The Trouble with Family by BigIve
Summary: It is after the Battle and the search for Hermione's parents uncovers some unexpected branches on a previously well known family tree.
Canon Relationships.
Some Mature/Adult Themes and Language.
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Post-DH/AB
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2017.05.14
Updated: 2017.06.20
Index
Chapter 1: Introductions and First Meetings (Molly's Point of View)
Chapter 2: Special Operations
Chapter 3: Bombshell
Chapter 4: Family Matters
Chapter 5: Delayed Introductions
Chapter 6: Mr P
Chapter 7: Coming together
Chapter 8: The Power of Love
Chapter 9: It's Magic but not as we know it.
Chapter 10: Family ties
Chapter 11: Dave
Chapter 12: Family Interactions
Chapter 13: The Next Day
Chapter 14: Dave, Doug and Harry
Chapter 15: Magic both ancient and new
Chapter 16: Gabrielle's Story
Chapter 17: Bait and Switch
Chapter 18: The Paris Incident
Chapter 19: Questions and Answers - Part One
Chapter 20: New Wands and New Abilities
Chapter 21: Ginny's Introduction and First Lessons (Ginny's P.O.V)
Chapter 22: Finances and Contracts
Chapter 23: Tools of the Trade.
Chapter 24: Delayed conversations (Molly's P.O.V.)
Chapter 25: Talismans
Chapter 26: Family Introductions
Chapter 27: Family Announcements
Chapter 28: After Dinner Conversations
Chapter 29: Pranks and Assignments
Chapter 30: Confrontations
Chapter 31: Fleur's Introduction.
Chapter 32: Rendezvous in Paris (Fleur’s P.O.V.)
Chapter 33: Professional Challenges
Chapter 1: Introductions and First Meetings (Molly's Point of View)
IntroductionsFamily. It is a strange word with as many different meanings as there are people on this planet. To some it only means a group of people related by Blood or connected by Marriage. To yet others it is a group of people who will love and support each other through both the very best and worst that life has to offer.
To a very lucky few it is both of these.
Family can also have a way of sneaking up on you, in both time and place. Sometimes it even pops up at your front door without either of you knowing it.
We are all born into some sort of family. For some it is very large, for others it can be quite small. As we grow up with our family we share a belief in ourselves. That we know our family and that we are a good family. However, we often don’t know our family (or families) as well as we like.
This journal is my attempt to record for the family (both the one I knew and the one I didn’t) how we came to learn about each other. Most of that initial interaction between our two families was centred on one particular young man. So many of these early stories will be around him and his interactions with us all.
I will also endeavour to cover the stories relating to the interactions between myself and my newly discovered (at the time) sister. How we discovered why we never knew about each other. Along with our own particular (and occasionally painful) journey to uncover the reasons why she was cast out by our family to begin with. I know I certainly learnt a great deal about the views and aspirations of certain family members during this journey.
To answer the (incessant) questions from certain members of this family, yes the ‘fashion’ related incidents that you have heard about over the years will be discussed in this journal. But please don’t skip direct to those particular chapters.
Leave the poor young man in question his dignity for just a little while longer while you read the earlier chapters. After all the story of the ‘Paris Incident’ has now been recorded for posterity and enough copies have been made to ensure that he can’t destroy them all.
I will be joined on this journey by various members of my family (old and new) as well as some dear friends as well. As they all share their experiences of this remarkable episode in our lives.
While the journey was equal parts, wild, frightening, exciting, joyful and sorrowful I don’t think any of us would have changed it given the result we are now enjoying.
It is my hope to have this journal completed in time to present it to the newest family pair within our family on their special day.
I hope you enjoy this attempt to bring together all the different stories from the family into one (hopefully) cohesive tale of the discovery of a lifetime.
Molly Weasley
First Meetings (Molly's Point of View)
14th May 1998 (Thursday)
When knowingly meeting family for the first time, there is usually a set protocol or custom to be followed. You observe and try your best to learn about each other, as you know that you are likely to share certain traits. If those traits are a talent for temper and stubbornness, then there is usually a slight wariness, a desire to tread carefully ‘for the sake of the family’.
However, that assumes that you know you are meeting new family members. What happens when you meet new family unknowingly, who happen to share ALL of your famous traits (and a willingness to use them)?
I still remember that eventful day (and the ones immediately following it). One thing I can certainly say, they were not dull days for our family. Not by a long shot…
It was only our 4th day back at the Burrow after about a week spent at Hogwarts after the Battle. We were all still reeling from the loss of Fred, as well as coming to terms with the loss and then return of our Harry. Harry, Ron and Hermione had also explained to us all their ‘adventures’ of the past 9 months. It was still a lot to process.
Consequently, the family was finding great comfort in just being around one another. None of my children (or their partners) have ever needed a reason to visit us here at the Burrow. They are always welcome. But in the days after our returning to our home, the number of unannounced and extended visits was way up. I must add that I loved having everyone around.
Often just being in the same room together was enough. Smiles, hugs, pats on the back, these all seemed to be enough to convince ourselves that we really were still here with each other.
Unfortunately for two of our number this wasn’t possible.
Harry’s family were all dead, and while he had been adopted by the Weasley clan (especially our little Ginny) I could see that he was really missing that he couldn’t share his victory with his real parents. He was also keenly feeling the loss of his godfather Sirius as well as his friends Remus and Tonks.
We all did our best to fill this void in his life by making sure that he felt included (and loved) in our family. While there were some rough moments back at Hogwarts in the immediate aftermath of the Battle, when everyone was at their most raw and vulnerable. Things had greatly improved since, thankfully. The misunderstanding between him and Ginny had been sorted out (exhaustion and high emotion are not a good combination). Although it did involve another (thankfully short) stay in the Hogwarts Hospital wing for him.
His fears about being blamed and rejected by us because of Fred’s death had also been quashed by George’s tearful reunion with him in the hospital wing. George had shown true courage and compassion by tearfully telling Harry that he wasn’t responsible for Fred’s death. That nothing could have kept Fed away from a Battle over something he so deeply believed in. Freedom.
For Hermione, the situation was different. Her parents were alive (as best as she knew), but were on the other side of the globe. They also had at that point in time no memory of her and different names.
In an attempt to protect her parents, she had modified their memories so that they believed that they were Wendell and Monica Wilkins. A couple who didn’t have a daughter but did have a desire to move to Australia to live.
Her worry about her parents had been growing on a daily basis, almost beginning directly after the defeat of Tom Riddle Jr. Well at least after she woke up from a very well deserved rest after the defeat of Tom Riddle Jr.
It was an attempt to quiet this growing worry that my loving husband Arthur had gone to see the newly appointed interim Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. In the hope that the Ministry could help locate her parents.
It is here that this story really beings…
Arthur and Percy had left straight after a very early breakfast to head off to the Ministry. Arthur to enlist the aid of Kingsley and Percy to check and see if he still had a job at the ministry. As he had given the then Minster Thicknesse his resignation during the Battle. Seeing as minister Thicknesse was a sea urchin at the time of his resignation he wasn’t quite sure if it was binding or not.
By mid-morning Arthur had sent word via his Patronus that he would be arriving home shortly from the Ministry with the Minister himself and a representative from the Australian Auror Service.
Sure enough, in short order a series of pops was heard outside the Burrow’s wards. Three men then began to approach the Burrow. Two were instantly recognisable, while the third wasn’t. Given recent events the whole family was a little nervous around new people. So, they were all (at least the ones present) very quickly up on their feet and watching with interest the approach of these men.
While their wands may not have been drawn, they were certainly within easy reach should the occasion call for it.
The third man towered over both Arthur and Kingsley, he must have been 6 and a half feet tall at least. He also had a very solid build. Despite this he carried himself with an almost fluid grace. The next most noticeable things about him was his easy smile and boisterous laugh which were both very much on display.
Indeed, the three men seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as they made the short trip from the Apparition point to the Burrow.
Bill and Charlie were both visibly put at ease by the humorous interactions between the three men as they approached. To the point that they moved to the Kitchen table to try and ‘rescue’ some of the scones and biscuits from the ravenous attention of my youngest son Ron.
Upon their entry into the Burrow I greeted Arthur with the customary kiss and Kingsley with one of my well-known hugs. After releasing Kingsley, he turned and introduced our new guest in his customary deep voice.
“My dearest Molly, I would like to introduce to you Chief Auror Stephen Williams of the Australian Auror Service.”
“Chief Auror Williams, this lovely young lady here is Mrs Molly Weasley, Arthur’s wife. She is the best cook and one of the finest people you are every likely to meet.”
Displaying a typical Weasley / Prewett blush at Kingsley’s compliment I extended my hand to Chief Auror Williams and welcomed him into my home with a very traditional if a little flustered, “Very pleased to meet you Chief Auror Williams. Please do come in and join us for spot of morning tea”.
Chief Auror Williams responded with a smile and an enthusiastic (but gentle) handshake and replied, “G’day Mrs Weasley. Very pleased to meet you as well. Please, call me Steve, and I would love to join you for a cuppa.”
His reply had once again brought the attention of all the gathered family members. As it was obvious by his unique accent that he was most definitely not a local. His voice was deep and gravelly, it almost seemed to spill out and run across the floor.
Arthur ushered Chief Auror Williams inside and introduced him to those members of the family who were present, being Bill and his wife Fleur, Fleur’s younger sister Gabrielle (she had supposedly been worried about her older sister and was visiting for a time), Charlie, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
Harry and Percy being the only ones not currently not home. Percy was at the Ministry and Harry at St Mungo’s for a check up on his various wounds.
Harry was still very reluctant to have people see the full extent of his wounds and had insisted on going alone to the hospital. Although it was generally accepted that this desire to be alone was more to escape from the minor hero worship from Fleur’s younger sister Gabrielle. As a willingness on his part to take anyone with him would have most certainly been met with an insistence on Gabrielle’s part to tag along.
Ginny in particular was not pleased with this situation, but wasn’t prepared (at this point anyway) to argue with Harry about it. Although she was not showing any hesitation in displaying her displeasure about current arrangements with Gabrielle.
The family all greeted Chief Auror Williams politely but enthusiastically as Australian’s were something of a novelty to them all (back then anyway).
Eventually the introductions made their way to Hermione. Arthur remarked, “Chief Williams this young lady is Hermione Granger. A friend of my youngest son Ron.”
“Friend?” exclaimed George. Ever the one for tact and diplomacy.
“Is that how our little Hermione is introduced these days? No wonder she hasn’t been her usual cheerful self, if Ron isn’t introducing her correctly.”
His ears turning almost the same colour as his hair Ron fixed George with a look that could have killed.
“Harry at least has stepped up and taken responsibility for our little Ginny, Ron. When are, you going to do the same?” asked George.
Both Ron and Ginny tried to respond at the same time with almost identical looks of indignation on their faces. However, Ron was the first one out with a coherent reply.
“I don’t need to take responsibility for Ginny, that’s mums and dads job.” Stated Ron. “I will also have you know that our relationship is none of your business George. We are going to tell everyone when we were ready.”
“Or when Hermione was willing to admit to it in Public, eh Ron?” came George’s reply with a smirk on his face.
Hermione just stared at George and with nothing more than a glance let him know that she would deal with him later. From the look on Ginny’s face it was plain that she agreed with Hermione.
“Prat!” replied Ginny looking now at George.
“Git!” Hermione added also looking directly at George.
“As I was saying.” Said Arthur trying to get the conversation back on track.
“Before our little interruption. This young lady is Hermione Granger. A very close friend”
“Girlfriend you mean!” interrupted George again.
“Of our son Ron. And a unofficially adopted daughter to our family”
Hermione blushed (almost as well as a Weasley) at this comment.
“She is the reason I approached Kingsley for assistance. And Kingsley reached out to you.”
“More like ran into you mean.” Replied Kingsley with a chuckle.
Seeing the looks directed to him Kingsley added “I see I need to explain that comment.”
“As usual Arthur you seem to be blessed with good timing or luck. Take your pick which one it is.”
“Chief Williams here was visiting with me to finalise arrangements for the visit of the Australian Minister of Magic.”
“Since the recent successful conclusion of our recent troubles I have been trying to re-establish our connections to the International Magic community. Many of these ties were badly strained under the previous Minster. While many more were broken.”
“Unfortunately or as the case may well turn out for us fortunately, our ties with the Australians were almost completely broken by the previous administration.”
This comment brought many surprised and a few worried looks around the room. Chief Williams however had a smile on his face. This lead to even more concerned looks.
Continuing Kingsley added, “The Australian Magical Parliament and their Minister were very vocal in their opposition to certain laws that were brought in by Minister Thicknesse. Especially the ones to do with ‘Blood purity’ and registration of Muggle-Borns.”
“As a direct result of this the High Commission of Australia in London, which houses both the Muggle and Magical Embassies was one of the first attacked. Along with the Magical Embassies for numerous other countries as well. However, the Australians seemed to have copped the brunt of the displeasure.”
“Probably something to do with the Howlers that our Minister sent to yours.” Chuckled Chief Williams.
“Howlers?” asked Kingsley. “How did they get through screening?”
“Personal letters between Ministers cannot be interfered with.” Replied Chief Williams. “Our current Minister for Magic tends to be rather plain speaking and not afraid to get direct to the point.”
“When he sees what he regards as a gross violation of international Magical Law, his rather ‘limited grasp’ of diplomacy has been known to slip, a bit. In our neck of the woods this direct approach is mostly interpreted favourably”.
“Your Minister Thicknesse, however took a different view. Although from what you were explaining earlier it was more likely this Tom Riddle Jr character who didn’t appreciate the Ministers approach.”
“Ahh… That explains a few things from our end” said Kingsley with a slight smile.
Hermione had a slightly confused look on her face at this. So being Hermione she just had to make sense of the situation.
“Excuse me Minster Kingsley. How does the previously bad relations with the Australians help us now?”
“It helps us Miss Granger, in a few ways. When the Australian Minister of Magic heard of the change in situation here he dispatched people to assess the situation on the ground. They were also to evaluate the possibility of re-establishing contact between our Governments. People like Chief Williams here. I’m sure you will agree that having direct access to a person such as Chief Williams will prove to be very beneficial to a request like yours.”
Hermione seemed to agree with this statement as she had begun to smile.
“Actually Minister we already had a team operating here during ‘your troubles’. I was on my way to a meeting with the leader of that team when I received the Ministers request to pay you a visit.”
Showing some signs of surprise and irritation Kingsley asked “How long did you have people operating here? As we were not aware of any formal request for joint operations on British soil.”
Chief Williams responded with a slightly embarrassed expression, “Nearly 18 months.”
“What!!! 18 Months!” Kingsley exclaimed. This had the effect of startling just about everyone in the room. Chief Williams must have been expecting it however as he appeared to be completely unfazed by the near explosion.
“I would certainly like to know why your Minister thinks he has the right to send people here without our knowledge for that length of time.”
Choosing his words rather carefully Chief Williams stated, “We had reported a few of our Magical Citizens going missing here. They were reported to both the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as direct to the Minister. Most of the missing were Muggle-Borns.”
“The response from your Ministry was to say unhelpful at best. This was before the relations turned really bad as well.”
“Then we had a whole family disappear right in the middle of London. They were known to our Minister and on friendly terms. Shortly after that a Wizarding family from New Zealand also went missing. This time one of them was a senior Ministry official in the New Zealand Magical Parliament.”
When neither we nor the Kiwi’s got, anything approaching a helpful response the decision was made to send a small highly specialised group from the Australasian Auror Service to investigate what was going on.”
While Kingsley was no longer appearing angry, it was still plain that he certainly wasn’t happy at this news.
“I’m sure your aware of the rules and requirements that need to be met before that particular group is dispatched unannounced into a country?” Chief Williams questioned.
“They were from the S.O.C?” Kingsley questioned.
“Correct.” Was the reply.
Looking almost defeated Kingsley nodded his head.
“I’m more than aware of the requirements. As I have worked with that group several times in the past. They are not sent out lightly.”
“You are right on that” said Chief Williams with a laugh.
“When their reports came in their mission was very quickly changed from one of investigation to one of extraction and rescue.”
“All nationals from countries that are signatories to the service were tracked down and contacted. If they wished to leave the country assistance was provided.”
“A short way into this mission the attacks on the Magical and Muggle Embassies began. The teams operating here at the time were utilised to extract the diplomatic personal and their families from numerous embassies also.”
“International relations would be in a much direr state right now if not for that Team of Aurors” Chief Williams explained.
An almost stunned silence greeted this news.
Kingsley was in a thoughtful silence for quite a while before he spoke again, “Do you know which countries embassies they assisted?”
“Every member country of the service was assisted. That would equate to just about every country that borders the South Pacific. In addition to that I’m aware of their direct involvement in assisting the embassies of the Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Mexican, Indian, French, German, Swiss, Spanish, Italian and Turkish governments.”
“I have also seen reports which showed that many other countries made use of the ‘pipelines’ that they setup to get their own people out. Those pipelines all ran through France where this team had its forward operating bases.”
“Several European governments also provided assistance or support staff and occasionally Aurors to assist in the processing and support of the people who were brought out of the UK.”
“The other governments were reluctant to send Aurors into the UK for fear of violating various treaties with the UK government. But I have ‘unofficially’ heard that there were several Aurors from the French and German Auror Services ‘on vacation’ in the UK conveniently when particularly large raids or extractions were scheduled to take place.” Chief Williams said with a sly smile.
This news seemed to both worry and calm Kingsley at the same time. He seemed to take a few moments to process all that information.
“Please ensure that I pass along my own thanks and that of my Government to both your Minister and the New Zealand Minister of Magic when I meet them.”
“I will also need to get messages of thanks to the other Magical Governments that lent assistance, either officially or unofficially as well.”
“I had wondered why there were so few missing and casualties amongst the various foreign diplomatic Missions here. Now I know. Now I know.”
“Did these teams assist the staff of just the diplomatic missions?”
“Based on the information I have seen I believe that they assisted anyone connected to the embassies, both staff and their families that they could safely contact. As well as a good number of those that couldn’t be safely contacted.”
“I would like to meet them if it is possible. Could that be arranged?” asked Kingsley.
“I have no authority over the Aurors from that team Minister. As they officially report directly to the current serving Australian Minister of Magic. However, I’m sure it could be arranged Minister once I pass your request along.”
Kingsley nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to Hermione once more.
“Please forgive the detour in our conversation Hermione. But it has now filled in a great many blanks for quite a lot of things that have happened here recently.”
