Wizards Fall

Story: Wizards Fall Storylink: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8837257/1/ Category: Harry Potter Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi Author: Bobmin356 Authorlink: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/777540/ Last updated: 12/26/2012 Words: 143427 Rating: M Status: Complete Content: Chapter 1 to 5 of 5 chapters Source: FanFiction.net Summary: A different spin on the Potter Verse featuring a manipulative Dumbledore and an evil worse than Voldemort.
A look at what could drive three people to destroy the Wizarding World.

*Chapter 1*: Wizards Fall

Standard Disclaimer:
Alyx peered over the edge looking at the story descending beyond the bottom of the screen, then she looked over at Bob. "What's this?" she asked in confusion. This wasn't the story she thought he was working on. Bob looked up sheepishly from his word processor. "Rabid Plot Bunny," he muttered. Alyx nodded knowingly. "They happen you know." "Not like this one!" Bob exclaimed. "Oh? What's different about this one?" "This story is a standalone and yet it isn't. There are possibilities for other stories to spin off in this AU verse. Despite the fact that we don't own Harry Potter, I've come up with a whole new universe based on this short rabid bunny." "How the hell did you manage that?" "Erm... I started typing at the keyboard?" came the confused reply. "I already have a second story well underway in this universe." Alyx sighed and looked at the audience. "It's not Sunrise, it's not Sunset. It's not even the X-Men crossover we're still working on. But we're back." Bob smiled brightly and thought about technicolor penguins and dancing girls in the disclaimers. Alyx noted his look and groaned to herself. She didn't want to groan out loud. The last time she did that Bob took off his clothes and looked at her hopefully.

Wizard's Fall Azkaban Prison, Cell Block 16...

He stopped and looked into the small dingy cell. The poor lighting made it difficult to see the figure hunched in the corner. "Potter," spat the figure in a hoarse voice. Outside the cell, Harry gestured and a comfortable chair appeared next to him. The cell block was warded and he could feel Aurors dying as they crossed they crossed his ward, but he didn't care. "Severus, how are you old friend?" Harry asked as he sat down. He conjured a few bottles of water and several loaves of bread, which he then pushed through the bars towards Snape. Snape barked a harsh laugh and scrambled for the items. He tore off a chunk of bread and glared at Harry. "Don't 'old friend' me, Potter. You're just here to torment me again." Snape had been arrested shortly after the fall of Voldemort. He was one of the few Death Eaters who had been arrested and put in prison. He probably would have been safe, but Harry had turned it into a public embarrassment for the Ministry, forcing them to arrest the ex-professor. He had made it a point to visit Snape at least once a year since his incarceration, just to chat. Harry knew it drove him crazy.

He leaned back in his comfortable chair and lit a pipe. Nearby, an auror tripped and fell through his ward, screaming as his body incinerated. Harry casually waved his hand, casting a zone of silence around them. "Now, Severus, is that any way to talk? I mean, who else has visited you regularly for the last fifteen years, hmmm? Besides, this will be my last visit to you, I'm afraid." "So you've finally worked up the balls to kill me?" Snape asked, looking up from his bread. Harry laughed. "Oh, no, old fellow. I'm not going to kill you. I'm going away, you see. I'm afraid that I've finally worn out my welcome in jolly old Britain." Snape glanced up the corridor where he could see the Aurors milling around outside of the ward in confusion, then he turned back to Harry. "So, what do you want? You wouldn't come back here just to have an idle chat while your wards fry those damnable aurors." Harry shook his head. "Severus, Severus! You really do need to learn patience. But you're right. I have a tale I need to tell, and you, my old friend, are perhaps the only person I know who can appreciate what I have to say." Seeing the other man's sneer, Harry made a move as if to stand. "Or, if you want, I can drop my wards and leave?" "No!" Snape all but shouted. "Stay, please. If you leave, they'll take away the bread." For a very brief moment Harry's expression softened. As feelings of sympathy began to flood through him, images of the attack the man before him had orchestrated on Ginny flashed through his mind. He would not show mercy to the... thing... Snape had chosen to become! He'd given up his humanity for power and would pay the price for it. Calming, Harry leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs and puffed contented on his pipe for a moment. "Very well. Let's begin, shall we?"

The Beginning...
"Unlike so many tales, this one started with an ending. Voldemort was dead and you were in chains. Did I ever tell you how close I came to killing you that day? You really should thank me, Severus. Your death would have been the stuff of nightmares for millennia to come. Lucky for you, cooler minds prevailed that day. "Anyway, there I was, still recovering from my battle with Voldemort, when Dumbledore appears, alive and pleased with the outcome of the war. The man acted as if he had personally killed the Dark Lord, rather than running and hiding like the cowardly dog he is. His appearance was merely the last straw in a series of last straws for me. "Can you imagine the nerve of that old bastard, faking his own death? His only excuse was that he felt I was becoming too reliant on him!" Harry paused and his eyes flared with barely controlled magical fury. He was quiet for a moment as he regained control. Then, taking a deep breath, he continued. "My Ginny was dead, along with Ron and so many friends from the DA. Remus survived, but he killed himself a few months after Voldemort's death. He couldn't go on without Tonks. So many good people dead." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Snape reached for a bottle of water and watched him closely. When Harry finally looked at him again, he wore a malicious smile. "On the other hand, there was some satisfaction. Malfoy senior was set aflame with a rather ingenious combination of charms that keeps him alive and forever burning. Hermione is quite a trick when it comes to combining charms like that, isn't she? Who else could have thought of combining an Incendio spell with healing and time slow charms? I understand that even with the deep sedation they keep him under, he still writhes and screams at St. Mungo's. "And I won't go into what Luna did to Draco, but killing him would have been a mercy. He really shouldn't have tried to

rape her, though." Harry shook his head. "I think he was insane, at the end. From what I understand, he tried to end her spell by castrating himself. He bled to death, so I guess he was right, in a way. " He stopped to shudder at the memory of what happened to Draco. It even gave him nightmares. "After the war, I went away. I needed to get away. I needed to heal. I had done my part; I had killed Voldemort. And I couldn't stand what that bastard Dumbledore was doing. He was strutting around like he had killed Voldemort personally. What's worse, the public was swallowing it, hook line and sinker! "I pulled all my money from Gringotts and converted it muggle money. That, by the way, was the trigger that started the run that eventually bankrupted Gringotts. Fortunately, I had all my money out of there by then. But then, the Goblins really shouldn't have supported Voldemort either." "You might ask yourself, what does one do with all that wealth? I mean, I had several billion pounds, not to mention nearly a ton in gold bullion stashed away," he said, then he paused and looked at Snape. "I know I asked myself that question. I wanted to get away. What could I buy to get away? A boat? A plane, maybe, so I could fly somewhere? "No, I bought an island in the Bahamas, called Norman's Cay. Myself and several other survivors moved there. Then, slowly and fairly, we pushed the muggles off the island, buying up their land and businesses at fair market values. "The first few years were great. I walked the beach, and fished. I finally learned to swim. There is nothing quite like the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean to swim in. I wasn't healed or happy yet, that would come later. I even managed to visit you a few times, making sure you were uncomfortable, or, at least, moderately unhappy. That gave me some satisfaction. I'm sure my gloating were the high points of each year for you." Harry smirked at Snape when the older man glared at him. "My first inkling that something was wrong with the wizarding world came just after I had finished putting up the first anti-muggle ward on Norman's Cay. The Weasley twins approached me, asking if they could open their main office and manufacturing center on my island. By that time, the muggles had forgotten they even owned Norman's Cay and the twins were telling me they had gotten in trouble with the law because they had copied some muggle jokes." Harry paused and looked pointedly at Snape. "Can you believe that? They weren't infringing or anything, they just took an idea from the muggles." He shook his head in amazement. Snape nodded and continued to eat his bread. Even he could see that didn't make much sense, but the Weasley brats deserved it. "My next inkling came from a frantic letter from Hermione, who had lost her job teaching at Hogwarts and needed a place to stay. That bastard, Dumbledore, stood back and watched as they took all her money and her Order of Merlin and did nothing to help her. She was penniless and had no hope of getting work. I immediately brought her to my home. "I am firmly convinced that her treatment was due to what she did to Malfoy. She should have gutted the child buggering bastard, but at least her story ended better than Malfoy's did. He's still smoking and setting the bedding on fire." Harry chuckled, then he looked intently at Snape. "I couldn't believe it. Because Voldemort was a half blood, the stupid wizards were lashing out at all muggle born and half bloods. It had to the the stupidest thing the Ministry's ever done. No one bothered to point out to them that, while Voldemort was a half blood, it was the pure bloods who followed him causing all that death and destruction." Snape snorted with amusement, then he went back to eating. He motioned for Harry to continue. Harry looked reflective for a minute. "You know, it's funny. Voldemort had lost, but in a way, he won. The wizarding world was rejecting their roots and hurting everyone they could. So I brought Hermione home, and started casting protective wards around my island." He puffed silently on his pipe for a moment. Then he removed the pipe from his mouth and stabbed the stem in Snape's direction. "I never thought I'd end up with Hermione. I mean, she was supposed to end up with Ron and I was

supposed to end up with Ginny. Funny how things like that turn out. "I saved Hermione and helped her find her purpose once more. In return, she helped me to find love again. I never thought I would, after Ginny. Hermione and I had always loved each other, though we tried hard to keep things platonic between us. In the end, we were only fooling ourselves. I imagine I really owe my sanity to that girl. She saved us both. I was rather brittle by that point." Harry shook his head gently in remembrance. "Before I put the Fidelius charm on the island, I was attacked by Ministry Aurors who wanted to arrest me. I had been away from the island when they attacked and away from the charm hiding us. The Auror team included Dumbledore's great grandson and Scrimgeour's youngest daughter, something which gave me great satisfaction. "I sent them back to the Ministry building, naked and stripped of their memories and their magic. I later heard Dumbledore and Scrimgeour were mightily pissed that someone had turned their crack team of Aurors into squibs. Every mission they've sent after me has ended in disaster. But they've never been able to pin any of it on me. In fact, until today, the Ministry didn't have a clue, and they still don't really understand, what's going on. They know they shouldn't mess with me, but they don't really understand why they know that. But you will, my friend." Snape looked up, blinking at Harry in astonishment. Harry grinned. "You mean, no one's told you?" Snape shook his head. Harry's grin widened. "You really need to get out more, old bean. When I killed Voldemort, I got his magic, and the magic of every other Death Eater I killed that day. I don't know how or why, but somehow I absorbed power that day, a lot of it. I'm not bragging, you understand. Well, maybe I am, a little, but I'm the most powerful wizard since Merlin, and I could probably give him a run for the title." Snape looked at him fearfully for a moment. "Oh, don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you, Severus," Harry said gently, his eyes shining. "Now, shall I continue my tale?" Snape nodded eagerly. Any story, even one from his most hated student, was better than dying slowly from boredom. Since Harry destroyed the dementors in the last war, the only thing killing prisoners in Azkaban was the bad food, or lack of it. He had long grown accustomed to the nightmare curses the Aurors cast on him that caused him to wake, screaming in terror, every day. Harry smiled gently. "Yes, well, we continued to work. The number of people grew until we had to expand the island several times. Eventually, I bought some of the surrounding islands and we incorporated those into Norman's Cay. While the rest of the Wizarding world tried to kill off the muggle born and the half bloods, I found that, somehow, I had become the heart of a rescue movement that had operatives world wide!" Snape's jaw dropped open, giving Harry a lovely view of the half masticated bread the older man had been working so diligently on. "It's true!" Harry exclaimed. "I didn't plan on it. But you know Hermione. She's got a heart of gold and a social conscience a mile wide. First, we rescued her parents, who'd just had another girl, another witch, if you can believe it. Then there were several raids on various prisons to rescue people who had been unfairly jailed, just because they were muggle born. "Besides those we rescued, we had a large number of people who made their way to us on their own. Our island was fairly big, but not that big. I mean, you can walk from one end to another in less than an hour. We were being squeezed in by the number of people. "With Hermione's help, I managed to enlarge the island several times. Now you need a car to get from one end to another in three hours, and the muggles never noticed a thing! The island has become a paradise, truly magnificent. Why, we even have a fake volcano rising nearly three thousand feet above sea level. Magic is truly grand on that scale."

Harry relaxed a little more on his chair, his gaze focused on something distant. "I guess you could say I was faced with a dilemma, old bean," he said, focusing on Snape once more. "What was I to do about with the Wizarding World? After Scrimgeour died and Percy Weasley took over the Ministry, things became much worse. His laws sent us hundreds of wizards who had been formerly left alone. Pure bloods like Dr. Luna Lovegood-Atkins, whose only crime had been to marry a muggle. Or Blaise Zabini, whose parents owned a business that dealt with muggles." He sighed and shook his head. "Poor Luna. She watched as a team of Aurors tortured her husband to death," he said, then he grinned. "The dear girl snapped, of course. She and her husband had been visiting Hogsmeade when they were caught. She cursed the town and the Aurors. I understand the Aurors all committed suicide within six months. And Hogsmeade? Well, it's not a very happy place these days. "Even Dumbledore won't send the students there, thanks to her Dementor effect. According to Luna, they'd have to cast a finite on every speck of dirt in the town to dispel the effects of her curse. Except for a few hardy souls, it's almost abandoned these days." "I pulled Luna and a few others from a Ministry holding cell and brought them back to our island. It took a lot for Hermione and I to help Luna get past her grief. "I think Luna was one of the people who surprised me the most. After Hogwarts, she met a frightfully intelligent fellow who was studying a new muggle science. It intrigued her so much that she became an expert in the field herself." Harry waved a hand and a small table appeared with a fresh pizza and a bottle of Butterbeer on it. He reached for a slice and the bottle, then turned back to Snape, who was eying the pizza hungrily. "I'd offer you some, old bean, but there are rules against that sort of thing, you know. After all, this is a prison," he said with a smirk. "Damn you, Potter," Snape growled. "Now, Severus, is that any way to act towards me? After all, that isn't any ordinary bread I gave you. According to the recipe, it helps build bodies twelve ways... or some such thing," Harry replied waving the pizza airily. "Shall I continue?" Snape settled back in his corner and bit off another chunk of bread, then nodded. He smiled. "Excellent! Well, let's see, where was I? Oh, yes, Luna! Well, we rescued Luna about seven years ago. For a while, she lived with Hermione and myself, then she moved into a nearby home and continued the research that she and her husband, Richard, had been working on. "Luna is a strange girl and I love her death, but she and Hermione combined are enough to drive any man insane. Imagine my surprise when Hermione and Luna approached me six years ago and told me that Luna wanted to have a baby and they wanted me to be the father! I swear, I nearly died. I mean, here's my wife standing next to the girl who wants me to have a baby with her? "Well, after Hermione enervated me from my fainting spell she explained that I wouldn't be doing what I know you're thinking. Luna didn't want me to shag her, she wanted me to donate sperm! She said she wanted me to do it the muggle way. Needless to say, after Hermione explained that particular process she had to enervate me again!" Harry leaned in closer to the cell. "They wanted me to... you know... do it into a cup and give it to Luna so she could take it to a clinic," he said in a conspiratorial tone. Snape blinked and stared at him, his bread forgotten in his shock. What did a cup have to do with conception? Why didn't muggles just do it the old fashioned way? Seeing Snape's expression, Harry pointed a finger at him and nodded. "I know! And what's worse, until Hermione explained it more, I thought that was the way muggles always did it! I was actually beginning to feel sorry for them!" Shaking his head and chuckling, Harry leaned back. "So, there I was, cup in hand and my wife shooing me off to the

bathroom. When I told them the situation was about as romantic as you and Sprout doing it in the Great Hall, Luna broke down laughing. Even Hermione found it amusing. In any case, I spent nearly an hour in the bathroom staring at that stupid plastic cup, wondering how I was going to manage. Hermione came the rescue, however and lent a hand." He grinned at the memory. "Why are you tormenting me like this, Potter? Surely you have better things to do than regale me with tales of your sex life, poor as it might be," Snape asked hoarsely. Harry looked at Snape reflectively for a moment. "My sex life is quite fine, Severus. Actually, it's better than fine. Sure, Hermione and I were inexperienced, but I discovered it's true what they say about the quiet types. My wife has a wide exhibitionist streak in her. And while she might present an image of being studious and quiet, she has brought a much needed zeal back into my life. Considering some of the noises she makes, I'm very grateful that her parents live half a mile up the beach from us. "As to why I'm telling you this tale? Well, for two reasons, really. The first is the simplest, and the one you'll be most able to understand. Revenge. I am telling you this tale because it makes me feel good knowing how angry you must be in knowing all these things are denied to you. "The second reason is because you are the only one that can appreciate the scope of the revenge I'm talking about. Sure, my coming here is revenge on you, but that's really quite small and rather petty, in the grand scheme of things. No, I'm here to tell you about my revenge on the Wizarding world." Snape scowled. "The world?" Harry nodded calmly and smiled. "Yes, old bean, the world. But you see, in order to understand what I'm doing, you need to understand the steps that brought me to this place." "Why weren't you sorted into Slytherin, Potter? I mean, sitting here, giving me bread while you eat that? Talking about revenge on the whole world? These aren't the acts of a Gryffindor!" Snape growled. Harry laughed. "Didn't you know? I nearly did get sorted into Slytherin, but I begged the hat to put me anywhere else because I had already met Malfoy." Snape winced and considered what could have been if Potter had been sorted into his house. "Fine. Continue with your story. Listening to you is better than sitting here doing nothing," he grumbled. "True," Harry agreed cheerfully, "and my time is running short. Somehow you got me onto the topic of my family and I don't think you want to know about them. But they are a handful. The two children that Hermione's given me and the three that Luna's had are all very intelligent. But I suspect that I'm a bit biased." Harry finished his pizza and vanished the box with the extra slices. Then he took a deep pull on his bottle of butterbeer. "Now, I want to tell you about something that happened not too long ago..."

Norman's Cay, The Bahamas (Six Months earlier)...

Hermione hurried into Harry's office, a concerned look on her face. She carried Emma in her arms. "Harry, was that the outer perimeter ward alarm I heard?" "Yes. I sent Blaise and a team to go check it out. It looks like the Ministry is probing the wards again," Harry said as he stood and lifted the toddler from her mother's arms and blew a noisy raspberry on her belly, making her laugh. Hermione relaxed and sat down, watching her husband and daughter play. She was two years old and their second child. Sirius was nearly five now and was off on a snorkack hunting expedition with his half brother, Ramses, and Dobby. Emma was a daddy's girl and she knew it. She could give Harry a certain look and he'd cave every time. Harry glanced at Hermione and noted her look. He placed Emma on the floor and conjured some brightly floating orbs for her to play with. Every so often an orb would burst softly, revealing a treat of some fruit or a pretty shell, which Emma loved to collect much to her mother's dismay. Emma had a drawer full of pretty shells in her wardrobe.

"What's bothering you?" he asked. "I'm just worried. Are you sure we should do this?" she asked in return. Harry frowned. "Am I sure? Well, let's see. What would have happened to your parents and your sister, Victoria, if we hadn't rescued them?" Hermione looked down at her hands. "They would have died," she whispered. Harry walked over to her and knelt down by the chair, looking into her eyes. "Hermione, in a perfect world, we wouldn't have had to worry about any of this. But it's not a perfect world. In fact, it's gotten worse since I killed Voldemort." She nodded unhappily. "Tell me, are you unsure of your interpretation of the Avalon equations?" She glared at him and he pretended to shrink back and ward off her glare, causing her to finally smile. Snape stopped chewing and fumbled with his bread. "She's solved the equations?" he blurted. Harry nodded with pride. "'Smartest witch in our generation', they called her at school. If only they knew just how much they'd underestimated her. Smartest witch ever, I say." Snape rocked back and hit the back of this cell in shock. He stared at Harry for a moment, then he waved at him to continue. Without really looking, he reached for the loaf of bread again. "I have faith in my own abilities, Harry," she replied with a bit of harrumph. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I know you do, my sweet. Just trust that the rest of us believe in you, as well," he replied, then he stood and walked over to a large sliding glass door that led to the outer deck that surrounded the house. "Look around you, Hermione. There are nearly sixteen thousand wizards and witches and their families now living on the Cay. Muggle born like yourself, half bloods like me and our children. Half breeds like Hagrid and Madame Maxime at the Cay school. And don't forget Fleur and Gabrielle at the primary school. Pure Bloods who were thrown out of polite society because they saw value in the muggle world. We've become outlaws everywhere but here, and you and I both know we can't keep going like we have been." "We have wand makers, printers, enchanters, wine growers and Nerf herders. We have teachers, healers and musicians of every type. Without planning it, we built a society, or maybe it just grew up around us, I don't know. In either case, they all depend on us." He turned to look at her expectantly. "I know all that, Harry. I'm just frightened, I guess," she replied. "So am I, but for different reasons. I'm frightened for the children. What kind of world would we be giving them if we didn't take steps to stop what's happening? What kind of world would that leave for Emma and Siri?" She remained silent for several minutes, so Harry decided to try a different tack. "Would you prefer I return to the wizarding world and conquer it? Force them to do what we want them to do?" he asked quietly. Her eyes darted up to his. "No! Not that, Harry," she said, then jumped to her feet and ran to embrace him. She wrapped both arms around him, holding him tightly. She knew he had nightmares about being forced into that situation. It haunted him, even now. He had the power, he had the ability to make Tom Riddle look like a muggle show magician. Even with her holding him at nights, there were still times he woke in a cold sweat, his screams bottled up behind tightly clenched teeth.

"No, never that," she said fiercely. He held her tightly, burying his face in her hair and breathing deeply of her scent. "I would, for you," he whispered. "And I would never ask you to do that," she replied. He nodded and continued to hold her. "Then trust the plan. Your way will work, and it will be fairly painless for everyone. I won't say what you and Luna worked out is totally flawless, but it's the very best we have." She pulled back enough to look up at him. "Oh? How would you improve upon the plan then?" Harry smirked at her. "How about a clause in there about all wives should be naked most of the time?" She tried to wiggle free from his arms but he held her tight to him. "You pig!" she replied, then she returned his grin. "Besides, when I'm home, in private, I'm usually close to naked anyway." "Yeah, but what about Luna?" he asked with a fake whine. "Harry, you may be the father of her children, and they may call you daddy and me and Luna mum, but you'll never lay a hand or any other part of your body on her. You're mine, Potter. Got it?" Harry chuckled and made to reply when a glowing orb entered the room, pinging softly. He glanced at Hermione for a second, making sure she was decent, then he activated the orb. "Commente!" The orb expanded until it was roughly twelve inches in diameter. Blaise Zabini's head appeared inside the translucent bubble. He was one of the pure bloods who had escaped to Norman's Cay. The bubble swiveled until he could see Harry and Hermione. "Harry?" "Go ahead, Blaise. What did you find?" "I think you better come down here, Harry. This wasn't your ordinary probing force. We picked up nearly a hundred Aurors in the entrapment fields and, if you can believe this, they had several prisoners with them. Apparently, they caught some people trying to sneak in and brought them along." "Are the prisoners alright?" he asked with concern. "Yeah. They've been pretty badly roughed up, but I think they'll pull through." Harry scowled. "Send the prisoners to the hospital. I'll hop over and visit them later. What about the Aurors?" Blaise grinned maliciously. "We have some very old friends in this batch. I think you'll enjoy this." "Alright, send them to Luna for processing. Tell her to keep out of sight and not to do anything to them until I get there." "Got it, Harry. I'll get them moving." Harry nodded. "Thanks, Blaise. Tell your crew I said good job, all around. I owe them a round at the pub." Blaise nodded and grinned broadly. "Fini!" Harry exclaimed and the orb shimmered and shrank until it was no longer visible. He stepped over to his desk and picked up his hat. The tropical sun demanded he wear one, otherwise he burned horribly. "Do you want to come with me?" he asked Hermione. "We're going into the final phases of your plan."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I need to keep an eye on Emma and I should find Siri. I'm sure he and Ramses are up to no good somewhere, even with Dobby watching them." Harry grinned. "Why shouldn't they be? They're only boys out having fun." She poked him in the shoulder. "Maybe, but then you had to pull that ritual before we got married that made sure your children would be as strong as you are. Really, Harry, they would have been strong enough without it. Don't you remember the time Emma nearly beached that muggle ocean liner because she thought it was pretty?" Harry laughed and shook his head at her. "It was pretty, just not so pretty up close." Hermione folded her arms and looked at him crossly. "Look, they're all wearing their inhibitors now, aren't they? And while they'll be stronger than most, they won't be as strong as I am. I just wanted to ensure they would have magic in their lives," Harry said reasonably, then he kissed her cheek. "If it looks like I won't be home for dinner, I'll orb you, alright?" She nodded and he vanished from sight without a sound. Sighing, she shook her head and picked up Emma, who was eating a strawberry. "Your daddy is a very good man. Did you know that?" Emma stared at Hermione for a moment with big eyes. Then, nodding, she wrapped her small arms around her mother's neck and hugged her. Harry appeared in front of the building that Luna used for her experiments. It was the single largest building on the enlarged island and Harry had spent a fortune buying the equipment that Luna needed in order to conduct her work. He never could figure Luna out. He loved her, although not quite in the same way he loved Hermione. She was more than a sister and a lot less than a lover, even though she had already had three of his children, Ramses, Reginald and Reena. He privately thought she harbored a secret lust for the letter 'R'. Publicly, Luna stated that statistics had proven that people whose name began with 'R' were forty percent less likely to be attacked by furry dweebles. Harry had no choice but to believe her. After all, she was the mother of three of his children. She was also incredibly intelligent like Hermione, but then again, in a different way. Luna seemed to be naturally intuitive. She could look at two totally unrelated things and find relationships between them that no one would have guessed existed. It was a process that drove Hermione to distraction. Hermione was linear. She went from point 'A' to point 'Z' making sure she stopped at each intermediate point inbetween. She was methodical in everything she did and Harry knew it right down to his bones. When Hermione decided it was time to have children, everything had to be timed to the nth degree. She'd orb him with her ovulation temperatures, much to the amusement of the islanders, then she'd remotely activate his emergency portkey when it was the right time. He be talking with some family and suddenly... whoosh! He'd be pulled back to their home where she was waiting for him. Harry went along with it with Sirius. But when she tried to pull that with Emma, he put his foot down. For three months straight the islanders were laughing at Hermione, who often found herself suddenly dragged off because Harry decided it was a good time. She spent those three months with a goofy grin on her face and a funny walk. "Reminiscing, Harry?" "Oh, hi, Luna," he said, giving her a light hug. "Yes, I was just thinking about some things. How are you today?" She smiled up at him. "I'm busy. I take it you wanted to come talk to our latest catch?" He nodded. She opened the door and waved him into the air conditioned interior. "Well, come on in. We haven't done much except

strip them down, and strap them onto the tables. Did Blaise tell you who we caught?" Harry, walking beside her, shook his head. This was the third time they had captured a large group of Aurors that had been sniffing around the Cay. This was the largest group ever caught, however. The previous groups were smaller by at least half. Luna glanced down at her clipboard. "Well, we have Theodore Nott, still wearing his dark mark. Apparently he was too busy to take the Ministry up on their offer of removing it. We also have Pansy Parkinson-Nott. I guess she set her sights on Teddy when Draco decided to try removing his own penis. I could have told him that wouldn't stop the continual orgasm I cursed him with." Harry winced and shook his head. "I'm glad your on our side, Luna. Otherwise I'd be truly afraid." "Harry," Luna said with a laugh. "I'm not about to do anything like that to you. I mean, really, what if I want more children?" Harry stopped and turned to look at her. "After I invoke the Avalon formula you won't be able to reach the clinic for at least twenty years. There's a good chance the clinic won't exist anymore." "I know that, silly, but I've been speaking with Healer Chang. She says she thinks she can duplicate their procedure. She thinks that, for you, she might even be willing to make it more enjoyable." Harry paled and shuddered. He was certain Hermione's reaction to Cho Chang's offer would not be well received. "Erm... I'm sure if it becomes necessary, Hermione would be more than happy to help me again," he offered lamely, then he decided to change the subject. "Who else did we find in our net?" Luna chuckled and looked down at her clipboard again. "Well, it seems the Nott's were the ones in charge of this raiding party. But we also picked up Daphne Greengrass, Lisa Turpin, and Marcus Flint" Harry stopped and looked at her hard. "Who else did we pick up? You're hiding something from me, I can feel it." She sighed and handed him the clipboard. He glanced down at it and growled low in the back of his throat. "Does Blaise know about this?" Luna nodded. "He said she's no sister of his. Not after what she did to their parents." "And Su Li Weasley?" "He doesn't want to talk to her, either," Luna replied sadly. Harry nodded. Blaise had been married to Su Li, but when the new laws were passed, she had sided with the Ministry when they arrested his parents for owning a company that dealt with muggles. Incensed by her actions, he fought with her publicly in Diagon Alley, causing considerable damage in the process. The Ministry stepped in and arrested Blaise and Su Li divorced him. Blaise was picked up in the same raid that snatched Luna from the Ministry. To Harry's great amusement, even to this day, no one ever thought to suspect he might be behind those rescues. Su Li married Percy Weasley, not long after her divorce, in a wedding that rivaled a muggle royal wedding. Harry attended, despite the fact that he hadn't been invited, because he knew it would irritate Percy and the rest of the pure bloods. He didn't attend the reception, but he didn't need to. The twins, working with Dobby, arranged for everyone at that affair to come down with a three day case of the shits. The Ministry attributed the sabotage of the reception to malcontents and hooligans. Fred and George were so pleased, they renamed their little group Team Hooligan. "I figured you'd want to talk to them, so I put them all in the same area," Luna said softly.

"Thank you, Luna. I shouldn't be long. Give me five minutes, then you can come in and start prepping them while I continue speaking with them." Harry stepped into the large room. All around him were beds with bodies strapped down on them. It reminded him eerily of a thriller movie he and Hermione had watched with her parents once. Next to each bed was an IV stand with a bottle waiting. Sheets covered each person up to their shoulders, but Harry knew they were naked under the sheets. They would awaken, frightened and intimidated. This was the third and last time he would be in this room. He had witnessed Luna run her procedure twice before, but this was the only time he would get personally involved. He walked over to a particular corner of the room where several beds were grouped together. He conjured a chair and sat comfortably, then he gestured, causing the beds to tilt up so the occupants could see him clearly. He lit his pipe and waited patiently for the spell to wear off. Pansy Nott, formerly Parkinson, was the first to wake up. She opened her eyes, blinking and looking around in confusion. Teddy and Su Li woke next, followed by Greengrass, Turpin and Flint. "Good afternoon, and welcome to Norman's Cay. Or, as the other residents prefer to call it, Potter's Redoubt," Harry said softly. Pansy turned her head to look at him, her eyes widening. She tried to jerk upwards, but the straps prevented her from sitting up. "Potter!" snarled Theodore Nott. "I should have known we'd find you here!" Harry shook his head. "Now, Teddy, is that anyway to treat your host? You and your people fell to our entrapment ward fairly easily. It really doesn't say much for Ministry training these days." Pansy looked down at her strapped in naked body. "What the hell are you doing with us, Potter?" Harry's expression hardened and he looked at the group of Aurors. "I'm only going to give you one chance. If any of you are willing to give a binding blood oath, I'm willing to release you and let you come with us. If not, then you are all about to become vectors for one of Luna's experiments." "It's not an experiment, Harry, I told you, we stopped experimenting a year ago. The design is finalized," Luna said from the doorway. Harry turned and nodded at Luna, who was flipping switches, flooding the room with light. He turned back to the Notts and the others. "There you go," he said with a shrug. "It's not an experiment. And she would know, wouldn't she? It is, after all, her idea." He looked up fondly at Luna, who was wheeling a cart over to where Teddy Nott lay. "You'll get no oath from us, you filthy half blood! Now, release us or the Ministry will get you for this!" Teddy snarled. "So much for the offer of sanctuary, then," Harry said, then he nodded to Luna. "You can start anytime, love." Luna placed a small bag on the IV stand next to the larger bag of dextrose and water. She then connected the small bag into the IV, using a shunt to the main tube. Once finished, she lifted the sheet and applied a tourniquet to Nott's arm. "What are you doing?" he screeched nervously. "Teddy," Harry said softly. "Luna isn't going to hurt you. She's just making you a carrier."

Turpin, a former Ravenclaw, was more knowledgeable about muggle terminology and technology. "A carrier for what, Potter?" she asked in a frightened tone. "Ah,yes. Perhaps I should reintroduce you all. This is Doctor Luna Lovegood-Atkins, one of the worlds leading experts on the science of Nano-technology." Seeing the blank looks, he smirked. "Harry, don't tease them. Making them tense like that will increase the chance of them being bitten by a wild wiffler," Luna chided. "Besides, being the mother of your children is a more important title, if you ask me." "So, you finally bagged a pure blood, eh, Potter? Figures you'd go for her once the Weaslette was killed," snarled Flint. Harry stiffened and he looked at Luna questioningly. She dropped her gaze for a moment. "No, we don't really need him," she murmured unhappily. When Harry nodded, Luna sighed heavily. She knew what was coming. There was a sharp snapping sound and Marcus Flint sagged on his bed, his head rolling loosely, his neck broken. She knew Flint's death would come back to haunt Harry in the form of nightmares. They always did. It didn't matter that Flint deserved to die for his actions in the war. The nightmares would come, regardless of what she or Hermione might say or do to comfort him. "I'd strongly suggest you watch what you say," Harry said flatly. His magic flared around him, causing his Bermuda shorts and his Aloha shirt to rustle in an unfelt wind. Luna made a note to orb Hermione privately later and warn her about tonight so she could prepare. "You killed Marcus," Samatha Zabini whispered, straining at her straps. This Auror mission had stopped being fun now that the shoe was on the other foot. Harry turned to her. "Do you really think killing him matters? We're killing your whole world, you daft cow. What's one life in comparison? Especially a bigot like Flint!" Harry snapped. His eyes glowed eerily, causing Samantha to flinch back on the table. The bed with Flint's body tilted back flat then sunk into the floor as if it had never existed in the first place. Lisa Turpin paled. "What is Nano-technology, Harry?" "I'm glad you asked!" Harry said with a grin, his mood switching almost instantly. Turpin bit her lip. Watching him, listening to his words, she began to believe he'd gone insane. She wasn't the only one among the captured Aurors to think so. "The quick explanation is, nanites are micro machines. They're so tiny you can't see them without the help of a muggle microscope. It's really quite amazing when you think about it. You're receiving heavy dose of these machines. "Luna has built them to perform three functions. First, they multiply wonderfully and pass themselves from person to person very easily. If you're infected with our nanites and sneeze in a room, you will infect every person in the room. Share a cup or kiss someone or shake someone's hand, and you've infected them. Make love to your spouse and... well, I think you get the picture. "The second thing they do is burrow into every cell in your body, looking for one particular piece of DNA. Rather than bore you with all the mundane details, these machines find that which makes you a wizard or a witch and it prevents you from passing that to your children. Your children will have no magic at all. In short, they will be less than squibs." "Finally, in muggles, it prevents a witch or wizard from being born," Harry said, grinning cheerfully. "Harry, you're scaring them again," Luna reminded him. He nodded and looked at his captives. They were just coming to realize exactly what he was saying.

"Are you scared yet?" Harry asked them hopefully. Scaring them was the least he wanted to do to this batch of bigots. "B-b-but, you'll catch it yourself!" protested Turpin. Luna shook her head. "Silly, Lisa. You never did understand me, did you? You were always so busy stealing my knickers. I often wondered if you had a crush on me or something. Now, do you honestly believe I would create something so dangerous and not protect myself or my family? Everyone on this island has been inoculated." "You'll destroy the world, Potter!" Pansy exclaimed. "And here I thought Lord Voldemort was mad!" "Alright, Potter, what's your price? What are your demands? As the senior Auror, I can negotiate on behalf of the Ministry." Teddy snarled. Su Li sobbed softly as Luna inserted her IV. She and Percy had been trying for children. "Price? Why Teddy, I don't intend to blackmail the Wizarding word. I intend to destroy it," Harry replied, looking shocked that anyone would think he wanted to blackmail the Ministry. Nott blinked and stared at him in utter horror. "Just a part of it, Harry," Luna corrected. Harry nodded. "Right! The Goblins have retreated back into their caverns and, thanks to the Ministry attacking them, Gringotts is not only gone, but bankrupt. We've warned the house elves, but a large number are coming with us. Not that it matters, as the nanites only attack humans. Unlike living things like viruses, nanites can't mutate between generations, so once the current generations are gone, the nanites will die off, leaving mankind magic-less." He turned to Luna. "Did I get that right?" She smiled and nodded at him. "Sometimes he's just like a big kid," she said softly to Su Li. Su Li whimpered and tried to shake Luna off her arm. "Now stop that, Su. You know it's not going to help you," she said softly. "This will only hurt a little. It's only a little prick." "I do believe Penelope said the same thing about Percy when she arrived here, Luna," Harry quipped. Luna flashed him an amused smile. "You said something about the house elves and them coming with you. Where are you going?" Pansy asked. He leaned back in his chair. "Well, you see, Hermione, my wife... You remember her, I'm sure? Muggle born and frightfully intelligent? She's solved the Avalon equations. She tells me that I have enough power to perform the spell." "Harry, you have enough power to move the planet," Luna said with a grin. "It's not that bad," Harry muttered darkly. Why did she insist on bursting his bubble? Wasn't he allowed to gloat once in a while? Luna turned back to Su Li. "Yes, it really is," she whispered to the whimpering woman. "I thought Luna was your wife?" Teddy asked. He was desperately trying to stall while he worked on a way of getting out of there. Luna looked up from what she was doing. "Oh, no, Hermione is his wife. As for me? Well, I thought about calling myself an alternative sperm recipient, but that seemed rather cold. Do you have a better suggestion?" "So, what does this spell do?" Nott asked, trying to ignore the daft blond. He was having trouble putting together a coherent thought, but he knew he had to find out as much information as he possibly could.

Harry looked at him and wondered why he seemed amazingly calm, considering what was dripping into his veins right now. "Don't you remember your history?" Lisa asked. "They are going away. Harry's going to make the island vanish like the island of Avalon did or Atlantis." Harry turned to Luna. "Luna? Why are they so calm? Did you cast a cheering charm on them?" Luna smiled sweetly. "A muggle cheering charm called Sodium Pentothol, actually." He frowned. She had taken away part of his fun! "So, explain this spell, Potter," Pansy prompted. Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We'll be safely gone, while your world withers and dies. The spell will hide this island for a thousand years and slow time for everyone living here. For every year we live here, you'll live ten. In a hundred of your years, the mists will begin to slowly fade from the Cay. In three hundred of your years, we'll be able to bring outsiders to the island, though they won't be able to see it until they're actually standing on it. In a thousand of your years, the island will once again become visible to the world. In the meantime, we'll thrive and raise our families in peace." "Why are you telling us this?" asked Daphne. Harry smiled evilly. "Because you'll all be obliviated before we send you back. By the time you're gone from this place, we'll be making preparations to leave. You'll return to Britain, never knowing that you are responsible for killing that which you hold most precious." Pansy, now understanding just what Harry's plan meant, began to weep. "Damn you," she whimpered as she turned to Teddy. "I wanted to have kids right after we married, but you said we had to wait! Now what will we do?" Luna walked over and adjusted her drip, then patted her shoulder. "Hush, Pansy. There's no reason to get upset. You can still have plenty of babies to love. They just won't have any magic." Even with the Sodium Pentothol, Pansy's wails were heard outside of Luna's processing center.

Azkaban Prison (The Present)...

"And that's what happened, old friend, just six short months ago. Luna tells us that her nanites has been detected in Bejing, London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Cape Town; they're everywhere, now. She thinks that, given another six months, everyone on the planet will probably be infected." Harry leaned back, spent from talking so much. Snape stared at him incredulously for a few moments, then began to giggle. The sound was a bit odd coming from such a man as he. His giggles soon became outright laughter that echoed off the cell walls. A noise at the far end of the corridor caught Harry's attention. He turned slightly on his chair and watched as Dumbledore attempted to break his ward. Shaking his head, he stood and vanished his chair. Turning back to the now cackling former potions master, he smiled. "Sorry to run, old bean, but company's coming and I really don't feel like dealing with Dumbledore today. As tempted as I am to kill him and be done with it, I think it will be more fun for him to watch all his plans fall to dust." Harry reached into his pocket, fingered a small stone and debated with himself for a moment. Then, making his decision, he shrugged. "I won't be back to visit you again, Severus. It will be a hundred years before we can leave the Cay, you see. But I brought you one more little gift besides the bread." He tossed the small stone into the cell. Snape picked up the stone and looked at it curiously.

"If things get too bad, swallow it, old bean. It will put an end to your misery," Harry told him softly, neglecting to add that it would only end after a week of painful suffering. Snape quickly hid the stone under his blankets. A loud booming came from up the corridor and Harry turned to give Dumbledore the finger. The old Headmaster was white with anger and probably felt the situation was a personal betrayal of Harry's. "Potter?" "Yes, Severus?" "A most excellent revenge. It pains me to say it, but even Salazar would be proud of what you've done." Harry glanced up the corridor, then turned to Snape and nodded. "I've been gone from home long enough. Hermione is probably worrying herself silly. Ta Ta, old bean," he said, then he faded from view. Harry's ward collapsed and Dumbledore fell to his knees painfully. When he had heard that Harry was at Azkaban, he didn't think anything of it, at first. Harry had made several visits to Snape over the years and had hurt no one. But this time the reports came in mentioning a ward that was killing aurors. The Ministry had begged him to come help break the ward. At first he hadn't believe the reports. On his arrival, however, the line of blanket covered bodies in the outer courtyard of the prison gave mute testimony to the slaughter that had happened within. He was shocked to find a scintillating blue field cutting Harry and Snape off from the rest of the prison. The Warden warned him not to touch it. Everyone who had, had died. He spent nearly an hour running tests on the ward and what he discovered disturbed him greatly. Even the Hogwarts wards, which were permanent castings anchored in runes deep within the castle, didn't have the power of this temporary ward. It was the strongest and most lethal spell he had ever encountered in his long life. He tried a few spells, and Harry had finally noticed his presence. His anger flared when Harry made a crude gesture in his direction, then Harry had vanished and his ward had collapsed a few seconds later. Dumbledore rushed forward. He stopped in front of Snape's cell, examining the man carefully. Severus clutched the remaining loaf of bread, looked at Dumbledore and began to laugh hysterically. One of the guards moved to open the cell to take the loaf of bread away from Snape, but Dumbledore stopped him. "Don't. I know Harry. He didn't give the bread to Severus as a kindness," the old man said. "Doooooommmmmed! Doooooommmmmed! You're all doomed, Dumbledore, and it's all your fault, you old bastard," Snape said between bouts of laughter. Dumbledore shook his head, trying to shake off an uneasy feeling. "Poor devil. He's insane," he murmured. Turning to the Warden, he sighed. "I will return to the Ministry and let them know we need to arrest Harry Potter on charges of murder." The Warden nodded absently, his eyes fixed on Snape. He'd been Warden of Azkaban for over fifty years. He'd watched countless prisoners teeter and eventually fall over the edge into insanity. He knew what it looked like, what it smelled and acted like. No, whatever Albus Dumbledore thought, the Warden knew Snape was not insane.

Norman's Cay (Several days later)...

Harry groaned and rolled over on the bed. Then a small mass hit him, hard. "Daddeee!" squealed the mass. He cracked open one eye and looked at his bushy haired green eyed son. "Hi, Siri," he mumbled.

"Mama sent me in to see if you were awake. She told me to be quiet and not to wake you, but I knew you were faking sleep!" the little boy said proudly. "How long have I been sleeping?" he asked groggily. "Three days," replied a worried voice. He turned to see Hermione approaching the bed. She smiled softly at her son, who snuggled up against his father. Harry might be waking up, but Siri obviously decided that a nap was in order. He was fading fast. "Did it work?" Harry asked quietly. "Of course, it worked. But you wouldn't have exhausted yourself if you let us help you. But no, mister god-like-powers had to prove to the world that he's the most powerful wizard alive and perform a spell by himself that's supposed to take a hundred wizards to perform. You scared me to death when you keeled over like that!" she snapped worriedly. She stopped, took a deep breath and scowled at him. "Luna and I have been going crazy. You'd exhausted yourself and were in a deep coma. My parents were pulling their hair out because we dropped the kids in their laps. If it weren't for the house elves, I think my mum would have resorted to tying Sirius to a tree to keep him still!" Hermione placed her hands on her hips and her scowl became a death glare He would have blanched, but he was busy protecting their five year old son from her glare. A shield snapped in place and he stuck his tongue out at her. "OHHH!" she exclaimed and stomped a foot. "Let me tell you something, Mister I-Killed-Voldemort. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll let Emma have words with you. You scared her silly!" Harry paled and the shield faded away instantly. He wasn't trying to make fun of her fear, but he hadn't considered the fright he may have caused his children. "Is she alright? Where is she?" he asked. Hermione climbed into the bed on the other side of Siri and spooned up behind Harry. "She's still at Mums. Luna was certain you'd wake today, which is why Siri is back here," she whispered, then she sniffled a little. "I'm sorry, I just wanted us to be safe. All of us," Harry whispered sleepily. "I know, Harry. Sleep now," she replied. "We're all safe, thanks to you. I'll yell at you more later." He nodded, already drifting while she ran a hand through his hair. Within moments, he was sleeping. Minutes later, her eyes drifted closed and she joined her husband and son in slumber.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (One Year Later)...

The initial reaction to the Potter Azkaban Massacre, as the Daily Prophet called it, ignited a furor and great public outcry. But it quickly died off in the following months, as no one could find Potter, and his last known location, somewhere in the Bahamas, no longer existed. At first Dumbledore had been fearful that Harry had finally turned the corner and would be taking up Voldemort's job. But that didn't seem to be the case. As the months dragged by, Albus began to relax. No one had heard from Harry and no one knew where he was. If Harry was becoming the next Dark Lord, he had a few lessons to learn about keeping the terror level high. A knock came from his door and he looked up. "Come!" The door opened and his deputy Headmaster, Charlie Weasley, entered the office. He smiled at Charlie. It was a shame about the Weasley family, he thought. The two youngest killed in the war, the twins were fugitives and so was Bill and his half breed wife. Arthur died from his injuries after the war. Molly was a pale shadow of her former self, a recluse who refused to part with her memories and what might have been.

"Yes, Charlie? Do come in and sit down." Charlie entered the room holding the student registry. "Albus, I've found something strange and I thought I'd talk to you about it." "Oh?" Charlie flushed. He had only been at the school for ten short years, first as the Care of Magical Creatures Professor when Hagrid went on the run, then as deputy Headmaster and head of Gryffindor house after McGonagall had quit when Flitwick and Granger were nearly arrested in the school. The fact that Flitwick and Granger had escaped from the Ministry before Percy could arrest them hadn't soothed McGonagall at all. "I'm sorry, sir. I know you're busy with the start of the term, but I think this might be important," Charlie said as he held out the large, heavy book. Dumbledore sighed and cleared a space on his desk. Charlie gratefully laid the heavy book down and opened it. "This is December of last year, Headmaster, just ten months ago. You'll see the registry is noting the births of sixteen wizards and witches, which is about average for our enrollment registry." Dumbledore glanced down. "Indeed, including your own Stephanie, I note," he replied teasingly. Charlie smiled with pride for a moment, then his expression changed again. "Yes, but look, Headmaster. January, fourteen births. February and March, ten birth each. April and May seven each. June three, July none, August none! Has this ever happened before?" Albus stared at the book in surprise and started flipping pages. "But surely... I know the Longbottoms were expecting, Neville and Susan are quite strong, magically. And what about the Murphy's? No, wait, they vanished last year. What about...what was their name? Oh yes, the Notts were expecting, as well." Dumbledore peered up from the book to look at Charlie, who could only shrug. Charlie knew about the Longbottom child, but no one had told him whether she was magical or not. He had just assumed she was, until he checked the book. She wasn't listed among the enrollees. "You will say nothing of this to anyone until I have had a chance to research it," Dumbledore said sternly Charlie nodded vigorously. "Of course, Albus. I wouldn't dream of it." "Thank you, Charlie. You are dismissed." Charlie blinked in surprise. The Headmaster was rarely so abrupt! Standing, he nodded and exited the office. Once he was alone, Dumbledore paged through the registry and muttered to himself. He had a terrible, sinking feeling that somehow things had been taken out of his control and he was worried.

Ministry of Magic (Two years after Harry's disappearance)...

Percival Weasley, Minister of Magic, walked out onto the stage and stepped up to the podium. He looked at the hushed audience for a moment, then he cast an amplification charm on himself. "Witches and Wizards, thank you for coming to this emergency meeting. You represent the best and brightest masters in your fields. Potions, healing, charms, nearly every field imaginable is represented here today in the hopes that, between you, we can find a solution to the crisis that now faces our world..." The doors in the back of the auditorium slammed open and Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of the DMLE, rushed in, waving a paper. "It's in the Prophet!" he shouted. "Kingsley," Weasley said disapprovingly. "We're busy trying to solve our crisis. We don't need you barging in..."

"Minister! It's in the Prophet! Look!" he said as he rushed up to the podium, slapped the paper down in front of Percy and muttered an incantation over it. Suddenly the front page of the Prophet appeared on the wall of the auditorium in stark relief. Harry Potter's Final Words Admits to destroying life as we know it! Earlier this morning, the Daily Prophet received a wizarding letter delivered by a squib. The letter, signed in blood, was from Harry Potter and once we read it, we were stunned. In the interests of our world, we will not editorialize this, nor will we edit or change anything Mr. Potter has written. Here, then, are the final words of Harry James Potter, our savior and our destroyer. Dear Wizarding World, As you read this, my representatives have noted that your government is meeting in secret to try to find a way out of a problem they have been hiding from you. You see, for nearly two years now, there has not been a birth of a witch or wizard, anywhere in the world. No muggle born, no half bloods, and especially no pure bloods. This is what your government doesn't want you to know. This is why new parents haven't been told what their children's Hammerstein Magical Index is. This is what St. Mungo's and other wizarding hospitals around the world don't want you to know. Now, here is the truth. There will be no witches or wizards born again in this world until we return. I did this to you because you do not deserve magic. Magic is a gift bestowed upon man so that those blessed with such gifts can work for the betterment of all mankind. But you have forgotten or ignored that fact. You have become cruel and callous to your fellow man and think you are better than they are. This is your punishment and nothing your government does will be able to fix this because the change is permanent, affecting wizards and muggles alike. The muggles, not knowing about magic, will never know or care because all I've done is ensure their children will be as they have almost always been; ordinary muggles. Wizards, however, are another story. In two hundred years, most of the wizards will be dead, except for those I've taken with me into my redoubt, and we are beyond your reach. We solved the Avalon equations and I have invoked them. In time, we will bring magic back to the world for the greater good of all mankind. I know this is something you will never understand, since you rejected your humanity. In the meantime, you can try your potions and your charms and curse my name if you like. It won't help. This is the price you pay for letting small minded people like Percy Weasley become Minister, and for letting people like Albus Dumbledore continue to teach children, when he clearly doesn't care about them. This is your fate for thinking you are superior. You let murdering Death Eaters go free and persecuted muggle born because they had muggles for parents. How sick is that? For nearly fifteen years I watched and prayed you would turn from this path. Conditions got worse and worse, however, until I could not sit back and be idle any longer. You are now reaping what you've sown. I hope you enjoy your fate. Actually, no I don't. I hope you all die, old and bitter, gnashing your teeth and cursing your fate. In the end, I hope you remember just one thing. You brought this on yourselves. You cursed your world; you destroyed your world. There is one bright point in all of this. You can take hope from the slight solace that magic, gentle, tolerant magic, will return to mankind when we return to the world. Take hope that we will dedicate our lives to helping all mankind, not just a privileged few.

Harry James Potter, Big Kahuna of Norman's Cay and official Luau Starter Keeper of the Pretty Seashells. For once, we in the Prophet are speechless. Mr. Potter's letter paints a picture of the Wizarding world that we'd like to deny, but we know in our hearts we can't. All we can do is turn to our Ministry and demand the truth. Have any witches or wizards been born in the last two years, Minister Weasley? The people want to know and await your response! Percy sagged and only his grip on the podium held him upright. A great cry came from the audience as people read Harry's letter. Percy straightened and quickly walked off the stage. Behind him, the greatest minds in the wizarding world erupted in a riot. It was a scene that would be replayed throughout the world over the course of the next few months. Hogsmeade would be burned to the ground, and Aurors would end up killing over fifty people in their attempt to put down the riots that erupted in Diagon Alley. Slowly, things returned to a semblance of normalcy, but it was edged with panic and a great sense of frustration and anger. Percy Weasley was voted out of office and pushed through the veil without a trial by an angry Wizengamot. Dumbledore was ousted as Headmaster and barely escaped with his life.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Eighteen Years after Harry's disappearance)...
Albus Dumbledore stood silently on the side of the road. He was nearly a hundred and seventy years old, and his face showed every one of those years. His health was failing rapidly and nothing the healers could do seemed to help. He knew his time was short. His biggest regret was that he'd leave life without seeing his greatest student one last time. He had much he would have liked to say to Harry if he had the chance. He had much to atone for. He knew it, just as he knew he'd lost any chance of doing so. He watched in silence as Charlie Weasley, last Headmaster of Hogwarts, escorted the last graduating class from the school, all forty three of them. There were no more students to come, no more new witches or wizards. Charlie was the last Headmaster, the one left with the duty of sealing the castle in the hopes that, someday, students might return to the school once more. Charlie spotted Dumbledore and he nodded cordially to the man. He'd always held him in high regard, despite his being ousted in disgrace over Potter's Punishment, as it was now called. The students, seeing their parents, ran to meet them, while Charlie and his daughter, Stephanie, walked over to Dumbledore. "Albus, how are you? You remember Stephanie, don't you?" Charlie asked. Dumbledore peered at the young woman, so full of life, ready to start fresh. And so full of death. "I do, yes. Congratulations, my dear, on graduating. Your parents must be very proud of you," Dumbledore replied, then he turned to Charlie. "And what of you, Headmaster? With the school closed, what will you do?" Charlie looked down at his feet for a moment and his daughter came to his rescue. "Daddy and I plan on opening a muggle veterinarian service to help muggles with their pets. I've been accepted into veterinarian school in England," Stephanie said proudly. Dumbledore nodded and smiled sadly. It pained him to see such a bright young woman, who was clearly at the top of her class, rejecting her life as a witch in favor of going muggle. Seventeen years ago, she would have been sent to

prison for even considering it. How times had changed, forced on them by one man. He turned and started walking towards what would always be in his mind his school. "Sir? Where are you going?" Charlie asked worriedly. "I'm going home, young Charles. I am going to visit an old friend and have a long talk with her." "But the wards! The castle is sealed!" Dumbledore waved him off. "She won't keep me out. I bid you farewell, Charles. I doubt we'll meet again in this life." Charlie stared at Dumbledore as the old man hobbled down the road towards the school. He stood motionless for a few minutes, then he turned and smiled at his daughter, his only magical child in a family of nine children. Taking her hand in his, he turned and continued their journey to Hogsmeade and a new life. Over an hour later, Dumbledore collapsed on the chair in his old office. He had been right, the castle hadn't kept him out. In fact, it had welcomed him like an old master returning from a long journey. "We've come a long long way, haven't we, old friend?" he said to the castle. The castle, of course, remained silent. "I only wish things hadn't turned out the way they did. In the end, all that I struggled to save, I destroyed. I was so wrapped up in receiving fame for something I didn't do, that I didn't see what I was doing. Not to him or to the others." "This is your fault, Albus. I told you not to anger that boy," Phineas said from the wall. "Yes, Phineas, I know. But I really thought Harry would always side with us," Dumbledore replied in a breathy voice. He tried to ignore the stabbing stitch in his side. "How could he, Albus? You drove him away," spat Amando Dippet from his portrait. "You made him choose between us and what he perceived to be his own family. When forced into such a choice, family usually wins." The stitch in his side moved to the center of his chest and became a crushing pain. He gasped through blue lips and his hands trembled. "It.. was for the... greater good..." Phineas stared at Dumbledore for a moment, nodding to himself in satisfaction. "Well, look were it got you. He'll be back. He'll own this castle and he'll bring his vision of magic to the world. And you'll be dead and forgotten, Albus. A footnote in the history books written about the great wizard Harry Potter, who saved magic for mankind." Albus tried to turn his head, but the pain was too intense. He slumped over the desk, his face buried in a book. A minute later, his chest ceased rising. Several minutes later, a blank canvas across the room from Phineas began to glow. As the other paintings watched, Albus slowly appeared. Once the glow faded, Dumbledore looked around the office, bemused. Phineas snorted and pointed a finger at the newest addition to their number. "And this is what you get, Albus. This is what your grand plan has achieved. When Potter returns to take up your position in our world, you'll be nothing more than crumbling paint chips and moth eaten canvas!"

Norman's Cay (twenty months into Avalon time)...

Hermione watched from the veranda, a frown of worry creasing her brow. Harry stood out on the quay, staring off into the distance. His gaze was firmly fixed on something she couldn't see. She didn't dare try to make her way out to him. She was six months pregnant with their third child and she wouldn't risk those slippery rocks. When he finally turned and looked at her, she was startled to see tears falling down his cheeks. He scrambled over the

rocks and up to the veranda until he stood in front of her. Then, without a word, he grabbed her and she felt the shudders race through his body as he tried to hold back his emotions. It was then that she became truly alarmed, Harry never cried! Not even when they buried Ron and Ginny. That was the reason why they parted paths for a few years after the war. She had thought he didn't care. It was only after she arrived on the island that she learned how much he actually held inside. It would have killed him, eventually, had she not intervened. "Harry?" she asked in alarm. "He's finally gone," he said, his voice muffled against her neck. His emotional damn burst and he clung to her, weeping. A door to the past had closed in his life and he felt as though he was being reborn, right there in her arms. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him, cooing and whispering encouragement in his ear. Overhead, a phoenix appeared in flash of flame and sang a lament that tore through her soul. She clung to him and started to weep as well, her tears mingling with his. They cried for different reasons. She cried for him and he cried for all that he had lost, thanks to the machinations of one man. The Phoenix hovered above the pair for a moment longer before it's voice changed, washing away the tears with the joy of its song. Harry and Hermione looked up in wonder as the small bird came to land nearby. It cocked its head from side to side, examining them both with bright, jewel like eyes. When it leaned toward them slightly, both gasped. They felt warmth and joy wash over them as creature bonded with them. "Great, another pet in the house," muttered Hermione, though her eyes were a bit wide. "Two owls, four cats, two land crabs named Fred and George, forty two fish and now this." The phoenix squawked and looked at her reproachfully and Harry began to laugh. He kissed her cheek in thanks and wiped away both their tears. He knew they would be having a long talk about this later, but he didn't mind. Then he lifted an arm, holding it out to the phoenix, who sprang aloft with a song of happiness. "Let's show this pretty girl to the family," he said. Hermione nodded and they walked into the house. Luna watched for a moment longer before returning to her own house. Someday, she'd tell Hermione about the bond that existed between all three of them. And someday, she'd also tell them about the life extending properties of her vaccine nanites, too. But for now, she was content to know that Hermione would help Harry, and the phoenix would help them all.

FINIS OR IS IT? Author's Note.

This is a repost of Wizards fall from another archive. It was originally written as a series of standalone stories, but for your convenience I have placed them into chapters here. This series as it stands is complete, but I do reserve the right to revisit this particular universe someday and add to it.

*Chapter 2*: Wizards Fall - Rescuing the Rescuer

Standard Disclaimer:
Bob stepped onto the stage wearing a bright blue tuxedo and a top hat. "Friends, readers and those who don't wash nearly often enough..." He paused and blinked. Alyx rode onto the stage wearing a string bikini, each cup had a blinking red light on it. She was riding a pink llama. "Whatcha doing?" she asked from the back of the llama. "I was about to explain to our dear readers about this latest installment of the Wizards Fall saga," Bob replied pompously. The llama, not being impressed with Bob and his pomposity, promptly took a dump on the stage. Both Bob and Alyx stared at the back of the Llama for a moment. There were unmentionable sounds and foul odors emanating from the rear of the beast. The unmentionable sounds echoed loudly in the large theater causing Bob and Alyx much embarrassment. Alyx turned to the audience. "I apologize for my llama, he's not quite used to Bob and I've been forced to feed him all the donuts people have sent us. I can't let Bob have them. Anyway, we don't own Harry Potter, we don't own the movies... Well we do, but not the rights to them. We don't own anything, honest! Hell! I borrowed this Llama from Alan Rickman!" Bob covered his face with his hands and shook his head sadly. "Must you?" Alyx smirked at him. "Ummm, no, not really, but it is fun." "Ok, you said the words, now can I PLEASE continue?" Alyx sniffed loudly. "Well since you put it that way," she replied haughtily. "Please do." She clicked twice and trot the llama off the stage. Bob sighed wearily and stepped forward. There was a loud squishing sound and he looked down. He really wished he had worn shoes with his tuxedo today. Shaking one foot he looked out at the audience apologetically. "This story is part of the Wizards Fall series. If you haven't read Wizards Fall, this will make little sense to you. As we've explained several times on our yahoo group and elsewhere, it's our intent to create a series of short stories in the Wizards Fall universe depicting what happened following the fall of Voldemort. "There is a lot of speculation about what happens when they return from Avalon time, but to be honest, we're more interest in how they got there in the first place. IF and that's a BIG IF, we did a post Avalon time story, it would only happen after we have finished the tale of what happens in that fifteen years following Voldemort's death." With that, he turned and walked off the stage, every so often, shaking his foot and muttering under his breath.

Wizard's Fall: Rescuing the Rescuer Norman's Cay (Four Years after Voldemort's Death)...
Harry surfaced, peeled off his diving mask and snorkel and tossed them into the small boat. Then, lifting up the wire leader with the fish attached, he tossed them into the boat, as well. Finally, he unclipped the small spear gun from his belt and put that in the boat before he climbed aboard.

He could have used magical means to swim under water, but he had been taught by a home grown wizard who used magic for more important things and resorted to mundane methods for simple things, like spear fishing. There was something relaxing and therapeutic in swimming in these waters like a muggle. And for Harry, any form of relaxation was to be cherished. While he climbed aboard, the anchor lifted from the bottom and raised on it's own, the rope curling into a nice, neat spiral as it reeled in. Swimming with fins, mask and snorkel was one thing. Hauling a fifty pound anchor up by hand was another. He reached for his hat and a torn shirt. The motor fired up and the boat turned, pointing towards the low hump in the distance. Harry smiled and leaned back. He dug into one pocket and pulled out a pipe, which he filled with tobacco and lit. He looked down at his catch; two Snapper, a small Barracuda and several smaller Bonefish. They were good sized and would provide supper for the next several days. He could conjure dinner, and he often did, but nothing beat freshly caught fish cooked over an open fire on the beach. Harry pushed the throttles forward and the little engine sped up. In the distance, Norman's Cay grew slowly from a low hump to a small ridge on the horizon. Grabbing the steering wheel, he released his magic, running the craft by hand, the way Amos taught him. It was at times like this when he almost felt a sense of peace and contentment. Almost. Norman's Cay grew slowly in the distance; it was his, finally. It was his third year living on the island and he finally owned all of it. When he first arrived, he was the only wizard on an island with nearly a hundred muggles. But over the course of the next three years, he slowly bought out the muggles, gently easing out those who wanted to move. Now there were a few muggles still living on the island, and more wizards, but the population had dropped from nearly a hundred, to less than thirty, mostly wizards, survivors of the war, like himself. People too badly scarred to have a normal life. Harry scowled at that. Normal? What is normal? he asked himself angrily. Whatever it is, it isn't me! He snorted. Normal is someone that sleeps through the night without waking up, screaming. Normal isn't someone with my power levels. And normal isn't someone who tries to kill themselves every couple of months, he thought. Even in the silence of his mind, he couldn't keep the bitterness from surfacing. He sighed and thought back to that terrible day just over four years ago. The battle had raged for hours, with Harry ranging from one side of the battle to the other, killing Death Eaters, waiting for Voldemort to finally show up. After Ginny's death, he had vowed he would never use a stunner in battle again. The Death Eaters wanted to eat death and he would serve it up cold. Something strange happened to him in that battle. He had killed without reservation. It was Ginny's final gift to him. What happened to her had pushed him into a rage that had resulted in him using extremely lethal spells on his enemies. Not once during that terrible battle did he resort to using an unforgivable, but his spells were just as lethal. And that's when something strange began to occur. As the Death Eaters died, Harry could feel himself absorbing their power. He didn't just take it into his body. His core enlarged each time to accept the excess. Harry's power was already equal to Voldemort's when the battle began. And thanks to the Dark Lord's cowardice in refusing to face him until he absolutely had to, Harry was able to add more than twenty wizards worth of power to his already considerable core. And then, when Voldemort fell, crushed and dead, his soul obliterated beyond any hope of ever passing into an afterlife, Harry received his power, as well. Harry's physical wounds from the battle were relatively minor and easily fixed. The mental and emotional wounds, however, ran deep and bled often. Too often. He glanced up and smiled. The dock attached to his villa was visible, and sitting on the dock was one of the oldest wizards in the Bahamas. Named Amos Jefferson Smith, he had shown up shortly after Harry had moved in and he had stayed on the island ever since. Amos was a character, and one of the few people capable of making him smile these days. He spent some time with the old man nearly every day. Amos had taught Harry much about the islands, and living in the topics. He taught Harry how to fish, and how to spearfish, as well as how to handle his boat. Amos was a precious gift to the wounded, bitter young

man, and had taught Harry much of the practical way of life on the island and how to live. Despite his advanced age, Amos owned and operated the largest boat on the Cay, which he used to make supply runs to the big island of Nassau. He was a key person for the Cay and very likable, which was why no one minded his other eccentricities. His biggest eccentricity was his ship. The Mary Celeste was a nineteenth century brigantine, which he operated without a crew. In fact, he often operated the ship from below deck, adding to the already considerable legend of the renowned ghost ship. Amos smiled broadly, standing on the dock as Harry pulled the little boat along side and cut the engine. "Harreee, mon, whot I tell ya 'bout fishin' in de full sun?" asked Amos in his sing song island accent. Harry grinned and reached down. He cut the Barracuda off of the leader and handed it up to the old man. Amos' eyes lit up with great pleasure and he accepted the three foot long fish with relish. "I know, Amos. Wait to fish in the morning or late afternoon. What can I say? I was bored and I didn't want to conjure dinner," he replied. Then he held up the rest of his catch. Amos nodded in appreciation. "Well, put de fish on ice an' come inside b'fo' ya turn as dark as me. I gots news, an' it's no' so good," Amos said sadly. Harry shot a glance at his friend and hurriedly rinsed off his snorkeling gear using the fresh water tap at the end of the dock. Amos stopped on Harry's deck and placed his fish in a red and white cooler. He knew Harry would always share his food with him, but that wasn't the real reason why he was attracted to the haunted young man. He had felt his arrival when Harry first bought the island, and he felt the turmoil within him. Harry was a volcano ready to explode, but Amos thought he might be able to help him, so he moved to Norman's Cay as quickly as he could. As he got to know Harry, he learned to like him. He ended up teaching him a lot about living on the island. "So, Amos, other than coming over here to mooch some fish, what brings you?" Harry asked. He sat in a wicker chair and leaned back. He tapped out the ashes of his pipe into a large shell he kept for that purpose, then refilled the pipe. Amos noted the dinner table piled high with priceless rare texts and notebooks scattered about, filled with Harry's unsteady scrawl. He didn't fail to notice the freshly emptied bottles of bourbon either. "Harreee, dis no good fo' ya," Amos said, pushing one empty bottle with his foot. Harry eyed Amos for a moment and the older man sighed heavily. This was a fight he couldn't win, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop trying. Harry was on a downward spiral and he would nag him until something gave. Amos threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine! But don' tink I'm gonna stop naggin' ya, Harreee," he snapped. Harry shook his head. "I know you won't, old friend. But I don't think this is an argument we should be having now." Amos nodded and sat opposite Harry. "I was talkin' wit dem Weasley boyos. Mon, dey be right smart, and dey business be doin' well, but dey want me ta tell ya wha' dey heard. Seems ol' Trent Jackson got hisself picked up by dem Aurors when he wen' ova ta Delaport Bay ta pick up engine parts. Dey also heard dat all de aurors are bein' folded inta one group unda de ICW." Harry scowled. He had heard rumors on his last trip to Nassau that the International Confederation of Wizards was pushing to unite law enforcement into one world wide group, one global Ministry, but he didn't think they'd get away with it. It was an initiative sponsored by Dumbledore and Minister Scrimgeour. Trent Jackson? Now that was a piece of unhappy news. He was a former Auror who had fought alongside Harry against Voldemort. And, like Harry, after the war had ended, he retreated from the magical world. Like so many others who had joined Harry on the Cay, he was searching for his humanity, or perhaps his sanity. In either case, he was living a simple life, fishing and selling his catch to the markets up in Nassau. He didn't make much, but then, he didn't to.

Harry owned all the buildings now, and he didn't charge Trent rent for living in one. "Arrested? Why?" asked Harry. Amos shrugged. "Donno. He was gettin' parts and dem Aurors stunned him. Took him away in manacles, dey did." Harry stood and walked to the edge of the deck. Leaning against the railing, he thought quickly. He didn't care much about himself, but the others worried him. Trent wasn't the only damaged soul on the island. With a shake of his head, he turned to face his friend. "Amos, I know you're not done with your mooch patrol, so as you make the rounds, stop at every house and tell them that tomorrow I am putting the island under a keep away ward. I'll key them all into the ward, but if they want others to enter, they have to tell me about it, so I can key the new people in." The old man cocked his head thoughtfully. "Yes. De ward would keep dem Aurors out, at leas' fo' now. But it be an easy ward ta break." "I know that, Amos, but I'll layer a few other wards to warn me about others approaching the island. That way, I can find out what is going on. If worse comes to worse, I'll put the island under a Fidelius." Amos nodded and picked up his cooler. "Alright, I be telling dem. In de meantime, Harreee, ya lay offa de bourbon. Dat stuff rot da mind," the old man said firmly. Then, with a wave, he turned away and started up the beach, swinging his cooler full of fish from one hand. Harry sighed and walked inside. He opened a new bottle and poured himself a tall drink, then he walked over to his table and started working on the manuscripts again.

Norman's Cay (Several days later)...

"Oy! Freddo! Company coming!" shouted George. Fred looked up from the miniature cauldron and spotted Harry ambling up the lane leading to their house and factory. Despite Ministry interference, Weasley Wizarding Wheezes was going strong world wide, doing business via owl post. One of the first things Harry had done when he bought the island was place an owl confundus charm on it to keep out the unwanted owls. It meant the twins had to trip to Nassau every other day to pick up or send out orders, but they didn't mind. The twins had arrived about eight months earlier, seeking help from Harry. Their business in Diagon Alley had been raided and shut down by order of the Ministry, all because they had copied an idea from the muggles, producing the worlds first magically enchanted rubber chicken. When they arrived, Harry had helped them by putting them up at his place while they built a home and a place to make their jokes. When they were done, Harry had placed their buildings under a Fidelius charm, setting himself as the secret keeper. "Harry!" shouted Fred. "Mate! How are you?" George came up behind his brother, grinning. "Harry, come in! Amos said you might be stopping by a few days ago." Harry smiled softly. He had a soft spot for the twins, who treated him more like a brother than an investor. "Hi, guys. I thought I'd stop by and find out first hand what happened to Trent," he replied. George came out of the kitchen holding three bottles of butterbeer. He handed one to his brother and another to Harry, then motioned for Harry to sit. "There isn't much to tell," Fred said sadly. "We went to Nassau to arrange for more Boomslang skin and watched several Aurors leading Trent into the Ministry office there." "You weren't caught? Guys, you know the Ministry would leap at the chance to lock you up," Harry replied.

George shook his head. "Not going to happen. Every trip we take, we do it polyjuiced. This time we were disguised as an American couple." Harry smirked and wondered which one had assumed the female role. Then he shook his head. "I just don't understand what the Ministry is pulling these days. Trent was a retired Auror. That's it. He wasn't wanted. He hasn't committed any crime. Why would they take him?" The twins exchanged a thoughtful look, then George nodded to Fred. Fred frowned and turned to Harry, leaning forward in his chair. He played with his bottle for a moment, then sighed. "Harry, mate... We didn't want to be the ones to tell you this, but it looks like its down to us anyway." Harry looked at the two with worry. "We, that is, George and myself, think that they arrested Trent in an effort to find you," Fred said. "Me?" Harry squeaked in surprise. "Yes, you," replied George. "Look, Trent is only a partial pureblood. His mother has a squib sister and he's close to his aunt. He's always been close to her. That is an arrestable offense these days. But we think they did it mainly because he was close to you. He's about the only wizard here who doesn't use polyjuice when he goes off island." "Wait a minute. You mean having a squib relative is now grounds for arrest?" "Haven't you been reading the papers, Harry? There are a whole bunch of things that are now illegal, mostly dealing with muggles, muggle born and half bloods." Harry leaned back and was silent for a while. He'd known it was happening, but he'd done his best to ignore it. But knowing that someone he knew might have been arrested just to try to find him was enough to make him ill. "Do you guys still have contacts off island?" he asked suddenly. Fred nodded. "Do you think you can find out where Trent is being held?" he asked intently. "We can try, but why?" asked Fred. Harry stood and looked down at the two for a moment. "I'm not going to let them punish Trent for something he didn't do. Knowing me is no reason to be arrested." As he spoke it seemed like a little of the old Harry shown through again. He wasn't going to let others suffer for him. He turned towards the door, then stopped himself and turned back to the twins. "I'm going to start warding the Cay, guys. If you want others to reach you, let me know and I'll make allowances for that in the wards." "Erm... Speaking of that, Harry. Angelina and Alicia have expressed an interest in joining us. Lee Jordan and his wife, also," George said. Harry's expression altered and he grin. "Really? That's brilliant. Look, guys, I may own most of this island, but I really don't control what happens here. I don't want that kind of responsibility. All I'm asking is that you tell me so I can adjust the wards for them." Fred nodded. "I'll send an owl to Lee right away." Harry smirked. "Why send an owl? Orb him." The two looked at him blankly and he sighed. He hadn't really meant to tell anyone about this, but the twins would be the only ones who'd understand and appreciate his little exercises in larceny. He moved over to a chair and sat.

"I got bored last year, so I apparated to London and decided to visit the British Museum," Harry said. "Only you would apparate four thousand miles to go to a museum," George said with a grin. Fred poked him in the side. "Hush, brother. Harry's telling us a story." The twins turned back to Harry with identical grins. Harry sipped his butterbeer and waited for them to calm down. He was used to their antics by now. "Are you two done?" he asked when they began to squirm with impatience. They glanced at each other, then turned back and nodded. "Anyway, I was in the wizarding section, visiting the Hall of Merlin, when I stopped to look at the Avalonian Grimoires. The display had the first book open and the remaining twenty volumes laying on a table. It was a compelling display and protected by several wards. The sign said that you could purchase duplicates of the Grimoires in the souvenir shop for a hundred galleons. "Noting that, I glanced at the originals one last time, then I went down to the shop to pick up a set to read for myself." "Waste of money, mate," Fred muttered. George nodded. "Too right. We have a copy and couldn't make head or tails out of it. One of the few times we spent money and found it to be a total waste." Harry leaned back and grinned. "That's because the copy you bought didn't match the originals." The twins stared at him incredulously. "What?" exclaimed Fred. "It's true. Whatever spell they're using to duplicate the books isn't making a perfect copy. I bought my set and noticed it immediately. I don't know, maybe others couldn't see the lettering in the originals, but I sure could and the copies didn't have them. I nearly took them back for a refund," Harry replied. "And you know this how?" demanded George. Harry suddenly flushed and looked sheepishly at them. "Erm... Well, I sorta... Oh, alright! If you must know, I saw that the open page in the first book had glowing letters that were missing from my copy. So, I broke into the museum later that night and replaced my copies with the originals. Since no one ever made a fuss about them being stolen, I figured no one else was able to see the glowing letters like I can." George's eyebrows merged into his hairline. He looked at Harry with something akin to awe. "You broke into the British museum and stole priceless manuscripts?" asked Fred incredulously. Harry frowned. "You know, you're making this sound a bit dodgy, mates." "Harry," George said, grinning. "You stole from the British Museum! It doesn't get more dodgy than that." "How did you manage it?" asked Fred eagerly. "You said yourself the manuscripts were protected by wards." Harry shrugged. "I opened an hole in the wards. Then I summoned the books, banished the copies back into the display case and closed the hole." Fred leaned back and started to laugh. What Harry had described would be impossible for anyone but Harry Potter. George looked intently at Harry. "Alright, mate, give. What did the Grimoires have in them that isn't in the duplicates?" "A lot of stuff, actually. Look, I can copy them correctly. There's too much to cover here, and frankly, some of the stuff I don't understand. Even with the advanced explanation, the Avalon Equations are way over my head. There's

other stuff, like the Book of Wards, which is really interesting, or that orb spell I mentioned. Swing by my place sometime in the next week and I'll make you a copy of what I have, alright?" The twins nodded and Harry stood. With a wave, he left them, heading back towards the beach. Fred and George looked at each other for a bit. "He looks like shit," Fred said sadly. "It's the booze. Amos says he's still only getting a few hours sleep a night, too," George replied. "We could dose him with some dreamless sleep when we go over," Fred offered. George chuckled, but he shook his head. "Nah. You know he'd only catch us out. I'm afraid what he needs isn't something we can give him." "Ginny would have set him straight," Fred said in a strangled voice, then his head dropped. George placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know," he said softly, mourning with him. Ginny had been killed several days before the final battle. She had been attacked by a squad of Death Eaters led by Severus Snape and had been brutally raped before they slit her throat. Harry had personally led several former DA members and the Weasley brothers to capture Snape and the others after Voldemort was dead. Snape had fought viciously, but Harry captured him and nearly killed him before Fred and George talked him out of it.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (Three weeks later)...

