ceiling, and large windows that looked out onto the herb gardens where he had just been working.

Siofre was smiling down at two very tiny house-elves who were standing beside her chair. The tartan-clad witch looked up at Johannes and nodded. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning, Madam Tyree."

"I was just having my midmorning tea; would you care to join me?"

"Thank you, I would." With a slight hesitation, Johannes chose a chair to Siofre's left, facing the largest bank of windows, but not directly beside her, where the little elves were standing.

"Professor, this is Kilbeena and her brother, Duster. I told these wee bairns that they might watch you work today after their mother has finished their lessons, but they must not be batherin' you, or they will have to stay inside. An you could find some little tasks for them, as well, it would be a kindness...ones not requiring very much magic."

The two tiny elves looked up at Johannes hopefully.

"That would be fine," Johannes said. He'd never worked with house-elf children before, and had never even seen one the entire time he had taught at Hogwarts.

The two elves bounced on their toes and smiled happily.

"Off with you now," Siofre said. "Tell your mammie I said you could play in the gardens with the magister later."

The two house-elves joined hands and scampered off to the kitchen, giggling excitedly and whispering nonsense words to each other. At least, Johannes thought it was nonsense.

"You would like something to eat, as well," Siofre said. "You have been working for a while."

"Do not trouble yourself," Johannes began.

"No trouble. Sorrel!"

The pink-clad house-elf who had answered the door stepped out of the corner. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Fetch something for Professor Birnbaum. Bannocks and cabbock...unless you'd prefer something else?" Siofre asked, looking over at Johannes.

"That would be fine, thank you." He hadn't the faintest idea what cabbock was, but he'd had bannocks before. He found they varied a lot in palatability, but they were filling.

When Sorrel had vanished, Siofre twitched her wand and Summoned a cup and saucer from the sideboard. "Milk and sugar?"

"Milk only, please."

Siofre handed him his cup. "You have accomplished much this morning."

"There is still a good deal to do, and I would like to survey the other gardens today," Johannes replied. "You also said that there were cold frames?"

"Aye, and the wee ones know where they are. They will feel useful if they can show you where they are," Siofre said. "The cold frames are what is remaining of a greenhouse that was here when I was a lass. My mother and grandmother were keen gardeners, but my brother and his wife were less so, and they removed the greenhouse. They did keep the cold frames and used them for hardening off vegetable seedlings for later transplanting into the gardens."

"Where did they start them? In the cold frames themselves?" Johannes asked. If they charmed the cold frames, they would do for starting the seeds.

"Nay, the conservatory, which you have not yet seen. Tastle and Mynok, whom you met yesterday, share the gardening duties. Tastle is in charge of the conservatory, and his brother Mynok has taken care of the grounds. They are both getting on in years, and I think that Fandenz, Gweller, and Multry do most of the actual work, but Tastle and Mynok will show you around when you are ready."

"I would appreciate to hear your views, however," Johannes said. He had hoped to spend some time with Siofre, partly in order to determine what kinds of garden plans would please her and partly just to get to know her.

"You will hear my views, I assure you of that," Siofre said with a little cackle. "You will likely grow tired of hearing my views, if the experience of others is any indicator!"

Johannes smiled slightly. "I came into the house to see the plans you spoke of yesterday, the original plans of the house and grounds. I would like to see those before I tour the grounds myself."

"I'll show them to you, then, after you have eaten."

As if that were a signal, Sorrel popped into the room with a tray of bannocks, butter, and soft white cheese.

"You like bannocks, lad?" Siofre asked after the house-elf had left.

"They are an interesting variation from my usual fare," Johannes said diplomatically.

Siofre chuckled at that. "If you'd prefer something else, you only need say. We may have a few baps left from supper."