“Going back to my earlier comments Hermione. Another benefit we got out of the poor relations between our countries was that the Australians had placed a very close watch on ANYONE, Muggle or Magical traveling from the UK to Australia.”
Hermione was now beginning to smile as she began to understand what Minister Kingsley was getting at.
“Chief Williams, Miss Granger here was one of the three main individuals who lead the fight against Tom Riddle Jr.”
“Because of this she took certain, shall we say steps, to ensure the safety of her parents.”
“These steps apparently involved altering her Parents memories. To both remove any knowledge of their daughter as well as convincing them that their names were also different.”
“On top of this she instilled in them a deep desire to move to Australia to live.”
“Impressive determination there young lady, to protect your parents. However, I do see a few potential problems with this scenario. But please continue as I get the feeling that there is more to this story.” Replied Chief Williams.
“Yes sir”, replied Hermione looking suddenly a little worried.
“I would like to try and find my parents Chief Williams so that I can try to remove the memory charms I placed on them. The problem is I don’t know where in Australia that they might be living. I’m also worried that the memory charms might be starting to fail as we never intended for things to go on this long.”
“Can you help me Chief Williams?” Hermione almost pleaded.
Chief Williams fixed Hermione with a rather penetrating look for several moments before answering.
“Before I answer your question I would like to ask some of my own if you don’t mind. Is that ok?”
“Certainly” came the reply.
Chief Williams took out what looked like a pile of flimsy parchment that was bound together and a shiny metal rod that he clicked the end of and began to write on the pad.
Noticing the questioning looks he said, “My daughters recently convinced me that muggle pens” he held up the metal rod “and notepads” he held up the pad “are more practical than quills for quick note taking when in the field.”
“So Miss Granger let us begin, shall we?” He asked looking over at Hermione who nodded.
“Do you know the names that your parents are going to be living under in Australia?” he asked.
“Yes I do. They will be calling themselves Wendell and Monica Wilkins”
“That’s is a good start.” He said as he began taking notes.
“Did you change your parents’ appearance in anyway? Do you have any RECENT photographs of them in the state that they were in when they travelled to Australia?” he questioned.
“I didn’t alter their appearance sir. I didn’t want to cause them any unnecessary distress.” Hermione replied.
“You mean apart from taking away their most important memories from them? I do hope you at least spoke with them about what you were going to do before you went through with this plan?”
Hermione was beginning to look a little worried after these latest questions. She replied,
“No sir I did not discuss this with the beforehand. I wish I did but we had no idea how much time we had before the death eaters were going to be coming for us.” She almost sobbed.
“I don’t mean to cause you any extra distress Miss Granger, but these questions are indeed necessary.” He explained kindly.
“I understand sir”
“As I asked earlier do you have any recent photos of your parents that could be used to help identify them?”
“Yes sir I do. I took some just 2 weeks before they left.”
“Excellent news. Can you also provide a written description of your parents including their particulars such as Height, Weight, Age distinguishing marks etc...” He enquired.
“Yes I can and will.”
“How long ago was this memory charm applied to your parents? And how specific is it?” Chief Williams asked with a concerned look.
“It would be close to 10 Months ago.” Hermione replied in a small voice.
“10 Months? Are you sure of that Miss Granger?” Questioned Chief Williams.
“Yes” She answered looking very uncomfortable.
“Are you aware then that memory charms which have been applied that long have a good chance of permanently altering a person’s memory. Even once the correct counter charm has been applied?”
“Yes I am sir”
“Very well” he replied.
“Can you tell me how specific the charm was?” He enquired.
“Excuse me Sir but what do you mean by ‘how specific’?”
“I mean can it be reversed by anyone who knows that counter charm? Or must it be done by a specific person?”
“The counter charm will require me to cast it sir. I chose this option so that if we didn’t make it out alive my parents wouldn’t have to be reminded of their lost daughter.” She explained in a broken voice.
At this Hermione broke down in tears and Ron moved to comfort her.
He fixed Chief Williams with a rather angry glare and exclaimed rather angrily “Are you finished with your questions yet? Or do you want to try and cause her some more grief?”
With a rather neutral expression on his face Chief Williams moved his focus from Hermione to Ron. “It was not my intention to cause grief to anyone. These questions are necessary to establish if we will have enough information to use for a search and the likely state the subjects maybe in when they are located.”
“To answer your question however. Yes, I am done with my questions. At this point in time. I do believe that we have enough information to go on for now.”
Looking at Hermione with a much more sympathetic expression Chief Williams continued. “Miss Granger. In response to your earlier question. Yes. I do believe that we can be of assistance to you in your search for your parents. Provided you can supply the information you indicated.”
Hermione was elated. And was now happily hugging Ron followed by a rather surprised Chief Williams.
“Let’s see if I can contact one of our Aurors who has a bit of a reputation as a ‘miracle worker’ and check if he is available.” Chief Williams said with a small smile.
“He is currently assigned to duties outside of our service but I should be able to borrow him for a short while.”
Chief Williams began to pat himself down as he checked his pockets while mumbling something that sounded like ‘new-fangled devices’.
Eventually he pulled out what looked like a pocket mirror. It was slightly thicker than a mirror would need to be and appeared to have a metal back that partially wrapped up and over the mirror slightly to protect the edges.
Noticing everyone’s questioning looks Chief Williams explained. “This is a new device recently issued by our technical division as a more secure and reliable form of communication. Faster than Owls (or other birds) and unlike a Patronus it allows two way communication.”
I noticed that Kingsley seemed particularly interested in the device. However, it was Hermione who asked the first question.
“Do you mean that it is like a Muggle Mobile Phone?” She asked.
“That is a very good comparison Miss Granger. A very good one indeed.”
Ginny quickly asked, “What’s a Mobile Fone?”
“If I can remember how to use this thing I will show you young lady.” Was his response.
“The younger Aurors in our department have taken to these devices very happily. We older members in the service are still catching up.” He remarked ruefully.
At this point Chief Williams began pressing several of the squares that appeared on his mirror. This was soon followed by a strange chirping noise that was coming from the device itself.
There was a click and a rather deep sounding voice spoke up saying “Syd.”
To the best of my knowledge that was the first time I ever heard the voice of the young man who would change my family’s life for ever.
Chapter 2: Special Operations
Holding his mirror in front of him Chief Williams spoke into it, “Syd, it is Chief Williams here. How are you?”“G’day Boss.” Came the rather cheerful reply. The voice on the other end quickly spoke again before Chief Williams could respond however.
“Ah Boss, that Bow Tie you are wearing. Did you lose a bet or were you just not paying attention when you got dressed this morning?”
You could almost hear the smile emanating from the voice that was issuing from the Mirror.
Chief Williams momentarily looked a little confused, but a quick glance into the mirror in the kitchen was obviously required to remind him of the rather unique bow tie that he happened to be wearing.
My boys were also trying to hide their smiles at the offending article of clothing. I must admit it did look a bit like it was involved somehow in a paint explosion.
“Syd, I would like to remind you that this is the tie my daughters brought me for my last birthday. They tell me it is a very fashionable article of clothing from one of those Muggle Designer labels.”
“That is so sweet.” Came the reply.
“I glad you think so Syd.”
“Please let me finish Boss. I was trying to say. That is so sweet that you believed them.”
This time a few muffled chuckles could be heard from the other end. Chief Williams himself also started to chuckle at that comment. Then he suddenly stopped and thought.
“Syd. How did you know what Bow Tie I’m wearing right now?”
“Well, Boss. I could tell you that I’m an omnipresent entity that is like a God among the mortals of this world.”
This comment brought a few strange looks from all of us gathered in the kitchen listening to this rather interesting conversation.
“But I’m not sure you would buy that explanation. So, I will instead go with the one where you are a silly ‘Banana Bender’ who made a Video call instead of a voice call.” The voice laughed.
This time there was several sets of laughter at this end of the conversation. Chief Williams among them.
“Ah Boss, going from the laughter I just heard I’m guessing you’re not alone there?” questioned the voice.
“Correct Syd. But before I explain where I am I have a question for you.”
“The camera can actually be turned on and off on this thing?” questioned Chief Williams.
“Of course it can. One day very soon you will be very glad of that fact.”
This was followed by some clicking noises.
“What was that sound Syd?”
“Sorry, was just recording some photos of your tie to show your misses and daughters as proof that you were indeed brave enough to voluntarily wear it in public.”
“Once I’m finished getting dressed I will pop out and show your misses the pics. As I’m sure she will thoroughly enjoy them.”
“Where are you Syd? Why aren’t you dressed and why is my Wife there?” came the rapid fire questions.
“Gee Boss you sounded almost worried for a moment there”
“SYD!”
“Ok Boss, ok.”
“To answer your questions. We are at a safe facility near Perth, I’m sure you’re aware of the one I mean. Your Wife is here (along with mum) as they heard that I and some of my team just got back in country. Thus, they felt an overwhelming desire to pop over here and thoroughly mother all of us while they had a chance. Although they do seem to be more interested in mothering the Kids we brought in with us.”
“Lastly I’m not dressed as I have just gotten out of the shower after washing off the blood and debris from meeting with that Pommy Mob we got the alert about 2 days ago.”
“Bet you’re very happy now, that I know how to turn off the camera on my Mirror Phone, aren’t you.” Once again the smile could be clearly heard coming from the other end.
“It wouldn’t do to unduly frighten your guests there would it Boss.” He said with a chuckle.
Chief Williams couldn’t help but smile.
George also found the comment rather humorous.
Chief Williams was however all business again very quickly.
“Are all our people ok Syd?”
“Yes Boss, all of OUR people are ok. The others, not so much.”
“Tell me more about this Pommy mob you mentioned. How many were there?” Chief Williams asked.
“So far it seems to be all the ones listed on the notice that was issued two days back. Drunkmouse is double checking identities as we speak. We are getting a lot of interest from the Minister on this one. As these Poms seem to be people of interest back in ‘Old Blighty.’ I must admit that a few of them do ring some bells from my own travels over there recently.”
“However they also had some others with them with them that had been Imperialised and forced to help. It is these others that are slowing down the identification process.”
“They appear to be a mixture of people from India, Thailand and here.”
Both Kingsley and Chief Williams visibly reacted to this set of news.
Kingsley raised an eyebrow and had a very questioning expression on his face. He was about to speak when Chief Williams spoke again.
“Syd, I understand you’re still currently assigned to the Australasian Team, not our local ones. Is that correct?”
“Yes Boss that’s correct.”
“Thought so. As the only time you call me that is when you are reporting to someone else.”
“Got to enjoy it while I can Sir. Err Boss.” Was the chuckled reply.
“What are your movements for the next few days Syd?”
“Well nothing is locked in at this point as the Minster is going to cut us all some downtime while current priorities and assignments were looked at and reshuffled.”
“My immediate plans were to assist Rowdy, Fireball, Cassy and Jono in escorting most of these kids back to their parents.”
“Shelly, Guz and Goose were going to take the others to a more appropriate and comfortable location here while Drunkmouse and his team try and track down their parents.”
“Where are you, Rowdy, Fireball, Cassy and Jono taking the kids Syd?”
“To one of our locations in Southern France that we are using as a staging and sorting facility. It is a good family friendly site and we keep a lot of the ‘free families’ there.”
“After that I was going to continue on to London and meet up with one of my main agents and take him and his misses out to dinner tonight. They both deserve one of those ‘Order of Merlin’ medals that the Poms are so fond of. But knowing how that process works they will probably be long since buried before anything actually happens on that score.”
“So the best I can do for them in the short term is take them out for a good meal. Merlin knows that they have more than earned it.”
At this latest set of statements several voices spoke up all at once.
“’Free families’ what does zat mean?” said a voice that sounded like Fleur.
“Why are those kids separated from their families in the first place?” Bill almost shouted.
However it was Kingsley’s question that got the first reply. “Who is your Agent that you are going to meet here?”
Kingsley’s question was answered with another question. “Who’s asking?”
“Syd, it is the British Minister of Magic, Mr Kingsley Shacklebolt who is asking about the identity of your agent here.”
“Ah I see.” Replied Syd.
“Shacklebolt? Isn’t he the joker that we are supposed to be arresting tomorrow and turning over to the International Confederation of Wizards?” Syd asked.
Kingsley started to look furious at this statement. Chief Williams quickly moved to calm him down and replied to Syd.
“Sorry Syd, I think you may be a bit behind with your mail there mate.”
“The Minster has recently amended that international arrest warrant to specifically name Pius Thicknesse as the subject of the warrant. As he was the British Minster of Magic that was working for Tom Riddle Jr here.”
“The only complication with serving the warrant is that he is currently existing as a sea urchin”.
Roaring laughter came over the Mirror Phone.
“I would love to shake the hand of the individual responsible for that brilliant piece of transfiguration. Think that they would also deserve to be taken out to dinner as well.”
“Please accept my apologies Minster Shacklebolt, for getting you mixed up with a Sea Urchin” chuckled Syd.
“No need for any apologies there Syd. I would have had to apologise to you if you had tried to arrest me. I’m sure Chief Williams would also be unhappy to be missing one of his Aurors for an extended period of time” Kingsley said in his quiet deep voice with a slight smile.
Chief Williams started to look worried at this statement and tried to jump in with a reply. But before he could get any words out there came the reply that he was obviously trying to avoid.
“That sounds like a fun challenge there Minster, and I would be honoured to accept” was the enthusiastic reply.
Chief Williams who was now looking very worried jumped in with a reply while Kingsley looked more very startled.
“Syd, you know the rules. Especially since that last incident with the Iranian Minister of Magic. No more challenging heads of foreign Governments to duals.”
“Boss, I didn’t challenge him. He offered the challenge and it would have been rather rude of me not to accept don’t you think?”
At this statement, Chief Williams sank into his chair and lowered his head into his hands.
Kingsley put his hand on Chief Williams shoulder and quietly asked, “Is he serious? And what happened in Iran?”
Everyone in the Kitchen was also wondering the same thing if their expressions were anything to go by.
Chief Williams uttered a single word, “Yes he is serious.”
No one seemed to know what to say.
“As to what happened in Iran I can’t rightly say as the full set of details are classified.” Chief Williams answered.
“Iran wasn’t my fault Boss. I was only defending myself, after a slight disagreement with their Minister of magic.”
“What sort of disagreement Syd?” Chief Williams asked with a slightly worried expression.
“The Minister refused our request to establish some ‘safe houses’ in his country. As he expressed his full support for the international slave trade. As long as they paid their share of local taxes that is.”
“I told him he was a bloody wanker and turned to leave. The chief of his personal guard at that point decided to try and stun me from behind.”
“Needless to say there was an energetic exchange of ideas after that point.” Syd explained.
“What happened after that?” Chief Williams asked.
“After things quietened down I left Sir.” Was Syd’s evasive answer.
“I meant to the Minister and his guard, Syd. What happened to them?”
“Ahh… Well you see the Minister hurt himself trying to make his escape. It looked like his door slaves forgot to open the door for him in time.” Syd chuckled.
“And the Ministers guard?”
“They are currently interviewing for replacements.” Was the reply. You could hear him struggle on the other end to not smile.
“How many replacements?” said Chief Williams almost cringing in anticipation.
“Last I heard they were looking for 15 replacements and 4 door slaves.” Syd answered.
“15 replacements?” Kingsley said quietly in alarm.
“What happened to the door slaves? I certainly hope you didn’t hurt them.” Chief Williams asked while keeping a close watch on Kingsley.
“Of course not Boss. Once I realised their status I offered to get them out of the country. As none of them had friends or family there it was a simple extraction. They are now working for us supporting various safe houses we have set up. They are doing very well also from the last reports I had Boss.”
Chief Williams seemed a bit less worried after that.
“It certainly explains somethings about recent happenings in the Middle East at least.” He remarked to no one in particular.
Chief Williams after a moment’s remarked, “Syd, getting back to discussions here.”
“Minster Shacklebolt was not offering a formal Challenge to you. He was merely expressing his confidence in his own abilities. There will be no formal dual between the two of you and if needed I will get the Minster to make that an order.”
“Is that clear!”
“Yes Sir” same an obviously disappointed reply.
Kingsley turned back to face the Mirror Phone and as about to reply when Chief Williams spoke quietly saying.
“Please don’t encourage him Minister”
Kingsley thought for a moment before saying.
“Syd, in the interest of fostering better international relations between our countries I would be happy to take part in a training dual with you if you so desire.”
“Minster that is very generous of you Sir. I would be honoured to partake in a training dual with you. Loser takes the winner out for lunch.”
Kingsley was grinning ear to ear at this statement.
“Your terms are acceptable to me Syd.”
“Great to hear Minister. There is a lovely fish and chip place not far from the main entrance to your ministry. If you make reservations there for the day after our dual that should give you enough time to recover before you buy me lunch.”
The excitement and enthusiasm in the voice were unmistakeable. Kingsley was looking slightly worried, while also appearing amused.
“I did ask you not to encourage him Minister, did I not?” Chief Williams was finding it difficult trying to not smile at Kingsley’s predicament.
“Syd, while the Minister takes a moment to compose himself. Can you answer the questions that were asked before you and the Minister started to get carried away” Chief Williams asked.
“I can try Boss. But no one wants to seem to believe what has been happening until they see the cold hard truth with their own eyes.” Syd replied.
“The term ‘Free Families’ relates to those families who were kicked out of the UK (or escaped) without being sold into slavery by the British Ministry of Magic”
“WHAT!!!!” Just about every voice in the room screamed at the same time. Even Chief Williams looked surprised at this statement.
Everyone immediately started trying to talk at the same time. No one could understand what anyone else was trying to say. Eventually Kingsley put his wand to his throat and cast the Sonorous Charm and exclaimed
“QUIET please”
He cast the counter charm and the room became deathly quiet.
Kingsley then spoke to Chief Williams.
“May I ask some questions of your Auror Chef Williams?”
“Certainly Minister. However, Syd is not his actual name. It is more of a service nickname. His real name is David Webb”
“Thank you Chief Williams”
“Auror Webb, Chief Williams has given me permission to ask you some questions. Is that ok with you?”
“Yes Minister it is. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. I must say however that certain details about our operations are still classified and can’t be disclosed without written approval of our Minster. Is that ok with you Sir?”
“For the time being Auror Webb it will do. I get the feeling that I will be submitting a formal request to your Minister for more information on this very shortly.”
“Very good Minister. In that case, what would you like to know?”
Everyone in the room gathered around the kitchen table with looks of intense curiosity on their faces.