Fred and George came upon Harry in an interesting state. He was stripped down to just his shorts and was sitting on the deck. Around him floated pieces of his dive gear while he sat reading a manual on Scuba diving and, in particular, tank care and maintenance. "Harry, why don't you just use gillyweed instead of this stuff?" asked Fred. Harry started in surprise and looked around wildly before spotting Fred and George grinning at him. He shrugged. "This is more of a challenge. The tank only holds so much and you can only do so much while wearing one. Gillyweed does it all for you. That's nice, but there's no challenge to it." "If you say so," Fred said dubiously, eying the muggle equipment nervously. He and his brother weren't experts in muggle stuff, but they were developing a healthy respect for their ingenuity. "Listen, mate, we heard back from one of our contacts. It seems Trent's been taken to a holding facility run by the Aurory in Manchester. We couldn't find out much, except that they haven't been treating him well," George said softly. Harry sighed. "Do you at least know where the place is?" The twins nodded, and George handed him a map with the location marked. Harry checked his watch. It was still too early for him to do anything about it. He looked at the twins. "Fred, can you orb Amos and ask him to bring Mother Marie to the island? I don't know what kind of shape Trent will be in, but he'll probably need a healer." Mother Marie was an old island native like Amos, who visited Norman's Cay from time to time. She was well versed in healing and birthing and served several islands as the primary care healer. "I'll take care of it," Fred replied. "George can pop on over to Trent's place and clean it up, refresh the cooling charms and such. Are you going to get him tonight?" Harry nodded grimly. He couldn't let Trent suffer because of him.

The twins exchanged a glance then Fred turned back to Harry. He opened a pouch at his belt and pulled out a grapefruit sized glass ball that looked as though it was filled with white cotton and held it out to Harry. He took it, then looked at the twins. "It's a Randy Ram. Just smash the ball before you leave. The ram will attempt to hump every person it comes across and it's devilishly difficult to get rid of," George offered with a devious grin. Harry laughed, and the hand holding the ball glowed for a second. "What did you do?" asked Fred, now curious. "Do you remember your fireworks that couldn't be dispelled back in your sixth year?" George's eyes widened. "You mean the doubling trick? Where the fireworks doubled every time Umbridge tried to banish them?" Harry nodded and Fred collapsed on the deck, laughing. "Oh, mate, you are evil, truly evil. You know the first thing someone will do is try to either banish or cast a finite on the Ram." "I'm counting on it," Harry replied with a grin. "I'll leave about six tonight. That should empty out the building enough so that movement won't be too much of a problem. Searching for Trent will take time." "Do you want us to come along?" George asked. "Nah. This should be fairly simple. Besides, you guys can't get past the wards like I can," Harry replied. "But assuming all goes well, why not prepare for a party to celebrate Trent's rescue?" Fred and George turn to each other and grinned madly. "LUAU!" they shouted. Harry chuckled and shook his head. He had introduced the twins to the custom of Luaus a couple months back and he was beginning to regret it. He had learned about them during his wanderings after he'd left Britain. He found the culture and the customs of the Polynesian society charming and had learned how to cook many of the dishes served at a luau, as well as some of the traditional dances. When he held his first luau, with the twins present, they thought it was the greatest party idea ever. "Alright you two, go plan the luau while I get ready," he said with a wave of a hand. The twins nearly bounced off his veranda and onto the beach in their excitement. The girls and Lee had shown up only a week ago and they would finally get a chance to show them how to party, island style. With a wave of one hand, Harry sent all his dive gear back to his shack, then he turned and walked back into his villa.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Office of the Headmaster...

Albus Dumbledore staggered into his office, his robes torn and covered in a sticky mess. Fawkes chirped enquiringly and then had to dodge the stinging spell sent in his direction by an angry Dumbledore. Fawkes settled on his perch again and made a chortling sound. Dumbledore whipped around and the large bird vanished in a burst of flame. Dumbledore's curse bounced off the wall behind the empty perch and ricocheted into a shelf containing some of his favorite books before exploding. He cursed and swore at his familiar. The bond between them had been eroding for nearly twenty years and tonight it had finally snapped, although it would be weeks before Dumbledore realized that Fawkes was well and truly gone. He opened the door to his private quarters and hurriedly stripped out of the loathsome robes, then he climbed into his tub with a sigh of relief. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It had been a hellacious day that had started with a emergency floo call

from the Ministry. The Auror facility in Manchester had a security breach and they needed his help as quickly as possible. Canceling his morning staff meeting, he hurried beyond the wards of the school and apparated directly to the facility. At the entrance, he found Kingsley Shacklebolt and a large group of Aurors trying to open a door and not succeeding. Scrawled on the door in big block letters was a hand made sign that read; Stump the Mugwump! Open Sesame! "Thank goodness you've arrived, Headmaster," Kingsley said. "What seems to be the problem, Chief Auror?" asked Dumbledore. "We received a distress call from our interrogation center, but when we arrived, we found the door sealed. For a while there were screams from inside, but it's gone quiet except for a some strange snorting noises," Kingsley reported. Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Get your men ready, Kingsley, and I'll see to opening the door." For the next hour Dumbledore tried every unlocking spell he could think of. He even tried blasting the door, much to the amusement of the Aurors, who were starting to make snide comments. Finally, he sat down on a conjured chair and stared at the door for a long time. Minutes ticked on in silence and the aurors shuffled restlessly. Suddenly, he sprang to his feet, looking very annoyed at himself. "Open Sesame!" he cried. The door swung open revealing total blackness inside. All the interior lighting had been extinguished. "First squad, enter and fan out. Second squad, cover them! Third squad, illumination spells!" barked Kingsley. In seconds, thirty aurors stormed into the building lobby. Kingsley and Dumbledore followed at a more sedate pace. Ten aurors cast illumination charms, lighting up the interior of the large lobby area. Several people gasped, seeing some figures prone on the floor in the poorly lit room. The door behind them swung shut ominously. "OPEN SESAME!" shouted Dumbledore. The door remained stubbornly closed. The floor trembled and one of the prone figures lifted his head and moaned piteously. His robe was torn to shreds and covered in blood. "Noooo!" he wailed. A second later a mass of white flooded into the room. "Baaaaa" "Fire! Fire! Fire!" shouted Kingsley. Dumbledore's eyes opened and he shuddered violently. He grabbed his bar of soap and started to scrub viciously at his skin, trying to clean a stain that only he could see. Kingsley and his men had made it out after a three hour pitched battle with sheep! Sheep, for Merlin's sake! They had been forced to use the killing curse on hundreds of the enchanted beasts. Every other spell they tried resulted in duplicating them! Dumbledore scrubbed harder, his breath coming in gasps and sobs. The sheep hadn't been trying to kill them, they were... Well... He shuddered again and tried not to think about it. He had only been caught twice. Twice was more than

enough. Other aurors, like Kingsley, had to be rescued six times, sometimes more, from the Randy Rams. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure Kingsley was fighting all that hard the last few times he had been caught. A flash of flame caught his eye and then a patch of white. Dumbledore screamed like a first year discovering Snape under her bed as Fawkes dropped the sheep in his bathtub and vanished, never to be seen at Hogwarts again. A floor below, Minerva McGonagall paused in her rounds and wondered if she really heard screaming.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (Several Months later)...

Harry rolled out of bed and stumbled towards his bathroom in search of a headache potion. He had cut back on the bourbon, but his sleep hadn't improved like Amos told him it would. If things don't improve soon, I'm going back to the booze full time, he thought. After the rescue of Trent Jackson, he had placed the island under heavy wards, including the addition of a Fidelius charm. That had allowed the twins to finally drop the charm on their place, much to their relief. Angelina and Alicia arrived a week before Trent's rescue and moved in with the twins. Lee Jordan had followed a few days later with his wife and their baby daughter, Annette. Slowly, the population of Norman's Cay was growing. The outside world wasn't getting any better. Harry heard rumors from Amos of roving bands of Aurors running around, harassing muggle borns or half bloods, and the Ministry was allowing it. There was talk of other, harsher things happening, but they were just rumors. He was glad his friends had made it to the island and were safe, but he really didn't care very much what the rest of the world did. Although, annoying the Ministry or Dumbledore was always good for amusement in his book. He paused and wondered if Dumbledore could eat mutton anymore. He blinked in surprise, seeing Amos standing out on his deck peering inside. With a wave, the large glass doors slid to one side, letting Amos in. "Give me a moment," he mumbled to his friend. Amos eyed him up and down and grunted in displeasure. "A moment? Harreee, mon, when be de las' day ya had a good meal and eigh' 'ours sleep?" Harry slid a pair of Bermuda shorts over his boxers. "Look, Amos, it's too early for this crap. Don't think I'm not glad to see you, but this nagging..." "Iz gonna continue till ya realize ol' Amos be right!" the old man snapped, then he picked up a bottle off the floor. "Dis be killin' ya, mon." Harry's shoulders slumped. "I know. I just don't know what to do about it anymore. I've cut back on it a lot," he offered half heartedly. Amos nodded, then poked him. "Ya come wid me. I be makin' a run up ta Nassau ta pick up food'n supplies. You be ma crew today." Harry glared at the old man. "Amos, you don't have a crew. You told me yourself you use magic to run your ship." "So? Mary Celeste is big enough fo' ya to be crew today. I make ya so tired ya eat and sleep tonight. 'Sides, ya learn ta run Mary Celeste. It be a good ting ta learn," Amos stated. Harry sighed. He wasn't making any progress with the Avalon Equations, although he had made considerable progress in other areas. Some of the wards he had placed on the island were totally unique, things he had developed after reading the Book of Wards. "Why not?" he said, shrugging.

Amos laughed and hit him on the back. "Good! Dress yerself. We sail in half an 'our." Four exhausting hours later, Harry and Amos guided the nineteenth century brigantine into a slip Amos leased year round. The docks were owned by a long time wizarding family who had lived in the Bahamas for several centuries, so they weren't surprised to see only two men running the Mary Celeste. "Amos, I'm going to check the owl drop. I think you and Mr. Jones can see to the loading of cargo?" Amos waved and Harry walked down the gangway with a grin. Nassau was a old city and the people worked hard to make sure that a lot of it kept the old world colonial charm. Harry always enjoyed his trips to the town, even if he didn't come here frequently. Normally, the twins or Amos checked his owl drop for him. The owl drop was in the oldest part of the city, the part reserved for the small wizarding population. He stepped into the owl post office and tensed. He felt the anti-apparation wards going up around him. He knew he risked running into the Aurors that were looking for him. Apparently the Aurors had finally found him. The owl drop was his only real vulnerable point. Even though the individual boxes were anonymous, the Ministry could trace his mail, eventually, to this point. Harry made a mental note to change the routing of his mail again. He'd obviously waited too long this time. He stepped deeper into the lobby of the post office. A side door opened and three men and one woman exited the room. All had their wands drawn and aimed at him. The clerk behind the counter blanched. "Hey! No fighting in here!" he cried, half-heartedly. There were rules, after all, and they should be followed. "Shut up, asshole. We're Aurors," said the woman, who looked vaguely familiar to Harry. She waved a badge in the direction of the clerk. The clerk nodded once, scrambled his way to the back of the shop and slipped out the back door. The door slammed shut with a resounding bang. "We have orders to bring you in, Potter. Seems Minister Scrimgeour wants to have some words with you," said the woman. She wore an expression of pure glee, as if she had finally come to the end of a long chase. Perhaps she had. Harry grinned. He had no intention of letting anyone take him anywhere. "Only four Aurors? I'm hurt!" Harry said, placing a hand over his heart, mockingly. "I would have thought that the Ministry would be more afraid of me." One Auror flicked his wand. "Hands in the air, Potter. Don't make any sudden moves or I'll kill you and bring your half breed head back to the Ministry in a trash bag." Harry looked at him for a moment. "You know, Terry, you weren't very smart at Hogwarts. I see that working for the Ministry hasn't improved your intellect any, Mr. Higgs." Terrence Higgs growled and grabbed the manacles that the woman was holding. He pushed forward and roughly grabbed Harry. He snapped a manacle around one wrist, then Harry calmly held out his other wrist for him. Snapping the second manacle on, the Aurors relaxed somewhat. The woman made a gesture and six other Aurors removed their invisibility cloaks. "Alright, let's get him back to the Ministry," said the woman. "Oh, I don't think so," Harry said softly. His eyes began to glow with power. A low rumbling filled the room and the Aurors stared at him in shock. The manacles were supposed to suppress his ability to perform magic! "How? Stun him!" shouted the woman in a panic. Ten stunners lashed out and stopped just short of hitting Harry. The beams hit a barrier and simply vanished. The

Aurors stared, dumbfounded. The manacles around Harry's wrists seemed to shimmer, then fell to the floor with a noisy clang. They were still locked in the closed position. At the same time, all ten Aurors dropped to the ground as if they had been stunned. Harry walked over to the woman and pushed her over so she lay on her back. Her eyes darted back and forth in terror. Eventually, they settled on Harry, but her panic hadn't diminished. "I bet you're wondering how I could perform magic when the manacles are supposed to prevent that. Am I right?" he asked amicably. He sat cross legged on the floor next to her and turned her head so she could see him. The woman's eyes darted around the room, but all she could see was Harry and the ceiling of the owl post office. "I'll tell you. Your manacles are designed to work against regular, normal wizards, and I couldn't be one if I tried. Well, that's not totally true. I am fairly regular when it comes to bowel movements and such. But I don't suppose you're interested in that sort of thing, are you? Harry shook his head when the woman didn't answer him. "I didn't think you were. Now, I have a real problem. You see, I can't send you back to the Ministry, knowing what you do. You can keep a secret, can't you?" he asked her, his eyes wide with hope. She strained against the spell holding her and tried to speak. "I didn't think you could," he replied for her, his shoulders slumping sadly. "But no matter. I have just the solution! I'm going to wipe your memories, all of them, and take away your magic. Won't that be fun?" The woman's eyes widened and he could see her clearly struggling against his binding spell, not that she had any chance of breaking it. "You're dangerous to me and my friends. I'm sorry, but there really is no other way. I'm sure you understand," Harry said softly, patting her gently on the shoulder for a moment. He then lifted his hand and as the woman watched, it was enveloped in a blue light. He placed his hand softly against the woman's forehead. She tried to scream, but her jaw was locked shut. A moment later he lifted his hand. "Thank you for the gift of your magic," he said with a bit of a giggle. The woman's eyes fluttered closed, and she vanished, leaving behind all her clothing and belongings. One by one, Harry wiped the memories and removed the magic from each Auror, adding it to his already considerable core, then he sent them on their way. When he finally reached Terry Higgs, he grinned evilly. He reached down and wiped the man's memories and removed his magic. He'd saved Terry for last so he could give him one final, parting gift. He mumbled under his breath for a moment and a terrible stench wafted up from Terry's unconscious body. With a snort of disgust, he sent Terry back to the Ministry. Let them wonder why Terry smelled like rotten eggs. They'd have a long time to work on the problem, as the smell would never fade with the passage of time. The Ministry would know their mission had failed, but they would never know why, or who was responsible for the failure. Instead of trying to discover what happened, they would spend their time and effort trying to cure what couldn't be cured. It wasn't until later that Harry would learn the Auror team had been led by Minister Scrimgeour's daughter and Dumbledore's great grandson. He collected the invisibility cloaks, thinking they might be useful, then he banished all of the auror's belongings and clothing. Once he was finished, he walked to his drop box and pulled out a thick wad of parchment. He stuffed that in his pocket and left the building before the clerk could work up the nerve to return. Amos worked Harry mercilessly on the trip back to the Cay. He grilled him on operational details of his ship, as well as

having him climb the mast by hand to set the sails, then climb back down, several times. Arriving back home, he ate a quick meal and crawled into bed. Amos had been true to his word. Being the sole crew member aboard a ship that normally had a much larger crew was exhausting work. For the first time in nearly a month, Harry slept through the night without waking up from a nightmare or needing a drink.

News From Some Old Friends...

Harry groaned and rolled out of bed. He looked down at himself, disgusted. He was still wearing his clothing from the day before. He'd been too tired to care last night. Stripping and dropping the clothing on the floor, he walked into the bathroom and started the shower. He sighed in relief as he stepped under the hot spray. His body ached, all of it, every square inch. He stood under the shower and vowed revenge on Amos. Maybe he'd stick a nice large rock crab down his shirt or something. The thought made him laugh. Amos was nearly as old as Dumbledore and, in some ways even wiser than that coward. But he was nothing like Dumbledore. For one thing, Amos listened to Harry. He wasn't very smart about magic, but his magic was strong and practical, having spent over a hundred years refining and developing his own style without the interference of a formal education. While Harry showered, Dobby popped into his bedroom and performed a quick clean up. Dobby had followed Harry to Norman's Cay, wanting to bond with him, but Harry wouldn't let him. He had been sneaking into Harry's house for three years now, helping where he could, then he'd return to Grimmauld Place to wait until Harry needed him again. Dobby picked up Harry's clothing, placing them in the hamper. He paused when he felt the wad of parchments in the pocket of the pants. He removed the wad and placed that on Harry's kitchen table, next to the Avalonian Grimoires. With his task complete, he popped away, just in time to avoid being caught by Harry as he exited the bathroom. He dressed, then glanced at the table with his notes and the Grimoires and he decided they could wait until later. He walked outside, collecting his mask, snorkel and spear gun, then continued out onto the dock where his boat was waiting. He considered taking the scuba tank, but he hadn't finished reading the manual on it. Four hours later and still shy an hour of noon, he returned with a decent catch, which he put on ice. Then he washed up and turned to work on the Avalon equations again. He was able to relax in comfort once inside. Despite the tropical heat, the villa was under a permanent cooling charm, so once he was indoors, it was always comfortable, no matter how hot or cold it was outside. He sat at the table and blinked in surprise, noting the wad of parchments he had retrieved from the owl post yesterday. Then he turned and looked through the open door to his bedroom. All his clothing had been picked up. Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath about insane house elves and started sorting through his mail. He leafed through the parchments, ignoring the letters from the Ministry. He didn't need to open them to know they were demanding his presence once again. Harry tossed those letters into a special hoop he had set up. The letter vanished, on it's way to the Minister of Magic's office, where it would explode harmlessly, but very loudly. It was just one of the ways he liked to remind the Ministry that he was still breathing. Harry paused and stared at the letter in front of him. He recognized the elegant script. It was from Albus 'Fucking Coward' Dumbledore, the great white chicken. He growled in the back of his throat and tore open the seal. My dear Harry, It's been many years since we last met and I would really like to extend an invitation for you to come visit Hogwarts. Much has changed since you last walked these corridors. I understand that you visit Severus Snape at least once a year. It pleases me no end that you are able to bury your enmity against him. He was once a good man, and I have little doubt he could be again, should he be willing to undergo treatment for his hostilities. I wonder if perhaps the next time you visit him you might suggest that he volunteer for the anger management program offered jointly by the Ministry and St. Mungos. They have had wonderful success with a new potion that suppresses antagonistic behavior. Volunteering for the program might even earn Severus some

time off his sentence, or perhaps some improvements in his quarters. Harry snorted in silent laughter and looked out at the beach. What value is time off for good behavior when one had a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, he thought. And quarters? It's a five foot by five foot prison cell, for Merlin's sake! Hell, the loo is a metal bucket on the floor. The only improvement Azkaban had seen was the loss of the Dementors that Harry destroyed in the last battle with Voldemort. Shaking his head, Harry looked back down at the letter in his hand. I would really like to see you again, my boy. I feel we parted on uncertain terms and I think it might be best if we talked about it. My going into hiding was exactly what you needed in order to kill Voldemort. I was doing you a favor and I would like to take the opportunity to explain that in better detail, in person, rather than a cold, impersonal letter. I don't know what you have been doing since you left, and I worry that you might be making wrong decisions. My office is always open to you. Minister Scrimgeour has also expressed an intense interest to have you return to public life. You hold the hereditary seats on the Wizengamot for your family and for the Blacks. I believe the Minister wants you to reclaim those seats and take your rightful place in wizarding society. I do so hope you'll see fit to come home. I know your parents wouldn't want you to stay away from Britain for so long. Regards, Albus Dumbledore, Grand Sorcerer, Headmaster of Hogwarts Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Holder of two Orders of Merlin (First Class) Harry balled the parchment up and threw it across the room. Before it had traveled two feet, it ignited and burned to ash. The ash fluttered, then broke apart into a hundred pieces before vanishing. "Dumbledore!" he snarled, gripping the edge of the table in his hands. The Minister had only two uses for him, either as a public relations showpiece or as a prisoner, and he wasn't about to let either happen. The villa shuddered and one of the large bay windows exploded outwards. Harry stopped and pushed down his anger. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. The glass shards immediately flew back into place and the window repaired itself. Harry slowly opened his eyes and turned back to the letters. Control, Harry, he thought to himself. Can't lose it! If I let him anger me, he's won. After several more explosions sent to the Ministry, he came upon another letter that gave him pause. With trembling hands he broke open the seal and unfolded the parchment. Harry, At one point in my life, I thought I would never write to you or want to speak to you again. And if circumstances weren't so dire I probably wouldn't have changed my mind, but I've reached the end my rope. And I remember what you told me, the last time we spoke. Harry, a little over a month ago I lost my job defending myself from the unwanted attentions of a seventh year student. Albus was sympathetic but unable to help at all. Professor Flitwick and I escaped the castle just a step ahead of the Aurors that were sent to arrest us; me, for not showing proper respect to a pure blood and being Muggle Born, Filius for being part goblin. I thought about moving back in with my parents, but isn't possible at this time. My mother gave birth to another girl.

Yes, that's right, I finally have a sister of my own. Unfortunately, that means I can't move in with them. And therein lies my problem, Harry. I know we didn't part on the best of terms. I said many cruel things and I should have kept my mouth shut. "No, you were so right, Hermione," Harry whispered quietly. "If you knew the truth of what I was becoming, you would have killed me and I would have let you." I wish we hadn't parted but I remembered what you said before you left. It broke my heart when you said "I'll always be here when you need me, Hermione." Then you turned and walked out of my life and, shortly after, out of Britain. I don't know where you are. I don't know if you're alive or if you'll even get this letter, let alone read it. Right now, Tom from the Leaky Cauldron has put me up in a back room in return for me working in his kitchen. He's trying to help, but the laws are becoming unreasonably oppressive. For the first time since the war I'm afraid, Harry, very afraid and I have no where to turn. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I would ask if I might stay at your Godfather's house while I search for work in muggle London. I chased you out of my life, to my everlasting regret, so I won't ask more than that. You're my last hope, Harry. The Weasley's won't help, nor will Neville or any of our other old friends I'm still in contact with. They're afraid of getting in trouble with the Ministry. I can't move to another country, as the International Confederation of Wizards is setting the tone for these laws everywhere. I know I have no right to ask for your help after everything I said to you, but I honestly have no one else I can turn to. Hermione. Harry closed his eyes and frowned. When he opened them, he read the letter again quickly. When he was done, he glanced at the clock. It was just going on noon, so that put it around late afternoon, early evening in London. He stood and his clothing shimmered. Once they settled, he was left wearing dark slacks, a green turtleneck jumper and a midnight blue cloak. He stood silent for a moment longer and then he was gone without a sound. His best friend was in trouble and he'd storm the gates of hell to save a friend, especially her. That was who Harry Potter was.

Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, London, England...

Harry appeared in an alleyway behind what used to be Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. It was one of the few places in the alley where he could appear unobserved. He pulled up the hood of his cloak and cast a notice-me-not charm on himself. It would prevent the curious from taking notice of him, but it wouldn't keep him from holding a conversation. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the alley into the main thoroughfare. His initial impression was one of surprise. Nearly every store held a sign in the window saying they won't serve mudbloods or half-bloods. Harry scowled and looked around. Gringotts was open again, only this time under control of the Ministry. The Goblins had retreated deep into their caverns after the bank went belly up. Once in the caverns, they sealed themselves away, probably hoping to return sometime in the future. Harry had little love for the goblins after they aligned themselves with Voldemort in the final months of the war. His first action after Voldemort was dead was to empty all of his family vaults, Potter, Black, Malfoy and Gryffindor, transferring the money to the Bank of England. From there, he moved his wealth to several countries and converted a sizable percentage of it into gold bullion. His gold now resided in a specially built vault sunk ten meters into the coral rock under his villa. The closing of his account started a run on Gringotts when word of his transactions leaked out. Harry had been lucky. As the first one removing his money, he'd gotten all of it out, along with all of his family's possessions. The customers who came later ended up getting only a fraction of their money. The action nearly resulted in sending the Wizarding economy into a depression.

Ollivanders was still closed, but near the original location a sign proclaimed a new wand maker that he didn't recognize. Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was still closed, as well, but Madam Malkin's was open. There were a lot of new businesses that hadn't been there the last time he'd visited. Another change he noted was the large number of red cloaked Aurors patrolling the street. They didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with stopping someone and demand to see their wand and identification. Harry scowled at that and moved towards the exit. He knew the Aurors would leave him alone, but if he stood there long enough, he'd draw attention to himself even with his notice-me-not charm. Walking towards the exit, it opened without Harry using his wand, which was a good thing because his wand was four thousand miles away in the Bahamas. He stepped through the portal, entering the Leaky Cauldron, and nearly choked on the thick atmosphere inside. Several patrons glanced over, seeing the door open, but his charm kept them from becoming too curious. Tom was in his usual spot, wiping down the bar. Harry pushed his way through the crowded pub until he leaned against the bar. Then he reached out and tugged on Tom's sleeve, catching his attention. "Eh? Wot? Wotcha need?" Tom asked. Harry leaned over the bar. "Miss Granger, where is she?" Tom's expression suddenly became worried. "I don't know no..." Harry pushed his hood back enough for Tom to see his face. Tom stopped and stared. "Great Merlin's ghost! Harry?" he whispered. Harry nodded and Tom broke into a big smile. "I've been praying you'd show up. You have no idea how long it took me to convince her to write you. I didn't want to put her to work, but I had to at least have her work off her meals." Harry nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small metal box and undid the clasp, revealing a small number of high quality diamonds. He pulled one out and placed it on the counter. "For your troubles, Tom. It's a good quality stone. I don't know what the conversion rate is, but it's worth nearly three thousand pounds in muggle money." Tom's eyes widened and he carefully slid the stone in his pocket. "Just a moment," he said. "Oy! Nob, you lazy bum! Mind the bar and keep yer sticky fingers out of the till!" he shouted to his helper. Nob scurried over to bar, his head bobbing up and down. Tom stepped around him and motioned for Harry to follow him into the back room. Once the door was closed, he turned to Harry, grinning. "Damn, but you're a blessed sight for these poor eyes," he exclaimed, holding out his hand. Harry smiled and shook the offered hand. "You look like you're doing well, Tom." "Aye, we're doing alright. But it's a different class of people now, cruder and less polite. Not like it should be," he replied sadly. Tom turned and led Harry down a darkened corridor to a set of doors. He pointed to one. "This is her room. She's in the kitchen, but I'll go send her to you." Tom opened the door and started to back away when Harry stopped him. "Is it really that bad, Tom? She said she was scared."

The man sighed and nodded. "There are rumors, lad. I don't know the right of it, but there's been talk of Aurors killing muggles and muggle born. I don't like it, but I don't rightly know what I can do about it, either. I'm just a lowly inn keeper." Harry placed his hand on his shoulder. "You are much more than that, Tom. You are a righteous man, a good man and one I'm proud to call friend." He hesitated for a moment, then he came to a decision. "If you run into any more people like Miss Granger, send me a note, in care of Amos Jefferson Smith, Nassau, The Bahamas. It may take a while to reach me, but I'll send you instructions and money to help them escape to someplace safe." Harry gestured with his hand and a slip of parchment appeared with the address on it. He also pulled out another diamond from his box and handed it to Tom. "I'll make sure you have enough money to help them, and enough to get yourself and your family away if things get dicey." Tom's eyes moistened and he sniffled. "Yer a good man, Harry. I know some people already looking for a way out, so expect a letter soon." Harry nodded. "I'll be taking Miss Granger from here, but you won't see us leave. Just send her back here and don't tell her why. Be safe, my friend." Tom nodded, then turned and walked away. Harry stepped into the room and was immediately struck by the mess. He wondered how this could be Hermione's room. The mess was so uncharacteristic of her. A soft meow from one corner caused him to turn sharply. He relaxed, seeing Crookshanks eying him. Harry sat in a darkened corner and Crookshanks came over and jumped onto his lap. Crookshanks looked at Harry for a long moment as if to say 'you're late!'. Then he butted his head against Harry's hand. He scratched his ears and the orange fluff ball rumbled softly in contentment. "We've both come a long way, eh, Crooks?" Crookshanks rubbed his hand for another minute, then he jumped down and walked over to the small cot and jumped up on that. A few seconds later the door opened and Hermione walked in. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Her hair was messier than normal, and her eyes had dark circles under them. Her cheeks were sunken and she looked as if she hadn't been eating well or bathing regularly. Crookshanks meowed loudly and Hermione smiled at her familiar. "Shhh, Crooks, Tom says the Aurors are checking the main room again. He wants us out of sight." "What he wants is for you to be safe," Harry said softly. Hermione gasped and turned to see him sitting in the shadows. "Harry?" she whispered. She paled and her hands began to tremble. "Our time is short. Put Crooks in his carrier and gather what you can carry. I'll send an elf back for the rest." Hermione's hands trembled violently. "Harry?" she asked again. "I didn't think you'd come." "We don't have time for this, Hermione. Tom was making up a story about the Aurors, but Diagon Alley is crawling with them," Harry said a little sharper than he meant. She nodded jerkily and looked around, confused and flustered. Harry sighed and stood up. It wasn't her fault, really. The tension and now his presence had thrown her for a loop. He walked to her. "Sominus," he murmured and she closed her eyes, sagging into his arms. He held her and glanced over to Crookshanks who watched him carefully. Crookshanks then let out a loud meow and vanished from sight, two seconds later Harry and Hermione followed him.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay, The Bahamas...

Hermione stretched luxuriously, then she stopped and opened an eye. This wasn't her cot at Tom's! She had the

strangest dream that Harry had come to rescue her. It was a dream, wasn't it? Crookshanks jumped up on the bed and walked over to sit next to her, looking mighty pleased with himself. If he could talk, he'd have been babbling about his breakfast of fresh fish. She turned in the bed and blinked in surprise. The large ceiling to floor glass doors afforded her a wonderful view of a dock and a pristine white sand beach. The blue sky and the ocean only added to the effect. For one so used to dreary British weather and seasons, it was a breathtaking view. Then a small green face popped into her view. "Dobby is so glad to see Miss Hermy!" exclaimed the little elf. "Now is time for you to get up. Dobby has your bath ready, and once you is done I make you a big breakfast. Harry Potter Sir asked me to come help you get better." Hermione sat up quickly. "Harry? He's here? Where is he?" Dobby's ears drooped and he tugged on one nervously. "Dobby isn't sure. He called me last night to come take care of you and pussycat. Then he slept on the beach. This morning he made a house next to his, then he went off in his boat. Dobby is hoping you can help him." Hermione frowned at the little elf. "Help him? What do you mean, Dobby?" Dobby shrugged. "He's not the same, Miss Hermy. He barely eats, rarely sleeps and when he does he screams and cries. He's living, yet he's not, and he won't let Dobby help him." Hermione stared at the little elf for a moment, then she stepped out of the bed. "Let me take my bath, then we'll be able to talk more, alright, Dobby? I want to help Harry too." The little elf nodded happily. It would be nice to have someone around who could help Harry. Maybe even let Dobby stay to help out around the house. He really didn't like living alone at Grimmauld Place. Nearly an hour later, after a heavenly bath, she stepped out of the bathroom and looked around for her clothing. She was shocked to discover a huge pile of new clothes laying on the bed. Dobby had popped back to Diagon Alley while she was in the bath and picked up everything from jeans and t-shirts to several dresses, robes and underwear, in her size. Hermione glanced out the window and correctly surmised that light weight clothing would be better suited for this location, so she picked out a t-shirt, shorts and a rather attractive bra that was more lacy and translucent than she was accustomed to. After she was dressed, she started by exploring the room she was in. It was obviously Harry's, although he had vacated it for her. She checked the drawers on the nightstand out of curiosity and was alarmed by what she found. In the drawer was a loaded handgun, and several bottles of lethal poisons. She glanced over at Dobby, who looked down and nodded. "I said Harry Potter Sir needs help, Miss Hermy." She nodded and chewed on her lower lip worriedly, then she walked out into the kitchen area where Dobby had a large English breakfast waiting for her. She sat down at the counter and started to eat, while her eyes roved over everything. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the table full of books and she was surprised to see several notebooks filled with equations and runes in Harry's messy scrawl. In fact, nearly every surface in the living room was covered in notebooks. She was nearly finished with her breakfast when a voice startled her. "Well now, dis be a firs'. I neva foun' a woman in Harreee's place befo'. Harreee, he has good taste, I tink." Hermione sprang to her feet and reached for her wand. She whirled, aiming at the stranger, who held up his hands and smiled at her. He was old and obviously a native islander. He wore a well worn captain's hat and a baggy shirt and shorts. One leg had a old scar that must have been a terrible wound in its time.

"Peace girl, I mean no harm. I stopped by ta see Harreee, but he mus' be gettin' betta if you is here," said the old man. "Who are you?" Hermione finally managed to gasp out. Why did people seem to expect Harry would be better just because she was here? "Amos. Amos Jefferson Smith, cap'n of de Mary Celeste. I sail dees watas, n'bring supplies ta de islanders from de big island," Amos said with a toothy grin. Hermione casually noted Amos had a front tooth made from gold. It was something a dentists daughter would notice. She glanced around the room, noting the large number of empty and full bottles of bourbon and then she turned back to Amos. Dobby followed her gaze and managed to look embarrassed, but Harry had forbidden him to clean them up. "Perhaps you would join me for a cup of tea, Captain Jefferson?" Amos chuckled. "Jess Amos, girl. Mah cap'n papers expired nearly seventy years ago. I don' drink dat tea like you English, but coffee would be a fine ting." Before Hermione could say anything, Dobby moved, handing Amos a large steaming mug of coffee, extra strong and black, just as he liked it. "Tank ya, Dobby," Amos said, then he took a deep drink of the hot liquid. Amos was well acquainted with Dobby, despite his hiding from Harry. "Captain, I mean, Amos, could you tell me what's going on? Where am I?" "Ya be in de Bahamas, girl, off de coast of Florida, and dis be Norman's Cay. Though some now be callin' it Harreee's Redoubt. Didn' Harreee tell ya dis las' night?" Hermione shook her head. "No. Last night is a bit of a blur. I went into my bedroom in London and Harry was there. He told me we had to move quickly, but I was so shocked and surprised that I guess I didn't move fast enough. He muttered something and I fell asleep and woke up here." Amos shook his head in dismay. "I gots ta talk wif Harreee. He cants be goin' 'round kidnappin' girls, no matta how lonely he gits." Hermione smiled. "I don't think he kidnapped me, Amos," she replied softly. "I sent him a letter asking for help. I didn't really expect him to help and I certainly never expected him to do this." Amos pointed a finger at her. "You be his Herminee, right? Ya gots de frizzy hair and pretty brown eyes like he says." Hermione nodded in confusion. Why would Harry be talking to this man about her? And does Harry really think my eyes are pretty? she thought in confusion. "Girl, he would go ta hell and back ta help ya. Told me dat hisself." Hermione stared at Amos for a moment. "Why would he do that? I called him terrible things the last time we were together." Amos shrugged. "One hundred and forty tree years I see and I haven' got all de answers. Harreee, he is a special kind o' mon. A good mon, but tough ta get by his walls, ya know? He don' talk often 'bout you, Ron and Ginny, but he loves da tree of you." He paused for a moment, watching her. When he continued, his voice had dropped to a whisper. "Ron and Ginny be dead, and Harree, he woul'da joined dem, but sometin' been holdin' him back. You, I 'spect." Hermione gasped. Her thoughts drifted back to the drawer full of death next to his bed and her expression turned grim. Amos nodded. "Ya unnerstan' now. He's willin' ta help anyone but hisself. But maybe now dat change," he said, then he turned to look out the window. Hermione followed his gaze. She could see the small speck on the horizon, slowly coming closer.

Amos stood. "Come, we go meet Harreee. Hopefully, he's got some gud fish." He pulled out a short wand, barely four inches long and he made a jabbing motion. A hat appeared in his hands, which he offered to her. "Neva go witout a hat 'round dees parts. Not 'less you wanna burn til you as black as ol' Amos," he said, chortling. Hermione accepted the wide brimmed hat and, feeling silly, put it on. Then she followed Amos out to the dock where he waited. Almost immediately she was grateful for the silly looking straw hat as she blinked in the blinding tropical sun. She cast a cooling charm on herself and a sun protection charm on her arms and shoulders. She could already feel the sun beating down on her. She watched Harry pilot the small boat expertly towards the dock. She was surprised to see him sitting behind the wheel, with a pipe in his mouth, smoking. The way he handled the wheel spoke of a confidence in piloting the small craft. She was also worried about his reaction to her presence. He had seen her and for a brief moment his face lit up with a smile. Then, as quickly as it arrived, it was gone, leaving behind the neutral mask he tried to show the world. "Ahoy, Harreee!" shouted Amos when he was about a hundred yards out. "I know ya didn' bring dis girl for ol Amos, so ya betta have some gud fish!" Hermione stopped and stared at Amos, not sure where she had been insulted or not. Amos turned and grinned at her, to show he wasn't trying to hurt her feelings. Harry reached down and pulled up a large parrot fish and then he lifted a large bucket, causing Amos' expression to light up. "Harree caugh' lobsta! Good eatin', dey are," the old man proclaimed, grinning broadly at her and smacking his hands together happily. Hermione smiled to herself. The strange old wizard had a peculiar kind of charm about him. Harry guided the boat up to the dock and killed the engine, then tossed Amos the bow line. Amos tied off the bow, while Harry tied off the stern line. Then he bent over and tossed his dive bag onto thedock before lifting up the large bucket filled with lobster. He handed up the leader with several fish to Amos before climbing out of the boat. "Hello, Hermione," he said softly, his expression strangely mixed. He was relieved that she was safe, but also confused. Now that she was on the island, what was he supposed to do with her? She felt very self conscious. They had argued the last time they were together and she had called him some very bad things. Things that she now deeply regretted. "I see Dobby's been taking good care of you. A good nights sleep helped. You look better," he said into the awkward silence. "Harry," she choked, then she grabbed him in a tight hug and began to cry. Harry stiffened for a moment, then his arms seemed to wrap around her of their own volition. Amos watched for a moment, then he chuckled and took Harry's catch to the little shed on the shore where he could take his fish, and a few lobster for his own dinner. He held her as she sobbed against him, the past months of tension finally finding an outlet. "Shhh. You're safe here," he whispered, then he tightened his grip a little and buried his face into her hair. Minutes passed before she managed to get herself under control and Harry released her. She stepped back, feeling strangely lonely now that she was out of his arms. Harry glanced up to see Amos wave, then he walked down the beach, whistling and carrying a bucket with some lobster and his fish.

"Let's go inside and we can talk," Harry said. She nodded and watched him pick up the bag with his dive gear and a rather nasty looking spear gun. It was unloaded, but the spears were clipped to the outside of the barrel. He paused at the shack to rinse off his equipment, then he stowed it and picked up his catch. "Those don't look like lobster," she said. Harry grinned. "They aren't, really. Real lobster have claws, these are called Spiny Lobster. But they taste almost as good as a Maine lobster. I know it's early still, but we'll cook these up for lunch and I'll make you a fish dish for dinner. I have a recipe Amos taught me. It's delicious." Once inside, he put the fish on ice and the lobsters into a large tank, then he turned and gestured for her to sit in the large living room. Crookshanks sat near the tank, his tail whipping in anticipation of more fresh seafood. She sat on the couch and he sat across from her on a comfortable, high backed chair. "Hermione, we both said things to each other that we regret. If it's all the same to you, I would prefer to pretend that fight never happened. I can't begin to tell you how badly I felt afterwards, both for what I said and for what you said." Hermione looked down, her face suddenly flaming. "I said some truly terrible things to you, Harry. I can't tell you how sorry I am." He stood and moved to her side on the couch. Grasping her chin lightly in his hand, he turned her head so he could meet her eyes. "It's alright, Hermione. It's in the past. What matters is what happens from here on." When her tears started, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. Of all the scenarios she could have envisioned, being forgiven so easily was not one she thought would happen. Dobby appeared with a tray holding a large pitcher containing a red liquid and two glassed. Harry took the tray and placed it on the table, then he poured the drink into a glass and handed it to Hermione. "Rule number one, drink plenty of liquids. Between the salt in the water, salt in the air and the heat, you can dehydrate fairly quickly." She hesitated, looking at the blood red drink mixed with ice. "It's just fruit juice, Hermione," he said with a reassuring grin. She sipped cautiously and her eyes lit up with surprised pleasure. Harry returned to his seat and pulled out his pipe. Ignoring her incredulous look, he lit it and raised an eyebrow. "So, why don't you tell me how one of the best and most qualified Professors Hogwarts has had since the founders got herself fired?" She blushed and looked down at her glass for a moment, then she looked up at him. "How much of what's going on back home are you aware of?" Harry shrugged. "I don't pay much attention to the Wizarding world anymore. Short of Dumbledore leading an assault force against the Cay, we're pretty safe here. We'll be safer still when I'm done. Until I got your letter, I was pretty much ignoring the world, hoping it would go away. I guess that'll change now." His expression altered and he looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Although, Dumbledore assaulting the wards would be amusing. Sooner or later I'm going to have to do something about that man," he mused aloud. Hermione nodded, absently filing his comments away. They weren't relevant now. "Over the past year the Ministry had enacted laws aimed at reducing the rights of muggle born and even half bloods, like yourself. The first law was the Racial Purity act," she said. "It made it illegal for most pure bloods to have anything to

do with muggles or muggle society." Harry nodded. "That explains why the twins showed up on my beach one night with a trunk of hastily packed stuff," he commented, mostly to himself. Hermione started. "The twins? Fred and George are here?" "Yes. Angelina and Alicia also arrived recently. And Lee Jordan, his wife, Anita, and their baby," he replied. "Thank Merlin!" she exclaimed. "When they dropped out of sight I was afraid they'd been arrested." She breathed a sigh of obvious relief before continuing. "I was mildly alarmed, but Albus kept assuring me that it was all temporary and would pass, once cooler heads prevailed. But the laws kept getting more and more restrictive. Professor Flitwick and I were practically prisoners in the castle near the end. We had to rely on Poppy and Minerva to get what we needed from Hogsmeade." She shook her head, remembering. "I still don't understand it all. It makes no sense to me. Voldemort was a half blood, but all of his followers were pure bloods, so they're focusing on the fact that Voldemort wasn't a pure blood and lashing out at all muggle born and half bloods. It's insane." Her eyes teared up and she choked back a sob. A box of tissues appeared in her lap and she shot him a grateful look before pulling out a tissue. "I was happy, teaching and doing a little research on the side. I even did some consulting work for the twins from time to time. But then the students started calling me Professor Mudblood and other names. A seventh year student, a Slytherin, accosted me in a corridor and tried to... he tried to..." "You don't have to say it," Harry said, his expression mottled with anger. Had she named the student, he would have gleefully gone off to find the little pissant and tear him to pieces. She nodded and refused to meet his gaze. "I stunned him. He was a student, I didn't want to hurt him. Next thing I know, Percy Weasley's in the castle, demanding that Dumbledore fire me for not showing proper respect for a pure blood and he had a dozen Aurors with him! "Dumbledore didn't do anything! He didn't defend me at all. Then someone slipped a hand in mine and tugged me towards the door. I followed, wondering why no one seemed to care about me walking out like that. "At the bottom of the staircase, Professor Flitwick canceled his invisibility charm and told me that we both had to leave. He was leaving immediately, but I had to go get Crooks and my things. I gathered up Crooks and what I could easily carry, and ran for the Honeydukes tunnel. From Hogsmeade, I made my way to Diagon Alley, where Tom put me up. "Tom later found that I was to be placed under Dumbledore's protective custody, indefinitely. I don't know how he talked them into that, but I didn't want to find out what that meant, either. "Since then, this past month, I've spent my time writing letters to friends, trying to find someone who could help. Many are either afraid, or willingly falling in line with the Ministry position. Neville and Susan Longbottom, for example. Neville wanted to help, but they were afraid." Harry frowned, hearing that. Neville, it seemed, had fallen far from the Gryffindor standard. Crookshanks, hearing his human speak his name, tore himself away from watching the tank full of lobsters and joined her on the couch. She was upset and it was his job to keep her happy so she would keep feeding him and attending to his itchy places. Harry nodded absently. "You're welcome to stay on the Cay, Hermione. I've built you a bungalow just up the beach, but we won't have it furnished for a few more days. Amos will need to run up to Nassau to get furniture and whatever else you need." Hermione shook her head. "You're trying to get rid of me already?"

Harry sighed. "I live alone. Yes, the house has a lot of bedrooms, but only one has a bed in it. Besides, if you stay here, it'll give people the wrong impression." She cocked her head, looking at him sideways. "People? What people? Harry, why are you here and who else is here? I hardly think you'd be concerned about what Fred and George would think. They've been living with their girlfriends for years." Harry stood and walked over to a window, looking out. "This is my place, Hermione, all of it. I own the island. As to why I'm here, I thought it would be for the best if I were to leave the wizarding world. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't ready to let me go just yet." Hermione placed her glass on the table and stood. She walked up behind him, stopping only a few feet away. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly. Harry turned to her. "Why did you write me? Why me? I thought I'd managed to bury my past." She looked around at the empty bourbon bottles littering the room. "Burying it? Drowning it is more like it. What's happened to you, Harry?" Harry took a deep, shuddering breathe and closed his eyes. She could see he was trying to master his temper and she took a step backwards, alarmed by the amount of raw magic surrounding him. He opened his eyes and smiled softly, though it was a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes. In a way it reminded her of Malfoy's smile. "Please, Hermione. Let's not fight." She could hear the plea in his voice, so she nodded. She didn't understand what was going through his mind and it worried her. Once, just a few years ago, she would have known instantly what was bothering him. But no longer. He was a stranger now, someone who looked a lot like a friend she'd once had. He opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the veranda. She followed him quietly, unsure what to do. He leaned against the railing and looked out over the ocean. "It's beautiful," Hermione murmured, coming to stand next to him, also leaning on the railing. "It's one of the reasons why I bought this place. Moving the few muggles off the island was fairly easy. Money in adequate amounts does wonders to convince people to your point of view. The only muggles left on the island know about the Wizarding world." "How did you find this place?" she asked. "After I left England I wandered anywhere I felt like going. I visited Australia, New Zealand, Tibet, Japan, South Africa, India, Polynesia. The Bahamas was one of the few places I liked, and it had something I couldn't get in those other places. Privacy. Did you know you can buy an island and, for the right price, declare your independence from any country?" She shook her head, looking at him carefully. She didn't understand the tenseness that seemed to surround him like a living thing. "I didn't see any need for that. I mean, I have other ways of declaring independence if I want to. Besides, the island is warded, unplottable, masked and under a Fidelius charm. And if I can figure out the last pieces to the puzzle, this island will be protected from the idiots in the Ministry, forever." "Puzzle?" Hermione asked. He looked at her for a moment. "Why don't we save that conversation for later? If I tell you all now, we'll have nothing to talk about over dinner."

Hermione nodded and turned back to face the beach. "So, this is where you're hiding? You and a few others?" "Those 'others' now include you, Miss Granger," he reminded her gently. She sighed and looked down. "All those plans I had," she whispered. "I was going to be Headmistress someday, and head of Gryffindor house before that." Harry looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry," he replied turning back to her. "We all had plans that were ruined." Hermione reached out and took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry I didn't want to believe you about Dumbledore. You were right all along. I didn't want to believe he could do those things." "Some of us take longer to learn their lessons, Hermione. I'm sorry yours cost you so much, but you still have your family. He cost me my family and my life." He looked down at her joined hands and grinned a little, then he looked up. "It'll rain tomorrow. We'll have all day to talk. Do you want me to tell the twins you're here?" "Let's wait a few days. But do you have an owl I can use? I'd like to send a message to my parents, letting them know I'm safe." He frowned slightly. "Sending owls is a bit difficult, but I have a solution." Holding out a hand, he murmured, "Orbis." A silvery orb appeared in front of him, hovering at head height. "Where's your wand?" Hermione exclaimed. He shrugged. "It's in one of my dresser drawers. I haven't used a wand in nearly four years, but I can teach you how to do this spell. It's pretty cool." He held up a hand and a notebook came flying out of the house to land in it. Hermione watched incredulously while he thumbed through the pages. "Ha! I knew I'd written that down," he said, pointing to the page. "I already explained this spell to the twins, but hadn't written it down well enough. So I went back and improved on my explanation." Hermione took the book and looked down at the notes on the page describing the spell and it's wand movement. She frowned, then she relaxed. "Oh, I get it. If sent to a muggle or a squib, it's more like a recording, so I'd have to tell my parents in a regular note how to begin the playback. "And to another witch or wizard, it's more like a telephone connection?" She peered at him suspiciously, then paged through his notebook. It was a book full of spells she'd never heard of before. "Harry, where did you get these spells?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I've been doing some studying." She looked up from the book, her eyes narrowing. He backed up a bit. "Why don't you go write a note to your parents? Explain what's happened and explain how they can use the orbs to playback your messages. Amos will be going up to the big island on the Mary Celeste, so he'll be able to send your message from Nassau. He'll set you up with a owl drop so you can get mail also. I'd let you use Hedwig, but she wouldn't be able to find her way home. "I have some work I need to do on my boat. Once I finish that, I'll come in and make us lunch. Alright?" She crossed her arms and looked at him. She was annoyed. He was keeping secrets and she knew he wasn't about to give them up easily to her. "Alright, but you and I are going to have a long talk later," she muttered. "I wouldn't miss it for all the world," he said with a mocking little bow, then he turned and jumped over the railing to the beach. She watched him walk out to his boat and climb down to do something around the engine. She turned away, looking carefully around Harry's place. She frowned again at all the bourbon bottles and she pulled out her wand, banishing them

all. "Oh my god! Hermione?" Hermione whirled, hearing the voice. Standing in the doorway was Angelina and Alicia. The two women rushed into the living room and embraced her. "I was shocked when Amos said Harry had a woman in his house. But when he described you, I knew instantly who it was," Alicia said happily. "Who else would it be? I told you it had to be her," admonished Angelina. Hermione shook her head and looked between the two in confusion. "What..." Alicia and Angelina exchanged a glance, then practically pushed Hermione over to the couch and sat her down. "When did you get here?" she finally managed to blurt out. "We've been here a couple months now," Alicia said. "The twins have been here for nearly a year. They asked us to come when they heard that Harry was going to increase the warding around the Cay." "I still say it was the best move we ever made," Angelina added. It sounded like an old argument between them. "Yes, yes. I agree," Alicia added with a sigh, then she turned back to Hermione. "So when did you get in?" "Just last night. It's all been so confusing. I was hiding out in the Leaky Cauldron and Harry showed up. Next thing I know, I wake up in his bed." Angelina grinned and leaned closer. "With Harry?" she asked eagerly. "Of course not!" she said, her cheeks started to burn. "Dobby said something about him sleeping on the beach." When Angelina and Alica shared a disappointed look, Hermione leaned back and crossed her arms. "Alright, what is going on here? First Dobby, then Amos, and now you two?" Alicia sighed. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I realize this must all come as a shock to you. But we've been dreadfully worried about Harry. He's been cutting back on the booze, but thats only made his other problems seem more pronounced. Then, when Amos said you were here, I told Angelina that you'd straighten him out." "Do you know why he's doing this to himself?" Angelina and Alicia shook their heads. Finally Angelina broke the silence. "George thinks it's because of the war and how it ended. At first, I thought he meant what happened to Ginny and Ron. Now I'm not so sure. I mean, it was several months later, after Voldemort was gone, when he left." Hermione shivered. "He left because we had a fight," she whispered. The two women turned to stare at her. Hermione stood and paced for a moment. "After Voldemort, we were all hurting so badly. Harry over Ginny and Ron, me over Ron, and Ginny. It was like someone had tore out our hearts and crushed them. But where I kept breaking out in tears, Harry... he became almost emotionless. Like stone. I yelled at him, called him a cold hearted bastard who didn't care that his best friend and girlfriend were dead. After their funeral, I refused to talk to him again." "Oh, ouch," Alicia murmured. "Harry rescued me last night and brought me here. How... how could he forgive me so easily? I don't understand it at all," she said, her expression pleading with them for answers. She simply couldn't understand how he could forgive her,

when she couldn't forgive herself. Alicia turned to Angelina. "Do you want to explain it or shall I?" she asked. "I'll do it. You tend to be a little too blunt," Angelina said gently, then she turned to Hermione. "He forgave you because he loves you, you daft twit." "And you call me blunt?" muttered Alicia incredulously. Angelina grinned at her, then turned back to the shocked Hermione. "He loves you, not quite as a lover... yet, but a lot more than a sister. And I'm positive if you both gave each other a chance, you two would be very happy together." Hermione stared at Angelina. "He can't think of me like that." "Well no, not consciously he doesn't," Alicia admitted. "But he jumped four thousand miles to rescue you, despite your fight." Alicia paused and stared thoughtfully at the younger woman. "Hermione, I didn't finish healer school because of the troubles back home. My mentor was arrested. But it doesn't take a healer to see he's hurting and refusing to face what's hurting him. You are part of what he has to face. He needs you, even if he won't admit it to anyone, including himself." Hermione turned and looked out the large glass doors. She could see Harry sitting on the dock with pieces of the engine spread out around him. "Do you really think so?" Alicia stood and gave her a brief hug. "I'm certain of it. He's a strong man, but he can't go it alone. You'll have to be just as strong." Angelina joined Alicia standing by the door. "We need to get back to Fred and George or they'll burn down the house. But tell Harry that you're both invited to a luau this Sunday at our place." Hermione blinked. "A luau?" The two women laughed. "Just come, Hermione," Alicia said. "You'll love it. Harry usually does most of the big cooking, and the boys provide the entertainment. We'll have everything ready for him." Bewildered, Hermione could only nod as she watched the two women walk out of the house. They waved to Harry on the dock and he waved back, then they turned and walked up the beach. Hermione's mind was reeling. Between Amos, Dobby and now Angelina and Alicia, they painted an image of a Harry that she hadn't seen before. Curious, she turned and walked over to the bedroom next to Harry's and opened the door. She gasped when she saw the stacks of books that rose to just short of the ceiling. The room was full of books on magic, on science, and literature. There was no organization to the stacks. There had to be several thousand volumes in the room. "Dobby?" she called. She turned when she heard a small pop next to her. "You call, Miss Hermy?" asked the little elf. "Are all the other bedrooms filled with books like this one?" Dobby nodded and watched her with huge eyes. She nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully. Her years in Hogwarts as a Professor had gotten her over her reluctance to command house elves. "Very well. I want you to move the books in this room to another for now. Then we'll make this my bedroom. After that, we'll see what we can do about organizing the books into a proper library setting with an index and catalog." Dobby nodded happily. What she wanted would mean he'd be spending more time at the villa and be closer to his Harry Potter Sir.

She turned and frowned in Harry's direction. "Now to go explain to him," she muttered. Dobby vanished, then reappeared with a tray containing two cold drinks. She smiled and took the drinks from the elf, then walked outside and down the short set of stairs to the dock. She paused for a moment and grinned to herself. Harry was sitting on the dock cross legged, surrounded by engine parts and flipping through a manual, muttering to himself. "Even in the wizarding world, talking to one's self is not a good sign, Harry," she said softly, smiling at him. She held the glass out for him to take. He grinned up at her and took the glass. After a long, deep drink, he nodded towards the parts. "Unless you know how to repair a 1998 Mercury outboard, you'll have to put up with me talking to the repair manual." He took another drink then peered up at her. "You forgot your hat," he said, then he conjured another hat for her. She took the hat silently, wondering if everyone was hat crazy on the island. Even Angelina and Alicia wore hats. Harry was wearing an Australian bushmaster hat. "I noticed the girls caught up with you." "Yes. Amos told them you had a strange woman in your house so, being the typical females, they had to run down here to see. They also told me to tell you that there will be a luau at Fred and George's this weekend, on Sunday." He nodded. "Alright. Just be careful around Fred and George. And whatever you do, don't let them show you the joke that got them chased out of Diagon Alley." She looked at him strangely. "What was it?" Even with his deep tan she could see him blushing. "An enchanted rubber chicken." "Is that all?" she exclaimed. "Disguised as a condom," Harry added quietly. Hermione stared at him. He nodded and she blushed as an image formed in her mind, then she started to giggle. Harry joined her, laughing. He thought the idea was funny, since the chicken only appeared once the condom was put on. It gave new meaning to the phrase 'choke the chicken'. He waited for her laughter to die away before finding out what she wanted. "Alright, Hermione. I think I know you well enough. You have that look in your eye that says you have something you're planning on telling me," he said, placing his drink and repair manual on the dock. She nibbled on her lip for a moment. "This isn't a temporary place for us, is it? You came here to hide from the world and it's becoming your fortress, your place of safety." He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you are probably right. I still can't believe what I told Tom yesterday." She looked at him strangely. He waved that away. "I'll tell you later. Now, why don't you tell me what you have in mind." She sat down on the dock and leaned her back against one of the piling posts. "If I'm going to stay here, I'm going to need something to do, something to occupy my time. And while I think I'd like to learn more about living here, maybe even go fishing with you, that's not going to take that much time." Harry nodded.

"I found your book collection," she suddenly blurted, then her expression darkened. "And you shouldn't be treating books so badly." Harry blinked in surprise. "Erm... alright." "I told Dobby to clean out the bedroom next to yours for me. Then he and I are going to organize and categorize your collection and turn it into a proper library. Dobby says you have thousands of books." "But I conjured a house for you..." he began, pointing somewhere behind her. "Do you have any idea just how silly that sounds? People can't just conjure a house..." She stopped and followed his finger. Her mouth dropped open and she stared in amazement at the nearly identical villa next to his own. He did call that a bungalow, didn't he? she thought wildly, looking at what had to be a four or five bedroom villa. She turned back to look at him. "Let someone else have it. After what I've been through, I don't think I want to be in a house by myself. Knowing you're nearby will make it easier and I'll be able to put your library in order," she finished with a bit of a huff. Now she waited for his counter-argument. "Alright," he said with a shrug. "If that's the way you want it." "I'm not taking no for an answer, Harry. I don't want your house and... Did you just agree with me?" He smirked. "It seemed easier than arguing with you over a point you were going to win anyway. If there's one thing I know, it's that when your mind is set, nothing but a rock solid argument will change it and I don't have a good enough argument. Besides, we lived together at Hogwarts for seven years, we can do it again." He turned his gaze towards the other house. "Although what to do with that is now a problem. I can make it go away, but I can't bring back all the undergrowth and have it look natural." "Just leave the house, Harry. I'm sure it'll get used sooner or later." He peered up at her for a moment longer, then nodded and looked back down at the engine parts. Picking up a small, oddly shaped part, he glared at it. "Now, where do you go?" he asked it quietly. "You know, if I could charm you to talk, you could tell me where you go and I wouldn't have to put up with this silly manual business." With a sigh, he reached out, grabbed the manual and placed in his lap. The part stubbornly ignored him. Hermione stood shocked silly for a moment. Not only had he dismissed her, but he was talking to the part in his hand! She watched him for a moment longer before she realized that he had no idea that she was still standing there. It worried her. Turning, she headed back to the house wondering if Harry had any books on psychology.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

"Enter!" Dumbledore smiled, seeing his deputy enter the room. His smile slipped a bit when he saw that she was followed by Professors Sprout and Vector. "Minerva? Did someone call for a staff meeting and not tell me?" he asked teasingly. She sat on one of his chairs stiffly and shook her head. "No, Headmaster. I am here to tender my resignation, as are Professors Sprout and Vector." Dumbledore stared at her, dumbstruck. Finally, he shook away his shock and sat up straight. "What? Why?"

Minerva frowned at him and he suddenly felt like a fourth year caught trying to slip into the girl's changing rooms down at the Quidditch Pitch. "I would have thought that was obvious, Headmaster. Since it's not, I'll explain," she said in clipped tones, signaling her anger. "I recently heard from Filius," she said, then she held up a hand. "And no, I don't know where he is and if I did, I wouldn't tell you. In any event, he is safe, or so he says. He regrets his hasty departure, but I can understand why he did what he did. "Between Filius and Hermione, you chased away some of the best teachers this school has seen. The Ministry hacks that replaced them do not know the subjects they are supposed to be experts in." "So you're leaving because of the loss of two teachers?" "Three teachers," Professor Sprout said softly. "Three?" Dumbledore asked, looking worried. "Yes, Albus," Minerva said coldly, "Three. Hagrid left late last night. He ran into spot of trouble in Hogsmeade and knew you wouldn't help him. Honestly, you used to be the most tolerant man I knew. Why you've changed is a mystery to me." He blinked at her. "Professor," Vector said. "You and your policies are ruining this school. Ever since you claimed credit for killing Voldemort, you've been letting the Ministry and the International Confederation of Wizards set a tone of racial bigotry that is intolerable. You have every Ministry in the world looking to ours to set the tone of their policies. They turned to us in gratitude for the killing of Voldemort and you're corrupting the entire world with your poison. "And what you did to Hermione was reprehensible. You sat back and nodded your head while that fool Weasley talked himself into arresting Hermione for the crime of defending herself! "Two things saved Hermione that day. Filius saw the writing on the wall and got her out. The fact that Weasley is so enamored with listening to himself speak helped enormously. It took everyone two bloody hours to realize she had slipped out of your office!" Vector leaned back in her chair, her normally calm face twisted in anger. Sprout leaned over and patted her hand soothingly. "Ladies, what is happening now is exactly why we need such qualified people such as yourselves to teach at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said in protest. Minerva shook her head. "Albus, I've been angry with you since you faked your own death. In all my days I never would have thought a Gryffindor would have taken a cowardly path like that. What you did to Harry..." she stopped herself and sighed. Then she pulled out a parchment and laid it on his desk. "I can't speak for the others, but I refuse to support this policy of racial purity. It's bigotry, plain and simple, and I won't stand for it. Here is my letter of resignation." Sprout and Vector leaned forward and laid their letters of resignation on the desk as well. "The Ministry won't take your quitting well Minerva," Dumbledore warned ominously. She snorted. "I don't care. Unlike you, I'm willing to die for what I believe in." She stood and turned, walked from the office with Sprout and Vector on her heels. Dumbledore looked at the three letters on his desk in anger. Why couldn't people see he was trying to preserve their way of life? Couldn't they understand how important that was?

He pulled out a piece of parchment and started to write down names. He'd need to hire Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures teachers and he'd need to do it fast, or the Ministry would assign those positions. He was rather angry with his former professors. He had been trying to deal with the problems his great grandson was experiencing. The lad had been part of an Auror team who had been ambushed by hooligans in the Americas. The entire team had their memories wiped and their magic taken away. It was a puzzle he was still hoping to reverse.

Norman's Cay (Later that evening)...

Hermione sat up in Harry's bed reading. While she wouldn't call her first day in the Bahamas a rousing success, it was far better than hiding in a back room of the Leaky Cauldron. Both Harry and Hermione had become so engrossed in what they were doing that lunch had been forgotten. Hermione wouldn't have noticed, except that Dobby appeared carrying a platter of food for her. Harry skipped lunch entirely. It wasn't until late afternoon, when she heard the sound of the outboard engine starting, that she knew he was finishing up. The engine coughed roughly for a moment, then settled down into a regular roar. A minute later, the sound died away and a rather happy, albeit quite filthy, Harry entered the villa. He'd smiled at her from the doorway she was standing in, then he turned and went into one of the spare bathrooms instead of using the bath attached to his bedroom. Dinner was a surprise. She had no idea that Harry was that capable in the kitchen. He served her a grilled fish fillet with wok fried vegetables and chilled fruits for dessert. While the meal was wonderful, she couldn't help feeling that something was off. Their conversation was stilted, sticking to safe territory. And when she noticed Harry was drinking heavily, she decided to keep her mouth shut until she knew better what was going on. Now she lay in his bed, reading. Next to the bed was a night table with a drawer full of death. Harry's behavior perplexed her. She hadn't been around long enough to see it all, but something was off and that frightened her. Harry was always so practical, so solid and stable. At least, he used to be. She heard a noise so she put down her book and put on the light weight Kimono that Dobby had provided for her. Padding silently out of the bedroom, she saw Harry standing on the very edge of the dock looking out over the water. The moon hung high in the sky, casting alternating patches of light and dark on the water that rippled hypnotically. She returned to the bedroom and put a pair of slippers on, then glanced at the clock. It was nearly two in the morning! Stepping out of the house, she closed the door and hurried down the steps to the beach, then she walked out onto the dock. She scowled, seeing Harry lift a bottle to his lips. She stopped a few feet behind him, suddenly unsure of herself. "I take it by now you've discovered my wonderful drawer of goodies?" he said softly, then he took another drink. "A normal, single guy would fill his drawer with porn. Not me. I've got a drawer full of failures." "Are you ready to talk to me now?" she asked, moving up to stand beside him. "Are you sure you want to know what kind of monster I've become?" "You're no monster, Harry," she replied, placing a hand on his arm. He flinched away from her touch. "You don't know, Hermione. You didn't know after Voldemort, and you didn't seem to be all that interesting in listening to me then," he said, moving a step away. She sighed and looked ashamed for a moment. "I was wrong then. I'd like to help you now if you'll let me." He lifted the bottle to his lips, but she reached out, stopping him. "That isn't helping you either." He lowered the bottle and looked at her for a moment, but she refused to back down. He nodded and capped the bottle, then he tossed it straight up. The bottle arced up and vanished. She raised an eyebrow and he pointed back towards the

house. "Let's at least be comfortable. There are some nice deck loungers we can relax on." She followed him silently to the house, wondering what secret he had that was so terrible. He lay back on one of the loungers while she sat on the edge of another, watching him. "I've come to a realization. Voldemort was wrong to want immortality. There is something worse than wanting to be immortal. There's being unable to die." She blinked at him, then it hit her. "Your drawer?" "Failed attempts to shuffle off this mortal coil, to be with my family. And maybe, just maybe, find some peace." He turned to look at her, ignoring her gasp. "Perhaps it would be best if I explained from the beginning?" She took a moment to regain her composure, then she nodded. "Remember the line in the prophesy about 'the power he knows not'? After the war, did you ever wonder about what that line meant?" "I don't know. I just assumed it would be the way you killed him. Maybe with some unique spell or something like that," she replied. "You were unconscious and wounded before the end of the battle, and reports as to how he died were wrong. The first reports said I did it, but never said how. Then Dumbledore showed up, the day after the battle, and suddenly people were believing that somehow that old coward killed him. They actually bought his line about channeling his magic, using me as a conduit. I didn't care about the fame. He could have it up his arse sideways, for all I cared. But seriously, that lie was so outrageous, how could anyone believe it? But they did. They bought it lock, stock and barrel." He paused and shook his head in dismay. "The truth is, I killed Voldemort with a simple reductor to the head. The spell blew through two shields like they were tissue paper trying to stop a bullet." "But the reports said..." "I said they were wrong," he growled. When she flinched back from him, his expression softened. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "No, please, tell me. Help me understand." Harry leaned back on his lounger and looked up at the star filled sky. "Voldemort made a classic error. He wanted to wait until I'd exhausted myself against his forces before facing me. Had he faced me right off, we could have been equal, we would have had the same level of power. But he didn't do that. He threw his army at Diagon Alley first, even though he knew I was there. That was his mistake. "I went into that battle filled with rage and grief over Ginny and what had happened to her. I went into it with the power unleashed and working for me. Haven't you wondered why I don't need a wand and how I was able to apparate thousands of miles with you and Crookshanks?" "I have," she admitted. "I have an ability that I've since learned to control, but there was no control on that battlefield. Every time I killed that day, I absorbed the magical potential of my victim. By the time I faced Voldemort, my core had expanded with the energy from over twenty Death Eaters. Voldemort was no match for me then. He didn't stand a chance. He was just another core for me to consume and his was the biggest on the battlefield, other than mine. "I walked up to him, batting away his curses like they were gnats and fired off a single Reductor while he shrieked about being the greatest and most powerful wizard ever. He held a metal shield, which he had conjured, and his magical shield. My reductor sliced through both, hitting him in the head.

"His death effectively ended the battle and I stumbled around, looking for you and Ron. I found him not far from you, but he was already gone. I don't know what happened to him, but seeing him lying there was like flipping a switch in me. "After the battle, I felt so disconnected, like I was watching as someone else went through the motions of being Harry Potter. I was appalled at the power I had and the ability to take it from others. I was afraid people would find out and shun me, or lock me up. Then you and I fought... We fought over..." "I know what we fought over, Harry," Hermione said a little too sharply. After all these years it still surprised her how painful the loss of Ron and Ginny were to her. Harry bounded out of the lounger and turned to look at her. She sucked in a breath, suddenly frightened. His eyes glowed as if lit from within. "You're doing it again," he hissed. "You didn't let me explain then and you're not letting me explain now. Why are we even talking?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Fine, then explain it," she said sharply. She didn't want to dredge this up. It hurt too much. He moved back to sit on the lounger across from her. "In all the years we spent at Hogwarts, and the times at the Burrow or at Grimmauld Place, have you ever seen me cry? Really cry?" His question threw her. "What? What does this... No, come to think on it, I don't recall you ever crying. Harry, if this is about some machismo male..." "It's not, dammit," he snapped. "I can't cry. End of Story. You called me cold hearted and cruel because I never shed a tear for Ginny or Ron and you didn't see how much I was hurting. If only I could have cried, we never would have fought. We probably would have been able to help each other." Hermione stared at his figure in the darkness, aghast at what he was saying. "But surely..." "I last time I cried, I was seven. As usual, it resulted in more punishment from my loving family. More special treatment for the family freak," he said bitterly. "I didn't cry for Cedric, or for Sirius. I couldn't cry for Ginny and Ron. I wanted to. I wanted to throw myself on her casket and wail like a banshee, but I couldn't. A piece of me died with her. And then you and I fought. When you left, another piece of me died. "Not long after, the twins, Bill, Charlie, Remus and myself managed to hunt down Snape. The twins were able to talk me out of killing him. It's small satisfaction to know he's serving life without possibility of parole in Azkaban. I still think I should have killed him. "After that, there was nothing for me in Britain. Dumbledore was acting like a fool and Scrimgeour's only concern was getting me to endorse his positions. I was numb and wanted to feel something, anything, even if it was only pain. So I left. "I traveled for a while, visiting all sorts of places. But none of them really moved me. I was empty, a freak without a home or family. Finally, I found this island and settled down. Here, at least, it was pretty and comfortable. It was as good a place as any to wait." He looked down at his hands. "Since then, it's been a slow, steady decline." He fell silent and she was grateful that the darkness hid the tears falling down her cheeks. "And the drawer full of poisons and the gun?" she asked in a whisper. "More failures," he muttered. "Did you know that if you get powerful enough, your magic reaches a point where it starts to protect itself?" She shook her head mutely. He lay back on the lounger again, not wanting to look at her while he spoke. He didn't think he could handle her expression, her revulsion when she learned the truth.

"I took that handgun and, like an idiot, I tried to shoot myself with it. The bullet hit a shield that I didn't cast and fell to the floor. I tried again with the gun pressed to my temple and, near as I can figure, my magic protected me by vanishing the bullet before it even left the barrel. "Similar things happened with the poisons," he said, then he chuckled. She shivered at the bitterness she could hear in his voice. "I even tried hanging myself once. It took me three days to learn how to tie that hangman's noose and the damn rope broke before it ever pulled taut. New rope too." "Oh, my god, Harry, why?" she asked in a choked whisper. He looked at her, his eyes shining in the darkness. "Because I'm not human anymore. I'm not a wizard, I'm not a muggle. My family was right. I'm a freak, some kind of magical vampire capable of sucking power from people. And the nightmares." "Nightmares?" "Every night. I see their faces, their eyes accusing me. Why didn't I save them, why didn't I act sooner? Why did I waste my early years at Hogwarts screwing around? Every night I relive the fight that took you away from me and every night I see myself conquering the world." "I could ,you know," he said in a conversational tone, as if he were discussing the price of beans. "Voldemort was nothing compared to what I can do." "You wouldn't really do that, Harry. I know you wouldn't." "Yeah, well, tell that to my subconscious. It thinks it's necessary to torture me every damn night. You don't know what I'm capable of doing anymore. Only a short time before I came for you I wiped out a ten man auror team that attacked me up in Nassau. I stole their magic and wiped all their memories so they couldn't endanger those living here." He paused and his voice dropped to a whisper. "So now you know why I've been experimenting with poisons. Sooner or later, I'll succeed. I have to. I've become a monster, just like him." She stood and walked over to the lounger he lay upon. With a deft flick of her wand, it expanded to nearly double it's width, then she laid down next to him. "No, you won't succeed because I'm here now and I'm going to help you," she said, as calmly as she could. "I'm sorry we fought, and even more sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me. But I'm here now and I'm going to help you." He eyed her warily. "And if I don't want help anymore?" She sniffed once. "Tough. I walked away from you once and I'm not doing it again," she whispered. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. He nodded, then yawned sleepily. "I never could win an argument with you," he said softly. She smiled to herself. "Sleep, Harry. I'll watch over you." He closed his eyes and his breathing evened out. She continued combing his hair with her fingers, while looking out over the water lit by a quarter moon. Eventually, she also drifted off, snuggling closer to him, seeking his warmth in the cool night air. A few minutes later, a small figure appeared with a quiet pop. He smiled at the sleeping pair, then he snapped his fingers and nodded in satisfaction as a blanket appeared and covered them both. With a quiet sigh, Dobby vanished back to his room.

Norman's Cay, (The next morning)...

Hermione awoke to an unusual sight. As Harry had predicted, a storm system had moved in and a heavy rain was pelting the beach. The wind was whipping up the surf and she could see Harry's little boat bouncing wildly in the water. For a

brief moment, she hoped that it wouldn't sink before she had a chance to ride in it. Then it dawned on her. They were laying on a lounger, on an open deck surrounding the house and yet not a drop of rain hit them. It was then that she noticed the shield that surrounded the house. It was barely visible and she could only see hints of it using her peripheral vision. Harry had shielded the house from the weather! It was only after she started to move that she realized that she was wrapped around Harry and he was holding her against him. Blushing furiously, she moved slowly away, not wanting to wake him. When she managed to free herself, she sat up and slid off the lounger. A small pop signaled the arrival of Dobby, who looked at Harry, still sleeping, then at Hermione with admiration in his gaze. She had managed something no one else had. She had gotten Harry to sleep. He handed her a steaming mug of tea, then vanished as quietly as he could. She sat on the other lounger, sipping her tea and watching Harry. He was still deeply asleep and she wasn't going to wake him. The girls comments from yesterday bothered her. So far, if Harry was in love with her, he hadn't been very demonstrative about it. In fact, at points he was so cold he was frightening. Standing, she walked into the house and over to the table where Harry kept his books. She started leafing through his notebooks, her brow furrowing in surprise and confusion. Harry had a stack of muggle notebooks nearly six inches high and they were filled with spells that she never heard of! She eyed the Avalonian Grimoires suspiciously. She owned a set herself, but Harry's copies looked different, older and more used. She picked up one of the Grimoires and opened it. Inside her copies was a number indicating which registered copy it was. There was no number, no copyright, no mention of the Ministry Press that produced the copies inside the volume she held. She shook her head in denial. These couldn't be the originals, could they? The originals are kept safe in a theft proof display at the British Museum! "In case you're wondering, those aren't copies," said a voice behind her. She turned in her chair to see him standing there, sipping a large cup of coffee. "Where did you get these?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You stole them, didn't you?" "Of course. The museum was selling inaccurate copies," he replied, shrugging. "I bought myself a copy of the set and noticed right away that they weren't the same books. So I replaced my copies with the originals. Besides, do you really think I care about something the Ministry owns?" She glared. Stealing books? In her mind there could be no greater crime. Suddenly something he said clicked and she looked at him hard. "What do you mean the copies aren't the same as these books? These say the same thing as my set!" He frowned, staring at her for a moment. Then he grinned and sat down across from her. "I now know one of your secrets, Miss Granger," he said, wagging a finger at her. He made a chortling sound, which only increased while she stared at him. Stifling his laughter, he leaned across the table slightly. "All those years at school and you couldn't tell us that you have eidetic memory?" She blushed and looked down at her cup. "I didn't want anyone to think I was..." "A freak?" he said softly. She glanced at him and seeing his stricken look, she nodded, feeling suddenly guilty. "I don't think anyone would have thought that. Certainly not me," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. He turned away from her and wrapped his arms about himself. "Never me," he muttered.