Johannes took a wedge of the flatbread and cut off a bit of cheese, shaking his head. "These are fine, I am sure." He hadn't eaten since half past six, so even if the bannocks were hard and dry, washed down with some tea, they would tide him over until lunch. He bit into the bannock and chewed; his eyebrows rose and he nodded appreciatively. "These are good. They are not oaten, though, are they?"

"Beremeal...from Tiree Beag. My cousin's farm there."

"Bere? That is a barley, or?"

"Aye, like barley. Multry uses a lot of butter in her bannocks," Siofre added with a slight grin as Johannes took a second piece and topped it with some of the cheese. "We will have sweet bannocks for tea...she loads them with dried fruit, and they are never the same twice."

"Scones, then?"

"Aye...and some would call these scones, too," Siofre said, gesturing toward the rapidly disappearing bannocks.

The two chatted for a bit about the grounds and the way Siofre remembered them being during her childhood, then the main door to the morning room opened and Lydia stepped in.

"Good morning," Lydia said brightly. As the other two nodded their greetings, she called for Sorrel, who was there in a heartbeat.

"Good morning, Madam Lydia!" Sorrel said cheerfully. "Usual breakfast?"

"Yes, please, Sorrel, but coffee this morning, I think. Clear out my cobwebs!" she replied.

Johannes almost requested a cup of coffee, as well, but then he thought that Siofre might take it amiss...this wasn't a restaurant, after all...and the tea really was quite good, strong, brisk, and slightly tannic in a pleasant way . . . much like Siofre. No, he would not ask for coffee that day.

"Bring a cup for our guest, as well, Sorrel," Siofre said. Hazel eyes sparkling, she looked over at Johannes...to see his reaction, not to seek his approval.

His eyes crinkled and he nodded slightly at her. He liked this witch. As Sorrel Disapparated and Siofre quirked him a brief smile in return, the corners of Johannes's mouth turned up. He liked this witch very much.

"My English sister-in-law is a late riser, sad to say," Siofre said, breaking off a small corner of a bannock wedge and spreading butter on it.

"It's hard to get up before the sun, no matter how late that may be," Lydia grumbled, pulling out the chair between the two and sitting down with a thump.

"After eighty-five years, you should be used to it," Siofre countered. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "And the sun's long been up; Professor Birnbaum arrived with it."

Lydia shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "I was up too late reading my new novel. I just had to finish it."

A pot of coffee, pitcher of cream, and two coffee cups and saucers appeared on the table. Johannes reached for the pot and poured Lydia a cup of coffee.

She smiled at the wizard and poured cream into her cup before handing the pitcher to him. "What are your plans for the day, Professor?"

"He has already cleared the kailyaird of weeds and dead plants while you were still abed," Siofre said. "After he has his coffee, I'll show him the library and where to find the old plans for the grounds."

"Do you know anything about pipes?" Lydia asked.

"Pipes? Tobacco pipes?" Johannes asked, confused. "Irrigation pipes?" he guessed again as Lydia shook her head and took a sip of coffee. "Gutters?"

"Lydia, hen, we are not batherin' the magister with these household troubles," Siofre admonished.

"What pipes?" Johannes asked again.

"We will have young Malcolm look at them," Siofre said.

Lydia's breakfast of two soft-cooked eggs, toast, and bacon arrived in front of her. "I just thought that he might know what was wrong." Lydia neatly removed the top from her first egg and turned to Johannes. "The pipes in my wing of the house make a dreadful noise. I think they may be cursed." Seeing Siofre's sceptical brow, Lydia added, "They sound cursed. Moaning, whining, whistling, gurgling...and at all times of day, even in the middle of the night."

Johannes shook his head. "Do you have a ghoul?" he suggested.

"No. At least, the house-elves say we don't have a ghoul," Lydia said, "and I think they would know."

Johannes shrugged. "I have some small knowledge of drainage and irrigation pipes, but that is all. I am sorry."

"The man is here to work on the gardens," Siofre said to Lydia. "We will not be wasting his precious time with your skrechin pipes."