“You made mention of ‘free families’ before. From that statement, I take it that you have been dealing with families that are not free?”
“Yes Minister you are 100% correct on that”
“How did these families come to lose their freedom?”
“It is not only families that have lost their freedom Minister. The British Ministry of Magic has been selling into slavery Men, Women and Children as well as whole families. They have been carrying this out on an almost industrial scale.”
Kingsley was looking horrified at this statement. I must admit I was feeling sick to my stomach about it as well.
“Auror Webb, do you know what their crimes were to receive such unjust punishment?”
“Most certainly Sir. The majority of them were sold into Slavery for being Muggle-Born. Or trying to assist Muggle-Borns.”
“Do you have records of these unfortunate people Auror Webb?”
“That we do Minister. Although I dare say that your Ministry of Magic would have the most complete set of records on this topic. Most of the records we have are the paper work that the newly made slaves must carry with them.”
“The ‘free families’ and individuals that escape being sold are the ones who are sometimes harder to record. As they have often left everything behind and are too frightened to answer any questions we put to them.”
“I see” replied Kingsley.
“You mentioned before that it was on an almost industrial scale. Do you have any idea of the exact number of people we are talking about here Auror Webb?”
“Sir the exact number is known only to our Minister and the head of the team who is co-ordinating our ‘safe houses’ around the globe.”
“Can you make a guess Auror Webb? As we have a good number of people who have been reported as missing here and I would like to get an idea as to how many might have been gathered up by your teams.”
“Minister it would only be a Quidditch Pitch figure sir. To be honest it has kept us so busy I gave up counting about a year ago”
“A year? Auror Webb how long have you been involved with this operation?”
“Minister I first arrived in the UK with my team almost 18 months ago. I think it was about 6 weeks before the attack on our Embassy in London. 9 months ago after the team leader was double crossed and murdered I was appointed to run the operations here”
“That is a long time Auror Webb for a mission that takes you so far away from home.”
“It is Sir, but we have occasions to get back home for all too brief visits. But once our team members see what we have been working on here their drive becomes such that we almost have to order them home for rest.”
“From what I know of your people I can believe that Auror Webb. Can you give me your guess on the numbers?”
“Yes Minister. I would guess around 2,000”
“2,000 People” Kingsley almost cried.
“No Minister. 2,000 family groups. Both Magical and Muggle. With probably another 1,600 single men, women and children as well.”
“But Minister I fear that these numbers are on the low side of the actual true number”
Kingsley totally stunned collapsed into a chair with tears openly streaming down his face.
Chief Williams was also shocked into silence.
Everyone else seemed to be too horrified or shocked to say anything.
Eventually Arthur spoke up in a broken voice that was struggling to hold back tears. I couldn’t tell if they were tears of rage or horror.
“Auror Webb, the children you mentioned earlier that you had recently returned with. Were they also slaves?”
“Unfortunately some of them were indeed slaves Sir. Can I ask who is speaking?” Auror Webb answered.
With tears now freely falling down his face, Arthur replied, “My name is Arthur Weasley, I have been appointed temporary Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”
“Pleasure to speak to you Mr Weasley. Wish it had been under better circumstances Sir.”
“Me too Auror Webb. Me too.”
“Mr Weasley Sir, may I be so bold to ask a personal question of you Sir?”
With a look of curiosity on his face Arthur replied cautiously, “You may ask Auror Webb. I will answer depending on the question.”
“Fair enough Sir. Are you related to one Mr Septimus Weasley at all Sir?”
“Indeed I am Auror Webb. Indeed, I am. Septimus Weasley was my father. May I ask why you wished to know this Auror Webb?”
“Yes Sir you may. My reasons for asking is that my Grandfather always spoke very highly of a Mr Septimus Weasley who worked in the Wizengamot. Mr Septimus Weasley proved to be a very faithful friend to my Grandfather during a very dark time in his life. He also helped my Grandfather avoid a fate similar to the unfortunate people we were just discussing.”
Arthur and indeed everyone listening was stunned to say the least. They were also listening to the conversation with rapt attention.
“That is most definitely my Father you are speaking of Auror Webb. As he did indeed work for the Wizengamot, for most of his life in fact.”
“In that case I’m even more pleased to have made your acquaintance Sir.”
“My Grandfather before he passed away made all of us in the family promise him, that if we ever encountered any descendants of Mr Septimus Weasley to pass onto them his whole-hearted gratitude to them for what he did. And to let them know that their ancestor was one of the finest and bravest people he ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
Arthur was by now beaming with pride at the glowing description of his father being given by this Auror from the other side of the world. The rest of the Weasley family (including Fleur, Hermione and Gabrielle) were also smiling quite happily at this news and the expression on Arthurs’ face.
I must admit I could feel pride for my father in-law swelling in my own chest as well.
“He also wanted us to let them know that he kept the promise that he made to your father later in his life.”
“Promise? Do you know what this promise was Auror Webb?”
“No Sir I’m sorry I do not. I was hoping that you might be able to shed some more light on it. As the whole family, would dearly love to know what it was.”
“Grandpa Webb loved to tell stories, and was very good at it. But he never mentioned any promise that he had made to Mr Weasley to us.”
“How interesting. Did your Grandfather and my Father stay in touch at all?”
“Yes Sir I do believe that they did. As I do recall him receiving at least a few letters from your father. He treasured the letters that he received and I’m very sure that my Dad still has them. Although I have never seen them.”
“However I do recall Grandpa having a chuckle at something that was written in one of the letters I mentioned before. Apparently one of Mr Septimus Weasley Grandsons wanted to become a Dragon Keeper or something along those lines. Instead of becoming a professional Quidditch player.”
At this comment Arthur, Charlie and the rest broke out into laughter.
“From Grandpa Webb’s comments I gather your father was all in favour of the Professional Quidditch career for his Grandson. Although Grandpa Webb thought that Dragons would be much more ‘interesting’ career, but that the main thing was to encourage his Grandson to find a job that he loved, and wrote back to him saying that.”
“I don’t recall any letters saying if the Grandson in question ever did become a Dragon Keeper or not as the letters stopped not long after that.”
“He did!” Charlie exclaimed with a big smile on his face.
“I always wondered what caused Grandfather Weasley to change his mind about my intended career. Maybe I have your Grandfather to thank for it.” Said Charlie with an amused expression.
“If that is indeed the case Mr Dragon Keeper, I do know that my Grandfather would have been over joyed about it.” Auror Webb replied.
“The names Charlie, Auror Webb. But there’s nothing wrong with Mr Dragon Keeper” he added with a laugh.
“Pleased to meet you Charlie. I’ll have to let my cousin know that I spoke with a real live Dragon Keeper she will be over the moon. As she is only slightly obsessed with them.”
Kingsley and Chief Williams had a rather hurried and whispered conversation. After which Chief Williams spoke up.
“Syd, how quickly can you get yourself to the British Ministry of Magic for a meeting?”
“Boss, if you want a meeting on what I think it is you want to discuss, then the British Ministry is the last place on earth that meeting should be held.”
“Why is that Auror Webb?” asked Kingsley.
“Minister, it’s because your Ministry leaks information like a strainer leaks water sir.”
“Auror Webb I can assure you the Ministry is quite secure.” Kingsley replied quite stiffly.
A set of rather amused laughter greeted this comment.
“You don’t agree Auror Webb?”
“No Minister I whole heartily don’t. My team and I have been directly extracting information out of your Ministry for almost as long as we have been in country sir.”
“I can also assure you that we are not the only group doing so. The only way I would willing discuss sensitive matters within your Ministry sir would be IF I wanted the information to be leaked to the wrong people.”
I could see Kingsley getting visibly angry and offended at these remarks.
“Auror Webb, I find those comments to be highly offensive and I believe wildly in-accurate.” Kingsley replied.
“Boss, do you know how to open files on your Mirror phone yet?”
“I do Syd, the Minister himself showed me.”
“Really? Didn’t think he knew how to do it.”
“From what I understand someone from Drunkmouse’s team spent some time with him.”
“Ah ok, that makes sense then.”
“I’m sending you a copy of Minister Shacklebolt’s personal and confidential schedule for the next month. Please show it to him and ask him if it is correct.”
There was a ping sound from Chief Williams Mirror phone. He tapped his phone a few times then showed it to Kingsley.
None of us could see what it showed, but from the way the colour drained from Kingsley face I can only assume that it was what Auror Webb claimed it to be.
Struggling to control himself Kingsley asked, “Auror Webb how on earth did you get that information?”
“Sorry Minster I cannot give out that information without written approval from our Minister.”
“Rest assured that I will be making that request Auror Webb.”
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t Minister. However, if the Minster does give his ok it will need to be discussed at a location other than your Ministry sir.”
“I’m beginning to see why Auror Webb.” Kingsley replied in defeat.
At this point Arthur spoke up with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Kingsley, I would be happy to offer The Burrow as a secure location to continue this discussion. We have held meetings of the Order here many times with none of them being overheard by the wrong ears.”
“Arthur that is a great idea.” Kingsley said with a relieved smile.
“Auror Webb, do you have any objections to meeting here at The Burrow?”
“Not that I’m aware of Minster. But as mentioned before there are somethings I can’t discuss without the written approval of our Minster sir.”
“Understood Auror Webb.”
“Syd, get a move on and get here ASAP.”
“Yes Boss. Just let me finish up here, change into ‘John Citizen’ get dressed, deliver Fireball and her team and the Children then I will be there.”
“How long will you be at the Safe House is France Syd?”
“Not long sir, given recent misunderstandings I have limited my time there until I get a chance to properly sort things out with the French.”
“What misunderstandings Syd? I hope it was nothing like the incident with the Iranian Minister?”
“No Sir nothing like that. I think it was more along the lines of ‘crimes against Fashion and the French Language’. At least they were the terms Jean-Luc Devereaux used to describe it.”
Chief Williams laughed at this statement. While Fleur and Gabrielle had, questioning looks on their face.
“The fashion crimes I can believe Syd, as I have seen your personal wardrobe.” Chief Williams laughed.
“But the language crimes? Let me guess you forgot to have someone cast the translation charm for you before you went over?”
“No sir the charm was cast, unfortunately it was done by Pretty Boy.”
“I wasn’t made aware at the time of the fact that he doesn’t speak French at all. Until he can cast the counter charm I’m stuck with it. Given that he is currently undercover in S.E. Asia that could take a while.”
Still laughing Chief Williams replied, “Understood Syd. Get here as fast as you can, but get those kids back to their families first.”
“Will do Boss. Moving now.”
With a click the line Mirror Phone went silent.
Kingsley was looking at the Mirror phone with intense interest.
“That was a remarkable conversation, and a truly remarkable device as well Chief Williams.”
“Can you tell me more about it?” Kingsley asked.
“I’m afraid Minister I’m the wrong person to ask about it. Syd would be a better person to ask as he was one of the team working on the idea.”
“Auror Webb also works with your technical group? That’s a little unusual, isn’t it?”
“Minister, ‘Normal’ isn’t a word that is applied to Auror Webb very often.” Chief Williams said with a chuckle.
“How so?”
“I’m afraid a good deal about Auror Webb is classified. Without approval from the Minister there isn’t a great deal I can say.”
“But I can say he is one of our most talented Aurors with a very unique skill set and abilities.”
“When you meet with the Minister he will be able to provide you with more information than I can.”
“I see. Well it seems that my meeting with your Minister is going to be very interesting in more ways than one Chief Williams.”
Turning his attention to Hermione Chief Williams continued.
“Miss Granger, this is most beneficial for you. With Auror Webb on his way here you will be able to show him personally the information on your parents. I don’t doubt that he will have some extra questions for you as well.”
Hermione smiled at this statement.
“I must give you fair warning however Miss Granger, that while Auror Webb is one of our finest Aurors, he does spend most of his time around the worst of the worst. As well on a large number of undercover operations as ‘other people’. Because of this he has more than a few shall we say ‘rough edges’ and some odd tendances.”
Hermione was beginning to look a little worried at this news.
“I don’t mean to alarm you Miss Granger, just to prepare you. He most definitely will be ‘different’ to just about anyone else you have met. But everything he does and asks has a purpose to it.”
“If anyone can quickly find our parents it will be Auror Webb. It’s just that he has his own unique approach however.”
“I understand Chief Williams, and thank you for your assistance.”
“You are most welcome Miss Granger. I would suggest that you go and gather what information you have readily to hand on your parents, as I can guarantee that Auror Webb will ask to see it. Especially any photographs that you have of them. He is particularly interested in photos showing a close up of people’s faces. As he places great store in being able to see ‘the whites of their eyes’ as he puts it.”
“I will go and get them now Chief Williams.”
“There is no rush Hermione” I told her.
“Finish off your tea and cake first. There is no point in letting them go cold dear.”
“That’s a brilliant suggestion mom.” Replied Ron to no one’s surprise while reaching for another selection of cake and scones.
Chapter 3: Bombshell
It was a rather interesting morning tea while we awaited the arrival of Auror Webb.There were several sets of disjointed but animated conversations going on around the kitchen table.
Hermione was obviously very excited about the prospect of getting the search started for her parents. She was discussing with Ron all that she could remember of the memory charm that she had placed on them. As well as her thoughts, as to where she thought that they would have gone once they arrived in Australia.
Ron to his credit was actually trying to pay attention and listen to Hermione. Morning tea was however applying a powerful pull to Ron’s attention as well. It was rather fascinating watching the battle between two powerful but primal forces that was playing out within my youngest son.
Arthur was excitedly talking to Bill, Charlie and George about the latest information on his father. My two eldest boys were doing a much better job at looking interested with their fathers’ conversation than Ron was with Hermione’s. Although Charlie did seem to have a smattering of genuine interest, although to be fair he was mentioned (if not by name at least by deed) in the conversation.
Fleur, Gabrielle and surprising Ginny were discussing how someone could be in trouble for ‘Crimes against Fashion and the French Language’. As their conversation was the quietest of the lot I couldn’t follow it readily.
Most of my attention was on the conversation between Kingsley and Chief Williams. They seemed to be deep in the midst of discussing the current situation facing the depleted Auror department. The subject of an ‘Assistance Mission’ was just being raised when there were two disturbances.
The first was an odd chirping from Chief Williams Mirror Phone (as he called it). The other was a call from my eldest son Bill.
Bill was a little alarmed by the appearance of a ‘disturbance’ in the yard of The Burrow. At his cry, we all got up and went to the kitchen window to look at what he had pointed out.
A ‘disturbance’ was just about the only description that could be given to it. As it looked just like someone had grabbed the air of the yard and twisted it to make it look like a scrunched-up table cloth.
On seeing this Chief Williams smiled and looked down at his Mirror Phone which was still issuing the odd chirping. He broke the silence by saying, “Ah. That must be Syd.” After which he tapped his Mirror Phone which made the chirping stop.
“What do you mean ‘That must be Syd’ Chief Williams?” Bill questioned.
“It’s his way of asking if it ok to appear. A bit like ringing a door bell. He usually only does it when he is going somewhere new for the first time.”
“I have just replied to his message to let him know it is ok to arrive at that spot” Chief Williams replied.
Looking alarmed Bill called out, “Tell him No, not there. That is inside the wards he will never make it.”
However, before he finished the warning there was a small pop in the yard. The disturbance was gone and in its place stood what appeared to be the most unremarkable man I have ever met.
In astonishment Bill turned to Arthur and exclaimed “How did he make it past the wards Dad?”
“I don’t know son. But he is an Auror so he might know somethings about wards that we don’t. Remind me to ask him later”
Bill nodded in agreement.
I turned my attention back to our latest visitor and continued my observations.
He appeared to be about 6ft tall with a slim but solid built. His stance indicated that he was relaxed but at the same time it appeared that he was ready to spring into action at any moment.
His clothing seemed a little out of place given that it was summer now. But remembering an earlier comment from Hermione about it being winter in Australia his clothing made a bit more sense.
He appeared to be wearing, boots of some sort, jeans, a dark blue shirt and what appeared to be a dragon skin jacket. He also appeared to be wearing some sort of wide brimmed hat (I was later to find out it was called an Akubra) and some muggle style Sunglasses.
He was also carrying a tray with a clear cover that appeared to be containing scones of some sort.
He appeared to be looking at us with as much interest as we were all looking at him. He then changed his focus and gazed at The Burrow itself, looking around as though to fully absorb every detail.
His first words however were a bit of a surprise.
“What a ripper. Now that’s what I call an excellent looking house.”
I’m not sure if this comment was intended to be overheard or not. But Arthur certainly beamed with pride upon hearing it.
As he started forward to the porch Chief Williams was the first one out the door. He met our visitor at the foot of the porch steps.
Chief Williams appeared to approach the visitor a little cautiously, which seemed odd.
“Syd?” he questioned?
This caused a small amount of disquiet amongst those of us still inside the house.
“G’day Boss.” Was the reply.
“Yes it’s me. Didn’t you recognise me?” he said with a smile.
“Obviously not, Syd.” Chief Williams replied with a bit of a chuckle.
“What do you call this particular monstrosity that you’re wearing?”
“Told you on the ‘dog and bone’ Boss. This is ‘John Citizen’” he said turning in a slow circle.
“What do you think? Drunkmouse and Q both helped me come up with it. It’s supposed to be the most uninteresting and average White Caucasian European Male possible. Most people should have forgotten me before they have even finished meeting me.” He added somewhat proudly.
“I have been using ‘John Citizen’ since Christmas and so far, he is doing very well. Unless I have a significant interaction with someone I’m forgotten very quickly. No need for memory charms at all. Which is just as well.”
“Fair enough” was Chief Williams reply.
With this he stepped forwards and the two shook hands and gave each other a quick but solid hug.
“Good to see you again Syd. It has been a while since we last caught up.”
“What’s with the tray?”
Displaying a somewhat vicious smile Auror Webb replied, “Well Boss, after our phone call I got changed and dressed and went out to see the rest of the team. Your missus and mum were both still there, but getting ready to head off home. So I showed them the photo I took of you while we were talking.” At this the smile on Auror Webb got larger.
“Needless to say they were both horrified at what you were wearing. Your missus stated that she thought that you had known that your own daughters brought that bow tie for you as a practical joke.”
“So when I told her where you were wearing it, she was completely mortified. Although mum saw the funny side of it.” Auror Webb was now laughing as the story was unfolding.
“After calming your missus down, mum handed me this tray along with instructions to give it to you, so that you could pass it along to our hosts by way of an apology for inflicting that hideous article of clothing on them.”