"I know. I'm sorry. But that doesn't answer my question. How did you know?" she asked gently. She wanted to draw him out of the funk sliding into. He released himself and looked up from the table. "Simple. I watched from the doorway. You flipped through two of the Grimoires as if you were scanning them, and yet you were certain they weren't the same as your own. How else could you know unless you had them memorized?" "Well, they do say the same thing," she said in protest. Harry reached around her, pulled out the first volume and opened it. "Do you ever wonder why there's so much spacing between the lines in these?" She looked down at the page, then back up to him. "I assumed it was so that corrections could be applied, if necessary." Harry nodded. "A good answer. Wrong, but your answer is the generally accepted one. Next question. According to legend, these books predate Merlin, although he supposedly owned them and, after him, Godric Gryffindor. Since then, not a single piece of magic can be attributed to what is written in these books. They contain tantalizing hints of astounding pieces of magic, but no real information. Given that fact, why have people taken the trouble to preserve these worthless documents? And mind you, Miss Granger, these books once belonged to Gryffindor. As the sole living heir of Gryffindor, I could simply say these are mine by birthright," he said with a grin. "But it's more fun to admit to stealing them. The twins were most impressed." "The books are a piece of history, even if they serve no useful purpose," she replied. He had her thoroughly confused now. Shaking his head, he flipped to the beginning of the book in front of him and looked at her carefully. "Do you trust me?" "What?" "Do you trust me?" he said again. She nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. Harry grinned and reached up with his hand. He poked her on the forehead, hard. "DOINK!" he cried. She looked at him angrily. "That's not funny!" she fumed, rubbing her forehead angrily. "No? Well, I thought it was. Besides, I just helped you learn to read between the lines," he replied. He wiggled his eyebrows at her for a moment, then stood and waked into the kitchen, humming a tune, off key. She blinked and glared at his retreating back. Before she could open her mouth to lambaste him, something caught her eye. Looking down at the open Grimoire, she gasped. Between the lines were glowing letters. "Harry!" she gasped. He laughed and walked out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls, one of which he handed to her, before sitting down once more. "I had the same reaction when I first noticed.. Each book in the Grimoire set is really two books. The first book describes the magic, without going into a lot of detail. The second book, the hidden, glowing lines of text, goes into greater detail, including the runes and arithmantic equations. "The only variation from that scenario is when you get to book five, which details the Avalon Equations, but doesn't explain them in sufficient detail. The second book does that... I think. I still haven't worked out all the details. It's frightfully complex," he said, looking unhappy with himself. He pushed several notebooks at her. "These contain the second books for the first eight secondary books in the set. I haven't finished the others yet. As it stands, that spell will only last you a few hours, so you should probably read from my handmade copies." She looked at one of his notebooks, then back to the first volume. "You could have just shown me the books without

poking me in the forehead you know. And what kind of incantation is DOINK?" He grinned. "It's a Harry-cantation. I could have pinched your bum, or had you pull my finger," he replied. He tilted his head slightly in thought. "No, pulling the finger sometimes does other things. The poke in the forehead really was for the best, I think." "Harry, what's happened to you?" she exclaimed. She never could recall him being like this. Almost instantly his amused expression dropped away, replaced with a blank mask. Standing, he turned without a word and walked into his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. She sat, stunned for a minute, then she stood and followed him. Opening the door, she found him sitting on the floor, his back up against the corner of the room and his head in his hands. She knelt by his side. "You don't have to do this, Hermione," he said, his voice muffled by his hands. "Do what?" she asked quietly "Pretend you care. I know I wouldn't, if I were you," he said. Lifting his head, he looked at her. "I'm crazy, aren't I?" he whispered. She shook her head and smiled at him sadly. "I don't think you are, but I do think you're holding back too much for one person and you need someone to help you. You need me to help you. You needed me in school and you need me again. I'm going to be here for you." He eyed her warily, then his shoulders hitched. For a brief moment, she thought he was crying, then she realized he was doing the closest thing he could to crying. There were no tears, no sound. He took great, gasping breaths and his shoulders shook. Understanding what was happening, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, murmuring gently. After several minutes he pulled away from her and gave her a wan smile. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'd forgotten what it's like to have someone around who cares." She returned his smile and reached out to caressed his hair. "Come on, then. We have all day to talk and I still want to discuss the Grimoires. Do you have any other surprises I should know about?" He looked down at his hands and mumbled something. "What was that?" He looked up at her sheepishly. "Some of the books in my collection are like the Grimoires." She arched an eyebrow at him. "Stolen?" He nodded. "But I only did that if they wouldn't sell or at least let me make a copy," he said softly as if that excuse was good enough to justify stealing. She sighed heavily. "Alright, Mr. Potter. Two changes I want you to make, starting today. No more booze and no more stealing books!" He looked suitably chastened, so she smiled again. "Now, let's have breakfast and we can talk about what you discovered in the Grimoires." They discussed a variety of topics the rest of the day. Harry explained how he had been working on the Avalon Equations, hoping to invoke them on Norman's Cay, or at least have that option available to him. She was suitably impressed with his work, despite the fact that he never took Ancient Runes or Arithmancy. He had done some astounding work in taking information from the Grimoires and crafting new spells. They didn't realize it then, but a turning point had been reached in Harry's downward spiral. In accepting that Hermione was there to help him, he made the first significant step towards recovering from the depression that had been plaguing him since Voldemort's death.

In the end, Hermione decided that once she had the library set up, she would see if she could build upon the work that Harry had started. He had laid a solid foundation, but lacked the formal training to take it further.

St. Andr, the French Alps...

Bill watched the small nondescript owl wing towards him and he couldn't help feel a surge of fear shoot through him. Few knew where he was, or who he was with, and fewer still would want to send him an owl these days. Bill had been staying with his wife, Fleur, not far from Beauxbatons where she was taking some additional courses on curse breaking. Almost overnight things changed radically as the French Ministry, at the urging of the International Confederation of Wizards, enacted a Purity Protection Act, making it illegal to teach all muggle born or half bloods. French Aurors were sweeping the towns and catching all of the known non-pure bloods. Bill arrived at the school in time to help Madame Maxime erect a temporary ward to keep out the Aurors. Once that was done, she assembled all the non-pure bloods and explained the situation. She offered them each an option to try to return home, or they could go into hiding in a refugee camp often used by the giant tribes not far from a small French village in the Alps. Roughly half of her students opted for returning home, despite the warnings that they may not have a home to return to. That left Madame Maxime with herself, Bill and Fleur as the only adults, and thirty seven students ranging from third year to seventh, including Fleur's sister, Gabrielle. With the temporary wards falling, Madame Maxime handed out portkeys to the students wishing to return home, then she made a large rope portkey for everyone else. They barely managed to get out in time, as the wards fell only seconds after the last student had portkeyed away. Bill removed the letter from the owl only after he had checked it for traps and tracking charms. He smiled, seeing it was from his friend, Tom, who ran the Leaky Cauldron. Bill had gone to school with one of Tom's sons and knew the older man well, having done work for him in the past. One of the advantages of being a curse breaker, even if he was unemployed, was that he was thoroughly intimate with wards. Some of Tom's dealings were less than legal and he paid Bill to ward several rooms in the back of his pub so that they couldn't be found. He read the letter and his eyes widened. Then he turned and dashed back up the hill to the little house that Madam Maxime used. For the first time in nearly six months he had good news to share!

Luau gone awry...

It had been a strange week for Hermione. Starting with her rescue from the Leaky Cauldron and her arrival on Norman's Cay, some four thousand miles away in the tropics. It had been a week of discoveries, some wonderful and some heart wrenching. She had finally made peace with her childhood friend. Harry was strangely altered by the years they had been apart. He was more studious and responsible, but he had a darker side which tormented him remorselessly. He was also prone to extreme mood swings. It didn't take her long to understand that her friend had reached the end of his rope and only the power of his magic prevented him from killing himself. She made it a point to get him talking about his feelings. He hated it, but he couldn't refuse anything she asked of him. And that was another issue she still had to deal with. Harry's feelings for her were blatantly obvious, although he never once acted upon them. It flattered her, and awoke feelings she thought she had suppressed long ago. He had been a perfect gentleman, but she was sure he hoped it would become more someday. She finally admitted to herself that she wouldn't be upset if it did become more. She hoped it would. In the meantime, Harry had stopped drinking, at her request. And twice so far he had awoken her in the middle of the night so she could help talk him through the nightmares. Amos finally delivered furniture for her bedroom, which allowed Harry to move back into his old room. When she asked why he hadn't just conjured furniture, he explained he could conjure all sorts of stuff, but when it came to things like chairs, beds and the like, they always came out lumpy. That sent her into a fit of laughter that lasted too long for Harry's comfort.

She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes sleepily. A small pop signaled the arrival of Dobby. "Miss Hermy, Harry Potter Sir said to tell you that he'd meet you here in time to go to the party. He said you need to be there around six, but he had to leave early to get the food started." Dobby tugged on one ear and she could see he looked unhappy. "What's wrong, Dobby?" "Harry Potter Sir didn't want Dobby to help him cook today," the little elf said with a quivering lower lip. Hermione fought off the urge to laugh, seeing how unhappy he was. "Dobby, it's not that Harry doesn't want your help, but he's cooking something special today. You're used to British cooking and, if I understand rightly, this isn't a British meal. But if you want to help, why don't you ask Harry if you can watch him? That way, the next time he has a luau, you'll know how to help." Dobby blinked his huge eyes and looked at Hermione in shock. "Harry Potter Sir would let Dobby watch and learn?" "I'm sure of it," she said with a firm nod. Dobby grinned and vanished with a pop. She dressed and went back to work on the Grimoires, content that when the time came, Harry or Dobby would come fetch her. The hours passed quietly while she worked on his copies, cleaning them up and making them more legible. He had relented and taught her a spell that would allow her to read the glowing letters, although she almost killed him over the incantation. She felt it was beneath her to say 'Yippee Ki Yay'. It was then that she started to realize what Harry was really teaching her. The words didn't matter, nor did the movement. Both were merely aids to help a wizard remember the spell. She heard the door open and turned around. Harry walked in, smiling at her. "I need to take a shower before we go. I've had Dobby lay out some clothes for you. You'll have a choice. Traditional clothing or something more comfortable. If you don't mind my suggesting, I'd say take the long skirt instead of the shorts. We'll be sitting on the beach on straw mats, but you don't want sand getting into your bits." Realizing what he'd just said, he looked away and cursed the blush he felt climbing his cheeks. "And what will you be wearing?" she asked calmly. Harry grinned but didn't reply. Instead, he walked into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She sat there for a moment, staring at the closed door. With a shake of her head, she stood up and walked into her bedroom. On the bed she found a grass skirt and a bikini top. She snorted and placed them off to the side. Then she picked up the pale blue skirt and a lightweight white blouse. The shorts were no different than what she had been wearing all week. Deciding to take Harry's advice, she slipped out of her shorts and put the skirt on, then the blouse. A pair of flats rounded out her ensemble. Dressed, she went back out into the dinning room to wait for Harry. Another half hour passed before Harry showed up. Hermione looked at his outfit and blinked. He wore a print shirt that depicted a beach scene with a palm tree. The waves crashed against the beach and the palm swayed in a gentle breeze. And if that weren't bad enough, his shorts were fluorescent yellow. "You expect me to be seen in public with you wearing that?" she asked. He looked down at his clothes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She shook her head in dismay. "Harry, don't you think those shorts are a little bright?"

He grinned at her. "That's the point. This is a Luau. We're supposed to wear bright clothing." "If that's the case, why didn't you tell Dobby to leave out something brighter for me?" she asked suspiciously. He shrugged. "I could have, but I thought you'd look better as you are. You just need two little things to complete the outfit." "Oh, really?" Harry gestured and a Lei appeared in his hand, which he placed over her head. Then he gestured again, conjuring a single orchid. He placed the flower behind her ear. "Now you look perfect," he proclaimed. She lifted the lei to her nose and sniffed gently at the aromatic flowers, then she smiled. He glanced down at his watch. "Merlin! We better hurry. I'm supposed to open the imi soon!" he exclaimed, reaching for her hand. "Wait," she cried. "What's an imi?" And with that, they vanished. A moment later she shook her hand free from his and glared at him. "That's an imi," he said, pointing to a gently smoking mound of sand and dirt. She blinked and then the smell hit her, causing her mouth to water. Harry walked over to a shovel and leaned on it. "An imi is a traditional Hawaiian dirt oven. I dug the hole this morning and started the coals. When it was ready, we put in a pig to roast and layered the dirt and rocks around it." Dobby appeared and Hermione had to hold back a laugh. It seemed he enjoyed the idea of Hawaiian leis so much he was wearing nearly a dozen of them. "Is it ready Harry Potter Sir?" he asked. Harry checked his watch, then nodded. "Nearly, Dobby. A few more minutes to go." "This different from English cooking, Harry Potter Sir," observed Dobby, looking down at the sand covered mound. "It is, yes, but it's a great way to hold a party," Harry replied. His eyes sparkled in the waning sunlight. "How did you learn about this?" asked Hermione. "On the return leg of my trip around the world, I stopped in French Polynesia and Hawaii. While the modern cultures didn't attract me all that much, I found the native cultures of Polynesia and Hawaii interesting. The native bushmen in Australia were downright fascinating, but I don't think anyone is interested in eating Goanna tonight." "Goanna?" Hermione questioned, looking at him. He smiled. "Lizard. It's like an Iguana, only larger." She shivered. Pork was better than lizard any day in her book. "Oy! Harry!" Harry turned and waved to Fred and George, who were approaching. Angelina and Alicia were right behind the twins. "We about ready, Harry?" asked Fred. "Almost. Has Amos shown up?" Fred shook his head. "No, he said he would be late. He was making a run up to Nassau to pick up gasoline for that generator of his."

Harry frowned and shook his head. "Damn. I meant to enchant the his tank to be refilling." "Harry, mate, he's too old to change his ways and you can't talk him out of it," George said quietly. "I know, I just worry about him. He may be annoying and a bit of a mooch, but he's really a good guy," Harry replied, then he looked at the others. "Is everything prepared?" "Just about. Lee and Anita have been mixing Mai Tais by the gallon," Alicia announced, standing next to Fred. Harry blinked and looked down for a moment. "Erm... I think I'll stick with fruit juice tonight," he muttered. Everyone except Hermione looked shocked, then the two girls looked at her and smiled seeing her smug grin. He had promised her to lay off the liquor and he intended to keep that promise. He glanced at his watch. "Take Hermione to the point. Dobby and I need to extract the Kalua Pork from the pit and bring it in." Angelina and Alicia nodded and guided Hermione away, despite her protests. The twins followed them closely, they still had food of their own to bring to the luau. Harry knelt by Dobby, looking at him for a moment. The elf stared nervously back at him. "Dobby, I'm sorry. I haven't been very appreciative of your help these past few years," he said softly. "Harry Potter Sir shouldn't worry about Dobby," the little elf replied. "But I do. I've been pushing you away when you've only been trying to help me. That was wrong and I'm sorry," he said, then he paused. "I know you'd like to be bonded, but I'd like to offer you something different. Would you be willing to become family with me Dobby? Would you be willing to be Dobby Potter?" Dobby looked up at Harry with huge eyes. "Harry Potter Sir would do that for Dobby?" "I need family and friends, Dobby, not slaves. I'd pay you to continue working, but you'd be part of the family. Is that agreeable?" The little elf nearly bowled Harry over, hugging his legs and nodded frantically. He swayed for a moment and chuckled, then he placed his hand on Dobby's head. "Dobby Potter, welcome to the family." His hand glowed for a split second and Dobby shook as Harry's magic coursed through him. When it was done, he released Harry's leg and stood up, straighter and taller than ever before. He looked up at Harry in wonder and Harry nodded. "It's better to be part of a family than to be a mere servant to it. Now let's get that pig out of the ground and into our bellies," he said, standing up straight. Dobby nodded, while Harry began to shovel away the sand and dirt covering the imi. Angelina led Hermione to where she would be sitting with Harry. "Don't worry, Hermione. He'll be along presently with the main course." She looked at the older woman. "I take it you've done this before?" Alicia nodded. "This will be our third Luau. Harry introduced us to them shortly after we arrived. Although, to be honest, it's not really a traditional Hawaiian Luau. It's more of a mix of Polynesian and Caribbean. "Harry cooks the big pig, which takes all day, but that's about the only Hawaiian dish we have. Amos usually brings a lot of rum and a chicken-rice dish that is just yummy. We bring the greens and Fred and George usually catch lobster for a cold salad dish and Lee makes the Mai Tais. Anita brings a homemade bread." Hermione nodded and looked around. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon and she pulled out her wand, planning on lighting the Tiki torches scattered around the area. Angelina grabbed her hand and shook her head. "Just wait," she said.

A minute later the torches all flared to life and a wild drum beat started. Harry and Dobby came running up the beach carrying the roast pig on what looked like a wooden stretcher. As they arrived, the drums softened into calypso steel drum music. "Ladies and Gentlemen," Harry announced proudly. "Kalua Pork, courtesy of Harry Potter and his esteemed relative, Dobby Potter." Dobby looked up at Harry for the briefest of moments and then he looked at the others and nodded with a proud smile. "Bravo!" shouted Fred and George. Alicia smiled and conjured another place setting next to Harry's. "Since this is Dobby's first attempt to cook the pig, I'm going to give him the first slice," Harry announced, then he steered the little elf to the setting Alicia had conjured and made Dobby sit. After that, he turned and began to carve up the pork, placing a large piece on Dobby's plate. Hermione looked at the plate she was handed and then looked around for silverware, but didn't see any except for the serving flatware. Angelina looked over at her and sniggered. "It's mostly finger food, Hermione, but no one will complain if you conjure a fork for yourself. Besides, you have a whole ocean behind you to rinse your hands in." She slowly relaxed, trying dishes she had never had before. Fred and George entertained with tales of some of their pranks played at Hogwarts and elsewhere. She noted that Harry was making an extra effort to make Dobby feel at ease. The little elf was not used to eating with them, or being treated as one of them. Lee and Anita traded off their baby so the other could eat. Then Alicia took little Annette from Anita, giving both of them a break. The baby was just starting the toddler stage and it was amusing to watch her crawl for a bit, then stand shakily and take a few steps. To everyone's amusement, Harry conjured some brightly glowing bubbles for Annette to play with. Each bubble had a little treat inside for her and made a pretty tinkling sound. As the evening deepened, Hermione could see the lights of a ship at sea. They were on the eastern part of the Cay, overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Fred and George called it Party Point. It was close to their home and workshop and well suited for their luaus. The ship in the distance seemed to make their position all the more secure. It was as if there was a world out there, and then there was Norman's Cay, untouchable and safe. Midway through their feast, Amos arrived. He paused just inside the pool of light cast by the torches and waited for Harry to spot him. Once he did, Amos motioned to him. Once Harry had joined him, he handed the younger man a piece of parchment. Harry glanced down at it and he seemed to stiffen. Hermione watched him worriedly. He glance over at the others, sighed, then motioned for Amos to join the others. Harry walked over to a spot where everyone could see him. "Can I have your attention please?" he called. Anita scooped up Annette and held her while Alicia and Angelina nudged the twins into paying attention. "Amos delivered a letter that, I suppose, in retrospect, I should have been expecting," Harry said, then he shook his head. "Even if this didn't involve family, I couldn't really turn them down, but it's not my decision alone to make." "Merlin, Harry, will you just spit it out and stop beating yourself over it?" Angelina exclaimed in exasperation. Fred and George exchanged a glance and both broke into a fit of laughter. "Harry's beating himself!" chortled George. "Oy, Harry! Ask Hermione, I'm sure she'd help!" shouted Fred with a saucy wink in Hermione's direction. Alicia rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand. Both twins went still almost instantly.

Hermione's blush rivaled Harry's and they could only stare at each other for a moment. Alicia motioned for Harry to keep talking. He nodded and ran a hand through his hair, trying to fight down the image of Hermione... Well, that's not an appropriate image at the moment, is it? he thought, trying to push it aside. "When I brought Hermione here, I told Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, that if he knew others who needed the same kind of help that Hermione needed, to contact me through Amos. Tom said he knew of several people. I accepted that and figured he was talking about a family or two. "It turns out that we talking about family alright. Bill, Fleur and Gabrielle are hiding out with Madame Maxime and Hagrid in the French Alps. She also has more than thirty students from Beauxbatons with her, students who no longer have families to return home to. "This would double our population, and most of it would be underage, magical children." Harry stopped and looked expectantly at everyone. Fred looked around for moment, then scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't see what the problem is, Harry. Let them come. We have the room, we just need to make places for them to sleep and stay." "George?" asked Harry. "No argument from me, mate. Even if Bill and Fleur weren't family, I'd be saying yes." "Angelina? Alicia?" Both girls nodded in agreement with their boyfriends. "You own the island," Alicia gently reminded him. "I know, and it's been my refuge, my place to hide. But the world is changing and people are getting hurt," he replied. "That's what makes you all the more special, Harry," Lee answered for everyone. He gestured around to the group. "We came here because you offered to share your private place with us. I think each of us knows what that has cost you. You were trying to hide from everyone and this will take that away from you." Harry looked down at the ground for a moment, then he looked up again. "Hermione?" She smiled at him gently. She could see how much this was costing him. "You forgave me when I didn't deserve it, Harry. Perhaps not everyone is as bad as you think they are," she said softly. He nodded and looked at Fred and George. "You know what this means, don't you?" They nodded soberly. "Yeah, it means that we may lose Weasley Wizarding Wheezes if people become too curious about the Cay. But this is family, Harry. That's more important," answered Fred. "Amos?" Amos looked to Harry and grinned. "More people ta run supplies fo'. Dis is a good ting, Harreee. Dem Ministry types be nasty fellas. If ya can protec' family and more, den it's a good ting." Harry nodded. "Dobby?" he asked. Dobby looked up at Harry, adoration in his eyes. "Harry Potter Sir wants to know what Dobby thinks?" "Of course." "Dobby thinks more people here would be good for Harry Potter Sir and his Hermy. Dobby thinks more people would change this place from houses to homes," the little elf said firmly.

"Peepuls?" asked little Annette. Harry smiled, while Anita talked with her baby, making her laugh. It was a strange sound in his ears, a purifying sound, sweet and innocent. Annette had done nothing to earn the enmity of the Ministry. The simple fact that she had been born to Anita, a muggle born, was enough for her rights as a human and, someday, a witch, to be savagely curtailed, or worse. She was an innocent in this mess. And so were the others. Dobby's comments were equally profound and thought provoking. More people would change the nature of life on the Cay and maybe that was a good thing. "I'll send an owl to Tom with a reply and a timed portkey. Figure we'll have company in a week to ten days, so we'll need to get ready," he said finally. With that announcement, Fred and George jumped to their feet and transformed their clothing into grass skirts. Then they proceeded to show the others their idea of a genuine Hawaiian Hula dance. Naturally, it wasn't even close, but no one cared.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay...

As the luau wound down, Harry knew it was getting on time to leave. Amos had turned in an hour earlier and Lee and his wife vanished around nine, needing to put Annette down for the night. The twins were already getting a little frisky, much to the amusement of their girlfriends. Harry stood and offered a hand to Hermione. She wasn't drunk, but the three drinks Lee had given her had given her a pleasant buzz. She accepted his offer of help and stood. Dobby stood and bowed to the others before popping back to wherever he slept. Rather than apparating back home, Harry wanted to walk the beach, which didn't bother Hermione in the least. She walked silently next to him for a while, the sounds of the luau still coming from Party Point. "They're still at it," she said softly. Harry grunted. "Yeah, they'll be at it for a while. I made the mistake of staying too late one time." "Oh? What happened?" She glanced at him in the darkness, but she couldn't make out much detail. She couldn't know he was blushing heavily. "Let's just say that the twins and their girlfriends have an interesting relationship, and they wanted to know if I wanted to join them." She fought back a laugh. "What did you do?" "What do you think I did? I ran, as quickly as possible. Oh, they apologized the next day, but that wasn't the point. I wasn't really mad about it. It was just embarrassing." "Why was it embarrassing?" He paused mid-step and turned to face her. "It just was. Can't we leave it at that?" he said, then he turned and started walking quickly away. She ran to catch up with him, grabbing onto his arm to make him stop. "No, I don't think we can leave it," she replied. He sighed heavily. "I don't have any experience in that particular endeavor. There? Happy?" he said angrily. She winced and held onto his arm tightly. "I'm not trying to make you angry, Harry, I just want to understand. Didn't you and Ginny...?" The idea that he could still be a virgin astounded her. Even with Dumbledore the credit for killing Voldemort, he was still

wealthy and famous. He could have had dozens of women. That he was still a virgin only increased her respect for him. "No, we... wanted to wait until after Voldemort was gone," he said in a stricken tone. She eased her grip on his arm, lightly caressed it now, trying to sooth the pain he had to be feeling. "What about you and Ron?" he asked suddenly. It was the question she was afraid he'd ask, but considering his honesty, she felt obligated to be honest in return. "We did, fairly often, until that day. Since then, there's been no one," she replied in a whisper. "Oh," he said. She couldn't tell whether he sounded disappointed or not. He turned and started walking again at a normal pace. She walked alongside him. "What's happening to us, Hermione?" he asked finally. She was silent for a moment. "I think we're putting our ghosts to rest." "And then?" "I don't know. Are we becoming more than just two friends? Is there an 'us', Harry? Do you want there to be?" He was silent long enough for her heart to sink. "I'm afraid," he whispered, finally breaking the heavy silence that had been growing between them. "Of?" she asked, moving closer to him. "I can't lose another. I think if I do, I'll no longer be human. I think if I do, I'll become worse than Riddle ever was. That scares me. I want you. I think I always have and I want to say let's try it, but I don't think I could live through that hurt again." Her heart pounded in her chest. She understood all too well the pain he was talking about, even though she had weathered the storm better than he had. He was stuck, still hurting, from that day. She stopped him and walked around to face him. "We risk being hurt every day. Every time you go fishing you risk an accident. You came here to the Cay to hide and the world won't let you, Harry. Not because the world is out to get you or fate is cruel. But because living means just that, living with others. We're not meant to live alone. That's part of what's been killing you. You've been alone since Voldemort, but I'm not going to let you be alone any longer." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek softly. "I would like there to be an us. I left you once when you needed me and I intend to spend the rest of my life making up for that mistake." He slipped his hand into her, intertwining fingers. She moved closer so she could lean against him and smiled to herself when his free arm wrapped around her. "I guess it's a new Quidditch game from here on," he said softly. "It will be nice to be part of a team again, but it's going to take some getting used to." Hermione smiled broadly in the darkness. "Do you think Ron and Ginny would approve?" he asked. She looked up at him in the darkness, still held against him with one arm. "I think they'll be happy that we could find happiness again. Neither of them would have wanted us to mourn forever." She wrapped her arms around him. They held each other, watching the restless waves caress the shore in the moonlight.

On a small island, thousands of miles from Britain, two restless souls found each other. Two wounded hearts found solace and the beginnings of peace, while around them the world turned cruel and hard. It didn't matter. They were safe and would work together to make their little piece of paradise safe for all who lived there. To Be Continued...

*Chapter 3*: Wizards Fall - Puff and the school bus

Standard Disclaimer:
Alyx nervously walked onto the stage to face the audience. Behind her were several dozen nearly naked midgets in loincloths. They were dancing around a fire with a huge cauldron in it's center. The cauldron bubbled and simmered softly. Two spear carrying midgets ran up to escort Alyx to the center of the stage. She nearly squeaked in fright. Reaching the center the midgets banged the butts of their spears on the stage, signaling for the audience to be silent. Another midget, wearing a voodoo mask gestured for Alyx to speak to the audience. "Um... er... help?" she squeaked in a terrified falsetto. "NO! NO! NO! CUT CUT!" shouted Bob from the wings, then he rode out onto the stage on a llama, waving a script. She blinked and breathed a sigh of relief. Bob would save her from the midgets! He stopped the llama in front of her and thrust the script under her nose. "Here, these are your lines," he said, then he glanced at the midgets. "Oi! Tippy mabbi muka balongo!" Several midgets ran to the cauldron and thrust their spears into the bubbling liquid. A blond head shot to the surface gasping. "Someone help me," the blond woman moaned weakly. Alyx frowned and stared at Bob. "Who is that?" "She's just one of the props, don't worry about her. Now read your lines," Bob said imperiously. The llama, impressed by the scene promptly farted, causing the nearest midget to keel over. Bob pulled on a gas mask, then he glared at Alyx who stepped back and realized she was in real trouble. She glanced down at the script. "Um, the authors of this story want everyone to realize that they make no claim of ownership to Harry Potter or anything else. It all belongs to JK Rowling who is starring in tonight's episode of Cannibal Mystery Meat!" She blinked and glared up at Bob. He ignored her glare. He nudged the llama on the flanks and it clip clopped off the stage. Several midgets grabbed Alyx and started to drag her towards the cauldron. She struggled and thrashed about. "Bob!" she screamed. "Alyx! Wake up!" Bob said, shaking her. "You were screaming in your sleep." She blinked and looked around. She was in their bed! "Oh," she said in confusion. It had seemed so real. "I'm thinking of hiring some midgets for the next disclaimer. What do you think?" Bob asked with a gleam in his eye.

Wizards Fall: Puff and the Magic School Bus Norman's Cay, the Bahamas (Five Years following Voldemort's death)...
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" a woman shouted in panic. In her arms she clutched a small child, who seemed less distraught than the woman holding her. The child squirmed and Cassandra Granger, Hermione's mother, slowly let her slip from her grip. The woman was experiencing the physical effects of adrenalin and fear washing out of her system. Cassandra wasn't quite as tall as

Hermione, but her wild hair and golden brown eyes were traits she'd passed on to both daughters. Hermione flinched. Shouting around Harry was not a good thing, especially when he was still keyed up from their trip to Crawly. It had been a nerve wracking four minute experience and she knew Harry had been expecting a fight. Not ten minutes earlier, Harry had appeared in the middle of their living room and told her there was trouble at her parents house. Before she could utter a sound, he'd grabbed her wrist. The next thing she knew, she was in her parent's house and Harry was shouting for everyone to form a circle and that it was time to go. It was a terrifying and confusing experience. Strange flashes of light flooded through the windows and the house shook. And then they were home again, in Norman's Cay, with two freaked out adults and a child who seemed to think the whole thing was a fun new game. She turned to Harry and noted that his aura was flickering. Not good! With a deft scoop, she picked up her little sister, Victoria, and deposited her in Harry's arms. "Here, take Victoria for a walk on the beach, while I talk with my parents," Hermione said firmly. Harry froze for a second, then he looked at the little girl, who was barely three. His gaze immediately softened. Hermione, in miniature, gazed back at him. "Would you like to see the ocean?" he asked the child gently. She nodded at him, her eyes huge. Normally she didn't easily trust strangers, but something told her this man was no stranger, and certainly no danger to her or her parents. Ginning, Harry conjured a wide, floppy hat for the little girl and turned away from the others. Victoria grinned at her parents happily from under the large brim of the hat before Harry turned and walked out of the house, the child held securely in his arms. Hermione watched them for a moment longer, then she turned to face her confused parents. "Mum, Dad, I'm so sorry about this." "Don't waste time apologizing, Hermione. Just explain why you appeared so suddenly and dragged all three of us to... to... this place. Where the hell are we, anyway?" exclaimed Duncan Granger. She gestured towards the couch and then took a seat opposite them. "You're in the Bahamas. Specifically, you're on an island, owned by my friend, Harry. The island is called Norman's Cay." "Harry?" interrupted Cassandra Granger, looking very interested. Harry Potter was a name she was intimately familiar with from Hermione's letters. "Is that who he was? Harry Potter? I knew you'd made peace with him finally, but I didn't think you were living with him." Hermione winced, but nodded. "Harry rescued me from England after I lost my job at Hogwarts. You know I've been living here since." "Alright," Duncan said tensely, "that explains where we are. Now, how about why we're here?" "I told you about the backlash that the Ministry was creating against people like myself in my letters, right?" Duncan and Cassandra both nodded. Hermione sighed and looked down. "I didn't tell you all of it. I told you how I lost my job, true. What I didn't tell you was that after I lost my job, I spent over a month hiding in a back room of the Leaky Cauldron, washing dishes to earn my keep. If I had been caught, I would have been arrested." "For defending yourself against a sexual assault?" Cassandra exclaimed. Hermione nodded. "That, and being the daughter of muggles," she said softly. "I never thought I'd be running from the law, Mum, but it's true. And it's so much worse now. Vicky is in terrible danger in Britain because she's a muggle born witch, like me. They're systematically stripping away the rights of muggle born and other people who aren't pure bloods."

"Like Germany in the thirties," murmured Duncan. Hermione glanced at him and nodded approvingly. His analogy was very close to what was happening. "And what happened tonight?" prompted Cassandra. Hermione smiled. "It seems Harry is a little more cautious and more ingenious than I ever suspected. The very first orb spell I sent to you was created by Harry. I hadn't mastered the spell at that point. The spell contained a series of self casting warning wards around the house. "Basically, Harry set up several warning wards to warn him if anyone magical, other than Victoria or myself, approached the house. I wasn't aware of them until Harry came in a little while ago telling me the wards had been triggering, then grabbed my hand. The next thing I knew, were were in Crawly and he's yelling to grab Victoria. "Even now I'm not entirely sure that's how he did it. I know he's become an expert on wards, and it's the only thing that makes sense to me. He hasn't visited you at all. The last time he was in Britain was to rescue me." "But why?" asked Duncan. He still didn't understand what had happened. "Because there were Aurors trying to break through the ward I threw up as soon as we arrived," Harry said from the doorway. He held Victoria's hand in his own and she clutched several seashells in her free hand. "With Hermione being wanted, I think they might have thought that you could tell them where she was hiding. "Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, the wizarding world is in the process of tearing itself apart and hurting people who they have no right to hurt. You and your daughters are here because of that. I wish I could send you home and say you'll be safe and happy, but I can't. Most likely, if I send you home, you'll be arrested and vanish. I don't know what they'd do to you, but it can't be good." "So, we're stuck here? Prisoners?" asked Duncan incredulously. It wasn't hard to hear the anger in his voice. Harry moved to stand behind Hermione's chair. Victoria walked to her mother to share her treasure with her. Cassandra absently took the shells from the little girl and Victoria snuggled next to her. She had been napping when Harry and Hermione had arrived in their home. She blinked a few times and closed her eyes. She was a smart little girl and she knew people wouldn't yell if they thought she was asleep. "No," replied Harry evenly, fighting the urge to tear out his hair in frustration. It was obvious to him where Hermione got her stubbornness from. "I can send you home, where your youngest daughter may be killed because you two are muggles. I would, of course, wipe your memory of this place beforehand, but I urge you to think of your daughters, Mr. Granger. "Hermione's happiness and safety are very important to me. While I can protect you here, I cannot protect you in Britain. I know what your loss would do to her, and above all else, I will protect her." Hermione sat with a small smile on her face. She knew Harry was protective of her and she was glad that, by proxy, that protection extended to her family. Cassandra leaned over and touched Duncan's arm. "Dun, don't. He's not the one responsible for what's happening back home. Getting angry at him isn't helping matters," she said gently. Duncan Granger looked down, his face flaming with shame. He nodded but refused to look up. "It's not just happening back home, Mum," Hermione said softly. "It's part of a world wide movement. We haven't heard of a single country that isn't following the dictates of the International Confederation of Wizards." "So, what happens now?" Cassandra asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "I realize this is something of a shock to you both and we'll try to make this as easy as possible," Harry said. "You'll stay

with us for the next few days. I need to make a house for you to live in. I'll do that tomorrow. As far as the interior is concerned, I'll give you some catalogs and have Amos order the items. Figure three or four days and you'll be able to move in. I'll also sneak back into your house in Crawly and pick up everything I can." "Your Ministry can't reach us here? We're safe from them? Vicky's safe?" Harry snorted. "I'd like to see them try." His eyes took on a light of their own and he gazed out the window. A halo of light flickered around him. "Harry," Hermione said softly. He blinked and looked down at her. "Sorry," he murmured with a bit of a grin. He enjoyed the idea of the Ministry trying to break through the wards he had erected. The results would have been humiliating...for the Ministry. "Why don't you go check on the boats? I'll stay here and talk with my parents," Hermione suggested. He searched her expression for a moment. Then, seeing what she was trying to convey, he nodded. He smiled at Hermione's parents. "I'll see you in a bit." He turned and walked from the room. Victoria's head popped up from the spot on the couch where she was pretending to doze and watched Harry leave. "Outside?" she asked. Like Hermione at the same age, her vocabulary was still limited, but she was perfect in her pronunciation. "It's alright, Mum. Harry won't let anything happen to her." Cassandra Granger nodded and looked down at her youngest daughter. "Alright, Vicky, but you stay with Harry." The little girl nodded solemnly and then bolted for the door. The Grangers didn't worry. They knew Hermione wouldn't have suggested it if she didn't trust Harry. And the fact that the wide glass doors provided an excellent view of where Harry was reassured them. They saw him stop and turn at Victoria's shout. His expression changed, breaking into a huge smile. Cassandra Granger tore her eyes away from Vicky and faced her oldest daughter. "What is going on here, Hermione?" Hermione shivered under her mother's gaze. "Have you ever done something that you later regretted with every fiber of your being?" The two elder Grangers exchanged a worried look. "What do you mean?" asked Duncan. He was becoming alarmed. "After the war, Harry and I parted under bad circumstances. I said some really cruel things, left him behind and moved on with my life. Then I got in trouble at the school and went into hiding. I contacted Harry, asking for help, even though, by rights, he should have refused. "I was afraid to contact him. It took me nearly a month to work up the nerve to send that letter," she said. She paused and her gaze turned to the black haired man who was kneeling in the sand with Victoria. He had conjured some buckets and small shovels and they looked to be building something. "He didn't have to come, but he did," she repeated softly, lost in remembrance. "He didn't have to help me, but he did. I never expected him to forgive me, but when he did, I was just selfish enough to accept it and vowed to never give him another reason to doubt me." She turned to look back at her parents. "That was when I learned exactly what my parting words had done to my best friend. He bought this island to get away from everything, including life. Then he spent the next three years alternating between trying to drink himself to death or trying to kill himself in other ways." "You let your little sister go with a man who's suicidal?" exclaimed Duncan angrily. He jumped to his feet, planning on going out and retrieving his daughter. Hermione's head whipped around and glared at her father. "He's no longer suicidal. Victoria is perfectly safe, Daddy. He

would lay down his own life to keep her safe. As far as his sanity is concerned, he's a little off at times, but he's a lot better than he was." "Dun, please! I want to know what's happening here and I can't find out if you and she are fighting," Cassandra interjected. "Hermione would never risk the life of her sister by sending her off with someone who'd hurt her." Duncan winced and sat back down. He glared at his oldest daughter and motioned for her to continue. Every so often he glanced outside to watch his youngest daughter with a man he wasn't sure about. Hermione leaned forward on her chair. "I'm not sure what else I can tell you. Harry wanted you to be safe. When he came in this morning, he just grabbed me and said there was a problem with the wards around your house. Then we were in Crawly. You heard what he said. We were inside gathering the three of you, while Aurors were trying to break through the warding he'd put in place.. You were probably about to be arrested." "So, this is all Harry's? Are we alone on this island?" asked her mother. Hermione shook her head. "When I arrived, there were less than forty people living here. Now we have over a hundred. We have all sorts of people who are now considered outcasts in the magical world. Muggle born like me, or half bloods like Harry and half breeds." She sighed and looked pensive for a moment. "I don't think Harry ever expected this to happen. Somehow this island has become a refuge for people who would be in trouble on the outside. The Weasley twins are here, along with their girlfriends. Bill Weasley and his wife, Fleur, Hagrid from Hogwarts and Professor Maxime from Beauxbatons arrived not too long after I did. When Harry saved me, he told Tom at the Leaky Cauldron to send him word if he knew of others needing help. Ever since then, people have been trickling in from all over the wizarding world." Cassandra looked at her oldest daughter hard. "There's something else, isn't there?" Hermione nodded, and now she smiled. She fingered a rather tasteful ring on her hand. "Harry's asked me to marry him. We were going to invite you here soon for the ceremony." Cassandra leaned back and looked at her husband smugly. "I told you," she crowed. "I told you'd she'd get with him, once they got together again. Pay up!" Duncan looked at her then looked away. "Yeah, yeah. I'll pay, but I seem to have left my wallet back in Crawly." "You bet on my love life?" Hermione exclaimed in outrage. Duncan snorted with mirth. "Pumpkin, except for that brief stint with that Weasley boy, every letter you wrote, every conversation you held, had some reference to Harry. I never understood what you saw in that redhead anyway. You never had anything good to say about him and all you did was complain about how lazy he was, or how bad your latest fight was." Hermione winced. She had complained a lot to her parents in her letters about Ron. She was certain now she had loved Ron, but it was different than the love she felt for Harry. She couldn't explain it, it was just different. Ron was her first love and she would always have feelings for him. But he was gone and she couldn't imagine a life without Harry. "Honestly, I thought Harry was a phase you'd grow out of. But your mum was convinced that, even after your battle, you and Harry would find your way together. We had ten pounds riding on it." "So, when is the wedding?" asked Cassandra eagerly. Hermione looked at her mother and smiled. "Harry wants to have it on the day after Halloween." "That's a strange date," Duncan muttered. "Yes, that's what I thought at first, too. But Halloween has always had bad connotations for Harry. I think he wants something good to think about during that time."

"Then why not have it on Halloween?" Duncan asked curiously. Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. Harry said he has plans for that evening that involve both of us. I gather it's something very special, but he won't say anything more about it." "What kind of service are you planning?" Cassandra asked eagerly. "It's going to be fairly simple, Mum. It's not like any of us can return to Crawly to get married at St. Catherine's. We know a real ships captain who has said he'll do it if we can't find another way." Duncan stood and stretched. "If no one minds, I think I'll take a walk outside, while you two discuss this." Hermione and Cassandra nodded and fell silent while Duncan walked outside. He knew his wife well enough to know she was about to begin one of the more mysterious female conversations. The mother/daughter wedding plan conversation and, as a man, his only option was to escape while he could. He blinked in the blinding sun. There was a stiff breeze coming in off the beach and the smell of the ocean was pungent in his nostrils. After Crawly, where it was overcast and drizzling, this was a great breath of fresh air. The sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds and it was surprising warm for mid September. He stepped over to the railing and leaned against it. Below the deck, on the beach, Victoria directed Harry in building a sandcastle. Harry was cheating, of course, using magic and loaning her some of his. As a result, the castle was slowing reaching a height of nearly six feet. He chuckled and watched his daughter line the moat around the castle with shells. "Nice castle," he said. Victoria and Harry looked up at him and grinned. Harry turned to Victoria. "Do you see how it's done now?" he asked. She nodded and made a gesture with one hand. Duncan gasped as a new tower rose above the main castle. It took less than ten seconds to raise the ten foot tall tower. "Like that?" she asked. Harry nodded, his smile gentle. "I'm going to go talk with your dad, but you work on your castle and we'll watch from the deck. Alright?" When she nodded, he stood and climbed the stairs to the deck. Joining Duncan, he leaned against the deck and watched the child build her castle. "She's very magical, you know. I think she might be even more powerful than Hermione some day," Harry murmured. "How can she do that? Hermione couldn't control her magic until she went to Hogwarts!" Duncan exclaimed. "She's a Granger," Harry said simply. Duncan turned to look at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" Harry watched Victoria change the color of her castle to a shocking pink and his slips twitched. The turrets were a dayglow orange with blue stripes. He winced at the color scheme, but he had to admire the spellcrafting, nonetheless. "She is the product of two very smart and very loving parents. She's also at an age where magic is more real to her," he replied, before turning to face Duncan. "Think about it. The monster in the closest, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus. For Victoria, they're all very real. She's at a point in her life when the impossible is not only possible, but expected. She hasn't had time to learn the hard facts of life. To her, magic is as real as the air she breathes, and Peter Pan really does live in Never land. "As much as I love Hermione, I know that her reliance on books holds her back. Victoria hasn't reached that point in life yet. "She has a lot of potential and I'll admit I'm lending her power because her core isn't big enough yet to do a lot, but the control and what she does, is all her," he said seriously. Then he turned back to keep an eye on the child who was now

happily playing around her castle. Duncan turned to watch his daughter also. "I want to apologize...for what I said inside." Harry waved a hand, dismissing it as unimportant. "It's alright. You were still shocked and somewhat confused." Duncan snorted. "I think I still am." He looked out at the dock, noting the seventy foot long trimaran and the twenty eight foot dive boat that bobbed at the dock. "Those yours?" he asked. Harry smiled. " Yes. I use the dive boat when I go fishing, which is at least three times a week. The Lily? Well, she's something special. A friend of mine showed me a picture of a trimaran and I fell in love with it. He purchased plans for one and I built it slowly, using a mix of magic and plain old muscle power. I built her and I take her out now and then, but your daughter uses her more than I do." Duncan eyed the gleaming white triple hulled sailboat. He had never seen anything quite like it before and he said so. "That's because you're used to the idea of a catamaran with its two hulls. The trimaran isn't quite as fast as a cat, but it's more stable. Your daughter much prefers the sedate pace set by the Lily than what I can do in the dive boat," Harry said with a chuckle. "Don't get me wrong. The Lily can move really well under a stiff breeze, but she's harder to capsize and provides a smoother ride. She's also built for Hermione and I to go on extended trips. Both boats are fairly new. When I brought Hermione here I had a twenty foot skiff with a small outboard engine. I was surprised she allowed me to buy the dive boat, and build the Lily." "Yes, about that. She says you've asked her to marry you?" Harry grinned and turned back to look at Duncan. "Is this where you grill me on my career choices and whether or not I can earn enough to make sure she and any children we have are well cared for?" Duncan stood quite still for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You know, now that you mention it, it does seem silly," he said once he'd managed to get control of himself. "Here we are, standing on the deck of a home that's worth a million pounds or more, looking at a hundred thousand pounds worth of boats, on an island you own. And I'm going to ask if you can afford to make sure she has food to eat and a roof over her head?" Harry laughed, he couldn't help himself. It was just enough of a distraction that he didn't feel the hard tug on his magic. "I suppose I could feed her better," he said, still chuckling. "We usually eat what I catch a couple times a week. Amos brings in staples, mostly American fare, but it's tasty enough. One of our neighbors, up on the northern end of the island, is raising chickens and even some turkeys, so we have plenty of eggs and poultry at least once a week. We don't have enough room for beef cattle, but I suppose a few cows wouldn't hurt. "Outside of that, we conjure the foodstuffs we need. I know that poses a bit of a problem for you and Mrs. Granger, but we can help keep your larder stocked. Dobby is especially handy for conjuring food. That's part of the magic elves possess. If you need a specialty item, we'll order it. Once I've gotten a good look at the item, I'll be able to conjure more of it for you." Duncan nodded. He was feeling decidedly numb at this point. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "What about the weather?" he blurted, groping for a topic that approached normalcy. Harry gestured towards the ocean. "When I first arrived here and the island wasn't hidden, we had a few hurricanes that caused a lot of damage. We don't have that problem now. There's a weather ward around the island that diverts most of the really bad weather away. I didn't want to divert it all, so the ward will allow tropical storms and regular storms through. The house is warded in a similar manner. Yours will be too, once I'm finished with it. You can sit on the deck in the middle of a rainstorm and not get wet." Duncan blinked in shock. Even Hermione, with all her letters describing fantastic feats of magic, never spoke of things like diverting the weather. Harry turned back to watch Victoria, who was busy using a pail to fill in the moat around her castle. He saw a flash of pink, but it moved out of his sight around the pink castle, blending with the sand structure. Dismissing it as his imagination, he turned back to Duncan.

"I know this is going to be a big change for you and Mrs. Granger, sir, but Hermione and I will do everything in our power to help you. I wish I could send you home, back to your lives, as if nothing bad were happening, but I can't. If I did, you'd probably be arrested and imprisoned before the week was out," he said softly. "I don't want to even think about how that would hurt Hermione." Duncan grimaced and glanced down at his little girl play in the sand before turning back to Harry. "Our careers were important, but not as important as Vicky or Hermione. We'll adjust," he said with a bit of a sigh. Harry nodded, then he turned as Dobby appeared, holding a tray. He picked up the bottle of Guinness Stout and handed it to Duncan, before he picked up his glass of fruit juice. Duncan arched an eyebrow over his choice of drink and Harry smiled sheepishly. "I promised Hermione. I haven't touched a drop since." "Do you miss it?" Duncan asked. Harry shook his head. "I wasn't an alcoholic, although I probably came very close. I was drinking to forget." "I'm sorry. That's personal and I shouldn't have pried." "No, it's alright. I suppose you have a right to know, since I am planning on marrying your daughter." Harry turned and walked over to a deck lounger to sit down. "When I heard from Hermione, I was in a bad state. I seriously thought about ignoring her letter... for about two seconds. Then I headed to Britain to rescue her. I only paused long enough to change my clothing into something more suitable for British weather. "She wasn't here a full day when she started working on helping me out of the hole I had dug myself into." He stopped speaking and looked down at his hands, which flared with magic. "I can do things that border on the miraculous or insane. But with all my power, I couldn't fight my own demons," he said softly. Duncan watched him, realizing he was being totally open with him. Harry's hands clenched his fists. "With my power I can tear down mountains or build them up. I can drain seas or make new ones. With magic, I can do something as mundane as building a house, or as whimsical as helping a child build a sandcastle. But be it mountains or sandcastles, it's all meaningless, all of it, without hope." He looked up at Hermione's father, his eyes bright. "That's what Hermione gave me, Mr. Granger. She gave me hope, and later, her love. I don't think you'll ever understand just how much I needed those two things from her." Suddenly a pair of arms enveloped him from behind. "And you'll always have them. Don't you forget that, Mister Potter," Hermione whispered in his ear. Hermione and her mother had come out to join them on the deck. Harry leaned back against Hermione, while he watched her mother get her first look at the beach. "Never," he whispered. "You're my hero." Hermione smiled to herself. It had taken him more than a month before he could control the urge to flinch when she touched him unexpectedly. "What is that?" Cassandra asked in shock. She pointed down towards the sandcastle built by Harry and Victoria. Harry followed her pointing finger down to the sandcastle built by her daughter. The castle was now nearly ten feet high, bright pink, had a moat and a small three foot tall pink and blue dragon prancing back and forth in front of the drawbridge. The dragon furled and unfurled tiny wings on its back. Harry hadn't paid any attention to the extra pull Victoria had made on his magic to create the creature. "Oh. Ah, oops?" Harry said hesitantly. He eyed the dragon with a great deal of interest.

Victoria squealed and clapped her hands as the dragon shot a small puff of smoke from it's nostrils. Everyone turned to look at Harry, except for Victoria, who was playing with her new friend. "I'm afraid that's my fault. I've been feeding her magic and she's been using it to shape what she wants. I didn't think she'd conjure a dragon though," he replied, scratching his chin sheepishly. "Is she in danger?" Hermione whispered. Her eyes were huge as she watched the little dragon puff and snort and prance around Victoria. Harry closed his eyes, concentrating on the little dragon. His eyes sprang open and he suddenly stood, startling Hermione. He stared at the little dragon intently. "Harry?" Hermione said in alarm. His reaction was worrying her. Rather than answering her, he vaulted over the deck railing, landing on one side of the castle. He walked around the large sandcastle and stopped when the little dragon spotted him. "Puff?" he called. Somehow he intuitively knew the name of the dragon. Who else would a three year old girl wish for when she wanted a dragon for her castle? The dragon snorted out a small puff of smoke and bounded over to him, nearly knocking him down. Victoria laughed and clapped her hands and the little dragon turned and bounded back over to her. The dragon stopped just shy of her and rubbed it's head against her hand. The little beast was nearly as tall as she was and probably outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. Harry was certain that being hit with that wagging tail would leave bruises. "Harry!" He turned to look up at the three adults and he grinned at them. "It's Puff," he said simply. "You're kidding, aren't you?" Hermione asked dryly. She was having difficulty maintaining a straight face. He shook his head. "Nope. She used my power to create herself the perfect companion. Ladies and gentleman, I give you Puff, the magic dragon." Then he threw back his head and laughed. Victoria giggled and the dragon turned toward the adults on the deck and fluttered his wings. Harry, still grinning, finally shrugged. "I should have been more careful watching what she was doing with my magic, but I was talking with Mr. Granger and got distracted," he said apologetically. The little dragon extended it's wings again and they flapped vigorously like a hummingbird. She lifted off the beach and flew around Victoria before landing again. A small white cloud wafted up from her nostrils. Victoria laughed again and clapped her hands happily, then she threw her arms around the neck of the little beast, hugging it to her. Puff turned her long neck and buried her head in her hair. He looked down at the dragon and shook his head. "Hagrid is going to love this," he muttered, then he looked up at Hermione. "It's not conjured." Her eyes widened and she quickly left the railing and ran down the steps. She approached Harry and pulled out her wand. Puff noticed her approach and placed herself directly between Victoria and Hermione, as though protecting the child. She made a low growling sound and a small puff of smoke rose from her nostrils. She cast a simple magic revealing charm and gasped at the results, then turned back to Harry. "What does this mean?" Harry laughed. "It means your sister is the first witch to have her own dragon familiar." Hermione stared at him for a moment, then she couldn't help but grin. Vicky is going to be very popular with Hagrid, she thought. "Can't you cancel the spell?" asked Duncan from the deck. A puppy or a kitten was one thing. A dragon, however, might be a bit too much for a three year old.

"He can't," Hermione explained. "Unlike a normal live conjuration, which would ultimately fade, this dragon is real. There's no spell to cancel. Banishing, unfortunately, would probably kill it." Harry sighed and cut his power link to Victoria. She turned and looked at him. "More?" she asked. The look she gave him was enough to melt his heart. He was seriously tempted to let her have a little bit more, but not now, and not in front of her parents until they calmed down. "Later, sweetheart. For now, why don't you and Puff join your parents on the deck? It's going to be time for dinner soon," he replied. Victoria pouted for a moment, then turned her attention back to her new pet. Puff moved to her side and rubbed against her hand, nearly pushing her over in an attempt to get her head scratched. "Mum wasn't thrilled with Crookshanks. I can't imagine how she'll be with a dragon," she murmured to Harry. "Well, at least Puff won't shed. Burning down the house might be an issue, however. A dragon for a pet is kind of cool. I wonder..." "No, Harry," she said firmly. "But," he began. "No." He sighed. "I guess you're right. My luck, I'd summon an Emperor Horntail. Besides, while she used my magic, I don't know what she did. Trying to repeat it would be...dangerous." He shrugged. "Let's go see what Dobby's cooked up for us."

Minister's Residence, Britain...

Rufus Scrimgeour bolted upright in his bed, his face covered in sweat. He tried to reach for his wand, but his hands felt strangely numb and his arms refused to move. He tried to cry for help, but he couldn't. His chest felt heavy and it was hard to breathe. A figure came into view and he looked up at the person pleadingly. "Ah, Rufus, you're awake. No matter, you won't be for long," said Albus Dumbledore. Scrimgeour gasped and stared at the old headmaster. Dumbledore conjured a chair for himself and sat down. "I suppose you want an explanation?" Scrimgeour struggled to catch his breath and nod at the same time. "I suppose it's only fair to explain why I had to murder you. You see, I tried to steer you in the right direction, but you just wouldn't listen. No, you had to risk everything by trying to siphon funds from the Bank of England into Ministry coffers to cover your cost overruns." Scrimgeour's eyes widened and he tried to shake his head in denial. His chest burned and his limbs felt like lead. With each passing second his chest felt heavier and it was harder for him to breathe. "Oh, don't try to deny it, Rufus. It's far too late for that. You see, muggles and Wizards aren't meant to mix. The muggle born might have had their uses in fighting Voldemort, but now we need to make sure the two worlds are kept apart. Your actions, I'm afraid, have jeopardized that. You see, Voldemort wanted to conquer the muggles. I just want to keep us apart from them. We don't need their ideas contaminating our society. "And you risked that by trying to steal from them. I've had a hard enough time convincing people that muggle born are a danger to our way of life and I couldn't allow you to bring attention to our world. So I'm afraid I've had to kill you." Scrimgeour flopped back on the bed, his lips were turning blue and his eyes were wild with fear.

Dumbledore stood and leaned over him. "I'm afraid I've had to kill your family, as well. But it's a painless curse, I think. It will look like you've been poisoned with curare, a muggle poison. Don't be bitter, my dear Minister. This is for the greater good." Albus smiled down at the man. "Goodbye, Rufus. I will see that you and your family are given a wonderful state funeral, and I think I'll recommend Percival Weasley as your replacement. Such a nice, pliable young man, so easily impressed and guided." Rufus tried to thrash around on the bed, but the paralysis was asphyxiating him. Slowly the light in his eyes faded and his body twitched. Scrimgeour's eyes glazed over with death and Dumbledore dispelled his chair, then he turned and left the room. Around him, in six other bedrooms, lie the Scrimgeour family, dead at his hand and he was already planning the next phase in pulling away from the muggle world. The only survivor of the Scrimgeour massacre, as it would come to be called, was the oldest daughter, a former Auror, who had been sent away for being a squib. The Minister's assassination would be blamed on muggle born renegades once the old headmaster pointed out that the way they died reminded him of a muggle poison. And Percival Weasley was just the narrow minded man needed to lead the purging of the wizarding world, with judicious help from one Albus Dumbledore.

The Grangers, Norman's Cay, The Bahamas...

Cassandra Granger smiled. She stood in the living room of her new house, a luxurious five bedroom home that came with unlimited hot water and a cooling charm that never needed to be replenished. The appliances were different than what she was used to, but Hermione had spent the morning showing her how to use them. It helped that Harry had conjured everything in her kitchen in a gleaming chrome and steel style. It was, in her opinion, her dream kitchen, even if she had to used a enchanted stick to start the stove. They didn't have to replace much, as Harry had quietly returned to their house in Crawly to gather as many of their possessions as possible. At first, the Grangers had been dubious of his promise to retrieve their belongings, but Hermione assured them he would be bringing most of it. Some things, however, were rather inappropriate for this climate and would end up in storage. For the life of her, Cassandra couldn't see the possibility of using the heavy quilts and winter coats again. So far, they still only had a few chairs in the living room, and that was the sum total of their furniture. The last few days seemed to her like some sort of surrealistic dream, starting with the hurried rescue from their home in Britain. She was home alone with Hermione, while Duncan, Victoria and Puff helped Harry unload the Mary Celeste of it's cargo of furniture for them. She nodded her thanks absently when Hermione handed her a cup of tea. Hermione had already stocked their larder with foodstuffs, most from the island warehouse and some she had conjured with Dobby's help. They had arranged for Dobby to restock their larder every week, and he'd check with Cassandra to see if she required any special items. At first Dobby had wanted to cook for Miss Hermy's parents and little Miss Vicky, but Harry and Hermione had managed to persuade him to let Cassandra do her own cooking. On the other hand, he was always willing to watch Victoria for them. She had managed, in the course of only a few days, to completely wrap Dobby around her finger. The only bump, and it was a minor one, came when Victoria discovered that Dobby couldn't read her favorite stories to her. So she decided that Dobby would learn to read with her. It took Harry nearly a whole day to calm the little elf and tell him it would be alright for him to learn to read and no, the Ministry would not execute him for 'attempting to rise above his station'. "Something on your mind, Mum?" Hermione asked. Cassandra turned to look at her daughter. "Tell me about Harry. Are you happy? Is he really alright?" Hermione leaned back on her chair and sighed heavily. She knew what her mother was asking. Harry was...well, not

always there. That wasn't to say he was mad, but he certainly wasn't strictly sane, either. "He's not crazy, Mum," she said in protest. "He's changed some from Hogwarts, but I think that's to be expected. In a way, for Harry, the war never ended. He struggles daily to control his darker side." She stood and walked over to the large bay window and looked out. Cassandra watched her silently, saying nothing. She knew instinctively that her daughter had more to say. "He has more power than any wizard I've ever met, heard about or read about. And he struggles with that almost daily. He could go back to the wizarding world and utterly destroy it. That is his greatest fear, that something will happen that will force him to do just that. He's terrified that something will happen to me and push him into that choice." She turned and crossed her arms. "He is a kind and gentle soul, but he's also a warrior who gives no quarter. He'll do anything to protect this place, and us. I've witnessed that first hand. "One time, we went up to Nassau and everything was wonderful. We did our shopping and played the part of the tourist couple in love. It was quite romantic. After dinner, we still had a few hours to kill until the tide turned and Amos was ready to sail, so we walked through the old quarter, just enjoying each other's company, holding hands and laughing a lot. We were walking back to the ship when we were attacked by an auror capture team sent by the Bahamian Ministry." Hermione shivered and looked at her mother. "I've never seen anything like it. One moment we're surrounded and stunners are flying at us, the next, all six aurors are on the ground, unconscious. Harry stripped them of their memories and their magic and sent each of them to six different muggle cities, where they would be picked up by the muggles and treated as amnesia victims. He did that to protect me, and the people on this island. "He didn't go looking for that fight, Mum. And while it was taking place, he made sure I was behind him at all times, shielding me with his own body. Hermione sat down next to her mother and shakily drank from her tea. It felt good to get this off her chest. "That night I woke up hearing him cry out. He was having a nightmare. I went to his bedroom and spent the rest of the night holding him, while he agonized over what he had been forced to do." Cassandra arched an eyebrow. Hermione recognized the looked and nearly groaned. "No, Mother, we do not yet share a bed. The room you and Dad slept in while staying at Harry's was my room. I slept in Harry's room with Victoria and Harry slept on the Lily. I'm working on it, but we haven't reached that point quite yet." She looked at Hermione incredulously and leaned closer to her. "Is he gay?" she asked. Hermione blushed furiously. While she and Harry hadn't been fully intimate, she knew for a fact that Harry was most definitely not gay. "No!" Cassandra smiled sweetly at her daughter and calmly sipped her tea. "We haven't made love, if that is what you're fishing for. Strangely enough, I've fallen for a man with a strong sense of morality when it comes to sex. He wants to wait, but even now I know his resistance is crumbling. I don't think he needs to wait for the wedding, but he does want to wait for the right time." She looked down at her cup. Yes, it's crumbling, but he's not quite ready, she thought. "And he knows about you and Ron?" Cassandra asked. Hermione's relationship with Ron wasn't a secret from her mother. In fact, they'd spoken extensively about the relationship before she slept with Ron. Hermione played with her tea cup and nodded. "I think he was a little disappointed, at first, but we're past that now. We haven't made love, but we've done enough for me to know he'll be gentle and kind. He's exactly what I need, and I can give him what he needs."

She paused for a moment, thinking. "I've been fortunate to know and love two very astounding men. I lost one because of the war and nearly lost the other due to stupidity on my part. I don't regret what Ron and I had and I certainly don't regret what Harry and I now have. The only thing I really regret is that I let my own remorse hurt my best friend and drive him away for four years." Cassandra remained silent and Hermione began to worry. She fidgeted slightly, then looked up at her mother. Seeing the gentle smile on the older woman's face, she relaxed. "Sweetheart, I'm not ever going to try to talk you out of it. I thought you and Harry belonged together. I was rather surprised when you began a relationship with Ron, though I kept my thoughts to myself." Hermione blinked and looked at her mother in astonishment. "Why didn't you ever say anything to me about it?" she demanded. Cassandra shrugged. "My mother told me a long time ago never to interfere in the love life of my children. A parent's role is to be supportive and to help pick up the pieces if or when you crash, but not to interfere. She didn't interfere with Duncan and I wasn't about to do so with you and Ron. Remember that when your child falls in love. "Honestly, I thought Ronald was a mistake, but he was your choice and you seemed happy with it. Had your war not happened, who knows how things would have turned out?" Hermione stared at her mother, who smiled benignly back at her and sipped her tea. "So," Cassandra said, breaking the silence, "is Harry violent often?" Hermione scowled and shook her head. "Of course not. What he did to those aurors wasn't violent compared to what he could have done, or what they would have done to us," she replied, then she stood abruptly and paced a few steps before swinging back around. "Do you know how many fugitives live on this island? How many of us are wanted by the Ministry?" Cassandra blinked at the sudden change of topic and shook her head mutely. "There are over one hundred of us, Mum, including nearly forty children, most newly created orphans, ranging in age from eleven to seventeen! Nearly every person on this island is wanted by the British Ministry or the International Confederation of Wizards. All the Ministry's are folding into one super world government, led by the ICW and Albus Dumbledore. I swear that man must be senile! He was never like this until Voldemort was killed. The year and a half he spent in hiding must have driven him insane." Hermione glared hard at her mother. "This island, and everyone on it, is what Harry was protecting, including you, Dad and Victoria. Every week someone new shows up here. He could have killed those Aurors. Instead, he used them to distract the ministries. When their aurors are found, they won't have a clue what happened to them, or even where it happened. They won't even know where to start looking. "I saw Harry on the battlefield during the war. There, he killed without mercy because he had to. But on Nassau, he wasn't the same man." Cassandra leaned forward on her chair and captured her daughter's hand. "Sweetheart, I believe you. I just want to make sure you knew what you were doing. The Harry I see shows no signs of the depression you speak of, or of the violence. And it's very obvious he loves you. But marriage is a special commitment. Are you two ready for that?" "Yes," Hermione replied firmly. "And I know Harry is, too." The sound of the back door opening distracted both women and they turned to face the noise. Puff came bounding into the room, followed by Victoria, who firmly believed that if one had to go somewhere, running was the only way to get there. Hermione smiled at the dragon. Hagrid and Madame Maxime had been by earlier in the week to examine the little creature. It was definitely a dragon, but it seemed to be adult sized and was of no species that Hagrid could recognized.

Over the next few days, everyone had come to realize that dragons might be fierce creatures, but this one had the disposition of a Labrador Retriever, unless Victoria was in danger. Harry walked in next, followed by several large items of furniture, following him obediently. "Where do you want these?" he asked. Cassandra blinked at the hovering wardrobes and beds, bobbing silently in the air behind him. She was still getting used to Hermione's blatant use of magic, but Harry took it to a whole new level. "B-Bedrooms," she stammered in reply. Harry nodded and stepped aside. The furniture hovered past him, heading for the appropriate rooms. Duncan entered next, proudly carrying a miniature couch in his arms. Cassandra stared at her prize hardwood antique couch. It had taken four men to move it into their house in Crawly, and yet her husband was carrying it as if it weighed nothing. Several hours later, the Grangers were settled in to their new home and everyone was clustered around a BBQ pit that Harry had built for Duncan just off the beach. Harry sipped a tall glass of fruit juice and relaxed in the breeze coming off the ocean. "We were later than I expected. Amos brought in another family today. Three kids, all magical, a witch and her squib husband. We turned them over to Madame Maxime for a few days to get oriented," he said, frowning. "Something is bothering you, Harry. What is it?" asked Hermione. He shook his head and smiled ruefully. "I can't hide anything from you anymore, can I?" She grinned back at him. "Not if you know what's good for you." "Get with the program, Harry. Nine times out of ten Cassandra has solutions to my problems and the tenth time I fake it. Badly, I might add," Duncan said, standing next to the grill. He was busy breaking in his new BBQ with the traditional fare of chicken and burgers. Victoria ran back and forth on the beach under the watchful eyes of a four legged dragon and Dobby, who had taken a liking to the smallest witch. "Hush, Duncan," chided Cassandra. "Let Harry talk." Harry nodded and eyed Hermione speculatively. "Well, word out of Nassau is that the effort to make a world wide Ministry is probably going to go through. Madame Maxime wants to set up temporary housing so any incoming people can have a place to stay until something can be made for them. She's worried that with the British controlling the ICW, the number of refugees could shoot up tremendously." Hermione leaned back on her chair, thinking hard. She and Harry had put up incoming refugees several times. Everyone on the island had, at one time or another. "It makes sense, Harry. And with Madame Maxime working on building her school, she would have the bed space. But that isn't all of it, is it?" "Not hardly. I'm going to need to expand the island. Maybe lift and drain the lagoon," he replied. "I think things are turning very bad on the outside. Rumor has it that a group of renegade muggle born broke into the Minister's mansion and killed Minister Scrimgeour and his family. Percy Weasley's been promoted to Minister." Hermione flinched. "Scrimgeour's dead and Percy's Minister?" she exclaimed in dismay. Harry nodded unhappily, then turned to her parents. "Ordinarily, the death of Scrimgeour would have left us with the chance to see a more moderate Minister put into power. But that didn't happen. The new Minister is more conservative, and more interested in controlling our lives than the last one. Hermione and I went to school with Percy Weasley. He was a couple years ahead of us and he used to delight in enforcing the most obscure rules he could find on the books," he explained.

The hope that had been building in Cassandra's expression fled quickly. She still wanted to go home, if possible. Duncan looked up from pulling chicken off of the grill. "Are we really safe here?" he asked. "Do you know what wards are?" Harry asked. "Hermione explained them as a kind of fence," Cassandra replied. "A fence is a good analogy, but it's not quite accurate. I prefer to think of them like a dome. I remember watching a show on the telly a long time ago about people living on the moon. They had this huge glass dome over their city." "I've seen shows like that," Duncan said. "Right. So, think of the island as having a series of domes around it. Each dome does something different. For example, the outer most dome just warns us that people are approaching. Other domes hide us from muggles, or hide us from the Ministry. The closer you get to the island, the more violent the domes become." "Violent?" asked Cassandra worriedly. "Think of it like an electric fence, Mum," Hermione said. Cassandra nodded and looked thoughtful. "That's right," Harry agreed. "In order to get to those wards, however, you have to tear down the others. If someone starts trying to tear down the wards, or domes, we know they're not here by accident, but are trying to assault the island." Duncan handed Cassandra a plate of food, then turned to look at Harry. "What are your plans?" Harry blinked and looked at him in confusion. "Mr. Granger?" Duncan shook his head and smiled. "Harry, you rescued my daughter from certain death on several occasions. You've rescued the rest of my family and given us this magnificent home. In a couple of weeks, you're going to marry Hermione and that will make you Victoria's uncle and our son-in-law. Don't you think by now you can call me Duncan?" "And I'm Cassandra," Hermione's mother added. Hermione snickered at his discomfort. This part of Harry hadn't changed. He still hated when people made a big deal about his accomplishments. Harry fought down a blush over Duncan's words. "Alright, Duncan, but what do you mean plans?" "This new family that came in, are they British?" asked Duncan. Harry frowned and shook his head. "No. In fact, Amos commented about the fact that they were from British Columbia in Canada." Duncan walked over to the picnic table they'd set up. Grabbing a chair, he turned it around to face Harry and sat down. "Right. So, what will you do when the number of people coming in jumps from five to five hundred in a week?" Harry sucked in his breath and stared at the man. "You don't think that would happen, do you?" Duncan shrugged his shoulders. "It could, very easily. You've built this refuge for yourself and you made it safe. That should have been enough for most men, but it wasn't for you. You left a way in. That sort of information will spread. People will actively seek this place out. Think about it, Harry. How did a family from Canada learn about this place?" He shook his head, trying to deny the possibilities. "I didn't... I'm not going to..." He stood abruptly and walked down to the water's edge, leaving Hermione and her parents staring after him.

He stood, staring out over the ocean for a while. When he felt her standing behind him, he sighed. "I really mucked up again, didn't I?" "What do you mean?" Hermione asked softly. She wanted to touch him, to tell him it would be alright, but she knew all she could do was be there for him. Later, once he had worked it through in his mind, he'd accept her touch gladly. Now, though, it would only distract him. "It's that damn people saving thing again, Hermione. I'm doing it again, aren't I?" he asked bitterly. She moved to stand next to him. "Yes, but it's the right thing to do. You know that, Harry. You've always known that. One of the reasons why I love you is because no matter what happens, you do the right thing, no matter how hard it is. It would be so easy to close the island, to run away. You were trying to do that when you saved me and it was killing you." His shoulders slumped and he dug a toe into the wet sand. "I don't want to be a savior again. Look where it got me the last time. I know what your father was leading up to, some sort of formal leadership role." "You do own the island," she gently reminded him, then she slipped her hand in his. "He's right, though. We need to organize, but you don't have to be the leader, love. There are other things we can do. There's still a lot of work to be done on your library, and then there's the Avalonian equations. Let my parents organize things. As muggles, they have little else to do." He looked at her for a moment, then he shook his head in amusement. "I take it you still want me to conjure a library building for the books?" She nodded, although the idea of someone conjuring a permanent structure still boggled her mind. "And for the ones you're going to buy." He blinked and looked at her. "I'm buying books?" he asked with a smile. "Well, we'll want things to read, and even with your collection, we'll need more books," she said sheepishly. "Besides, you want to keep me happy. You told my Mum that." He laughed softly and pulled her into a gentle hug. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed contentedly.

Office of the Minister of Magic, Britain...

"... and so I offer this bill up to the Wizengamot. It will provide protection and preserve the sanctity of our race from contaminating elements. Sign it, Percival Ignatius Weasley, Minister of Magic," Percy Weasley said pompously. Percy leaned back in his chair and looked at his secretary, while her quill scribbled furiously. He had only been the Minister for matter of weeks and already he was making his presence felt throughout the Ministry. One of his first acts as Minister was the simplest. He broke off his engagement with Penelope Clearwater. He'd had her family investigated and discovered she had a squib relative who'd married a muggle seventy years ago. She wasn't pure, in his eyes. That she had been devastated and needed to be checked into St. Mungos at the time was of no importance. He couldn't afford to be seen with someone whose bloodline was less than pure. His old headmaster, Dumbledore, stopped by frequently to offer advice, which he gratefully took. Dumbledore was making his career soar. Only last week his name had been thrown into the arena for the position of World Minister for the ICW. It was a position he coveted greatly and Dumbledore seemed to think he'd be perfect for the job, despite his young age. It still shocked him that the ICW seemed to be seriously considering his candidacy. His secretary examined the scroll for a moment, then she looked up. "Looks good, Minister Weasley. I'll get this cleaned up in time for your four o'clock meeting with the Chief Warlock," she said, then she glanced at her watch. "Your ten o'clock meeting with the new Head of the DMLE is about to begin." Percy nodded. "Bring us some tea before we begin."

