Ron, Duke and Warspite 13
There was a moment of pause as the surprise and sudden movement ceased and both sides of the confrontation looked each other over.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Duke's voice rang out, loud and demanding.
"I am Victoria Passel and I greatly apologize for startling the Young Sir and My Ladies. I mean no harm at all and beg leave to explain myself." The voice was immensely contrite and sounded completely sincere.
Ron couldn't see what was going but there was another moment of pause and he could imagine looks were being passed back and forth between various people. He couldn't see anything at the moment, though if he opened his eyes he'd be treated to a rather nice view of white on white. Which was exactly why he kept his eyes closed.
"Summer, please let Ron go I don't think there's any danger." Warspite said.
Ron felt the arms holding him closely let go and he pulled away, only opening his eyes once he was sure he was relatively safe. When he did open them he saw Summer standing over him, still hunched somewhat as she looked down towards him.
"I'm ok Summer. Thank you." He gave her a smile.
Summer's face flushed in the mild red that it could do and she nodded.
Ron then finally turned around to see what was happening. Warspite and Duke still had their rigs out but they were not as on edge as they had been. Instead they were looking at the maid, who was bent over at the waist with her skirts held up slightly and her head down. He could see that her clothing was well made if seemingly made plain on purpose, the dress being a flat black color covered with a bright white apron. A head of medium length dirty blond hair fell down over her neck and face.
Ron looked to Warspite as she turned to look at him. She seemed to be asking what he thought about all of this and he gave a shrug.
"I think it would be best if you stood up and explained yourself Miss Passel." Duke's voice wasn't nearly as harsh as it had been, though there was still a small edge to it. She gave a small glance back towards Ron and he gave her a short smile before she turned back around.
The blonde maid in front of them stood up, her head lifting and seemingly seeking him out for a moment. Ron's eyes met hers for a moment and there seemed to be something she was looking for that she found and a brief look of pleasure crossed her face before she went back to being contrite.
Now that she was fully upright it was easy to see that Victoria, whoever she was, seemed to be a bit older. She wasn't elderly, in fact if Ron had to compare her face to anyone he would have compared it to Dreadnought's. A well aged forty something that had been quite pretty in the past, developed into beautiful as she aged and still retained a beauty that would continue well into old age. If such a thing were to happen, as Ron suddenly got an inkling of what might be going on when his mind processed what looking like Dreadnought probably meant. In other matters she looked much less like anyone there, with a middling height that was more than his or his mothers and less than Duke or Warspite's battleship given size. She was also relatively slender but not excessively so, with only a moderate bosom and flair to her hips.
"Yes." The blonde bowed her head as she started speaking. "As I said my name is Victoria Passel. I am… the awoken spirit of the house and its grounds."
She notably paused there, looking up to see the groups reaction.
"I see this does not shock you very much." She seemed almost disappointed at that.
"I'm HMS Warspite." Warspite grinned as she dismissed her rig. "Pennant 03."
"I'm HMS Duke of York, Pennant 17." Duke similarly dismissed her rig, though Ron could see she was still on guard.
"HMS Dreadnought." Dreadnought kept her introduction short, though courteous.
"My friend had a tea set from his mum that woke up like you." Ron said with a grin. "She's married a battleship."
"One of my other sons has an Ancient Egyptian Sunship following him around that thinks he's a reincarnated Pharaoh." Molly seemed like this was just another day in her life.
Summer didn't say anything, though the mere fact that she was nine feet tall, fully white in skin tone instead of merely pale and had glowing blue eyes said enough on its own.
"I see my owners are as well traveled and experienced as one could expect." Victoria seemed to smile slightly and then bowed once more. "I thank you for your acceptance."
"You said you're the spirit of the house." Asked Duke. "So why are you dressed as a maid?"
"A maid and a home are the same no? The master takes care of them and in turn gets taken care of. It is the way things go." Victoria seemed to think that was quite obvious. "Young Master Weasley and his mother have already demonstrated their willingness to clean me and you have all been discussing renovations to the buildings and grounds." She tilted her head slightly. "For that you have my thanks. As well as my service if you would have it. My last master was… erratic and would not have accepted my offer so I did not extend it."
Ron, Duke and Warspite looked between each other and nodded.
"I don't see why not." Ron said. "Is there uh… anything you would like or need? I'm not sure what a House Spirit like you might desire as payment."
"No Young Master." Victoria seemed quite sincere. "All I would ask is that you not leave me empty as I have been for so long. It gets… quite lonely." She paused and then smiled. "Though you have already discussed having guests over for rest and relaxation. I would be quite thrilled to serve any and all who came."
"I think we can manage that." Warspite said. "A small stipend as well I think."
"Yes. It would not feel right if you were not compensated in some way." Duke nodded in agreement.
"You are very kind." Victoria bowed again.
For a moment there was a pause and then Ron cleared his throat.
"While we're here, is there anything we should be aware of for the renovations?"
Victoria seemed to light up at that and nodded. "I could very easily provide you with a list if you like."
"I think that would be good." Ron said.
"If you don't mind me asking," Molly cut in, "What exactly can you do as a… House Spirit?"
"In short the house and the grounds are an extension of myself." Victoria said. "Though I am generally "aware" of things, unless I listen or try to see on purpose. Privacy is important after all." She paused and then bowed down again. "I apologize for my earlier peeping, I wanted to know what sort of masters I would have."
"I think we can all forgive that given the circumstances." Warspite said.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, I don't think anyone is worried about that."
Victoria nodded and inclined her head again. "Thank you."
"We'd planned on hiring a few more staff, will that be necessary for you?" Victoria turned to look at Duke as she spoke.
"I suppose in the strictest sense it is not necessary but it would be a relief for me to not have to do everything myself." Victoria seemed willing enough to do that if asked but her reservations were clear.
"I think we should still get a few more people to help out." Ron said, drawing a small curve of the lip from Victoria.
"With how many people might visit? I agree." Warspite said, with Duke nodding along in agreement.
"I look forward to it." Victoria seemed quite happy with what was going on.
"Well..." Ron looked back and forth as silence once more descended. "I think we were mostly done with our check of the grounds. I think we should be back soon to help start with the renovations so if you could get that list..."
Ron froze as Victoria pulled a not, inconsiderable sized folio from… somewhere and offered it to him.
"A list of everything you may want to look at for renovation Young Master." Victoria again bowed slightly as he took it. "From the most pressing to quite minor."
"Thanks." Ron was a bit shocked at the promptness but then again a spirit probably had nothing better to do than catalog everything that might be needed to fix itself."
"Is there anything else I can assist with?" Victoria asked.
"No… I think that's it for now." Ron forced himself to focus and then nodded.
"Then I will look forward to seeing you all again very soon." Victoria bowed once more and then suddenly disappeared as if she'd never been there. Only the folio in his hand kept Ron from questioning if he'd just hallucinated everything.
Back at the road and waiting for their ride to come back, Ron looked between Duke and Warspite, with Summer close behind him as she usually was.
"That was unexpected." He looked down at the folio again. "Really unexpected."
"I think it will all work out quite nicely." Warspite said as she let one of her hands rest on Ron's shoulder.
"Oh I think it will too." Ron said with a nod. "It just seems like life keeps getting crazier. A house spirit is something I'd expect from Harry."
"I think that you have quite enough adventure on your own Ron. Without comparing yourself to your friend."
"I suppose that's true." Ron said, finally grinning again as the truck came into view. "Hopefully not too much though."
"Hopefully." Warspite looked to Duke, sharing a knowing look. "Hopefully."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
AN: Another from me, trying to move things along.
And yes, Ron needs to remember Murphy a bit more