“So Boss here you go” he said as he handed the tray over and almost collapsed with laughter at the expression on Chief Williams face.
“Your missus also said that she was going to have a ‘talk’ with you about appropriate attire to wear when in the field.” He added with a Cheshire Grin.
Chief Williams to his eternal credit, turned away from the still laughing Auror Webb and with a perfectly straight face brought the tray of scones up to the house and presented them to myself and Arthur saying.
“On behalf of my lovely sister-in-law I present to you some of her famous date scones as an act of contrition for my recent fashion related crimes.”
Struggling to hide his smile at this turn of events Arthur replied, “I didn’t think that your Bow Tie was that bad, Chief Williams. But many thanks to your sister-in-law for these lovely scones. They smell great.”
Arthur passed the scones along to me and I moved to place them on the kitchen table. Ron was already to pounce on them, I had to slap his hands away and tell him to wait for our guests.
By this time Auror Webb was on the porch his hat and glasses removed he was being introduced by Chief Williams.
“Mr Arthur Weasley, I would like to introduce Auror David Webb”, the two men shook hands.
“It is a very great pleasure to meet you Mr Weasley. A very great pleasure indeed. I had a very quick conversation with dad before I left to come here and he also asked me to pass along his gratitude to you from the family for the efforts of your father in helping his dad.”
“He also asked me to pass along to you and your family an open invitation to dinner and to visit if you are ever in Australia. As he would dearly love to meet you and your family himself.”
Poor Arthur seemed more than a little surprised at this. But he quickly recovered and replied, “He does me a great honour Auror Webb. But I must confess I’m at a complete loss as to what it was that my father did to earn so much admiration and praise from your family.”
“I have a copy of my Grandfathers documents with me Mr Weasley as they will be relevant to the continuation of our earlier conversation. They will also show you in part what it was that your father actually did to get such admiration and loyalty from my Grandpa.” Replied Auror Webb as he shook hands with Arthur.
After returning to the crowd at the kitchen door it was my turn to be introduced. While considering Auror Webb’s face I thought I noticed something not unlike recognition flicker in his eyes. It was very brief (if indeed that was what it was) but he also didn’t react to it so I decided not to mention it to him. At least not yet.
I told him that I was very pleased to meet him and he expressed the same. His big brown eyes were what I noticed the most. They seemed alive with an insatiable curiosity about all that was happening. It did seem to me that it was almost like that they were recording everything that they saw for later analysis. But he was an Auror so I thought at the time that it would make sense for him to be paying attention.
Arthur next introduced Charlie.
“I believe you know this man as Mr Dragon Keeper, Auror Webb?”
Both Charlie and Auror Webb were grinning at this statement and shook hands enthusiastically.
Next in line for introductions was Bill. When he turned to look at Bill, Auror Webb again had that strange expression on his face, almost like recognition. His eyes flickered to that hideous earing that Bill always insisted on wearing.
Upon Arthur’s introduction of our eldest son Auror Webb’s eyes lit up and a lopsided grin that appeared strangely familiar played across his face.
It was plain that both men wanted to say something but it was Auror Webb who got in first.
“Pleasure to meet you Bill.” He quickly followed up with, “Did you used to work for Gringotts in Egypt as a Curse-Breaker by any chance?”
Caught off guard by the question Bill replied.
“Yes I do work for Gringotts as a Curse-Breaker and I was in Egypt for quite a few years. Why do you ask? Have we met before Auror Webb?”
“No I don’t think you and I have meet Bill. But I do believe that you might know one of my sisters, possibility quite well in fact. As she too was in Egypt working alongside the Gringotts Curse-Breakers.”
At this Bill had a slightly worried and puzzled expression on his face. Fleur was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and Charlie was starting to display a rather evil looking smile while staring at his older brothers growing discomfort.
“No need to look so worried Bill.” Auror Webb continued clearly noticing Bill’s growing unease.
“It’s just that if you are indeed the same Bill Weasley that ‘dropped in’ on a very intimate moment that my sister was sharing with someone at the time, I would love to hear your side of the story to see if it aligns with hers. As she has been known to embellish her stories from time to time.”
Bill was now looking really worried. As both Fleur’s and Charlie’s interest had greatly increased at the mention of ‘intimate moment’.
Even Arthur was struggling to hide his interest in this particular story.
Clearly enjoying the moment Charlie began to ask some questions of Auror Webb.
“My elder brother seems to be having some difficulty with his memory at the moment. Do you think you could provide him and the rest of us with some more details Auror Webb?”
“If you think that they will be of assistance I will most happily do so Charlie” came the reply. Openly grinning at Charlie, Auror Webb continued.
“The situation under discussion, involved a rather romantic (or so I’m told) dinner for two at a recently discovered tomb. Which was hidden away out of sight at the base of a set of scaffolding (the dinner not the tomb). As well as a partial collapse of said scaffolding by a certain individual from a group of drunken Curse-Breakers who were celebrating the recent discovery.”
Bill by now had begun to blush to the extent that his face almost matched his hair.
Grinning like a mad man Charlie exclaimed, “It seems that Bill has remembered something. Please Bill do tell your side of the story.”
Charlie’s enthusiasm for the uncovering of the story seems to have been picked up by the rest of the family. As they were all now pestering Bill for details of the event.
Auror Webb seemed to be also very interested and was showing no signs of letting Bill off the hook.
“There isn’t much to tell” Bill quietly said.
“As I don’t remember much of it at all. Just fragments. I remember the party, falling, a woman yelling at me and then waking up the next morning with a set of rather spectacular bruises. None of my fellow Cruse-Breakers however seemed too keen on giving me all the details. All they would say was it was a memorable evening.”
“Spoil sport” muttered Charlie.
Disappointment obvious in his voice Auror Webb asked, “Are you certain that you don’t remember anything else?”
“Please Bill, try and remember” chimed in Charlie with a hopeful glint in his eye.
“No sorry I don’t. I can’t seem to remember any women on the Gringotts team in Egypt with the name of Webb either.” Bill explained.
“My sister never worked for Gringotts. She worked with them as a consultant specialising in what I believe are called ‘adaptive’ or ‘active curses’. She and her (at the time) fiancée were making a study of them.”
This seemed to bring up some more memories of Bill’s time in Egypt as you could almost see his eyes light up.
“Don’t tell me your sister is Natalie? Natalie Hood? Married to Craig Hood and together they are considered to be the foremost experts on ‘active curses’ in the world?” Bill said almost breathlessly.
“That she is.” Auror Webb replied.
“Oh my.” Bill said with a smile beginning to form on his face.
“This certainly explains some very odd comments I hear from them at times.”
Now it was Auror Webb’s turn to look a little confused.
“I still see them both from time to time. As Gringotts brings them in on specialist jobs.” Bill replied.
“They have never mentioned the incident you describe. But they both frequently make reference to ‘Bombshell’ in my presence.”
Auror Webb was by now happily chuckling at this revelation. For Bill’s benefit he explained, “’Bombshell’, is the nickname that she christened you with in our family. The story behind the name is one of my sisters’ favourite ones to tell. The whole family knows the story and it is frequently requested to be retold at family gatherings.” Auror Webb smiled as he finished his explanation.
“Bill, are you certain you don’t remember any more of that incident?” Auror Webb asked hopefully?
“Bombshell?” both Charlie and George asked in unison. Twin smiles forming as they struggled to contain their ever-growing amusement.
“I was mildly curious before but now I absolutely must know the story behind that name. If my rather befuddled brother can’t remember the story, perhaps you would care to enlighten us Auror Webb?” George asked with an almost childlike glee.
By this point Arthur must have begun to take pity on his first born son. As he stepped in to continue the introductions. Must to the obvious disappointment of both Charlie, George and myself I must say.
“Auror Webb, this curious young man here is my son George.”
“We have met before Arthur. Although I don’t think George will remember it as I was dressed as someone else.”
This garnered a questioning look from Arthur and George as to the statement. Auror Webb continued, “Between us I think my team has just about bought your entire stock of your ‘Patented Daydream Charms’ as well as a good proportion of your decoy detonators. Before you closed up shop one of us was in there almost every day.”
“We were very upset to find that you had closed up shop. Until we realised that we could still order from you by your wonderful Owl post service.”
George had a very self-satisfied expression upon his face at this news.
“Really? I can understand how a team of Aurors could make use of our decoy detonators. But what on earth were you doing with all those ‘Patented Daydream Charms’ you bought from us?” George asked his eyes afire with curiosity.
“Making life a living nightmare for the Death Eaters and their supporters.” Was the reply.
George’s face assumed an almost beautific expression of pure joy at this announcement. It was the happiest I had seen him in quite some time.
“Purely from a standpoint of professional curiosity, may I ask how you used our humble ‘Patented Daydream Charms’ to such an end?” George enquired.
“We discovered that with a slight modification they were perfect to use to spike the water supply of locations where Death Eaters were operating certain shall we say ‘facilities’” Auror Webb replied with an almost nervous glance at the youngest member of his attentive audience.
“When used in the water supply (in sufficient quantity) we found that we could cause the vast majority of the operators and customers at these ‘facilities’ to become so inattentive that we could walk right in and disarm them. Then walk right out with either their prisoners or records or even both, as the case may be. In some cases, we were not even challenged, while in others we were met with only slight resistance that could be easily managed.”
“It proved to be so effective that it was our preferred method of operation for quite some time.”
“The list of people who owe their freedom and in quite a good number of cases their very lives to your little invention is a very significant number.”
“The head of our Technical Department was very impressed with your work on these ‘Patented Daydream Charms’. To the point that he would like to meet with you and discuss several ideas he has for other items that could well prove useful to us in the future.”
To say that George was stunned would have been an understatement. We all were.
In an attempt to finally finish the introductions Arthur continued on.
“Auror Webb, this is my youngest son, Ron.”
Ron and Auror Webb shook hands.
With a rather cheeky smile on his face Ron asked, “You haven’t met me before have you Auror Webb?”
“Only through what I have read in your ‘lovely’ papers Ron. Although I willing to hazard a guess that most of that is bull… I mean rubbish. Am I, right?”
“Pretty close” Ron replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Unless you have been into the Ministry recently I don’t think we would have crossed paths. And from what I have heard of you Ron you’ve been rather busy of late.”
Ron looked up with a spark in his eye, “I was in the Ministry recently. The three of us caused a bit of a stir in the ‘Muggle-Born Registration Commission’ offices.”
Now it was Auror Webb’s turn to look a little surprised. He fixed Ron with a rather intense look and asked, “Would this have been in early September by any chance?”
With a quick glance at Hermione Ron nodded in confirmation.
“You three you say? Did one of you stun ‘The Toad’ down in the court rooms and cause a ‘minor’ stampede of Muggle-Borns and their families?” Auror Webb asked?
Grinning Ron replied, “Yeah that was us”
Returning the grin Auror Webb replied, “That was an inspired piece of work that was. I only wish that you had asked for our help. If it was your intention to break those Muggle-Borns out of the Ministry we would have assisted however we could.”
“You were there at the Ministry that day Auror Webb?” Hermione enquired.
Nodding Auror Webb explained, “Fireball and I were there that day on a scouting operation. We were just discussing our options for getting into the court rooms undetected when there came a rather large commotion. The next thing we knew Muggle-Borns were running all over the place.”
“That Yaxley nit wit came barrelling down the corridor trying to grab some poor bloke in a blue robe. Naturally I tripped the blond idiot up. I never missed a chance to ruin his day.”
“Some court functionary knocked Fireball right onto her ass and kept on running after the bloke in the blue robes. I was then knocked over by someone else running down the corridor they had on a large leather coat but I didn’t see their face. I ended up on top of that Yaxley who ‘unfortunately’ got the wind knocked out of him.”
“Trying to make the best of the situation, I stole Yaxley’s keys and copied them in the hope that the Court Room keys were there. Then we took off to grab as many of the Muggle-Borns that we could in the confusion.”
“We ended up grabbing about almost 60 people all told that day. Got them all out of the country very quickly afterwards as well.”
Ron and Hermione had rather strange expressions that almost mirrored each other. It seemed to be a mixture of amusement, fear and relief all mixed into one.
Getting himself under control Ron replied, “The guy in the blue being chased by Yaxley was me. Thanks for the trip, he had almost caught up with me. I think that the person who knocked over your partner was Hermione over here.” Ron indicated Hermione who was standing next to him and listening with rapt attention.
“I’ll also guess that you were knocked over by Harry who was disguised as Albert Runcorn at the time. Did those set of keys you obtained give you access to the court room?” Ron asked.
“Unfortunately they didn’t. But they did give us access to the central records room for Ministry Employees and most of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission records as well. They both proved very useful.”
“I’m sure Harry will be very happy to hear that he assisted you then.” Ron answered with a smile.
Taking the opportunity presented by the lull in the conversation, Arthur ploughed on again.
“Auror Webb, as Ron just indicated this lovely young lady here is Hermione Granger. Apparently, my sons Girlfriend and one of the main reasons we have asked you here today.”
“Pleased to meet you Miss Granger” Auror Webb responded shaking hands with Hermione. He seemed to be about to say something else but Arthur then turned to Fleur, “This lovely lady is Fleur Weasley, Bills wife and my Daughter-in-law.”
“Pleasure to meet you Fleur” responded Auror Webb, while shaking hands with her.
“eet eez a pleasure to meet you to Monsieur Webb, as long as you don’t call me Madame Bombshell, no?” Fleur asked with a smile.
Auror Webb gave a chuckle at this and replied, “No worries on that score.”
“This young lady is Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur’s sister” Arthur said as he indicated Gabrielle.
“It is a pleasure to meet you too Gabrielle.” Auror Webb said as he extended his hand to her.
“Merci, Monsieur Webb. Eet eez a pleasure to meet you also.” Gabrielle answered.
Turning to her sister she remarked, “I don’t know what zey were complaining about. ‘is wardrobe seems ok to moi, even if it is a bit simple.”
“GABRIELLE!!” Fleur exclaimed in shock, while Auror Webb and Chief Williams laughed. The rest of us had a small moment of unease also.
“I can see that she is a young lady of taste.” Auror Webb answered with a smile.
“After my own ‘incident’ in Paris and the recent offence caused by the bow tie currently worn by Chief Williams. I was obliged to get my wardrobe ‘checked’ before leaving to come here. It was marked as ‘passable’ by my mum and Aunt. But I will pass your feedback along to them as well.” He said smiling broadly at Gabrielle.
“They could probably do with some schooling from someone with a better sense of fashion and style.” He laughed. Chief Williams also had a smile at this statement.
Gabrielle smiled broadly at the acknowledgement and was quickly hustled out of the way by Fleur.
Next to be introduced was Ginny. Here too Auror Webb seemed to have a moment of recognition flicker in his eyes. Only this this time I caught his glance from Ginny back to me, almost like he was comparing something. Ginny seemed to have noticed this momentary expression as well. I could almost see the questions begin to form before Arthur interrupted her thoughts.
“Auror Webb, this here is my daughter Ginny the baby of our family.”
“Not the baby dad, just the youngest” Ginny retorted with a brief glare at Arthur before turning to Auror Webb, “Pleased to meet you Auror Webb”
“You seem to have had an interesting time here in our country. What else have you been up to? I mean other than making life difficult for those lovely death eaters. Could you have managed to say ‘taken out’ some of those same Death Eaters rather than just giving them day dreams?” She asked with some heat coming into her voice.
“GINNY!!” both Arthur and I exclaimed at the same time.
“Auror Webb is here as our guest, not for a cross examination” Arthur replied, his voice rising slightly.
“It’s ok Arthur, it is a fair question.” Auror Webb replied, almost as though he had expected this.
“Miss Weasley it appears that it will be an interesting experience to make your acquaintance.” Auror Webb replied shaking her hand. The more formal mode of address towards my youngest had me slightly on edge and I didn’t know why.
“When we are operating in another country, we have a very strict set of rules to which we must adhere. Things like random killings are very much frowned upon in our organisation.”
“If we went around killing people like your ‘lovely death eaters’ as you described them we would be no better than them would we not? Killing is bad enough when it occurs inside the legal system. To willingly kill outside of it would be the same as murder do you not think so?” The questioning look Auror Webb directed to Ginny belied the steel and passion of his last statement. My earlier worries were starting to grow.
Ginny was not prepared for Auror Webb’s response but she also gave the impression of someone who was not about to back down from her earlier statement either.
I think Auror Webb sensed this and he seemed to be ready to respond in a more direct manner when Chief Williams stepped in.
“Ginny, if you are implying that Auror Webb and his team have not been helping the fight against Tom Riddle Jr then I’m sorry to say that you are mistaken. I have seen the reports and a good deal of the physical evidence of the activities of Auror Webb and his team while they have been in this theatre of operations. Those same reports are soon to be presented to Minister Shacklebolt also.”
“While the main role of Auror Webb and his team has been the identification and extraction of people who were being targeted by your Ministry. That includes Witches, Wizards, Muggle-Borns and Muggles. Auror Webb and his team have also removed from operation (directly) a significant number of Death Eaters and their supporters. At last count, the number was well over 200 individuals who were willingly supporting the ‘darker side’ of the Ministries activities.”
“I’m sure you would agree that you would have not welcomed those extra reinforcements arriving at Hogwarts during the recent battle there?” Chief Williams asked a little pointedly clearly proud of the efforts of his fellow Aurors. When Ginny did not reply to this statement Chief Williams nodded to Arthur to continue.
Arthur then introduced Kingsley, “Auror Webb it is my honour to introduce you to Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt. Minster Shacklebolt may I introduce Auror Webb.”
“Not going to try and arrest me are you Auror Webb?” Kingsley asked with a twinkle in his eye as they shook hands.
“Err, no Minster. Sorry about that little misunderstanding earlier. I double checked the warrant before I left and Chief Williams was correct our Minister has indeed added Pius Thicknesse’s name to it now.”
“Glad that is settled then” Arthur said.
“We should all head inside for some tea and to try those lovely looking scones Chief Williams so kindly supplied us with.” Kingsley suggested.
“Does this mean we should be thankful for your sense of fashion then Boss” Auror Webb asked with a mischievous look at Chief Williams? But he continued inside without waiting for a reply.
Chapter 4: Family Matters
Once everyone was inside I got them all seated around the kitchen table. Fleur and Ginny helped me make tea and coffee for everyone. Although after her last outburst I made sure that Ginny didn’t deliver any hot drinks to either Chief Williams or Auror Webb.When presented with his cuppa and scones Auror Webb replied, “Many thanks Mrs Weasley, you’re a real lifesaver you are.”