The woman nodded with a slight scowl and quickly left the room. She was back a few minutes later, carrying a tray with a pot of tea, some biscuits and several cups. Percy looked up as Maurice O'Connell, his new DMLE Head, and Shane Ives, senior division auror, entered the room. "Good morning, Minister," O'Connell said. Percy waved them in, while his secretary bustled around serving tea. The three men waited until she left before starting their conversation. Percy waved his wand precisely, muttering the incantation to secure the room with a privacy charm. "What's our first order of business?" he asked as he tucked his wand away. "Fugitive status, Minister," replied O'Connell. Percy leaned back in his chair and nodded for O'Connell to begin. The older man cleared his throat. "As you know, we have several status levels that basically outline the degree of urgency for the fugitive." O'Connell looked down at his notes before looking up again. "Currently, we have two hundred and seventy seven wanted felons on the run. This included a number of muggle born who have gone to ground in the muggle community, as well as known radicals and dissidents. Mind you, this only covers our own particular felons at the moment. The ICW is still working to integrate all of the Auror departments under one umbrella, but I don't have access to the total figures. "We also have a small group of people who are wanted for questioning, but no charges have been leveled against them," O'Connell said, before pausing for a moment. "The man on the top of that particular list is Harry Potter. Minister, it would be to our benefit it you would allow us to move him to the wanted felon list. I see from his file that there are several charges pending that have been listed as confidential." Percy sat up straight. "Out of the question, O'Connell. I know you've only been at this posting for a month, but Potter is to be left alone. We've sent out teams to find him before and they've either come up empty handed or been a total disaster." "Forgive me, Minister," Ives said, interrupting him. Percy turned to look at him. "You have something to add, Senior Auror?" Ives swallowed nervously. "Yes, sir. Mr. O'Connell is unaware of certain facts, having come up through our Hong Kong office." Percy thought for a moment, then he nodded for Ives to continue. Ives turned to O'Connell who looked at him curiously. "Sir, the common belief that Albus Dumbledore was behind the killing of Voldemort is, in fact, a fabrication of the previous administration and Albus Dumbledore. The Minister felt that, politically, it would be more expedient to support Albus Dumbledore over Harry Potter, who was known to harbor ill will towards the government. Dumbledore continues to be a solid supporter of the Ministry, which is why we allowed this idea to continue," Ives told him. O'Connell glanced between Ives and Percy. Both nodded at him and he cleared his throat nervously. "And this is..." "Classified information, Mr. O'Connell. If we put a warrant out for Harry Potter, he is quite likely to turn around and become what he killed. Oh, we still try to find him every now and then, only because we do want to question him in regard to finding my brothers, as well as that mudblood woman, Granger." O'Connell shook his head in dismay. "It's a pity. He probably knows the location of all of those felons. St. Mungo's still wants Granger to reverse the curse on Lucius Malfoy." "And that is precisely why we can't charge him. The best charge we have is withholding information. And given his

resources, he'd have that laughed out of court in ten minutes," Percy said, looking thoughtful. Straightening in his chair, the Minister leaned forward. "It is a pity about the Malfoys. Such a good family with an impeccable pedigree. With Draco dead and Lucius incapacitated, I suppose the fortune went to Narcissa." Ives shook his head. "Oh, no, Minister. The Malfoy family is strictly patriarchal. Narcissa couldn't inherit. The family fortune went to the closest living male relative in the days following the death of Voldemort." Percy eyed the man with interest. "Who got the fortune, then? I must make a note to make sure they're added to the Ministry invitation lists." Ives suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, Minister, but the closest living male relative is the head of the Black family." "Harry Potter," Percy whispered, blanching. Ives nodded unhappily. Percy sighed at the thought of that fortune forever out of his reach. Harry had gone to Gringotts as soon as he was healed from his fight and forced them to transfer all of his money to a muggle bank. From there, the fortune was dispersed to multiple overseas muggle accounts, placing it forever out of reach of the Ministry. They had tried to recover the money when they realized that Harry had been responsible for starting the run that ultimately caused the bank's collapse. The problem was they couldn't afford to bring back his money. By that point, a single British pound was already worth seven galleons and Potter had liquidated nearly a billion galleons into muggle banks when the money was still worth five pounds sterling per galleon. Percy had been one of the Ministry employees in charge of finding out what happened after the economic crash of 1999. He knew full well just how far out of reach Harry had put his money. He looked down at his desk for a moment. "Alright, what else do we have?" "The talks to consolidate the Auror divisions under the ICW are still underway, Minister. I'll be returning to the Paris conference this evening. Things seem to be moving smoothly, although the Yanks and several others are baulking at the idea of one world wide Ministry. Key people in their governments are holding things up," O'Connell said. Percy nodded and made a note to talk to the black ops department about some selective assassinations. The explosion that rocked the room a moment later had both aurors rolling out of their chairs and springing to their feet, wands drawn and ready to fight. Percy was no where to be seen. "Minister?" shouted Ives in a panic. "Here," a voice called from under the desk. Slowly, Percy peeked out, then climbed out from under the furniture. "What the devil was that?" demanded O'Connell. "The Ministry poltergeist," Percy replied angrily. "Apparently it started sometime during the Scrimgeour administration and they haven't been able to exorcise the beast. The Department of Mysteries have tried everything, including moving the office, but the blasts always find the new office. There's never any damage, just a sudden, unexpected explosion." With a shaking hand, Percy opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a bottle of Ogden's. "I think that will be all for now, gentlemen," he said tersely. O'Connell and Ives nodded and turned for the door, while Percy poured himself a large drink to steady his nerves. Other than the Poltergeist, it really was an enjoyable job.

Norman's Cay, The Bahamas...

Hermione sipped her drink and watched Harry from the deck of their home. He was in the water, swimming around the Lily, trying to see what sort of damage he had caused when he hit a sandbar the day before. From her vantage point she could barely see his snorkel and every so often, the splash from his fins as he circled the hulls, examining the damage. They had taken a trip up to Highbourne Cay, which was the nearest large island like their own. Highbourne had a pristine beach and a small enclosed anchorage that made it an ideal stopover spot for the small tourist boats that plied the waters. On the way back, they stopped and dropped anchor along the northern tip of Norman's Cay, then Harry produced a picnic basket. After their late lunch, Hermione laid out on the expansive deck and allowed herself the luxury of sunbathing. Harry had laid down next to her and together they talked about her plans for the library building he was going to make. She smiled contentedly. Yesterday had been a surprise for her. They had been together for nearly six months now. They'd been intimate, but until yesterday, they had never made love. That it happened in the open, on the deck of the Lily, was something that surprised Hermione and aroused her. She never would have believed she had an exhibitionist nature until yesterday. Finally, after they had gotten back home and Harry was sure the Lily was reasonably safe, they retired to his bedroom. She had intended to return to her own bed that night, but Harry had shyly asked her to stay with him. It had been one of the best nights she had ever experienced. Even though their wedding was still a few weeks away, she had every intention of spending that her nights in his arms and in his bed. She waved when Harry broke the surface and looked towards the house. At Hogwarts she had never expected him to become so handy. However, his time on his own and living alone on the island had taught him a number of interesting skills. When they woke, they had made love again before eating breakfast, cooked by Dobby. The little elf seemed to be almost beside himself with happiness for the pair. She watched Harry surface and clear his snorkel, then he reached up on the deck of the boat and pulled a mesh bag into the water. She knew it contained tools for working on the boat. With his bag in hand, he slipped beneath the surface again. The Lily had been damaged when they were coming home. They had been distracted by a pod of dolphins and didn't see the sandbar until just before they hit it. Thinking of it, she grinned to herself. In all fairness, she had to admit that the dolphins were not the only distraction. She had been feeling a bit naughty and rather bold, so she had removed her bikini top and laid on the deck, soaking up the sun, while Harry piloted the boat home. The poor boy had been doubly distracted and thoroughly bemused. She couldn't blame him. He had turned out to be a better lover than she thought he would be. He was considerate and very concerned that she receive as much pleasure as he did, if not more. So he was completely and totally distracted when they weighed anchor and headed home. He wasn't the only one, either. When they hit the sandbar, Hermione had been deep in plans for a repeat performance in the comfort of Harry's bed. When the Lily ground to a grinding halt, he immediately jumped overboard to examine the boat. He surfaced a minute later, looking upset. Hermione was worried that the boat might sink, although they were in very shallow water, less than a quarter mile from the island. At worst they could easily swim to shore, if necessary. Harry had found an open seam in the center hull, which he sealed with magic. He'd used a bit more of his power to back the Lily off of the sandbar, before climbing back on board. The dolphins watched the whole process as if it were a most amusing spectacle for their entertainment. Even Hermione couldn't help smiling at their antics. Out by the dock, Harry surfaced again. Pushing the bag of tools onto the deck of the Lily, he peeled off his mask and snorkel, then swam to shore before taking off his fins. He smiled when he saw Hermione walking down to him.

"How bad was it?" "Not too bad. I've permanently sealed the seam and then warded the leading bow edges of all three hulls with an impervious charm," he replied, then he paused and thought for a moment. "I might do the same for the aft edges, now that I think about it." He grinned at her and gestured for her to climb the stairs to the deck around the house. Hermione nodded happily, then went up to the deck. Even though Harry had lovingly built the Lily by himself, the shapely craft was more Hermione's boat than his. Harry enjoyed sailing the Lily now and then, and it was great for overnight or extended trips, but he much preferred the power and speed of his dive boat. Harry suspected she liked the Lily so much because she could find a secluded anchorage and lay on the deck to read. "Amos orbed. He said he heard from Seth Jones up at Nassau. He said he finally managed to get that steerage outboard for the Lily," she told him. Docking the Lily without a motor of any sort was a difficult task. One had to rely on the wind to help, or use magic. Harry used his magic, and so did Hermione, but she didn't have the power to do it easily and it tired her sometimes if she had to fight the wind. The small steerage motor would enable her to easily dock the boat, no matter which way the wind was blowing. "I'll give Amos a bank draft," he replied. She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip worriedly for a moment. He sighed and steered her over to the deck and pushed her gently onto a lounger. "What's bothering you, Hermione?" "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just being silly," she replied. "What is it?" Dobby appeared and handed them both a cold drink. Harry nodded absently to Dobby, who smiled and vanished with another pop. "I've been looking over the book list I made up. I've got nearly twenty thousand pounds of Muggle books listed on it and another five thousand galleons worth of magical books! And Dad! He's got a list of building supplies, tents, generators, radios. You set him organizing and he's doing it with a vengeance. I suppose some of the stuff we can conjure, but things like the wizarding tents? We have to buy them, or make them ourselves from real tents. We're spending an awful lot of money and have nothing coming in." Harry chuckled. "Relax, Hermione. I've got it covered." She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. She had been worried about breaking his bank account, but apparently he wasn't. He hadn't yet told her about his vault under the villa with most of his gold, or his account with the First Centaur Bank of Miami. He had rejected the Goblin Gold Trust depository of America because he no longer trusted goblins. But the Centaurs were reliable and they provided interesting horoscopes with his monthly statements. He sighed when he saw she wasn't about to be put off so easily. "Hermione, it's not as bad as you think. My parents left me quite a lot of money, and on top of that, I have both the Black and Malfoy fortunes. Granted, I pulled all my money out of Gringotts, but we still have plenty. The Bank of England account has nearly fifty million pounds in it, and the Centaur Bank in Miami has nearly the same amount in galleons. And that isn't even the bulk of what I have." She stared at him in astonishment and he started to laugh. "Why is this a surprise to you?" "I knew you were wealthy, Harry, but I never suspected." He shrugged. "It really doesn't matter, does it? What value will that money have if we invoke the Avalon Equations?" Her eyes widened with that realization. If they invoked the equations, his fortune would probably end up being

worthless. She finally nodded and sat back on the lounger. It was an odd thought to her. He was very wealthy, yet here he was, working on something that would reduce its value to zero. He touched her hand and she looked over at him. "Don't worry about it. After dinner I'll sit down with you and describe exactly what we have," he said softly. "Now, tell me what else is going on." "Mum's working with the twins, turning their business contacts into a bona fide rescue network. Oh, and we found out about that Canadian family. They were on the run when they came to the Bahamas and Amos stumbled upon them over on Eleuthera Island. He probably wouldn't have noticed them, except one of the children performed some accidental magic right under his nose," she replied. "So they hadn't heard about our island, then?" She shook her head. "No, all they had heard was a vague rumor that there was someplace safe to be found in the Bahamas. Mind you, that same rumor also listed several other places, so we might not be the only ones setting up enclaves like this." "So there are now people passing along information about how to find us?" he asked warily. "Sort of." He looked at her questioningly and she smiled back at him. "Mum felt it would be too dangerous to tell people there was a refuge here in the Bahamas. She's working with Fred and George to set up intermediate points that have no particular connection to us at all." Harry frowned. "I don't understand." "Say you live in North America...Canada, the U.S., Mexico, it doesn't really matter. You don't know about us and we don't want you to. The Bahamas isn't that big and the ICW could flood the area with Aurors until they find the wards and start breaking them down. No, we want each person to think they're going to a refuge much closer to home. For example, an enclave in Texas for people in North America. "Once they arrive there, they're sent on by people who do not know the final destination. We test them under Veritaserum when they arrive here. If they pass, we find them a place to live. If they fail, they get obliviated and sent home." Harry nodded and scratched his head. "Alright, I can see how that would work. But what is this going to do to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes?" "The twins are shutting it down," she said softly. He looked up sharply. "What? Why?" "Honestly, Harry, how can you expect them to be making jokes when we're all working to protect this place?" she asked huffily. He looked chagrined and dropped his gaze. "I haven't been helping very much, have I?" Hermione climbed out of the lounger and walked over to him. She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek gently. "You have, Harry. All of the wards are yours. Most of the housing is conjured by you. Everyone knows that if things get dicey, you'll be there rolling up your sleeves and helping along with the rest of us. No one is asking you to get more involved than that." He leaned into her touch. "I know. I guess I just feel guilty for dumping all this into the laps of others," he whispered. She reached around with her free arm and pulled herself closer. "You don't have to do everything. And your work on the Grimoires has the twins in an orgy of spell crafting ecstasy. The follow up book you wrote to the Book of Wards contains some of the best magical theory I've ever seen. And when you think you never took Arithmancy, it's doubly amazing. It makes me feel good to know the man I'm going to marry is almost as smart as I am."

She grinned at him and he smiled back, knowing she was only teasing. "I think the twins want to show you that they can be serious and do something important. They love you like a brother, you know." He shook his head, marveling at the idea. She pulled him close and kissed his cheek. "My poor Harry. Someday you'll get used to the idea that people care about you." "I know you do," he said huskily. She melted under his hot gaze and hoped he'd never learn just how much like putty he could make her feel with a single glance. "Will - will you stay with me tonight?" he asked softly. It wasn't hard for her to see the hope in his expression, the hope, and the hunger. "I'll stay with you forever," she whispered. Dobby glanced out the glass doors to see Hermione and Harry holding each other on the deck. He smiled to himself and turned back to work on dinner. For now, all was well on Norman's Cay.

Drummond Montana, USA...

Angela Lightfoot pressed down hard on the ancient clutch and worked the stick awkwardly. The gears ground for a moment, then caught, and the ancient school bus lurched forward. She angrily wiped away her tears. Now was not the time to be crying like a sissy! They had been attending services when strangely garbed men broke into the little quonset building that her husband had built with their retirement money and starting killing people. Vinny, her husband of forty four years, fell, struck in the head with a strange green light. Frannie, one of their oldest and most powerful members, had summoned a Marid and yelled to Angela to get the children out. She'd herded them out the back door, along with six other adults, and into the old school bus they used for outings. Angela tore her eyes away from the bumpy dirt road she was driving on. She hadn't any real thought except to escape from the strange and powerful magicians bent on dealing death to her coven. Leaving the building, she'd bypassed Interstate 90 and opted for a back road, heading nearly due north. She took the offered tissue from the little girl. "Goddess bless you, child," she murmured,wiping away her tears quickly. The road leading into the Rockies was treacherous and difficult. She needed to keep her eyes on the road if she was going to lead her flock. Lead them, yes, but to where? she wondered. Is there any place safe from those people? "Mother?" She slowed slightly and glanced up to see Cindy Ferguson. She was one of the newer members, a newly wed, and pregnant. There had been great joy when she and her husband moved to Drummond and joined the coven. The coven kept a very low profile, meeting once a week for the few locals and once a month for people from the outlying areas. That meeting held far more members than the locals. Unfortunately for them the dark men had attacked during their monthly meeting. "Cindy, dear, I'm still not sure what we're doing, but I expect you can call me Angie. Most others do," she replied. Cindy nodded and grabbed an overhead bar when the bus lurched suddenly. Angie slewed the bus and turned the wheel, muttering under her breath. Once the bus was rolling forward smoothly again, she glanced over at Cindy. "What do you need, child?" "Some of the little ones need to go to the bathroom, and they're frightened, Mother, I mean, Angie." "I'll pull off at the next turn out I spot. Maybe with the Goddess's help, we'll get lucky," Angela replied, smiling to reassure the young woman.

Five minutes later, she was able to edge the large bus into the access for a logging road. It wasn't much, just a large cleared area that allowed the logging trucks to turn around for the trip back to civilization and the mill. Shutting off the engine, she opened the door and stood up. "Children! Listen, please. I know you're frightened, but we're all together and we'll make sure you're safe. Cindy, please help those needing to go to the bathroom. Janet, rummage through the boxes in the back. I think we left some kool-aid and chips in them from our last picnic." Angie stepped out of the bus and held up both hands. "Goddess's might, heed our plight, give us sprites to guard the night," she muttered. Four tiny specks of light appeared to hover in her hands, then scattered away from her. Another adult slowly climbed out of the bus. Michael Surefire was one of the older coven members, and like Angie and her husband, he was mostly of Native American descent. "Mike, you alright?" she asked him worriedly. "I think so," he replied, looking around. "I don't think we can stay here long." "What do you think we should do?" Mike was silent for a moment, then he picked up a stick. He scratched some marks in the dirt. "We're here, on Edwards Gulch Road. I say we wait here for a couple hours, maybe til morning, then back track towards Drummond. We can hop on the interstate towards Missoula and hopefully find refuge at Mother Abigail's. Maybe contact the state police from there." "And tell them what? A group of people busted down our door and started killing people using sticks and strange lights?" she asked angrily. "Getting to Abby's is still the best bet, Angie," he repeated. "We certainly can't stay on the Gulch road. You know it dead ends in the middle of nowhere." Angie leaned against the cooling bus and nodded. It made sense. The road they were on would peter out in the wilderness and they didn't have a bottomless tank. "Alright, let all the children out to stretch their legs, and see if one of the adults has a cell phone. Hopefully we can call Abbie and make sure she's alright with us coming in like this." Mike nodded and patted her on the shoulder. He knew she was barely holding it together. He and her husband, Vince, had grown up together on the reservation and had been buddies ever since. If he wanted to cry, she must be close to breaking. Angie wiped her eyes and pasted a smile on her face as the children piled from the bus. Some of them were too young to understand what had happened. She turned away and watched the road back to town as if a monster might appear any moment. Janet stepped out next. She had a large bag of potato chips, and two, one gallon containers of kool-aid. Cindy and her husband followed her, carrying cups and some other snacks they could give to the children.

Norman's Cay, the Bahamas...

Harry relaxed on a lounger. Next to him, on her own lounger, lay Hermione, a book in her hands. Dobby had served them an excellent dinner, and after a walk on the beach, they were relaxing as they usually did each evening. It was a quiet time they used to talk, read or just enjoy being together. Dobby sat uncomfortably in a chair nearby. Harry had gotten him a few first grade readers and he was slowly going through each book. Every so often he'd stop and ask Hermione for help with a word. Harry and Hermione sat close together and every so often one of them would reach out and touch the hand of the other.

"Uh, oh. Trouble's coming," Harry murmured after glancing down the beach. Hermione looked up from her notes on the library and looked in the direction Harry was gazing. In the distance she could see the twins and their girlfriends frolicking along the beach towards their house. She carefully put away her notes. "I wonder what they want?" Harry grinned. "Knowing the twins, it's probably something sneaky, evil and fun." "Oy! Harry! Hermione!" called one of the twins. Harry sat up and climbed out of the lounger. He walked over to the railing, leaned against it and pulled his pipe out of his pocket. Initially, Hermione had been surprised and a little shocked that he had taken up smoking, but he only smoked a few times a day. She was a little more accepting of that because her father also smoked a pipe now and then. Besides, she wanted to make sure the booze was well behind him before she started working on that habit. "Hey, you four, what brings you to this end of the island?" "Harry, mate," said Fred. "Old buddy," added George. "Esteemed investor," they both said. "Suck ups," muttered Alicia. "Just ask him." The two Weasleys grinned at Alicia, then turned back to Harry. "It's like this." "Weasley Wizarding Wheezes is having a going out of business sale." "Well, not really a sale. Actually, we're giving the stuff away." "Only the people we're giving it to don't know it yet. Lucky bastards!" "And that's where you come in, Harry!" The twins paused and looked at him excitedly. Harry shook his head and glanced over his shoulder to Hermione. "I feel a headache coming on," he told her with a grin. She stood and walked over to stand next to him. "Harry, it's simple. We have some excess inventory and some items we held back from the market because they were too dangerous," Fred said. "Way too dangerous," added George with a grin. "We thought we'd give them to Percy. Sort of a 'Congratulations on becoming the Minister of Idiots' gift." Harry glanced over to Hermione, who shrugged. She didn't really like the twin's jokes, but she did admire their ingenuity and even she'd admit, privately, of course, that the Ministry must pay for their crimes sooner or later. The Ministry's actions against her and her family had eroded her faith in the rule of law. Harry nodded and walked down the stairs to the beach. He sat on the bottom stair and drew a circle in the sand, then he looked up at Fred and George, who appeared to be baffled by his actions. The circle was roughly a foot and a half wide. "What's that, mate?" Harry grinned up at them. "Trust me," he said, then he motioned for Hermione to join him on the steps. "Love, draw a box in the sand about a meter from my circle and then connect the two with a line. Make the box at least a meter or two wide and high."

She smiled and eagerly complied. She loved watching him perform magic. It was like watching a master craftsman at work. The twins and their girlfriends knelt in the sand, watching Harry. He lifted one eyebrow and Fred fished a box out of his pocket and quickly expanded it to nearly trunk size. He lifted the lid and brought out a small blue cube roughly three inches on a side. It pulsed with a soft blue light. "What is that?" exclaimed Hermione. She was familiar with many of the twin's products, but this was new to her. "I said we had stuff we never marketed," Fred said reproachfully. "This is one of them. A portable pool." "That doesn't sound all that dangerous," Harry mused. "Oh, no, you have it all wrong. Right now this cube is fifty thousand gallons of compressed water," George replied. "Just drop it on the ground and the compression charm will end. Instant pool. Problem is, we never could get the pool to work. As a result, we ended up with five of these cubes of water and nothing to use them in. You could kill someone with one of these." "Hmmm. Alright, let's try this," Harry said, then he turned to his circle in the sand. "Ministry Death Chamber," he muttered, followed by a long string of high Latin. The square that Hermione had drawn shimmered and the sand fading away, revealing an image that was burned into Harry's memory, the place where Sirius had died. Harry glanced at the circle in the sand. The sand was gone and in it's place stood a shimmering pool of liquid silver. "Fred, drop that cube into the circle," Harry said. His eyes were glowing with power and little sparks of magic jumped from his fingertips. Fred broke away from the sight. This was magic on a scale he didn't believe possible. Nodding, he leaned closer to the circle and dropped the cube in. The effects were obvious. In the square, the glowing cube could be seen falling from the ceiling of the room. Instantly, the room filled with water. There was a booming sound and the water level started to drop as the doors to the room exploded outwards under the force of the water. "Drop another cube, Fred," Harry commanded. Fred grinned and pulled another out of the box. One by one he dropped cubes into the circle until the water level remained constant. The Department of Mysteries, the lowest, deepest, most secret level of the Ministry building, was totally flooded. It would take months, even with magical pumps, to remove all the water. Harry grinned and looked to Fred, who still had one more cube in his hand. "Hold that cube for now. What else have you got? Maybe something that goes well with water?" Harry asked. George leaped up to rummage through the crate of dangerous pranks. "AH! Pyropiranha!" he exclaimed, holding up a jar of what looked like glowing fireflies suspended in water. "They bite and burn. It was one of those things we invented and then wondered why," murmured Fred to Hermione, who stomped on the urge to roll her eyes and nodded instead. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," George added. "Dump them in, George," Harry said. Once the strange fish had been sent to the Ministry, the square saw the tiny pin pricks of light expanded into whole schools of nasty looking glowing fish. The water temperature around them instantly turned hot. Harry glanced over at Fred, who still had a portable pool in his hand. He grinned and turned back to the circle. "The

Great Hall, Hogwarts," he muttered, followed by the long Latin incantation. "Sirius once told me that he and my dad had discovered that the Great Hall is nearly waterproof. They managed a prank that went wrong and they covered the hall in an inch of water," Harry said. Hermione choked on her laughter. The portable pool ought to fill the hall to waist height. "Toss the cube, Fred." George started laughing so hard he knocked into Alicia, who shrieked with laughter. Fred dropped the cube, then he tossed a small pouch in after it. They watched the water appear until it was nearly four feet deep, then it turned a light green and solidified. "Lime Jello," Fred said with a grin. Harry started laughing, causing both the circle and the square to ripple and bulge ominously. Fred looked at Harry worriedly. "Hold long can you hold this spell, mate?" Harry shook his head and grinned. "I'm fine, I just need to concentrate on it. I'll release it for now and we'll go through your box of goodies to figure out what we're going to do with it." He relaxed and the two magical portals vanished, leaving nothing but sand behind. Hermione stood. "Judging from the size of that box, we'll be here for a while. I'm going to ask Dobby to get us some drinks and some snacks," she said. "We'll come help," Angelina offered. Hermione nodded and waved for them to follow while George conjured a table and started to lay pranks out. Fred conjured some chairs, while Harry enjoyed listening to them explain each prank. He could close his eyes and almost envision all of them being back in the Gryffindor common room. For the next several hours they spent an enjoyable evening, depositing pranks all across Wizarding Britain. Hermione turned out to have a vicious sense of justice as she offered possible uses for some of the more obscure pranks. And what surprised the twins more was that she could do that at the same time as she conjuring a fire so she could introduce the Harry and the others to that time honored, fun fireside food, S'mores.

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Albus Dumbledore sat tiredly at his desk and absently stirred his tea. He had gotten up earlier than usual and he already felt the fatigue piling at him. Filch had woken him early to explain there was a problem in the Great Hall. Following the old caretaker down to the Great Hall, he'd found a large crowd of laughing students and most of the staff, frowning at the chortling children. The doors were jammed shut, and there was a green ooze slowly leaking out under them. It had taken him, most of the staff and all of the Hogwarts House Elves nearly three hours to clean up the mess in the Great Hall and put things to right. Because of the mess, all morning classes had to be canceled. Dumbledore had announced dire consequences for the pranksters when he identified them. Now he was sitting at his desk, finally able to relax. A small pop signified the arrival of an elf, who offered him a copy of the day's Daily Prophet. He grunted in acknowledgment and opened the paper.

Fugitive Weasley Brothers Attack Ministry!

Minister of Magic disavows is own kin!

The Ministry was in a state of panic this morning as workers arriving in the building discovered many key areas of the Ministry wrecked, some beyond repair. An anonymous source at the Ministry told this reporter that arriving in the atrium revealed a gigantic firework display congratulating Percy Weasley on his rise to Minister. The fireworks claimed to be the work of the Minister's brothers, Fredrick and George Weasley, both of whom are wanted for conspiring to pollute our society with muggle items and ideas. An attempt to dispel the fireworks resulted in the near total destruction of the Ministry Atrium. The fountain of Magical Friends was said to be obliterated, except for the statue of the House Elf, which now bears a striking resemblance to Minister Weasley. A Ministry spokesman made the following statement on behalf of the Minister. "Mr. Weasley regrets the inconvenience imposed by his brothers and wants to assure the public that the Ministry is working diligently to capture these dangerous fugitives. The Minister further states that these fugitives are no brothers of his any longer. "In the meantime, all apparation testing is hereby suspended until we can determine how to remove the explosive splinching hex on the testing area. Also, Department of Mysteries employees are urged to set up shop in the Ministry cafeteria until the lower levels of the building are pumped dry." Other damaged areas in the building included Floo Control. All owners of Floo points are urged to shut down network access until further notice. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is setting up offices in courtroom nine. The bathrooms on the third floor have been rendered inoperable and declared a dangerous health hazard. The Prophet has learned that the Ministry is offering a ten thousand galleon reward for information leading to the arrest of Fredrick and George Weasley, and another five thousand galleon reward for anyone who knows the location all of the furniture from the Minister's office. Stacy Bigmouth, reporting. Dumbledore laid the paper on his desk and shook his head in dismay. Things must be truly bad at the Ministry if they're not able to exercise proper control over the Prophet, he thought. I wonder if the twins had anything to do with the mess in the Great Hall? With that thought, he went back to reading the paper. It would take another week before anyone discovered the Daily Prophet's printing presses had been charmed to print only the truth. It was three days later before anyone noticed that the stands in the Quidditch Pitch were sinking into a Weasley Wizarding Wheeze Portable Swamp. By then, it was too late. The Slytherin stands collapsed, crashing into the southern goal posts, knocking them down.

West of Drummond Montana...

Angela jockeyed the ancient bus back down the road towards Drummond. It was nearly six in the morning and she had tried to be quiet about the move. The ancient bus, however, had refused to start without several loud backfires, which woke up the children, scaring them. Everyone turned to look sleepily at Angie in the driver's seat. "Don't worry. I just thought we'd get an early start," she said loudly over the noise of the engine. They had spent an uneasy night sleeping in the bus. Angie hadn't wanted to risk driving back down the Gulch road in the dark. There were several steep grades that made the road dangerous at night. Going up them in the dark was easy, but it would be suicide to attempt going down at night. Michael came up the aisle to sit behind her. "What are you thinking, Angie?" "I'm thinking you're right about making it to Missoula, but we need to stop to gas up."

"Do you have enough money? We all sort of ran out of the building in a hurry, you know." Angie chuckled. It was impossible to not hear the bitterness in her laugh. "Oh, I have the next best thing, Mike. Vince's credit card. We almost never used it, so it's got nearly a full ten grand on it." Michael leaned forward and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Can I do anything?" She worked the clutch and the bus slewed dangerously for a moment, the rear end swinging wide on the narrow road. "Yeah," she replied, catching her breath and reefing hard on the steering wheel. "Find out who has a cell phone and the moment you get a signal, call Mother Abigail's. Tell her what's happened and that we're coming. Also, organize Cindy and the others to herd the little ones to the bathroom. We'll stop at the Citgo in Drummond before jumping on I90." Michael nodded. "When we stop, I'll pick up food from the minimart." He moved to stand when Angie stopped him again. "Mike." "Yes?" "Tell the others we might need to do a summoning. Maybe involve some of the children, as well." His eyes widened. "But they aren't ready," he protested. Angie grimaced. "I know that, but what choice do we have? If those people come back, a summoning may be the only thing that keeps us alive." Mike frowned, but nodded reluctantly. "Katie is thirteen, she could help. And Josie's boy, Tony. He's thirteen, also. But the rest of them are too young." Angie's mouth tightened. He was right, and she knew it. Mike gripped her shoulder for a moment, then grabbed for the overhead bar when bus hit a bad patch of washboard. Angie stomped down hard on the clutch and down shifted. The up coming downgrade was bad enough on the logging trucks, it would be hell on the old bus. Through the window in the doors she could see the steep drop off on the edge of the road. One wrong turn and they'd plummet down the mountainside.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay, the Bahamas...

Hermione read the headline of the paper and chuckled to herself. Dobby had popped back to Diagon Alley to pick up the noon edition of the Daily Prophet. She placed the paper on the table and moved to open it when she paused and looked at her hand. It still made her grin, seeing her engagement ring. Harry had given her the ring barely a week before they had rescued her parents and sister from Crawly. The diamond wasn't overly large, barely over a carat, but it was perfect. It was surrounded by emeralds and sapphires, giving the ring the effect of being a flower surrounded by petals. Poor Harry. The look on his face when he'd asked her had been amusing, though she'd never tell him that. They had talked about it on several occasions and Hermione was sure he was going to ask her any day. When he did, she couldn't get over the sheer terror in his eyes. As if she'd turn him down! She chuckled again and shook her head, remembering how sweet his proposal was and how his hands had trembled when he'd slid the ring on her finger. The ring was special, but she wasn't sure how. It tested as enchanted, but he wouldn't say exactly what he had done to it. She only started to get some hints of it's ability after they'd started making love. And they hadn't been doing that long enough for her to be sure if her suspicions were correct or if she was imaging things. She picked up a fresh breakfast bun baked by Dobby and nibbled on it while continuing to read about the mishaps at the Ministry of Magic. It amazed her that in less than a year she had lost all respect for their rules. Becoming a wanted and presumed dangerous felon sure could change one's outlook on a lot of things.

She put the bun down and leaned back in her chair. Their rules? she thought. Yes, Harry was right about one thing. Living here on the island is like a separation between us and them. They have their way of thinking and their rules and I find I can no longer respect that. A pair of arms encircled her from behind and Harry kissed the top of her head. "Good morning," he said. She smiled. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He nodded and moved to his own seat. Dobby appeared and handed him a large mug of black coffee. "Yes, although I'm not sure if it's because you tired me out, or you were just close by," he replied, grinning. "You weren't the only one tired from last night," she said, smirking. She looked down at the table. She had been surprised by the intensity of the emotions she felt from him during their love making. It exceeded anything she experienced with Ron. But she also knew no matter how tired he was, he had several episodes each night involving nightmares. Usually, she'd wake enough to touch him and he'd quiet down again, so it wasn't really bothering either of them. "So what do you have planned today?" she asked. "Amos asked me to help him at the old airstrip. There's a two hundred gallon tank that he wants to fill with diesel oil and enchanted to be ever filling. Do you want to come along?" Hermione nodded. "Sure. Mum asked about it yesterday. She thought the strip would be a good place to put temporary housing, since we wouldn't have to clear any underbrush." "The infamous rescue committee," he murmured with a bit of a grin. She looked at him crossly. "I'll remind you that you didn't want to be on the committee, Harry. That's why only Amos, Bill, Maxime and Dad are on it now." He held up his hands placatingly. "I know, I know. I'm not making fun of them. I know I'm going to get dragged in sooner or later. Amos has been harping on it since your parents organized the committee. Heck, what he has me doing today is committee work." Hermione sipped her tea and looked at him. "Just what is he going to do with two hundred gallons of diesel oil, anyway?" Harry leaned across the table. "It's your dad's pet project. Electrification." "He wants to bring in electric power?" she asked incredulously. "Why? We can power most things with magic." He waved a hand dismissively. "Sure we can, within reason. Think about it, love. We can power lights, and even some electronics with magic. But the really complex stuff, like radios and computers, needs real electricity. Amos thinks we can install a couple windmills with a backup generator. The generator would run on the diesel, and only when the wind isn't blowing, which on this island is about six days a year." "A computer would make indexing and cataloging the library so much easier," she said wistfully. "And it would be nice to be able to sit and watch a movie once in a while." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Now you know why he's got me enchanting the tank." She folded the paper and passed it over to him, then she stood up and walked around to his side of the table. He turned on his chair and she straddled his lap. His mouth suddenly went dry. It hadn't occurred to him just how little she was wearing. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts, and nothing else. She pulled him into a tight embrace and he nestled his head between her breasts. "Can you put up a warning ward around the house?" He looked up at her. She was nibbling on her lower lip, a sure sign that she was nervous about something.

"Why do we need a warning ward around the house?" It didn't make sense to him. The island had more wards on it than Hogwarts. Why add one on the house? She blushed heavily. "Do you remember when we made love on the Lily that day?" He smiled and slid his hands up under her shirt, caressing her. "How could I forget that?" he asked huskily. Despite running aground with the boat, that day was forever engraved in his memory as the best day ever. She shivered and her breathing deepened. "It seemed so naughty, doing that out on the deck in broad daylight." "And?" he asked intently, his voice low and gravelly. He wrapped his hands around her bare bum and pulled her closer to him. She leaned against him and moaned slightly. "I liked it," she whispered. "I thought if we had a ward, I could dress... you know... less. Maybe even sunbathe like that." He nuzzled against her neck and she moaned again. "I'll put a ward up as soon as we get back from the airstrip," he replied. "I might even join you sunbathing." She closed her eyes and shivered deliciously. "This doesn't make me... I don't know... seem wanton, indecent?" "Indecent? Why would you think that?" "It would mean we'd make love more often - that I want you to make love to me more often." He smiled at her. "That sounds just fine to me. I don't see any shame in loving someone, Hermione. Sometimes I think our ideas about sex seem almost barbaric. The Japanese and other Pacific cultures don't place the stigma on it that we do. It seems it's only the so called western civilized cultures that think it's something dirty." She thought about his reply for a moment, then she leaned back in his embrace. "How many children do you want?" He grinned at her. "Well, let's put your mind to rest right now. I do not want to father my own Quidditch team. You're not Molly Weasley, thank Merlin, and I'm not forcing anyone into that role. It would be nice to have a boy and a girl, especially a bushy brown haired girl with green eyes, but I'll be happy with any number, as long as you, and they, are happy and healthy." She grinned, very satisfied with his answer. Her breathing deepened and she almost purred when his hands started roaming to more adventurous places. They'd be a little late in meeting with Amos, but she didn't care.

Interstate 90, heading west to Missoula, Montana...

It was mid morning when Angie brought the bus back into Drummond. She skirted the edges of town, hitting the gas station, where they took another hour between trips to the bathroom, refueling the bus and feeding ten hungry and frightened children. If the six other adults were like Angie, then they were as frightened and exhausted as the children. As small as Drummond was, the gas station was frequented by mostly interstate traffic. They were able to reduce the possibility of being recognized, but not totally eliminate it. It never occurred to them that their vehicle had been noted when they escaped yesterday. By eleven, they were on the road again. Mike reported that they had a cell signal, but were unable to contact Mother Abigail's. All they got was the answering machine. Angie pulled out onto the interstate for the fifty mile trip. At their best speed, it would still take more than an hour to nurse the old bus over the distance. She muttered a prayer to the Goddess and stomped on the clutch and worked the old stick shift. The bus jerked forward, gaining speed. Mike moved forward on the bus and sat down on the seat behind her. "I've got the adults ready to do a prayer circle for an intervention. Cindy is coaching Josie and Tony, but even with them, it's only eight, Angie. That's not enough for a full summoning."

"We don't have many members like Frannie, who could summon a full sized Marid to protect us. But intervention might work," she replied worriedly. "You can summon one, Angie. I always thought you were stronger than Frannie was." She glanced up at him. "Maybe," she muttered. "But I'm the only one who knows how to drive this beast and Goddess knows it's going to be a rough ride to Missoula." Mike suddenly leaned down, looking out the windows. "Where are all the other cars?" Angie frowned. "I don't know," she replied worriedly. "Go back to the others and have them keep an eye out. They'll need to form a circle the moment we run into trouble." Mike nodded grimly, then he turned and smiled for the children that were looking at him anxiously. Angie grew increasingly nervous. There were no vehicles in the westbound lanes and she still hadn't seen a single eastbound car or truck. Considering the fact that I90 was an important road, this was a near impossibility. "Angie!" Mike screamed from the back of the bus. She glanced in her mirror, then immediately cut across the Interstate to the inner lane. An explosion rocked the bus and cracked a few windows. Many of the children screamed and began to cry. She stomped down on the accelerator, forcing the old bus to use every bit of horsepower it could muster. The bus shuddered and the temperature gauge began to rise ominously. "Form the circle!" yelled Angie. Mike and the other adults immediately joined hands. Cindy gestured to the two oldest children to join them. Another explosion rocked the bus and Angie swerved again. She looked out her rear view mirror and did a double take. There were those strange red cloaked people again, but they were flying brooms! In the back of the bus, the circle began their prayer. It was the only option they had available to them. Goddess of Light, hear our plight, Help your children survive this fight. Over and over they chanted while Angie careened from one side of the road to the other. The old bus was pushing nearly eighty miles an hour and it was complaining mightily about it. Steam started wafting up from under the hood and she could clearly smell something electrical burning behind the dashboard. Bolts of light whizzed past her window as she swerved erratically. Then she pulled too hard on the wheel. "Oh, Goddess," she muttered, realizing her mistake. "Hang on everyone!" Goddess of Light, hear our plight, Help your children survive this fight. The right front wheel guard smashed into the guard railing. The bus scrapped along the side of the railing and Angie cringed. Sparks flew like fireflies while the bus pressed up against the railing, metal against metal screeched loudly inside the bus. Several children screamed and Angie pulled hard on the wheel. She didn't want to go over the edge! This stretch of road ran along the river and the river was at least twenty feet below the road. Goddess of Light, hear our plight, Help your children survive this fight.

The bus lurched away from the railing and immediately Angie knew they were doomed. The right front tire was flat and she was having trouble controlling the bus. Pieces of shredded tire shot past the windows. Soon they'd be down to the rim. Goddess of Light, hear our plight, Help your children survive this fight. A blast of green light hit Angie's side window and it exploded inwards, showering her with glass fragments. She yelled in fear and momentarily released the steering wheel. The rear end of the bus fishtailed wildly, while she blinked, trying to clear her vision, then the bus turned into the railing at nearly a right angle. It angled dangerously, and for a brief second, two sets of wheels lifted from the pavement as it threatened to tip over, then it crashed down again and barreled forward, aiming for the railing. Goddess of Light, hear our plight, Help your children survive this fight. The bus burst through the railing and the nose of the bus pitched upwards as it arced out over the embankment. The men chasing the bus slowed and turned to watch. The bus sailed out over the side of the small hill and pitched nose down. The surface of the river shimmered strangely as the old bus hurtled downwards. The bus dove into that strange shimmer and vanished from sight, leaving no trace, not even a ripple in the water to mark its passage. Puzzled, the men on the brooms moved over to where the bus should have been and examined the river. There was no sign of it, and no sign of any magic. The bus and it's occupants had vanished. Angered, the aurors knew they had no choice but to return to headquarters and informed their superiors that they had failed to stop a bunch of magic-less muggles. Privately, they were a bit afraid. This had to be magic, but it was a type they had never seen or heard about before.

The Airstrip, Norman's Cay, the Bahamas...

Harry stood with a group of his friends at one end of the airstrip. He had just finished enchanting the large tanks that held the diesel oil. Now they were clearing some of the underbrush so that there would be room to install a generator. Amos already knew where he wanted to place the wind turbines. "It's strange that this island has an airstrip on it," commented Duncan Granger. "Not really," Harry replied, looking towards the south end of the runway. "In the late seventies a famous drug lord used the island to smuggle drugs into Miami. In fact, not too far from here there's an old drug smuggling plane sitting in about twenty feet of water. I can show it to you, if you want?" "A sunken plane? Really?" said Cassandra intrigued by the idea. Harry grinned. "We'll go on the Lily. Unlike the muggles, we won't run out of fuel short of the runway." "It would make a nice outing on the Lily," Hermione offered with a grin. She loved taking out her sailboat. She had taken her parents out several times. Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina walked up to the group. They'd been checking out the buildings along the runway. Harry knew the runway existed, but never bothered to worry about them until today. "The buildings need to be cleaned, but they seem to be in good shape, Harry," Alicia offered. Harry looked at Duncan. "It's your call. The committee can use them." Duncan turned to Alicia. "How big are they?" She shrugged. "They're large and tall, mostly big and empty."

"Must be an airplane hangar, then," Cassandra added. "Maybe we can turn one into an island infirmary?" Alicia asked hopefully. She had nearly finished her healer training when she and Angelina fled Britain and unless it was a major emergency, she was the island healer. For major emergencies, they still relied on Mother Marie, the island hopping healer. Amos had arranged for Marie and Alicia to meet. They were hoping they could convince Marie to help Alicia finish her training. She didn't need much to get her certificate. "George, Fred, why don't you put your heads together with Alicia..." Harry paused and frowned at the grinning red heads. "Get your minds out of the gutter. Besides, you know how lonely Angelina feels when you ignore her." "Harry!" shouted Angelina. Despite her color, she managed to darken even more. Alicia was holding her sides, trying to contain her laughter. "I can't believe you said that!" exclaimed Hermione. Harry turned to reply to her when a weird warbling sound rang through the air. Harry's head snapped upwards. "Something powerful is punching through the wards. Cassandra, Duncan, take Victoria, find a building and hide!" Everyone else pulled their wands, while Harry raised his hands. Both of his hands exploded with an aura as he desperately tried to feed more power into the wards. Puff appeared hovering overhead, her wings humming furiously, then she dove after the fleeing Grangers. "Harry?" asked Hermione worriedly. He was visibly wilting under the effort. "Can't... hold... it..." he gasped, then he pitched to his knees and heaved up his breakfast. Hermione knelt beside him, holding him, while he fought against the spasms, his back arching over and over. Despite his power, he didn't have enough strength to stop this assault! "LOOK!" shouted George. A shimmering appeared about halfway down the runway. It looked almost like a heat mirage. With a bright flash of orange light, an ancient bus appeared out of the heat wave. The vehicle nosed onto the runway, then bounced up. The hood lock broke and the hood flew up, exposing the engine, while blocking the driver's view. The Grangers, having seen the bus, stopped and gaped in shock. Cassandra lifted Victoria into her arms, ready to run if need be. Duncan stood in front of them protectively. The bus careened wildly down the runway towards the startled spectators, then it veered heavily to the right. Hermione gasped. She could see someone struggling to keep the bus from tipping over. The bus ran off the runway and smashed into a large palm tree, nearly knocking it over before it came to a stop. Smoke and steam rose from the engine and they could clearly hear the sounds of very frightened people and children crying. Flames appeared from under the engine compartment. Fred and George took off running towards the bus. Someone on the inside was struggling to open the emergency back door. Fred stopped only feet from the door and opened it with his wand. George ran around to the front of the bus and showered it with a fire suppression charm. Someone screamed inside the bus, seeing Fred's wand. That caused another panic and everyone tried to run to the front door, which was still closed, the frame bent out of shape. Duncan stepped past the astounded red heads and hoisted himself up into the bus. "QUIET!" he yelled. That startled everyone into turning to look at him. He scowled, seeing the large number of small children and it quickly made him change his mind about how to approach this.

"Alright, no one is going to hurt you here. If you can all come to the back of the bus, we'll get you out and someplace safe. I promise you, no one will hurt you," he said soothingly. By that time, Hermione, and a rather wobbly and tired Harry, made it to the bus to join the twins. Cassandra and the other girls were right behind them. Already Alicia was opening the small bag she carried full of potions. Puff stood off to one side, obviously ready to protect Victoria and her mother if necessary. Duncan jumped down from the bus, then he turned and lifted up his arms. A young pregnant woman stepped up to the exit, looking around uncertainly, then she turned around and grabbed a small child. She hesitated for only a moment before handing the little girl down to Duncan. "Fred, George, we're going to need blankets and cots. Run to that airplace hang thing and start making them," snapped Alicia. She took the little girl from Duncan and pulled out a large flask. "Here, sweetheart, take a little sip of this." "Dobby," Harry called. The little elf appeared with a pop, startling the woman standing in the bus exit, she nearly dropped the child she was handing down to Duncan. Dobby looked expectantly up at Harry. "Find Bill and Fleur. Tell them they're needed at the runway right away. Then bring food and drink to the first building over there. Help Fred and George as best you can, please." Dobby nodded and vanished. "What was that thing?" exclaimed the woman standing in the doorway. Fortunately, she hadn't spotted Puff who, like so many other dragon species, was capable of being invisible to non-magical humans. Hermione handed Harry a drink she had conjured and he sipped gratefully from it. "Just a friend, Miss. Now, please, let's get you people off of the bus and into someplace out of the sun for now," Hermione offered. Harry ignored the arrival of Bill, Fleur and Gabrielle. He was more interested in the bus. Bill and his wife took one look at the sniffling, frightened children and immediately pitched in. The drink Hermione gave him rid him of the foul taste in his mouth and had contained a small amount of pepper up potion to give him some energy. He walked over to a hole in the side of the bus, just above the left rear wheel well. "That is a reductor shot," he murmured to Hermione. She was following him closely now that the other adults were taking care of the children from the bus. "They were running from Wizards, then. Did you notice they seemed terrified of Fred's wand? If they're muggle born, why would they be afraid of a wand?" Harry walked the length of the bus, inspecting the damage, then he turned to Hermione. "Wanded magic is only one kind of magic. In my year traveling I saw magics that would take your breath away and they weren't always performed using a wand. Even I don't need a wand anymore and I suspect someday you'll be the same." She shook her head. "I doubt that. I don't have anywhere near your power." He sighed and shook his head, then he turned and leaned against the bus. "Why do you think I keep giving you nonsense incantations, love?" She frowned at him. "Like that last one? Really, Harry, Yaba Daba Doo is not something any respectable witch would get caught dead saying." He grinned. "Think, Hermione. Put that wonderful brain of yours into gear. My incantations are silly because they aren't needed. You know that. You knew that the first time I poked you on the forehead and yelled 'doink'. I'm trying to show you that you use your magic like a tool you pull from the box when you should be using it like a hand. It's something that should be second nature to you and I'm going to keep giving you silly incantations until you get that idea down."

Her frown deepened. He had been giving her nonsense incantations for spells she never heard of since she arrived on the island, but the worst, in her opinion, was a spell designed to alleviate her menstrual cramps. She felt foolish pointing a wand at herself and incanting "Be nice, kitty!" She knew what he was trying to do and she even agreed with it, it just frustrated her. So far her total wandless magic capability was limited to levitating a piece of paper, and even then she said the Wingardium Leviosa in her head. She was sure Harry had long since lost the need to say the spell incantation silently. Harry walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about the magic. It will come, in time. Now, let's go welcome our newest guests." She nodded and leaned against him, letting him walk her towards the hangar. Angie sat on a cot holding a cold compress to a bump on her head. She had been knocked unconscious when the bus hit the tree, but other than a bump, she was relatively unhurt. She watched the young blond woman move from person to person, healing cuts and mending broken bones. It bothered her. The woman was using similar magic to the people who had attacked them, but she was trying to help them. Most of the children had been given a light sleeping draught after they had been healed and fed. Only Angie and the adults were still awake. The blond healer had just finished up with Cindy and now she was walking over to her bed. "My name is Alicia Spinnet," she said in a very thick British accent. Then she reached up and gently removed Angie's hand from the cold compress and peeled it back. "That's quite a nasty bump you have, but we'll fix you right up." She watched fearfully as Alicia aimed her wand at her forehead. The tip glowed a soft blue and she felt a cold sensation in her forehead as the swelling shrank. Alicia moved back and sat on an empty cot just across from her and handed her a small goblet, which she filled from a silver flask. "I'm sorry that it won't taste good, but this potion will help finish healing that bump," she said. Angie took the goblet and sniffed carefully. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. It smelled like Vinny's socks after a three week hunting trip. Closing her eyes, she tossed the noxious concoction down in as few swallows as possible. Then Alicia handed her another glass, this time, thankfully, filled with a fruit juice to wash away the ugly taste of the potion. Almost instantly the pain receded until she barely knew it was there. "Thank the Goddess," she murmured in relief, then she smiled at Alicia. "Bless you, child. You are truly gifted." Alicia smiled and stood. "I'm sure someone will be by to answer your questions soon." Angie nodded and for the first time in nearly twenty four hours she began to relax. These stick based magic users had different powers, but unlike the broom riders, these seemed to be helpful, nice people. Her eyes flickered to the large opening when a young couple entered the hangar and she sucked in her breath. She'd never known anyone who exuded that kind of power. He wasn't a physically imposing figure, although he was well formed. But the intensity of his gaze and his piercing emerald green eyes conveyed an impression of authority and power that she couldn't ignore. The couple talked to Alicia for a moment and she pointed back to where Angie sat. He nodded and walked toward her. The young brunette followed, holding his hand. The young man held out his hand. She knew instinctively that her first impression of this man was wrong. He was even more powerful than she initially thought. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter, and this is my fiance, Hermione Granger," he said in a mellow baritone. He smiled at her. He didn't know anything about this old woman, except that she seemed have an aura of peace about her. She shook his hand and smiled back, grateful that she had remembered to put her teeth in before she had gone to the celebration yesterday. He was a handsome man, even if he was engaged.

"Your people are all being taken care of and I want to assure you that you're safe here. You're all welcome to stay as long you need. Permanently, if you wish. Also, I apologize for your rough landing. When I felt you crashing through our wards, I put more power behind them. I thought we were being attacked, so I tried to reinforce the wards to prevent your passage." "You couldn't know, Harry," Hermione said softly. He patted her hand and smiled at her before turning back to face Angie. The old woman grinned back at the pair. They were obviously very much in love. It reassured her. "I'm Angela Lightfoot, but most folk call me Angie, or Mother. Until yesterday, I s'pose I was one of the elders of our coven. Some would say my husband and I were the high priest and priestess." "Coven?" exclaimed Hermione in surprise. Harry reached over and stilled her with a touch, then he motioned for Angie to continue. "We were having a celebration of our congregation. One of our members, Cindy, is pregnant and we were gathered to pray for her and the baby. Then, these people in red kimonos broke in and started killing everyone. Vinny, my husband was killed, then Frannie, yelled for me to get the children out, and that's what we did, while Frannie held them off with a summoned Marid." Harry nodded knowingly and waited patiently for Angie to continue. She had choked up. Hermione pulled her wand and conjured a box of tissues, which she handed to the old woman. "Take your time, Angie," Harry said gently. "No one is going to pressure you into talking about anything painful." He saw Hermione flick her wand, then stare at in confusion. A single glowing zero hovered over the tip. She had been casting a Hammerstein Magical Index, a standard diagnostic spell for measuring the magical core of an individual. A zero was an unusual reading, even for a muggle. "Not all magic comes from within, love," he said quietly. "I remember a bushman shaman I met in Warumpi, Australia. He didn't have an ounce of magic, but was able to draw magic into himself from his surroundings." He grinned. "He was a nice old man who liked his beer and thought I was great because of my core. I was like a walking battery for him." "The Goddess aids those who believe," murmured Angie. Harry looked at her and nodded. "Maybe she does. Was that how you made it here?" Angie frowned. "Where is here? Last thing I knew, we were plunging into the river, east of Missoula." "You're on an island in the Bahamas called Norman's Cay. From your description, you were attacked by wizards and witches. They're called Aurors and they work for the Ministry of Magic. We could spend several hours detailing what we know about the Ministry and why you were attacked, but that conversation would be better held off until we have everyone settled." Angie nodded reluctantly. Harry looked around. There were several nearby buildings near the north end of the runway that could be converted into living space for these people. "Angie," he said quietly. "I suppose you would like all of your people to stay together, if possible? I know I'm only guessing, but I figure most of these children are now orphans?" She nodded unhappily. "I would like to keep us together, but I don't honestly know if the others want to take care of the little ones. If they don't, I will." "Alright, here's what we'll do for the moment. This hangar will do as a temporary place for a day or two. Tomorrow, you and I will inspect some of the nearby buildings to see what we can do to make them comfortable for you and your

people. Tonight, I think we'll hold a BBQ right out here on the runway," he said, looking down at her. "We'll talk more later. Perhaps tomorrow, after we get you set up, we'll be able to discuss in more detail what brought you here and how." She nodded and watched the young man reach into the pocket of his pants. He pulled out a fist full of lollipops and handed them to her. "For the children," he murmured with a shy smile. Angie's eyes moistened and she tried to stammer a thank you, but he waved it off, embarrassed by her reaction. With that, he turned and walked over to the pair of red heads to speak to them. "I'm sorry about that," Hermione said softly. "Harry's an orphan himself and once he realized that about the children, he reordered his priorities. By tomorrow I'm sure you'll be living in much better conditions." "Orbis!" Harry said, summoning a silver sphere. It hovered for a moment in front of him, then shot off at an incredible speed, heading north. Angie blinked in shock and tore her eyes away to look at Hermione. "What was that?" "He used a spell to send a message to someone, probably Captain Amos, who is up in Nassau today." "A spell? Are you witches?" Hermione laughed softly and nodded. "Yes. I can even fly on a broom, though badly. To be honest, heights scare me. And Harry is a wizard." "So you all use these sticks?" Hermione watched Harry for a moment, then looked back to Angie. She pulled her own wand from its holster and held it up for the woman to see. "We call them wands, and most of us use them to perform magic, but not all of us need them. Harry is the only one on the island that doesn't need a wand and he's teaching me to work magic without one." Angie stopped to stare when the sphere reappeared in front of Harry and he spoke quietly with the floating head inside it. Then the head nodded and the sphere vanished. "It all comes so easy for you," Angie whispered. "I'm sorry?" asked Hermione, perplexed by the comment. Angie looked at her. "The magic. You don't use prayers, like we do. The Goddess provides for us and answers our prayers, but sometimes the answer is no," Angie said. "It didn't come easy for any of us, Ma'am. Harry and I spent seven years in school learning what we needed to know. And I had an easy school life compared to Harry's." Angie leaned forward and smiled. "Just Angie, child. I don't care much for formalities. I'm just saying that your magic seems to happen so much easier than ours." She stopped and stared at Fred, who was conjuring a large BBQ grill, complete with smoking coals. There was a loud popping sound and she jumped. There, standing in the mouth of the hanger, were two of the tallest people she'd ever seen., "Don't be alarmed, Angie. Madame Maxime and Hagrid wouldn't hurt a fly. Like you, they were trying to escape the Aurors. Harry found out about them and brought them here. Madame Maxime and Hagrid are building the school for the island. They probably arrived to let us know they were bringing the students here." "Here? Why?" Hermione smiled. "New arrivals to the island are always a cause for celebration. The more we can save, the better," she said, then she stopped, seeing Alicia approach. Alicia held a goblet that was smoking slightly.

"Excuse me, Hermione," she said, then she turned to Angie. "I couldn't help noticing you were wearing false teeth. Are they easily removed?" Angie nodded, perplexed. Alicia held out the goblet and sprinkled some dust in it from a pouch at her belt. She stirred the cup with a swish of her wand, then handed it to Angie. "Remove your teeth before you drink that. I noticed a number of easily correctable problems, including your teeth. This should clear them all up." "You can do that?" Angie asked incredulously. Alicia nodded and Angie quickly removed her dentures. She gulped down the foul smelling potion, then sat, shuddering. Steam whistled from her ears and her fingernails turned dayglow orange. Finally, she released a massive belch that caused many of the now awake children to laugh. When her vision cleared and the effects ended, she reached up in wonder, touching new teeth in a mouth that hadn't had real teeth in almost twenty years. Alicia took the goblet and patted her shoulder. "Sit for a few more minutes. I'm giving similar potions to all the adults in your group. You might be a bit dizzy for five minutes or so, but it will pass." Angie nodded and relaxed. It was still hard for her to believe, but she was finally coming to realize that the Goddess, in her wisdom, had brought them to a place of safety.

Office of the Minister for Magic, London...

"Minister, Maurice O'Connell is here asking to speak with you." said Percy's secretary. The woman stood in the doorway, blocking O'Connell from entering. "Send him in," Percy said, importantly. He straightened the papers on his desk and looked up expectantly, waiting for his chief of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. O'Connell entered and took a seat opposite Percy. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Minister." Percy nodded. "Nonsense. What can I do for you, O'Connell?" "We have a request from the investigative branch of the ICW, Minister. It turns out that someone discovered a colony of muggle born and half bloods hiding in Patagonia, just outside a small city named Rio Gallegos. They're asking all member nations to begin checking to see if similar hiding places might exist." Percy sniffed disdainfully. "I doubt we have such a place, O'Connell, but let's be diligent and investigate the matter. Did they catch many people?" O'Connell frowned and checked his notes. "Unfortunately no, Minister. It seems that the bulk of them escaped via portkey. Tracing suggested they headed west over the pacific. The ICW is concerned that they may be finding sanctuary in Shangri-La." Percy frowned. "I thought the valley had been sealed years ago." O'Connell shrugged. "It's hard to say. Even when I was working the Hong Kong office there were persistent rumors of Chinese and Tibetan wizards escaping to the valley. They always had an open door policy and the protections on that place are formidable. Given the political climate of the muggle Chinese Government, it's no surprise that they're used to offering sanctuary to people." "What's the opinion of the ICW about it?" "I'm not really sure, sir. The entire valley has been sealed off and on for years. It's hard enough getting cooperation from the Chinese Ministry, let alone bring up something involving Tibet. I think the ICW is waiting until all of the

Ministry departments are merged before mounting a serious expedition to break those wards." Percy shuddered. If rumors were to be believed, the wards and spells protecting that ancient valley were many thousands of years older and stronger than the ones protecting Hogwarts. "Alright, what do you need from me, O'Connell?" Percy asked. "I'd like your permission to pull some people from the fugitive squad. My thought is that they're still working on finding the undesirables in our society, so it's still the same job." Percy nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. Let me schedule a press conference for later today and we'll announce the new direction we're taking." O'Connell hid his wince and nodded. "Of course, Minister," he replied, standing. "I'll see you this afternoon, O'Connell, and bring the Auror you're putting in charge of this effort to the conference," Percy commanded. "Yes, sir." Percy turned back to papers he was reading. O'Connell left, realizing he had been dismissed. It rankled him that he was working for someone nearly one third his age.

The Coven Compound, Norman's Cay, The Bahamas...

Angie smiled at her much reduced Coven, people she had always considered family. They had landed on this island refuge and the inhabitants had welcomed them with open arms. Harry had been true to his word, too. In just two days they had turned the four building compound on the north end of the airstrip into a place for Angie and her people. She stood by the edge of the water. The sun had settled below the horizon behind her. The sky was streaked with deep reds and yellows, quickly turning black. In her hands hovered a sacred flame, which she had summoned. One by one each member of her flock came forward, even the little ones, to light a candle from her hovering flame. Once the candle was lit, they went back to their place in the circle. "The pain of loss is hard to justify. It is hard to explain. Those who are left behind to pick up the pieces wonder why and there are no answers that satisfy," Angie said softly. Ten children and six adults stood in a semi-circle around her, holding their candles and thinking of the people they had lost back in Drummond. Behind the coven members were several of the island inhabitants, people like Harry and Hermione, and Gabrielle Delacour, who wanted to help the children. Behind them stood Amos, Fred, George and their girlfriends. Angie had told them about the memorial service they were going to hold and invited them to come watch if they wanted. "Our loved ones never truly leave us. The Goddess teaches that life is a great circle. There is no end, no beginning. There is only change and life spins out again. We mourn their passing and celebrate the times we shared. In their sharing, our lives were made richer." Cindy Ferguson led little Felicity, the youngest child, forward. Angie smiled down at the little girl. "Goddess bless you, child," Angie said softly. Felicity's candle began to glow brightly. "Let go of the candle, Felicity," Cindy instructed softly. The little girl released the candle and it fell to the ground, extinguished. The light from it remained hovering in front of the girl for a moment, then it moved up to brush her forehead before rocketing skyward. Angie looked up. "For Felicity's parents, Mathew and Samantha."

"Goddess bless," intoned the adults. Felicity watched the spark receding into the night sky until it was lost among the stars, then she smiled. Cindy led the little girl back to the half circle and then brought another child forward with a lit candle held tightly in his hand. "Amazing," Hermione said in a whisper. "Can you feel it?" "It's like the air is crawling with magic," whispered Alicia. "If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." "It's magic," Harry added, to the general amusement of everyone. They watched respectfully as each member of the coven had at least one person to memorialize, some had their entire families. Hermione slipped her hand into Harry's. She sniffled a little as she realized the extent of the disaster that had been visited upon the people before her. It took a while for Harry to notice, but as more and more candles were extinguished, he noted that there was a faint aura of light around Angie. When all of the candles had been used, the coven broke up, except for Cindy and Angie. Cindy approached Harry and his friends. "Angie would like you all to join her at the water's edge," she said softly, then she turned and left them. Harry took Hermione by the hand and led their small group of wizards down to the glowing muggle. Angie smiled at their approach and she gestured for them to come closer. "A lot has happened in the last few days. Our lives have been ripped asunder and in the midsts of chaos we found sanctuary and friends," she said. "Please, join hands with me?" One by one hands were grasped until they stood in a circle with Angie. "We stand at the transition point, the edge where land ends and water begins. Life is full of such transitions. Boys become men, who become fathers, girls become women, who become mothers. Friends become lovers and so on. I stand here by the grace of the Goddess, and I hold hands with new friends who were willing to help strangers. It is another transition point and I ask the Goddess to bestow her blessing on these souls that helped her children in their time of need." The light that surrounded Angie crawled up Harry's arm and then flowed down to Hermione's hand. On the other side, Alicia gasped, feeling the powerful magic flow through her. In only a few seconds everyone was glowing with the strange aura. "The Goddess's blessing, my friends. You have a noble cause and she approves," Angie added. The glow faded and everyone took a deep breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. "Merlin! I've never felt anything like that!" exclaimed George. Fred, for once in his life, was uncharacteristically quiet. All he could do was nod. "Thank you, Angie," Harry said quietly. He wrapped an arm around Hermione and she was hugging him tightly The experience had moved her greatly. Her eyes were glistening and she was as quiet as Fred. The group slowly broke up, each apparating back to their homes or, in the case of Harry and Hermione, walking back. "You're awful quiet," Harry commented. She tightened her grip on him and remained silent a few moments more. "I've never felt anything like that before. It was like the world touched me and for a moment I was the world."

He nodded absently. "You felt something different, didn't you?" she asked. "Angie's magic reacts differently based on gender and personality. I've spoken with her about this once already. You felt nature's desire to nurture. I have no doubt in my mind that her blessing stirred your maternal instincts. "For me, I felt a great desire to protect. You felt the world, I felt the power. It's a seductive thing, power. The power to protect can be easily turned into the power to attack. There is always a temptation to use it. I deal with it daily. I'm glad you felt what you did, but I could have forgone the experience." "You're not, you know," she said. "Eh?" "You're not going to attack anyone. As much fighting as you've done, you've never once started a fight. You've never once thrown the first punch, or cast the first spell. You've always been a defensive fighter, Harry. You're not the monster you seem to think you are or will become." He sighed heavily. "It's not easy. Had I been there, I could have easily killed those aurors and saved Felicity's parents." "Yes, but you weren't there to save them. And if I gave you the names of the aurors right now, would you run off to kill them?" she asked archly. "No!" She hugged his arm tightly to her. "See what I mean? You'll fight to defend yourself and others, but you won't deliberately start a fight. I'm going to keep telling you this until you believe it." "I know," he replied with a hint of a smile. "You were right about the maternal instincts being stirred," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "Oh?" "Yes. I don't want to start a family tonight, but I do think I should quiz you when we get home and make sure you haven't forgotten what to do." He grinned and pulled her tightly to him. "Did I ever tell you how much I like your quizzes?" She giggled in his arms and before she could reply, they vanished, apparating the last fifty yards to their house.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay, The Bahamas...

Angie sat on the deck watching Harry tend a large fire he had created. The bonfire was at the center of an extremely complex diagram that he and Dobby had spent hours drawing in the sand. Hermione walked up to stand next to her chair and she handed Angie a cup of tea. Even though they were in the tropics, it was now nearly November and the temperature at night tended to get a bit chilly. The Coven was settling in and adapting well enough, but for the nights. The children seemed to take the changes more easily than the adults, who were still struggling a bit. The nights, however, were another matter. The nightmares were a problem, especially among the children. Gabrielle Delacour was staying at the compound, helping the children with their nightmares. She had been studying to become a healer and had a lot of interest in the mind healing arts. She spent her days working with Angie and the others to help the children, and then her nights with the four youngest children who had lost their parents. Harry helped a few days after the coven moved into the compound. He turned up one day at their compound with a litter of four puppies that he'd had Amos pick up in Nassau.

The puppies seemed to instinctively know who needed company each night and they often moved from bed to bed, keeping away the nightmares. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it helped. The other large change came about as a direct result of Angie coming to the island. The Weasley twins got married. In an unusual ceremony, Angie wed Fred and George to Angelina and Alicia. It wasn't two couples, it was two husbands and two wives. Surprisingly, no one commented on the unusual arrangement. Hermione sat on the lounger next to Angie and watched Harry. "You know, in Montana, we would have had our first snowfall by now," Angie said. "If you didn't have a four wheel drive vehicle, you'd be snowed in and stuck until the spring." Hermione grinned. "Then I'm glad we're not in Montana. I don't mind the snow once in a while, but winters always seem so dreary." Angie nodded knowingly, then gestured with her cup towards Harry. "Has he told you what he's up to?" Hermione shook her head. "No, not in the least. All I know is that he asked me to break tradition by being with him tonight for this spell he wants to cast. And that he wanted you present. He seemed to think that it would be good for both of us to be here." "He hasn't said much to me about it," Angie replied. "Does it bother you? I mean, we asked you to officiate for us, but we're not part of your coven." Hermione watched the old woman closely. Angie smiled. "No. Actually, I think I'll do a better job than that old pirate you were going to use. Besides, we each, in our own way, believe in the same thing. Your young man loves you and that's something universal. Wizard, witch or spiritualist, we all understand that love is a mighty force. "I still envy you wizards a bit. We can call on the Goddess to help us or to help others, but common things, like lighting up a room, isn't something we'd bother her about. That makes your abilities that much more personal than ours." Hermione smiled. "Don't judge us all by what you see Harry do. He said something to me the same day you arrived on the Cay that describes him perfectly. He said I needed to stop using magic like a tool and start using it like an extension of myself, like my hands. That's what he does, and that makes him different from all of us." Harry coughed and both women turned to face him. "If you ladies are done discussing my behavior, we can begin." Hermione blushed and stood from her lounger. She turned quickly and took the cup of tea from Angie's hands, then she helped steady the woman as she stood. "Harry, I'm sorr..." Harry shook his head. "No apology is necessary. I know I'm different. I don't like it, but I accept it." Hermione walked over to him and gave him a quick hug. He grinned at her, then his expression turned serious. "It's Halloween. In years past this meant some sort of traumatic event for me. After Voldemort was killed, I usually got drunk. However, Angie can attest to the fact that tonight is the one night in the year when the barrier between this world and the next is at it's thinnest. He turned to the old woman. "Angie, you arrived here, and in doing so, you taught us an important lesson about how interconnected we are, and how magic is magic, no matter who, or what, you are. Our lives have changed with your arrival. I think for the better. I asked you here because I thought this might give you some needed closure, and as a way of thanking you for what you've done for us." The two women exchanged curious looks. Harry led them out to a glowing box next to his circle. "No matter what happens, do not try to enter the circle. Dobby

has strict orders to prevent you from doing that. I won't say he'll hurt you, but a house elf stunner comes with a wicked headache, and he has permission to stun tonight, if it becomes necessary." "Harry what are you talking about?" Hermione asked, alarmed by his words. He walked over to her and took her in his arms. "Shh. This is something you both need to see. Watch the box." She nodded uncertainly and Harry returned to the circle. Dobby appeared, standing just outside of the lines in the sand. He nodded to Dobby who raised his hands. A curtain of sand rose up, blocking Hermione's view of Harry in the circle. All she could see was a bright glow from the now lit bonfire over the curtain of sand. Hermione nibbled on her lip worriedly, but the sight of Dobby watching her stopped her impulse to walk around the curtain. She was certain that Dobby would not allow Harry to be seriously hurt. Suddenly the box drawn in the sand exploded upwards into a solid cube of light. Both Hermione and Angie took a step backwards in surprise. A figure formed in the softly glowing cube, then more formed until it looked like a whole host of people waiting and watching. A figure stepped closer to the front of the cube where the women stood and Angie gasped. "Vinny? Is that you?" The man smiled. He was ruggedly handsome, with very large hands, and looked to be about twenty five years old. "Angela, my angel. I'm sorry I had to leave you, but I'm waiting for you. When your tasks are done, you'll come home to me. We've done good, old girl, and the Goddess is well pleased." Angie clutched Hermione's arm painfully and choked back a sob. Vinny smiled softly. "Do not weep, beloved. Rejoice in the time we had and what we'll have again." "I miss you," she gasped out painfully. "I know. I miss you, too. But I'm not alone, just as you're not alone. You have a new family, including many little children who need the love you can give them. Stay true to the Goddess and trust in her path. She is pleased with you." Angie nodded and for a moment Hermione was afraid the frail old woman would collapse on the beach. Vinny moved away from the front of the cube and two other people took his place. Behind them were three very familiar faces. Hermione gasped. "Mr. Potter? Mrs. Potter? Sirius? Remus? Tonks?" She shook her head trying to deny what her eyes beheld. Lily Potter nodded and smiled gently at Hermione. "We had to come, if only for a moment. We wanted to meet the woman who held our boy's heart in her hands." "We wanted to meet the girl who would marry our son," added James. "You are as pretty as Sirius and Remus said. And as smart as his mum, too." Sirius, Remus and Tonks grinned at her from behind the Potters. Just seeing them again filled her with a sense of peace and joy. Hermione blushed furiously. "Do you want me to go get..." Lily shook her head and Hermione trailed off, confused. "You cannot and he cannot. The ritual he performs prevents him from attending the window. His sacrifice, powers the spell." Hermione blinked and her expression darkened. "Sacrifice? What sacrifice?"

"He holds the window open. He's doing it for you, Hermione. That's the measure of his love for you. We only wanted to stop by briefly to tell you how proud we are of him, and you. You'll bring much honor to the name of Potter. It was an old and respected family, but you two will bring it renown unlike any it's had before," said James proudly. "Revel in your love and life Hermione," added Lily. "You've given our son the one thing he's wanted all his life; Someone to love him above all others. I wish we could stay longer, but there are still two others who need to speak to you tonight. They are the reason he cast this spell to weaken the barrier enough for us to speak. Be happy in your life. In time, we will meet again. Give him our love." James and Lily backed away and two more figures swam into view. Hermione took one look and sunk to her knees in the sand. "Ron... Ginny..." she whispered. Tears fell from her eyes like rain. The two smiled gently down at her and she thought that Ginny's smile seemed a little wistful. "I'm glad you two finally woke up to the reality of what you have. I'd hate to see you have to spend another eon searching for each other again," Ginny said softly. Hermione shook her head, trying to make sense of her words. "What do you mean?" she asked in confusion. "Part of our job on earth is to find our soul mate, Hermione," Ron said with a grin. "You and I would have been happy and good together, but only soul mates can create new souls. Those who never find their soul mates are reborn to try again. You've found yours, in Harry. "Had things happened in a different way, you and I would have been happy. But once you passed away, you would have been reborn to begin your search again. Now, you don't have to," he said gently. "And I can't tell you how much I envy you that," added Ginny softly. "But we've both been told we're close to finding our mates." Tears started to roll down her cheeks again. "We're both so very sorry how things turned out." Ginny shook her head and smiled radiantly. "Don't be. My death was the final piece needed to activate his powers. It was foreordained. Soon, I'll be reborn to begin my search again. I've been told what I need to know to find my mate this time. It's my reward for playing a role in fate's plan." Ron put his hand on Ginny's shoulder. "It was wonderful while it lasted, Hermione. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, but it also wasn't meant to be. You and Harry were meant for each other and we will celebrate your union, even while you celebrate your marriage. The joining of two soul mates is cause for joy on this side every time it happens." "Hermione, things will get worse in Britain. We're sorry about Percy, but he is condemning himself. Your path ahead will be twisted one and will have events and people that you would never believed if we told you. I will tell you this. When the time comes, listen carefully with your heart and your head," Ginny told her earnestly. "Someone from our past will ask you for something. Listen carefully and follow your heart." "We love you both, Hermione. Make sure he knows," Ron said, his eyes shining. Then he stepped back from the edge of the cube. Ginny waited a moment longer. "Love him for me?" she asked. Hermione nodded. "With all my heart." Ginny smiled again. "See you soon, Mum." she whispered and stepped backwards. Hermione blinked in surprise and wondered how that could be. If Harry and I only create new souls, then how could Ginny be calling me mum, she wondered. Then it dawned on her. As an in-law! She stifled a giggle. Ginny would ultimately get her wish and be married into the Potter family. More figures approached the edge of the cube, but Hermione didn't recognize any of them. After a few minutes, the cube wavered and sunk back into the sands.

She stood slowly, then turned when the curtain of sand fell, exposing Harry. She had forgotten about him in the emotions of the moment. He lay on the ground and Dobby was hurriedly slathering him with some kind of unguent. "Harry!" she shouted in alarm as she rushed to his side. "Stop, Miss Hermy!" Dobby said imperiously. "Harry Potter sir knew this would happen and he taught Dobby what to do. Let me finish then you can yell at hims." She blinked and smiled slowly. Dobby was becoming more and more assertive, but only within specific areas. He took his membership in the Potter family very seriously and firmly believed it was his job to protect both Harry and Hermione, even from each other, on occasion. Angie stepped over to stand next to Hermione. She gasped, seeing the blackened skin on Harry's hands and arms. Dobby smoothed a clear translucent cream over the burns, causing the skin to lighten as the burns faded. His hands and arms were badly burned. His eyes were closed and Hermione could tell he was holding back a scream behind his tightly clenched jaw. "It's a miracle," she murmured in awe. "It's burn cream for dragon fire induced burns. It's the strongest burn cream made. Although I'm sure right about now he's thinking it's a miracle also," Hermione whispered. He opened his eyes to look up at her and he tried to smile. She knelt gently by his side, examining his healing hands and arms. "Why, Harry? Why would you do this? What possible purpose could this pain serve?" she asked, not bothering to hide the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Did you see them? Ron and Ginny?" he asked weakly. She nodded and he sighed softly. "Good. I was so hoping you would. The spell only promised that the ones you most needed to see would come to the window. It was worth the pain then." His voice was weak and he was obviously exhausted. Dobby stepped back and Harry closed his eyes in relief. "I won't do that again. That wasn't easy." "But why did you do it in the first place? Why did you feel it was necessary?" she asked again. She could feel his pain resonating within her and at the same time a strange sense of warmth and connection, which she couldn't explain. He opened his eyes and reached out with one hand. She pulled back slightly, afraid his touch would hurt him. "We needed to... what did you call it? Put our ghosts to rest?" She sighed and shook her head. "I love you, Harry Potter, but don't you dare do something so stupid again! If I had known..." He grinned at her and reached for her left hand. She looked down, surprised to see his hand was healed and most of the cream was quickly evaporating. "I didn't want you to know until it was done. If I told you what would happen before hand, you would have insisted I not go through with the ritual. This way, all you need do is forgive me." he whispered tiredly. She nodded. "I saw your parents," she blurted quickly. "And Sirius, Remus and Tonks. They appeared before Ron and Ginny." Harry's eyes widened. "I didn't expect that," he murmured. "They're so very proud of you, and so am I," she whispered. He squeezed her hand and his eyes closed.