After Johannes finished his coffee, Siofre led him out into the main part of the house, pointing out the hallway that led to the conservatory. "The music room is just before the conservatory. We use those rooms, the dining room, and the sitting room quite frequently, but if you take a wrong turn, you may end in a part of the house that we do not often use." She gestured off to their right as they started up the stairs to the first floor. "There is a great hall that my father divided into a billiard room, a lounge, and a ballroom. He never played billiards, and we only ever used the ballroom and lounge a few times a year when we would have parties. Murdoch and Lydia came to use them a bit more, but those days of grand ceilidhs are lang syne gone. Lydia and I have had few family gatherings since I returned here to live, but we might change that. I like a good ceilidh. We do maintain one long-standing tradition in our family. Two, three times a year, we hold bonfire nights for family and friends. I would like you to look at the spot where we currently have the bonfires and think about whether there might not be a better location for them...and whether the landscaping around the area might be more . . . interesting. We'll be doing a Beltane fire, so if you have ideas that we might implement before then, I want to hear them."

Siofre waved her wand as they entered the library, bringing up some of the lamps and drawing the curtains back from the long windows on the far wall. The room was huge, with bookcases both along the walls and in banks perpendicular to them; a balcony ran around the room, with three wrought iron spiral staircases leading up to it and more bookcases. There were, however, several discrete areas of the room furnished with comfortable chairs, couches, tables, and lamps.

"My brother expanded the library a few decades ago by breaking through the ceiling and converting a few of the bedrooms," Siofre explained, gesturing toward the upper level. "We still haven't filled all of the shelves up there, even with the books I brought with me. The plans you're seeking are in that cabinet there and in those folios on that shelf. You may come up here and consult them whenever you need to."

"Thank you, Madam Tyree," Johannes said. He looked around himself. "It is an impressive library."

"We are fortunate." She went to a window and looked out across the grounds. "It is too big for just the two of us, but the children all have their own places...Maisie stayed on in our old house when I moved back here. Her father's house. Lydia's son and daughter-in-law live down in Silloth-on-Solway in Cumberland." She sighed and shook her head. "Tyrees in England. And raising their son Liam there. Perhaps one day they will move back here." She looked up at Johannes and brightened some. "They visit often, though, and young Liam loves this house and these hills. I had hopes that when Malcolm finally returned to settle down, he would come here, but he wishes to be in Hogsmeade within sight of Hogwarts and his witch. We have invited Morgan and Fiona to join us, though, and with four wee bairns, I think they are now inclined to accept."

Johannes smiled. "Yes, Minerva calls them 'the litter.'"

Siofre laughed. "Aye! And I believe that having quadruplets has fulfilled Fiona's wish for motherhood and there will be no more little ones joining them. It would be good to have children here again, though."

"It is a beautiful place," Johannes said, looking out over the grounds.

"And you can make it no more beautiful than it is?" Siofre asked.

"I would not presume," Johannes said, "but I can help you to showcase its beauty, perhaps add to it."

Siofre nodded. "Then I should let you get to work. The day is awasting!"

Johannes was opening the cabinet to look for the earliest plans when Siofre stopped at the door and turned.

"Lunch at noon, Professor."

Johannes turned and looked back at her, smiling. He nodded. "Danke sehr. Thank you, Madam Tyree."

"And . . . dinner is at six, if you would care to stay. You could tell me, us, about your recommendations."

"I would like that, but I do not know whether my recommendations will be complete yet."

"Your impressions, then."

He nodded. "My impressions." He could do that, if he were not entirely overwhelmed by his impression of his hostess. "Yes. Thank you, Madam Tyree."

She smiled. "Good. Don't forget the wee ones will be helping you in the gardens later. Call for Multry, their mother, if they become a nuisance."

Siofre left the library, and Johannes was smiling as he pulled a sheaf of parchments from the cabinet. He would need to impress this witch. Time to get to work.