It was one of the strangest expressions I had ever heard. But I must admit it is gratifying to see someone enjoying a cuppa and some scones.
Chief Williams was the next one to break the silence, “Syd I know you have had a long day” he began only to be interrupted by a snort at the other end of the table followed by…
“Long day? It’s not even 11am, how is that a long day?” from Ginny who was beginning to glare at Auror Webb down the kitchen table.
Auror Webb turned to face Ginny seemingly unfazed by her unfriendly expression and replied, “Yes it has been a long day Miss Weasley. I received Chief Williams call at 9:30pm local time and my team and I had been engaged in operations for almost all the previous 24 hrs. With very little time for sleep.”
“So maybe ‘long days’ would be a better description.” He clarified.
“It can’t have been 9:30pm, Perth might be up in Scotland but the time difference isn’t that great.” Came the rather stiff reply.
“Miss Weasley, I think you misunderstood me earlier. I was in Perth, Western Australia, when I received the call from Chief Williams. Not Perth in Scotland.”
“Being on the other side of the globe Perth, WA has a VERY different time zone.” He told Ginny.
When no reply was forth coming from Ginny Auror Webb turned his attention back to Chief Williams.
Arthur must have sensed his chance to ask Auror Webb about his arrival, as he quickly jumped in before poor Chief Williams could continue.
“I didn’t know that it was possible to Apparate so far.” He said in wonder.
“It’s possible Mr Weasley, although very uncomfortable. So, I try to avoid it if possible. I prefer to ‘jump’ as we call it or to use ‘enhanced doorways’ to cover really long distances.”
“Although today I didn’t make the trip in one jump. As it was necessary to stop off in France to deliver those kids I mentioned back to their families. Arriving here was only a short jump from southern France” explained Auror Webb.
“’Jump’ you say?” Arthur asked with intense interest “How is that different to Apparition?”
“The best was I can explain it is in Apparition you move yourself through space. While in a ‘Jump’, the space moves around you.” Auror Webb stated.
“It also doesn’t feel like you’re being squeezed through a rubber tube during the process. It’s more like stepping off a rapidly moving platform onto still ground. Apparently, that how the name ‘Jump’ was given to the process”
“Extraordinary!” exclaimed Arthur.
He seemed about to continue when Chief Williams cleared his throat.
“Syd, as I mentioned before I know you have had a long day, but I would like you to listen to Miss Granger here. As she sent her muggle parents to Australia to keep them safe from Tom Riddle Jr during the recent troubles.”
“Minister Shacklebolt was approached by Arthur for help on behalf of Miss Granger. He in turn has asked me and after checking with the Minister I have asked you.” He explained.
Auror Webb nodded his agreement while clearly enjoying his cuppa and scones.
“Now that the recent troubles have concluded, Miss Granger would like to find her parents and bring them back home.” Chief Williams explained.
“I have asked you here because of your unique talents and successes in locating people.”
“After that I will need you to give me, Kingsley and Arthur an update on the situation you mentioned before. In regards to the Children and the group of Death Eaters in particular.”
“No worries Boss.” Replied Auror Webb. “Miss Granger or can I call you Hermione?”
“Hermione is fine Auror Webb” she answered.
“Ok then. Hermione the floor is yours, how may ‘we’ be of help?” asked Auror Webb. As Chief Williams slid his notepad over to him.
“Thank you. As Chief Williams mentioned, I modified my parents’ memories and sent them to Australia to protect them from any Death Eaters that may have come looking for them.” She began.
“I took from them all knowledge of me and made them believe that their names were Wendell and Monica”
“Wilkins?” Auror Webb asked with an intense questioning look on his face.
“Yes. How, how did you know?” Hermione asked in surprise.
“They are both Dentists by trade. Your father is a mad supporter of the English Cricket team to the point that he is almost a total tragic. With a blind faith that while completely miss placed almost has to be admired.”
“He also loves to make very bad jokes especially about Edam cheese?” Auror Webb questioned.
Now looking totally stunned Hermione was almost at a loss for words. But there was a wild light of hope in her eyes. She was also jumping up and down in excitement.
“Syd! How do you know this? As going from her reaction, I’m guessing you are correct in your statements.” Chief Williams wanted to know.
“Would you believe that I’m an omnipresent entity that is like a God among the mortals of this world?” Auror Webb asked hopefully looking at Chief Williams in what appeared to be a familiar game between the two of them.
“Ah… No!” was the reply from Chief Williams.
“It was worth a try.” He remarked to no one in particular.
Auror Webb next pulled out his Mirror phone and began to go through photos on it in. Stopping at one that appeared to show a group of people in bright yellow and green clothing. He passed the device to Hermione and asked, “Is this them?”
Hermione’s eyes went wide with surprise and she smiled like I hadn’t seen her smile in a long time. Touching the screen almost fondly she nodded. Eventually she said, “Yes that’s them.”
“Then Boss, the answer to your question is, I know that information as those two have been working for us for the last 10 months.”
“They have been assisting us with the care of the muggles who we have brought out of the UK. As not all of them are comfortable around magic. So, we have had to organise muggle medical care for those that needed it and there is quite a few of them that do unfortunately.” He explained.
“Do you know where they are? Can you take me to them? How are they?” Hermione asked breathlessly.
“Yes I know where they are. No, I can’t take you to them right now…” He began before he was cut off.
“NO!” Yelled Ron, “What do you mean NO? They are her parents, why can’t you take her to her own parents. You…”
“RONALD WEASLEY! You hold your tongue and let Auror Webb explain” I yelled at my youngest son.
Seeing that my outburst had the desired effect I said to Auror Webb, “Please continue dear.”
Inclining his head to me he explained, “Yes Hermione, I know where you parents are right now. But I can’t take you to them right now.” He said while looking at Ron.
“As they are currently on holiday in Fiji at the personal retreat of the Fijian Minster of Magic. The location is protected by a Fidelius charm and I’m not the secret keeper so I can’t take you even if I wanted to.”
Seeing the questioning look in her eye he added, “They are on holiday Hermione. A VERY well deserved Holiday.”
“All of us involved with the plight of the Wizards, Witches, Muggle-Borns and Muggles that we have brought out of the UK have been under a great deal of stress. Some of us more than others.”
“Where ever possible we have tried to arrange suitable ‘Rest and Relaxation’ for those involved.”
“Your parents have been unceasing in their efforts to help those under our care. I felt that they deserved a decent break from all the chaos that they have endured. Thankfully our Minister agreed and called in a favour to his counterpart in Fiji.”
“They are due back at my mum & dads on Friday next week. I will be more than happy to take you and whoever else you wish to accompany you to see them then.” He offered.
Instead of answering Hermione sprang at Auror Webb and embraced him rather fiercely. Sobbing quietly into his shoulder.
Auror Webb for his part looked very startled by this reaction. But he soon had her calmed down and untangled from himself.
“A simple thank you would have been more than enough Hermione.” He said with a smile.
“Your parents have done some brilliant work for us and you should be very proud of their efforts.”
“Thank you Auror Webb. I am proud of them.” She added.
“Can you tell me how they are?” she asked.
At this question Auror Webb’s face became troubled and I wasn’t the only one to notice it.
“What, what is it? What’s wrong?” Hermione wanted to know.
“It’s the memory charm that was cast on them. It has been starting to fail in the last 2 months or so and has been causing them some trouble.” He said in a worried voice.
“Fail? How do you mean it is failing?” Hermione demanded. She was always concerned about falling short of expectations at school. I can only image how she would be feeling about it in terms of her parents.
“Currently, they suspect that there is more to their lives than they can remember. Your mum made the comment to my mum, ‘it’s like a few chapters and the index is missing’ just before they went on their holiday.” He explained.
“Mostly it has been like they were looking around for something that they thought that they had lost. But couldn’t remember what is was.”
“Mum?” Hermione exclaimed “Is your whole family in on this operation of yours?”
“Most of my family work for the Australian Magical Parliament in one way or another. Mostly in Magical Law Enforcement. But also in Medical and Research. And this isn’t ‘My’ operation. It is a sanctioned op by the regional Australasian Governments and I have been asked to lead it.” He stated.
“So yes, most of my family is involved in some capacity. Does this concern you at all?” he asked.
“No not really. I’m was just surprised that is all.”
“Is your mum is a healer?” she asked.
“No, not really. As to be considered a Healer you need to be a Witch or a Wizard.” He answered. “Mum is neither.”
This answer greatly confused everyone. Surprisingly it was Chief Williams who answered.
“Auror Webb’s mother is considered one of the foremost experts on the human mind and soul. In both the Magical and Muggle Worlds.” He stated.
“Auror Webb is also correct in that his mother is indeed not a Witch. But she is a very powerful magic user none the less.”
“How is she a Magic user but not a witch?” Hermione wanted to know.
“The labels applied to magic users here are far too ridged. Much like your ‘wonderful’ Class system that you seem to enjoy so much over here.” Auror Webb began with heavy contempt in his voice.
“By your wonderful classifications, my Mum would be considered a Squib. As she can’t use a wand. Fortunately she also doesn’t need to use one.” He continued some heat creeping into his voice.
“Unfortunately her family never waited to find out her true potential. They tried to quickly dispose of her to hide their shame and cut her off.” The heat in his voice was clearly evident now.
“But she has talent surely, if she had only showed them they wouldn’t have…” Hermione began.
“She came back to see her family in 81, to try and offer her help as she has very unique talents. However, when she showed them what she could do they were shocked. Regrettably they viewed her talents as even more shameful as being a Squib. Her Great Aunt even went to the extent of reporting her as an abomination to the Death Eaters.” He said with clenched teeth.
The colour had begun to drain a little from Hermione’s face at this statement.
“Her two younger brothers found out what their Great Aunt had done and tried to smuggle her safely out of the country. Their ‘lovely’ Great Aunt found out where they were staying one night and had their location passed onto Tom Riddle Jr. He sent a group of his followers to ‘deal with them’.”
“To use mum’s words her little brothers ‘fought like lions’ and allowed her to escape. But they were themselves killed in the fight.”
At this statement, I had a flashback to losing my own brothers to Voldemort’s supporters.
“That’s what mum’s family thought of her unique talents. Since then she hasn’t attempted any contact with them. She doesn’t know if it is just her batty old ‘Great’ Aunt who was behind it or if they were all in on it. The ones she met with certainly were not keen on introducing her to the rest of the family that she has never known.”
“But their loss is our gain. They don’t deserve her in my opinion.”
Hermione was looking at Auror Webb with a strange expression on her face as though she was trying to figure out a puzzle. She looked back down at the photo on the mirror phone.
“Who are these other people in the photo with my parents?” She asked.
“The two on the left of your mum are my Second Eldest Sister Natalie and her Husband Craig. Bill here might recognise them, although he might need to add some scaffold wreckage, dust and sand to the image to jog his memory” he added with a sly grin. Charlie and George were chuckling to. But everyone had a good look at them in the photo. They were smiling and happily waving to the camera.
“And the one on the left of my dad? The one missing his head.” She asked.
Auror Webb quickly glanced at the image and smiled, “That is the world’s ugliest Auror. My sister routinely cuts his head off in photos. She calls it a public service.”
Displaying an insight that was rare for him, but pleasing none the less Ron looked at the photo and then at Auror Webb and said quickly “It’s you isn’t it? A sister would only do something like that to a family member.”
Auror Webb looked a little startled, but Chief Williams was openly smiling. “You have been caught out Syd. Now you owe me lunch.” He said laughing.
Auror Webb was giving Chief Williams a filthy look, but before he could respond Hermione exclaimed, “But how? The person in this photo would have to be 7 feet tall.”
“Just over 7 feet actually” Chief Williams corrected. “I mentioned before that Auror Webb has a rather unique set of skills and abilities. One of those abilities is to be able to alter his appearance at will.”
“You mean he is a Metamorphmagus?” Arthur asked looking at Auror Webb with excitement.
“Yes and no.” Chief Williams replied much to the consternation of all in the room.
“Such ‘simple’ definitions don’t seem to apply to Syd here.” He said again smiling.
“Thanks Boss.” Auror Webb replied when he realised that all eyes were again on him. “Any other ‘state secrets’ you want to give away while you’re at it?” he said with the sarcasm clearly on display.
“No I’m good.” He replied. But quickly added “For now”
“So why are you, not you now?” Hermione asked of Auror Webb.
“After some initial difficulties in operating here I was given rather strict rules regarding my appearance while in the UK. My natural appearance seems to generate some rather odd reactions over here.”
“Once I was a little careless and was spotted as I normally look while out in public. Once spotted a mob quickly formed. I have no idea as to why it happens and that is the most frustrating part”
“So as my sister puts it, ‘in the interest of public safety’ I dress in a different body when in public over here.”
“This ‘John Citizen’” he said pointing to his chest, “is my main identity when I’m operating here.”
“Dr Sandra Mary Webb!” Hermione exclaimed suddenly drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
“Pardon?” Auror Webb asked.
“She’s your mother isn’t she? Dr Sandra Mary Webb.” She said with noticeable excitement.
Once again Chief Williams was the one to answer. “How did you come to that conclusion Miss Granger?” he asked.
“There are not many people who are acknowledged as world leaders in the mind and soul in either of the Magical or Muggle worlds. Even fewer in both.”
“Thinking about the ones I have read about, only one lives in Australia. That means Dr Sandra Mary Webb is the only logical choice.”
“You are correct in that she has unique talents. Most of her family do. In fact her youngest son has Metamorphmagus like abilities and he....” she started to say before her eyes went really wide and she stared at Auror Webb while her voice drifted off to nothing.
Auror Webb was looking at Hermione with an extremely intense expression that looked like he was almost measuring her. Waiting for her reaction to this discovery.
“Yes?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.
“Is it true?” she asked in a voice like a whisper, “Do you really have…”
“Is what true?” Auror Webb replied.
“There have been rumours, stories.” She said in wonder.
“There have always been rumours and stories Hermione. There are even a great many about you. But I can’t answer them if I don’t know what you are referring to, now can I?” Auror Webb asked.
“No I guess not.” She said, clearly keen to change the subject.
“Can you tell me more about my parents and the state of the memory charm?” she asked.
Nodding Auror Webb explained, “Mum has been doing her best to maintain the structure of the charm that was applied to them. But she suspects that the person who applied it was under extreme emotional stress at the time. That stress has manifested itself into the ‘cracks in the structure’ as she puts it.”
“But without knowing the specifics of the casting she can’t fully repair it. She also thinks it can only be undone by the person who applied it.” He said.
“If you are agreeable I can arrange for you to talk to my mum later this evening when it will be morning on the East Coast back home.”
“Hopefully between the two of you, you can work on a solution to restore the charm. As it needs to be restored before it can be removed.” He stated.
“Would this be ok with you?” he asked.
“Absolutely it would.” She said with great happiness. “Do you think she would mind if I asked her some questions as well?” she enquired.
“I’m sure she will be happy to answer your questions once a solution has been found to your parents. As she is becoming quite worried about them” he said.
Hermione nodded happily and then looked back down at the photo of her parents.
With a puzzled expression on her face she asked, “Why are they dressed in Australian Sporting Uniforms?”
Auror Webb started to laugh, but before he spoke Chief Williams said, “Syd, you didn’t.”
“It wasn’t my idea Boss. It was only supposed to be a simple regular lunch bet. But Wendell, wouldn’t allow it. He was hoping to embarrass us, by making us wear English Uniforms.”
“It didn’t go according to his plan.” He said smiling. “So we all chipped in and got them both good quality Aussie Uniforms and took them to the last day of the test against India in India.”
“Your mum Hermione was a great sport and thought it hilarious. You dad was a little more sullen.”
“But he had no one else to blame. We tried to warn him that the English team were having trouble in their tour of the West Indies. But he wouldn’t listen to us, or his missus.”
“In the end we all had a great time at the game. Although I don’t think he will admit to owning a full set of Aussie Cricket Team supporters gear any time soon.” He said laughing.
Hermione was also laughing at the story. Although she, Auror Webb and Chief Williams seemed to be the only ones who understood what was being discussed.
“What’s cric it?” Ron asked with a baffled look.
“It’s a muggle sport, involving two teams that try to score more runs than the other while trying their hardest to get each other out as fast as they can.”
“It is very popular in the British Commonwealth Countries. My dad as Auror Webb has mentioned is a keen supporter of the English team. He loves to make bets on the outcome of matches with his friends.” She had a strange look in her eye as though thinking of old memories.
“How did my parents come to be working for you Auror Webb?” she asked.
“I’m not sure how much you know about the Magical Government in Australia Hermione, but it is very different to your Ministry here.”
“The Magical and Muggle Governments have an almost formal working relationship between them. As there are what is called ‘Liaison’ representatives from just about all Muggle Ministries within the Magical Parliament. Sometimes these are Muggle-Born witches or Wizards other times they are actually Muggles.”
“These ‘Liaison’ roles enable the Magical Community to respond very effectively to any Magical disturbances in the Muggle world. They also enable the Magical Government to take advantage of Muggle technology, procedures and technology where it proves useful to do so.”
“For instance our Aurors train with the Muggle Australian Federal Police. The better to learn investigative procedures and to gain access to Muggle records which can prove to be very effective at times.” He said.
“What can Wizards and Witches learn from Muggles? Magic trumps Muggle technology any day.” Ron exclaimed.
Both Hermione and Arthur fixed Ron with disbelieving stares. Auror Webb however was smiling at Ron. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out a small leather wallet. When opened it appeared to contain his Auror Badge and credentials. He then proceeded to unfold it yet again and then once more. This made a much bigger opening through which he pulled out a very large stack of parchment files. He also pulled out a small flat and back object that he laid on the table next to them. The black object was only about the thickness of my ring finger.
“That pile of parchment is a collection of ‘traditional’ Case reports files by my team on our work for the last two months. Let’s say you are looking for the report that contained a witness statement from a person who is currently the subject of an active investigation. You need to find that statement and get it to a fellow Auror who is on the other side of the globe as fast as you can.”
“Now this object here.” He indicated the small black flat object next to the very tall pile. “Is what the Muggles call a ‘Laptop Computer’. It is an electronic device that has been created to store and process large amounts of data on it. Currently it holds ALL our Case reports for the last FIVE Years. If I hook into something the Muggles are calling ‘The Internet’ I can access just about every case report EVER written by our Auror Dept.”