"Miss Hermy, Harry Potter sir is very tired from his magics. Dobby will puts him to bed. Don't you worry. Harry Potter sir is in no pain anymore. He'll be fine for tomorrow," the elf told her quietly. Dobby levitated a now sleeping Harry and walked him carefully into the house. Hermione watched for a moment, still struck by the events of the evening. Angie walked over to her. "Come, child. Let's go up on the deck, where we can be more comfortable." She nodded numbly and followed the old woman back to the house. They sat for a while in silence, listening to the gentle waves washing against the shore. In time, Angie broke the silence. "Strong men are very hard to love, my dear. My Vinny was a tough old man. He served three tours in Vietnam and he almost never spoke about his time there while he was awake. I remember on our honeymoon he was fooling around, trying to impress me. Well, you know how they get." Hermione nodded knowingly. Even Harry did that once in a while. She smiled to herself. It was rather cute, although she'd never tell Harry that. "I remember it well," Angie continued. "We were going skiing. He was fooling around and eventually fell. We went home a week later and he immediately check himself into the base hospital. It was only then that I discovered he had spent the week hiding the pain of a fractured leg. He hid it because he wanted me to enjoy our honeymoon." She smiled in remembrance of better times so long ago. "It was so sweet of him to do that. I nearly killed him, of course, once I found out. Then I threatened to break his other leg," she paused and looked at Hermione. "Strong men, like your Harry, think nothing of doing whatever it takes to make someone they love happy. He did that ritual because he loves you, and that's all the reason he needed." "Stubborn fool," Hermione muttered. Angie cackled. "That he is, and you wouldn't have it any other way. I know my Vinny was stubborn and hard headed. But he was most stubborn about his love for me. Your young man is the same way. I can see it when he looks at you." "You're right," Hermione said. "I wouldn't change it for anything." Angie stood. "I'll see you tomorrow, at noon. In the meantime, I suggest you go get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow." "Do you want me to apparate you home?" Hermione asked. Angie tisked at her. "Thank you, child, but the walk will do me good. We're not that far away, after all." She made her way down the stairs to the beach. Hermione sat up and watched her carefully. She had grown fond of the strange woman who could invoke a type of magic she didn't understand. She had talked with Angie many times about magic and about her beliefs. But there were parts that she had trouble accepting. Harry seemed more accepting of some of the philosophy offered by the old woman. Hermione believed he was more accepting because of his greater experience with other types of magic. Once Angie passed out of sight, Hermione stood and got ready to apparate to her parents house for the night. It would be their first night apart in over a month, but that didn't bother her. Tomorrow they would marry and spend the rest of their lives together. "Mrs. Hermione Potter," she said softly, smiling. It was meant to be.

Office of the Minister, Ministry of Magic, the Bahamas...

Santina Argent scowled at the hooded man who sat behind her desk, in her chair. It was bad enough that the population of the Bahamas was so small that they could barely afford this office, and now this wizard had usurped it! "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded.

"I understand the ICW has been putting pressure on you to find certain people," the stranger said. Argent gulped and nodded. "Yes, but we're shorthanded. We only had a small auror force to begin with and it got smaller when six of our best aurors went missing. Now, who are you?" "We are not unaware of your difficulties, Minister. The ICW is taking steps to rectify that particular problem. As for myself, I'm a tracker. I am the person the ICW turns to when they want to find someone." Argent's eyes widened. "So you're from the ICW?" The man nodded, his face hooded and indistinct. "Regrettably, I am not allowed to reveal my identity. But you may be assured that we will be taking steps to aid you, especially now that I've identified your country as one of several from which fugitives have been vanishing." The man stood and walked over to look out a window. Unlike so many other Ministry windows, this one was real, overlooking the harbor at Freeport. He was a small man, barely five feet tall, but his presence was an imposing one. "Are you suggesting we're helping these people?" asked Argent in outrage. The man turned and stared at her for a minute in silence. Finally, she dropped her gaze to the floor, thoroughly cowed. "Actually, Minister, I know you're not actively helping these people. Your nation is far too small and too interconnected by family for you to hide such a secret for long. No, I came here from Patagonia, where I was tracking a number of fugitives. Many fled west, towards Asia. A a small group, however, went north, to Puerto Rico, where I lost all trace of them, except for a rumor that they came here." "Then you don't think they're staying somewhere near here? Or even in the Bahamas?" Argent asked hopefully. She sincerely wanted this to be someone else's problem. The cloaked man shook his head. "No, I think they're hiding here somewhere. There are hundreds of islands and only thirty five hundred wizards in all of the Bahamas. I will contact my superiors and have them send a tagging team here. We'll tag everyone and monitor their movements." Argent nodded unhappily. If the populace found out about this, they'd surely vote her out of office. On the other hand, the ICW had been rumored to be behind several high level assassinations. Perhaps being unemployed is better than being dead, she mused. "We will cooperate with you in what ever way you need, sir," she said. The hooded man nodded. "Excellent. Now, if you will excuse me Minister, I must contact my superiors to report my findings and recommendations." Argent breathed a sigh of relief and sank into her chair. She knew the ICW was gaining control over everything and there was nothing she or her nation could do to stop that. She'd cooperate. It was the only real option available to her. Just outside the building, the tracker tightened his cloak and glanced around. He sniffed the air for a moment. He could sense the danger, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Suddenly a hand gripped his arm and the world blurred and rotated wildly. He fought against the nauseating vertigo, and as soon as he had solid footing, he bounced away from his assailant, pulling a short blade and a wand. He whirled to face his attacker. It was a young man, less than twenty five years old with striking green eyes. "What are you?" asked the young man in a curious tone. "Who are you?" demanded the tracker. "Harry Potter, at your service," Harry replied with a mocking bow. "You know, I'm really sort of put out with you. I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon, but I had to interrupt it when I heard you were sniffing around the Minister's office

in Freeport. I prefer her kept in the dark and ignorant, like a good pure blood should be." "The ICW has been interested in talking to you for quite a while, Potter. Come along peacefully and I won't hurt you too much," said the tracker. Harry smirked at the man. "Oh, do tell," he said with a sneer. "Have it your way... Diffindo!" snarled the tracker, pointing his wand at Harry. Harry yawned. The spell shot out from wand and bent back on itself. The tracker screamed as his hand was cut off cleanly at the wrist. Harry shook his head sadly. "You know, I simply couldn't allow you to contact your superiors to report what you know. In fact, we've been intercepting your owls since Patagonia," he said. "Now, I'm afraid I can't let you reappear anywhere." The tracker clutched his arm with his good hand, having dropped his knife. "Where are we?" Harry looked around at the desolate landscape. There wasn't a single plant to be seen anywhere and a stiff, cold breeze swept off the shore. "It is rather uninviting, isn't it? I thought it was rather appropriate for your sort. We're in the Falkland Islands, specifically on an island called Carcass, for obvious reasons. I'm going to leave you here. I had planned on taking your magic and dropping you someplace safer and nicer, but you're not quite human, are you?" The tracker looked at him with hateful eyes. "I'm not telling you anything," he growled out. Harry chuckled. "You don't have to. Your core isn't right, that means you have non-human blood in your veins, although you hide it well. It's probably why you were so good at your job... until you irritated me." He looked around. "No one comes here. No one. The nearest inhabited island is that way," he said, pointing. "Swimming with one hand might be difficult, but I suppose you could give it a try. Of course, the water is quite cold, so I doubt you'd make it far. I couldn't drain your core like I did with the others, so I've bound your magic and placed a compulsion of silence on you. Even if by some stroke of luck, you get off the island, you'll be less than a squib and unable to tell anyone how or where it happened." "Wait!" gasped the tracker. "You can't leave me here. I'll die!" Harry blinked and giggled. "That thought did occur to me." He smiled at the tracker, though there was something slightly off in his green eyes. "You see, I'm newly married, and my wife is beautiful, and probably naked and waiting for me at this point." He raised both hands, held them evenly in front of himself and wiggled his right hand. "On one hand, I have Hermione. Beautiful, naked, Hermione." He raised his hand over his head. "On the other hand, I have your life." His left hand sunk down as far as he could reach. "I'm sure you understand. You're life doesn't compare, really." The tracker gaped in astonishment. Was Potter insane? "But..." "Don't beg," Harry said sadly. "It's unseemly. Think of this as justice for all the people you've dragged back into the hell you call the ICW. But at least your death with be clean. It gets cold here, especially at night. You'll freeze to death in no time! "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my naked wife!" With one last, eerie giggle, Harry vanished. The tracker fell to his knees, thew back his head and screamed his fear and despair to an uncaring sky.

Aboard the Lily, North East of Puerto Rico...

Hermione lay on the deck of the Lily. They were resting in a secluded anchorage and she had just flipped over to even the tan on her back. They had spent a wonderful week in San Juan for their honeymoon and were planning on taking

another week to make their way back home aboard the Lily. It had been a perfect time for her. Angie's words about Harry doing everything possible to make this trip the best he possible could rang true. She'd even managed to get Harry to take limbo lessons with her at their hotel. He couldn't wait to teach it to Fred and George. She sighed happily. At first she'd been afraid of leaving the Cay, even for a honeymoon. But Harry had come up with a way of allowing them to move about normally, even among wizards, without being recognized. He had cast a temporary ward on their wedding bands, which cause most people to not pay attention to them. It was something he had learned in the Book of Wards and she was greatly impressed by it. For a week they had strolled the busy boulevards of San Juan and walked openly in the wizard's quarter, shopping, dinning and just being in love. For a week, they avoided talk of the island. Instead, they went to inspect the old Spanish fort, El Morro, and they shopped at Gems of the World and ate at a restaurant where the waiters sang to them. She had even given in to one of Harry's wishes and they'd attended a local boat show. The Lily attracted a lot of attention when they pulled into the marina holding the show. The tri-hulled sailboat smoothly eased into a slip and was surrounded by people wanting to know more about the boat. Hermione thought their interest was in the Lily because she was homemade, and at nearly seventy feet long, a beautiful trimaran. Harry maintained it was her string bikini which brought the crowd to the Lily. In either case, they'd had a lot of fun looking at the boats and Harry purchased several books of plans for other boats with a gleam in his eye that said 'someday'. The Lily rocked gently and she grinned. He was back from wherever he had gone. This morning an emergency orb call from the Amos arrived saying he was needed right away. Hermione was sure Amos probably needed CPR after that call. She'd been rather miffed at being interrupted and did not bother to dress or hide during the call. A pair of strong hands started to massage her shoulders. She could smell the coca butter scented tanning oil and she nestled down a little further into the plush towel and purred under his hands. "I'm glad you're back," she said huskily. "It was getting lonely." "I'm glad to be back to. I guess it was too much to hope for us to be left alone. But I think we'll be clear until we get home," he replied. "Was it bad?" He stopped massaging for a moment and shrugged. "No, just different. He wasn't a normal wizard. I couldn't drain him, so I marooned him and bound his magic." Hermione propped herself on her elbows. She looked out over the bay they were anchored in. "He got too close, didn't he?" "He did." "And this person will probably die where you left him?" When he didn't reply, she turned to face him. "Harry?" He nodded, not looking at her. He even ignored the fact that she was topless at the moment. She lay on her back and held out her arms to him. She knew how much these episodes disturbed him. He was a warrior and he hated it. He hated what he'd become. She pulled him down into her embrace, crooning to him softly. He lay in her arms, partly atop her and she ran her fingers through his hair lovingly. His grip tightened around her and they lay, each soaking up comfort from the other. For now, Norman's Cay was safe and still a secret.

FINIS

(For now)

*Chapter 4*: Wizards Fall - The truth is out there

Standard Disclaimer:
Bob walked out onto the stage and faced the audience. He was nervous, he had an important announcement to make and he never was very good at speaking in public. "Ladies and gentlemen, my lovely wife Alyx has insisted that she be allowed arrange for this episode's disclaimer. Frankly that worries me. After all, we've had Alan Rickman, and Rupert Grint, we've had famous guest disclaimers like Stephen Hawkins and Issac Asimov. And others like Musings of Apathy, Homer and Bart Simpson. "Who else could we possibly get to tell you that we don't own the rights to Harry Potter and his wonderful world. If you don't know that JK Rowling owns it all by now, we're truly in trouble!" Bob paused and took a deep breath. "Any way, here's Alyx and her guest disclaimer!" He motioned to one side of the stage, then he ran to the front of the stage and clambered down. Quickly he picked a seat and sat down right next to Albus Dumbledore. "Lemon Drop?" offered Albus. "Thanks, maybe you're not such an old disgusting pervert after all," muttered Bob, helping himself to a lemon drop. A moment later Alyx took the free seat next to him and he looked at her in shock. "What are you doing here?" "Oh our guest can handle himself. He's quite capable. We should be honored to have such a distinguished disclaimer for this episode," she said excitedly. The stage lights dropped and a single spot light came on, outlining one edge of the stage. Somewhere, a drummer began an intense pounding on a kettle drum. A Llama, dressed in an orange robe walked out onto the stage. Surprisingly it walked on it's hind legs. Tucked firmly under one free leg was a small doll. Bob stared at the beast in astonishment, then turned to look at Alyx. "What?" he stammered. "It's the Dolly Llama," Alyx said reverently. Bob groaned and slid further down in his seat. This was embarrassing. Dumbledore leaned towards Bob. "I didn't think he was that tall," he murmured. Alyx's brow crinkled. "He's hairier than I thought also." Bob placed a bag over his head to hide. He'd never live this down.

Wizards Fall The Truth is out there. Norman's Cay, The Bahamas (Late 2006, Seven years after Voldemort)...
It was the banging that woke him up. It seemed unending, and unbelievably, it was louder than the storm outside. "I'm coming," he grumbled. He climbed over two bodies to get out the bed, then threw on a robe and shuffled out of the bedroom. With a wave of a hand, he ignited the candles in the house, giving him light. He had learned wandless magic from Harry and even if he was only capable of doing simple things, it still impressed him. He absently noted that it was raining heavily outside and he grimaced. He really needed to talk to Harry about adjusting

the weather ward around the island. The knocking had started up again and he opened the door grumpily. "Hermione? Come in! Come in!" he blurted in surprise. She stepped inside and quickly cast a drying charm on herself. Fred struggled against the gale force wind to close the door. Papers in the house blew around in the mini wind storm. "I'm sorry for waking you, Fred, but we need Alicia." "What's wrong?" "Angie woke us up a little while ago. Felicity, one of her kids, is missing. Harry's out looking for her now. I think we're going to need Alicia when he brings her in. I left Angie at our place to come here." Fred's eyes widened. "Harry's out there in this?" he asked, gesturing towards the window and the wild storm sweeping the island. The storm had been threatening all day and had finally hit the island with its full fury in the middle of the night. The twins had scoffed at Harry when he offered to weather ward their home. Now Fred was wondering if that had been a good idea. Hermione had apparated to their door and she'd been soaked to the bone when she entered their home. Her hair looked more wild than ever before. Hermione nodded worriedly. She had tried to talk Harry out of it, but he wouldn't listen. All he knew was that out there in the dark, a small child was all alone. Fred glanced at the clock, then shook his head. It was barely two in the morning. And to think Angie had walked from her compound to Harry's place! Several months after their marriage, Harry had been forced to apply an enlarging charm on the island, quadrupling it's size. At the same time, he drained the lagoon, adding even more dry land to the island. Angie's place used to be several hundred yards south of Harry and Hermione's house. Now it was nearly two miles away and Harry was deep into plans to enlarge the island again. "I'll wake everyone up," Fred said as he turned to rush back into the bedroom. Hermione nodded and moved to stand in front of the large bay window. Outside, a cold winter rain pelted down and a stiff breeze made it feel even colder than it was. "Oy, George, got to get up! Harry needs us," Fred said softly. George's head popped out from under the blankets. Up until that moment he had been resting his head quite comfortably on Angelina breast. Alicia opened her eyes and stretched. "Harry needs us?" George said groggily. "Is something wrong?" asked Alica. "Is breakfast ready?" asked Angelina. Angelina was pregnant and just starting to show. She had finished with her morning sickness and was starting the point where she ate more than usual. Being that the Weasley twins were identical, even with magic they weren't able to determine which one fathered the child. Not that it mattered to the four of them in the least. Fred shook his head in exasperation. "Yes, yes and no." Alicia blinked and glanced out the window. "What's going on? Do you know what it's doing out there? And why does Harry want you two?" "Hermione is here, asking for you, Alicia. Harry's out in the storm at the moment. Angie walked to their house in this weather to let them know one of the children had gone missing. Hermione thinks you'll be needed when she's found. As

for Harry, I'm not letting him search this island alone in this weather," Fred replied firmly. Then he turned and started to get dressed. "Good enough for me," George replied. He rolled from the bed and hurriedly put on a pair of blue jeans. Angelina sat up and swung her legs off of the over-sized bed they all slept in. "I'll go to the infirmary and start up a couple of cauldrons." Alicia nodded. She was busy cataloging in her mind what she could possibly need. She had become the island's permanent healer while Angelina created all the potions she needed. "Fred, when you're dressed, tell Hermione to get Angie and bring her to the infirmary. I want to make sure she's alright after being out in this storm." "Yes, dear," Fred said with a nod. He finished tying his laces, then left the room.

Harry, somewhere on Norman's Cay...

Harry staggered against the buffeting wind and cursed under his breath. He had tried to hold a weather ward on himself, but the ward had never been designed for use on a moving object. A shield would work for a few seconds, then collapse, as it's ability to absorb energy vanished. A single raindrop was one thing, but getting hit with thousands every second, driven by fifty mile per hour winds, simply overwhelmed the shield. As a result, he was soaked to the bone, cold and having difficultly seeing with the rain driving into his face. He had started with a locater spell at the Coven compound and breathed a sigh of relief when it pointed east, rather than west. West would have meant she had gone down to the beach. There would have been no chance of survival for anyone entering the surf tonight. It was only a tropical depression, and one late in the year, but the fifty mile per hour winds were whipping up enormous waves on the beach. He was glad the Lily was riding anchor out beyond the breakwater and his dive boat was safely on it's trailer, parked near the villa. He had put the boats in their winter storage locations two weeks earlier. The only thing still tied up at the dock was his small skiff, which he had hoped to use as a fishing platform during the winter months. He blinked and tried to see the locater. Without knowing her destination, all he could do is follow the locater and hope he stumbled across her in the dark. If he knew where she was, it would have been a simple matter of apparating to her. The direction the locater had him going in gave him a clue, but he couldn't be sure enough to risk apparating. Lightening flashed, blinding him for a moment and he staggered through the dense undergrowth. A gust of wind suddenly pushed him from behind and he stumbled out onto the old airstrip. He slipped and fell on one knee, tearing his jeans on the rough coral airstrip. The razor sharp rock easily sliced through his jeans and skin. Cursing, he stood and tried to blink his eyes clear. A palm frond whipped by him, missing his head by a few inches, and he realized that the storm was whipping up lethal projectiles. He cast the locater again, and it showed her path cutting across the airstrip towards the old bus. No one had bothered to remove the ancient vehicle from where it had landed. To some, it was a silent monument to the various ways people were coming to the Cay. To others, it represented all those who never made it to safety. It wasn't unusual to find that someone had place fresh flowers at the bus. It had become a symbol for the people of Norman's Cay. He pushed forward against a straining wind, one arm thrown up to cover his face and block some of the rain from his eyes. Across the strip, he stumbled into the brush again and nearly fell. He stepped wrong and his ankle twisted violently in a small pothole. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he limped forward, ignoring his wrenched ankle. Thanks to the space enlarging charms he had cast, the old bus, which was once only a hundred yards from the airstrip, was now more than a mile away. He was wet, cold and miserable and wishing he had never cast those enlargement charms on the island. "Felicity!" he shouted. The wind grabbed his words and tore them to shreds with it's unyielding and unending howl. She's never going to hear me unless I'm standing on top of her, he thought sourly. Stubbornly, he pressed on.

Norman's Cay Infirmary...

Gabrielle looked up from her book when Alicia and Angelina popped in. Now that Alicia had received her Healer's certificate from Mother Marie, Alicia had taken to training Gabrielle, who had been studying to become a healer. As a trainee, she pulled late night duty at the infirmary, which usually meant sitting around doing little more than studying or sleeping. Angelina rounded out the infirmary staff as the potions brewer. The infirmary was an old aircraft hangar. It had first seen use as an infirmary when Angie and her coven arrived, and had been in use as such ever since. A second floor had been installed as a potions lab and a small kitchen had been added to the building. The ground floor held one room with two beds for critical cases. The rest was an open room ward and small office for the on-call healer. It was fortunate that when they cleaned and fixed up the building, they'd had Harry cast impervious charms on its few windows. Regular windows would have broken by now because of the storm. "Alicia? Is something wrong?" Gabrielle asked, looking up from her text book in alarm. Only an emergency would bring her here this late at night. "Gabrielle, make sure all the outside lights are lit, will you? Then set up a couple beds," Alicia said as she removed her cloak. She frowned. The metal exterior of the building transmitted the sound of the howling wind better than the brick and stucco that made up her home and what she heard was frightening. She gnawed on her lower lip worriedly and considered a small child being out in that. That her husbands and Harry were out there didn't add any comfort to the thought. She mentally berated herself for not allowing Harry to weather ward the building. She hadn't allowed it because she had noticed that that ward interfered with some healing charms. Now, with the building vibrating in the storm, she wondered if that had been a smart idea. Gabrielle nodded and ran to a panel that controlled a bank of enchanted exterior flood lights. Duncan had insisted on installing them in case they had more cases than the small fourteen bed infirmary could handle. The idea was to light up the exterior so people could work outside in the dark. The lights pierced through the darkness, pooling around the building and it's small section of airstrip. It was a clear sign to anyone outside that the infirmary was open and ready to receive injured. "I'll get a couple of potion bases started," Angelina said, hurrying to the stairs. Alicia nodded and turned to see Hermione arrive with Angie. Hermione gripped Angie's arms and the old woman had both eyes screwed tightly shut. She hated apparating. Despite knowing it was safe, she was terrified every time she had to travel that way. Alicia hurried over to the old woman, pulling out her wand. "Don't you worry about me, dear. I'm fine," Angie said placatingly. Alicia grimaced and ran a quick diagnostic charm on her anyway. "I'll be the judge of that. You walked to Hermione's house in this storm. It's not something I'd recommend anyone do." A pop signaled the arrival of Dobby, who immediately started making hot food in the small kitchen. "Where are Fred and George?" asked Hermione, looking around and not seeing them. Alicia grimaced. "They got it in their heads to apparate to the eastern side of the island and start working west together. They started around Party Point. Harry's working east, so they should meet in the middle somewhere." The wind outside howled and the building shook slightly under the onslaught. Alicia winced as the large building visibly trembled. Her husbands were out in this weather and she was dreadfully worried about them.

A large bang echoed in the building when debris, driven by the wind, smashed into a wall. Everyone jumped from the noise. "Did you find out what happened?" asked Alicia in a hushed tone. Angie was watching Dobby from the kitchen door and wasn't paying attention to their conversation. Hermione nodded. "Apparently the children were teasing the youngest girl, Felicity. It seems Angie had been teaching the children their form of magic and Felicity had been unable to perform anything. The other kids said some hurtful things to her and she ran off sometime after their bedtime. "Angie went to check on them around eleven last night and discovered Felicity missing. The storm was just starting by that time, so they searched the compound and the surrounding area, then Angie walked to our place. That had to take her at least an hour." Alicia nodded absently and walked over to an empty cot to sit down. Angie walked up carrying three mugs of hot tea. Hermione took one cup and she sat next to Alicia on the cot. Angie handed another cup to Alicia and sat down. "So, now we wait?" Angie said. Alicia shrugged. "There's not much else we can do. Harry and the boys will find her, it's just a matter of when." She turned to Hermione. "Any word on how long this storm is supposed to last?" Hermione frowned. "The Coast Guard Advisory said it was expected to last till mid-morning." Harry had installed a shortwave radio at home that included marine and aviation bands so he could monitor the weather forecasts from Florida. Hermione had inadvertently derailed her father's electrification project when she discovered that she could charm the power needed to use most on electronics. She had wanted to run her computer and she had charmed a power strip to provide electricity. That was all it took. She taught the charm to Fred and George, who then provided people with charmed power outlets. As a result, Norman's Cay now had plenty of electronics. Harry had bought a lot of the electronics for the island, including televisions and disc players, but for their home, their selection was more limited. Hermione asked if he wanted a television. She didn't really watch a lot of TV and was pleased to discover that Harry had never developed a taste for it. They opted for the fancy radio/stereo system and went at least twice a week to watch movies at her parents house. Hermione looked up at the large clock on the wall. It was nearing four in the morning and still there was no word from Harry or the twins. Angelina had joined them, but rather than sitting, she was pacing in the central aisle between the beds. Alicia turned to Angie. "Why do you think Felicity is having trouble learning your type of magic?" she asked suddenly. "She didn't seem to have any problem with that candle during the memorial ceremony." Hermione turned to listen to the old woman. Anything was better than just sitting there! Angie shrugged with a slight smile. "Most of that magic was channeled through me. I can't say why the child can't channel the Goddess. Not everyone can. It doesn't mean the Goddess loves her any less. Nearly half of our coven back home couldn't call on the Goddess directly, but they were faithful." She paused for a moment, frowning. "I thought for sure she would be talented. Often small children who are blessed have incidents of magic. Felicity had more than her share, more than the other children." Alicia's eyebrows rose and she shared a glance with Hermione. A loud crack signaled the arrival of Fred and George. Fred was leaning heavily against his brother, blood streaming down his forehead from a large gash.

Alicia dropped her cup of tea and dashed to help him. "A tree fell on him," he gasped. "I don't know how Harry's handling it. He's going against the wind. I pulled Fred out from under the tree and brought him here." Alicia and George steered Fred over to a bed and laid him down. She immediately began casting diagnostic charms. "Gabrielle, get me a swelling reducer and pain relief potion," she commanded. The French girl leaped to obey her, rushing over to a potion cabinet. She grabbed the bottles, plus a good supply of bandages. George staggered over to one of the cots and sat down heavily. He was exhausted from the effort of trying to walk outside in the high winds. Dobby appeared next to him and handed him a large cup of hot soup. "Thanks, mate," he said absently. His eyes were fixed on his wife working on his brother. Dobby smiled broadly and went back into the kitchen area. Most of Harry's close friends didn't consider Dobby to be simply an elf anymore. He was just one of the extended family. Twenty minutes later, Alicia went over to check on George. Fred was sleeping on a cot nearby, having been healed, then spelled into a light, healing sleep. "Will he be alright?" asked George worriedly. She smiled at him. "He'll be fine. His hard head cushioned the falling tree just perfectly. Now, are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, then she cast a diagnostic on him. He shook his head and visibly relaxed. "No, just tired. It was difficult out there. The rain's very cold and the wind made it nearly impossible to stand." He glanced over to see Hermione pacing nervously by the kitchen door. Every so often she'd glance at the wall clock. "I think," George said softly, "that Fred and I need to look into making something like the Marauders map for the island." "Your body temperature is colder than I like. Lay back and get under the blankets. A few hours sleep should fix you up," Alicia ordered. "Yes, mum," George said wearily, then he lay back on the cot, letting Alicia cover him up. Alicia grinned at him. "Don't you forget it," she murmured then she turned to watch Hermione. Hermione paused in her pacing and performed a complex spell Alicia wasn't familiar with. A set of numbers appeared over her wand, one number was slowly changing, and the color of all the numbers was a yellow with just a tinge of red. Intrigued, Alicia went over to see what she was up to. "Hermione?" Startled, her spell faltered and vanished. She looked at Alicia. "What was that?" she asked softly. Hermione smiled wanly at her. "It's a personal location and condition monitor charm that Harry built into our wedding bands. With it, I can tell roughly where he is and his condition. Normally the numbers should be green. The colors change to represent his physical condition. Green means he's healthy, yellow is injured, red is badly injured and black... Well, Harry once told me the colors meant 'breathing', 'coughing', 'barely breathing' and 'dig a hole'." "But they weren't green," Alicia softly. "I know," Hermione said worriedly. "He's injured, but not seriously."

Alicia looked at her for a moment longer, then she made a decision. She closed the distance between them and placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Listen carefully. You need to keep calm. Panicking isn't going to help anything. Do you want a calming draught?" Hermione shook her head. She didn't think that was necessary. Alicia nodded. "Alright then. Go get yourself another cup of tea and relax. He'll be fine." Something smashed up against the side of the building and the whole frame shook for a second. Fred's eyes sprang open and George sat up, looking around wildly. "Oh, Merlin," muttered Alicia, then she hurried over to help the twins. She sat next to Fred. "Shhh. It's just the storm. Rest now." He blinked at her in confusion. "Harry?" he whispered. Alicia frowned. "Nothing yet, but you need to rest. You took a bad bump." Fred nodded and closed his eyes. Alicia relaxed and glanced over to George, who was looking intently at the both of them. "What are you looking at Mister? You should be resting too!" George grinned. "I'm alright, love, but I'll lay here if it makes you feel better. Or perhaps you could ask Angelina to join me?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows and grinning. "Do you want me to slip you a sleeping potion?" she asked archly. George pouted for a moment, but lay back down on the cot. Alicia turned to ask Gabrielle something when Harry appeared in the infirmary. His face was ashen and he was visibly shivering. In his arms he held Felicity. Like him, she was soaked to the bone and whimpering in his arms. She seemed to be unaware of her surroundings and only semi-conscious. He cradled her to his chest protectively. "Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. Angie stifled a gasp from the cot she sat on. Alicia ran to him with Gabrielle hot on her heels. She lifted the child carefully from his arms and turned around. She gave a look at Gabrielle clearly indicating she wanted her to look after Harry. Hermione stepped forward, but Gabrielle stopped her with a hand. She cast several diagnostic charms on him, frowning at the results. "Are you in a lot of pain, Harry?" she asked. Hermione realized he was holding himself stiffly. His pants leg was torn and his leg soaked with blood. "She was hiding in the bus. The wind slammed the back door into my back," he said tiredly, then he tried to stifle a groan. He swayed and both Gabrielle and Hermione jumped to help him. "Let's get him to a bed. I can't find any internal injuries, but he's hurt his back," Gabrielle said to Hermione. Hermione nodded and led him to the nearest empty bed. She helped him sit, then took a seat on the cot opposite his, watching him worriedly. He tried to smile at her, but she could tell it was forced. "Harry can you take off your shirt?" asked Gabrielle. He started to lift his arms, only to groan and let them fall limply in his lap. "I can't lift them high enough," he gasped. "That's alright," Gabrielle said, patting him gently on his shoulder. "Let Hermione help you remove the shirt, then I want you lying on the bed, on your stomach. I'll be right back with some potions and something for your back." Hermione stood and walked to him. She reached over his shoulders and pulled up the back of his shirt. He leaned his

head against her chest and groaned again. She gasped at the size of the bruise forming. It extended from the top of his shoulders to nearly his hip and covered most of his back. She pulled the shirt up and over his head and let it fall between them. He swayed and she steadied him against her. "I'm sorry," she whispered in anguish. He was in a lot of pain. "Not your fault," he gasped. "Can you stand?" He nodded and stood while she steadied him. She fumbled with his belt, and pushed down his pants. "Not here, love. Fred and George wouldn't care, but Gabrielle might," he said with a slight grin. She paused and suppressed a giggle. She helped him sit again and stepped back when Alicia joined them. "How's Felicity?" Hermione asked. "She's suffering from hypothermia. She's got a few cuts and is pretty frightened at the moment, but she's going to be just fine. Gabrielle said Harry got hit with the bus door?" Harry nodded miserably. He was really starting to feel the pummeling he'd taken. Every motion sent waves of pain coursing through his body. Alicia cast a few spells, then she cast a numbing charm on his back. "That will last until we can get something more potent into you. Stay seated until Gabrielle comes back with the potions and a salve. Hermione, you can help by applying the salve to his bruise. I'm going to need Gabrielle's help bringing Felicity's temperature up to normal." Hermione nodded, more than willing to help. Gabrielle approached with several potions and a small tub of salve. Hermione took the potions, which were single dose, and helped him drink them. Even with the numbing charm he still couldn't lift his arms high enough to do the job himself. With that done, they helped him lay down on the cot. Gabrielle handed Hermione the pot of salve. "Cover his entire back with this and massage it in. He's going to be stiff and sore for a couple days, but this will reduce the bruising and prevent his muscles from knotting." Over an hour later, Alicia leaned back and gave a sigh of relief. Between the potions and their efforts, they had managed to bring Felicity's temperature up to normal. She watched the little girl sleeping deeply on the cot for a moment. She was literally buried under a pile of blankets. The small cot glowed a dull red with a heating charm. On the other side of the cot, Angie sat in silence. She had watched the entire time, waiting to hear the verdict. Alicia's actions of this evening only reaffirmed her opinion of the young woman. She was truly a gifted individual. "Will she be alright now?" Angie asked hopefully, looking up at Alicia. Alicia nodded, and absently pushed a errant strand of hair behind her ear. "She's going to recover just fine. In the meantime, you might want to speak to Madam Maxime about when she can start her training." "You mean?" Angie gasped. Alicia grinned. "Oh, yes. Our little Felicity couldn't do your magic because she has it within her to do her own. She's a little witch and she needs to learn from another witch." Angie looked down at Felicity and reached out to gently stroke her hair. "Dear child. No wonder you've been having such trouble of late. Well, the plans of the Goddess are a mystery. No doubt she has something special in mind for you." Alicia stood and held out a potion bottle, which she offered to Angie. "I don't need..."

"Yes, you do," Alicia said firmly. "You've been up all night. We're going to keep Felicity here for a couple of days and you need your rest. She won't wake for at least eight hours. This dose will make you sleep for about six hours. Take the cot next to her and drink this. You need to be refreshed so you can help her when she wakes." Angie blinked and smiled knowingly. Taking the potion, she drank it down quickly, then curled up on the cot, facing Felicity. She'd known country doctors with commanding personalities like Alicia. There was no use in arguing with them. Pleased, Alicia looked around. Fred and George were still sleeping. Angelina had joined them, bedding down in a free cot. Gabrielle was cleaning up, still hoping to return to her books at the desk. Hermione was still working on Harry's back. Wearily, she walked over to the pair. "How's my other patient?" she asked, approaching them. "I'm fine," mumbled Harry into the pillow. "I have the prettiest and sexiest woman on the island rubbing my back. Why wouldn't I be fine? If I could move better, I'd drag her into this bed and have my way with her." His eyes were glassy and his speech slightly slurred. Alicia chuckled, noting that Hermione's expression flickered between amusement and pleased surprise. Harry was not normally this expressive in public. He kept his public displays to hand holding and quick kisses. "And now you know why we rarely mix this particular salve and pain relief potions. The two interact. In fact, it was the effect of that interaction that led directly to the invention of Veritaserum," Alicia said with another chuckle. Hermione stared up at Alicia and she stopped rubbing Harry's back. "He's under a truth serum?" Alicia grinned. She could hear the wheels turning in Hermione's head. "No, not really a truth serum. Let's just say his ability to lie has been reduced and his inhibitions lowered." Hermione looked down at Harry who was nearly asleep on the bed. "Really," she said breathlessly. Now this has possibilities, she thought. Alicia shook her head and walked away with a wave. She wanted to check on everyone one more time before she found a cot for herself. Behind her, she could hear Hermione whispering to Harry. "In our first year, before the troll, did you really..."

Norman's Cay, The Bahamas (Late December 2006)...

Hermione stepped out onto the deck and breathed deeply. It was a mild day and only three days before Christmas. They had visited the Coven compound yesterday for the Yule celebration. She had been surprised how many old traditions Angie and her Coven had taken and mixed with modern American customs. Somehow, it just didn't feel like Christmas to her. Not when there were palm trees gently swaying and the daily temperatures hovered around sixty degrees. She turned slightly, seeing Amos walk up the beach towards her. He waved and she returned it. She had felt him crossing the first warning ward and was glad she had dressed properly for guests. He stopped at the edge of the deck and looked up. "Good mornin'. Is Harreee up yet?" She shook her head. "Not yet, Amos. We stayed late at Angie's last night for their Yule. I figured I'd let him sleep in." Amos shook his head. "Dat hoodoo woman. She a pain, if ya ax me." Hermione smiled. "What is it with you two? You call her a hoodoo woman and she calls you a pirate?" Amos shrugged. "I know its not right, but she one weird lady doing magic witout a wand. An she don' like my Mary," he grumbled. "Would you like to come up and have breakfast? We missed you the last few days."

He peered up at her. "I wouldn' mind a cuppa hot coffee." Hermione nodded and gestured for him to climb the stairs to the deck. He joined her a moment later in their spacious kitchen. Now that she had converted one of the bedrooms into a study for them and moved the books into the new library building, the house had much more space available. Harry's notebooks were now neatly filed and stored on shelves in their study. She had, in the past two years, turned Harry's bachelor house into a real home, one that both were comfortable in. She poured him a cup of coffee from a pot that Dobby kept constantly ready for Harry and Amos. Amos took the offered cup and sat at the table. "I heard some news yesterday. I was ova at Eleuthera island lookin' for some bish bulbs for Miss Angelina. I heard that them Argentinians and them South Africans have fallen. That leaves only China." "I suppose it was to be expected," Harry said from the bedroom door. He stood there, wearing only a pair of jeans. He moved stiffly still from his injury. Alicia said there had been some muscle damage which would take a while to fully heal. She also told him that he would always have a possibility of back problems now. "What will China do?" asked Hermione worriedly. "Who can say with them?" Harry replied. "They have the only independent Ministry left in the world and they were threatening to ask help from the muggles if anyone tried to take over. After the ICW assault destroyed Shangri-La, the Chinese backed off and refused to cooperate any more. It's as close to a war as it can possibly be and still not be a declared war. I understand the ICW lost large numbers of aurors in the battle for Shangri-La and even the muggles noticed something was up." He paused and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Besides, the longer the ICW is occupied with China, the longer they will take before they start hunting down the refugees," he said, then he turned to Amos. "How many people are on the island now?" "'Bout fifteen hunnert," Amos replied. "Harry," Hermione said, frowning. "Are your shoulders hurting again? It's too chilly for you to go without a shirt." "It's just the one shoulder, love," he replied sheepishly. She stood and walked into the bedroom. A minute later she reappeared carrying a shirt, which she tossed to him. When he caught it, she drew her wand and muttered a incantation under her breath. A blue beam bathed his back and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Bloody annoying to get injured in the winter. If it were summer, I'd be able to swim this shoulder back to normal," Harry grumped. "Yes, yes. Now put your shirt on. I don't want you getting sick on top of being injured," Hermione snapped. He grinned and put his shirt on. Amos watched the two interact with a smile. "I tol' ya, Harreee. A good woman would fix ya up." Harry chuckled and raised his cup in salute. "You said a good woman, Amos. I ended up with a great one." Hermione blushed and smiled to herself. "There be one otha ting, Harreee. One more bit a bad news." Harry frowned. And the fall of Argentina and South Africa wasn't bad enough? he thought sourly. "Alright, lay it on me." "Well, ya know that Minister Weasley is still in charge a Britain. He don' want to appoint no regional gov'na. Las' week,

he make a law that say it now legal ta hunt elves." "He what?" exclaimed Hermione. Amos pulled a crumpled up paper from a pocket and smoothed it out. It was a torn out page from the Glasgow Gryphon, a daily paper like the Daily Prophet. Harry picked up the paper and started to read. "In a surprising move, ICW Minister Weasley has designated that it is now legal to hunt unbonded elves in Scotland and Wales. The move came about due to the increase in the feral elf population..." He paused and looked up, his hands tightly clenching the paper. He was glowing and his magic beat at her senses oppressively. This was Harry, close to losing control of his temper. "Harry," Hermione said in alarm. She quickly stood and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She knew this was one of those situations he had feared, when something would happen that could push him into attacking the wizarding world. "Breathe, Harry," she whispered to him. She started to relax when she felt him leaning into her. "Saved me again," he murmured. "It's my job to keep you from doing something stupid. Sometimes I even succeed," she replied airily. Amos gawked and started to choke on his coffee. Hermione released Harry and moved to pound on their guest's back. After a few minutes he got his coughing under control. "You is almost as dangerous as tha' weird hoodoo woman," he told Hermione. She grinned at the old man and turned back to Harry. "Well? What are we going to do?" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. Like it or not, he was slowly being sucked into the Rescue Committee. "Killing the pure-bloods is out, right?" he asked grumpily. Then he sat up a bit straighter and his eyes lit up. "Maybe we could raze Hogsmeade and burn Hogwarts to the ground! Or, how about turning the high council of the ICW into elves and dropping them in the middle of an elf hunt? Or... Wait! I know! I could put Percy under and Imperius curse and make him announce to the world that he's a transvestite and that Dumbledore's his secret lover." She glared at him. "Right, no total annihilation," he muttered, his shoulders slumping somewhat. He looked down at his cup of coffee, sat back and let out an explosive sigh. "I just don't know, Hermione. Most of the house elves are found in Britain and Europe, but there is no way we can save them all. As it stands, we have to expand the island again. I don't know what else we can do. I've already got my Miami lawyers looking into buying Saddleback and Pyfroms Cays." Hermione frowned for a moment before sitting back down in her chair. It wasn't news she wanted to hear. "Can't we save some of them?" "Of course. We just can't save them all," Harry replied, then he angrily ran a hand through his hair. "Dobby!" he snapped. Dobby appeared with a pop. He took one look at Harry and quailed with fear. Harry sighed and took a couple cleansing breaths. "I'm not mad at you, Dobby. Please, never be afraid of me." The elf nodded uncertainly and looked at Amos and Hermione for reassurance. "Harry's right, Dobby. He's not mad at you. He's angry about what is happening to the elves back in Britain."

Dobby's ears drooped unhappily and he nodded. "Is not good time for elves," he said sadly. "It happen before, it will happen again." "Dobby, we cannot save all of the elves, we don't have the room. But if you know some elves needing a place to stay, we could offer some of them sanctuary," Harry offered. Dobby looked up at Harry gratefully. "Some elves will come here. Others will go to elf secret place, and some will not be so lucky." "Elf secret place?" asked Hermione. Dobby nodded. "Is where we go when we pop places." Harry blinked and started to chuckle. "An alternate dimension, I bet, similar to what we're trying to do with the Avalon equations." Hermione nodded in agreement and Harry stood up. "Alright, so we'll be taking in some elves. In the meantime, I still feel in the mood to destroy the Ministry," he grumbled sourly, then his expression brightened. "What do you have in mind, Mister? I know that look!" Hermione said warily. Harry grinned and expanded the hoop he normally used to send mail back to the Ministry. Then he conjured a large pail full of pebbles. "I know it's early and we just ate, but is anyone up for a game of wake up the Minister?" he asked, scooping up a handful of pebbles and dribbling them into the hoop. Each pebble vanished with a small staccato pop. Amos grinned and helped himself to some pebbles. Hermione giggled and pulled out a small handful. She placed them on the counter and charmed them with a spell. She wanted to make a point by having her pebbles act like dung bombs on the other end. Even Dobby shyly threw some pebbles into the hoop. The Minister was in for a noisy morning. More than an hour later Amos left them with a broad grin. He had dragged Harry a little further into the Committee, and had enjoyed the chance to torment the Ministry. Shortly after he left, Harry banished the pail of pebbles and turned to Dobby. "Would you bring the items I asked you to buy?" he asked. Dobby grinned wildly and vanished with a pop. Hermione turned to look at her husband. "What are you planning now?" she asked cautiously. "Why does everyone seem to think I always have something up my sleeve?" he asked, his face lifted up towards the sky. He turned to look at her and pointed to his short sleeve shirt. "Look! No sleeves!" "Because you usually do," she replied dryly, hands on her hips. He sighed and shook his head, then he went over to where she was sitting and took her hand. "It's sad when your own wife doesn't trust you," he moaned theatrically, then he turned serious. "I know that the last few Christmases just haven't felt right to you. So I thought I'd try to fix that." "Oh?" She eyed him, wondering what he was up to this time. "Dobby?" Harry called. The little elf reappeared with a pop. Behind him floated a large cardboard box. "I'm sorry, Harry Potter Sir, I am late. I had to deliver to the littlest Grangy witch also."

Harry smiled. He knew Dobby liked Victoria very much. "That's alright, Dobby. Just put the box by the corner. If you want, you can go help Victoria. I think Hermione and I can manage this time." Dobby looked up at him, his expression hopeful. "Harry Potter Sir won't mind me helping littlest witch?" Harry shook his head. Dobby grinned and moved the box over to the corner. Harry walked over and moved the lamp and table from the corner, shrinking them down and placing them onto the mantle of the fire place. "Harry! We need those!" He grinned at her and opened the large box. "It's only temporary, love. This year we're going to do something different for Christmas. I had Dobby pop over to Miami and pick up some things for us." He reached into the box and levitated out a large Douglas fir tree. She gasped, then smiled joyfully. With a flick of her wand, the radio was on and tuned to a Miami station playing Christmas music. Then she moved to examine the box Dobby brought. Inside, there were several stacks of boxed Christmas ornaments. "I thought maybe you'd like a more traditional Christmas this year. I had Dobby pick up three packages like this; one for us, one for your parents and another for Angie and her children," he told her. "Olympe has done something similar for her children, otherwise I would have taken care of it for them." She smiled. He was always thinking of ways to improve the lives of all the children on the island. He stepped back from the large tree and the scent of pine filled the room. "Every Christmas the Dursleys would make a big show of putting up a plastic tree. It looked so inviting and real, and so far away." He turned to look at her, his expression pensive and a little haunted. "You know, I have no idea how to decorate a tree," he admitted ruefully. She paused in her examination of the ornaments. "They never let you participate, did they?" she asked sadly. It bothered her that he had experienced so little of normal childhood. He shook his head. "No. My first real Christmas was at Hogwarts in our first year. No one had ever given me a Christmas present before then. Hagrid was the first person to give me a birthday present when he took me to Diagon Alley," he said, then he sighed heavily. "It almost seems like it was in another lifetime, you know?" She nodded in agreement. It did seem like it was so very long ago when they were innocent and carefree. He looked at the tree again. "So, what goes on first?" "Lights," she said decisively. She turned and started to rummage around in the box. Finally, she pulled out another large box. "Harry? Christmas Fairies?" He turned to look at her, his brow knitted in confusion. "Maybe they're some sort of enchanted Fairy light spell?" Dobby had purchased magical ornaments and lights, something that neither Harry or Hermione had any experience with. She looked thoughtful for a moment, nibbling on her lower lip, then she opened the box and gasped. A large glowing cloud of lights emerged from the box and hovered in the air for a moment. Harry stepped closer and was surprised to see it was made of tiny live fairies! The swarm spotted the tree and immediately dove for it, spreading out as they approached it. In less than a minute the fairies were uniformly spread out in the tree, twinkling softly. "It says on the box that they like you to speak to them, and they prefer you leave out a bowl of milk and a plate of cookies. After Christmas they will return to their native habitat, no matter how far away it is, and will return every year at Christmas if they liked how they were treated during their stay." Harry blinked, then nodded at the tiny creatures. "Welcome to our home. This is Hermione and I'm Harry. I hope you'll enjoy your time with us," he said, bowing to the glowing group of fairies. The fairies giggled and the tree vibrated

slightly from their mirth. Hermione put the box down and conjured a large plate of cookies and a glass of milk on the coffee table. Then she cast a keep-fresh charm on both items. "I always thought the cookies and milk were for Santa," she murmured. Harry stopped unpacking the boxes of ornaments. "You don't suppose?" Hermione looked at him. "I suppose a time turner would make it possible. And if they can enchant a Ford Anglia to fly, why not a bunch of reindeer?" The two stared at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter at the absurdity of the idea. She handed him a box of ornaments and together they started decorating their tree. They were nearly complete in their decorations when they heard the singing and Hermione grinned. Angie had told her what they were planning on doing yesterday, but she had kept it to herself. She grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him out onto the deck. On the beach were the ten children Angie looked after, plus nearly a dozen more from Madam Maxime's school, singing carols. They were using a portkey, created by the twins, that allowed them to select the destination, then they'd walk from the beach to the house where they'd sing their songs. The children broke into song, singing 'God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen'. Harry bowed his head and Hermione sucked in her breath. She turned to Harry. She felt a brief wave of sadness wash over her. It was a byproduct of their rings which Harry had enchanted. Very strong emotions could be passed to each other. Harry thought it would be helpful to them if they could feel the emotion when something affected them. She searched his face carefully. His expression did not match his emotions, however. He had a smile for the children, thought it didn't reach his eyes. She slid her hand in his as she realized what he must be thinking about; Sirius Black singing 'God Rest ye Merry Hippogriffs' so many years ago. "Harry?" she whispered worriedly. He sighed, but kept the smile on his face. He gestured above the children and a small cloud formed, gently dropping snow on them. They all giggled and continued into 'Frosty the Snowman' while they walked away, followed by their snow storm. Angie grinned and waved at Harry and Hermione before ushering the children up the beach in the direction of Hermione's parent's house. They watched the children, singing as they walked away, then Harry turned to Hermione. "I'm alright. It's just sometimes things sneak up on me. I haven't thought about Sirius in years." She smiled at him. "I know. Every so often something reminds me of Ron and the hurt comes back for a moment. I think I got very lucky. The enchantment you placed on our rings makes it easy for us to know when the other is hurting." "It also makes it harder for us to fight. But on the downside, it makes it harder to plan surprises," he added with a wistful grin. She wrapped her arms around him for a moment, then she pulled back. "Oh? You're not very observant then, Mr. Potter." He blinked and turned his full attention to her. "Eh? What did I miss now?" She pulled at the neckline of her shirt enough to show a sprig of mistletoe wedged in her bra. His eyes lit up and he pulled her into a passionate embrace. She grinned to herself. It had worked out the way she hoped it would, and it would be hours before they got back to finish decorating their tree.

Cannon Beach, Oregon (On the Pacific coast)...

Cannon Beach was a sleepy little coastal town that, like so many others, had seen better days. With a population of only 1500 people, the town had skimped by for many years on trade brought in by nearby US-101, the Pacific Coast Highway, but things were changing for the better. Hi-tech companies, looking for a more relaxing environment, were moving away from the cities in force and Cannon Beach found itself at the source of a revolution in miniaturization. NanTech was a new startup founded by Dr. Richard Atkins, PhD., and newly wed to a most extraordinary woman. It was still a small company, mostly funded by research grants from larger companies and a new NASA contract to develop micro-machines capable of repairing deep space probes. It was this contract that funded the huge growth in the company over the past few years. Frugal spending and the award of several other minor contracts had placed NanTech as one of the leaders in the new science of Nano-Technology. Richard Atkins had met Luna Lovegood at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002. She had been an exchange student from Cambridge University. She was working in an accelerated program for her Masters degree when the newly frocked PhD. crossed her path. He was immediately smitten with the quirky young blond who had an uncanny ability to see through a problem to a solution. That she was at least as smart as he, was a bonus in the equation. Richard tapped in the command to shut down the system, then he waited patiently until the chugging of the vacuum pumps silenced. Satisfied, he shut down his workstation after making sure all the data was safely tucked away on the network server. He was about to stand when he felt a pair of hands kneading his shoulders. His head drooped forward and he sighed softly. "That feels wonderful. No, what would you say? Bloody wonderful?" he asked. Luna laughed softly and continued her ministrations. "Are you making fun of my accent again?" she asked. He shook his head. "You know I love your accent," he replied, then he swiveled his chair so he was facing her. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's dead sexy, and I love it and you," he whispered huskily. It amazed him, the effect she had on him. Until he had met Luna he had dated only halfheartedly. She had changed all that. Luna wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in until his face was nestled between her breasts. Richard held her tightly. He never thought he'd find something more interesting than his work, until he met Luna. Add to that the fact that she was invaluable to his work and was his primary research partner made him feel especially lucky. He had fallen in love with a woman who could not only understand his great work, but could also help him with it. Not only could she help in his work and often did, but she was quickly making a name for herself in the use of nanites in the biosciences. Luna caressed his hair and kissed the top of his head. He didn't see the single tear that slid down her cheek. Their time together would be pitifully short and she knew it. Time was running out for them. She wiped the tear away and smiled brightly down at him. He looked up at her, and it took all her control to prevent more tears. "I got some new lingerie today. And the results from that lithographic X-ray scan. Which would you rather see first?" she asked impishly. He grinned and nuzzled her breast through her blouse. "Lingerie first, scan later," he murmured. Luna's eyes brightened and she started to undo the buttons on her blouse. She paused once to cast a quick set of locking and silencing charms. He watched her do magic with interest, then his eyes went back to devouring her form as she revealed it. It amazed her that she, plain old Luna Lovegood, could force this highly civilized man to throw away his control. His hunger and desire for her was something she could feel in his every action. Richard took over undoing the buttons and pulled her into his lap. She smiled and placed her wand on top of the keyboard. Richard glanced down at it and then dismissed it. Once he hadn't been so cavalier about her magic, but now it was old news to him.

Luna's gift told her quite early that she and Richard would have only a limited time together. She also saw that without her, his end would come even sooner. He was close to that perfect match she yearned for and lost. She knew she could easily love Richard, their souls were that compatible. But they weren't soul mates; they were extraordinarily close but not mates. They had been dating only two short months when she met him at Tanya's Tech Bistro just outside of M.I.T. And he proposed to her. It was a typical geek hangout; good food, a reasonable library of trade magazines and every table had it's own dedicated T3 connection to the Internet. It was a place where geeks could let down their hair and pretend to be normal people, if a little quirky. He slid a small jewelry box across the table. "L-L-Luna, I know we've only been going out a very short time, but I feel that you are a part of me. I don't want to spend another minute of my life without you," he stammered. Luna looked at the ring incredulously. She had known they would get together, she had foreseen it. But nothing of her gift had prepared her for this moment. "Sweet Merlin," she murmured. She looked at him and saw the love and hope in his eyes and knew what she had to do. "Richard," she said, avoiding picking up the ring. "I want to say yes, but before I do, I owe you an explanation. If you will allow me to explain something first, then I'll gladly be your wife." Richard swallowed nervously. "Oh... ah... ok... What is it?" Luna smiled and pulled a five dollar bill out of her pocketbook and threw it on the table. Then she stood and grabbed his hand. "Not here, my place." Confused and more than a little terrified, Richard allowed himself to be led the three blocks to Luna's apartment. It was a first for him. He had picked her up there on several occasions, but had never been inside before. The first thing that stuck him as odd is the large number of seemingly ancient books lining one wall, and on the counter top - was that a cauldron? A gray barn owl sat perched on a lamp. He looked at the owl and it stared back at him. She pushed him onto a comfortable couch and moved to stand in front of him. She pulled the stick she normally used to hold up her hair and laid it down on the coffee table. "Richard, you live in a world of order. A place where numbers and quantum states control existence and everything can be described in mathematical rules." He smiled at her. "Well, so do you, sweetie. In fact, your paper on Nanite Submersibles in a biologically wet system was remarkable." She smiled at him. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I don't just live in your world. In fact, for the last few years, I've been living in more than one world. Do you have a coin?" He grinned at her. He was thoroughly used to her abrupt changes in topic. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter, holding it in the palm of his hand. He knew that whatever brought about the abrupt change of topic would be clear soon. She nodded and picked up the stick. With a wave of her stick, the coin lifted up until it was eye height, then it morphed into an eye and blinked at him. He leaped backwards with an inarticulate yell, tripped over the back of the couch and fell to the floor. "Jesus!" he cried, then he moaned. He had hit the floor hard enough to hurt his shoulder. Luna was instantly by his side. She waved her wand at his shoulder and it instantly went numb under a strange pale blue light. He blinked at her. "How did you do that?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Richard. It's magic. I live in your world and in a world of magic." He frowned. It sounded like something from his Dungeon and Dragons days. "So you're saying you're some kind of Sorceress or something?" She smiled brightly at him. He understood! "No, I'm not nearly that powerful. I'm not quite at a mage level, which is below a Sorceress, but a lot higher than an ordinary witch. Technically though, I'm just a witch, since no one really pays much attention to the power structures anymore. My friend, Harry, is very powerful. Someday he'll put Merlin to shame." He blinked at her and rubbed his temples. "I must have hit my head. Maybe I'm delirious. Yeah, I must have a concussion. Can you call for an ambulance? I don't think I should walk to the hospital with a concussion." She scowled and poked him in the chest. "I'm being serious. Remember the duck!" He stared at her in shock. She couldn't be serious, could she? He thought quickly. She had given him a plaque that read "If it looks like a Duck, sounds like a Duck and acts like a Duck, no subatomic particle will change the fact that it's a Duck!" The message was simple, some times the answer was plainly under your nose. "Luna, what are you trying to say?" he asked plaintively. Proposing to a girl wasn't supposed to be this difficult, or this bizarre. "I'm a witch, Richard. I am also studying to be a Nano-architect and biologist. I can do magic, cook a flawless omelet, fly a broom, and I want to be your wife. But that means you need to know me and accept me, all of me, including the fact that I can do things that science can't explain." She stood and looked down at him. He laid on the floor, propped up on his elbows staring at her. "You'll explain this better when my head isn't pounding?" he asked uncertainly. She nodded. "Does this mean you still want to propose to me?" "Well, I thought I already did that, but I can do it again if you want." He climbed to his feet then got down on one knee. "Will you..." She took the ring from his hand and slipped onto her finger, then she pulled him to his feet and led him towards the bedroom. "W-W-Where?" he stammered. She smiled seductively. "I want to make love to my future husband for the first time," she said huskily. She unzipped her skirt and let it pool around her feet. "Let's explore the magic we can do together tonight Richard. Tomorrow we'll talk of the other type." He blushed and let her pull him into the darkened room. It was a first for both of them, and it ignited a passion which left them both breathless. Now, four years later, in a small part of Oregon, Dr. Luna Lovegood-Atkins, PhD., made love to her husband with a wild abandon. She knew the clock was ticking and time was running out.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (February 2007)...

Harry picked up his mug of coffee and walked into the study. With most of the books now occupying the library building behind the Villa, there was much more room to move around in the house. The study had several comfortable desks and couches, and in one corner Harry had installed a large drafting table, which currently held a hand drawn map of Norman's Cay. He walked over to the table and picked up his notes on enlarging the island. The charm became progressively more complex and more power intensive each time he cast it. This next enlargement, according to the theory, would expand

the island significantly; so much so that they'd have to start looking at expanding the road network. Perhaps they'd even begin sculpting the interior for special purposes, like growing crops or creating pasture lands. The problem was that enlarging was becoming incredibly complex. He had to know exactly where every structure was and everyone had to be inside their homes, which had to be warded against the enlargement. There was adequate room for now, but if the population continued to grow he would need to cast the charm, and soon. He had already concluded that he'd only be able to perform two more enlargements, and he planned on doing them one after another as soon as he could. Hermione helped as much as she could, but Harry was pushing the boundaries of his magic and invoking forces she couldn't hope to control. The surprising thing was how much geometry was involved in the whole thing and it led him to a world he barely remembered from his muggle school days; exploring mathematics and, in particular, how it applied to enlarging the island. He sat down and rolled his shoulders, still stiff from his injury. Alicia told him he was healing well, but it didn't seem like it to him. His left shoulder and arm seemed weaker and prone to being uncomfortable. He couldn't wait for the warmer months when he could start swimming again. That would tone up his shoulder just fine. Placing his mug down, he reached for a blank parchment and started to scratch out some equations. He looked around the table for a moment, but didn't find the book he needed. He frowned and sighed heavily. It was an ongoing and very minor battle between Hermione and himself. She insisted that books should be returned to their place on the shelf when not in use. He thought it should be alright to keep the book at his table until he no longer needed it. He considered charming one book so she couldn't lift it, but if he knew his wife, she'd somehow remove the charm, then enact a bit of nasty revenge. He walked over to one of the bookshelves to grab the book he needed when something caught his eye. There, on the desk Hermione used, was what looked to be a manuscript written in her neat handwriting. Frowning slightly, he picked it up and ran one finger over the flowing script of the title. 'The Second War: Voldemort's Downfall as Witnessed from the Front Lines.' Curious, his current project momentarily forgotten, he walked back to his drafting table and sat down. He opened the book and found an inscription on the inside front cover. Harry my love, When I first started to write this, a year after you left, I had no clear cut idea as to why, except that I wanted to get the facts down on paper. For the longest time, the last few chapters remained unfinished and unwritten. It was only after we were reunited that I picked up this project and finished it. Some parts received extensive editing, thanks to your unique perspective, which helped me see the truth behind the events. This is the only copy and I dedicate it to you. You are my life, and this is a part of who you are. I know you dislike talking about your early years before Hogwarts, or the war. It was a difficult time for all of us, not just you. It is a part of us and helped define who we are. Someday, our children will ask about this time, and they will be able to consult this book and know the truth of what happened. This book adheres to the one principle you have spent your life pursuing - the truth. With all my love, Hermione Harry placed the book down with a trembling hand and he took several deep breaths. Once he was calm again he opened the book to the first chapter. Originally, this book was started in an attempt to understand what I witnessed. I had the unique privilege of not only being a witness to many of the events leading up to the fall of Voldemort, but I was also a participant, as well. As the book progressed, however, my goals changed. In fact, the effort behind this book went from seeking a personal

understanding of what happened, to an examination of the motives of certain individuals. This is a tale about a child, torn from his family and cruelly manipulated to validate a prophecy. This is also a story of love, hate, betrayal, murder, abuse and the quest for power. This is a story in which many people were fooled, and those we believed to be heroes as great as Merlin turned out to be merely human, with all the faults, frailties and flaws that condition entails. This is also a story of the lies told by the leaders of our society, lies most people willingly believed, rather than face the hard, dark truth. If the reader learns anything from this, they should learn that our idols indeed have feet of clay. The tale doesn't begin on October 31, 1981 like so many believe. Instead, it started eighteen months earlier, in a seedy tavern in Hogsmeade, where an incompetent psychic gave her very first real prophecy. This prophecy started a chain of event that would rock the wizarding world and caused the downfall of one of the worst Dark Lords in a millennia... Harry read, and read. Before he knew it, he was several hundred pages into the book and his stomach was growling noisily. Still reading, he walked slowly into the kitchen and pulled down the fixings to make a sandwich. He sat at the counter, idly eating and reading until a gasp caught his attention. He placed the book to one side and looked up at Hermione. She was pale and afraid of his reaction and he felt an irrational surge of anger. Not because of her book, but because she was afraid of him. Anger, however, was quickly replaced by a hard knot of fear. He didn't know what he had ever done to make her afraid of him. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. She blinked and stared at him. "Excuse me?" "You're afraid of me. I don't know what I've done to make you fear me, but I'm sorry," he replied. "I don't want you to be afraid of me." She moved closer to him. "I wasn't afraid of you, Harry, I was afraid of your reaction to the book." "I'm surprised by it, but I don't think it's a bad thing," he said, then paused for a moment. "I suppose it makes sense, in a way. When you started the book you had no one really close to talk to. I bet writing it out helped you as much as my talking to you helped me." She nodded, pleased he was able to see why she wrote it. He hefted the book again. "You know, this really is an indictment against Dumbledore and the Fudge administration." "I know. It's a pity we can't use it to take them to court. But a book written by a wanted felon?" Her tone was bitter. He was immediately on his feet and closing the gap between them. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Felon? Only in the minds of some very narrow minded individuals. Wanted? Yes, by me," he said softly against her ear. She shivered in his arms and felt a thrill run through her. She clung to him, drawing strength from him. "What's wrong?" She stepped back out of his arms and motioned for him to sit, then she poured herself a cup of tea and sat down. "I know I've been out of sorts lately, but I can't help wondering what the purpose of it all is." When he only looked at her blankly, sandwich in hand, she frowned. "Think about it, Harry. I was slowly becoming a recognized expert in my field. And here, with your help, I've learned things that would have catapulted me to the pinnacle of my career. But no one knows about them and never will. You laid out a foundation with your work on the Grimoires that myself and the Weasley boys were able to expand upon. We've created spells the likes of which are unknown back in Britain."

He glanced at his half eaten sandwich, then he put it back on the plate. He had something to say, but he wasn't sure how well it would be received by her. She looked over at him and her frown deepened. "What? You have that look that says you want to say something, but won't because you think I won't like it." He sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes your ability to read me is a real pain," he muttered. She stifled a grin. "Alright, spill it." He stood up again and walked over to her. "Fine, but remember you asked. Deep down, you're still a little insecure muggle born witch looking for validation from your peers. In here," he said, gently caressing a spot just above her breast, "you still believe you need to have everyone's approval, when none of that really matters." When she scowled at him, he scowled back, frustrated. "Hermione, there's only one person on this planet who's opinion means anything to me, and that's you. I have friends whose opinion I respect and value, but yours is the only one that matters to me. Your opinion is the only one that has the ability to truly hurt me. "The rest of the wizarding world thinks I'm still an attention seeking psycho. Maybe it was the way I was raised, but the opinions of others don't mean much. And they shouldn't to you. "You're so smart, you're scary. You took my muddled collection of thoughts on the equations and turned them into a solid piece of work, even if you aren't finished with them. It's more than I could do. But really, other than your family, why should you worry about the opinion of people you don't know, an who could never truly know you? "Your parents love you. Victoria loves you. I love you so much I know I couldn't live without you. It's a short list, but it's the only list that counts. And what really pisses me off is the fact that you still can't see it. You're still looking for validation from nameless faces." Hermione's eyes sparked with anger. "I don't!" "Yes, I'm sorry to say, you do. Ask yourself why publishing your book would mean so much to you. We're reasonably well off. You could spend your life studying and never have to work a day, if you didn't want to, so you don't need to publish in order to survive. What other reasons do you have?" he asked bluntly. She sagged in her chair and looked away. He was right and she knew it. "You know I'm right about this," he added gently. "When did this happen to me?" she asked. He shrugged. "Like this book, it's always been a part of you. At school, you could measure your worth by your grades. Away from school, you had Ron and myself, until the battle. Then you had your work and that was about it. The problem is, we always see ourselves in the worst possible light." "And what about you, Harry? Do you see yourself in the worst possible light?" she asked. She was watching him intently now. "This isn't about me," he stated firmly. "No, it isn't. But since we're being candid about my faults, how about exposing one of yours?" The look she sent him made him sigh in exasperation. "Sometimes," he said tiredly. "Late at night I wake up because you've gotten up to study or use the loo. And for a brief moment I think everything I've gone through since I brought you to the Cay is nothing more than another drunk induced dream." Hermione shook her head. "What a pair we make, eh?" Harry smiled. "That's nothing. Between your hair and my hair, our kids will want to shave their heads."

Hermione giggled softly at the idea. He turned to the counter and eyed her book thoughtfully. "What's to stop us from publishing this?" he asked suddenly. She reached over and poked him in the shoulder. "Don't make fun of me. You know we can't publish it. No publisher in the Wizarding World would touch it." Harry turned to her and grinned. "So? We change a few minor parts, call it fiction and get a muggle publisher to print it." She rocked back on her chair and thought quickly. When she looked up at him, her eyes were dancing. "Oh, that is truly evil. The Wizarding world will freak out. And while the muggles ignore it as little more than a fun story, the truth will still leak out." Harry nodded. "It's something to think about. I'll leave the book with you. I was working on the enlargement charm when I found it and got sidetracked." He stood from his chair and banished the remainder of his lunch. As he walked past her, she reached out and grabbed hold of his belt, pulling him in. She looked up at him with warm, inviting eyes. "Work later. Fun now," she commanded. He laughed. He wasn't about to disobey that kind of order!

Cannon Beach, Oregon (March 2007)...

Luna sat on the couch with her legs drawn up under her. On her lap was a copy of the New England Journal of Medicine and a notebook. While Richard concentrated on more physical aspects of their nanites, she was exploring medical uses, in particular gene therapy and gene repair at the cellular level. She looked up from her reading when Richard entered the room. "Hello, darling. Did you have a good flight?" she asked him, smiling brightly. He grinned at her. "It wasn't bad. Chicago is still freezing cold in March. And I still prefer your way of traveling. Just pop and your gone." She grinned. "I told you why I don't do much magic out of the house." "Yeah, I know. It's just frustrating. All that ability and you have to hide most of it." "At least the runes we've set up let us use magic locally without any problems," she replied, then she turned back to her magazine for a moment. "Did you stop by the office on the way in? Frank, from NASA, called about the P3 prototype. It seems his bosses are very interested in seeing a more advanced demonstration." Richard plopped down heavily on the couch next to her and groaned theatrically. "These demonstrations are going to kill us. Every time I turn around someone wants to see what we have." She ruffled his hair fondly. "What can I say? It's tough being a popular genius. But I survive it, so I'm sure you can, too." He sat up and looked at her, grinning. "Aren't you being forward today?" She laughed in reply. He stood and walked over to his briefcase. "There's a notice of a symposium at Cambridge in May. They sent requests asking that I give a speech about the P3 repair modules and they specifically asked for you to talk about your micro DNA sequencer and splicer. I think we should go. There should be several representatives from the European Space Agency there." A cold knot of fear formed in her belly. "Oh?" "Yeah. Come on, Luna, think about it. I know you said you didn't like Britain, but I'd like to see where you grew up. Hell, I haven't even met my father in-law yet. We'd have a blast, and it would be a big boost for the company," he said

intently. She was thankful she wasn't looking directly at him. "Are you sure we can break away from work for the conference?" This was useless. It was foreordained and nothing she said could change it. But she had to try. This was the price of accepting someone that wasn't the right match for her. Her karma, and Richards. She knew he would have died in an automobile fire if they weren't together. By marrying him, she had bought him an extra two years, but at a terrible cost to herself. "Yeah, our schedule is clear that week. I checked already." "Alright, then," she said, agreeing to his request. Then she sat forward and put her work on the table. Standing she walked over to him. "Come. Let's use the hot tub tonight. I'll scrub your back." He grinned down at her and wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. Later, she would make love to him with a fervor that bordered on desperation. He didn't understand the reason for it, but wasn't about to question her. He loved her and that was all that mattered.

Ministry of Magic Building (Mid March 2007)...

"We have a problem." Kingsley Shacklebolt looked up from his desk. Standing in the doorway was Albus Dumbledore and Charlie Weasley, the new Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. "Albus? Charlie! Come in! It's been a long time," he said, motioning the two men into the room. Once the two were seated, he looked at them curiously. "Now what seems to be the problem?" he asked. Dumbledore reached into a pocket and pulled out a book, which he tossed on the Auror's desk. "I confiscated that from a student, who bought it in the United States while on holiday. This is a muggle publication, which has somehow slipped into circulation in our world. In fact, I found that Flourish and Blotts was selling copies of it." Shacklebolt picked up the book and looked at it. The Downfall of Voldemort by Hermione Jane Granger Shacklebolt frowned and paged through the book for a moment, then he shrugged and passed the book back to Dumbledore. "I'd like to help you Headmaster, but you know the new laws forbid any Ministry involvement in muggle affairs. This book is being sold as fiction, so there is no danger to our secrecy laws. At best, this gives us a possible clue as to where we might find Ms. Granger. I will assign someone to check with the publisher and see if we can find our missing muggle born." He scribbled out a note, then waved his wand. The parchment folded itself into an airplane and flew out a hole in the wall. "Surely you can do something about this, Kingsley," protested Dumbledore. "This is exposing Ministry secrets!" Shacklebolt leaned back in his chair. "You mean it's exposing your secrets, don't you Headmaster? I will remind you that you enacted that legislation that prevented the aurors from interfering with muggle affairs. I told you it was a bad idea, but you wouldn't listen. Now there is little I can do. Most of my Aurors are busy and the ICW Ministry won't touch it. I take it you punished the student?" "Of course, I punished the student. But it was too late and the damage already done. The student had already passed the book around and it's become common knowledge among the upper classes." "We could expel the student, Albus," Charlie offered.

Dumbledore held up his hand, silencing him. He didn't want to expel the student if he could avoid it. His father was a powerful figure in the ICW. "Headmaster," Shacklebolt said in a conciliatory tone. "Perhaps, after the crisis with China is past, we'll be able to revise the laws to address problems such as this. In the meantime, I can allocate someone to see if they can track down Granger using the information given in the book and from the publishing house. That's about all we can do. Most of our force has been drawn off to help deal with China. As it stands, I'm having trouble finding enough bodies to fill crucial roles. We've resorted to Auror trainees to man guard posts in Azkaban." Dumbledore sagged in his chair and nodded unhappily. When he enacted the legislation to prevent the Ministry from becoming entangled in muggle affairs, it was because of Scrimgeour's meddling with the muggles. Now that law had come back to bite him hard. It wasn't unusual for him to walk down a corridor now and have students look at him and whisper. Old posters of Harry Potter from his time at Hogwarts were once again appearing on the walls of the girls dormitories, and he had heard rumors about a copy of the book surfacing at the Daily Prophet. He shuddered to think of what they'd do with it. Dumbledore stood and Charlie followed him. "Headmaster, one thing before you leave," Shacklebolt called. "Yes?" "About this enforcement order against Minerva McGonagall?" Shacklebolt sounded unhappy. He knew Minerva. They had both been members of the Order of the Phoenix and he didn't want to carry out this directive. However, the only person who could derail it now was Dumbledore. Dumbledore sighed and shook his head. "I tried to warn her that the Ministry would take her leaving unfavorably. When they ordered her back to work, I warned her not to defy them. There is nothing more that I can do, Auror Shacklebolt." Shacklebolt nodded slowly, understanding what was going on. Dumbledore was abandoning Minerva as politically too hot to help. "Very well. We'll carry this out immediately." Dumbledore turned and walked out of the office with Charlie on his heels.

Norman's Cay (Early May, 2007)...

He looked at the old unused airplane hangar that sat next to the island infirmary and shook his head in pained amazement. Nearby, a dozen elves worked to repair and clean the building, preparing it for their use. Harry had given it to the elves and they were ecstatic to have a house of their own. They had cautiously asked Harry if they could modify it and he told them in no certain terms it was theirs to do as they pleased. He wanted them to know they weren't servants, but part of the larger Norman's Cay community. Harry turned away from the building. Some of the modifications the elves had made seemed to extend into other dimensions. Just looking at the building gave him a headache and spots danced before his eyes. He could swear there was a corridor leaving from the second floor that seemed to stretch into infinity. "Well, it is different looking," Hermione offered tentatively, then she followed Harry's example and turned away. The building was disturbing and seemed to defy all laws of physics. It actually seemed as though it was snowing inside one window, and she would swear the rear of the building was undulating. The color scheme of the building alone would cause a Parisian designer to have a nervous breakdown. Picasso, however, would have been proud. "Headache?" She nodded, then winced at the pain the movement caused. "Maybe a glamour, or some kind of illusion charm?" "It's an idea. Or a Fidelius and let the elves be the secret keeper. I still don't see how they intend to fit a hundred elves in that building. I mean, it's big, but imagine cramming a hundred people in it and asking them all to live there," he said.

"My father offered them a bigger place, but they turned him down," she replied. "And they're already looking for people to bond with." Harry shrugged. "It's in their nature to bond. They need it to survive. I bypassed the slave bond by offering Dobby a bond of family, but I can't force anyone to do the same." She placed a hand on his arm. "What?" he asked curiously. "Love, you could ask people to adopt an elf into their families. They'd listen to you." He looked at her for a moment, then walked in the direction of the infirmary. Outside the main door was a bench which he sat down on. Seeing that she'd followed, he motioned for her to sit down beside him. "I don't want to fall into that trap, Hermione," he said simply. She looked at him, confused. He leaned back and looked up. The day was seasonally warm, nearly eighty degrees, with light fluffy clouds drifting over head. She knew him well enough to know he had more to say, but that he needed to order his thoughts first. He sat silent for a few more moments, then he began to speak. "Dumbledore started off by offering advice. People saw the man who defeated Grindelwald as their savior. He didn't start off by being another Lockheart. He slowly fell into the trap that sort of fame tempts people with. "There is an intoxicating lure to knowing that everyone is looking to you to lead them. Dumbledore started off down that path and I'm sure, at one point, he had good intentions. Eventually, however, he believed what people were saying about him. By that point he thought he was capable of making life and death decisions over people, and no one told him he couldn't get away with it. Once he started to believe the hype, he was lost." Hermione turned on the bench to look at him. "And you think you'd fall into that trap?" He smiled at her. "What did Thufir Hawat say? 'Knowing there is a trap is the first step in avoiding it.'" She smiled at his reference to Dune. She had introduced him to some of the lighter tales she read and he found some of them quite enjoyable. He never did get into the historical romance novels she liked to keep on her night table, however. He liked to tease her by calling them 'bodice ripping hysterical romance'. "I don't want to put myself in the position to find out if I would be tempted. I'm perfectly happy to perform magic and advise the committee on stuff I'm doing. But I don't want to be talking to people about things I have no right to. And I certainly don't want them to start letting me do the thinking for them." She thought carefully about her next words before uttering them. "Harry... I think you're making a mistake," she said finally. He looked at her, surprised. "Huh?" This was one of the things she cherished the most about him. Ron would immediately argue with her. Harry would want an explanation from her, and most of the time she could make him see her point. Even when he stood firm on an issue, he never fought with her over it. It was always a calm conversation. She held up her hand and started to tick off fingers. "First off, you're not Albus Dumbledore. You don't have a character even close to his, so saying you'll fall into the same trap is silly. Second, people are waiting and hoping you'll get involved. Like it or not, they see you as a leader. Third, and this is really important, people need a leader. They won't follow a committee for long." "But..." "Hush," she commanded, placing her hand against his lips. "Let me finish, then you can have your say."

He frowned and nodded, watching her intently. She held up the last finger. "Finally, like it or not, you've already picked the role for yourself. Who went searching for Felicity when she went missing? Who rescued the Mercedes family from the Aurors when they got captured up in Nassau? Who rescued me, or my parents? Who created this island of safety? You, Harry, that's who. "You're not Dumbledore and you won't make his mistakes. I won't let you, nor will the committee. They're all waiting for you to step up and do what you've been doing all along. I don't know about you, but I'd feel a whole lot safer knowing you were leading, rather than some nameless committee." Harry sat motionless, his cheeks flaming. He really didn't want the job, but she was asking. And that was the one thing he couldn't ignore. He looked down at his feet. "I don't like it Hermione. I don't want it, but I'll think about it, alright?" She nodded, then hesitated, suddenly unsure of what she was doing. "Harry, I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do this. But I would feel happier knowing you were more involved. This is our home now and someday we'll raise our children here. Do you want to rely on someone else to keep them safe?" "I see what you're saying," he replied quietly. It was a thought that had occurred to him as well, and he didn't like the idea of relying on anyone to keep those he loved safe. She was about to reply when Dobby appeared in front of them, holding a newspaper. Dobby's reading skills had progressed to the point that he was capable of reading and often brought them newspapers from Diagon Alley that contained articles he thought would interest them. Dobby had to be especially careful not to get caught reading while in the Alley. That was an automatic death sentence for an elf. He wore a collar signifying he was a bonded elf. Thus far, no one had bothered to look at it closely enough to see it bore the crest of the Potter family. But even the collar wouldn't save an elf that could read. Harry laid a hand on Hermione's arm, stopping her from speaking. She turned to see that Dobby was visibly upset by something. Huge tears slid down his cheeks and his ears were nearly brushing his shoulders. "Dobby, what's wrong?" asked Harry. Dobby silently handed him the paper and his lower lip trembled. Harry read the article concerning the death of Minerva McGonagall, who refused a Ministry order to return to her old job at Hogwarts. The article detailed how she had been killed trying to escape the Aurors, who had been sent to arrest her. The more he read, the older and tireder he felt. It was an unexpected blow. If he had known she was in danger, he would have gone to get her. "Oh, no! No, no, no," moaned Hermione, reading over his shoulder. Her shoulders shook and she leaned against him, weeping softly. She had become very close to Minerva when she accepted a position to teach at Hogwarts. "No, this has to be a mistake. It can't be," she sobbed. Harry held her with one hand, then he handed the paper back to Dobby. "Please take that to the twins. Then go to Duncan and ask him to call together a meeting of the committee for tomorrow. Hermione and I will be attending. We'll be at home tonight. When you've finished, come home, Dobby. Family needs to be together at times like this." He wrapped his arms around her and shifted them both to their living room. How long they sat there, holding each other, neither could say. But eventually a voice broke their silence. "Harry! Hermione!" "In here," replied Harry. Fred and George walked in with their wives. Angelina had been crying and now she was hiccuping steadily. Alicia was

trying to calm her down. She was well along in her pregnancy and Alicia didn't want her getting in trouble now. "Lee is spreading the word to the others from Hogwarts, and especially Gryffindor. They're all coming here," George said quietly. It was an uncharacteristic mood for him. It struck Harry that the last time he had seen the twins so somber was at the combined funeral for Ron and Ginny. Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder and wiped her eyes. "Here? I'll put together some drinks and snacks then." She stood and went into the kitchen, while Fred led Angelina over to a chair and helped her sit. George conjured several boxes of tissues around the living room. Duncan, Cassandra, Victoria and Puff appeared via their permanent portkey. Dobby appeared a moment later. Puff looked around, then she went and curled up in the sun on the floor, her eyes always watching Victoria. "She's in the kitchen," Harry said to Cassandra's unasked question. Duncan walked over to Harry. "A terrible thing to lose a friend." Harry nodded. "She was special. A true teacher who cared, even if she didn't always show it. She was very special to Hermione and she's extremely upset about it." Lee Jordan appeared with his wife and their small child. He brought along several kegs of his home brewed butterbeer, as well as a keg of homemade rum. Hermione came into the living room and directed Lee to bring the kegs into the kitchen. Seeing more people walking up to the house along the beach, Dobby snapped his fingers twice and several elves appeared. He immediately set them preparing food and drinks and helping where they could. Duncan nodded to Harry, then he walked over and hugged his oldest daughter. Hermione hugged him back for a moment before breaking into tears again. Annette spotted Victoria and squealed. The two little girls ran to the door. A moment later, Puff followed them outside. Annette was a half year younger than Victoria, who was a very mature and refined five years old. The two were close friends and often played together, with Puff and Dobby keeping careful watch. "She'll be fine, Harry," said Cassandra. "She just needs this time to reach out to those she loves and to grieve." She turned and smiled at the sight of the two small girls playing outside with the dragon. "They're the lucky ones. They don't understand, and it's too early to explain it to them." Slowly people migrated to the outside deck. Hagrid and Olympe arrived, bringing with them some of the girls who had visited Hogwarts during the tournament. Then Bill and Fleur appeared. Bill quickly conjured more chairs on the deck and the beach. Amos arrived, bringing more food and a set of enchanted musical instruments. He didn't know Minerva, but he knew many of the people who she had affected, so he'd come to support his friends. Angie arrived not long after Amos and the two glared at each other. The pair seemed to have a rivalry that no one could explain. They didn't hate each other, but there were definitely interesting feelings between the pair. More and more people kept arriving, either by foot or by apparation. Some Harry recognized from his Hogwarts days, others he barely knew because they were before his time, or after. Harry looked at his assembled friends and his wife, who sat next to her mother. Then he stood. "Can I have your attention please?" he called out. The noise slowly died down, until the only sound came from Annette and Victoria, playing under the watchful eye of a house elf. "When I heard the news I returned home, thinking I'd grieve with Hermione and Dobby. Grieve with my family. The twins showed up and without saying so, reminded me that we're all family of a sort. Gryffindors, people who knew

Minerva, or just our friends here to help us ease the pain of loss." Harry paused and took a deep shuddering breath. Hermione stood and walked over to him, her eyes glistening with tears. She slipped her hand into his and his breath hitched a few times. "This is hard," he said in a hurt tone, then he smiled wanly at her. She returned his smile, but his expression bothered her. She could read him better now, she could see the iron control clamping down on his emotions, bottling them up behind steel walls. She could see the pain and anguish in his eyes, but he'd not show the world how he felt. She again cursed the Dursleys and wished she could have prevented the damage they'd done. It was all there in his eyes. It was there after Voldemort, but she hadn't known what to look for then. She'd cry and be sad for several days and slowly move on, remembering the good times. He'd torture himself with nightmares and question his actions. He'd work himself until he dropped from exhaustion, because that was what he did. He didn't grieve well at all, and probably wouldn't until she coaxed it out of him. "Yes, it is, but that's why our family is here," she replied, then she turned to the others. "I remember Minerva as both a teacher and a friend. She was a source of strength and inspiration. Minerva McGonagall touched our lives and in doing so, helped most of us become who we are today. "I can't claim to know anything about the next great adventure, but I know from personal experience that Minerva isn't dead. No, she's probably watching us right now and hoping we don't get too weepy over her passing. I remember Minerva and I will not forget the impact she had on my life," Hermione said, then she choked and sobbed. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and she turned into him, crying softly. Fred and George stepped up to stand next to Harry and Hermione. Fred grinned and threw an arm over Harry's shoulders. "Let us tell you a story about Professor McGonagall, something that showed she was more than just a stern teacher." He spoke to the assembled people and they hung on his words as if they were an emotional lifeline. George stood next to him, his own eyes glistening with tears. "You see, we were coming back from the Quidditch pitch after charming the Slytherin uniforms to turn ice cold anytime they had the quaffle," added George with a grin. "You did that?" exclaimed Harry. "I remember them complaining about that when they played against the Puffs." Puff stuck her head up and wondered if someone had called her. When the twins grinned at him, he chuckled and led Hermione over to a lounger. He sat down, then pulled her down into his lap. He needed to hold her today and she wanted to be held. He rested his cheek against the top of her head and watched Fred and George standing where everyone could see them. "Anyway, it had snowed and a group of first years had made a line of nearly ten snowmen," Fred said. "Yes, quite good snowmen for a bunch of firsties, but they weren't much to look at," George said, continuing the tale. "So there we are, sneaking back from the Slytherin changing room, when we stumbled onto Professor McGonagall, who was giggling like a little girl and carving smiley faces on each snowman." "Except for one, which she made look like Snape," George added. The crowd laughed, hearing that. "She made George and I promise we'd never tell a soul when she saw us, but I don't think she'd mind us telling it now," added Fred. Then he lifted his bottle. "To the best Head of House Gryffindor ever had!" Everyone raised their glass or bottle and drank. Over the course of the next several hours, one by one people who knew Minerva stepped up and told a small story about her. There were more than a few laughs and plenty of tears. Like Hermione had said, in the end, it boiled down to

family. They were all interconnected in ways that were hard to define, but family seemed to describe it best. When the final story was told and an uneasy silence fell on the adults, the twins hopped up and went down to the beach to set up a large BBQ pit. Duncan pushed them aside and started cooking. The twins and fire were a dangerous mix. They hadn't quite managed it yet, but Duncan was sure that, sooner or later, they'd set fire to the sand. A little ways up the beach, Bill conjured a pile of logs and built a box bonfire for later. Amos set up his instruments and waved his wand to get them playing. Harry sat with Hermione on the lounger, his arms wrapped around her. They weren't in the mood for much socializing, but no one really was tonight. Everyone seemed to have someone they could seek comfort from. Couples and small groups paired up and talked in soft tones. It wasn't a party as much as it was a sharing of emotions and experiences. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her. She tilted her head to look up at him. "What for?" "This," he replied gesturing to the large crowd. She smiled sweetly at him. "Don't be. We need this. We all did, I think. It isn't so much a party as it is a way of reaching out to others and reconnecting after being hurt." He nodded uncertainly. The fact that there was a heavily charged emotional atmosphere made him uneasy. She sensed it and snuggled closer, distracting him with her presence. He smiled and tightened his grip around her. Tomorrow he would inform the rescue committee that he would be taking a more active role. He owed that to their future, and to Minerva.

Rescue Committee Meeting, Norman's Cay (the next day)...

Cassandra smiled when Harry and Hermione appeared at the door on her deck. She walked over and opened the sliding glass door. "Come in. It's a bit nippy outside today." "Uncle Harry!" shouted a little voice, then a brown streak crashed into him, hugging his leg. "I think she wants you more than I do," Hermione murmured with a smile. Victoria loved when Harry visited. He was one of her favorite people, and not just because he could loan her his magic to play with. Harry grinned at her, then he knelt down and hugged Victoria. "Hello, Vicky. How are you today?" Her eyes darted up to her mother, then back to Harry. "Mum says I'm on probation," she said softly, not wanting to anger her mother. Harry's eyebrows rose. "Oh? What did you do this time?" "Victoria, we discussed that already," Cassandra said sternly. "Remember?" Victoria nodded unhappily. "I have to go back to my room until Mum says I can come out." Harry nodded and conjured a little flower, which he gave her. She smiled and ran back into her bedroom with Puff on her heels. Harry straightened up and looked at Cassandra. "What did she do?" She sighed and shook her head. "Somehow last night she got her hands on Lee's wand. Between her and Annette, they managed to straighten Lee's hair." Harry tried to stifle a laugh and failed. Hermione frowned at him. "I hope you won't act this way with our kids," she said huffily.

"Hermione," chided Cassandra. "If you can't see it, I don't know if I should point it out or not." Hermione looked at her mother in confusion. "What?" "Vicky has Harry wrapped around her finger. Any child of yours is going to be even worse." Harry frowned. "I am right here, you know. And I'm not that bad, am I?" Hermione patted him on the arm. "Yes, dear, we know you're here. Why don't you head into the committee meeting? I'll only be a few more minutes." Harry looked at the two, then nodded slowly. Clearly Hermione wanted to talk to her mother. "Alright. I'll save you a seat," he replied. Harry walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Hermione sighed and sat on a chair. Cassandra watched her daughter worriedly and sat opposite her. "So how are you holding up?" "I'm fine. It's Harry I worry about. Last night was difficult, but every time I woke up and needed to cry he was there for me. I don't think he slept at all. He spent most of the night buried in his notes and working on some of the Grimoires." Cassandra frowned. "How is he taking Minerva's death?" Hermione shook her head. "Not well. I know now he doesn't handle grief well. In a few days, he'll exhaust himself enough for it to break through. It just worries me." "We each grieve in our own way. At least he's learned that you'll be there to help him." She nodded, still not happy with the situation. "I guess so," she said dubiously. "I'd better join him in the committee. Are you coming?" "You go ahead, dear. I need to make sure your sister doesn't climb out the window like she did the last time she was on probation." Hermione laughed and shook her head. Victoria loved her books just as her older sister had at that age. Unlike Hermione, however, she enjoyed reenacting the stories she read, something Hermione would never have dreamed of doing. Although, if she'd had a dragon familiar at that age, she might have been more adventurous too. In the kitchen, she found Harry sitting at the table with Amos, Olympe, Bill Weasley and her father. Olympe's chair had been magically enlarged. Duncan looked up and smiled in greeting when she entered. "Hermione, we've been waiting for you. Harry was telling us that he's decided to join the committee. I was just getting ready to explain to him that he, and you, were already on the committee, we just hadn't gotten around to telling you yet," Duncan said with a grin. Hermione took a seat next to Harry and an elf appeared. The small creature smiled, handed her a cup of tea, then vanished again. The elves were helping every where on the island, working in kitchens, cleaning, acting as baby sitters. Some were bonding with families and others seemed to want to be available for groups of families. Duncan stood and nodded to the others who fell silent. "Harry, we've accomplished an awful lot as a committee and there is no doubt in my mind that you've noticed the number of times we've brought you in on one or more of our projects. The truth is, each of us knew that we'd need your help and participation, beyond the magical help you've given so far. Now, if you'll let me, I'd like to outline our plans, starting with this coming summer..."

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay...

It had only been a few days since the meeting with the rescue committee and Hermione watched her husband worriedly. He had performed true to her predictions, burying himself in his work and the plans for the committee. She helped

where she could, but Harry was burning himself out and she'd decided that enough was enough. She stepped into the doorway of their study where he was transcribing something from one of the Grimoires. "Harry, come to dinner," she said. "In a minute. I'm almost done," he replied without looking up. She sighed and walked into the room. She paused for a moment, then very deliberately closed the book he was working on. "What did you do that for?" he grumbled. "Because you're working yourself to death and I'm not going to sit back and watch you do it!" she snapped. Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer. "Harry, love, you've stopped me from studying all hours of the day and night. You even made me join you outside. After you saved me from Britain, you saved me again. We both know I was working myself to death on the equations and the library. Now you're doing the same thing. I'd be a really poor wife if I let you do that." He gaped at her dumbly and she smiled at his expression. "Now come to dinner. It's been ready for nearly two hours," she said, taking his hand and leading him out of the study. Dobby smiled, seeing Hermione bring Harry out to the dining table. She didn't sit across from him like she usually did. Tonight she sat next to him. "Bill orbed earlier today. He said he'd drop by those population figures you requested sometime tomorrow. I told him not to come by until the afternoon so you could have a bit of a lie in." Harry nodded. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he sat down and smelled the food. He ravenously dug in, while Hermione ate and watched him. After he had put down several helpings, he finally pushed his plate away and leaned back. He looked sheepishly at Hermione. She shook her head, a bit awed. "I haven't see anyone eat like that since the last Weasley family reunion." "I'm not that bad. Ron could really pack it away," he replied. "Very true. I often wondered if he had cast a space enlarging charm on his stomach," she replied. Inwardly, she was pleased that she could joke like this and not have it bring back the aching hurt. "I don't suppose that you'll let me go back to work now that I've ate?" She shook her head. "Nope. No more work for you tonight, Harry. You need sleep most of all at this point, so we can do this the hard way, or the easy way." "What's the easy way?" he asked curious. "After dinner you and I go to our bedroom. I'll draw a bath for both of us. Then we crawl into bed. I want to sleep in my husband's arms tonight." He leaned back on his chair. "And the hard way?" She pulled out a potion bottle and grinned maliciously at him. "I'll put you in a bind and force this nasty potion down your throat that will knock you out for oh, twelve hours or so. Then, just to be especially nasty, I'll orb Alicia and tell her what you're doing to yourself and why I needed her strongest sleeping potion." "So, it's a choice between taking a bath with my wife or a potion. Tough call," he said, scratching his chin.

"You prat!" She leaned closer and lightly smacked his arm. Nearly two hours later they climbed into bed after an extended bath that left them both tired, relaxed and very mellow. With the lights down low and the moon shining in through the sliding glass doors, she could make out his form next to her. He turned to face her on the bed and she laid her arm around him. His shoulders hitched and she pulled him closer. The grief was finally bubbling up to the surface. It was the side of Harry that no one saw but her. She held him through his silent spasms, knowing full well this was no different than crying. When he finally relaxed, she loosened her grip on him and leaned back a little so she could see his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "Why?" she exclaimed softly. "I don't think you're weak because you needed to cry on my shoulder. Harry, the two nights following the news of Minerva's death I cried on your shoulder. Even a strong man like you can't hold it in forever." "I try." "I know, and that's why I insisted you take the evening off. I rely on your strength. You need to believe you can rely on mine." He nodded and reached up to caress her cheek. She leaned into his touch and ran her hands along his bare back, knowing it would relax him further. She knew he was close to dropping off. A few minutes later, his breathing evened out and he lay cradling her in his arms. She grinned to herself and snuggled closer.

Diagon Alley, London (Early May 2007)...

"You can't possibly mean that!" she shouted. Blaise pushed the merchant that was blocking his path out of his way. "I can and do. We're through!" He stopped suddenly and rounded on her. "You were a member of the party that killed my parents. MY PARENTS!" "Blaise, they were violating the law. I was under orders." "Bullshit, you bitch! You never liked them in the first place because they knew about the muggle world and liked it. You should have refused to follow those orders. You know they weren't right! Besides, you were ordered to arrest them, not kill them. Or are you going to lie about that, too?" Su Li-Zabini winced and thought quickly. She knew this wasn't going well. She had taken two weeks to track Blaise down. He had gone to ground after his parents were killed, although the Ministry always claimed they resisted arrest, they both knew better. Now she had to make him see reason. "They resisted arrest. Don't do this, Blaise. You keep this up and I'll have to take you in for causing a public disturbance," she said, shakily pulling her wand. She didn't want to fight him. He was a former Auror and a mean fighter, skilled in more than just magical combat. He had left the Aurors because he couldn't abide by the Ministry's new laws anymore. The arrest and death of his parents was merely the final straw for him. Blaise crossed his arms and stared at her coldly. "Su, we both know your Auror skills are pitiful and no match for me." He looked around at the crowd that was forming. "I disown and divorce you, Su Li-Zabini. You are no longer a Zabini. As the head of the family, I cast you out," he said loudly. Su paled and took a step backwards. Divorce was very rare in the wizarding world. It was considered a disgrace, and to be cast from a family like this, in public, was very humiliating. "Bastard!" she screeched. "Reducto!"

Blaise, former Auror and, thanks to his deceased parents, a practitioner of martial arts, stepped inside her badly thrown curse. His foot came up in an arc and connected with her head. She dropped limply to the ground. "Stupefy!" shouted a voice to his left. Blaise rolled and whipped out his wand. In seconds he had lain down a pattern of five reductors in the direction of the new caster. The front of the new wand shop exploded outwards and the auror who had been watching his fight with Su Li was thrown to the ground, shredded by hundreds of fragments of the front window. "Diffindo!" He turned to see Su had regained her senses and was facing him down again. He backed up and cast a shield wordlessly. It was a skill that few had, but he had mastered it with the help of Harry Potter in his last year at Hogwarts. He hit Su with a bludgeoning hex, throwing her through the window of Madam Malkin's, then he tried to apparate and couldn't. He swore and started to run towards the exit. Someone had erected an anti-apparation ward! An Auror appeared in his path and he tried to dodge. The man grabbed for him. Blaise twisted and slid his arm around the man's neck. With a deft twist and a sharp crack of a broken neck, the Auror slumped to the ground, dead. Just in front of the exit, he encountered four Aurors. He tried to blast his way through, but he was hit with a bludgeoning hex and his left leg snapped. He stumbled and fell, and the aurors closed in on him. Goaded on by the crowd, they proceeding to kick and pummel him until he lost consciousness.

Hogsmeade (Mid May 2007)...

Luna made her plans, then she carefully unpacked what little she had brought with her. Most of the important stuff had been left back in Cannon Beach, with very specific instructions in a detailed letter to their lawyer. For the first time in her life she was praying that her gift was wrong. The days at the conference had gone over well and both of them were well received. Richard was ecstatic over several possible business contacts that might turn into additional work for NanTech. When the conference ended, they returned to London for two days before continuing their trip. Luna had tried to convince Richard to skip the part about visiting her father, but he stubbornly refused to let it go. Fate would not be denied. She now knew that even if she told him about what was to come, fate would still step in to see its design was met. Schroedinger's Cat didn't exist in the magical world. There was no uncertainty, especially for a gifted seeress. She shrunk their belongings to fit inside her purse, then she left the hotel room and got onto the lift to meet Richard down in the lobby and their meeting with destiny.

Norman's Cay (Mid June 2007)...

With the arrival of warm weather, Harry had placed his dive boat back into the water and brought the Lily in from it's anchorage. He then spent several days inspecting each boat, cleaning and repairing the minor damage caused by the weather and the winter. Work on the boats was a welcome break from their constant study of the Grimoires and the Rescue Committee work. Hermione sat on a chair on the dock, while Harry tinkered with the Mercury outboard engine on the dive boat. It was idling a little rough and he was trying to correct it. The problem was that he had little experience with engines and the manuals only went so far in offering trouble shooting assistance. After that, they suggested a qualified mechanic. Hermione had watched Harry struggle over the winter, reading and rereading the manual, trying to learn everything it had to offer. Finally, she ordered several books on internal combustion engines and their design, as well as several books

on trouble shooting maritime engines. It surprised her when he plowed through the books like Ron used to plow through his Quidditch magazines. When he finished them, he asked her to buy some books on Naval Architecture and sailing ships. He had in mind a project like the Lily, but something that would take him a lot longer to build. Today, Hermione's contribution to Harry's attempt to master the difficult marine engine was to act as the interpreter. She held a book on engine theory in her lap and would explain functions when he asked her what a particular part did. It was awkward, and it was cumbersome, but they were having fun, so neither cared. He held up a spark plug. "What would Arthur call this? Oh, yeah, a sparky thing. And when you tried to explain to him that it was called a spark plug, he'd look at you sadly and tell you it's not a plug, because he has hundreds of plugs and none of them look like this." She giggled and thumbed through her book. "You don't really need to know what that does, do you?" He looked up at her from the back of the boat. "No, I'm just having you on a little." She shook her head and placed the engine book on the deck. She started to reach for the book she was currently reading when she stopped. "Harry, Amos is here and he's on that ship of his," she called. Harry looked up and frowned. Normally, Amos took the Mary Celeste to his deep water dock on the eastern shore. The sandbars and shoals on the western shore were dangerous for his ship. The large brigantine was tacking hard, then it came about and the sails started to flutter. Several sea anchors were dropped over the stern to slow her enough to drop his heavy 400 pound anchor. "That's strange. He usually doesn't bring the Celeste to this end of the island... too many sand bars. I wonder what the emergency is for him to push her that hard?" Harry said, then he looked at the disassembled engine and frowned. "Reparo!" he snapped. Suddenly parts flew up into the air and back into the engine. He looked at the now assembled engine and smiled to himself. Wiping his hands on a rag, he made to move to the ladder so he could climb up to the dock. Hermione stood at the top of the ladder, glaring at him, her hands firmly planted on her hips. He paused on the ladder, looking up worriedly. "Hermione?" "How long have you been able to fix those engines with magic?" she asked through clenched teeth. He swallowed nervously. "Umm... I've always been able to," he admitted sheepishly. "But you don't learn anything by doing that." "I could have... You could have... Ohhh!" she sputtered, stomping one foot. He tried to smile at her, but he knew he was on thin ice. "Seriously, Hermione. This hasn't been a waste of time. I'm trying to understand the machine and you've been a big help. Besides, we can't always rely on magic. I don't know about you, but I like doing things with my own hands. It's fun and I learn about these engines." She stared at him for a moment in shock, but when she thought of it, Harry didn't use a lot of magic in daily life. He cooked by hand, even washed dishes by hand, and every time she tried to teach him the household charms, he just laughed and said he was old fashioned. In truth, she didn't mind all that much. She thought he was a better cook than she was, despite her mother and Mrs. Weasley's efforts when she was a teenager. Their conversation was cut off by Amos, who was heading towards the dock on his little skiff. Harry quickly climbed

up to the dock and made ready to grab the bow rope. "Harreee, mon! Gots a letter from that Tom fella in London. Looks important," Amos called from his boat. Harry nodded and tied off the rope. "Come on up to the house, Amos. I picked up several snappers this morning that you'll be interested in." Once in the house, Amos sat down at the kitchen table, while Hermione moved to the counter to make a quick bit to eat for the three of them. Dobby handed Harry and Amos large mugs of coffee before vanishing. Amos slid a parchment across the table to Harry. He picked it up and began to read. Then the color quickly drained from his face and the house shook violently. "Harry!" shouted Hermione as she dropped what she was doing and rushed to his side. "What is it? What's wrong?" "It's Luna. They are starving her to death," he whispered. Hermione gasped and sank into the chair next to him. "What? Why?" "Tom says she was caught in Hogsmeade with a muggle man. They killed the man and she decimated a ten man auror team and cursed the town before they subdued her. He says that there is something strange about her magic that they can't control with inhibitors. They were going to throw her through the veil for killing so many Aurors, but she's killed three more while in lockup. Now they're terrified to even be in the same room with her. They've sealed the cell and aren't feeding her." Harry's hands crumpled the parchment. "You know dis Luna, aye?" asked Amos. "She was one of our closest friends in the DA. Her help was invaluable in Diagon Alley that day. But she dropped out of sight after the war. No one knew what happened to her. I know, I tried to find her," Hermione replied softly. Harry turned to look at her. "You did? Why?" He had a similar desire once he arrived on the Cay, although he never acted on it. She shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's just that, whenever I thought of reconnecting with someone from that time, only two people came to mind, you and Luna. But I was too ashamed to talk to you at the time." He patted her hand comfortingly, then sat back, thinking hard. "What is it?" "I could have said the same thing. In fact, the only thing that stopped me from looking for her was a month long drinking binge. When I think of all the people who helped us and survived, you and Luna always came to mind first. You two come to mind even easier than..." Her eyes widened. She knew what he meant. She reached out and gripped his hand, sharing his hurt. "That be weird. Maybe ya should be talkin' wit' dat hoodoo wooman. I don' like her, but she got that hoodoo. Maybe she know wha' dis all means," Amos said, his eyes wide. He watched them both as if he expected them to grow horns and tails. "She's not that bad, Amos. She's a nice lady. Just because she can do something we can't doesn't mean we turn our backs on her," Harry said, turning to look at his friend. "I know that," countered Amos. "But that wooman and her magic give me the creepies. 'Sides, she insults ma Mary." Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused glance. The real reason why Amos didn't like Angie had finally been revealed a few weeks earlier.

Amos was inordinately proud of his ship. Harry would agree. She was a fine ship. However, Angie, it seemed, suffered from terrible sea sickness. Her one and only trip to Nassau had her calling his fine ship a floating vomit trap. Insulting Amos' Mary Celeste was worse than insulting his children, which, as far as anyone knew, he didn't have. "Can we do anything about Luna?" asked Hermione. Harry closed his eyes and thought for a moment. It would mean hitting the Ministry building in London. He sat up straight. "Orbis," he snapped. A sphere appeared in front of him, then shot out the open door at high speed. A moment later another sphere appeared in front of him with Fred's head floating in it. Behind him, Harry caught a glimpse of Angelina and Alicia scurrying out of the room in a shocking state of undress. "Did I disturb you, Fred?" Harry asked innocently. Hermione snickered behind her hand and Amos laughed loudly, causing the red head to turn even redder. "Er, no, not at all," Fred replied. "Unless you want to come over and join in?" he asked, turning it back on them. Harry and Hermione immediately colored and shook their heads. They all knew who had won that round and it wasn't the Potters. Harry coughed a few times and took a moment to recover before he spoke again. "Good, gather up your brother, a couple pair of sunglasses and box of marbles and get over here. Tell Alicia to expect at least one new patient tonight." Fred immediately turned serious. "We're on our way." Harry nodded and the orb vanished from sight. "At least one patient?" asked Hermione archly. He turned to look at her. "Do you really think the Ministry holding cells are empty except for Luna? I'm not going to leave people there if I can help it. We'll take anyone who is willing to take the oath." The oath was one of Harry's contributions to the rescue committee which, up until that point, had been relying on Veritaserum solely to determine if someone would betray them. The oath was a blood oath, based on the oath taker's magic. Violation of such an oath would result in the loss of their magic and that was something everyone wanted to avoid, considering the Ministry's attitude towards muggles and squibs. Harry had suggested the idea of the oath, and Hermione had refined it with the proper words. Hermione nodded, seeing the logic of his argument. Harry stood and his clothing shimmered, transforming into black jeans and a black shirt. He looked at Hermione. "If you're going to come along, you might want to change." She gasped and stared at him. "You want me to come with you?" "Do you want to stay here with Amos?" "No." Amos rolled his eyes. "Gee, tanks, 'Ermionee!" "Er, I didn't mean that like it sounded," Hermione said quickly. "It's just that..." "Oh, go on wit ya, girl. Amos was jus' teasin' ya," the old man said, laughingly. Harry shook his head at the two, them looked at Hermione. "I'm your husband, not your father or your keeper. I don't want you coming, but I know you won't be happy unless you do. I can't protect you from dangerous situations all the time, but I'll do what I can. Now if you're going to come with us, get dressed or tell me to transfigure your outfit."

She walked over and embraced him. He wrapped his arms around her and her dress shimmered, vanishing in favor of black jeans and a tight, black shirt. She stepped back and looked at her outfit. Amos stood. "I betta get Mary up to her dock. I be seein' ya lata." Harry nodded and Hermione walked over to the counter to pick up her sunglasses. "You have a plan?" she asked. "I do, but let's wait until the boys get here," he replied. She paced for a few minutes before she rounded on him. "Aren't you worried? Scared?" He smiled at her. "Of course. Just because I don't show it, never believe I'm not afraid. What really scares me is what Luna is going through. But there's another reason why I'm willing to let you come with me tonight." "What's that?" "To keep me from destroying the Ministry if they've hurt her." She nodded to herself. It was what she had expected from him. His temper when dealing with the Ministry tended to be short, and now that a close friend was involved, it would probably have no fuse at all to it. She moved closer to him and leaned against him. "I promise you I'll keep you from going overboard." He nodded and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "You look really sexy in black," he whispered. She smiled against his chest. "I'll remember that the next time I'm buying lingerie." "Oh, please do!" piped a voice from behind her. "Yes and take pictures!" offered another. Hermione closed her eyes and groaned. She could feel Harry frame bounce as he laughed softly. "Fred? George?" "Yes, oh, intelligent one?" Fred replied. "Do shut up or I'll tell Alicia and Angelina on you both." Fred and George started to snicker at her threat. Harry grinned and released her. "So, what's the mission, little brother?" asked George. "Little brother?" Harry repeated warily. "Sure!" replied Fred. "Since Mum's a loon and Dad didn't survive the war, that leaves only Charlie and Percy on the outside and they don't count. So we've decided to adopt you as an honorary Weasley." "I'm honored," Harry replied dryly. "I'd be frightened," Hermione added and he nodded in agreement. Both Weasleys beamed at the pair. "So, what's up?" George asked. Harry picked up the letter on the table and handed it to George. Fred leaned over his shoulder to read with him. Both of their happy go-lucky expressions faded by the time they'd finished. Luna had been a neighbor of theirs and a close friend of the Weasleys. She also had the particular distinction of having been able to avoid every prank the twins set on her.

"We got to go get her," Fred said angrily. "Too right, brother," added George. Fred turned to Harry. "Is this going to be like what you did with Trent or the Mercedes'?" Harry shook his head. "No. If I was going for just Luna, I'd go alone. But we all know those holding cells probably aren't empty. If I went for Luna, the Ministry would beef up security so tightly even I would have trouble getting through. So, this is going to be a mass breakout. "Hermione and I will be going for Luna, but I'm going to spring the doors on all the cells. It will be up to you two to find out if anyone wants to come to someplace safe. Remember, once they come here, they can't leave without a memory wipe. If they're willing, they have to give the oath." George walked over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. He frowned for a moment. "This is right in the heart of Auror central, Harry. How are we supposed to quiz people when we're ducking and dodging Auror spells?" Harry held out his hand. "Give me your sunglasses for a moment." He took the three pairs and held them. "Do not be afraid of the dark," he said over the glasses. They glowed a soft green in response, then faded. He handed the glasses back to the twins and Hermione. "Hold the glasses in your hands for a moment. I want you to be absolutely sure you can put them on, so don't put them down." All three held their glasses, watching Harry curiously. He grinned at the three of them, then snapped his fingers. The darkness that descended on them was total. Not a single shred of light was visible. Hermione exclaimed in fear and she backed into the counter. Harry could see fine, but only because his spell specifically excluded him. "Hermione! Relax and put on your glasses," Harry said quickly. He was a little hurt that she'd even considered he'd do something that would harm her. "Wow!" Fred said, looking through his glasses. "It's like looking at a drawing before it's been colored. Everything is in lines." "Oh, sorry about that," Harry replied. "Tap the glasses with your wand." "Ohhhh, that's better," exclaimed Hermione. The drawing effect had vanished and now everything almost looked normal, except the colors seemed washed out, like pastels. She paused and looked at Harry. "It isn't really dark is it?" "Seems pretty dark to me," Fred said. "I nearly poked an eye out getting the glasses on," added George. "You've got to teach us this spell, Harry." Harry chuckled. "No, it's not really dark. In the sixteenth Grimoire, the Book of the Mind, it discussed mind arts and techniques used to enhance them. One of the chapters contained a series of spells to alter perceptions. This spell, centered on me, will fool every human eye into thinking it's truly dark when it isn't. "Your glasses actually create a small disturbance in the field affecting your eyes. It's only a few feet wide, but anyone inside that field will be able to see you, while you can see further. Now, give me the box of marbles." He snapped his fingers again, canceling the darkness and frowned. He hadn't invented a good incantation for it yet and somehow he didn't think Hermione would like an incantation of "Dark as Dudley's shorts!" Clearly, he needed to consider the matter further. He took the box and held it for a moment while it shimmered, then he handed it back to George, who accepted it with a curious look.

Harry smirked. "Now it's an unending box of marbles. Tip it over and it will spill marbles by the millions." Fred and George grinned, imagining the havoc they could cause. He glanced up at the wall clock and decided to wait for a bit. "We'll leave in an hour. I need to create some portkeys that can cut through the Ministry wards, and I want one more item." He looked around carefully before spotting what he needed. He walked over and pocketed the deck of cards, and picked up the small bottle, then he stepped out onto the deck. Fred, George and Hermione exchanged a puzzled look. The occasional flicker and flash of light around him told them he was clearly up to something.

Ministry of Magic, London...

Harry walked back into the house nearly an hour later with a large grin on his face. Hermione, Fred and George looked up at him expectantly. They had been sitting at the kitchen table, conversing in low tones. "We're just about ready," he announced, then he shimmered in place and seemed to grow taller. Hermione gasped and stared at him. "Harry?" Albus Dumbledore turned to look at her. She noted his emerald green eyes and relaxed. Fred and George started laughing, until Harry changed Fred to look like Voldemort and George to look like Severus Snape. Hermione he altered to look like Bellatrix LeStrange. "A little misdirection goes a long way," Harry said. His eyes were flashing with suppressed magic and mirth. "Glasses on, then grab my hands." The three put their glasses on and formed a simple circle. Fred had the box of marbles in his pocket and Harry was sure George was loaded with extra items, brought along, just in case. "Ready?" Everyone nodded and the world shifted. It wasn't apparating. In fact, only Harry knew what it was and it was something he couldn't explain, or even translate into a spell. "He's got to teach us to do that," Fred muttered. George nodded ruefully. They had already tried to grill Harry about the teleportation spell to no avail. Bellatrix looked around, noting they were in front of the bank of phone booths used for the Ministry entrance. "You didn't bring us directly to the holding cells?" she asked. Dumbledore shook his head. "No. It will be more effective if we use the main entrance. After all, we want people to see us, so act the role everyone." Harry stepped into the phone booth and dialed 62442. "State your name and the purpose of your visit," said a voice on the handset. "Albus Dumbledore. I'm here to assassinate the Minister," Harry replied in a flawless imitation of Dumbledore's voice. Fred and George leaned against each other, barely holding back their laughter and Hermione bit back a giggle. A name tag popped out of the slot and Harry put it on. It read, "Albus Dumbledore, Assassin."

Harry dropped from sight and Fred stepped into the booth. One by one they dropped into the Ministry, where Harry was waiting for them just short of the security check point. The security guard was someone Harry knew very well. Anthony Goldstein had been in the same year with him at Hogwarts, though in a different house. He gave Anthony the patented Dumbledore smile, complete with twinkling eyes, and Anthony nodded agreeably to his former Headmaster. Then he noticed who was accompanying him and he promptly fainted. "Pity," Harry said in Dumbledore's voice. "I was so looking forward to sticking him to a wall... upside down and naked." Harry glanced at the fountain of Magical Friends and he couldn't help but notice the resemblance of the elf to Percy Weasley. He waved a hand at the fountain and the figures obediently moved to a new configuration. Now the Goblin was spanking the Witch, the Wizard lay prone with the Centaur towering over him, one hoof against his neck. The elf looked even more like Percy, who was down on his knees, his hands raised in supplication. Hermione eyed the statues for a moment, then she turned to Harry. "You kinky man," she murmured. "We'll have to try that." Harry blinked at her in shock and the twins broke up in laughter. "With a centaur? I suppose I could find one around Miami," offered Fred. He glared the twins into silence, or at least restrained giggles. His wife's kinks were no one's business but his own. "The holding cells are on level eight, one level above the courtrooms." Anthony woke up and struggled to stand. Hermione walked over to him and glared. He gave a strangled meep and promptly fainted again. Despite being dead, Bellatrix was still the stuff of nightmares for Wizarding Britain. George, looking like Snape, sneered at Goldstein. "That will be ten million points from Ravenclaw and a spanking by Professor Hagrid, Mr. Goldstein." Anthony's eyes shot open and he quivered in terror at his former potions professor. "Oh, can I please kill him," whined Voldemort. "Come on, just one more time for old times sake?" Anthony gave up the ghost and fainted again. "The lift is here," Bellatrix said. She wanted to roll her eyes at the three of them, but she had to admit this rule breaking thing was actually a lot of fun. "Hold the lift," Harry said absently. He raised a hand and Anthony Goldstein slid bonelessly up the wall. He twisted his wrist and Anthony turned upside just before his clothing vanished. A tattoo appeared on him with an arrow pointing at his crotch. The tattoo read, "Pure Blood Willies are Weaker." Anthony woke up and started to bark in panic. Harry's parting gift to him was a slowly decaying spell. He'd be barking for the next several weeks, though it would slowly revert to English after much whining and woofing. "Never mess with Albus Brian Wulfric Dumbledore!" thundered Harry at Anthony, then he grinned and turned towards the lift. The four of them piled into the car, laughing madly. The lift headed down and Harry glanced over to check that his friends had their glasses on, then he snapped his fingers. The Ministry, plunged into darkness, centered around Harry. Somewhere on the upper floors an alarm began to shriek. Fred, George and Hermione pulled their wands and their moods turned serious. Harry handed George the deck of cards and canceled their glamors. He wanted them in their normal forms, since the prisoners were liable to panic otherwise. "George, the cards are portkeys to our hospital. Tap your wand on them to activate. Everyone stay close to me until we

reach the holding cells. Do not use any lethal spells unless you're attacked." The lift door opened and they could see on-duty Aurors groping in the darkness. Most had cast a light spell, but since Harry's spell affected the optic nerve, casting light had no effect. He stepped out of the lift and turned to the bank of elevators. With a single gesture, every lift came to a screeching halt. Fred stepped around Harry and downed an Auror with a stunner, cast silently. George and Hermione dropped two more who were stumbling around the lift area. Harry winced and stared at Hermione, who downed another Auror with a curse that constricted his underwear to painful levels. "You're cruel. You know that?" he asked. "Yeah, but you love me anyway." "I do," he replied with a chuckle. "But then, I'm crazy." A cacophony of shouts and yells could be heard coming from down one wide corridor. He glanced in that direction and his mood sobered instantly. "The holding cells," Harry said grimly, nodding in that direction. "Hang on while I pull down the wards." Hermione glanced at Harry and gasped. Seen through the glasses, he was surrounded by a bright white halo that had small streaks of dirty gray running through it. He raised his hands slowly and there was a series of loud explosions. The floor vibrated under their feet and Fred looked up at the ceiling warily. Dust shifted down from the ceiling. "Harry, mate, I'd rather you don't bring the Ministry down on our heads. I've got two wives at home who have gotten used to my head and I'd hate to have you ruin my good looks," he said nervously. "I'm sure they've gotten used to your head too," Harry murmured absently. Hermione goggled at Harry before she realized he hadn't made the connection to what he had said. George on the other hand was hanging onto Fred and giggling insanely. "Harry's a little busy right now. Please leave a message at the tone," Hermione said, then she laughed. The twins looked at her strangely and Harry blinked, then he focused on her. "What?" he said. "Oh, never mind," she grumped. Muggle jokes were a waste on pure bloods. "Are you done?" He nodded and led them down the corridor towards the holding cells. The corridor was not as well kept as the rest of the Ministry building. It seemed to be cut from rough stone and there was a small indent down the center of the corridor that held a sluggish, rancid pool of water. The doors to each cell were heavy iron and Harry could feel the remnants of the anti-magic wards still lingering in the corridor. They wouldn't affect his friends now. Harry stopped just short of the first set of cell doors and scowled. Hermione and the others cringed back a bit. They were directly behind him and they could feel the magic pouring off him. Harry stretched out his hand, palm up and he started muttering in Latin. He abruptly clenched his fist and twisted as if he were turning something. The sound of metal ripping filled the hallway and more alarms rang through the building. "George, split the cards with Fred and each take a side of the corridor. Hermione, follow me," he said, striding forward and clambering over the twisted remains of the heavy doors. Hermione followed close behind, marveling at the power needed to simultaneously destroy so many doors at once. Harry knew exactly where he was going. He could feel the spells on the cell all the way at the end of the corridor. Behind him, the twins rushed into different cells for what would probably be one of the strangest conversations of their

lives. Harry stopped at the entrance to Luna's cell and stared. Luna was visible inside, laying on a stone cot and surrounded by a nimbus of crystalline pure light. Hermione, behind him, gasped. "What is that?" she exclaimed. Harry frowned. "I think I know, but first I need to remove the wards imposed on this cell. When we get inside, don't touch her. I don't think that light is safe for us." He laid his hands against the wall next to the doorway and the empty door frame began to spark and snap. Hermione took a step backwards and glanced up the corridor. She could see Fred and George darting into holding cells. Occasionally she'd see the bright red flash of a spell, probably a stunner. She nodded to herself. Stunning those who refused the oath made sense. She turned back to Harry, who was leaning against the door frame. The magic was snapping viciously, with bright sparks leaping in nearly every direction, except towards them. She could just make out the faint shimmering shield and she shook her head in amazement. He was holding a shield and tearing down the magic around the cell at the same time! She noticed a set of silver looking runes that were glowing brightly above the door. Someone had gone to a lot of effort to seal this room by embedding metal runes in the wall. They continued to glow brighter and brighter until they started to melt and run down the wall. Harry hissed in pain as the molten metal spattered his arms and hands. He groaned and pushed hard against the wall until it shuddered and crumpled inward. Very quickly it turned to dust as it collapsed. Harry stood panting heavily and holding his arms out at a strange angle. Hermione stepped closer to look him over. "Are you alright?" "No," he hissed. "But I will be once we get out of here. There was so much magic on that wall I never saw those runes until they were melting." He paused and took a shuddering breath. "How are the twins doing?" She glanced up the corridor. "It's only a guess, but I'd say they are stunning more than they are taking." He shrugged painfully. "Not everyone is willing to become a fugitive and we can't force people." She nodded and turned to the dust filled room. It was too dusty to see anything but a dim glow from where Luna lay. "Acclaro!" she said, waving her wand. A wind picked up and swirled the dust into a tight little tornado, before moving out of the room. Harry grinned at her, then stepped into the room. He walked over to Luna, still encased in a cocoon of light. "What do you think it is?" she asked him. Luna gave no indication that she knew they were there. "It's a chrysalis made of magic. I'm sure of it." he replied after a moments thought. She looked at him funny. "A what?" "It's kind of like a cocoon." "And she's what? Turning into a butterfly?" Hermione asked dryly. Harry shot her a grin. "No, her magic reminds me of that tracker. Somewhere along the line I think her family interbred with something else, dryad perhaps. She always felt different to me, and I don't mean in the sense that earned her that despicable nickname. Anyway, I think this is a survival response. Her magic is holding her in this chrysalis until it's safe to come out."

She looked down at the glowing woman. "Luna!" she said sharply. Luna opened her eyes and blinked a few times before she focused on Harry and Hermione. The glow around her faded and she took a deep breath. "You finally arrived," she said flatly. Harry's expression grew worried almost immediately. She had said only three words and they were so cold, so unlike Luna. "We didn't find out what was happening until a few hours ago. We came as quickly as we could," Hermione explained. She reached into a pouch at her belt and pulled out a bottle of water, which she passed to the blond. Luna took the bottle and drank deeply from it. While Luna was drinking, Fred stuck his head in the opening. "Everything alright in here, Harry?" "So far. How many cells have you got to do still?" "We're mostly done. Many of them are empty. We've picked up less than fifteen people. Another twenty or so refused." Harry nodded. "Alright, we'll wait. Finish up, then dump your marbles near the lobby area. Sound off a whistle and portkey out. We'll follow right behind you." "Righto!" Fred said, snapping off a salute. "Oy, Georgie! Shake a leg, would you? We're on a schedule!" Fred shouted to the passing red head. Harry turned back to Luna and eyed her carefully. He squatted down next to the stone slab she was sitting on and touched her arm gently. "Are you alright?" Luna's hard eyes froze for a moment on the burns he received tearing down the wall. "No," she whispered. "But now that you both are here, I'll get there." Hermione rooted around in her bag and pulled out a small plastic muggle cup with a cover on it. She murmured something under her breath and wandlessly heated the contents before handing it to Luna. "Just some broth. She's had nothing to eat for who knows how long," Hermione said to Harry's questioning look. "Over a month," Luna said absently. She knew Harry and Hermione would come for her. What she hadn't foreseen was the cold fury she felt. She wanted to lash out at everyone. She had been close to lashing out at Harry until she saw the injuries he had received rescuing her. "We're going to take you someplace safe, Luna," Harry said, trying to be comforting. He was way out of his league here. He knew that she was upset, but she hadn't told them the story yet. Hermione sat next to her. "You'll like it there, Luna. It's warm and bright, with a soft breeze that blows almost constantly. We have a lot of good people there, too." Luna closed her eyes and in her anger she fought against the tug they were pulling on her heart. She didn't want the comfort they were giving without even knowing it. Her anger fought against their pull, drowning out the healing they were trying to offer. The three of them were bound together in a unique way, but it wasn't time for her to reveal that information. She wasn't sure that time would ever come. Her magic flared and in the distance Harry could hear a low boom every time an Auror exploded. "Luna!" he said sharply. His hand reached out to grip her arm and he bit back a groan of pain as the burned skin stretched and cracked. When a wave of nausea washed over him, she turned back to him, startled. She could sense his pain. It was on the hairy edge of her senses, but more importantly, she could feel Hermione's confusion and his emotional pain at her killing. Even after all he'd been through, he still hated to kill.

She pulled her magic back and reigned it in. "They deserve to die," she said coldly. "They killed Richard." Harry leaned against the stone slab wearily. He had been gathering his strength to suppress her magic when she pulled it back. The effort had weakened him further. "Who is Richard?" Hermione asked in a whisper. "He was my husband," Luna said in a proud voice, but there was a ragged, hysterical edge to her voice. She would always be proud of her Richard and the joy she had been able to give him. Harry sagged against the slab. He hadn't expected that reply. Hermione gasped and her eyes filled with tears. She could only imagine the pain Luna was going through. Hermione was certain she would not want to outlive Harry. A loud whistle echoed down the corridor and Harry lifted his head. "It's time to go," he said, then he painfully climbed to his feet. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the small bottle he had brought with him. He looked down at the bottle for a moment and his hand flashed with a bright purple light. "Swarm." he said clearly, then he handed the bottle to Hermione. "Take that and throw it as far as you can down the corridor." She nodded and did as he requested, then stepped back into the room. She'd ask for explanations later. Harry held out a hand to Luna, who stood unsteadily. He moved closer and he wrapped an arm around her, steadying her. Hermione instinctively moved to her other side, copying her husband's actions. Harry's eyes flared and he shifted the three of them.

Norman's Cay Infirmary...

They arrived in a madhouse! Someone was screaming at Harry. He blinked and looked around wildly before he noted that Fred was waving at him. "Turn off the darkness!" Fred shouted. Harry blushed and the field dropped instantly. Alicia looked up at him and glowered. She was trying to heal a prone figure on the bed and his arrival had turned out the lights! Hermione giggled slightly in hysterical relief, then she tried to tug Luna towards one of the cots. A number of people were milling about, eating food. Duncan and Cassandra were nearby, handing out clothing and getting names of people along with their occupations. Occupations were becoming critically important to the Rescue Committee. Harry let go of Luna and watched numbly as Hermione led her to an empty cot. He leaned against the wall, exhausted, his arms feeling as though they were on fire. He slid to the floor and lowered his head, trying to relax, but the burns prevented that. Alicia moved from bed to bed, snapping out orders to Gabrielle and another girl who was studying to become a midwife. Fred went upstairs to help Angelina. She was entering her final trimester and he didn't want her spending too much time around smoldering cauldrons. Harry's left arm flared with pain when someone pulled on it and turned it over. His eyes snapped open and he stifled the urge to scream. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" Hermione demanded. She turned and looked around. Alicia was busy. "Gabrielle!" she yelled. The young woman looked around and spotted Hermione crouched down next to Harry. He had a silvery substance on the one arm she could see. Alarmed, she quickly ran over to Hermione. She took one look and waved her wand, summoning some burn cream. Hermione grabbed the floating pot, while Gabrielle peeled off the metal that was still stuck to his skin. Harry closed his eyes and looked away, every muscle in his body trembling in tension. Gabrielle glanced at him then back down to the splatters of metal on his skin. One by one she peeled them off, in some cases, breaking blisters to peel the metal away. "Merde!" she muttered. "Hermione, smooth some cream on each burn while I finish doing this. He will scar from these," she murmured softly.

One by one, each burn was covered in soothing cream and the tension slowly faded from his body, leaving him limp with exhaustion. Finally, Gabrielle leaned back and Harry smiled his thanks. She nodded and turned to Hermione. "He doesn't need to stay here tonight. I'll release him to you as long as you promise to keep him away from the salt water for two days. The skin will be sensitive." Hermione nodded and gave Harry a mock glare. "I'll tie him to the bed, if necessary." "Now who's kinky," Harry muttered tiredly. "I'll just sit here until you're ready to go." Hermione stood and looked around. Alicia seemed to be finishing up with Luna, so she went over to check on her. "How is she?" Hermione asked Alicia. Alicia smiled. "She's fine. She's a little under weight and a little dehydrated, nothing that can't be fixed with some water and a few good meals," she replied, then she looked around. "I think I'll release her. I'm going to be nearly full tonight, as it stands, and I've got two in critical." Hermione looked around and nodded. There weren't that many beds in the infirmary and most were full. "We'll take her home with us, then," she offered. Alicia nodded, then her eyes narrowed. "Will you be able to manage? Gabrielle told me about Harry's injury." "We should be fine. I'll make a portkey to take us home. Harry is pretty tired. I don't think I'd trust his apparating right now." Alicia nodded. "Alright. Orb me if you need assistance. Luna should have several small meals instead of three big ones for the next few days," she said, then she turned away to look after another patient. Hermione turned to Luna, who was sitting on the cot, clutching her water bottle tightly. "Luna, come on. We're going to take you home." Luna nodded slowly. Home was a concept that seemed very alien to her right then. Home was with Richard in Cannon Beach, wasn't it? A numbness settled around her. She could only feel one real emotion at the moment. Anger.

Norman's Cay (the day after)...

Harry rolled out bed and winced. He ached from head to toe. He could see Hermione under the covers and was, for a moment, tempted to climb back under them with her. He didn't remember coming home after leaving the Ministry. No doubt she'd fill me in on that detail later, he thought. After a long hot shower, he stepped back into their bedroom and summoned some clothing for the day. "Harry," Hermione said sleepily. "Yes?" "Healer's orders. Stay away from the ocean until the day after tomorrow." He paused and sighed. So much for his idea of working on the Lily today. "Right. I'll work on the new enlargement charm today, then," he muttered. It wasn't what he wanted to do, but Hermione could be a real nag where his health was concerned. Thirty minutes later, he was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading a copy of the Daily Prophet that Dobby had picked up. The Prophet spent the first four pages detailing the disaster at the Ministry and how the brave Ministry employees had held off an attempted muggle born coup attempt. He shook his head in dismay, then looked up when Luna came out of the room Hermione had put her in. Harry hadn't even known she was in the house! "Luna!" he said in a strangled gasp. She wasn't fully dressed, wearing only a t-shirt and panties.

She paused and arched an eyebrow at him coolly. Her eyes rested for a moment on the pink splotchy areas on his forearms. It was obviously new skin, growing over where he had burned himself, and her expression softened slightly. He'd received those injuries while rescuing her. "Coffee?" he asked. He wanted to help her, he needed to, but he wasn't comfortable dealing with emotional issues. Even Hermione recognized that fact. When it came to these sorts of things he was clumsier than Tonks. He poured a cup when she nodded and handed it to her. She clutched the cup tightly in her hands. "You disappeared on us," he said softly. She turned and looked at him. "I what?" "You disappeared. Both Hermione and I tried to contact you after the war but we couldn't find you." She looked down at her cup. She had expected a lot of things, but not this. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say, Luna except that I'm sorry. Hermione and I will be happy to help you in anyway we can." She nodded slowly. She could feel his need to comfort her tugging at her and felt his sincerity. The fact that she was hurting was hurting him and Hermione both. She needed time and their help to get past this. He released her hand and smiled softly. "You might want to put some clothes on. We have company coming. Someone just crossed the outer edge of the wards." She nodded and walked back into the bedroom she had been sleeping in. A moment later she returned wearing a pair of Hermione's shorts. Harry frowned and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. He quickly jotted down a few quick notes. "We'll have to get you a new wand and some new clothes," he added. He thought of the house next door to theirs. It had remained empty since Hermione had been rescued. It would be perfect for Luna, once she was ready for it. "So, we're in the Bahamas?" Luna asked. She sipped her coffee and stared out the large glass doors, looking at the boats gently rocking next to the dock. "How did you..." When she looked at him, he sighed, but nodded. He should have known better than to ask. During the war she had demonstrated her talent enough for him to be a firm believer in it. "Yes. This island is called Norman's Cay. It's heavily warded, unplottable and under a fidelius charm." "So who is Norman? A friend of yours?" asked Luna. Harry paused and scowled. No one had asked that question before. It never even occurred to him. "Erm... I don't know." "What a strange idea. To name the island for someone you don't know?" She shook her head. The glass doors slid open. "Anyone home? Harry? Hermione?" called Angie. "Come in, Angie," Harry said, then he stood and went to get her a cup for some coffee. The old woman was totally addicted to the stuff. Then again, so was Harry. "Angela Lightfoot, meet Luna Lovegood, one of our best friends from Hogwarts and the war." Angie walked in and stopped when she saw Luna. The two women looked at each other for a moment as if they recognized each other. Angie broke her stasis and moved closer. She held her hand out. "May the Goddess bless you, child. I felt your hurt when you arrived."

Luna stood and stared at the woman in confusion for a moment, then understanding seemed to dawn in her expression. She took Angie's hand in her own, turning it palm upwards, then she touched the center of the palm with one finger. Angie seemed to glow for a brief second and Harry blinked in astonishment. He wasn't sure if it had been a trick of the lighting or not. "I am honored to receive her blessing," Luna said softly, then she turned Angie's hand again, gripping it normally. She turned to Harry. "You didn't tell me you had a high priestess on the island." Harry blinked. "Luna," he said in a pained voice, "you just got up. Hell, I just got up. We haven't exactly had the time for deep, meaningful conversations yet." "Well, next time we'll skip the conversation about Norman and jump right into the important stuff," Luna said. Her anger was still there, but the presence of the priestess and her blessing had increased her level of control over it. "He told you who Norman is?" asked Angie incredulously. "He wouldn't tell me!" Harry sunk his head into his hands. "It's going to be one of those days," he groaned, then he looked up and out the glass doors. "I think I'll go check on the Lily." He started to rise when Luna glared at him. "Sit!" she barked He sat and looked up at her in surprise. "Healers orders. Stay away from the salt water until your burns heal." "Now that's scary. That's exactly what Hermione would say," he muttered. "What did I do to deserve this?" Angie cackled with laughter and Harry stood and walked over to the sink, placing his cup in it. "Where do you think you're going?" Luna asked. "To work on the enlargement charm?" he asked, suddenly feeling like a three year old, asking for permission to cross the street. "Alright, but don't make a mess." He nodded and retreated into the study. Luna watched him go with a slight smile, then she turned back to Angie. "He really is a good man," Angie said softly, watching Harry retreat to the study. "He is, and Hermione has worked wonders with him," Luna replied. Her hand trembled and her eyes filled with tears. "Damnation and Merlin's hairy balls! I want to scream! I want to kill them!" she gasped, then she took a deep breath and gripped the table tightly with her hands. Angie eyed her for a moment. "He must have been very special. You married him despite knowing what was coming." Luna sighed and nodded her agreement. She started to look down at the table when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up to see Hermione smiling at her. "Tell us about him. Please?" Hermione asked. She sighed as Hermione moved to sit next to her. Hermione placed a cup of tea in front of her and waited for Luna. Unlike Harry, who now drank coffee exclusively, Hermione insisting on sticking with her British roots. "I met Richard when I went to M.I.T. as an exchange student from Cambridge. I was pursuing my undergraduate degree..."

Hermione's eyes widened when she realized that Luna had pursued a muggle education far above and beyond anything she had considered possible for a witch. "And you fell in love, despite knowing what would happen?" pressed Angie. Luna shook her head. "It doesn't always work that way. What I see are choices and outcomes. There is no clear path that one can follow. It's all a matter of picking and choosing, like following branches in a tree. I knew what Richard's fate would be if I didn't marry him and I knew what it would be if I did. I gave him two years he...we wouldn't have had otherwise." "Oh, Luna," Hermione murmured, her eyes filling with tears. It finally sunk home that Luna had fallen in love with and married a man she knew was doomed. Luna looked down and sniffled. Inside, her anger burned brightly and she still wanted to lash out. But this wasn't the place or the time for that. An idea bubbled to the surface in the back of her mind and she'd need to talk to Harry about it. But if her lawyer had followed her instructions, there would be some interesting packages waiting for her in Nassau. Angie looked at her with interest, then she frowned, slightly seeing something she didn't like. "Child, are you sure that's the path you want to take?" Luna's eyes narrowed and she looked at the old woman. "You are very gifted, priestess," she said softly. "And no, I'm not sure of my path yet. But I do want to keep my options open." Hermione looked between the two women in wonder. "What's going on?" "She's a soul reader," Luna said simply. Hermione turned to Angie in surprise. She knew the woman had no innate magical talents. Angie shrugged. "I've always been able to read people fairly easily. Your friend here is considering a dark path. She's hiding her hurt and refusing to let it out. The path might be the right one, but right now she has the wrong reasons." "You can't hold it in, Luna," Harry said from the doorway. "Holding it in kills you slowly. I know, I lost count of the number of times I tried to kill myself before Hermione arrived . It kills you slowly." Luna glanced up at him in surprise. His eyes were distant, but the pain was obvious in his expression. He shook himself slightly and focused on her. "We're here to help you," he said earnestly. "We want to help, Luna," Hermione repeated softly. Harry moved to crouch down by her side, then took one of her hands in his own and looked into her pale blue eyes. She could feel both of them tugging on her and their pull was irresistible. Hermione leaned a little closer. "Will you let them help you, child?" Angie asked quietly. Luna's dropped her gaze to the table and nodded her agreement, then a sob tore itself free from her throat. Hermione leaned closer and wrapped the girl in an embrace. That was all it took and she broke down weeping on her shoulder. Harry moved to embrace both women tightly. Angie leaned back in her chair and smiled to herself. She had known since yesterday that a powerful force had arrived on the island. It wasn't Luna's magic that alarmed her, it was her ability to influence Harry and Hermione. The blond knew her unique position in this unusual triad, and her anger had burned like a beacon. It was eating at her and would continue to eat away unless someone stepped in and gave her a nudge. That was her primary reason for walking the two miles from the compound to Harry's villa. She needed to nudge these three closer. Each was incomplete, but combined they would be a powerful force, especially now that Luna would allow the others to help her.

Norman's Cay Infirmary...

Alicia Spinnet-Weasley sat tiredly at the desk. She hadn't planned on spending all night in the infirmary but some of the people rescued yesterday were in really bad shape. Fred and George had deviated slightly from Harry's instructions, thanks in part to the anal retentiveness of the Ministry of Magic. The twins were certain that it had to be a move implemented by Percy. Only he would insist that each cell be clearly labeled with the name and blood status of the prisoner. As it turned out, that information worked to their advantage. At least half of the people they portkeyed to the infirmary had been unconscious. One woman was clearly pregnant and showed every sign of having been exposed to the Cruciatus curse. Alicia had spent half the night trying to save the baby. Ultimately she'd had no choice but to help the woman miscarry the fetus. And there were some very well known names. Blaise Zabini was finally resting comfortably. He was in the small, two bed critical care unit, with Gabrielle monitoring his condition continuously. He had so many broken bones it was safer and easier to count the number of unbroken bones. And that was just the simple stuff. It was a miracle that he still lived. Penelope Clearwater arrived, hysterical. She saw Fred and George and she clung to them, weeping profusely. Percy had ordered her arrest, and until the twins had arrived, she'd expected to die, as her execution had been scheduled for that very day. They had arrived just in time. Alicia looked over her notes and checked her patient charts again. Harry had been injured, but according to the paperwork Gabrielle submitted, it was minor. She tallied up the results of her labors. Sixteen patients had arrived yesterday evening. Two were treated and released to Hermione. One died at four in the morning, one was in guarded condition and the remainder were physically stable, if not mentally. She felt a pair of hands tug at her hair, then someone nibbled on her neck. She sighed and leaned into the gentle caress. "Rough night, love?" She looked up at Fred and nodded. He glanced around, then carefully picked up a chair and moved it so he could straddle it next to her. He didn't want to make any noise and wake up her patients. "Well, then I have just the ticket for you," he said quietly. "George is upstairs with Angelina. They're restocking your potions cabinet. And you, my love, are going to come home where I'm going to give you a nice hot bath and some breakfast, then I'm going to put you in bed to sleep. If you're really lucky, I'll volunteer to give you one of my patented foot massages before I put you to bed." She smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "That sounds heavenly," she replied tiredly. She straightened up her papers and stood. Fred stood and embraced her, then he apparated them both home for a much deserved rest.

Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Law Enforcement...

Dumbledore stepped from the office and slammed the door, causing heads to turn in his direction. He angrily slapped at a stinging bite at his neck, then scratched his bare arms. He was dressed in only a pair of boxer shorts, with tiny hearts on them. The hearts had little wings that fluttered and flapped as they moved around. When he glared at the secretary and she squeaked in fear. "I'll send for your clothes immediately, Headmaster." He slapped at another sting and glowered at the woman, who was trying her best not to quail under his gaze. Hours ago he had been unceremoniously pulled from his office and dragged to the Ministry in manacles. Once there, he had been stripped and subjected to an extremely rude body search, supervised by that hag, Umbridge! After the search he had been interrogated for hours, then they tried several different types of truth serum, as they were convinced he could fight their effects. The last serum had been experimental, which had an unpleasant side effect of extreme flatulence. He slapped at another sting, then farted loudly. He looked around the office, but everyone was studiously trying to pretend they didn't notice anything. That was easier said than done, however, as those closest to him were grimacing at

the smell, noses twitching almost violently. Kingsley Shacklebolt approached Dumbledore, carrying a bag of his clothing. "I'm sorry, Albus. I tried to tell the director that you couldn't possibly be involved with the attack on the Ministry," he said, then he slapped the back of his head and scratched his shoulder. Dumbledore snatched the bag from his hand and glared at the Auror. Then he reached in and pulled out his robe and quickly put it on. He paused to smack at another sting, then passed gas once more. Kingsley took a step backwards as the green, noxious fumes rose around Dumbledore. The paint cracked and peeled from the wall behind him. "I can't believe the Ministry would think I had something to do with the escape of some prisoners," he grumbled angrily. "And what's with these bugs!" he screamed. Shacklebolt took another step back and everyone stopped to stare at the angry Leader of the Light. "We don't know. The Ministry is filled with them," Kingsley replied lamely. Dumbledore clutched the bag with the rest of his possessions, glared around angrily, then apparated with a deafening crack. Kingsley staggered backwards, his eyes widening at Dumbledore's departure. The Headmaster had just made a big mistake! Straightening up, he ignored the screaming of the apparation alarm and turned to the department secretary. "Send someone down to the containment tank," he said heavily, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "The Headmaster obviously forgot about the anti-apparation ward he put in place after the Manchester break-in." The Headmaster had created a ward to shunt people attempting to apparate to or from the MLE to a special holding room. Kingsley and others had altered the holding room after the last attack on the Ministry. Right now, the Headmaster was immersed in a tank containing some of the pyropiranha saved from the time the Department of Mysteries had been flooded. Kingsley winced as the screams echoed loudly from downstairs. It was going to be a very long day.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay...

He leaned against the railing on the deck, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Hermione and Angie were in with Luna. She finally broke down in tears several hours ago and all three of them had been helping her since. Harry excused himself when they convinced Luna to take a light sleeping potion. Hermione was helping the blond undress and he didn't think he needed to be present for that. Hermione stepped out of the house and moved to stand next to him. She rested her elbows on the railing. "Is she alright?" he asked. "Yes. She's sleeping now and Angie's gone home. But you know this isn't over yet." He nodded and stared out over the water. "I know," he replied softly, then he fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "Did you ever notice that we seem to mark important points in our lives by the death of someone? Here I stand, puzzling over why I feel sadder than I should. I mean, I'm sad for Luna, but I think I would have liked to have known her Richard. If he was good enough for Luna to marry, he must have been special indeed." She slipped her arm inside his and hugged his arm against her. "I feel it too," she whispered. He nodded and watched a cormorant dive from a hundred feet up. The bird barely made a splash and surfaced a moment later with a tail hanging from it's mouth.

"Dobby brought me a list of the people we rescued. One of them is an enchanter who apprenticed under a wand maker. We needed one of those," he said softly. "Alicia lost one patient last night, and one woman miscarried her baby." Hermione sucked her breath in sharply and looked at him. His eyes were closed, but she could feel his anger and power simmering just under the surface. "I couldn't believe that they were doing that," he said simply, then he turned to look at her. "Did you know we rescued Penelope Clearwater? Apparently she wasn't pure enough for Percy and if that wasn't bad enough, she had been told that she had been scheduled to be thrown through the veil today. Today!" He turned away from her and gripped the railing tightly. "It's like Voldemort all over again, only now instead of one madman, the whole world has turned mad." His hand flared with magic and clouds started to form overhead. "Harry!" Hermione said in alarm. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then another. Slowly, he released the magic and the clouds began to disperse. Hermione looked skyward and relaxed. The last thing she wanted him to do was start messing around with global weather patterns. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid your job has suddenly become that much harder, my love," he whispered. "I think I could easily be convinced to go destroy them now, and I'm sure Luna probably has similar thoughts." Hermione looked at him for a long moment and he wondered what she was thinking. Then she sighed. "I think you're right. I'll have to keep both of you from running off on a crusade. But I think Luna is going to be the one to worry me the most. You, at least, are willing to let me help you. "I'm not going to let you kill anyone Harry. No, let me amend that. I'm not going to let you start a fight with them. If they come here, I know you will do whatever it takes, even if it means killing them, to protect us." He nodded, accepting her limitations, but he added one proviso. If the Ministry ever came to the island, he'd make them regret it. Once he was through with them, they'd remember Voldemort as nothing more than a quaint man with an unfortunate temper problem. Hermione knew that look and decided to get his mind onto something else. "How are you coming with your enlargement charm?" He turned and motioned for her to sit on one of the deck chairs. "It's sort of complex, but I think I have a solution. The problem is that, according to my notes we'll only be able to do the enlargement two more times." "How much space will that give us? And what's so complex about it; asides from the obvious impossibility of what we're discussing?" "When it's done, the island will be sixty miles wide by one hundred and eighty long." She blinked and stared at him. He ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know. That last doubling is going to be difficult." "Difficult? Harry are you listening to yourself? What you're talking about is impossible!" He frowned. "No it isn't, it's just hard to do. Besides, this isn't so much a charm as it is a ritual with a reinforcing feedback loop." She held up a hand. "Stop. Let's take this from the top." He nodded and waved a hand, causing a transparent map of the island to appear between the two of them. "Alright, the first problem is locating and isolating every structure on the island, fixed or movable. We do that by etching

some runes in the structure. If we don't etch the runes, then the structure would be included in the ritual, and end up expanding. Think about that. It means that our house could end up four times bigger in all dimensions. I don't know about you, but I don't think I want to live in a place with sixty foot ceilings." Hermione nodded. The exclusion made sense. And etching runes shouldn't be that hard to accomplish, even if they had to do it to every structure on the island. "Alright, I can see why you want to do that." "Right. The next thing is, we need to make sure everyone is inside when the ritual is performed. Anyone outside could be caught in it's effects," he said seriously, then frowned. "That could get messy." He hopped up to sit on the railing and looked down at her. "The ritual itself isn't very difficult. Setting up the ritual area is going to be a problem, but Dobby assures me that he and several of the other Elves can help me prepare the area." "So, what's the problem then?" He scowled. "The incantation is going to be quite long and involved. I won't have to memorize it, but if I misread anything, I'll have to back off and restart it. In the meantime, people will have to stay indoors for the entire time. I figure it will take me at least three hours to read it." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Harry you can't read a three hour incantation perfectly. You have trouble with anything over five minutes without stumbling." Harry grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I was kind of hoping you'd look at it and find ways of trimming it down. I've worked out the basic Arithmancy, but you're the expert." She grinned at him, pleased with his response. "Alright, I'll start picking apart your work tomorrow. Now, not to change the subject, but I have to ask. What was in that jar you had me throw at the Ministry before we left?" Harry grinned maliciously. "Mosquitoes. Millions and millions of them. Well, one actually and a duplicating charm that will take days to wear off." Hermione giggled and he grinned back at her. The idea of filling the Ministry building full of mosquitoes tickled her fancy. The mosquitoes on Norman's Cay were particularly voracious if you weren't prepared for them and knew the charm that Amos had developed. "You, Mr. Potter, are decidedly evil," she said, laughingly. "And they thought Voldemort was bad?" Harry asked. "What's a killing curse when compared to hundreds of mosquito bites?" He snorted. "Who needs a Dark Lord when you've got a slightly touched malcontent with a devious imagination?" "And friends with enough ideas to make the Ministry jumpy for the next hundred years," Hermione added, her eyes dancing. "Oh, yes," he said, his eyes becoming unfocused as ideas began to percolate through his mind. "You know, these sorts of rescues wouldn't be necessary if I just destroyed the Ministry. Or, better yet, I could just skin Dumbledore and hang him in the atrium as a warning. I could turn all the ICW's aurors into Blast-Ended Skrewts and the high council into Flobberworms." "Harry," Hermione admonished lightly. His eyes began to glow and the smile that began to form on his lips wasn't quite...right. "I could give Percy to the Goblins. Or better yet, I'll give him to Penelope! I'll break Snape out of Azkaban and give him to the twins as a test subject. I'll give Shacklebolt to Luna. She can have her revenge for Richard. I get what's left, though, for Minerva. I'll turn Hogwarts into a muggle petting zoo." "Harry," she said quietly, beginning to worry a bit. "Diagon Alley will become the next big muggle tourist trap. We'll sell cheesy ceramic statues of Merlin and Morgana for

a mint! We'll turn the Ministry building into a muggle orphanage and force the Ministry workers to care for them." Shaking her head, Hermione leaned forward and poked him in the chest. "Come back, love. You can have fun storming the Ministry later." He looked down at her and sighed. "Right. So, where were we again?" FINI (For Now)

*Chapter 5*: Wizards Fall - Down the Rabbit Hole

Standard Disclaimer:
Alyx peered over the top of the monitor and looked down. "Another Wizards Fall? The minions will be so pleased." Bob looked up from the keyboard and glared at her. "You know you shouldn't call our readers minions, they are people, they have lives, hopes, and dreams. And your dressing them up in leather and llama costumes has got to stop!" Alyx shrugged. "They don't seem to mind, as long as we keep typing, they are happy to do what I tell them. Why the other day I had one that didn't even mind the power tools..." "Stop!" Bob said loudly. "I don't want to hear this," he muttered to himself. "It's bad enough I have my own perversions without dealing with yours." Alyx glared at the mention of his perversions. "You? Your boring, all you can think of is busty, scantily clad women bearing jelly donuts. Me, I have flair, I am experiencing the gestalt of humanity." "Alan Rickman in a hot tub with you while being served by three minions in llama costumes is not a gestalt!" Bob shot back. "I swear I'm never going to live that down," Alyx muttered. "So what now? We could argue about this all day you know." Bob shrugged. "Simple, you tell the people that we don't own Harry Potter while I go plug this story in and turn it on for the minions... errr readers." Alyx nodded happily and turned to face the audience. She was pleased to see the large number of them wearing llama costumes and it reminded her that she still needed to work on her llama drama. Bob shook his head in despair noting Alyx drifting off into her own fantasy world. "And now, Wizards Fall folks. Enjoy."

Wizard's Fall, Part IV Down the Rabbit Hole Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (September, 2007)...
It had taken Luna nearly two months before she felt ready to move into the house next door. During those months she had suffered intense depression. Harry and Hermione helped her through the days and the long lonely nights. On few rare occasions when her nightmares were really bad, all three slept in the same bed, usually with Hermione in the middle. There existed a strange kind of tension between them. It was as if each of them realized in their own way that the relationship could easily turn into something like what the twins had. It was something that scared all three of them, and while they never spoke of it, each thought it would be a bad idea to take that extra step. Even without that final step, there was a love beyond words that existed between the trio. Only Luna knew the absolute truth about what was happening between them and she was sure they weren't ready to know about it. Hermione would soon learn some of it, but Harry couldn't know for now. It didn't bother her much. She'd had her Richard, and had foreseen a time when Harry would share himself with her with Hermione's blessing. Eventually, she moved into the villa next door; the same villa Harry had created when he had rescued Hermione. She hadn't wanted to move really. Neither had Harry or Hermione, and that was part of the reason she felt the move was necessary. She felt the distance, small though it was, was needed to keep their relationship from taking a step they weren't ready for. Slowly things got back to normal for Harry and Hermione, except the daily visits with Luna and the shared meals.