“As all records that are stored on the computer are indexed and cross referenced I can search on the name of the person I am interested in and find ALL the reports in which they are mentioned. Then I can send that report off to anyone I chose via ‘e-mail’ (another Muggle Invention) and they will get it almost instantly.”
“How long would it take you to complete a similar task looking through that pile manually and sending what you found off via an Owl?” he asked with a questioning look?
“I’m guessing a while.” Ron answered.
“I won’t argue against that.” Auror Webb replied. “Muggle inventions are not always perfect. But we try to take the best of their ideas and improve them where we can and then make use of them. That vast majority of our job as Aurors is searching for information. Either on the street, in reports or looking through reference books. If we can gather, sort and collate that information more effectively then we perform better in our job.”
“More cases have been solved through information gathering in the library or collating information from multiple disparate sources than say by open battles.”
“Even more importantly through better information handling, we keep our people safer. That is my main goal. To make sure that I have at the end of the day the same number of team members that I had at the start and that they are all good and healthy. If ideas and tech from Muggles can help me make that happen then of course I will use them.” He said with passion clearly evident in his voice.
“Never waste a good idea or talent. That has been one lesson that was drummed into me repeatedly. First by my family, then by my school and then my job.” He explained.
Ron nodded his agreement. Auror Webb replaced all the items back into his wallet, before putting it away.
Turning his attention back to Hermione he continued. “Your parents were arrested at The International Terminal at Sydney Airport. As the names on their passports didn’t match the ones in the computer system.”
Hermione’s face went pale at this statement.
“Not to fear Hermione. Their luck was in as the Muggle Liaison Officer on duty with the Customs service that day was an old friend of our family. He was given the case and quickly noticed the tell-tale traces of a strong memory charm that was on your parents as he had been trained to detect such things.
“He quickly took custody of your parents and brought them into the Aurors for questioning. My cousin was in the office on that day and Mum was visiting with her. She was quickly brought in to look at your parents.”
“Once she had examined them and sat in on their interview she realised how useful they could be to the operation that I and my brother were involved with at the time. Arrangements were made to have all charges against them dropped and they were brought in to help assist with the Muggle side of our op.”
“This also enabled my mum to keep a close eye on their wellbeing as she was also involved in our operation.”
“Given the amount of contact that they have had with my parents and the work they were doing to assist us my Parents and yours soon became good friends.”
Hermione had tears in her eyes at this news. “Where have my parents been staying while they have been in Australia?” she asked.
“Mostly they have been staying with my parents. But as they travel around quite a bit to the different safe houses we have setup they also occasionally stay there as well. I believe that they have visited just about all of the states and territories of Australia as well as quite a few nations of the South Pacific.” He added.
“They quite enjoyed Fiji when they visited late last year. So that is why we arranged for them to have their vacation there. As a surprise.” He said with a smile.
“Does this answer your questions about your parents Hermione?” he asked.
“It does indeed Auror Webb. Many thanks.” She replied.
“Glad to be of help. I will send a message to my mum asking her to contact me when she is up. That is unlikely to be until around 9pm tonight local time.”
“I will contact you as soon as possible after I have spoken to her. We can then make arrangements for you both to speak about your parents.”
“Depending on what is worked out between the two of you, I can take you.” Here he glanced at Ron with a knowing smile, “Along with whoever else you decide that you would like to take along. To go see your parents when they are back from Fiji. Or a day or so earlier if it is decided that you and mum will need some time to prepare.”
“Are those arrangements ok with you?” he asked.
“Very much so Auror Webb. And thank you again.” Hermione said very excitedly.
Auror Webb inclined his head to her in an oddly formal manner and replied, “I do believe that I am going to miss your parents as they are good people and have been very helpful to us. Although I think mum and dad are likely to miss them more.” He said with a smile.
“Anything else Boss?” he asked Chief Williams, getting no immediate answer he added, “That’s got to be a record of some sort for finding people. Even for me.” He said grinning.
Chapter 5: Delayed Introductions
“Syd, I need you to brief myself and Minister Kingsley on your recent operation to recover the group of people you mentioned earlier on the phone.”“I have messaged the Minister and he has given the ok for you to speak.” He replied showing Auror Webb something on his Mirror Phone.
“Sure Boss, the report has been written up and should be on your desk by now. If you want I can ask Drunkmouse to send it to you.” Auror Webb responded.
“At the moment I’m not interested in the written report I want to hear from you what you saw, what you found. Understood?”
“Loud and clear Boss. I know the Minister said it was ok to tell you, but do you want to discuss it here?”
“It was not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination Sir. I wouldn’t want to give anyone here nightmares because of it.” He stated.
The questioning look he directed at Chief Williams was very direct and seem to convey more than was being said.
“I understand your concerns Syd, but I believe and the Minister, our Minister that is” he added with a glance at Kingsley
“Agrees with me that sharing this information with Minister Shacklebolt and Mr Weasley will be beneficial in the long term. Having been briefed on the actions of the others in this room during the recent past I believe that they can be trusted with this information also.”
“Do you agree Minister Shacklebolt and Arthur?” Chief Williams asked.
“I would and frequently have placed my life into the hands of many of the people in this room Auror Webb and felt very comfortable doing so. Thus, I am willing to vouch for them all.” Kingsley replied in his slow deep voice.
“My thanks for your trust in my family Minister.” Arthur said clearly humbled by Kingsley comments. “Auror Webb I also agree with the Minister. If I was looking for people to trust I would start my search with the people in this room”.
With a quick questioning glance at Chief Williams, Auror Webb nodded and continued.
“We were supplied with information by ‘Mr P’ regarding a large number of Women and Children that were being rounded up in preparation for them to be sent out of the country.” Auror Webb started to explain.
“Who is this ‘Mr P’ Auror Webb?” Kingsley questioned.
“’Mr P’, is one of our best sources inside your Ministry, Minister.”
“He has directly helped us rescue hundreds if not thousands of people and information he has provided us has directly lead to the rescue of many thousands more.”
“It’s the consensus of my team and just about anyone reading our reports that once his efforts assisting these people come to light he should be awarded one of your ‘Order of Merlin’ medals. We have already nominated him to our Minister for our Distinguished Service Cross.”
“I meant can you tell me his name Auror Webb.” Said Kingsley with a look of interest.
“To what end Minister?”
“To what end? To the end that I wish to know who this ‘Mr P’ is. I’m not accustomed to have information being withheld from me Auror Webb. If he is as brave as you say, then he certainly does deserve recognition for his efforts.”
“I see Minister. Is that all?” said Auror Webb with a pointed look at Kingsley.
“What do you mean is that all? I am agreeing to your earlier suggestion that he should be rewarded for his efforts. You can’t be changing your mind about that now can you?”
“No Minister I haven’t. But I can think of somethings more important than rewards at this point however.”
“Such as?”
“His safety Minister and that of his Missus as well.” This reply gave Kingsley pause for thought.
“As things stand right now Minister, ‘Mr P’ and others like him stand accused of ‘High Treason’ by your Ministry. Or they would if their identities were made known.”
“Identifying him or anyone else would be tantamount to issuing a death sentence on them or at the very least a lengthy stay in your Azkaban Prison.”
“So no, I will not identify any of our operatives to you or anyone from your Ministry until you have proven yourself trust worthy enough.” Auror Webb replied in an icy calm voice. He also looked to be readying himself for an argument. He was right.
“Prove myself trust worthy? Auror Webb have you not heard your own Chief say that your Minister has vouched for me? What else do you require?”
“Minister, had our Minister not vouched for you personally I wouldn’t have even told you what I have. And with all due respect to our Minister, he is not the one who will have to visit the families of our operatives if he is proved wrong in placing his trust in you and your Ministry. That unhappy duty will fall on me”
“We have already lost one of our own because of our Ministers own blind faith in members of your Ministry. There will not be a repeat of that on my watch, Sir!” the steel in Auror Webb’s voice while he made this statement could not be ignored.
Kingsley’s reaction showed that he was well aware of Auror Webb’s feeling on the matter. From the look in his eye it was plain that he thought a change of tact was required.
“Auror Webb, speaking to you as a former Auror myself I can give you my word that the identity of your agents will be treated with the utmost discretion until such time as it is safe for them to become known.” Said Kingsley while maintaining eye contact with Auror Webb.
“Sorry Minister. It was trusting your Aurors that got our original Team Leader killed in the first place. He was lured into a meeting with them and then had his location betrayed. They then abandoned him when the opposition arrived and left him outnumbered. He was then brutally murdered and they left him to die alone, without even notifying us of what had happened.”
“So forgive me if I am reluctant to trust your Ministry without proof.” He replied.
“I’m sorry for your loss Auror Webb, and Chief Williams. Did you know him well? Do you know who betrayed him?” Kingsley asked clearly taken aback at the news.
“I had known him all my life Minister. His name was Senior Auror James Anthony Webb. He was my older brother. My only brother.” Auror Webb replied, the pain evident in his voice and in his eyes.
This news rocked Kingsley back in his chair, he looked to Chief Williams for confirmation.
“He is correct Minister. Senior Auror Webb was handpicked by myself, the Director of MLE and our Minister to lead the team that we sent here. He was also instrumental in selecting the members of the team that came with him.”
At a loss for words Kingsley simply stared blankly at the room around him.
Covering for his Boss Arthur spoke up, although it was clear that he too was shaken by the news.
“Do you know the identity of the person responsible for his death Auror Webb?”
“Yes Minister. A warrant has only recently been signed for the person we believe responsible for his Death. I have been given the honour of executing that warrant personally.”
“May I ask whose name is on that Warrant Auror Webb?”
Reaching into his jacket Auror Webb again pulled out his leather wallet. Opening it again and then again he reached inside it and extracted a rolled up piece of parchment.
He reached over and handed this roll of parchment to Arthur who removed the ribbon and slowly unrolled it. While he was unrolling it, Kingsley moved over so he too could read it.
Almost as one they exclaimed “NO!”
“Not Tonks, not her.”
Almost as soon as the words were out of their mouths Ginny was on her feet and pointing her Wand at the back of Auror Webb’s head.
Auror Webb had turned his head to look straight at Ginny, then with an almost inhuman speed he began to stand and raise his hand to her with his palm out, just as her Hex had left her wand. Her Hex did not get much past the end of her wand, as it was left motionless in mid-air.
“THAT! MISS Weasley was not very polite.” he said in a voice that contained all the warmth of a long dead grave. All the while fixing her with a look that would have frightened a statue half to death. His eyes were also blazing with an intense anger at what had just happened.
The room was silent, the only sound was the crackle of the Hex that hung motionless in the air. No one moved, everyone was too shocked at what had just happened.
I could see Arthur trying to speak but the words wouldn’t come. Kingsley seemed startled by what had happened, but I could also see a look of curiosity on his face.
Bill, Charlie and Ron while very surprised at what had just occurred, were also wondering about what would happen next. Concern starting to register on their faces.
Hermione, Fleur and Gabrielle who were sitting closest to Ginny were also worried about what would happen next as they believed that were likely to be in the firing line for any response from Auror Webb.
My own emotions were going haywire as well. I could not believe what had just happened. My daughter had tried to attack a guest in our own home. Not only that, this particular guest was a fully trained Auror, who appeared to be VERY angry at this turn of events. You could feel the power and anger radiating off of him.
Judging from the look on her face, Ginny had not thought through her actions. Her already frayed emotions had simply given way out of concern for her friend who she had not yet admitted to herself was recently dead.
Finishing standing and now fully facing Ginny, Auror Webb turned his attention to the Hex in front of him. After looking intently at it for a few moments he said, “Bat Bogey Hex. With an interesting twist.”
“It seems that you have modified it so that the usual counter Hex will cause it to make even more Bat Bogeys. Creative Miss Weasley, very creative.”
“However, nothing is beyond a little improvement. For with a little further modification”
He raised one hand to the stationary Hex and the brown colour changed to that of a deeper more angry brown. The Hex was also turned until it was now pointing back directly at Ginny. It was also less than a hands breadth from her face. At this Ginny’s eyes became very large.
“I have found that an Eagle Bogey Hex makes a more lasting impression. Must be something about their more substantial claws raking a person’s face. Don’t you agree Miss Weasley?” he added in an almost polite conversational tone. This frightened me more than his previous voice for some reason.
Bill, Charlie and Ron started to rise looking thunderous.
Chief Williams, called out “Syd!!”
“Boss, I haven’t broken Guest Right. She has. I didn’t cast the Hex she did.”
“If the three gentlemen who just got up would like to support their sister in a cowardly and unprovoked attack on a guest I will gladly share with them as well.” He said once more then that very calm voice.
Without taking his eyes of Ginny the Hex in front of her split into 4. The three new copies of itself began to drift over to each of my boys.
“Syd, please.” Chief Williams tried again.
“Ok, Boss ok. If those gentlemen will sit back down I will cancel their Hex’s and change her one back to just the original Hex. Deal?” Auror Webb asked still not taking his eyes from Ginny.
“Boys, sit down please.” Arthur almost pleaded.
As they sat down Auror Webb changed the Hex back to its original shade of brown. He also flicked his hand at the three extra Hex’s that he had made and they vanished. He however did not sit down but made to move towards the door.
Chief Williams rose and placed a hand on Auror Webb’s chest and asked, “Where are you going Syd?”
“Boss right now I’m going outside for some fresh air, and to clear my head. I was under the impression that I was asked here to talk with some friendlies. In a supposedly safe location. It has proven to not be one.”
“Just right now I don’t trust myself to talk in a civil manner.”
“Unprovoked attacks on guests are not a great way to build trust.” He added with a quick glance at Ginny, Arthur and Kingsley.
“I need to clear my head and calm myself down. Excuse me.”
With that he walked past Chief Williams, collected his hat and glasses and went into the yard. Once there he proceeded to find a sheltered spot under a tree sat down and faced the house.
All the while the Hex was left hovering in the air only a short distance from Ginny’s face. Ginny tried to move but the Hex moved with her. Neither getting any closer or any further away.
“Mum!” Ginny cried, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that.” She said with a voice on the edge of tears.
Kingsley was looking at Chief Williams, then at Arthur, “I don’t know what to say. This is most unusual.”
“How about telling that smarmy Auror to behave himself in our house.” Ron yelled angrily at Kingsley and Chief Williams.
“Where does he get off behaving like that? Threatening Ginny in front of her family.” Ron’s ears were turning read, his hand were clenched into fists. He seemed to be working himself up into a rage.
Clearing his throat, Chief Williams spoke in a very clear and calming but commanding voice.
“According to his ‘Rules of Engagement’ Auror Webb has responded in a highly disciplined and restrained manner. As an unprovoked attack from behind like the one we just witnessed is justified to be met with ‘deadly force’. At the Aurors discretion of course.”
“You heard him describe what happened in Iran when he was attacked from behind with a simple stunner did you not?” Chief Williams said in his own frightfully calm and polite voice while looking directly at Ron.
“If someone had attempted a similar attack on you Ron, how would you have chosen to respond?” he enquired.
This question was enough to give Ron pause for thought.
“He didn’t use a wand. I was watching his hands and he didn’t have a wand in either of them. So how did he do that? I’ve never even heard of anyone being able to do that.” Hermione said while looking with great curiosity at the stationary Hex.
“Auror Webb and several members of his family have rather unique abilities. Not all of them are fully understood, even by themselves.” Answered Chief Williams.
“Chief Williams, how can we persuade Auror Webb to remove Ginny’s Hex from her.” Kingsley asked.
“In all honestly I’m not completely sure Minister. In his family violations of Guest Right are a major transgression and not something to be taken lightly.”
“However I do believe that you Arthur, will hold the key here to this situation. If you were to go and speak to him I can guarantee that he will listen to you.” Chief Williams said.
“Me?” Arthur said confused. “He was attacked by my daughter in my house. How would that make him listen to me?”
“For precisely those reasons you just mentioned.” Chief Williams said with a thoughtful expression.
“You also hold a rather unique position of respect in Auror Webb’s family. Due to in large part of the esteem that they have for your father.”
“I will however make some suggestions if I may.”
“Please do, Chief Williams.” Arthur requested.
“Be honest when you talk to him. Like his father Auror Webb is not one for ‘beating around the bush’. Blunt even brutal honesty is more highly regarded than diplomatic excuses and apologies.”
“If he is approached with hostility he will most likely respond with it. If approached for an honest conversation he will respond in kind as well.”
“Likewise approaching him for an honest argument will be met with an honest argument. Without malice.”
“However approaching him to ‘make excuses’ never goes over well. He like his family tend to take ‘equal opportunity’ to the extreme. So I do not advise making an argument based on Ginny being a young girl with frayed nerves. That would carry no weight at all. I would suggest a different approach.”
“It was clear from your reaction to the warrant that he showed you that this Auror Tonks is a friend of yours. If he asks about her and why she would cause such a reaction from your daughter tell him. Loyalty to ones mates is something he will understand without question.”
“I would also suggest that when you go out and talk to him take your daughters wand with you. Show him that she has given it to you by way of an apology for her actions.”
Looking at Ginny he continued, “The same goes for you Ginny. I don’t doubt that IF Auror Webb comes back in he will have questions for you to. Don’t lie. It doesn’t matter what the reason was for your Hex. He won’t care too much if it was a fit of rage, or if you just didn’t like him. He will however care about a dishonest answer.”
“Honest dislike is something that he is sadly used to, due in part to his unique abilities. Oddly enough he has a kind of strange respect for those people who are honest enough to display their dislike too his face.”
“Am I making myself clear Ginny?”
“Yes sir, I understand” Ginny replied in a rather small voice.
“I hope so Ginny. Now let us test if we are on the right track here. Please place your wand on the table and roll it to your father.”
“If I’m correct in my guess, the Hex currently in front of you will move backwards a ways once you put down your wand.”
Moving very slowly Ginny placed her wand on the table and rolled it to Arthur. As soon as she let go of the wand the stationary Hex did indeed move back about an arm’s length.
“Arthur, I think we are as ready as we can be here.” Chief Williams said breathing a sigh of relief.
“Please see if you can get him to talk. If I go it will be like a formal dressing down and that may not help the situation.”
Nodding to Chief Williams, Arthur collected some biscuits from the table and walked outside.
From the moment he stepped outside Auror Webb was watching his approach. Displaying his quiet form of courage that I so dearly love, Arthur walked up to Auror Webb and offered him some biscuits.
Once a biscuit has been accepted Arthur calmly sat down beside Auror Webb and they began to talk.