Harry had returned to working on his space expanding charms and Hermione began to seriously work on solving the Avalon equations. Harry had produced a first rate foundation for the equations and she took his work and built upon it. Luna spent her days reviewing and checking many of the machines that she had shipped from Nantech when it dissolved upon Richard's death. Harry had set up a large building next to the old Weasley Wheezes building and she spent most of her time installing and testing some of the most advanced machines in the world, on an island mostly powered by magic. She had the germ of an idea, but hadn't been able to do more than consider it in broad terms. First, like Hermione, she needed to get the foundation put in place, and that meant making sure all of the equipment she needed worked. And even then, she knew she'd never be able to bring her idea to fruition unless something drastic happened.

Harry and Hermione's Villa, Norman's Cay...

Harry stepped into the bedroom and stopped dead in his tracks. There was an extra door there that didn't make any sense. He frowned. Hermione had told him she would be making a change to their bedroom, but she hadn't told him what that change would be. The wardrobes were missing, a fact that only dimly registered. He walked over to the door and opened it. It was dark inside. He took a step inside and the door swung shut behind him. He took a deep breath, trying to stem the tide of fear that began to wash over him. A whimper escaped past his lips and the fear he had spent most of his life fighting quickly overwhelmed him.

Luna's Villa, Norman's Cay...

"I wanted to thank you, Luna," said Hermione. "Your approach to the equation was just what I needed to see. The change in perspective did the trick and I'm moving forward again." Luna smiled. "Richard used to say I could alter his approach after ten minutes of looking at his problems. And then he'd moan about all the months spent wasting time when my way was so different from his." Hermione sighed, but Luna held her smile. "The hurt is receding, so don't be afraid you're going to hurt me by bringing up anything that reminds me of him." "So, has Harry brought down all that equipment you had shipped to Nassau?" Luna nodded and looked dreamily out the window. "Once I get the twins to finish making the necessary power adapters, I'll be set up and able to continue my research. I have most of them now, but some of the devices require specialized power adapters that the twins never heard of. They'll probably have it in a week or two. Harry arranged for them to visit a factory on the mainland where they can see some of the equipment in operation. It will allow them to take some readings on their power needs." Hermione sighed and looked down. Luna looked over at her. "What is it?" "You don't know how much I envy you, Luna. You have a clear goal. I have the equations and that's about it," Hermione replied. Luna shook her head and smiled at her gently. "You have far more than that. You just don't recognize it yet. Life isn't about goals, it's about doing what you need to do to find your own brand of happiness. Besides, my own goals have changed recently, much like yours did when you first came here. I've decided to turn my research toward ways we can protect ourselves." She trailed off and cocked her head to one side, her brow wrinkling in concern. "Something is wrong with Harry." At the same time Hermione felt a rush of primal fear run through her from her ring. She shivered violently and stood. She darted out of the house with Luna running right behind her. The two ran into the Potter house, Hermione almost frantic from the emotional storm she felt from the ring on her finger. "Harry!" she shouted.

The sound of thrashing and things falling over could be heard from the bedroom and the two women ran to see what was causing the noise. Hermione skidded to a halt in the empty bedroom, then her eyes fell on the new walk-in closet. Several long strides took her to the door and she yanked it open. Harry tumbled out, covered in clothing. He curled up in a ball on the floor, eyes tightly closed and began to tremble. "Dobby!" Luna called. She turned when Dobby appeared. "Go to Alicia," she commanded. "Ask her for a strong dose of calming draught." Dobby nodded and tore his eyes away from Harry, who was oblivious to everything. Hermione knelt by Harry, but for once in her life she was at a loss. His emotional storm was still sweeping through her and it added to her own fear. Luna knelt next to her and bent down close to Harry's head. "It's going to be all right. You're out now," she said, gently rubbing his back. Hermione looked at Luna incredulously. "Do you know what's going on?" "He's claustrophobic, Hermione. I'm surprised you didn't know," the blond said a bit harshly. Her focus was on Harry. Hermione could come later. "No, I didn't know," whispered Hermione, mortified. She hadn't known and he had never told her. "Something has triggered a panic attack. He might have a lot of power, but he's still human," Luna said softly. Dobby reappeared holding a calming draught. A moment later, Alicia popped into the room. She was one of the few people Harry keyed into their private wards so she could always apparate in. "What happened?" Alicia said as she knelt next to the two women. "A panic attack caused by his claustrophobia ," Luna replied authoritatively. Alicia blinked at her, then took the potion bottle from Dobby. With a competent wave of her wand she magicked the contents directly into Harry's stomach. He slowly relaxed his position and Hermione could feel the emotional storm lessening. "I had no idea," Hermione said with a bit of chagrin. Alicia frowned. "I'm not really an expert on it, but I don't think he's actively claustrophobic. More likely something triggered a flashback to when it was a serious problem. Even people that beat the problem can still get overwhelmed from time to time." Harry opened his eyes and Hermione leaned closer. "Hey there," she said softly. "Are you all right?" "What happened? Last thing I remember was the door slammed shut and the lights went out." Hermione nibbled on her lip worriedly for a moment and nodded. It finally dawned on her exactly why he always insisted that at least one light be kept on at night. Even the bedroom onboard the Lily had a Mickey Mouse night light. Now she felt guilty for teasing him about it. "We think you had a panic attack. Why didn't you tell me you were claustrophobic?" she asked. He shrugged wearily. "I thought I had beaten it. Madam Pomfrey helped me deal with it in my first year at Hogwarts. I haven't had a panic attack in years, not even when I was on a full binge." "I never knew that!" exclaimed Hermione. Suddenly she felt a wave of shame hit her through her ring and she understood his need to appear strong against his muggle relatives, and to the world. Her expression softened and she

reached down and caressed his cheek. "So a light in the closet would prevent it?" He nodded. "Pretty much, yeah," he replied tiredly. "Closed in spaces don't seem so... intimidating when there is a light on." "I think someone needs to sleep for a few hours," Alicia commented, observing him. Hermione and Luna helped him stand and walk over to the bed. "Rest, Harry," Alicia commanded. He nodded and lay back on the bed. Alicia watched for a moment longer then nodded in satisfaction. She waved to the other two witches to follow her out of the room. Out in the kitchen, she turned to Hermione. "He'll sleep for an hour or two. Those sort of episodes always tire someone out afterwards." While, Luna bustled around the kitchen putting out cups and conjuring tea for everyone, Hermione nodded absently, her eyes on the door to the bedroom. It bothered her that even now the way he had been raised was still causing him difficulties. Alicia took a cup and nodded gratefully to Luna. "He's lucky, really. Madam Pomfrey had some experience that she could use to help him get past the problem. Gabrielle is pulling her hair out dealing with some of the problems we're only now starting to see. She's got standing orders for books on Mind Healing for the committee." "I didn't know it was that much of a problem," Hermione said softly. "But I guess I should have." Her eyes glanced towards Luna for a moment. Luna noticed her look and smiled slightly. It was true that she had had her own share of problems and still had them to an extent. "It's worst among the children," Alicia said sadly. "Madam Maxime is currently housing nearly 300 orphans. Some of them are having considerable difficulty. Granted, a lot of them are nearly adults at this point. Most of the children we picked up came from the magical schools. Angie's group had the youngest ones." Hermione and Luna both looked startled by the news. "Is there anything that can be done?" asked Hermione worriedly. Alicia shook her head. "Angie is trying to get people interested in taking in some of the children, but we don't have any adoption agencies or procedures for that sort of thing." Luna looked down at the table. "You don't need agencies or procedures, all you need is an adult or two who are willing to share their lives and love with a child. Surely that can't be that hard to find? Some of the children can be adopted, others could be mentored, or even apprenticed." Hermione could feel Luna's anger bubbling just under her calm exterior and she laid a hand on hers. "I'll speak with my father. Perhaps we can get the committee to appeal to the islanders to take in a child." Alicia nodded and looked relieved. "That would be a big help. They know about the situation in broad terms, but I think they have been concentrating on other matters. Road building and planning for this next enlargement is nice, but what good is it to have all this in place when your people are hurting?" "It is a mistake to worry about people's physical comforts when they have other needs that aren't being addressed," Luna murmured. Alicia stood, happy with the results of her conversation. Hermione was a member of the Rescue Committee and would see that the problem received the attention it deserved. As the senior healer for the island, she felt it was her duty to bring this problem to their attention. Angie and Maxime's attempts to get people to take in the children hadn't been successful enough. With Hermione and Harry's backing, something would be done to help ease the situation.

With a wave, she apparated back to the infirmary. She still had some potions simmering. Since Angelina had given birth to a little girl not long ago, she had taken over the potion making until Angelina was done nursing the baby. Angelina had several very capable assistants who she was training up to make potions in her absence, but for now, she couldn't be around the fumes from the simmering potions. Hermione stared at the spot where Alicia was for a moment longer then she turned back to look at Luna. "We've been so engrossed in the nitty gritty details that we completely forgot the people we're trying to help." Luna smiled weakly at her. "To be honest, it never even crossed my mind until Alicia mentioned it. Part of the problem is that people seem to expect the Rescue Committee to take care of everything." "I bet Harry knew. He visits Madam Maxime's school at least twice a week. He also helped Hagrid bring in all sorts of animals, magical and muggle." "Knew what?" said a voice from the doorway. Both women turned to look at Harry. His hair was even messier than normal and he looked like he had just woke up. "What are you doing up?" Hermione asked. "Alicia thought you'd sleep for a couple hours." He shrugged, then walked over to a chair and sat down. "You know I sleep less than most people," he said softly. "Now, what did I know about?" "You knew about the problems with the orphans at the school," Luna replied. He nodded and his expression turned grim. "I do know about it. I even asked Madam Maxime about adopting the children." "All of them?" Hermione nearly screeched in dismay. Harry chuckled and shook his head. "No, not all, and I wouldn't have done anything without your input. You know that. I just wanted to see what Maxime thought. I was shocked when she was discouraging." "That makes sense," Luna said approvingly. Hermione and Harry both turned to her, a bit startled. "Oh? Why?" Hermione asked. "Most of the children are too old," replied Luna airily. "You'd be more like big brother and sister than parents to them. We have almost no preschool orphans and Angie's group contains the youngest children, who are all starting primary school this September." "That was Maxime's argument to me as well. We settled on a bit of a compromise. Two days a week I'll be at her school, teaching a class about discovering magic beyond the wand, and a class for the older kids, which I call 'making it happen'," Harry said, then he looked at both of the witches. "I was sort of hoping that you two would help with that second class, since it's going to be about starting with a desired result and then creating a spell to make it happen." Hermione's expression lit up. She'd missed teaching and even a part time return to the field would be a welcome change to her life. Luna, however, looked pensive. Harry noted her look and reached across the table to pat her hand lightly. "Don't decide now. Take some time and think about it. I know you still have your research. But one day a week break isn't going to make that much of a difference." Luna looked down at the table. The ideas she wanted to research now centered around ways to use her new science to protect the island and it's inhabitants. That meant looking down darker paths than her original ideas she had been following with Richard. And soon, she'd have to speak frankly with Harry and Hermione about it. She didn't like the path she was considering and found it difficult to focus on it.

Add to that the pull she felt from Harry, who truly wanted her to help with these classes ,and it made it even harder to focus on what she was doing. Reluctantly she nodded and stiffened slightly when Hermione leaned over and hugged her. "It will be fun, Luna." Luna looked up and smiled at the pair. Harry stood and walked to the counter where he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I think I'll go work on the enlargement procedures some more." "Harry?" Hermione called before he could exit the room. "Hmmm?" he said, turning to look at her. "I know you're fine, but I'd feel better if you took it easy for today, and stay away from the walk-in closet until I've installed some lighting." He chuckled and at her protectiveness. Even after all this time, it still made him feel good. Once in the study, his mood darkened as he looked at the sixty seven page hand written incantation for the enlargement. If he didn't figure out how to reduce it down, it was never going to happen.

The Mary Celeste, roughly half way between Nassau and Norman's Cay...
A bell above deck rang three times and Amos looked up sharply. It wasn't possible to easily ward a moving object, even one as big as the Mary Celeste, but it did have a charm which warned him of approaching magical people. Amos was alone, as usual, and he wasn't expecting company. He stood and walked up the short gangway to the main deck. Once there, he squinted into the low sun, trying to spot his visitors. Growing concerned when he couldn't see the approaching intruders, he fingered the necklace he wore nervously. It had been given to him by Harry. Everyone who left the island on a routine basis now wore one. It wasn't a portkey, as a lost necklace could be hazardous to those on the island. Instead, it was charmed to track the whereabouts of the wearer. His fingers twitched around the necklace when he spotted six broom riders drop their disillusionment charm. "Keep your hands where we can see them," shouted one of the red cloaked men. He smiled bravely and hoped that someone would find out what happened to him. He wasn't concerned about giving up the island's secrets. He wasn't the secret keeper and he had taken a vow that would take his life in order to protect the island. Even if they used a truth potion or some form of mind control on him, the vow would kick in, killing him. Three of the men landed, while the other three circled the ship on their brooms, watching him for any signs of treachery. One man approached him and snapped a pair of manacles on him. He could feel the anti-magic spells suppressing his core. The man then patted him down, removing his wand, a pipe, a knife and his wallet. To Amos' surprise, his necklace was not removed or even noticed. "He's clean." "All right, slap a portkey on him and let's get out of here," said another. "Wait! What about the boat?" asked the third. The Auror in charge shrugged. "Not our worry. We just need to bring this idiot in." Amos bowed his head and tried to blink back his tears. Mary was his family, it had been his source of income and his companion for almost as many years as he had been alive. With a strength born of desperation, he struggled free from the Auror holding him. "NO!" He shouted. "I'll not leave my Mary!"

He took two steps before collapsing under the weight of two powerful stunning spells. "Crazy old fool," muttered the lead Auror. He picked himself up from the floor. "You just added resisting arrest to what could have been a minor charge of endangering the secrecy statutes with your boat." An Auror knelt next to Amos and tapped the manacles and watched as the prisoner disappeared. The leader looked around for a moment, then he nodded to the others, who mounted their brooms and lifted off.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (September, 2007)...

Hermione looked up when the orb appeared in front of her. She was clad in a pair of light weight shorts and a tank top, normal attire for her when Harry wasn't home, and she wasn't expecting company. "Commente!" she said clearly, activating her side of the communications spell. Harry's head appeared floating in the orb. She was surprised to see water in the background, as he was supposed to be with the Weasley twins. They were working on converting their old Wheezes building into a manufacturing center for items used in defense of the island. The wards that Harry had put up were impressive, and so far had kept out the curious. Harry felt there was a chance, however remote, that someday they would be detected and he wanted to be prepared for that eventuality. "Harry? Where are you?" she asked. "Aren't you supposed to be with Fred and George?" "Hermione, I don't have a lot of time. Something has happened to Amos. Right now I'm aboard his ship and it's empty. Amos is missing and I can see the residual signatures of several stunners, as well as a portkey. I think he's been picked up by a capture team. "I've got to bring the Mary into port, and that's going to take me a few hours. Then I have to find and rescue Amos." Hermione frowned. "Are you sure you're all right alone on that boat of his?" "Ship," he said, correcting her absentmindedly. He had explained the difference to her many times about boats and ships, but she refused to change her ways. "I'll be fine, it's just that I'm the only one that knows enough to sail the her into Amos' deep water dock. It's what happens afterwards that bothers me." "Why? You'll just go rescue Amos like you've done for nearly fifty other islanders who've been picked up." He frowned at her. "Do you want to be the one to tell Amos that his Mary is probably what drew the attention of the Aurors and he shouldn't be sailing her like he has been?" Her eyes widened and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh, Harry, this will kill him." Amos worked tirelessly for the islanders, but he had one real love in his life, his Mary Celeste. He nodded grimly. "Unless we can come up with a solution. He lives for his Mary and if we're going to be honest, we need him to keep making his runs. He provides a service that we need at least for the foreseeable future." "What can I do?" she asked. He thought for a moment before speaking. "Contact Fred and George and tell them what's happened. I didn't have time when I felt the pulse from his necklace. I may need some of their inventiveness to provide a distraction when I go pick up Amos." She nodded and gave him a smile. "Hurry home, Harry. We'll be ready when you get here." He nodded. "Right. Fini!" he said, ending the communications spell. Hermione pulled out a small notebook and scribbled a few notes, then she summoned Dobby to her. Harry and the twins would handle getting Amos safely home. She had an idea which might help with Amos' problem.

She stood and walked out the door of their home and walked the short distance to their library. There were some books she needed to check.

The Mary Celeste, 2 miles North of Norman's Cay...

Harry stood on the deck and considered his problem. The Mary Celeste was moving along at a good clip, thanks to a little help from his magic and the fact that he had unfurled nearly every square inch of sail he had on board. Norman's Cay was a large bump on the horizon and he could see the lights on Amos' dock. Even though he was still more than two miles away, he began the process of slowing the large ship down. Harry absently waved a hand, causing a number of sails to lower. At the same time, the first of several sea anchors streamed out aft, slowing the ship. He wanted to dock the Mary, not crash her into Amos' concrete pier. Twin pops signaled the arrival of the Weasley twins and he grinned at them when they both stumbled and fell to the deck. "You would have thought that trying to apparate to my dive boat when I'm doing sixty miles an hour would have convinced you two not to apparate to a moving ship." Fred looked up at him sourly. "Yeah, yeah, but this is important. Amos needs us." Harry shook his head at them. What they had done was incredibly dangerous. Apparating onto a moving vehicle involved all sorts of forces that didn't exist when apparating to a stationary location. The last time they jumped to his dive boat while he was going full throttle, their feet had barely touched the boat before they'd gone overboard, nearly dragging Harry with them. "And Hermione says I'm nuts?" he muttered, then he looked back at the twins, who were staring at him, wearing identical grins. He shook his head again. "Idiots," he said fondly. George threw both arms around him and kissed him wetly on the cheek. "Yeah, but you love us anyway!" he proclaimed loudly. Harry danced back out of his arms and wiped at his cheek. Movement caught his eye and he held up a hand, stopping Fred from repeating his brother's gesture. "Maybe, but I prefer my kisses to come from someone who doesn't need to shave their face." Fred's eyes sparkled with mirth. "I can ask Angelina and Alicia. I'm sure they'd be willing, but Hermione might object." "Hermione? Luna would too," added George. A motion on the horizon caught Harry's attention and his hands flared with magic. The Mary heeled hard to one side and another sea anchor dropped off the stern. Almost immediately the large ship slowed noticeably. Fred and George looked nervously at the rigging moving around and sails being neatly tied off, all without any visible hands to perform the work. "What do we know?" asked Harry. He watched the horizon carefully. He could see the dock in the distance and was nudging the large ship into the proper position. "We traced Amos' signature to a location north of Atlanta. Remember hearing about that new ICW holding camp? We think he's been taken there," Fred said, tearing his eyes away from the rigging. "We don't know why he was taken. Amos still keeps his official residence up in Nassau, so we don't think it's because he's been linked with us or what we're doing." Harry nodded absently then spun the helm hard. The aging ship heeled again before coming upright and heading directly for the pier. His hands flashed with magic one final time and the ship slowed to a crawl. "We'll be docked in a few minutes, then we'll see what we can do about Amos. I'm not going to let anyone take him

from us. He's worked too hard for everyone here and we owe it to him," Harry said softly. Fred grinned broadly. "Mate, we have this type of bomb that turns everyone's head into cabbages, it's perfect for assault..." Harry shook his head. "No, we can't." Both twins looked at Harry as if he had grown a second head and he frowned at them. "Don't you see it? Amos is too close to what we've got here. His rescue needs to be low key. So low key, in fact, that the ICW won't know we took him. If you guys want to work up a diversion, that's fine, but play elsewhere. Leave the mainland facility where Amos is alone," he paused and looked thoughtful. "You know a diversion might not be a bad idea, especially if you made it appear as if one or more of the member nations of the ICW were trying to break away." George blinked and his expression grew sly. "So you're saying we have permission to play, as long as we don't make Georgia our sandbox?" He turned to his brother. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Fred grinned. "Yup, it's time to pay ickle Percy another visit." George nodded and turned back to Harry. "Thanks, Harry! We'll see you later tonight when you bring Amos back." And with that both twins popped away. Harry shook his head and muttered about momentum. He hoped the twins didn't injure themselves too badly when they arrived. He'd tried to explain momentum to them. When they'd only started at him blankly, he had dumped the explanation in Hermione's lap. She'd done her best, but their vacant stares had annoyed her so much, she'd turned the problem over to her father. Though he'd done his best, Duncan hadn't had any more luck than Harry or Hermione. The twins still hadn't understood. Shrugging, Harry let the problem go. The twins had hard heads. A few concussions wouldn't do them any lasting damage.

Norman's Cay Hospital, the next morning...

Alicia looked up when the door opened. She smiled when she saw Hermione enter, followed by Harry and Luna, and motioned for them to enter her office. Out of habit, she ran a practiced eye over Harry. She had checked him last night when he had returned with Amos, but she knew he tended to think little of his own personal health or safety. "How is he?" asked Hermione in a hushed voice. "Cranky and more than a little unhappy," replied Alicia, "but otherwise he's not hurt. He's convinced that we're going to take his boat from him." "Ship," Harry corrected absently. Luna smirked and Alicia shot Harry a dark look, then she turned back to Hermione. "He's just finishing breakfast. Unless he develops some life threatening disease in the next thirty minutes, I'm going to release him." Standing, she motioned them to follow. A few short moments later, Alicia led them out into the main ward, where Amos was eating his breakfast and glaring at the elf who stood nearby, making sure he ate. The old man looked up at his visitors and dropped his fork onto his plate. "What happen'd to my Mary?" he asked bluntly. Harry grinned at him. "She's sitting in her berth, no worse for wear," he replied. "I brought her home for you." Amos eyed Harry for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You probably be the onli mon on dis island tha' can handle Mary." His expression turned glum. "I'm gonna lose her?"

Luna and Hermione sat down on the bed next to Amos and Harry pulled up a chair. He waved a hand in the direction of the two women. "Not at all, Amos. We know what your Mary means to you and we have a couple of ideas that should allow you to keep her and keep using her. Hermione and Luna have a couple ideas which should work for you." Amos turned to look at the two women. "Ideas?" "I've noticed that most of your magic seems to be very practical," Hermione said softly. "I learnt from my pappy and his pappy. Its bin gud enuf for a hunnert years," Amos replied. Hermione frowned. The concept of someone being totally home schooled went against everything she believed in. "It's worked for you very well, Amos, but if you're to keep your boat, we need to teach you some new magic." "Ship." said both Harry and Amos. Luna snickered softly. She liked Amos a lot. He didn't laugh at her comments about strange creatures and he often brought her magical creatures he found while out sailing. Harry reached over and touched Amos on the shoulder. "What we're thinking of doing is really simple. First step is to make the Mary look a little different. We're going to color all of your sails. I realize that the gray canvas is traditional, but we want her to look like a different ship. "Second, the committee is going to ask for volunteers to be your crew. We have plenty of people, some of whom have asked if they can be taught to sail a ship like yours or our Lily. From the committee's point of view, learning boating safety is a sensible thing to do. Learning how to sail your Mary will help with that. Finally, Hermione is going to teach you a spell that will allow you to create the illusion of having a crew for those times when you're sailing alone." Amos sat silently for a long moment, looking at the three of them. He could see they were trying very hard to do everything they could to let him keep his Mary. Finally, he looked away, choked up by the fact that he was accepted and loved by these wizards. It was a rare experience for a wizard as old as he was. He had lived long enough to experience a time when a Caucasian wizard wouldn't dream of being friends with a black wizard. The rest of the wizarding world might be tearing itself apart, but here on Norman's Cay, things were very right, in his opinion. He looked up again to catch Harry's eye. "You tink dis really work?" "It has to, my friend," Harry replied. "You're part of our family. You need the Mary and you do provide a needed service. Besides, Hermione is a great teacher. She'll teach you the spells you need to know in no time. All we need to do is make the Mary appear more mundane, so you don't attract any official attention." "Harry, won't the ICW be looking for him?" Luna asked. Harry shook his head. "I don't think so, but I used the Twins Permapolyjuice, so there is a chance..." "Harry, you didn't!" admonished Hermione. "That hasn't been tested!" "I know that," he replied smoothly, "That's why I didn't personally test it. However, the warden of the prison volunteered." Hermione gaped at him. "You didn't!" When Amos began to laugh, Luna grinned happily. She still had a bit of a blood thirsty streak when it came to official representatives of the government. Harry could have easily turned the man inside out and she'd approve whole heartedly. Hermione shook her head ruefully. She knew that Harry had drained the man's magic before using the potion on him. Harry might pretend to the outside world that such measures didn't bother him, but she and Luna knew the truth of it. "And the twins? What were they up to if they weren't with you last night?" she asked. Harry's expression grew guarded. "Erm... well, they might have taken a couple of portkeys I made and visited Britain last night. With the ICW centralizing all of the DMLE functions, I thought it might be useful for them to create a

diversion in case I accidentally triggered some alarm. They might have... erm... created a disturbance or two." Luna giggled again and Amos looked up at Harry, his eyes narrowed in speculation. He could well imagine the trouble the Weasley twins could wreak when left unsupervised. Hermione turned her full gaze on her husband. "Just what are you not telling us? What did they do?" Harry suddenly felt like he did when he first met Professor McGonagall. He looked down and scuffed one foot along the floor, then he muttered something inaudibly. "I can't hear you," Hermione prompted. Harry sighed and sat down on the bed opposite of Amos. "I said the twins decided to visit Percy last night. I suggested that an abortive attack elsewhere that looked like it came from a member nation of the ICW might throw people off our trail. So the twins decided to pin the blame on the Swedish." Hermione's expression grew thoughtful, then she asked the one question Harry had hoped she wouldn't ask. It was so embarrassing! "How did they blame the Swedish for the attack?" "Talking Reindeer," Harry muttered. "That doesn't sound too bad," Luna offered. Talking reindeer didn't seem that unusual to her. When she was younger she often spoke with the reindeer that visited her every year at Yule. Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What were they saying?" Harry looked away. "Look, I want you to know this wasn't my idea. If I had known what they had planned, I would have straightened them out before hand!" "What did they say?" Hermione repeated through gritted teeth. "Bork bork bork," Harry said, shaking his head in defeat. Hermione blinked and stared at Harry for a moment before she started to laugh. Harry looked at her in dismay. He had been telling her only a few days ago that the twins were growing up and taking their new duties seriously. He never expected them to pattern an attack on a TV show that they had become addicted to while babysitting Hermione's little sister one evening. In fact, the twins home now sported a Television and the complete collection of the Muppet Show on DVD, as well as all of their movies. The Swedish Chef and Animal were two of their favorite characters. Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Harry. "They attacked Percy with muppets and talking reindeer?" Harry looked down at the floor, "I knew you wouldn't understand," he muttered. She laughed again and he couldn't help but smile to himself. Her laughter always lightened his moods and this time was no exception. When Amos began to laugh, he looked up, grinned at the two of them, then began to laugh with them. Luna looked the three of them and shook her head fondly. Muggle born and raised, she thought, they are such strange people sometimes.

Harry and Hermione's Villa, Norman's Cay, December 2007...

Hermione pulled her sweater about her body and leaned against the railing of the deck, sipping her tea. In the distance she could just make out the bright yellow sails of the Mary Celeste. She couldn't help but smile.

Amos was in seventh heaven. The old wizard had been convinced that no plan would allow him to continue sailing his beloved ship, but in fact the opposite turned out to be true. A large number of people had come forward asking to be taught to sail, both his ship and the much smaller boats that Harry and the committee had been purchasing. Amos found himself teaching sailing and life as an islander to an avid group of people ranging from fifteen to fifty, and he was loving every minute of it. "Hermione? Are you home?" She turned and smiled at Luna, who was standing in the living room looking around for her. "Out here, Luna," she called. Luna spotted her and grinned, then she joined her on the deck. Dobby appeared a moment later and placed a tray containing a fresh pot of tea and some biscuits on a table. Hermione nodded in thanks and motioned for Luna to have a seat on one of the lounge chairs. "You said you wanted to talk about something. It sounded serious," Hermione prompted. Luna poured herself a cup of tea and she leaned back on the chair, her gaze moving out over the large bay that used to be the island's small lagoon. It was dotted with small craft, belonging mostly muggles and squibs, who contributed to the welfare of the island by fishing. "How much do you know about what I used to do?" Hermione frowned. If there was one thing she hated the most it was to admit ignorance about a subject. "I can't really say I understand it at all..." she said hesitantly. Luna smiled softly. "I greatly admire you and Harry both, more than I can express in mere words. But while you immersed yourself in the Wizarding world and Harry tried to deal with his problems, I found myself becoming interested in the source of our magic. That research led to a merry chase that ultimately hooked me up with Richard." She paused and took a sip of tea while Hermione looked at her, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "This island and everyone living on it represent one of the last bastions of free wizards and magical people in the world," Luna said softly, then she focused her gaze on the witch beside her. Hermione couldn't help but stare back, pinned by her icy blue gaze. "It scares me, Hermione. We're going to be living here, raising our families here. Yet, just outside our wards is a world that would destroy us." Hermione shook herself, freeing her gaze from Luna's. "What does this have to do with your work? Or the source of magic?" "I've been looking into using science to help protect us, but it's such a frightening prospect that I'm not sure if I should continue with it, or simply set fire to the lab and help Harry full time with his teaching at the school," Luna whispered. Hermione leaned forward on her chair and looked at Luna intently. "I don't understand." Luna took another sip of tea. "A Nanite is a machine so small that you need an electron microscope to see it. The machine does what I design it to do. If I want the machine to locate cancer genes and remove them from a strand of DNA, that's exactly what it will do. If I wanted to, I could make the Nanite capable of replicating itself, and passing itself from person to person." Hermione frowned. "That sounds like it could be dangerous, like a disease." Luna nodded solemnly. "It can be. Nanites are artificial forms of life and, like a virus, can spread across the planet. People have no immunity from their effects."

Hermione nodded slowly as she worked it out in her mind. "All right, but what does this have to do with the source of our magic?" Luna placed her cup of tea on a table next to her chair and gazed out over the bay for a long while before speaking again. "While Richard worked on producing Nanites that could repair and maintain deep space probes, I worked on two slightly different projects. I explored the use of Nanites for gene therapy and I searched for the source of magic." This caught Hermione's interest. "You found the source of magic?" Luna turned her gaze back to Hermione. "What do you know about the Magical Event Horizon?" Hermione blinked and stared at Luna for a moment. She was used to Luna jumping around like this in their conversations. "It's a term Harry invented when he worked on the island's wards," she replied slowly. "Harry explained it as the point where warded and unwarded space met. I found it interesting." Luna smiled again, used to Hermione-speak now that they'd spent so much time together. She knew Hermione was trying, in a round about way, to say that she didn't think the idea was that important, it was a curiosity and nothing more. She pulled out her wand and, with a slight gesture, an image of a house appeared floating in front of the two women. "Imagine a Fidelius ward as a bubble, surrounding a house like this one," she said. Another gesture and the house reappeared inside a bubble. "The house is hidden from view and protected. Only those living inside the bubble, or knowing the secret, know the house exists. Those that once knew about the house have forgotten it entirely. To the rest of the world, that space where the house once stood just isn't there." Hermione nodded. "Yes, I follow that." "Good," Luna replied. "Now, the bubble itself is invisible, but it's not totally undetectable. Harry's event horizon idea suggests that, while the bubble and it's contents remain hidden, the very point at which the bubble meets regular space will emit a low level of magic. A sort of bleed through from the magic powering the ward." Hermione frowned and stood. She paced for a moment thinking furiously. "That would mean that the area that is being protected is still detectable. They might not know what is being protected, but they would clearly know that there's magic there." Luna nodded unhappily. "You see it too, then?" "We're vulnerable, While they can't tell what's beyond the wards, they will know something is here," Hermione replied softly. Luna sighed. "The amount of magic leaking out is very small, but not beyond the ability of the average Auror to detect. And now you know why I have such a problem." Hermione blinked and her mind churned furiously for a second time in as many minutes as she continued to pace. "You've been working on something that can act like a disease that has no cure and you've found the source of magic. You've been working on tinkering with genes and our magic has to be genetic. Add to that the desire to protect what we have here?" She paused in her pacing and stared at Luna in horror. "Luna, what have you done?" Luna brushed off Hermione's horror with a wave and looked away. "Nothing yet. I have bits and pieces and the knowledge. The real question is what do I do with it? Given a couple years, I could have something that could really protect us, but right now all I have is doubts and fear. Fear that the Ministry will come here." When Luna looked at her, Hermione sighed, seeing how upset she was. "All right, I think we should talk about this, at least with Harry and maybe a few others. I want to say no, it's wrong. I want to tell you to forget it..."

"But you can't." Hermione nodded. "I can't. Harry and I want a family. I was planning on taking the contraceptive antidote next week. And now we've just worked out that we still aren't safe enough here." "Harry can add several more lethal ward layers," Luna offered. "He can, but what good would that do if they used a force like when they attacked Shangri La? Even a dozen extra lethal layers wouldn't stop a force that big." Hermione paused and snapped her fingers. "We can still beef up the wards, but if Harry were to ward several other places in a similar manner, uninhabited islands..." Luna grinned brightly. "Misdirection, I like it. In the meantime, I can continue working. I can do everything piecemeal until the only thing left to do is put it all together. That should take another year or two." "So we'd have at least a year before we have to decide anything?" Hermione asked hopefully. Luna nodded. Both women knew it wasn't a perfect solution, but it would give them time. A lot could happen in a year. "So, where did Harry go today?" Luna asked. Hermione sighed heavily. "He went to see Snape. He does this nearly every year at this time." Luna nodded. It was close to the anniversary of Snape and his goons killing Ginny Weasley. She looked at Hermione. "Does it bother you?" Hermione sat back down on the lounger. "No, not any more. I understand it better. Ginny was his first love, and he refuses to forget that. He thinks that to forget her would be dishonoring her memory. Personally, I don't think Ginny minds very much, but honor is important to Harry." Luna stared out over the bay for a long moment considering Hermione's words. "I think it's more than that. I don't think he does it just to torment Snape, or himself. Are you sure he's just visiting Snape?" Hermione blinked and looked at her friend before nodding slowly. It was possible that there was more to his yearly trips than she knew about.

Azkaban Prison...
Harry sat in a conjured chair and eyed the filthy disheveled man in the cell. Severus Snape had been placed in jail only after Harry had come within inches of nearly killing him. The twins managed to talk him out of it. As satisfying as it would have been, they were right. By that point it would have been murder. The Ministry hadn't wanted to put Snape in prison. So few of the pureblood Death Eaters that survived the war were going to prison. In fact, when Harry learned about their attitude towards Snape, he had marched down to the Ministry building and had a private conference with then Minister Scrimgeour. While it wasn't public knowledge, he later admitted to the twins that he threatened to kill Scrimgeour and claim he was under the Imperius. Scrimgeour immediately saw the light and agreed to Harry's request. He even went as far as bypassing the Wizengamot and declaring Snape guilty. It tickled Harry's fancy that Snape went to jail without a trial, just like his most hated school mate, Sirius Black. "Another year has come and gone, Severus," Harry said softly. The cell block was blocked off in both directions. Harry had placed a series of wards, preventing anyone from passing through. Snape looked at Harry and tried to sneer as he drew himself up to his full height. "Potter. Come to torment me again?" Harry hid a smirk and conjured a table with a cup of coffee and some warm pastries on it. "Something like that," he replied. "I thought I'd drop in and see what's new with you, old bean. Have you been getting out much?" The aroma of the pastries hit Snape like an avalanche and he couldn't help but drool a little while Harry blew on his

coffee to cool it down. "I'm afraid my social calendar prevents me from getting out as often as I'd like," Snape replied snappishly. "Ah," Harry replied knowingly. "Yes, I understand how these bars would prevent you from getting out much, but then I do believe that is their purpose." He gestured to the bars. "It is a far kinder fate than the one I had wanted to give you." Harry conjured a large loaf of bread, then casually pushed it sideways into the cell. The loaf passed seamlessly through the bars as if they weren't there. Snape's eyes bulged and he lunged forward only to bounce off the very solid bars. "Severus," Harry said, shaking his head sadly. "You know I can't let you out. Why... why... that would make me a criminal if I let you free. Besides, you don't deserve freedom yet. Someday perhaps, but not today." Snape glared at him from his position on the floor and he rubbed his nose, then his eyes bulged outwards and he lunged again, only this time for the loaf of bread sitting on the floor. He viciously bit into the loaf and nearly moaned in pleasure. It was still warm! He hadn't tasted anything so good in years! "You know, Severus, you really ought to consider decorating this place," Harry said. "It's really quite dull. I mean, I knew you liked dull. How else could one explain your classes? But really, this is beyond belief." Snape glowered at him and refused to rise to the bait. Harry grinned and leaned back on his chair. "I think someone wants to speak with you," Snape muttered. Harry glanced down the corridor to see a man practically jumping up and down in frustration at the edge of his ward. Behind him were several guards and at least two uniformed Aurors. "Meh," Harry said and with a wave of his hand, turned the ward opaque, preventing anyone from seeing through it. "Probably some flunky from the Ministry, wanting to ask me questions. They always want to ask me questions these days. Why, did you know that at our dear Minister's wedding they had the gall to try to pull me out of the service? Fortunately, I changed their mind and they left me alone after that. I really wanted to see Percy marry Su Li. It was quite touching, you know." Harry tapped his chest. "It kinda got me right here... All right, that's a lie. It really was the biggest farce you can imagine. Percy had a ceremony that would have made the Queen green with envy, and Su strutted down the aisle like she owned the world and everyone in it." "Dumbledore was there. He tried to talk to me too, but one of the visiting dignitaries had a wand accident." He smirked. "The man could have lost his buttock like Mad Eye always warned about, but he didn't. I was rather disappointed, I must say. It would surely have been a sight to see! But no. Instead he hit Albus with some sort of confundus charm, coupled with a very localized optical illusion that only Dumbledore could see. Would you believe he ran around accosting the guests, claiming they were all me? Shameful, simply shameful behavior! Fortunately, they carted him off to St. Mungo's and had him fixed up by the next day." He grinned and leaned forward. "Now they really did a lousy job on picking a caterer, or so I'm told. I didn't stick around for the bash, but I hear that most of the guests ended up catching some sort of food poisoning. I hear it was quite spectacular, all those pure bloods being sick, I'm almost sorry I missed it." He leaned back on his chair and lit his pipe. "Of course, Percy blamed his missing brothers for his misery, but then he blames them for everything lately," he said with a shrug. "I would have stuck around for the party, but I had an appointment and frankly, I got tired of sending the Aurors that kept trying to detain me to foreign countries." Harry knew exactly who had sabotaged the food at the party, but he wasn't about to admit that. It wasn't time for those sort of secrets to be revealed. Snape glared at him and shook his head. "Why are you doing this to me, Potter?" he growled with a mouthful of bread. It would have sounded more impressive but the bread prevented that.

Harry puffed slowly on his pipe and blew several smoke rings, then he turned his attention back to Snape. "Because I can, Severus. I visit you every year because this place isn't punishment enough for you. If I had my way, you would have been bricked up in a cell with a dementor for company." He sighed. "Unfortunately, I killed them all. How very short sighted of me. So every year I show up to remind you that you chose your path and that's why I'm out here and you're in there. You sealed your fate when you accepted that mark on your arm." Harry paused and his expression grew reflective. "You know," he said slowly. "I think you should hate the Weasleys even more than you hate me. They were the ones that talked me out of killing you. My idea would have been the stuff of nightmares! I could kill you still, Severus. I've learned a lot over the years. Would you believe I've even become a moderately decent potion maker? Why, I can brew all sorts of undetectable poisons these days!" Harry's eyes gleamed in the dim lighting and Snape shuddered back from his look, then he stared at the half eaten loaf of bread in horror. Harry laughed softly. "Your bread is safe. I'm not ready for us to give up these stimulating conversations." Snape stared at Harry for a long moment before cautiously lifting the bread to his lips again. If it was poisoned, it was much too late to worry about it. Harry puffed calmly on his pipe and waved a hand, causing the ward to become transparent again. The man from the Ministry was still standing there, only now he had a lot of company. It seemed that at least two of the men with him were attempting to break the ward. He chuckled and shook his head. It would take a lot more than two men to break down that ward, but he'd let them try. The officious looking man, seeing Harry, started to wave wildly and jump up and down. Harry turned his attention back to Snape. "I tried looking up some of your old friends, but I'm afraid most of them were unavailable, seeing as how they're all still dead. It seems as though the man you all pledged your lives to didn't bother to share his secret of how to cheat death. Although, come to think on it, he wasn't very good at it, was he?" The smile that crossed his lips had Snape shoving away from him in fear. "Interestingly enough, I've been told that the spot where your Lord and Master died is cursed," he went on, ignoring Snape's odd behavior. "People are afraid to go anywhere near it. Of course, it doesn't help that it's in the middle of Diagon Alley. It's really very amusing to see people deliberately move to one side or another to avoid that spot as they walk past. "Malfoy is still smoking, which is really bad for his health, but the healers can't seem to fix him. Pity, that. Oh, and Narcissa is still missing. I think she believed those rumors that I was going to turn her into a House Elf and ran as fast as her little Death Eater feet could take her. Personally, I hope she's living as a muggle somewhere. Now that would be poetic justice." "Potter, enough already!" Snape said between mouthfuls. "Must you rub it in? Yes, I made a mistake. Yes, Voldemort was evil, but he was powerful. Power is something that attracts all men." Harry frowned and looked at the man, his eyes cold. "Voldemort was a babe compared to the power I wield. He had no intention of sharing his power with you or anyone else. You were a tool, stupid and vain and utterly convinced that your methods were right. What did it get you? Life in prison and a stain on your soul that nothing will cleanse." "I said I know what I did," Snape replied angrily. Harry was still for a moment, then leaned back on his chair, nodded and puffed on his pipe. "Yes, you admit it, but what sets you apart from the rest of normal people is your total lack of regret for your actions." Harry stood and vanished his chair and table. He shook himself slightly, then smiled. Snape shuddered back. There was something...wrong...with the man in front of him. His eyes were emotionless and devoid of anything human, but his smile was so genuine looking. The combination was the stuff of nightmares. Tearing his gaze away, he stared down at the small bit of bread still in his hand and wondered, yet again, if Potter was insane.

"I'll see you in a year, old bean," Harry said. "Maybe next time I'll bring a book to read to you. The muggles have a wonderful author named Doctor Seuss. I think you'll enjoy him. His Green Eggs and Ham is marvelous." Green Eggs and Ham? thought Snape. Muggles really are disgusting creatures if they wait until eggs are so rotten they turn green! Harry waved and faded from sight. Up the corridor, the ward vanished abruptly, causing the curse breakers to become violently sick as their spells backfired on them. The man from the Ministry and several prison guards rushed up the corridor. "What did he say to you?" demanded the Ministry man. "Nothing," Snape stammered. He knew what was coming. It was what always followed one of Potter's visits; a beating from the guards for not cooperating with them. He knew it was just an excuse. After all, they could have easily dosed him with Veritaserum. The fact that they didn't said they really didn't care what Potter had to say.

Later that day at Harry's villa...

Harry sipped the large mug of coffee that Dobby had handed him and he stared out over the bay, his gaze unfocused in thought. Hermione opened the large bay door and stepped out onto the deck. She walked over to sit in the lounge chair next to his. A moment later, Dobby handed her a cup of tea. Unlike Harry, she rarely drank coffee. "I didn't know." she said quietly. Harry tore his gaze from the bay and turned his attention to her. "I know. I suppose I should have told you about it, but I didn't want you feeling guilty because I visited her and you didn't." She nodded, after a moment of reflection. Harry had appeared a few hours ago at the island infirmary with a patient that surprised everyone. All these years she thought he had been going to visit Snape in prison. He was, but he'd also been visiting someone else. She knew he would continue to visit Snape, but now his visits made even more sense to her. "Is there any real hope?" she asked. Harry shook his head unhappily. "Alicia was working hard on her when I left the infirmary, but she didn't look hopeful. Fred, George and Bill will stay with her as long as it takes. They seemed pretty broken up about it. Maybe she'll have enough lucid moments to recognize them." He sighed heavily. "I got there too late. I knew she had been abandoned, but I never expected this to happen." He bowed his head and Hermione could feel a wealth of emotions flowing from her ring. He was angry at himself for not being able to help her in time, and angry at those responsible. He was sad and hurting because she was dying and had been so alone until he arrived. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently. He sipped his coffee and leaned back against the chair, his eyes closed. "I went to visit Snape, you know I do that at least once a year. I like to remind him that he's behind bars, while I'm enjoying life. I know it's petty of me, but it's the closest thing to revenge I can have on the man who changed our lives so dramatically." He looked at her and reached out to touch her hand. "His actions, in a way, helped us to find each other and I don't regret that. I just wish it hadn't come at such high a cost." Hermione nodded unhappily. She hated his yearly visits to Snape, but she hadn't been able to talk him out of going. Now she understood them a little better and could agree. The cost was painfully high for both of them. Snape's actions, both at school and during those final days, had a major impact on their lives. Had Snape not killed Ginny, it was very likely that they never would have hooked up in this lifetime.

"When I left Snape, I was in a foul mood. Then I remembered that I hadn't checked in on Molly Weasley in a long time. The last time I saw her was over a year ago. Normally, I try to stop in to see her a few times a year, to make sure her elf has enough money to care for her and himself. "Molly didn't like elves, so the poor thing couldn't stay at the Burrow. I gave him enough money and converted Arthur's old work shed into a comfortable place for him to live. He'd slip into the house each night, clean up and make sure there was food in the cold box for Molly." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "She was nuts, you know. Oh, maybe not nuts like, 'Lets go kill everyone' , but she was quietly nuts. She was convinced that Ron and Ginny would be home shortly and that Arthur was at work. Going to see her was painful. Usually I'd check with her, then spend most of my time talking to the elf I hired." Hermione nodded in understanding. Molly had slipped into insanity after her husband had died. Arthur had been seriously injured during the final battle in Diagon Alley and had lingered for several months, before finally succumbing to his wounds. After that, Molly slipped into her own reality and refused to come out. The last time Hermione had spoken with the woman, she had firmly believed that she and Ron were just days away from their wedding, despite the fact that Ron had been dead for nearly a year at that point. Visiting with the poor woman was emotionally draining. After that last visit, Hermione never saw her again. It was something that she now deeply regretted. He paused and his eyes narrowed in anger. "Where Charlie was while this was happening, I have no idea. I expect this is mostly Percy's work, but if I ever see Charlie again he better be able to explain..." "Harry," Hermione chided. "You didn't see it, Hermione," he replied hotly. "She had Aurors guarding the property, keeping her in and others out. The elf I paid to watch over her had been killed by one of the Aurors and the house sealed to prevent her from leaving! She hadn't eaten in weeks. Every cabinet, every nook and cranny of that house, had been stripped of food. Merlin knows how long she's been without food, but even in her insanity she tore that house apart looking for something edible." He paused and his grip on his coffee mug tightened. "They were killing her slowly because the Minister didn't want the public to know about his crazy mother. It would have been kinder to just use a killing curse on her." "How did you..." Hermione stopped and looked at Harry, who returned her stare. She nodded slowly, understanding that he had probably questioned the Aurors and drained their magic when he was done. He would protect his friends and family, and she knew deep down that Molly Weasley had always treated Harry like a son. It was a feeling he returned. She was the only mother he had when growing up. With Molly in her own world, Fred and George had helped as much as they could, until they were chased out of Britain. The twins figured that one of their brothers had taken over caring for her. Both men were incensed at what had come to pass. When Harry first looked in on her after the twins arrived on the island, it had been obvious that no one was taking care of her and that she'd been left to fend for herself; something she was incapable of doing. Harry hadn't told the other Weasleys. Bill and the twins would have rushed off the island with the intent of killing their siblings. Instead, he'd made arrangements with a free elf to care for her. Harry gave the elf a generous supply of money to buy whatever was needed. When Harry returned from Britain with Molly, the Weasley men had been incensed and wanted to return to confront Percy and Charlie over what they'd done to Molly. But Alicia pointed out that Molly needed them now, and that nothing they did would make one bit of difference to their mother. As for Harry, had Molly been in her right mind, he would have tried to move her to the Cay. But she was stuck in the past and no one had been able to convince her to move from the Burrow. So, he'd done what he thought was the next best thing. It never occurred to him that Percy would decide his mother was a political liability and decide to starve her to death. Harry had arrived back on the island several hours ago with Molly in his arms. She was drifting in and out of consciousness. Wizarding medicine could do a lot, but some things were beyond even its abilities. Molly was dying. The

only thing left to do was make her as comfortable as possibly and hope that having her family nearby would help ease her passing. Hermione reached for her husband's hand and gripped it tightly. A glowing orb floated in the room and she could feel Harry tense up. "Commente," Hermione said quietly. It grew in size, then Alicia's head appeared. It swiveled inside the orb until she spotted Harry and Hermione. "Yes, Alicia?" "The twins and Bill would like you to come down here, Harry. You and Hermione both. You're part of the family. Time is short, so you need to hurry," Alicia said softly. Harry sighed heavily and sagged on his chair, nodding tiredly. "We'll be right there," Hermione replied, then dismissed the orb. Harry stood and looked around. Hermione couldn't help but think his expression seemed a little lost. "We don't have to do this," she said softly as she stood up. "Could you stay away if it were your mum?" he replied softly. She shook her head and moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. "No I couldn't, and neither could you. Just remember, I'm here for you." He kissed the top of her head. "I know," he whispered and then he shifted them both to the Island Infirmary. Alicia wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up, seeing Harry and Hermione appear in the area roped off for apparations. Hermione broke free from Harry's embrace and moved towards her. "Are we too late?" Alicia shook her head. "No, but her core is nearly collapsed. It's just a matter of time now. I did everything I could think of to save her, but it was no use. The twins and Bill are inside." Hermione embraced Alicia, who was clearly upset with her failure. "I'm sure you did everything possible." Alicia leaned into Hermione's embrace for a moment before letting go. "Is Angelina here too?" Harry asked. "She'll be along. She's waiting for Maxime to send her someone to watch the baby." Harry smiled, thinking of the child. Freddrica Georgina Weasley had been born only a few months ago. The twins had finally settled on the order of the name with a traditional game of rock paper scissors. Everyone else called the little red head, who seemed to have a rather large pair of lungs, Freddie. It was amusing to watch the twins with her. The baby had already wrapped her daddies around her little finger. With the twins being identical in all ways, even magic couldn't determine who the father was. Unsurprisingly, it bothered no one. Alicia turned away to open the door to her little critical care ward, when Angelina arrived with a modest popping sound. She was breathing heavily. "Am I too late?" she asked. Alicia smiled at her sister-wife and shook her head. "No, we were just about to go in." Angelina nodded and fell in behind Harry and Hermione, who followed Alicia into the room. Fred looked up from the bedside, one of Molly's hands in his. George stood behind him, his hands on his twin's

shoulders. Bill stood stiffly next to a window, watching the woman on the bed, while Fleur gently rubbing his back. It was obvious that he'd been crying recently, as the tracks of his tears were still visible on his cheeks. Hermione stifled a gasp and turned to Harry, wrapping her arms around him. She couldn't believe how thin and frail Molly looked. The woman who had always been a poster child for robustness now looked like a concentration camp victim! Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione and nodded to Fred. George walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, mate, I don't know how to say thank you for what..." "It's ok," Harry mumbled. "How is she?" "She's sleeping again," he replied, looking down at the bed. As if in response to the new arrivals, Molly stirred and opened her eyes. She spotted Harry and Hermione and smiled. "Harry! Hermione!" she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, then she looked around. "My family is all here, except Arthur, Ginny and Ron. Where are they? Why haven't they come?" "They've been delayed, Mum," Fred said through his tears. "I'm sure they will be here soon." "Please call Arthur, Fred. I'm so tired, but I'd like to speak to him before I sleep," she murmured. Fred bit his lip trying to hold back a sob. Alicia moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Harry glanced around and made a decision. Hermione looked up at him when she felt his magic surging. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees and three figures took shape. They were slightly translucent and had a faint glow around them. Ron, Ginny and Arthur smiled down at Molly and everyone gasped. "Relax people, it's just an illusion for her," Harry said softly. George squeezed Harry's shoulder when he saw Molly's smile broaden. Bill smiled his thanks to Harry. "Arthur, you came!" Molly said in a whisper. "How could I not?" he replied. His voice had an ethereal, echoing quality to it. "We're all here for you, my beautiful Mollywobbles. Your family is here." Harry looked at the image and scowled slightly. The figures didn't look correct. Arthur appeared younger and Ginny and Ron appeared older. He looked at Molly, but she didn't seem to notice any difference. "I'm so tired, Arthur," she whispered. "Then it's time to come on home, Mum," Ron said. "We're all waiting for you." "Your family is in the best of hands, Mum. You can rest now," Ginny added. Molly smiled and closed her eyes again. Her chest rose and fell in an ever slowing rate until it rose no more. Harry sighed and canceled the spell, then he pulled Hermione close to him, burying his face in her hair. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Harry, can't you cancel that spell?" Bill said tightly. He looked up in shock and stared. "I did!" The three phantom Weasleys ignored the others and kept their gaze on the still figure on the bed. Molly slowly started to glow and a form rose, separating from her body. A younger, more robust Molly, smiled and stretched out her hand. Arthur, his expression joyous, reached out and pulled her into his arms. When they separated, Molly turned to face her living family and her expression was one of love and, finally, peace. Slowly, the phantoms faded from sight. "Merlin!" exploded Fred. "What was that, Harry?" He shook his head. "I don't know. I canceled my spell. It was just supposed to be an illusion!" "Could eet haf been real?" asked Fleur. Bill blew his nose loudly and everyone turned to him. "I don't know if it was real or just a product of our magics combining during a very emotional moment. Frankly, I don't care to know. You gave her what she needed at the end, Harry. I'll always be grateful." "Perhaps it was her gift to us," Angelina said in a voice filled with awe. "Maybe she wanted us to know that she would be all right and that she was with family." "I...I just don't know," Harry said quietly. The images had shaken him considerably. He knew he had cut off the magic to the illusion, so he had no idea how it had continued. He was beginning to wonder if he'd actually cast an illusion. The figures he thought he'd conjured wouldn't have been capable of doing anything but standing still. There was no ability to make any sounds in that spell! Alicia moved firmly over to where Fred still held Molly's hand and gently pulled his hand from his mother's. "I think it's time for us to leave. Gabrielle and I will take care of Molly later." "Yes," Angelina added. "Angie said she was bringing over some food. You're all welcome to come home with us." Hermione nodded, then looked up at Harry, who seemed to be confused. "I did cancel that spell," he murmured. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "I know, Harry. But sometimes love is stronger than magic. And Molly had more love in her heart than anyone I've ever known." He looked down at her and thanked every deity he could think of that this girl had entered his life. The much subdued, and just slightly awed, Weasley family filed slowly from the room.

ICW Headquarters building, Britain, Late January 2008...

"Minister, Albus Dumbledore is here as you requested. We found him heading to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Percy looked up as his aide opened the door wider and Dumbledore entered. He stood and walked over to a table, where a tea service sat. "Professor, thank you for coming. Would you like some tea?" he asked. Dumbledore smiled benignly. "No, thank you, Minister, but if you have any lemon drops?"

Percy shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but..." "No matter. I always carry some around with me. Would you like one?" Percy took his seat and stirred his tea. "Thank you, but it's too early for me to be eating sweets." Dumbledore nodded sagely and popped a sweet into his mouth. "So, how is your lovely bride? Has she recovered from her illness?" Percy nodded, and is brow wrinkled as he frowned. The Department of Mysteries had been called in, along with St. Mungo's, to investigate the illness that had followed his wedding reception. Despite their efforts, no one had managed to isolate the potion or pathogen that had caused eighty percent of the guests to experience uncontrollable diarrhea, and those had been the lucky ones. The remaining twenty percent experienced an intense bout of flammable flatulence. The St. Mungo's burn ward had been swamped for a short period following the reception and they were still rebuilding their potion stockpile from the disaster. His bride, Su Li, had suffered from extensive burns that were quite painful. As a result, their honeymoon had been delayed. "Yes, she's fine now. Thank you for asking," he said. He paused for a moment, then shifted uncomfortably and pushed on. "Albus, about this latest Potter visit to Snape. I've reread the report filed by the warden about the shield he put up to keep his visit private. It's been over a month and our Department of Mysteries still can't figure it out. As you know, we've been wanting to talk to Potter for a quite a while now and it seems no matter where he shows up, something always goes wrong and we end up missing the chance to question him." Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I've noticed that as well. However, as has been noted, no one has ever seen Harry cast any spells that would prevent us from talking to him. When I saw him at your wedding, I tried to talk to him, but was prevented from doing so, due to the Italian Ambassador's wand misfiring. Harry had nothing to do with that." Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out another lemon drop. "Where Harry goes for most of the year no one knows, not even I. But wherever it is, he stays out of sight and out of trouble. Honestly, Minister, we can't ask for more than that. As much as I would like to question the lad, he has effectively left the wizarding world, except for a few brief appearances. His yearly visits to Snape seem to be the only time he actively uses magic. In fact, in my own conversations with the Warden, he told me that Harry never arrives by normal means, he is just suddenly there." Percy frowned. "So you don't think he is a danger to our way? I mean, you're implying a level of magic far above what is normal. He could be a danger to us." "I think," Dumbledore said slowly, "that unless provoked, Harry Potter will never be a danger to our way. He is too interested in staying away from our world. It is possible that he might know some useful information, but I have to question if what he knows is worth the possibility of him putting up a fight. Harry has always exhibited an inordinate amount of good luck, as his fight with Voldemort proved. Given enough provocation, it's possible that you could lose what ever Aurors you send out to capture him." Percy looked pained. One of the things his government had kept secret, even from Dumbledore, was the fact that a number of Auror teams had been lost for no apparent explanation. "Honestly, Minister, I think you have more to worry about in those two brothers of yours, than you do in Harry Potter. One of the reasons why I came to the Ministry today was to report an attack on one of my Professors. I believe your brothers were responsible for it." Percy scowled. Fred and George had become a public relations nightmare for him and he was firmly convinced they had something to do with the disappearance of his mother. As for the whereabouts of his mother, he didn't know where she was and had no idea where to begin looking. The house had been sealed and the seals were intact when they investigated the missing Aurors. Opening the seals and entering the Burrow led to the discovery that Molly was missing. His press office told anyone who asked that the Minister's mother was convalescing at a hospital in southern Spain, where she could take advantage of the milder climate.

The Aurors who had been on guard detail were accused of deserting their duty posts and warrants had been issued for their arrests. With Molly missing, he'd ordered the destruction of the Burrow and the construction of a new, twenty five bedroom Ministerial mansion on the site, as a gift for his new bride. During the first month of construction, accidents began to happen that halted all work on the sight. The Burrow had been razed, but it was as if the land itself rejected any new construction. Worse yet, at least for Percy, was that the money had already been spent and it was too late to recover a single knut of it. Work crews called the site cursed and refused to enter it. Even when new crews were brought in, within a single day they fled the scene. Percy had visited the site only once since the problems arose and he vowed never to return. He had felt the curse, or geis, or whatever it was, resonating with his magic. It was clan magic and instinctively he knew Bill had invoked it as the magical head of the family. He knew one step inside the property boundaries would spell his death. He had tasked the DMLE with stepping up their hunt for Bill and the twins. He was certain they were together and that the twins had to have helped Bill invoke some of the more obscure aspects of the curse. Shaking his head, he brought his attention back to the aging Headmaster who sat across from him. "Someone was attacked at the school, you said? Who?" "Your brother, Charlie. He was supposed to be giving a class on Flobberworms which, as you know, are the most innocuous of creatures. Instead, someone had substituted the Flobberworms with Flesh Peeling Sand Crawlers. It was only the timely intervention of another teacher that allowed us to save him. "Sand Crawlers, as you might recall from your own classes, are nearly identical to Flobberworms. Even an expert like your brother would be hard pressed in telling them apart from a simple glance. After the incident, I inspected the box that contained the beasts and was surprised to discover that it was stamped with the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes logo on the bottom." Percy scowled. "Did you save the box? The Aurors might be able to get a few clues from it." Dumbledore shook his head. At the time, he'd been more concerned with preventing his Deputy Headmaster from bleeding to death, than preserving evidence. Idiot. He's more concerned about catching his brothers than the fact that Charlie was injured, Dumbeldore thought. Percy leaned back, thinking quickly. "I'm not sure what else can be done, Professor. The DMLE has a forty Auror task force that's been hunting my brothers for two years now and they have little to show for their effort. There have been unconfirmed sighting of them in Bangkok, Capetown, New York, and Manchester, just to name a few places. We even had one report that had them working as male strippers in Paris!" Dumbledore sighed and nodded unhappily. Charlie would recover from his injuries and return to his post teaching. The Ministry would continue to try to find the Weasley twins and that was about all he could hope for, especially in light of the other problems they faced on the international scene. He stood and nodded amicably to Percy. "Minister, thank you for your time." "Professor, don't forget that we have an ICW meeting tomorrow. We plan on ratifying the global banking law to refuse muggle currency conversions." Dumbledore turned and nodded to the man. It was about time, in his opinion, that the bank made that move. It had been a long time in coming, but the Global Bank had taken over from the old Gringotts and had absorbed all of the non-human species banks. They'd needed time to divest themselves of muggle holdings held by the other banks. "I look forward to it, Minister," he replied, then he walked out the door, closing it behind him. Percy stared at the door for a moment longer, then went back to the report from the Unspeakables that were trying to break the curse on the Weasley family land. So far, the report wasn't optimistic.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Charlie looked up from the book he had been reading and frowned. For a moment, he'd thought someone had been in the room, but he didn't see anyone. Madam Abbott was overseeing his recovery, despite the fact that she was just a school medi-witch and not a full fledged healer. Poppy Pomfrey had retired shortly after Minerva left the school and Albus brought in Abbott, stating that the school had no need for a full time healer. Because of this, he was visited twice daily by Healer Thorenson, who took the floo in from St. Mungo's. Looking around once more, he turned back to his book, but a parchment caught his eye. It lay on his night table and he was certain it hadn't been there a moment ago. He reached for it, then hissed in pain and pulled back his badly injured hand. He had been injured when someone had sent him Sand Crawlers instead of Flobberworms. Healer Thorenson had been forced to regrow much of the tissue from his elbow to his fingers. It was a slow and painful process, but he had managed to save the arm. For a while he had been afraid he was going to lose it. Reminded of his injury, he reached for the parchment with his left hand and picked it up. Charles, No doubt by now you know who sent you those Sand Crawlers. Had your brothers and I really wanted to kill you, it would have been something a little more lethal, like one of the Hissing Steam Spiders of Borneo. Charlie shuddered when he considered receiving a steam spider from someone. The bludger sized spiders were hyperaggressive, blindingly fast, magic resistant and highly venomous. You might be wondering why your brothers and I have taken such step as to send you a dangerous gift, especially since we have not had any contact with you since we were forced to flee for our lives. But seriously, what better present could there be for a man that all but abandoned his own mother and allows his brother to starve her to death? You and Percival murdered our mother, Charles. Our mother, Molly Weasley, passed gently away after her daughters in-law struggled for hours to save her and reverse the damage that had been done. Her passing was easy and she was comforted by the presence of her loving family as she left this world. We true Weasleys mourned her passing and vowed that someday we will bring her home so she can be laid to rest next to our father. Until that day, she rests, knowing that her real family is nearby and loves her. A lesson she taught us and one you have seem to have forgotten. Now, to the heart of this letter. I, William Henry Weasley, as head of the Weasley Family, cast you, Charles Arthur, and your brother, Percival Ignatius, from the family. By right of magic, I ban you from Weasley ancestral lands for all eternity. As I proclaim it, so mote it be! If I had the power, I would damn your souls to everlasting Hell. I know there will come a time when you will have to face those who loved you and you will have to explain your actions. You will stand and be judged, and no excuse, no reason, no law of Percy's making, will save you from damnation. Your brother will, of course, ignore my decree, and you, spineless bastard that you are, will probably go along with him. However, if you don't believe the measure I've taken, then by all means, step onto the lands of your birth and see what happens. My brothers and I will not mourn your passing. You were once part of a family that stood up for their beliefs ,even in the face of mortal danger, but you have lost that and will never regain it. In case you haven't figured out, my darling wife, despite her being an outlawed and hunted half breed, has charmed this letter, so you'll never be able to talk about it with anyone.

William H. Weasley Charlie laid the parchment down on the night table and he gazed out the window. He had been wondering about the change he had felt over the last several days. Now it made sense to him. As he stared out the window, the note dissolved away, leaving no trace behind. He knew what Molly was going through, but had elected to listen to Percy. Shrugging, he picked up his book on rare animals, but he couldn't ignore the little voice in the back of his head that whispered, "Murderer" over and over again.

Harry and Hermione's Villa, Norman's Cay, March 2008...

Harry was up to his elbows in engine parts when he heard the door to the little workshop open. He looked up to see Hermione enter, carrying a single sheet of parchment. When she smiled and motioned that she'd wait for him to finish, he nodded and turned back to the outboard engine he had partially disassembled. He placed a part into it's proper position, then ratcheted it tight. Satisfied, he turned and picked up a rag to wipe off his hands. "It's a good thing you asked me to look over your incantation for the enlargement," she said with a broad grin. "My husband might be the mightiest wizard since Merlin, but when it comes to making up spells, your over powered approach shows. There is much about you I love and admire, but this incantation of yours proves to me that I need to double check any ritual work you create from scratch." Harry turned and leaned against the work bench, one eyebrow raised. "That bad, eh?" he asked. "Well, I'll have you know that I'm married to a very smart witch and I'm sure she'll figure out just how to fix the problem." "And she did," Hermione replied smugly, walking over to join him. She was extremely pleased with the way he had been growing lately. Unlike his behavior when they lost Minerva, he came to her the very night they'd lost Molly. He didn't try to work himself until he dropped. Instead, he waited until they were in the privacy of their home before seeking the comfort he so desperately needed. To her, it was another sign that they were finally putting the problems from the war behind them. She was realistic enough to know that not everything would be healed over, but it was a clear sign of progress. He eyed her carefully as she approached. She was wearing a blouse that clearly showed she had left her bra back in the house, and he knew from experience that she wore nothing under that short skirt of hers. That suspicion was confirmed when she got within a foot of him and he could feel her warming charm. Winter on Norman's Cay was downright balmy compared to London, or Northern Scotland, but it was still too chilly for her current clothing. She handed him the parchment and he glanced down at it briefly, then looked up again at her breasts as they swayed slightly under her blouse. He blinked and looked down at the parchment again. "What is this?" "That, husband of mine, is your incantation, after I reduced it down. I removed the null terms, redundant namings and conflicting clauses. And unlike your original incantation, this one won't enlarge the insects on the island. Frankly, I'm comforted by that fact. We have big enough spiders as it is and I don't think we need Mosquitoes with four foot wing spans." He stared at the sheet, reading it carefully. "This can't be more than thirty seconds long!" he exclaimed. His original incantation had been huge and would have taken considerable time to chant. He had turned it over to Hermione, along with his notes for the ritual, because it would have taken too long to cast the spell and the odds of such a long incantation being said without error were practically zero. She grinned impishly at him. "Forty five seconds, with time for three breaths. I had Dobby time me." Her hand brushed the parchment he held. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Forget the incantation problem. That stemmed mostly from the fact that you don't normally need incantations, unless you are doing very precise work. Harry, love, you managed to come up with a way of increasing the size of this island, and ensuring that the wards grow to compensate for the new size! No one has done that before. Ever!"

He shrugged, his expression a bit dubious. "I don't know, it just seemed logical to me. If we couldn't ensure that the wards would grow with the island, all of this would have been a waste of time. We would have had to drop all the wards, then enlarge the island and recast them. Someone surely would have found us that way. Tying the wards to the enlargement made sense." She shook her head in amazement. Something this stupendous, and he called it logical? It had surprised her to discover shortly after coming to the island that Harry had tapped in multiple Ley lines to power the wards. The island's location near one edge of the Bermuda Triangle made it a perfect place to access three of the six Ley lines, which converge in the center of the Triangle. Oh, yes, her husband was one smart man! He looked up from the parchment. "This is still going to take a lot of power." She nodded a bit unhappily. 'A lot of power' was an understatement. Frankly, she wasn't sure a hundred wizards could do it, but Harry had more power than a hundred wizards. "I don't know when you plan on doing this, but I intend to ask Alicia to be standing nearby." Harry looked thoughtful. "Not until the spring or summer, I think. We need time to mark every building and every outdoor structure with the necessary runes to preclude them from the effects of the spell. That's going to take time. But I do think having Alicia nearby sounds like a smart move." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been afraid he'd want to rush into doing the incantation as soon as possible. That he was approaching this with caution was another sign, in her mind, that he was shedding the last vestiges of his self destructive behavior. With a gentle tug, she pulled the parchment from his hands and sent it back to her study, then she moved closer. "Harry?" she asked breathlessly. He watched her. "Yes?" "I canceled my contraception potion this morning," she replied, watching him carefully for a reaction. He blinked and looked confused for a moment, then he smiled slowly. "Really?" She nodded and eyed him closely. "You don't mind?" He shook his head. "Why would I mind? You're offering me something I've always wanted; a family of my own." She took another step closer and her hands fumbled at his belt. "Good," she said huskily, "let's start working on that family now." In Luna's villa, only a few dozen yard away, the blond looked up from the computer she was working on and smiled in the direction of Harry's workshop. She could feel the love radiating from the pair of them and knew that, even in this, their love reached out to include her.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay, March 2008...

Amos hurried up the walkway to the villa. He wasn't surprised to see the Grangers and Angie coming from another direction. He had summoned all of the members of the Rescue Committee to meet at Harry's place. The Grangers slowed, spotting Amos, and they waved. He nodded grimly and they noted his expression. Obviously he wasn't bringing happy news. The Grangers and Angie stopped at the door and waited for Amos to catch up with them. A moment later, they pushed the door open and entered the house. Inside Hermione sat with Luna. Luna wasn't part of the committee, but her views and opinions were valuable to them and had helped on many occasions. Nearby, Harry fiddled with his short wave radio, setting it to scan until it locked onto a familiar station. The speakers

blared to life with a three tone warble, then the newscast began. "This is the BBC Broadcasting from London. Continuing our coverage of the Asian Crisis, the Ministry of Defense is now confirming that a limited nuclear exchange has taken place along the Chinese/Russian border. Both nations are blaming the other for starting the attack. The incident took place earlier this morning after two border patrols exchanged gunfire across the river Amur. The battle escalated from there. Military sources are unclear as to who fired the first weapon, but we've confirmed that the cities of Heihe, in China, and Blagoveshchensk, in Russia, have been destroyed by nuclear weapons. "According to UN figures, a total of a half million people resided in those cities. The Ministry of Defense estimates that as many as eighty percent of the population could have perished in the attack. "World wide reaction has been swift and unanimous, calling for both sides to halt any further attacks. Offers of aid have been made by many countries, assuming that the attacks cease. The United States and the Ministry of Defense have placed their forces on high alert. NATO has issued a general recall and placed it's entire force on alert. "The UN Security Council has called for an emergency session in the hopes of preventing this war from escalating. In the meantime, the International Red Cross says it is now accepting supplies for shipment to the war zone. A spokesperson from Red Cross Headquarters announced that they were ready to ship a complete field hospital to the war zone as soon as a cease fire occurred. "World Financial markets fell sharply in reaction to the news. The Dollar and the Pound gained, while the Yuan and the Rubble have fallen off by nearly thirty percent." Harry hit the mute button and the radio went silent. He turned to face the others, his face white with shock. "Heihe was de home to de Chinese Ministry of Magic dis year," Amos said into the silence. In a way, he was relieved to not have to break this news to everyone. Everyone turned to look at Amos in surprise. The Chinese Ministry of Magic moved from city to city on a yearly basis so that they could stay out of the hands of the Communist muggle Government. "Amos, what are you suggesting?" asked Duncan Granger. He gripped Cassandra's hand tightly. Hermione's mother had tears streaming down her cheeks. As muggles, she and Duncan understood even better than Harry and Hermione the horrors that had been unleashed. "Dunno," Amos said with a shrug. "Dem ICW fellas took a hard hit when dey took out Shangri La." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly and looked at Amos. "You're suggesting that someone at the ICW might have decided that using Muggle forces might work to take down the Chinese Ministry?" "Could be," Amos said, "Dey knew de Chinese were threatenin' to ask the muggles for help. I don know, Harreee, I just know dat I wouldn't put it past dem." The door opened and Maxime, Hagrid and Bill Weasley entered the room, all looking grim. Hermione stood and quickly glanced around, taking a head count. "Let's move into the dinning room. We have more room and we'll be more comfortable there." As a group, they moved into the dinning room. No one was surprised to see Dobby putting out a tea service and other drinks for them. Once they were all seated, Harry turned to the oldest Weasley. "Bill, you have the best Wizarding Wireless we could buy up at the school. What news have you picked up?" "I don't pretend to understand all of the details, or how just two weapons can destroy two cities, but the ICW broadcast out of Geneva is claiming that an alternate Chinese Ministry has been formed by a group of Wizards in Hong Kong. The broadcast says this new government is asking the ICW for help in dealing with the loss of Heihe. The ICW admits there was a problem with something in Russia and that the leader of the Russian auror force has been executed for high

crimes against the wizarding world." Bill tightly gripped the cup of tea that he had been given by Dobby, and he looked around the table at the people staring at him. "The broadcast went on to lament the loss of nearly eight hundred wizards and witches in both cities. Maxime tells me that the cities were destroyed and thousands of people died." "Half a million souls," whispered Duncan. Bill jerked upright and turned to stare at him. Cassandra leaned against her husband and wept silently. Like all of the muggles and muggle-born or raised, the horrors of nuclear war were firmly embedded in their psyche. Even the thought of a detonation was terrifying, regardless of where it happened. To have two cities destroyed by nuclear weapons was a nightmare. "Hermione, how close are we to invoking the Avalon Equations?" asked Harry softly. She turned to him, astonished that he would ask that now. "There's still a lot of work to do. Even with the books fully decoded, the incantation and runes for the ritual were deliberately omitted. The authors of the book didn't want just anyone creating their own private dimension. With a firmer understanding of the equations, I can start to build the incantation and runes." Harry sighed. "Several more years, then? I'm not doubting your abilities, love, I just want to understand the time frame better." He gestured to include everyone else. "I think we all need to understand it." Hermione relaxed and nodded. "Yes, the equations are hideously complex. I'm just going to guess, but three years, if I put everything I have into it." He looked at her hard. "No, I don't want you to work yourself to death doing this. As important as it is, there are other things just as important." He knew what she was really asking and he didn't want her to go back on the contraceptive charm. The others might not understand what he was saying, but she did. He wanted them to have a family, not to work themselves into the ground. "Six years then," he mused aloud. "We are going to have to hold on for at least six more years, perhaps as much as ten. That's going to mean we need to become a black hole in the water. We need to vanish completely from sight." Amos nodded unhappily. "Less trips up to de big island for me and my Mary." Cassandra reached out and patted Amos on the arm and he shot her a grateful smile. "That's true, Amos," Duncan said slowly, "but let's be honest here. There are times you make the run up to Nassau simply because you like sailing the Mary. I know we can't do without the supplies you bring us, but we need to be smart about it. Your Mary was made to haul cargo, so let's try to make sure her holds are full when you make a trip. We also need to look at our own people and try to limit their off island jaunts to only essential trips. Some people have been going off island simply because they need something that isn't brought in on the Mary, or available via the owl drops up in Nassau," Duncan added. "And limit our contact with the wizarding world," Bill threw in. "We need to become more self sufficient," Angie added. She, like Luna, wasn't a permanent member of the rescue committee, but they often went to her for advice. Her role as a Wiccan had granted her a special place among the wizards. Those who knew her and had experienced her magic were a bit awed by her. A number of the islanders had even inquired about her beliefs. Her coven was growing again as both wizards and muggles alike learned about the Goddess. As belief systems went, hers was a gentle, loving philosophy that many found attractive. "We need to start growing our own crops and other basic staples, instead of bringing them in."

Duncan and Cassandra nodded, but others looked unconvinced. Harry leaned forward on his chair. "We'll have the land for a lot of new uses. The final two expansions will give us land for farms and other things. I dare say it will be more of a case of what to do with all the space we'll have." "How big will it ultimately be?" asked Bill. Harry grinned. "Well, if you were planning on driving, it would take you nearly three hours at fifty miles an hour to get from one end to the other. I even have some landscaping ideas in mind." Bill stared at Harry as if he'd grown another head. "You can't be serious!" Hermione chuckled. "My husband is very serious, Bill. While ordinarily such a feat of magic would be impossible, Harry rather wisely chose an island that has three different Ley lines running underneath it. He will use power from the lines to help with the expansion, using his own magic to guide it." She leaned back and grinned. "I know this will come as a shock to no one, but I did a little bit of research when I finally figured out what he had in mind. There are hundreds of sites around the world where one Ley line can be found. There are several hundred sites where two can be easily tapped, and just handful of such sites that can access more than three. Harry's decision to purchase an island on one edge of the Bermuda Triangle meant he was near one of two locations in the world were six lines converge. Our location gives us easy access to three of those converging lines." Harry shrugged. "I didn't plan it that way. I just liked the scenery," he muttered, causing everyone to chuckle. Duncan coughed lightly catching everyone's attention. "I think we need to schedule a meeting of the committee to work out some issues. We have a lot of people and can't just tell them they can't leave the island." "Sure you can," Amos put in. "Dem people are smart enuf to know it's for dey own good." Duncan nodded thoughtfully, then turned back to Harry. "All right then, what about the wards? Can we beef them up anymore?" Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe," he replied, somewhat doubtfully. "If they came at us in force, like they did to Shangri La, the wards wouldn't hold. I mean, no ward is made to stand up against fifteen hundred wizards. I can promise you this much, though. Between the wards and my involvement, they would lose a lot of wizards." Bill snorted. "They lost nine hundred wizards in that battle, and another two hundred never fully recovered. They don't have a force anywhere near that size and probably won't for several more years. It's only a guess, but I'd say it's probably why they resorted to using Muggles to take out the Chinese." "Aye," Amos said. "Dem ICW fellas be low on Aurors. Most be used for upholding dem laws, not making war." Harry leaned forward again and reached for Hermione's hand. "Before the Centaur bank of Miami got swallowed up by the Global Bank, I pulled all my money from them and used it to make some purchases. Hermione and Luna gave me an idea a while back and I ran with it. Later this month, Hermione and I will be going off the island for a couple weeks. I've purchased three other islands, one off the coast of Nova Scotia, another near French Guiana, and a third one in the Indian Ocean, just off Borneo. I'm going to ward those islands like this one. The only difference is that we will be here, and those islands will be protected with lethal wards and totally deserted." He paused and looked at the ceiling for a moment. "None of them are as big as this island is, otherwise I'd be tempted to use one as an safe location to run to." "I like it. A red herring," Angie murmured. Several of the pure bloods looked at her in confusion. "He's setting up the islands as a ruse. If there are multiple islands protected like this one, the ICW will have to split their forces to assault them all." Duncan scowled at the table. "What's bothering you Dad?" Hermione asked.

Duncan looked up at his daughter, then around the table. "I can understand the idea of red herrings. I think it's a good idea. But I think we should consider those islands as possible escape hatches in case we're attacked." Hermione turned to Harry, her expression thoughtful. "It's an idea," she offered. "That's a lot of portkeys we need to make," Bill said doubtfully. "Let's bring this up again at our next meeting. We have enough to worry about right now. Plenty of people will have picked up one of the short wave broadcasts and learned about the attack on the Chinese," Maxime said softly. Everyone looked around sheepishly, realizing they had gotten way off topic. The meeting broke up shortly after that, each going out to explain to the islanders what they knew about the attack that had killed a half million muggles and eight hundred wizards. The island settled into an uneasy silence that night and many people went to bed thinking they were extraordinarily lucky to have found such a safe haven.

ICW Headquarters building, Britain, March 2008...

"Minister, Senior Auror Ives is here, as you directed." Percy nodded and straightened up his desk slightly, while the older man walked into his office. "Well?" "It's done, sir. As of thirty minutes ago, every one of O'Connell's family has been pushed through the veil." The senior auror repressed the shudder he felt when he recalled the pleading from O'Connell's teenage son and daughter. It was a brutal thing to do, but the man was directly responsible for the worse mass murder of wizards since Lord Voldemort. It was true that Potter tore through many of the pureblood British wizarding families, but he knew well enough not to blame Potter for that. "I know it's unpleasant business, Ives, but O'Connell was in charge of things and he allowed Dribinov too much leeway. Dribinov nearly brought down our entire secrecy because he opted to control one muggle." Serge Dribinov had been the senior Auror for the Russian branch of the ICW, and the man heading up the effort to undermine the Chinese Ministry of Magic. The Ministry had briefly considered, and then rejected the idea of using controlled muggles to assault the Chinese Ministry. Dribinov, however, had his own ideas. He took control of a general in charge of a division of border troops and ordered him to cross the Amur river into Heihe. The Chinese muggles reacted to the incursion by launching a counter attack with heavy armor. Suddenly, Russia and China found themselves in a war that neither side understood. When Russian forces were reinforced with several heavy armored divisions, China dropped a tactical nuke on the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk. Russia replied in kind and, by pure accident, succeeded in achieving the goal of the ICW by vaporizing the Chinese Ministry of Magic and two hundred thousand muggles. When Percy realized that eight hundred wizards had been killed in the conflict, he'd had Dribinov executed. But he hadn't stopped there. The list of those executed included the Russian governor of the ICW, the European senior Auror in charge and, finally, their ultimate boss, Maurice O'Connell, Head of the ICW's Auror and Protection services. Percy stabbed a finger at Ives. "I want you to take over O'Connell's position, Ives. And take a lesson from your predecessor. Keep a tight rein on your people at all times. This mess will use every person we have who can cast an obliviate, and even then it will take weeks to clean things up." Ives swallowed nervously. "Yes, sir. Lesson noted. And with your permission, I'd like to suggest Kingsley Shacklebolt to assume my old posting?" "Yes, Shacklebolt has done well leading the British Aurors. He'd be well suited for your old slot and Dumbledore likes him," mused Percy. "Inform Auror Shacklebolt of his new duties, which are to start immediately, and then let my public

affairs office know. We'll schedule a press conference to announce the new staffing changes. It's only local news, but it's better than nothing." Ives stood. "Yes, sir. I'll take care of it immediately." Percy nodded. "See that you do. Dismissed." Percy turned his attention back to the reports coming from China and Russia and never noticed when Ives let himself out of the office.

Maxime's School of Magic, Norman's Cay, March 2008...

Harry appeared just outside the campus built by Hagrid and Maxime and he smiled. As far as schools went, it was, without a doubt, one of the most unique in the world. Maxime recognized early on that space would be needed for newcomers to the island and she had set up several dormitories to house families just arriving. Children were immediately taken into classes, while their parents were gently eased into the newly build society on the island. Classes were varied in the extreme, since the school catered to magical and non-magical alike. It wasn't unusual to see a Charms class being held right next to a class on algebra. Maxime felt it was important to provide the normality of school as quickly as possible to the children of the refugees, and it was something that both Harry and the committee agreed with wholeheartedly. Harry had shown up today because he wanted to read some of the reports his students had provided concerning their project. His favorite class was turning out to be a major success, as each of the three classes worked on separate projects of their own choosing. He had been especially pleased when all three class groups had selected projects that would enhance life on Norman's Cay. "Harry!" He turned to see Bill waving to him. He taught Defense and curse breaking at the school, while his wife, Fleur, taught Charms and languages. Gabrielle worked as the school Medi-witch while she studied for her own healer's Mastery under Alicia. The three, along with Maxime and Hagrid, were instrumental in creating the island's first school. Since its creation, more schools had been built and Maxime led the effort to insure quality education for all of the island's children, magical or muggle. Harry waited and Bill trotted up to him, panting heavily. "You should take up running or something, Bill," Harry said softly. Bill nodded and looked down at the slight bulge at his belly. "I know. Not enough exercise, and Fleur's cooking is as good as Mum's was." Harry smiled knowingly. Fleur was a wonderful cook, and unlike Molly, had trained under her family chef. She could cook meals worthy of a five star restaurant. For Bill, however equating his wife's cooking to Molly's was the highest praise possible and Harry wouldn't dream of disagreeing with him. Molly's cooking might have been a bit on the plain side, but it was made with pride and love. "So, what's up?" Harry asked. "We had six families turn up here last night, and another that bounced off the wards." Harry's eyes narrowed. "I thought they were screened for enchantments before being given portkeys? Has one of the transfer centers been compromised?" Bill shook his head. "I don't believe that's the case. That broad spectrum detector of yours picked up something unusual." Harry motioned Bill over to a set of benches and they both sat down. Bill was the committee member in charge of the

access to the island, so he was naturally worried. Harry leaned back and thought about the problem. "What if one of the family members had some sort of active magic talent? Something that might trigger the bounce." "Would it? I think the only way to know for sure would be if you checked them out. You might be able to see what caused the problem," Bill said quietly. Harry looked across the campus towards the ocean. The school was originally built only a few hundred feet inland. But now, with the first initial enlargements, the shore had moved more than a mile away. When the next set of enlargements occurred, they'd be more than twenty miles from the shore. "I suppose I should," Harry replied slowly. "We need to know if this is a new Ministry enchantment or not." He stood and looked at Bill. "Orb Hermione and let her know where I'm going." "Oh, no, you don't, Harry. Hermione would have my head on a platter and Fleur would help her. I'm not letting you go into some unknown situation without some support." When Harry looked at him, one eyebrow raised, Bill had the grace to blush, but refused to back down. The simple fact was that anything they encountered that gave Harry a problem would be unbeatable by a normal wizard like Bill. "I suppose you're right," Harry admitted ruefully. With a minute gesture, a shiny orb appeared and sped away at high speed. Seconds later, another appeared with Hermione's head floating inside. "Harry? I thought you were going to stop by the school to check on your students?" "Something has come up. Bill and I are going to take a quick trip down to one of the containment islands. A family got bounced last night and we don't understand why. They were checked for enchantments before they were portkeyed. Bill thinks, and I agree, that we need to make sure this isn't some new spell that the Ministry has thought up. If it is, it could be pure luck that they bounced and we need to know what's going on, so we can counter it." Hermione frowned. "I don't like you being so far away now. The temperature is nearly perfect." Harry nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "I understand, love, but what can I do? We need to check this out." She sighed and nodded unhappily. "All right. Are you wearing your alert necklace?" He grinned and pulled down his shirt slightly so she could see the necklace around his neck. Everyone that went off island had been given one. It would allow the wearer to be traced if ever they were captured by the Ministry and they were charmed to be virtually undetectable. She nodded and closed the connection between them. "What's that about temperature?" Bill asked. Harry blushed. "She's using some muggle method that her Mum taught her. It's complex. When she tried to explain it, it made my eyes cross and I wanted to glue my ears shut. We want to have a family and this is the way her Mum did it." His head tilted slightly in thought. "But with this bouncing business and her obsession over her temperature lately, she and I may have to have a long talk about priorities someday soon," he muttered. Bill shook his head and grinned at Harry. "Can't you just do it the old fashioned way?" "This from a man whose wife has a bona fide mating season," Harry muttered darkly. Fleur's Veela/bird heritage effected more than just her sex appeal. For procreation, she was fertile only once a year, in the spring. Fortunately, the Veela had evolved eons ago and no longer laid eggs. Bill's grin faded and he scowled, having lost that round to Harry. Harry offered a hand to Bill and helped him stand up. A moment later, they vanished without a sound.

A moment later they reappeared on a desolate island and a cold wind swept over the landscape. It was a foreboding place. But then, it was meant to be. "Over there," Harry murmured, pointing towards two people huddled around a brightly glowing wand. One of the people, a man, spotted them. He stood and pointed his wand at them. He pushed the woman behind him, shielding her and the small child she held in her arms. "What do you want?" spat the man, his wand tip flaring in tune with his magic. Harry held out both his hands, showing he was unarmed. "We came to check up on you." "You sent us here? Why?" asked the man in a pained voice. "We were told we were going to a place of safety and instead we found ourselves here!" Bill stepped up to stand next to Harry. "Something about one of you caused the wards to bounce you away, to this place. We came here to find out why." "There's nothing here!" sobbed the woman. "It's been freezing all night long! Are you trying to kill us? Are you here to kill us?" The little girl buried her head into the woman's shoulder and whimpered. Her hair slowly changed from jet black to white. "I think we found out why the ward triggered," Harry murmured to Bill, then he turned to the woman. "No one is going to kill anyone. As a precaution, our island is protected by many wards. One of them detected a magic it couldn't identify and it bounced you here. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but is the child a metamorphagus?" The woman blinked and shook her head as if confused by the question. "Yes, she takes after her grandmother in that regard." Harry nodded and looked at the man carefully. Other than his magic being tightly held in check at the moment, there was nothing special about him. The woman was the same, but the child had an active magic field surrounding her. He took a step towards the woman and child and the man moved to block his path. Harry blinked and tried to smile reassuringly. "I mean no harm, but if you are to pass through the wards I need to understand why she has an active magic field about her. Let me figure this out and I promise you, we'll all be sitting down having a hot meal in a very short time." Harry had learned from experience that the most calming and reassuring thing to incoming refugees was an offer of a hot meal. As one person explained to him, people who mean to kill you rarely offer to feed you first. The man glanced over his shoulder at the woman, who nodded reluctantly. When the man stepped aside, Harry approached the woman and child. "Hello," he said softly, trying to calm the girl. "I'm Harry. What's your name?" The girl looked at him with huge eyes and her hair turned black with green tips. "Bethany," she whispered. Harry smiled. She was perhaps three or four years old and clinging to her mother, terrified. Both mother and daughter shivered in the brisk wind and without thinking, he cast a wide area warming charm. The mother shot him a grateful look as the bitter sub-Antarctic chill faded away. Harry conjured a small teddy bear and held it out for the child. "My friend here needs a home. Would you like to care for him for me? I've been neglecting him fearfully, I'm afraid, and he desperately needs someone to love him." Bethany nodded and shyly took the bear. As she reached for it, he extended his senses and examined the girl carefully. She took the bear and hugged it to herself and smiled shyly. He returned her smile, then turned back to Bill. "It's a natural field. I don't pretend to understand it. Is it part of her metamorphagus talent or another talent that hasn't

matured? Regardless, I do know she's generating it all by herself. No one has cast anything on her." "So then we can get them to the receiving center?" Harry nodded and turned back to the man and woman. "I apologize for what happened to you. Your daughter triggered a reaction from the wards, which is why you ended up here. If you and your wife will grab my hands I'll take us all back to where you're supposed to be. It will be warm, and there will be plenty of hot food for you. Bill place a hand on my shoulder." "We'll be safe?" asked the woman. Harry nodded with a smile. "I promise." She looked hesitant, then she grabbed Harry's hand. Feeling he had everyone, he concentrated and they all vanished from the desolate island. For little Bethany and her parents, there was a second of disorientation unlike any apparation they had experienced and then they were in the Norman Cay receiving center at the school. Several people rushed forward with blankets and hot drinks. Gabrielle looked up from her desk and then approached to check them over for medical problems. "See?" Harry said. "These people will take care of you now. You're safe here." The man swallowed convulsively and nodded, trying hard not to show tears of relief. He had to be strong for his family's sake. Harry nodded to Bill and told him he was heading to his office to check on his student's reports. Bill waved him off, then turned to the newest arrivals. He knew that Harry wanted Gabrielle to examine the girl closely. He'd stick around to find out what she learned from her examination. "Please," said the woman. "Who was that man? Harry?" Bill grinned. "That was Harry Potter." "Thank you," she whispered, as she watched Harry's retreating back. She wasn't sure if she had met a legend or a dangerous criminal, but one thing was for sure, he wasn't like people made him out to be.

Luna's Villa, Norman's Cay (the same day)...

Hermione canceled the communications spell and walked out onto the patio heading toward Luna's house. She was surprised to see Luna standing at the door waiting for her. "Luna, I'm sorry I was delayed. Harry orbed me." Luna led her into the spacious living room. "Yes, he had to go check out that anomaly." "You knew about it?" Luna shrugged. "In vague terms. I knew something unusual would take him off island long enough for us to talk without his interference." Hermione blinked and stared at her, confused. "Why would Harry interfere?" "He wouldn't, but then he won't know about this conversation except to say that he will have guessed it took place." "What are you talking about, Luna? Harry wouldn't interfere in any conversation you and I had." Luna sighed and looked out over the bay for a moment before turning back to Hermione. "I want something, Hermione, something that belongs to both of us, but is yours at the moment." Hermione brows knitted in concentration for a moment, then she stood in alarm. "You want Harry!" she exclaimed.

Luna rubbed her forehead tiredly, then looked at the outraged witch in front of her. "Things might have been easier if we could have joined at the first cusp, back during our Hogwarts years. On the other hand, the permutations from that cusp were anything but attractive and that old fool of a Headmaster wouldn't allow it to happen, so he took steps to prevent Harry from creating any attachments. It was one of the few times he manipulated people that I actually agreed with it. She stared at Hermione for a moment, then shook her head. "You can't tell me you don't feel it! I know I do, and so does Harry. We three are unique. You were told you were part of a soul mated pair, but technically that isn't correct. You're part of a soul mated trio. Our souls are so perfectly attuned that you and Harry can create new souls, Harry and I can create new souls. If it were biologically possible, you and I could create new souls." Her brow wrinkled in thought. "Although, with the nanites, I might be able to alter our DNA so that you and I could procreate," she muttered, then waved away that rather fascinating thought. "Never mind. I have enough to do as it is." Hermione sank back into her chair. "Wait. What? You and I? You and Harry? You expect to share Harry with me?" She glared at the blond. "I know the wizarding world doesn't frown on multiple marriages, but that wasn't how I was raised and it wasn't how Harry was raised! And as much as I love you, Luna, I'm not going to have sex with you or have your babies!" Luna smiled softly. "As much as I would like to be able to enjoy Harry's loving touch, or yours, I don't think any of us are ready for that kind of relationship and perhaps we'll never be. No, I want something else. You and Harry are trying for a baby and I want one too." "But you said..." "Hermione, what I want is for him to be the father of my children. The muggles have a way of doing it that doesn't require sex." "Artificial Insemination," Hermione murmured and Luna nodded. "Yes. It's a rather cold procedure, but it gets the job done." Hermione stood and walked over to a window, her mind racing. Suddenly, like a door opening, she remembered when Harry broke down the barriers between this world and the hereafter. She remembered Ginny's words as clearly as if she were speaking them again. "Hermione, things will get worse in Britain. We're sorry about Percy, but he is condemning himself. Your path ahead will be a twisted one and will have events and people that you would never believed if we told you. I will tell you this. When the time comes, listen carefully with your heart and your head," Ginny told her earnestly. "Someone from our past will ask you for something. Listen carefully and follow your heart." This must be what Ginny was talking about, she thought. What Luna wants lays an extra burden of responsibility on Harry. What if he insisted on doing it the normal way? Can I share him? Is that what we're going to become? One husband with two wives? "Hermione, what happens will happen. Or, as Angie would say, the Goddess wills it. But I know Harry, and you do to. Feel it, Hermione. He will never do anything you don't want to do. I can see many things, including our family, children, from both of us. Our children will have one father, and call us both Mum. Besides, the very thought of the three of us in bed together would send Harry into a faint." Luna bit her lip and watched Hermione from her chair. She had nearly said too much. While it was true she couldn't see them becoming a three way relationship, she did see paths which could lead to Luna and Harry being intimate. There were too many decision points for her to see a clear path and she didn't want bring up anything which might fuel Hermione's turmoil. Hermione turned and smiled weakly at Luna. "I never realized just how insecure this could make me. I knew there was something between the three of us and I was sure that you knew more about it but weren't telling. Wait a second... What did you mean, first cusp?" Luna leaned forward and picked up a mug of tea, then took a sip before answering her. "Are you sure you want to know? My father always said that you shouldn't ask questions if you're not prepared to hear the answers."

Hermione shivered under Luna's direct stare. This Luna was much changed from the one they knew at Hogwarts, and yet she wasn't. She could achieve moments of crystal clarity and two seconds later be down on her knees playing with Hermione's little sister and telling her about the great Snorkack migrations of the past. Victoria lapped up Luna's stories. After all, a witch who had her own dragon familiar was more prone to believing in the impossible. After a moment of silence between the two women, Luna leaned back. "Let me put it this way. Harry's dislike of Dumbledore is rooted far deeper than just his going into hiding. You know about his manipulations of Harry. Suffice to say that Harry wasn't the only person being manipulated. Some just never caught on to it like Harry did." Hermione stared at her in horror. "You mean he used a potion?" Luna waved a hand in dismissal. "Nothing of the kind. Dumbledore was far too smart to resort to outright criminal acts. You were merely given more time with Ron, while he kept your access to Harry to a bare minimum. There was a brief moment, barely a month long, in your sixth year when we three had the chance of becoming a trio. The permutations from that were disturbing, for many reasons. However, Dumbledore changed our schedules so that we saw less of each other." Hermione sat down and recalled the mid term schedule change that was blamed on a problem in the potions lab. "So we could have been a trio, involved even back then?" She looked up to see Luna's sour look and quickly said, "Wait, I don't want to know. I trust you." Luna sighed with relief. She hadn't wanted to explain to Hermione how, in that permutation, they would have ended up as concubines, bound to Harry Potter, warlord and ruler of the wizarding world. She was extremely thankful that, for once, Dumbledore's manipulations had a positive impact. Hermione nibbled on her lower lip, but her thoughts kept returning to what Ginny had told her. She rubbed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes. Her mind raced with insecurity, but in her heart, it felt right. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly and opened her eyes. "All right, Luna, I'll agree. Now, how do we convince Harry?" Luna's gaze went dreamy and she pulled a plastic lidded cup out of a pocket. "I suppose we can't just ask him to masturbate into this cup, while thinking about the famous three breasted Tibetan Mermaids?" Hermione stared at Luna for a moment and Luna looked back at her calmly. For a brief moment she considered the possibility of Mermaids somewhere in that frozen mountainous country, then discarded the idea entirely. "Ummm... I don't think that will work with Harry. I think we'll need to explain the entire process to him." "Won't that overwhelm him even more than the Tibetan Mermaids? I would have thought Harry was a breast man." "He is, but... wait... no... blast! I mean... damn it," Hermione stammered, blushing heavily. Harry was a breast man and she loved that about him, but Luna didn't need to know that. One of the reasons for her insecurity concerning Luna was the fact that the younger woman had a well defined figure for her size. She was shorter than Hermione, and while they might be the same cup size, Luna looked bigger because of her smaller frame. Luna smirked at her and leaned across the coffee table to pat her hand. "Don't worry about it, Hermione. They'll grow, once you become pregnant. As for Harry, we'll explain it to him together." Hermione could only nod. She was afraid to say anymore.

Harry's Villa, Norman's Cay (the same day)...

Harry stepped into the house and immediately went for the couch. He was nursing a whale of a headache. After reading and rereading several dozen reports from his students, he wasn't sure their approach would work. But that wasn't what gave him the headache. No, that little gem came from having to power his way through the wards with Bethany and her family. Add to that mix the simple fact that so many of the students didn't speak English as their native language and

translation spells rarely worked well for technical papers. Reading their reports was sometimes the most difficult thing. The net result of teleporting the family and dealing with some very badly written student papers was a headache the size of Wales. Funny. He'd never thought Wales was particularly large, until now. He had managed to translate the little girl's magical field into a basic set of runes and arithmancy equations, but it still didn't make any sense to him. He had checked with Bill before leaving the school and Bill told him the family was settling in nicely and the elf work crews already had them down on the list of homes to build. While Harry was capable of conjuring dwellings, he rarely did so anymore. He had built the Granger's home, and Luna's house, of course. But for the rest of the islanders, they relied on house elves to erect modest two and three bedroom homes for most people. Like so many others, the elves that had come to the island to live had joined in the effort to help everyone. A small group of roughly twenty elves made up a work crew capable of erecting a two bedroom home in just about four hours. Other elves had fanned out among the islanders, helping muggles and squibs deal with magical issues or providing food. Only Dobby remained firmly bonded to the Potter family, although both Harry and Hermione would be surprised to discover that the other elves considered themselves Potter elves, as well. He leaned back and closed his eyes, then rubbed at his temples with both hands. A pair of hands pushed his away, then took over the job of massaging his temples. "You're pushing too hard again," said a voice. "Can't be helped this time. We had to go see what caused that family to bounce. Bringing them back here through a ward that didn't want the little girl to pass took more power than I thought it would. If nothing else, I now know that it takes a lot of power to breech that ward," he replied. Dobby appeared and handed Hermione a steaming goblet. She smiled at the little elf and turned to Harry. "Here, take this. It will help with your headache." He took the goblet and drank it down in a few gulps, then he shuddered for a moment. "Why does this stuff always taste so nasty?" Hermione grinned. "Don't tell Angelina I said this, but all Potion brewers are perverse, evil, people who like knowing we have to swallow their vile inventions." Harry nodded. "That explains Snape, I guess." "Harry, nothing explains that monster. I still wish he had gone the way of Voldemort," she replied with some heat. "However, I won't tell Angelina that you compared her to Snape. If she knew, I'm sure she'd spike your potions with every vile tasting ingredient should could get her hands on." Harry's lips twitched tiredly. "Thanks for that. Although, if you did, I would be forced to tell her that you called her perverse and evil." "Hmm. Looks like we have each other over the same barrel." "Now there's an interesting thought," he murmured. "Though it might be hard on the back." She huffed a laugh and shook her head. "So, tell me about this family with the mystery girl." She moved around the couch and sat down next to him. He nodded wearily and waved a hand causing several runes and equations to appear in front of them. "As best as I was able to determine, that will replicate the effect she was creating naturally. She's also the cutest little metamorphagus you've ever seen. But I can't see what that active magic field is doing, except disrupting one of my wards." Hermione examined the glowing runes and equations floating in the air and her brow furrowed. "It looks like she's extending a magical field around herself and then folding it back into her core?" Harry shrugged. "That's what I thought also. At first I thought it might be related to her metamorphagus abilities, but

I've never seen a metamorph with my mage sight. Tonks..." He faltered and bowed his head, remembering the bouncy metamorph who'd died in Diagon Alley, along with so many others. Hermione rubbed his shoulder. "I know, it still hurts sometimes." He nodded and looked up again, gesturing at the equations. "I don't think it's related to her morphing ability. All I can do is guess that she has a talent that's still maturing. She couldn't be more than three or four years old." "What are you going to do about it?" she asked. He looked up at her. "What should I do about it? I don't think she's a danger to anyone. She's just a child. I suppose I could give her parents a monitor of some sort that would signal if the magic around her changes, but unless she exhibits some dangerous aspect, I don't see that I need to do anything." She nodded, then pushed him back on the couch and straddled him. He looked up at her with thinly veiled amusement as she unbuttoned his shirt. Once they had made the decision to have a baby, Hermione had become rather voracious in her appetite, not that he was complaining. With his shirt partially open, she pulled her wand and whispered an incantation over his alert necklace, causing it to glow blue for a second. "What did you just do?" She smiled. "I needed you today. Twice in a matter of hours the temperature was just right, but you were away on that island down in the Faulklands." He fingered his necklace. "And your spell will do what, exactly?" She ran her hands across his bared chest, loving the feel of the light dusting of hair against her palms. "I'll be able to let you know that I need you now," she murmured. He could see her eyes glazing as logical Hermione, sweet, methodical Hermione, shut down and the minx awoke. There was something unique about making love to Harry that she hadn't felt with Ron. It was almost as if Harry was somehow using his magic to enhance the experience for both of them. She didn't care, she just knew that she was at her most fertile time and she wanted him with a desire that burned.

Mary Celeste's berth, Norman's Cay, April 2008...

Harry surfaced and pulled off his mask. He turned until he spotted the floating basket and placed the mask and snorkel into it. "How bad is it?" Amos called from the dock. He looked up and grinned at the old man. "Not as bad as it could be. Hang on a moment and I'll be right up." The water was still too chilly for regular swimming, but he managed with a little help from a short neoprene wet suit, and a warming charm. He owned a full suit for scuba diving, but the short suit was perfect for this type of swimming and gave him more freedom of movement with the short sleeves and half pants. He swam the few feet to a ladder that extended down from the pier side and he climbed up. He barely managed to squeak by the Mary Celeste, who listed towards the pier and low in the water. On the deck, three powerful pumps spewed water overboard. Harry stood and turned towards the Mary. With a wave of a hand, he shut down two of the pumps. The third continued to pump, but the flow of water was already diminishing. "Several hull planks were broken and you sprung a whole mess of seams on your port side, Amos," he said as he turned back to the old wizard. "I've repaired the planking and sealed the seams, so she's not taking on any more water. Now, do you want to explain to me just how you managed to get her in such a condition? Had it not been for your magic, you

never would have made it back to the island." "Wasn't my fawlt. I hits something," exclaimed Amos unhappily. He had been coming back from Nassau when he struck an underwater object and started taking on water. Harry nodded knowingly. Submerged obstacles were a problem for all boats. Sometimes it was a reef hidden just below the surface, ready to tear the bottom out of a passing boat, or an object floating a few feet from the surface. Those were the most dangerous. A log, for example, could float for months, slowly soaking up the water before sinking to the seabed. "Well, she's fixed and she'll be pumped dry in under an hour. I'm wondering if I should charm the hull like I did with the Lily." Amos turned away from the sight of the pump still spitting out water and looked at Harry with interest. "Eh?" "I charmed the leading and trailing hull edges to prevent leakage, then I charmed the hull to be impervious. It's not a perfect solution, but her hull is probably as strong as steel by now," Harry replied. He'd been at the school when word came that the Mary Celeste had been badly damaged in an accident. Amos had managed to slow the leak enough to get her into her dock. By the time Harry had arrived, the Mary was listing and settling to the floor. "You wuld do dat for Mary? It be a lot o work!" Amos asked in surprise. Harry shrugged. "We need the Mary, Amos, and we need you. You provide a service to the island that we can't do without. I know we've forced you to cut back the number of trips you make, but we need you to be able to make those trips. I hope that doesn't sound callous. More importantly, you're my friend, and keeping the Mary safe is important to you. So, yeah, I'd do it for you." Amos nodded slowly. There was no doubt in his mind that the islanders needed. He had cut back on the number of trips to Nassau until he went only six times a month, and each time the Mary returned to the island with her hold bulging with needed goods and materials. No owl post was allowed to come to the island, so his ship was the only source of items that couldn't be easily conjured or created locally. He was also extremely touched by Harry's friend comment. It hammered home the point of how much change he had witnessed in his life. "How much damage to your cargo was there?" Harry asked. "Some o de food be ruined and some electronics got wet. I s'pose dat can be fixed, but we need to replace de food." Harry nodded and thought about it for a moment. "Give your cargo manifest to Cassandra. She'll figure out what needs to be restocked and what we can do without." Harry hesitated, then he asked the one question he had been afraid to ask. "Have you heard anything new?" The old man sighed. "You know bout de Russia China cease fire?" Harry nodded. A formal cease fire had been negotiated a week ago, according to the short wave broadcasts. Other than the initial two nuclear exchanges, neither side had used them again. After the initial exchange, both sides had settled into an uneasy fight, occasionally traded artillery fire, but neither side crossed the border again. World Wide opinion had so turned against both participants that many believed the international trade embargo was what forced China and Russia to the bargaining tables. "Rumor has it dat de Russians were forced to quit by some magical means," Amos said softly, "but de ICW is denying any involvement in de muggle crisis. I did read an article from de Nassau Wizard Press. Dat Percy fella says dat if need be, de ICW will take steps to protect Wizards from muggles."

Harry frowned and turned his gaze out over the Atlantic Ocean. "So they will deny anything muggle from entering their society, but they're not above stepping in and interfering with muggle society." Amos nodded unhappily. "Dat what I tink also." "How about the local ICW?" Amos shook his head. "Dey be worse than de ol Ministry. Corrupt and crooked. I heard dat de Govnor can be bawt. Dey still haven't replaced all dem aurors you fawt." Harry shook his head in disgust. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. "I don't think we want to get involved with that. From what I've read, bribes never last and the cost always increases. On the other hand, maybe we should bring this to the committee. Maybe someone will have an idea on how we can capitalize on it." Amos started to reply when an orb appeared in front of Harry and expanded to full size. "Commente," Harry commanding, activating the two way link. "Harry?" He smiled at Hermione. "Yes? Is something wrong?" "No, I was just wondering how much longer you're going to be with Amos?" He glanced at his friend, then turned back to the orb. "I think we're done here. We've fixed the problem with his ship and by tomorrow it should be as good as new." She smiled and nodded to Amos. "Good. Amos, Harry caught some extra snapper this morning. I'll have Dobby bring you some in a little while. Harry when you come home, please meet me at Luna's? We need to talk to you about something." "I'll see you in a bit. I need to clean up here first." Hermione nodded and the orb vanished when she ended the spell. "You best get going. You don't want two witches getting angry with you," Amos said with a chortle, then he nudged Harry in the ribs. "Hey! Maybe you get lucky tonight, eh?" Harry blushed. Many on the committee knew there was something unusual about the friendship that existed between Harry, Hermione and Luna. As a result, they teased both Harry and Hermione about it. Teasing Luna was an undertaking that few wanted to attempt since the twins tried pranking her and she switched their hands and feet with a simple wave of her wand. The twins had to live with that for three days before Alicia managed to convince Luna to reverse her unique switching spell. A half hour later, Harry strode up the walkway to Luna's house after having stopped at home for a quick shower. One of the more valuable lessons Amos had taught him was the value of rinsing off the salt after swimming in the ocean. He had no desire to repeat that particular rash, or the ribbing that came from having to ask Amos what he could use to treat it. "Luna? Hermione?" he called from the foyer. "In the living room," Hermione called out. Grinning, he walked into the living room to see Hermione and Luna sitting calmly on a couch, watching him. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt nervous. "Harry," both women said at once, then they turned and looked at each other and smiled sheepishly. "No, go ahead, Hermione," Luna said. She leaned forward and picked up a mug of tea.

"You sure, Luna?" The blond smiled. "He does belong to you, after all." Harry blinked. I do? he mused. Well, I suppose one could put it that way. "Harry, you know how we've been trying to have a baby?" Harry nodded warily. "Well, I wanted to tell you that we finally managed to achieve our goal." He blinked again. "We have?" he asked dubiously. After all, she didn't look pregnant. Hermione looked at him, a bit disappointed by his reaction and did something she had never done in front of him before: she pouted. "Yes. I'm pregnant." His legs felt rubbery and weak. He was going to be a father! In a way, he was also relieved. Hermione had charmed his necklace with a portkey that she could remotely activate and had used it on several occasions so she could pull him home for sex. While he didn't have a problem with having sex with her, it was more than a little embarrassing to be talking to a newly arrived family, only to be whooshed away for some afternoon nookie because her temperature was right. He never had gotten around to that talk about priorities. Luna smiled at him. "Well done, Harry. I've been waiting for Hermione to get pregnant. Now I want to have your baby, as well." He turned to stare at her for a moment, then his eyes rolled up into his head and he slid to the floor. "Uh oh, I thought that might happen," Luna murmured. "I swear, men simply can't take any real pressure. No wonder they're the weaker sex." "Luna!" exclaimed Hermione. "Look what you did!" "He'll be fine. He's just surprised, that's all," she replied, then she pulled her wand from behind her ear and levitated Harry into a chair. Once he was sitting, she squirted some water at his face and he woke up sputtering. "Wha? Whoa... Talk about a weird dream. For a moment I dreamt that Hermione said she was pregnant and Luna wanted to have my baby, too," he muttered, shaking his head. Hermione smiled to herself. "You weren't dreaming," she said softly. "I am pregnant, and Luna does want to have your baby." He looked up, startled to hear her voice and realized he wasn't in his own bedroom. "But..." He shook his head. Where was he supposed to go with this? He looked between the two women, then settled his wary, if slightly confused gaze on his wife. "Let me see if I understand this," he said, then cleared his throat, as his voice was sounding just a bit too squeaky. "Luna wants to have my baby and you're all right with that?" Hermione hesitated only for a second. "Yes. Luna and I have discussed this completely. In fact, we've been planning on having this talk with you for a while now." Harry stood and walked over to the window, his posture stiffening. "Right. So, how are we going to do this then? Am I to spend half the weeknights here and half the weeknights with you, Hermione? Or perhaps you two have decided that we'll all share, like Fred and George do." He turned and looked at the two shocked women. "I'll admit, if any woman, other than Hermione, could catch my eye, it would be Luna," he said. His expression, once wary and confused, was now one of anger. He swung his gaze to Luna and looked at her with such a frank appraisal that she squirmed uncomfortably. Luna shook herself from the feeling that Harry was mentally undressing her. "Wait, wait, wait!" she said quickly. "We started this conversation off badly and no one is really listening."

"I think I heard you rather well, Luna. You and my wife decided that I would get you pregnant. I don't know what bothers me more, the fact that I haven't been asked, or the fact that I'm being pressed into stud service." He turned back to the window and Hermione looked aghast. They hadn't asked him! She had repeated one of the Dumbledore's greatest mistakes by assuming he'd blindly do what they said, rather than taking the time to ask him. If there was one thing Harry hated the most it was to be manipulated. She turned to Luna with a stricken look. "Harry?" Luna said softly. He grunted in acknowledgment, never turning from the window and the view of the sunset across the bay. "You're right, we should have asked you," Hermione said, then she stood and walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Harry?" she whispered, her eyes were filling with tears. He turned to look at her and she could see the hurt in his expression. "I'm so sorry. We should have asked you about it. I should have asked you when Luna first brought it up," she whispered. "Don't be angry with Luna. I should have known better." He lifted a hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I know, it just hurts. You both know I'd never turn down a request from either of you, but to decide without even asking me? I've lived all my life with someone telling me what to do." Hermione's lower lip trembled and she embraced him. He wrapped her arms around her and buried his face in her hair, holding her as tightly as she held him. Luna leaned back on her chair and relaxed, realizing the situation was under control. She had seen Harry and some of his mood swings in the past few months, but had never really realized exactly how much power he wielded until now. While he stood there, staring angrily at the two witches, he had been leaking enough magic to move the island to another ocean! After a few minutes, Harry turned his head so that he could lean his forehead against Hermione's. "I'm sorry," she whispered again. "It's all right, but don't do something like this again," he replied, then he looked over at the blond. "Luna, if Hermione really doesn't have a problem with it, then I suppose I don't, but you know we're probably going to have to do it several times before you get pregnant, right?" Hermione gasped and realized that yet another major part of the conversation was still missing. Luna, however, was feeling the brunt of Harry's gaze. For the first time, he allowed himself to do a bit of ogling, and she blushed furiously under his gaze. "Harry!" Hermione said commandingly. She reached up with both hands and cupped his cheeks, pulling his gaze away from Luna. "That's not going to happen," she growled. She may be willing to share some parts of Harry with Luna, but that part wasn't an option! He blinked and looked at her in confusion. "Huh? But you said..." "No. No one said anything of the sort," she replied calmly. "We're going to do this the muggle way." Now he was really confused. The muggles do it differently than we do? he thought with surprise. All that porn that Fred and George hide from their wives is wrong? Well, the twins weren't muggles, so maybe it was wrong. I mean, if you have to hide it from your wife... He shook his head and glared at his wife as something she said clicked into place. "Wait. Hermione, you and I do it the muggle way. The same way your mother, you know, the muggle, did it. You take your temperature, then grab me, no matter what I'm in the middle of, and we go at it until we're to tired to twitch. And it obviously works," he exclaimed,

waving a hand at her still trim waist. She rolled her eyes. "Muggles have several ways," she began. "Oh, great. Just when I get the hang of it. What does this muggle way entail? Swinging from the light fixtures and flinging it at her?" he muttered, pointing at Luna. Luna looked away and coughed, trying to cover her laugh. Hermione sighed and led him over to a chair. He sat down and looked at the two women, confused and more than a little frustrated. "Harry," Luna started, "I've made an appointment with a clinic in Miami. What I want you to do is masturbate into this cup." She held up a small plastic container with a screw on lid. "Then I'll take it to the clinic and they will take your sperm and freeze it for later use. They'll also use a small amount of it right there to try to get me pregnant. Timing is critical, so if you don't mind? You can go into the bathroom if you want privacy, otherwise here is fine. I won't mind and I'm sure neither would Hermione." She reached out, holding the container in her hand, clearly waiting for him to get on with it. Harry had other plans, however. For the second time in less than an hour, he slumped forward in a dead faint. "Oh dear," Luna said softly. "Maybe we should call Alicia. He shouldn't be fainting like this all the time." Hermione frowned at her friend. "He wouldn't be fainting if we eased him into this idea instead of dumping it on him all at once." "I suppose we could have asked him like the twins would. 'Say Harry, would you mind very much wanking off in this cup for us?'," Luna replied. Hermione's frown became a scowl as she realized that there really wasn't a way of nicely asking him to provide sperm for Luna to use without referring to sex in one way or another. "I guess. But still, telling him he can do it where he sits? He'd never do that." she replied. "Wouldn't you like to watch him doing it? I think it would be fascinating," Luna countered. Hermione blushed, not trusting herself to speak. Luna enjoyed tripping her into little admissions, not so much because she wanted to know, but rather she felt these little slips helped Hermione keep a level head. "I'd better wake him," she murmured, changing the subject. In the back of her mind, however, a small voice concluded that she really wouldn't mind watching him do that. She ground her teeth and tried to ignore the voice. She gestured, then smiled brightly. Her wandless magic wasn't up to Harry's level at all, but she was slowly mastering it. She could levitate small objects, and even generate a blast of cold air, which she just did, at Harry's face. Harry flinched and opened his eyes. Over the years, Hermione had learned that Harry was head shy. No matter what the circumstances, he would flinch if someone touched his head without warning. She knew that he had no problem with her touching his face, as long as he could see her. That blast of cool air, no matter how gentle, always startled him. Hermione knew it was a reminder of his upbringing and never tried to touch his face without making him aware of her intent first. He looked around warily. "I was only kidding when I said you could do it here in front of us, Harry," Luna said with a soft smile. "But if I'm to keep on schedule, I will need that sample sometime in the next two days." Harry's eyes narrowed on the blond. "You really did want to see me do that, didn't you?"

When she didn't reply, he turned to see Hermione blushing furiously. "You too?" he asked incredulously. "Maybe you two shouldn't hang out together so much," he muttered. "You're both perverts and you're rubbing off on each other. Hmm. Rubbing off on each other. That could be interesting to watch." He eyed them both lasciviously. Seeing their expressions of shock, he smirked. "Now you both understand a least a small part of what I've been feeling since I walked in here! Though I'd feel a little better if at least one of you fainted." Seeing that neither woman was about to faint, he pretended to pout for a moment, then turned to Luna and shook his head. "All joking aside, I have to ask; why me, Luna? There are plenty of other men on this island and a bunch of them are unattached." Luna stared back at him in dismay. He was right. There was even one person on the island who was nearly as good a match as Richard was. But Harry and Hermione were both perfect fits and their close proximity prevented her from forming relationships. Harry couldn't know about the unique bond they all shared. It was the one thing that Luna and Hermione had agreed on completely. Luna had foreseen what was to come and many of the paths had shown her that things would end badly if they became a "triplet" at this cusp. "She has foreseen it, Harry, and we think that you would love all of your children, mine and Luna's," Hermione replied. Harry looked at Hermione and then he remembered something. "You're really pregnant?" he asked softly. She smiled and nodded. He leaned back on his chair and turned to Luna. "And you want to have my children, as well?" Luna nodded and tried to look encouragingly at him. "They will be Potters through and through, you know. We might not have the same kind of relationship that the twins have, but we would all be a family," he said softly. "I don't have a problem with that," Luna replied. "The rest of the world might not think so, but I would be honored to be a Potter." "I know I am," murmured Hermione. Harry shot Hermione a grateful look, then he leaned forward and took the sample container gently from Luna's hand. "I'll be back in a bit," he mumbled, cursing himself as he felt his cheeks flush. The two women watched him retreat into the bathroom and close the door behind them. "We could have done that better, but all things considered, I think it went pretty well," Luna declared. "Yes, but we should have remembered that he hated being manipulated," replied Hermione with a slight frown. How could she have forgotten that? "We weren't manipulating him. We just screwed up the explanation. Harry rarely refuses a request. The problem was, we jumped to the end, assuming he'd do it and skipped the request altogether. Careless, yes. Manipulative?" She shook her head, then frowned suddenly. "Drat! I forgot to tell him about the three breasted Tibetan Mermaids! I even have a photo of one here in the house... somewhere." Hermione laughed. "I'm sure he'll do just fine. How are you doing on your project?" Luna looked down at her hands and counted her fingers. She was sure there were twelve there a moment ago, or perhaps there were twelve fingers in an alternate reality she'd seen. It wouldn't surprise her. In one reality she had viewed, the three of them were all three toed sloths, living in the amazon. That particular reality had the nicest bananas she had ever tasted! She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. Keeping the realities separate was difficult sometimes. "It's going well. I've got a lot of the pieces working as prototypes, but I have to be extremely careful that none of them escape their containment," Luna replied.

The two women talked for nearly an hour about her project, and Hermione's work on the Avalon equations. Sometime later, Luna looked at the woman who was her best friend, sister and so much more. "You have no idea how much I envy you Hermione." Hermione blinked. "What? What brought that on?" "Harry's been in the bathroom for over an hour. Even Richard didn't have that kind of staying power. Mind you, he could be a real demon in bed, but three times in a night was about the best he could do and even he couldn't last an hour." Hermione glanced at the clock and frowned. Standing, she started to walk towards the bathroom when she realized she was being rude. She turned back to Luna "Well, Harry's pretty good that way, but I think I'll just check on him." Luna laughed. "All right, but try not to make too much noise. You have your own house for that sort of thing. And remember, I need that sample, so don't waste any!" Hermione's blush deepened and she promised herself that some day she would find something to make Luna blush! Walking to the bathroom door, she knocked. When he didn't answer, she pushed the door open far enough to slip inside. Like their house, Harry had created this one with huge bathrooms. It was a sinful luxury that Hermione immensely enjoyed. Harry had grown up with heavy restrictions on his bathroom use, and in particular, hot water use. As a result, when he saw the Prefect bath tub he had fallen in love with the idea of a huge bath and huge bathrooms with no hot water restrictions. Glancing about, she saw him sitting on a stool near the bath. On the edge of the tub rested the sample container that Luna had given him. She frowned slightly at his pensive expression. He was still dressed, his only concession to why he'd come into the bathroom was his open zipper. "Harry? Are you alright?" "Not really," he mumbled in reply. "I know what I came in here to do, but it seems that things aren't working as well as they should." He looked up at her with a worried look. "Do you think I should talk to Alicia? Or maybe ask her to recommend a male healer in Miami, maybe?" She tried not to smile. "You're probably just upset from the conversation. Then, too, there's the pressure of doing this in a strange place." "Not to mention that this is about as arousing as seeing Snape and Umbridge do it on the Head Table at Hogwarts," he muttered sourly. Hermione scowled at the image and crossed the distance between them. She caressed his cheek with one hand and leaned a little closer. "She loves you, you know, as much as she can. As much as we can allow her. I think she's seen more that she isn't telling us, but I trust her. She wants your baby as much as I do." Her hand slid into his opened zipper and lightly grasped him. "I can't believe you're willing to go along with this," he said, his breath quickening. "Luna needs us. It's just that simple. Right now, I'm going to help you help Luna, then I'm going to take you home and show you exactly why you'll never feel the need to look outside of our relationship." He pulled her tightly to him and marveled at the women in his life... and the confusion they caused.

Duncan and Cassandra's Villa, Norman's Cay, Late May (2008)...

"Harry, you've been awful quiet during this meeting. Is something wrong?" Cassandra's asked gently. She sat next to

Hermione, who just starting to show some slight signs of her pregnancy. All of the members of the Rescue Committee turned to look at Harry, who seemed rather uncomfortable during the meeting. He had been off the island yesterday on an errand and had been quiet since his return. Hermione leaned forward in her chair and reached for his hand. "What is it?" she asked. He looked down at the table, then looked up, glancing around at the expectant faces. "I find myself in a bit of a quandary. I've erased memories and left people as complete squibs. I've even, on occasion, killed in order to protect what we have. But last night I found myself in a predicament that I am having trouble resolving. Last night, I used an unforgivable for the second time in my life." Duncan leaned forward in his chair. "We're all wanted criminals in the eyes of the ICW, Harry. The question you need to ask yourself is, what motivated you to use such a curse. I don't think anyone here will fault you for using one." "I used the killing curse several times on the night when the Aurors came to the school," Maxime murmured from her chair. She looked at Harry and her eyes echoed a piece of what he was feeling. "I know I killed that night. I could have used another curse to kill, but I wanted to express my anger, and nothing else seemed to fit." She paused and rubbed her temples for a moment. "Pardon, putting my words into English properly takes some effort. I think what is bothering Harry isn't the curse itself, but what it represents. It is our nuclear weapon." Harry looked up sharply. "Yes! We were raised to think of those three curses as being the absolute worst and only the most vile of evil individuals would use one." "Kinda like carpet bombing versus one big nuclear bomb. The dead don't care what killed them, they're still dead, but the living cared. Carpet bombing was acceptable, an A Bomb was not," mused Angie, who remembered the carpet bombing days of the Vietnam war. "What curse did you use last night, Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry looked very unhappy with himself. "I wanted to know what the Ministry was up to and we really have no way of finding out that information. So I went to the source." Bill leaned forward with an incredulous look on his face. "You didn't! You went to see Percy and put him under the Imperius!" "And his wife," Harry muttered. Hermione tightened her grip on his hand. "Love, you did what you thought was necessary to keep us safe. Yes, those curses are distasteful and upsetting, but even I would use a killing curse to keep you, or our baby alive." He looked at her hopefully. "Really? There was a time you hated anyone that used one of those curses." Hermione nodded. "Yes, there was a time, and everyone of those people were trying to kill and hurt people for no reason other than their own personal gain. They weren't protecting people, they killed for sport and fun. You used an unforgivable to save lives." "There is a difference," Angie said gently. "The Goddess tells us that the purest use of magic is when it's used to help others. That little girl, Bethany, or Victoria, or even the baby that Hermione is growing right now, your baby, is protected by your actions." He looked at Angie for a moment before nodding slowly, then he looked to Hermione for confirmation of Angie's words. His greatest fear was that one day, in trying to keep them safe, he'd cross a line and Hermione would hate him for it. She smiled and squeezed his hand again. "Better now, Harry?" asked Cassandra. She loved her son-in-law, but she knew that sometimes he needed extra gentle handling. There were some aspects of life, like the gentle teasing that existed within a family, that he wasn't used to.

Cassandra glanced around the table, then turned back to Harry. "Now that we've cleared that up, I think there are several of us that are very curious to discover what you learned last night." "Hmmm. I could show you the memory of last night, if you want," he offered. "We don't have a pensieve," Hermione replied. "The committee has been looking for one for a long time now, but they are quite rare and rarely come up for sale." Harry looked thoughtful. "I suppose I could steal Dumbledore's pensieve. Merlin knows he's not using it for anything useful, since his brains are mush." His eyes gleamed and he got a faraway look on his face as he pondered sneaking into Hogwarts and stealing the pensieve of Albus Dumbledore. "Harry? Harry!" Hermione called, reaching out for him. He blinked and looked at her with chagrin. "Sorry," he mumbled, then he waved a hand at one wall and it faded to a light blue before it showed a bedroom scene. "The best I can do is show it like this. I'm sorry, but you'll be watching everything from my perspective," he said, as people began to shift around so they could watch. The blue coloring faded away and an opulent bedroom came into view. Harry looked around carefully. He had already taken care of the security detail that protected the mansion. They were sleeping and would not wake for another four hours. The signature recording charms were disabled and he stood looking at presumably the most powerful man in the wizarding world, the Minister of the ICW, one Percival Ignatius Weasley and his wife, Su Li. Harry looked at the sleeping pair and couldn't help but compare them to Hermione and himself. Percy and Su were on opposite sides of the huge bed with at least three feet separating them. The bed looked to be the same size, but invariably Harry and Hermione were a tangle of limbs for most of the night. He snapped his fingers and smirked. The resulting crack of thunder sounded like it came from the space precisely between the two, and both occupants bounced out of bed in terror. Su was a trained Auror and a little better able to cope. Her first impulse was to go for her wand. Unfortunately for her, Harry had locked her speed down to a slow crawl. Her wand was only a few feet away on the nightstand, but it might as well have been a million miles away, considering how slow she was moving. Percy's reaction was more in line with his chosen life's profession of coward. He screamed and fell to the floor, pleading for his life. Harry gestured and both Su and Percy suddenly found themselves sitting in straight back wooden chairs, immobilized from the neck down. "Good evening, Minister Weasley, Mrs. Weasley. I would have made an appointment, but I was afraid you wouldn't have accepted an invitation to tea and conversation. So I thought I'd come here to talk a bit with you both." Percy and Su stared at him, both horrified. Harry smiled at the pair, not realizing how much more frightening that made him appear, though he wouldn't have cared much, had he known. He had loosened his restraints on his aura and he knew he was glowing. "P-P-Potter? You won't get away with this! I'll see you in Azkaban for this!" Percy said, all bluster. Harry sat down, facing his fellow Hogwarts alumni. That he sat down on nothing only caused them to struggle even harder against the binding that held them. Harry stared at Percy for a moment, then nodded as a soft yellow glow surrounded the Minister's head.

"Now, Percy, is that any way to treat a guest? Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them truthfully. I'm going to use a spell to make sure you do so. I must warn you, however, that the results of fighting my spell could be uncomfortable," he said gently. Su opened her mouth to protest and he silenced her with a mere glance. "Wait a second!" protested Hermione. "That was a silent Imperious? That yellow glow?" When he nodded, she shook her head in dismay. As far as she knew, none of the unforgivable curses could be performed wandlessly or with a silent incantation. Harry restarted the playback on the wall. "I'm interested in your plans for the muggle born. Surely you're not killing them all?" Harry asked. Percy shook his head, fighting the spell, then he moaned in pain. "No! We're not killing them all. We're not barbarians you know!" Harry leaned back and looked thoughtful. "So, what are you doing with them?" Percy shrugged. "Our Department of Mysteries figured out a way of siphoning off their magic and giving it to someone else. Some of the muggle born we catch are used to bolster the flagging power of the older families. Many are killed trying to escape." "Escape?" Harry asked dryly. Percy screamed in pain and writhed in his chair. Harry leaned forward and said in an intense voice. "The pain will worsen until you are driven insane. Comply, be truthful, and the pain will end." "All right! All right! They're sent to Russia, to the mines," Percy said with a gasp. "Mines? What mines?" "With the goblins gone, we need to mine our own gold to mint into coins. Making sure we have enough gold to mint for the entire world isn't easy." Harry frowned. "How heavily guarded are the mines?" He was already considering the possibility of an assault on them to free prisoners. "We don't have to guard it at all," Percy said proudly. "The inmates do it all for us." "Why is that?" "They are little more than mindless automatons, thanks to the potions we feed them. The few that can still think well enough know that, if they don't continue receiving the potions, they'll die." "Potion slavery," Harry murmured in disgust. There would be no rescue for those poor souls. He knew well enough that there were some addictive potions that a person just couldn't be weaned off of. "Muggle born," Percy replied with a shrug as if to say they didn't mean anything. "What about those muggle born that you haven't caught?" "We will. Sooner or later, we'll catch them all." Harry's scowled deepened. "Did you interfere in the Russia/China war?" "Yes. They were killing wizards. I had one of our people control the leaders long enough to put an end to the war." "And that's it? You've left them alone since?"

"No. We've formed a committee that's looking to put someone close to every major world leader. If something like this happens in the future, we'll be able to head it off by taking control. If necessary, we'll mass our Aurors and conquer them." Harry shook his head in dismay. Percy had no clue what he was talking about, and worse, he honestly believed that the magical world could take over the mundane world. It would be a disaster that would make World War III look like a walk in the park, and probably would result in destroying much of humanity. Harry stood and paced the room for a few moments. He seriously considered killing Percy and Su right there, but the next Minister might even be worse than Percy. Or, Merlin forbid, Dumbledore could take the job. Harry turned and gestured at his prisoners. A light brown haze hovered over their heads and they lost the look of panic on their faces. Both of them assumed almost serene expressions. "When I leave, you will forget about my visit entirely. However, you will remember the following commands, Percy," Harry said authoritatively. Percy nodded dreamily. "The muggle born are becoming less of a threat, in your opinion. You will start concentrating your efforts on keeping the member nations of the ICW in line. In fact, Sweden is close to rebellion and several other nations are following their example. "Dumbledore is right. Interfering with muggles is a bad thing. The committee might make recommendations, but you will be slow to act upon them, out of fear of breaking the secrecy of the wizarding world. "You will slowly begin to cut back on the budget for the DMLE, even if it means firing Aurors. The money should be spent on educational programs emphasizing personal hygiene and wand care." Harry stepped back and crossed his arms in satisfaction. His suggestions were suitably low key enough that Percy would not make any radical policy shifts. His changes would be enacted over time, and by diverting resources away from the hunt for the muggle born, more might escape. He turned to leave, then he paused and turned back to Su Li. Harry stopped the playback and looked at his friends expectantly. "Hold it just a second there Potter," Hermione said with a growl. "You stopped the playback early. Why?" asked Cassandra. Several others glanced at the two women, then turned to look at Harry with curiosity. "It's done. Really!" protested Harry. "Harry," Hermione admonished. Harry sighed. "Fine, but really, the important stuff is finished." "Then you won't mind showing us the remainder," Duncan said smugly. He suspected something interesting was about to happen. Harry's shoulders drooped and he nodded to the wall again. "Do you know what a Terrier is, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked. "It's a dog of some kind," she replied in a dreamy tone. "Yes, it's one of those little dogs that has a very annoying bark. Do you know the kind I mean?"

"Yes, I do." Harry smiled. "Excellent. From here on, whenever you make love with your husband, you will feel an uncontrollable urge to bark and growl, just like a terrier. When you are done making love, you will not remember barking or growling and you will deny it ever happened. Even if someone shows you a pensieve memory of it, you will neither see, nor hear it and will deny it happened. Do you understand me?" "Yes. I will bark and growl while making love with my husband." Harry grinned maliciously and faded from sight. The view on the wall shifted suddenly to palm trees and an open beach before fading back to blue again. Harry turned back to the others after returning the wall to it's normal color and glanced around. Bill was barely visible. He had slid under the table and only the top of his head could be seen. Someone must have cast a silencing charm on him, because his head was bouncing up and down but he was making no noise. "Barking and growling?" asked Hermione drolly. "Hey, I was improvising. It's not like I had a script or anything," he retorted. He couldn't help but notice the general mirth that had infected all of his friends. Finally, Duncan controlled himself enough to wave a hand. "I like it. Your commands were subtle enough to help relieve the pressure on us without things happening too quickly and arousing suspicion." "And the barking part was just tops," Cassandra added gleefully. Harry blushed as the rest of them broke out in laughter again. Duncan rapped on the table to catch everyone's attention. "Summing up then. Harry's planted a seed that could result in easing some of the pressure on the Ministry undesirables. His other suggestions, slashing the DMLE budget and pointing suspicion at a member nation, will also work to ease the pressure, at least for a while. Percy is Minister and his word carries a lot of weight, but he's not a king, nor a dictator, so he has to work with others, and that means he won't always get his way. "Now, what about this bit with mines? Should we be thinking about raiding them to release the prisoners?" Harry looked down, refusing to answer. "We can't, Daddy," Hermione replied softly. "Percy didn't need to name the potions. It's well known that some potions are poisonous. If some who's been taking them suddenly stops ingesting them, they'll die. They could be using one of those potions or even a combination of them. The fact that he called them mindless suggests a heavy narcotic component. I'm afraid that, even if we broke them out, we couldn't care for them or figure out the proper potion combinations in time to keep them alive." "It would be more merciful to drop one of those knuckle bombs on them, poor bastards," Bill said somberly. No one seemed interested in correcting his mistake. Cassandra shivered for a moment, then looked around. "Does anyone have any more business?" "I do," Harry replied quietly. "I am shooting for a mid to end of July target date for the enlargement. As such, come the end of June, we will need to halt all construction. I'll need time to teach the elves the rune sets needed to be marked on every structure, and we'll have to mark everything. From homes, to equipment shacks and piers to laundry lines. Some of the structures will get a different rune set than normal because we don't want them to change their location in the expansion." "Might not be a bad idea to run a practice drill or two," Bill offered. "How long will people need to be indoors?" "I figured two hours, tops," Hermione replied. "But Harry will be applying the spell twice, taking it to the absolute limit

of expansion. We'll do it once, wait a few days, maybe a week, then do it again." "Why so much time in between the castings?" asked Angie. "The spells are very powerful," Hermione replied. "There's a very good chance that Harry will be exhausted after casting it. I've already spoken to Alicia, asking her to be present, just in case." "I'd like you to be there as well, Angie," Harry murmured. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. He shrugged. "Well, the blessing of the Goddess can't hurt, can it?" Angie smiled gently at him. He hadn't professed to be part of her faith, like some other wizards on the island had done, but he clearly respected her beliefs. "All right, why don't we schedule our next meeting to put together a plan for a dry run of the expansion. We have a lot of details to work out. Maxime, we might need to borrow some of your students to help alert people," Duncan said. Maxime nodded. "They will be happy to help."

ICW Headquarters Building, London, late August 2008...

The door opened and Dumbledore walked into Percy's office. "Good morning, Professor," Percy said from his desk. He held the report from the committee that had investigated the Russia/China war and their recommendations for what to do about the Muggle governments. "Have you seen this?" Dumbledore took a seat and nodded. "I have. I finished reading it yesterday and some of the recommendations disturb me." "Yes, they disturb me, as well. I don't like the idea of us getting that close to the governments, and frankly, I'd be afraid we'd do something that might inadvertently expose our world." "It's the reason why we enacted those laws to prevent us from interfering with their world," Dumbledore replied sagely. "Yes and they still make sense to me. I'm going to present the committee's report to the Wizengamot tomorrow, along with the recommendation that we table their suggestions for the time being. Will you support me on this?" Dumbledore nodded and pulled a small bag from his pocket. Opening it, he reached inside and pulled out a lemon drop. Popping the candy into his mouth, he then offered one to Percy, who turned it down. "Have you worked out your budget needs for the next year?" asked Percy, now that the really important part of the conversation was done. "Mostly. I'll be ready to submit it by the end of next week. We've had a few increases in the price of things, but on the whole, I don't see tuition being raised. And that brings me to another matter. I understand that you're earmarking more funds for education in this budget?" "Yes. Revenue has flattened out recently and I think we're finally put the mess caused by having to pay the families of all those aurors we lost at Shangri La behind us. Because of that, I'm trimming the DMLE expenditures slightly and intend to funnel that money to education. You hold our future in your hands. Properly educated, the next generation will be a law abiding, tax paying generation," Percy said pompously. Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "You're cutting DMLE funds? Are you sure that's wise?" Percy waved a hand, dismissing his worry. "Oh, I'm not gutting them, Professor. With China finally on board in the ICW, we don't need to have such a large Auror force. Why, it was practically an army!" Percy paused and shuffled some papers around on his desk, then he looked up at Dumbledore. "Besides, other than the Swedish problem, we no longer have a need for such a large force." Dumbledore leaned forward on his chair. "Swedish problem? I take it you're talking about that attack on your residence

some months ago? I thought it was proven that the Swedish weren't rebelling against the ICW?" Percy frowned slightly. "Yes, that was what we thought. On a hunch, I had all of the Swedish Aurors transferred and moved in Aurors from Germany. I asked them to investigate the country for signs of unrest. What they have found is startling. It appears that we may, indeed, have a problem with Sweden." Dumbledore sighed unhappily. It never occurred to either man that the very fact that Germans policing the Swedes could be the cause of the unrest that was growing in that country. "Actually, the Germans have done such a good job in Sweden that I might use them again elsewhere, once we get the population settled down. The only bad thing is we've had to send several old line pure blood families to the mines. Fining them and threatening them with prison seemed to only incite them to further acts of violence." "I will, of course, support your efforts, Minister. We can't afford for any member nation to suddenly become rebellious, can we?" Dumbledore offered. "Thank you, Professor," Percy said with some relief. Dumbledore commanded a large block of ICW support in the International Wizengamot. He needed the man and the political power he wielded. Dumbledore stood and left the office and Percy went back to composing his speech to the Wizengamot, in which he would recommend that the Wizarding World not actively plant agents in the muggle governments.

Party Point Park, Norman's Cay (the same day)...

Harry looked around and shook his head in amazement. Party Point had been kept fairly untouched from the enlargement charms, but there was now a large park attached to the small peninsula that jutted into the bay. The enlargements had gone off without a hitch, but he was honest enough to admit that his wife considered otherwise. The second enlargement had been so taxing and she had been forced to stand helplessly, watching as Alicia worked frantically to save him. Harry woke three days later to a massive headache and orders from his healer not to use magic for another ten days. "Look at this," he said softly. Hermione turned to look at him questioningly. "What?" She had largely gotten over her anger with him for rushing into the second enlargement when he was still too tired from the first. She had made it clear that she expected him to take into consideration the baby growing in her belly, as well as Luna's. Both children needed their father alive and happy! Harry waved a hand around them. The park was overflowing with people as luaus and barbecues cooked food everywhere. There was a sound of music playing from a live band, and children of all ages dodged in and out of the adults, playing. Not far from where he sat he could see Victoria and Annette, Lee's little girl, playing with Puff, under the watchful eye of Duncan. "There must be a thousand people here," he said quietly. "More den dat," Amos said with a snort. "According to de latest census, we gots six tousand peeple here, Harreee." Harry turned and stared at his older man in astonishment. Cassandra tore her gaze away from watching her husband and the children and turned to Harry. "Duncan says that if the number of people coming in stays constant, we could have twenty thousand people in another ten years." Hermione leaned against Harry. She was five months pregnant and showing. He rubbed her lower back and she shot him a grateful look. "It's a good thing the enlargement is finished, then."

Harry nodded. "I'll agree to that. We'll have the space for them, I think." "We have space for a lot more than that," Cassandra said. "Even with your little addition to the scenery, we have loads of space now. Dun wants to get a car, since we can't always rely on Dobby or you two to pop us someplace." Harry's addition to Hermione's incantation had resulted in a fake volcano rising some three thousand feet above the middle of the island. He grinned. He'd never worked on an automobile engine before. "Uh oh, I know that look. Something else for him to get all greasy on," Hermione said with a fond smile. She was convinced that he took apart his outboard engines just for the fun of it, rather than real need. He blushed and looked away. Not far from where he sat he could make out Hagrid and Maxime and her group of students joining in the party atmosphere. "Dey be celebratin cuz dey be safe," Amos said softly. "It is our first luau since the enlargement," Hermione added. "People need to blow off some steam. We've all worked so hard, extending roads, planting groves of trees, even helping put up two new schools. I think the thing that has people excited the most is the two towns." Everyone nodded. Until recently, there had been no centralized location on the island, no towns, no shopping center. Once the enlargement was complete, the committee announced their intent to build two towns, one at each end of the island, and they held a contest to see who would get to name them. The winner had aptly named both towns Hope, East Hope and West Hope. Everyone agreed the names were perfect and seemed to be an omen of better times to come. "Angie is waving at you," Hermione murmured. He looked up to see the woman gesturing to him. He turned to Hermione, "You'll be alright?" She rolled her eyes.. "How many times do I need to tell you? I'm pregnant, not sick." He grinned and stood, then walked over to Angie, who took his arm and led him away from the mass of party goers. "He worries about you and Luna . It's part of the nature of a loving husband and father-to-be to worry," Cassandra said to her daughter. "Your father drove me to distraction with his worrying." Hermione watched Harry's retreating back for a moment, then turned back to her mother. In Goddess Grove, another, more serious conversation was taking place. Harry let Angie lead him into the grove. It was a part of the original Party Point, and a place where Angie had worked her magic to make a garden that was truly unique. Spites, pixies and fairies fluttered about, tending the numerous flowers and plants. The gently sculpted garden had winding paths and several fountains. Everyone who visited it felt a sense of peace in the garden. "The Goddess is discontent, Harry," Angie said, by way of opening the conversation. Harry looked at her, alarmed. "You have done much good here, more good than can be attributed to one person should he live a hundred lifetimes. And yet, all that stands on the brink of destruction because of one person," she continued softly. Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times. "What's wrong? What have I failed to do? I know I haven't joined in your faith. Is that what this is about?" Angie shook her head and smiled at him. "Child, if it were that simple, I would tell you. But even I don't know all of the facts. What I do know is that your moon child, your second wife, is going down a dark path that troubles the Goddess. I have tried to speak to her about it, and she listens to my words but does not hear."

"Luna?" he said in astonishment. Angie nodded somberly. "She harbors a great anger toward those that hurt her, Harry. An anger that she controls, barely, with help from you and Hermione. Unfortunately, she needs a firmer hand than you've been willing to provide." Harry looked pained. "Angie, we all agreed that, while I would give her what she needed to have my children..." He stopped when Angie chuckled and shook her head at him. "I'm not talking about sex, Harry. Making love to her might solve this problem, but it would create others. No, the Goddess knows that she is following a path led by her anger. She is so terribly smart, perhaps even smarter than Hermione, but her moral compass has no north pole. You need to step up to the plate and be that for her." Harry walked over to a bench along the path and sat down, motioning for Angie to join him. "Luna is my friend," he said in explanation. "I'm not sure I can just order her about. I can't even order Hermione about, unless it's something directly related to her safety, and she's my wife. I'm not sure she'd listen to me." Angie nodded knowingly. "I could never tell Vinny what to do, either. But there are times when you need to do what you must. Those babies that are growing in Hermione and Luna's bellies right now may not see their tenth birthdays if you do nothing." She paused and took a deep breath. "Look around you, child. What do you see?" Harry glanced around, seeing the garden with the fairies and pixies fluttering around. He heard the sound of children's laughter, back at the party. "I see the garden, and I hear the people at the party." He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "It's peaceful. It feels...right." "All that could be lost, if Luna is not turned from her path," Angie replied gently. She held out her hand and several pixies flew over to land on it. "The Goddess might not be the God of the Christians, or the Jews, or maybe she is and God is just God, no matter what name we use. What I do know is she is clear in her warning. Luna's path needs to be diverted, and soon." Harry sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap. "I have been so busy with my own tasks, I never felt that I needed to watch closely what the others are doing. I trusted Luna to do the right thing." "She hasn't stepped over the line yet. It's not to late to fix this. The Goddess approves of what is happening here and doesn't want to see it lost. That's why the warning has been given. She hasn't told me, but I suspect that if we fail, magic, all magic, will flee this world, never to return." He looked around, then his gaze fell on one of the pixies that sat calmly, watching him from Angie's cupped hands. His gaze met the pixie's and he could feel the plea from her. He could feel it reaching out and asking to be saved. Harry stood abruptly and nodded to Angie, then vanished without a sound. Angie shook her head. "Goddess bless you child. She loves you more than you know," she murmured, then smiled reassuringly at the creatures in her hands.

Luna's Villa, Norman's Cay...

Harry appeared just outside Luna's house. A moment later, Hermione appeared, alerted to the crisis by the wave of anger she felt from her ring. Harry ignored her, instead turning and entering the house. Luna looked up from a computer she was typing at when Harry walked into her comfortable study. Hermione trailed behind him, perplexed and more than a bit alarmed at the unexpected situation. "Harry?" Luna asked. He looked at her hard before turning slightly to Hermione. "Sit."

Hermione resisted the impulse to point out that she was not a dog. The man before her was not the loving man she'd married. In his place was the cold, hard, battle ready man who'd killed Voldemort. The same man who had so much power, he could expand an entire island to epic proportions. She felt the power wrapping around him and flowing from him. With a nod, she sat down stiffly. When he turned to face Luna, the blond frowned as she felt the same thing Hermione had experienced. The power, and the anger, both barely leashed...and directed at her! "Your nanites, Luna, what are you designing them to do? Hermione said something about you finding the source of magic," he said through gritted teeth. Unlike his wife, he had read the popular literature detailing the advances in nanotechnology. While he didn't understand the exact science, he understood enough to be aware of many of their capabilities. Luna's eyes narrowed and she stared at him. Few people could withstand her direct gaze, but Harry was one of them. He glared back at her and after a few minutes of awkward silence, she looked away. "You're planning on killing the magical world," he stated. "You're making a disease that will kill them all." "They deserve it!" she shot back. "They killed Richard!" "Oh? And what will you say to the three year old as he drowns in his own bodily fluids? 'I'm sorry, but you have to die because you're bad.'" he shot back. Luna flinched as if she had been struck. "Luna," he said coldly, "they killed my parents, Cedric Diggory, Sirius, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Remus and so many others. I struggle everyday with the urge to go back and raze their world to the ground. I had the man who killed Ginny in my grasp and wanted nothing more than to gut him slowly. But I didn't do it. I'd like nothing better than to torture Albus Dumbledore for weeks before letting him die. But I don't do it." She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. He took a deep breath. His expression gentled somewhat, but his voice was firm and authoritative. "Hermione and I welcomed you into our family. I gave to you the only thing I can truly call my own. The mother of my children will not be remembered for creating a disease that killed millions. I want your promise that you will not do this. If I don't get it, I will destroy your laboratory. I'll wipe it from this island and salt the ground on which it stood. I will not have a mass murderer as mother to my children." When Luna choked out a sob, Hermione looked at him in shock. She had never heard him speak that way before. He was not asking, he was commanding. She realized that he was not threatening Luna with the destruction of her laboratory. He was simply informing her of the consequences of disobeying him! When Luna looked up at him, her eyes huge and tear-filled, he shook his head. "We love you, Luna, but this course is wrong. Besides, if I can't destroy them, neither can you. And you have to admit, I have as much cause to hate them as you do." She nodded and looked at Hermione, who had been watching, shocked to her core by both Luna's plan and Harry's behavior. She and Luna had talked about her plans in vague terms, but she hadn't realized the extent of what Luna planned until Harry said it out loud; death for the Wizarding World. Taking a shaky breath, she nodded. "He's right. We both still love you, but you can't do this." "What shall I do then?" Luna asked in a whisper. "Abandon it all and come work at the school?" Harry looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if searching for answers. "No, I think parts of your idea have merit. I won't allow you to kill them, but that doesn't mean something else can't be done to them," he said, thinking quickly. "You found the source of magic. Can you take it away from them? Turning them into what they hate the most would be

a just punishment." Luna shook her head. "You can't take away someone's magic. Well, Harry could. But it's like having a heart or lungs." She paused for a moment. "However..." Hermione leaned forward. "Yes?" she pressed. "What if we took away their ability to pass their magic on? Maybe take it away from everyone, even the muggles?" Hermione glanced at Harry, gaging his reaction. "I like that idea," he murmured. "It's fitting and taking the ability away from the muggles won't hurt them in the slightest." Luna lifted her chin and wiped at her tears. Hitching a breath, she looked him the eyes. "I would rather be mother to your children, than to have you consider me a killer. I will destroy the stock of the disease prototypes and delete my files on them. On my magic, I so swear." Luna glowed softly as her oath took effect and Harry held out a hand for her. She looked at him curiously. "There is a party going on and you're missing out on the fun," he said softly. Hermione stood, moved to his side and offered a hand to Luna. Luna closed her eyes, realizing how lucky she was to have them both in her life. Reaching out, she placed a hand in each of theirs and allowed them to help her to her feet. When arms wrapped around her waist, she sighed. Being held between Harry and Hermione was very comforting; a soothing balm to her ragged emotions. "We let you go to early," Harry murmured quietly. "Tomorrow, we'll move you back into your bedroom at the house. We all need the closeness for awhile longer." She nodded in acquiescence. He was right, so there was no sense in protesting. Thirty miles away in Goddess's Grove, the pixies and fairies glowed brightly and began to sing. Angie watched, enraptured, as a number of budding flowers suddenly blossomed. "Goddess bless you, child. You did good," she murmured. Then, pulling her shawl about her shoulders, she walked out of the Grove to rejoin her children at the party.

Fini Authors Note:

When we wrote the very first Wizards Fall short story we inadvertently opened a window into a unique universe of our own creation that had been taken far from the world created by JK Rowling. While many people are interested in the whole concept of Avalonian time and what would happen when they came out of that time, we were not among those interested. Frankly my personal interest has always been in the steps involved in taking a group of people who were refugees from their society and seeing what was needed to make them decide it was perfectly acceptable to infect the entire world with a disease that would halt the spread of magic. This entry into the saga shows how that decision came about and pretty much satisfies my personal need to explore this universe. Will there be another Wizards Fall installment? Honestly I can't tell you. Right now I have no plans for one, but that could change. And honestly folks, the results of what happens 1000 years in the future are best left as science fiction. Depending on whether you think it would be a Gene Roddenberry vision of the future or a Mad Max future, but I don't see us going that way.