“It’s a great start, Mrs Weasley” was Chief Williams’s response when he noticed me looking at him.
To this day I do not know what those two talked about. Neither one of them will say anything about it. I do know however that once the biscuits were finished they both got up, shook hands and walked back toward the house.
As they were walking back to the house we all exchanged some slightly apprehensive glances with each other. Although Chief Williams seemed to have different worries on his mind, as he stepped out onto the porch and met the two of them as they came up the stairs.
Auror Webb once again removed his hat and glasses as he got onto the porch. He shared a glance with Chief Williams which seemed to contain a whole conversation. He nodded to Chief Williams who then reached out and put his hand on Auror Webb’s shoulder and gave a squeeze of encouragement. Almost like one family members would share.
After this exchange all three re-entered the room, Arthur first followed Chief Williams then Auror Webb.
Placing his hat and glasses on the table, he took off his jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. Revealing that underneath he wore a dark blue muggle style polo shirt with the words ‘Marauders Q.C.’ embroidered on the pocket. Underneath which was a strange looking man with an old style hat, beard, ear ring and an eye patch who seemed to be alternately smiling and snarling at anyone who looked at him. Below the image of the strange man were the letters A.Q.L.
Around his waist was a strange looking belt that had a collection of rather odd devices attached to it. He removed this belt and laid it on the table next to his hat and glasses.
He stood there briefly looking at everyone around the table. It was like he was trying to convince them that he was ‘unarmed’ from the way he was standing. Although from what we had just seen him do (without a wand I must admit) the fact that he wasn’t hiding a wand up his sleeve was a small comfort. However the gesture seemed to have been understood by those around the table.
Raising his hand again he summoned the still hovering Hex over to him. I’m not sure what I was expecting to happen next but I certainly wasn’t expecting what he did. At the point when the Hex was about to make contact with him, his hand began to have a slight golden glow about it. Without slowing the Hex just disappeared into his opened hand, with no evidence of it causing him any discomfort at all.
Once the Hex was removed he closed his hand into a fist, took a deep breath and sat down, with his hands on the table in front of him and his fingers intertwined.
Ginny appeared to be very relieved to have the Hex removed. I certainly was a lot happier with it gone as well. The others all seemed to share my sentiment as well.
Ron began to ask “How...” but he was silenced with a look from Auror Webb before he could complete his question.
Turning to face Ginny, Auror Webb spoke in a voice that while appearing calm was also very measured as though tightly controlled, “Miss Weasley, since my arrival here you have behaved with a degree of hostility towards me. I would like to know why.”
“Have I offended you in some way I’m unaware of? Do you just dislike me? Or did I simply swipe your bag of lollies in a previous life?”
Still recovering from the shock of having her own Hex hovering in front of her face, Ginny struggled to form a reply, “Honestly Auror Webb, at first I didn’t know why I was behaving like I was.” She began in an overly calm voice.
“But now that I have had a chance to think on it, I think that I hated you. I hated that fact that you and your team where here and did nothing to help Harry, Ron and Hermione.” She said showing signs of fighting back a blush.
Auror Webb was watching Ginny with an alert but unreadable expression while she spoke. He briefly glanced at both Ron and Hermione when they were mentioned but quickly returned his focus back to Ginny.
“Continue” was all he said.
“Why didn’t you try to help him? I mean them? You said that you and your team were always around the ministry so you just have known what was going on and why they were being hunted.”
“So why didn’t you try and find him, them and help them? They could have been done sooner and he could have come back to me, I mean us.” She said returning Auror Webb’s stare and with her typical fire beginning to return to her voice.
“Were you listening to the conversation earlier, Miss Weasley?” was his question.
“Not fully” she replied.
“An honest answer, at least Miss Weasley.” He said before continuing, “Will you listen to me now Miss Weasley?”
“Yes” she answered.
“I’m grateful for your attention Miss Weasley. Perhaps if you had listened earlier we might have avoided the earlier regrettable incident. Hmmm?”
“While I enjoy a good fight as much as the next person, I have learnt after much experience” at this point he briefly glanced at Chief Williams “that it is much more productive to talk to people than to fight them. Would you agree with that sentiment Miss Weasley?”
“Yes I do.”
“Glad to hear it Miss Weasley. I was taught that fighting doesn’t prove who is right. Only who is left. It took me a while to work out that lesson Miss Weasley, but I hope that you will come to understand it quicker than I did.”
“If you feel the urge to fight, tell me to my face and arrangements can then be made to carry out a fight in a controlled and ‘safe’ manner as is done in training. Fights conducted outside of such arrangements have VERY different rules Miss Weasley. Do you understand?”
“I think so Sir” she answered with a rather thoughtful expression.
“I do hope so Miss Weasley. I also hope that in the event of any future misunderstandings or hatred you may have in relation to me that you will speak to me before resorting to pulling your wand. I have never attacked someone just because they wished to argue with me and I do not intend to start now.”
“Am I making myself clear Miss Weasley?”
“You are Sir”.
“Thank you Miss Weasley. And don’t call me sir.”
“Now to answer your earlier questions. My colleagues and I were not sent here to fight. Our original orders were to locate and extract our own citizens (and others from selected countries) who wished to leave the country but were unable to do so for various reasons.”
“Around the time that Madam Bones was attacked our mission changed again. We began to be asked to evacuate diplomatic personnel from various Embassies.”
“She wasn’t attacked. She was murdered.” Said the deep voice of Kingsley.
“Pardon Minister?” Auror Webb questioned.
“I said she was murdered Auror Webb. You said that she was attacked, that implied that she survived. But alas she did not.”
Auror Webb looked to his Chief Williams who answered, “Actually Minister that is a topic that our Minister wishes to discuss with you. I cannot go into details here, not without approval, but I can tell you that Madam Amelia Susan Bones is indeed alive.”
“What? How can this be? We found her body and confirmed the identity beyond doubt.” Kingsley said in a surprised voice.
“Thank you Minister.” Auror Webb replied surprising everyone.
Fixing Auror Webb with a rather exasperated look Chief Williams explained to a rather confused group. “Auror Webb and his brother Senior Auror Webb were the ones who responded to Madam Bones’s alarm call. They were able to neutralise her attackers and then stage the scene to make it appear as though she had been killed.”
“They were then able to get her safely out of the country where she was able to begin her recovery. For while she did indeed survive the encounter she was very gravely wounded. If not for the quick thinking and skill at healing of Auror Webb here and his brother she would have almost certainly died at the scene.”
“That is all I can say on the matter Minister. You will have to ask our Minister for more of the details when you meet him next week sir.” He finished.
“I see and understand Chief Williams. Rest assured I will ask your Minister for the full details. Madam Bones is an old friend of mine and I have missed her greatly” he said
“She was also a long-time friend of our own Director of M.L.E. That is one reason why she was able to summon two of our most capable Aurors at such short notice.” Supplied Chief Williams.
Looking back to Auror Webb he indicated that he should continue.
“The embassy attacks kept us very busy as our Minister was leading the effort to avoid a full scale war within the International Magical Community.”
“Then the attacks on Muggle-Borns, their families and their friends began in earnest. The number of missing people began to climb alarmingly high both in the Magical and Muggle populations.”
“It was at this time that we were directed to make contact with selected local Aurors for assistance. My father directed my brother to organise a meeting with one Auror who he had known as ‘Mad Eye’. Apparently he knew him as they had worked together many times in the past.” He said with a slight sigh.
“Contact was made successfully, a time and place was agreed upon for the meeting. ‘Mad Eye’ was sadly killed on some sort of operation 4 days before the agreed meeting. Being the type of person that he was ‘Mad Eye’ had made arrangements in the event of his death and had an alternate contact who would take his place.”
“His alternate was one Nymphadora Tonks. Apparently she was his protégée in the Auror program and supposedly trustworthy.”
“My brother agreed to meet with Auror Tonks, with no change to the time or place. It was to be his last mistake.” He said with a distant look coming over his face as he remembered.
“Unbeknown to Auror Tonks my brother had set his mirror phone to record the meeting. So we have an audio record of what happened. We know that Auror Tonks gave away their location by knocking over a number of pipes.”
“We could hear my brother suggesting that they leave before they were discovered and Auror Tonks telling him not to worry and that all would be fine. For some reason he believed her. The next sounds heard are apparition pops nearby, shouts and spells being cast. My brother was hit by a Hex from behind and fell over. Auror Tonks fled the scene.”
“The sounds after that are of my brother trying to get back on his feet and make his escape. But while he was doing this he was attacked by two people, we have since identified as the werewolf Fenrir Greyback and Rodolphus Lestrange”
“The sounds after that don’t bear repeating, but you can hear him being brutally murdered.” Auror Webb said in an almost broken voice.
“We were ordered home after this incident, but we refused. We wished to stay and finish the mission my brother was given. The Minister relented after a rather furious argument and allowed the bulk of the team to stay. I and some other members were still ordered to return home though.”
“We were gone for around 2 weeks. During which the members who had remained behind had followed through on earlier plans to expand our operations involving smuggling people out of the country.”
“We were still under orders not to directly engage the opposition but to focus on rescue efforts. Those orders got ‘bent’ on a few occasions but never broken.” He added with a rueful smile.
“So you see Miss Weasley, we were not here on holidays. We had a job to do that kept us very busy indeed and we were doing it to the best of our ability.”
“However even with all that, if we had been able to make contact with your ‘golden trio’ we would have most certainly offered our assistance.” he said very clearly looking directly at Ron and Hermione.
“You see my team and I have a rather unique skill set that has proven to be very effective against Horcruxes in the past.”
“How did you know what we were after? We haven’t told anyone outside of our family and Kingsley what we were really doing.” Exclaimed Ron jumping to his feet.
“Ron, don’t ever assume that others can’t put together the pieces of even the best hidden puzzle. That is a dangerous assumption to make.” Auror Webb replied.
“Even the heavily summarised press statement you put out contained enough information for us to work out what you were really doing.” He said again looking at both Hermione and Ron.
Once again facing Ginny he went on. “Do you now have the answers to your earlier questions Miss Weasley?”
Auror Webb gave the appearance of someone who was clearly prepared to wait for a definite answer to his question. He held Ginny’s gaze with his own until she answered.
“I do Auror Webb.” She said.
“Are they answers to your satisfaction Miss Weasley?” he asked and it was obvious that the answer to this question was to be very important.
“They are satisfactory Auror Webb.”
“I’m happy to hear it Miss Weasley.”
“So there is no need to make any arrangements for us to go and do battle over any perceived misunderstandings at all?” he enquired very directly.
Looking a little alarmed Ginny replied “I don’t believe so Auror Webb”
“Excellent Miss Weasley. I was hoping that would be your answer.”
“Are you prepared to reset our introduction and start over again Miss Weasley?” he asked.
Smiling Ginny replied “Yes Sir. I would be very happy to do so.”
Returning her smile Auror Webb stood and said, “That’s enough of this ‘Sir’ business, makes me think you’re talking to my dad.”
Strangely he looked over to Arthur, who must have caught his meaning as he leapt out of his seat and walked over to Ginny. In an almost formal voice he said.
“Ginny, I would like to introduce Auror Webb. Auror Webb this is my daughter Ginny”.
“I’m pleased to meet you Auror Webb.” Ginny said with a shy smile.
“Very nice to finally meet you too Ginny.” He replied shaking her hand. The change in his mode of address relieved me more than I thought it would have.
“Please call me David or Dave. This Auror Webb business sounds far too formal amongst friends” he added looking at everyone in the room.
You could almost feel the tension and worry evaporate from the room in that instant.
Ron was the first to jump right in when he called out excitedly, “Dave! How did you do that to her Bat Bogey Hex?”
“RON!!!” both Hermione and Mrs Weasley shouted together.
“I want to know as well” Kingsley supplied with a smile.
Smiling Auror Webb, I mean Dave replied, “Not right now Ron. We can discuss that later. Right now I believe my Boss and your Minister have a few questions they want to ask me.”
“But first” he said turning to me “Could I impose on you Mrs Weasley for another cup of tea? My first one seems to have gone cold for some reason.” He said holding up his cup like a piece offering.
“That would be no trouble at all, Dave” I told him flicking my want to get the kettle going again.
Chapter 6: Mr P
“Sorry Boss, Minister” Dave began, “But I seem to have lost track of your earlier questions.”“What did you want to know?”
“You mentioned before that this ‘Mr P’ supplied you with information on a number of Women and Children that were being sent out of the country.” Kingsley recapped.
“Yes Minister. That is correct.”
“Can you tell us how many there were in this group?”
Dave reached back into his jacket and again got out his Mirror Phone. Dave’s Mirror Phone showed signs of some recent ‘hard use’, I couldn’t help but wonder how it managed to end up in its current state.
He tapped the screen a few times and lines of writing could be seen.
“There were 15 Children under the age of 6”
“20 children between the ages of 6 and 12”
“9 Teenagers and 18 adult females under the age of 35.”
“How many of them were slaves do you know?” said Kingsley with a worried expression.
“All the adults were bonded into Slavery Minister. As well as just over half of the children.” Dave replied with a rather stony face.
“You said that they were to be taken out of the country. Did you know where they were to be taken?” Kingsley asked.
“Not at the time Minister. It was as you say a ‘rush job’. We moved to try and recover these people almost as soon as ‘Mr P’ provided us the information.”
“We were able to intercept some of the group before they left England. Unfortunately most of them reached their destinations before we were able to locate them.” He added rather nervously.
“Where did you find them Auror Webb?” came the question.
Dave was now clearly uncomfortable and he was choosing his words very carefully when he replied.
“When we found them they were located in establishments of a commercial nature Minister.”
“You mean like a business? What sort of business? Can you describe it?”
“Not willingly in the present company Minister.” Dave said rather nervously, but seeing Kingsley’s reaction he added.
“But I do have some shall we say ‘advertising material’ from these establishments that I can show you. They will make it clear what sort of businesses they were.”
“However Minister I must advise you in the strongest possible terms that these documents are not for the faint hearted. My team are rather hardened people in some ways, but even some of them had trouble with these documents and the places themselves.”
At this Dave once again reached into his wallet and brought out what he called a manila folder (a muggle device).
He handed it over to Kingsley.
Arthur, Bill and Charlie all moved to be able to see the contents of the folder.
When Kingsley opened the folder, the 4 men visibly recoiled with an intake of breath. Looking through the contents of the folder, Kingsley went pale and started to shake. Arthur had tears in his eyes and was struggling to maintain control. However both Bill and Charlie had to run for the porch where they were nosily sick over the railing.
Lifting his gaze to look at Chief Williams Kingsley asked. “Have you seen these?”
“Not those ones in particular Minister. But I have seen others very much like them from previous reports submitted by Syd’s team.”
“You mean this isn’t an isolated case?” he asked struggling to hold in his emotions.
“Sadly it is not Minister. Syd and his team have responded to incidents like this far too often”. Chief Williams replied with the pain of the memories showing in his eyes.
“How often?” was the question Kingsley directed to Dave.
“Personally I have lead at least 19 recovery operations like this in the past 3 months alone. I have participated in many more however. Sometimes we are able to recover people before they get to places like you have just seen. Other times we are too late, and the people involved have already begun to have been ‘hurt’.” Dave replied with a haunted look in his eyes.
“You mentioned before that on the latest mission there were Death Eaters with the Children. Do you know who they were?”
“Let me check Minister. When I left we were still trying to confirm some of them.”
At this Dave tapped his Mirror Phone device a few more times and the text on it changed.
“Ok, Drunkmouse and his team have given us the following names.”
“Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange.”
“Augustus Rookwood”
“Corban Yaxley”
“Antonin Dolohov and Fenrir Greyback.”
“Quite a group.” Kingsley commented. “What happened to them?”
Looking to Chief Williams for confirmation Dave continued.
“In the raid on the last location, we encountered some difficulties. The building was ‘warded’ to repel magic from it. So we had to resort to our Muggle equipment and techniques.”
“Once we made entry, Yaxley made the mistake of thinking that Fireball and Shelly were ah, ‘employees’ of the facility and made to grab them. They corrected him of his mistake and ‘disarmed him’ without alerting the others.”
“We moved through the location to the rooms where we expected to find the children. Unfortunately in addition to the children we found that the room was occupied by the group mentioned before. Minus Yaxley who was ‘tied up’ at the time.”
“Rabastan Lestrange was closest to the door so he was the first to be neutralised.”
“While he was being dealt with Greyback and Dolohov moved to grab the two young girls who were in the room with them. Rockwood was dumb enough to go after Fireball.”
“Rodolphus showed his true colours and allowed his ‘friends’ to do the fighting for him. He hung back in the hope of sneaking out in the confusion.”
“While he did manage to climb out a window and make his escape at one point in the proceedings I managed to get myself far enough out the window to deliver a ‘gift’ to him as he ran down the street with his pants around his ankles.” Dave said with a smirk on his face.
“Syd, just what sort of ‘gift’ did you give him?” Chief Williams asked with a slight look of concern.
“Nothing major Boss. Just enough to remember me by.” Was the ‘innocent’ sounding reply.
“Syd!” Chief Williams asked clearly not letting him off the hook.
With a slightly embarrassed look on his face Dave answered, “Let’s just say that his ‘family jewels’ are now a depreciating asset.” He said with a very self-satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at Chief Williams and Kingsley.
Once comprehension dawned on Chief Williams and Kingsley they also displayed similar smirks on their face.
“I can see how that particular ‘gift’ is going to make his life very uncomfortable for him.” Kingsley said enjoying the thought of Rodolphus suffering through the difficulties brought on by Dave’s ‘gift’ to him.
“Dolohov? Isn’t he...” Chief Williams started to ask
“Yes Boss, he is the one who killed mum’s little brothers the last time she visited here.”
Another flash back raced through my mind, as I felt a sudden kinship with Dr Webb and all those others who lost family members to that horrid man.
“They were your name sakes are they not?” Chief Williams asked.
“Yes, two of the three.”
“So what happened to him?” Chief Williams enquired of Dave.
“He and Greyback tried to grab the girls who were in the room and use them as shields against me. But they forgot that they were in a location where magic was expelled. So the first spell he tried to cast caused him a great deal of pain when it didn’t work. I put him out of his misery and focused on Greyback.”
“Syd you didn’t did you? We wanted him alive.” Chief Williams chided Dave.
Trying (and failing) to show an air of innocence Dave replied, “He isn’t dead Boss. Although he probably wishes he was. I merely knocked him out and restrained him. It was a bit of a rush job though as I had Greyback demanding my attention, so it’s understandable if I fastened things a little too tight on him. But there shouldn’t be any ‘permanent’ damage done to him.”
Looking very unconvinced at this statement Chief Williams went on, “I see. Is your mum aware of his capture? I happen to know she asked to be kept informed of any news about him. I presumed she always hoped to testify against him.”
“Yes Boss, she knows. I sent her a photo of him after the incident for her to identify him. She seemed rather pleased that we had caught up with him.”
“And Greyback?”
At this Dave displayed a rather evil looking smile at Chief Williams and replied “He mostly got away”.
“How do you mostly get away Syd?”
“Well Boss he might have left a few things behind.”
“Such as?”
At this question Dave sat up and reached up to his neck. Digging under his shirt for a moment he brought out a silver chain bearing several while objects on it. Upon closer examination they appeared to be teeth.
That wasn’t the only thing uncovered however. There was also an almost impossibly shiny ropey looking golden chain around his neck that had an animal tooth of some sort secured to it.
It also had two of the most beautiful rings on it that I had ever seen. They appeared to have been woven from different metals with a selection of delicately cut stones included in the weave. The smaller of the two rings had bright blue sapphires in it, while the larger of the two had black gems in it that seemed to have flecks of colour as well.
I was not the only one to notice these rings, all the girls in the room clearly noticed them as well. Their appreciation of them clearly written on their faces.
Tossing the silver chain over to Chief Williams, Dave continued on oblivious to the stares he was now getting, “He left those behind Boss.”
Holding the chain up for it to be visible to all Chief Williams asked, “Are these his actual…”
“Teeth, Fangs, whatever you want to call them Boss. Yes they are his. I might have missed one in the confusion, but I think that I got all the others”
“How?” he asked sharing just about everyone else’s look of incredibly at what he was holding.
“As I said Boss, Magic had been blocked in that building. So I had to do it the old fashioned, ‘Muggle Way’ as you call it.”
“You knocked out Greyback’s teeth with your fists?” was the shocked reply. Everyone else was staring at Dave with a little apprehension as well as a touch of appreciation also.
“Actually it was more of an open hand set of strikes. Using my fists would have cut up my knuckles Boss. You should know that.”
“Did he leave anything else behind as you put it?”
“His wand, one or two fingers and a lot of blood. I also don’t think he eye will recover unless he was able to get to a healer quickly either.”
“I didn’t collect his fingers or the blood. We vanished those later after we broke the wards.” He explained.
Chief Williams next asked Kingsley, “Am I correct to assume you would like your countrymen returned to you?”
Smiling Kingsley added “But of course. Azkaban has kept a special cell for them in the event of their capture.”
“Very well Minister I will put the wheels in motion for you.”
While Kingsley was nodding his thanks, Ron spoke up and asked “What are those? Pointing to the rings on the chain around Dave’s neck.
Glancing down at the chain around his neck the expression on Dave’s face changed from amusement to one of profound sorrow in an instant. Cupping the Rings in his hand he looked at them with a very tender expression and answered, “Our Wedding rings”.
“Haven’t asked her yet have you?” Ron asked, obviously before he thought about it.
Hermione moved to elbow Ron in the ribs to get him to shut up but he had already continued on, “You don’t have a mark on your finger so you obviously haven’t worn them. Or did she turn you down?”
Almost everyone around the table cringed at the question, as they had a very good idea of what the answer was going to be.
“No Ron. She didn’t turn me down, she said yes.”
“And we did get to wear them. For a short time anyway.”
Tucking the chain and the rings back under his shirt (this seemed to disappoint the girls), and with a look of utter loss on his face turned to Ron and added, “She died not long after we were married.”
“Sorry.” Ron said as it finally dawned on him what he had said. “I didn’t think...”
“That’s obvious.” Hermione snapped at Ron making him retreat from the conversation.
Chief Williams once again went over and laid a comforting hand on Dave’s shoulder and said, “Sorry mate for not being there when it happened.”
“Not your fault Boss. We knew you would have been there if you could. She understood.”
“She fought as hard as she could for as long as she could. In the end it just wore her out and all she wanted to do was rest. She asked us to respect her wishes and as hard as it was we… I couldn’t say no to her.” Dave replied the pain clearly evident in his voice.
Clearing his throat loudly Kingsley spoke up. “I’m sorry for your loss, Auror Webb. I take it this was a recent occurrence.”
“Yes Minister. It happened while I was home after the loss of my brother.” He said in a quiet voice that was clearly heard by all.
The looks exchanged around the room showed that this comment had clearly stuck close to home for everyone present.
Not knowing what to say Kingsley made an attempt to change the subject, “Auror Webb, what can you tell me about this ‘Mr P’ that you have been working with.”
Taking a moment to compose himself Auror Webb began to speak, “We knew of ‘Mr P’ before we started to work with him. As we had frequently encountered him during our trips into the Ministry.”
“Initially we thought him not much different to the other mindless bureaucrats that infest governments around the globe. Even though he did seem to have an extra-large cast iron wand shoved up his ‘rear end’” he added to the general amusement of all.
“We took more notice of ‘Mr P.’ when we started to hear stories spread about him. Apparently he was in the bad books with Pius Thicknesse, when he was the Director of M.L.E. According to the stories being circulated ‘Mr P’ was ‘losing’ people who were supposedly brought into the Ministry for questioning.”
“When we investigated ‘Mr P’ ourselves we found that he was indeed ‘losing’ people. Quite deliberately in fact. We learned later that he became aware of the fate of the people who were brought in for questioning and had decided that he didn’t want to be a part of it.”
“Knowing that resigning would result in his own ‘questioning’ and likely disappearance he decided to play the game the only way he knew how. He started to mess up the paper work. Change orders around etc. When that didn’t work he made illegal port keys and directly smuggled people out himself.”
“Thicknesse was getting suspicious however and time was starting to run out for Mr P.”
“One night we went to investigate a building where we suspected that Mr P was trying to hide those people he had smuggled out of the Ministry.”
“Upon our arrival we found it already being watched by a group of people who had disillusioned themselves.”
“From their behaviour it was clear that they were casing the building rather than guarding it. We kept watch to determine exactly what was going on.”
“Not long after we arrived however a squad of Dementors arrived also and were shown into the building by those who were previously watching the building.”
“Squad of Dementors? What do you mean by this?” asked Kingsley.
“Recently we have taken note of some strange behaviour that has been observed in Dementors. They appear to be taking orders from a single source. Initially we thought it was Tom Riddle Jr, but with his demise this new behaviour has continued.”
“We still don’t know the source of this behaviour. But the results of it are rather clear. Even when presented with a fully formed Patronus, Dementors who are part of squad formation will not flee. Not unless all the Dementors are simultaneously confronted. I’m sure you can see the potential problems with that approach when a squad is typically 10 Dementors or more.”
“We have been working on some techniques and tools to counter this predicament, which are showing promise. But have yet to be perfected.”
“A worrying development.” Kingsley remarked.
“Very.” Dave agreed then continued, “We made entry to the building and found the Dementors in the process of attacking the occupants.”
“Mr P was standing between the squad of Dementors and a group of people that he had been sheltering. It was clear that he was close to exhaustion and very worried about the people behind him.”
“One of the ladies in the group who still had a wand had stepped forward to try and help him. But it was clear that she was also close to exhaustion as well.”
“A quick glance with Jimmy was all it took and we agreed that we should step in to assist. Even with the 4 of us that were present that night we were not enough to drive off that Squad of Dementors.”
“Jimmy ordered me to try the ‘alternate approach’ that we had been working on. Thankfully it was effective and we were able to permanently neutralise the threat.”
“That’s not possible. Dementors can’t be killed.” Hermione said rather indigently.
“That would depend on your definition of what alive and dead is wouldn’t it?” Dave replied.
“It can’t be done, Auror Webb. Everyone knows that it is impossible to kill a Dementor.” She insisted.
“Let me try to explain it like this. We all agree that a Dementor will flee from a Patronus?” he asked.
“That is true.” She agreed.
“Excellent. What do you think would happen in the event of a Patronus being placed Inside a Dementor?” he asked Hermione.
Hermione sat there for a few moments with that studious expression on her face as she thought about the question. She started to speak a few times. But each time she started to speak, she stopped herself and thought some more. Eventually she said, “The only thing I can think of is that it would try to flee in all directions at the same time.”
“That would be a good description of the effect that is achieved Hermione” Dave agreed.
“But how do you get a Patronus inside the Dementor in the first place?” she asked clearly showing her curiosity getting the better of her.
“That is proving to be the difficult question to answer. So far the best approach has been to use a Patronus ‘with an edge’ on it to basically cut its way in.”
“However there are very few people who have such intense joyful/sad memories. Whether that is a good or bad thing would depend on if you are one of the people with such a balance of memories in you.”
“The other option that is starting to show some promise is something we are calling ‘friendfyre’ or ‘blessed fire’. As it seems to be very effective against dark magic. The biggest draw back with this approach is that there is a very small number of people that we have found who are able to produce such a flame.”
“I would say that’s because it doesn’t exist, Auror Webb.” Hermione started to lecture. However, as she started to get into the swing of her tirade Dave raised his hand.
As soon as he did so Hermione stopped and stared at it. As his hand was covered in a brilliant golden flame.
“But that’s just a modified version of ‘Bluebell Flames’. I use that spell all the time. It is very useful as a portable cooking fire or a waterproof light. But it won’t be of much use against a Dementor.” She explained.
“My sisters are well versed in the ‘Bluebell Flames’ spell. And this has several key differences. While it is waterproof, it gives off no heat unless it is in contact with dark magic. ‘Bluebell flames’ can be used for cooking if an object is placed directly above the flame. But as you can see” he said as he lifted a nearby piece of parchment into the flames.
“No heat is transferred and no damage is done to this parchment.”
“If you have a cursed object or something tainted with Dark Magic to hand I invite you to place it into these flames and see the result.” He invited her.
At this invitation Bill stepped forward and produced a small wooden object which he placed in the flames. Nothing happened to it.
Ron exclaimed “It didn’t do anything.”
Bill answered, “I would be worried it if it did. That object isn’t cursed.” He said with a smile. “However, this one, is different.” At this he produced a different wooden object and placed it in the flames on Dave’s palm.
At once the flames latched themselves to the object and you could almost hear it scream as the Friendfyre attacked it. When the flames subsided there was nothing left. Not even ash.
“Remarkable.” Was Kingsley response.
“Who can produce such a flame?” he wanted to know.
“Currently the only people who have been able to do it consciously apart from myself are, my Dad, 2 of my sisters and one cousin.”
“We are hoping to understand it enough to be able to teach more people but more study and work is required to better understand it.”
Dave closed his hand and the flames disappeared.
“How did you discover it?” Hermione wanted to know.
“I didn’t. My Grandfather was the first one I’m aware of who could produce it. Although how it learnt it he wouldn’t say, other to hint that it was an ‘old family recipe’. He never expanded on that explanation. At least not to me, I don’t know if he told dad or not.”
“It has proven its worth many times though and gotten myself and others out of several close scrapes with Dementors recently as well.”
“Did you use it when you met this ‘Mr P’?” Kingsley asked. He was clearly trying to get the discussion back to this mysterious person he wanted to know more about.
“No Minister. I used the first option I mentioned.”
“I see, what happened after the threat of the Dementors was removed.” He asked Dave.
“We moved in to check over the occupants of the building. Jimmy and I went over to the two who had been trying to hold them off and picked them up from where they had collapsed. When got them comfortable and tried to question them. While we were doing that the other members of our team were dealing with the people who the first two had been trying to protect.”
“It turns out that they were all either Muggle-Borns who worked in M.L.E. and had had their wands snapped. Or they were Magical folk who had refused to support Tom Riddle in his goals and thus had been targeted.”
“We asked the person who had initially been fighting the Dementors what his name was, but all we could get out of him was a long string of stuttering ‘P… P…. P…’”
“Is that how you came to call him ‘Mr P’ then?” Ginny asked.
“Correct.” Dave answered.
“’Mr P’ as he was christened by Fireball was not in any fit state to talk. So we moved the whole group of them to a secure location in Northern France, where we could be assured of their safety and be able to nurse them back to health.”
“It was during this time that the young lady who had tried to assist Mr P took a real shine to him as she (and us) learnt more about him. To the point where they became basically inseparable.”
“They both also showed a very strong desire to get back to England and continue what they had started. With or without our help.”
“It was decided that their chances of survival would be greatly enhanced if they worked with us. As well as our own effectiveness be increased if we had better contacts on the inside.”
“We presented this proposal to them both and they agreed, as did out Minister.”
“As a result we gave them both a rather crash course in document forgery, intelligence gathering, defensive techniques and survival in general. As well as a set of tools for communicating and passing information along covertly.”
“I must admit both Mr P and his Missus proved to be far more effective than we (and they) had ever thought. They were working out brilliantly. The number of people we were able to intercept before the Ministry rounded them up greatly increased. At the suggestion of Mr P’s Missus we made a similar offer to those people that we had rescued if they wished to do so they could assist us.”
“The vast majority of them wanted to help but were too frightened to go home. So we offered them positions in secure locations we had outside of England where they could help us process and care for the people we were bringing out.”
“As while the numbers where increasing so were the needs of these people.”
“This arrangement also meant we were able to bring more of our Aurors into the country to run the front line missions and enable our very eager volunteers to look after the ‘behind the scenes’ operations.”
“Soon after the ‘Muggle-Born Registration Commission’ was formed we had very solid skeleton of our operation in place.”
“While he might be many things to others ‘Mr P’ is a born organiser and one of the bravest men I have ever known. He worked tirelessly to streamline and smooth out any ‘kinks’ he saw in the operation. It is due in a large part to his work as well as that of Drunkmouse and his team and Madam Bones that we were as effective on the ground as we were.”
“This was just as well. For very soon the Ministry began to sell people into slavery. At first none of us would believe it. We couldn’t comprehend anyone wanting to ‘own’ another human being in this day and age.”
“Sadly we were all very much mistaken. There was and is a massive market in the world at large for human slaves. Not just for the purposes you saw in those documents either Minister.”
“It wasn’t until we intercepted a group that had already been sold that we realised that this nightmare was actually real.”
“Once I saw their ‘slave contracts’ I knew that the situation had taken a much darker path than before.”
“Slave contract? What is that? I’ve never heard of it before.” Arthur asked.
“I must admit that outside of a school history lesson I haven’t heard of them before either” Kingsley agreed.
“I would be surprised if either of you had. As they are some of the darkest magic around that doesn’t involve the death of someone to make.”
“Are you able to show us such a contract?” Kingsley asked.
“Not of a living person Minister. But I do have one with me I can show you.”
“Please.” Was the answer from Kingsley.
Dave once more reached into his wallet and produced several sheets of something resembling parchment but not as thick.
“This is called paper; it is the muggle equivalent of parchment. Although it is not a durable.”
“This is a copy of my Grandfathers Slave contract.” Dave added.
At this everyone stood up for a better view. Arthur in particular looked up in almost anticipation.
Dave shuffled the papers and then laid them flat on the table and cast a spell to make them larger and easier to read.
“When someone is sold into slavery by a Government a magical contact is created that is binding. The contract can only be altered by those authorised to do so. It can’t be destroyed as that would lead to the death of the person who was listed on it as the slave.”
“Once they have been listed as the slave and the contract signed (by their blood usually) the contract only needs the signature of the authorised government representative before the Slave is bound to it irrevocably.”
“Can a person ever regain their freedom once they are a slave?” I asked wanting to know that there was hope for these people.
“It is dependent on the type of contract that is signed. Mrs Weasley.” Was his reply.
“This contract is a good example of how a contract can be altered to allow the slave to regain their freedom.”
“At the top left hand corner of the document you can see the name of my Grandfather, his date and place of birth. On the right hand side of the page you can see the conditions of the slavery.”
“In the case of my Grandfather you can see that he was initially condemned to a lifetime of slavery and that it was to be hereditary as well.”
“WHAT?” Kingsley, Arthur and Bill yelled almost at the same time.
“But that would mean…” Arthur started to say.
“Yes it would mean that had my Grandfather had any offspring they would have been born into slavery eternal.”
“Thankfully someone seems to have altered the terms of this slavery contract before it was signed by the listed government representative.”
“I believe Mr Weasley you might have an idea as to who carried out the alterations and may even recognise the signature next to those alterations.”
Arthur looked closely at the places indicated, as did Bill, Charlie, George, Ron and Ginny. Looking up with pride shining in his eyes Arthur said, “That is indeed my father signature there. But what did his alterations do to the contract.”
“In short the work done by your father nullified the lifetime component of the contract as well as the hereditary aspect as well.”
“It seems that he also made it possible for any future ‘owner’ of my Grandfather to free him without Ministerial approval.”
“It doesn’t state it here, but from what my Grandfather told us, your father also arranged the sale of my Grandfather to people who he knew had similar views to him on this subject and that they would take the necessary steps to free him when the time was right.”
“While your father wasn’t able to cancel the contract completely Mr Weasley he did everything he could to nullify as many aspects of it that he could.”
“The risks he ran to do this were numerous. They all had dire consequences for him if he was caught. Which given the fact that he had to sign his own name to the paper work were rather high. If the paper work was ever checked properly.” Dave explained in a voice that clearly carried his thoughts on the bravery of the man he was describing.
“Does this make it clearer to you why my Grandfather, Father and indeed the whole family holds your father in such high esteem Sir?” Dave said with eyes that were beginning to moisten.
Arthur was speechless. We all were. It was a difficult thing to comprehend that people would be willing to inflict so much pain on each other in such an inhumane way as well.
Eventually all Arthur could do was nod his understanding. As he was still overwhelmed by these discoveries.
“To answer your questions Mrs Weasley. That is one way a person can regain their freedom.”
“If the persons slave contact has no lifetime component and no end date specified another way a person can regain their freedom is to have their copy of the contact contain so many sales that all the available lines are used up.”
“Thankfully given certain lax bureaucratic procedures that ‘Mr P’ may have helped influence and implement.” Dave said with a crooked half smile that again seemed oddly familiar.
“That is indeed how many of the current day contracts have been written. This gives us a window of opportunity that we have been exploiting.”
“As working with our colleagues and various organisations around the globe we have been able to form our own ‘Slave Trading’ organisation. For want of a better term.”
“This organisation has enabled us to setup various pipelines where we can ‘trade/sell’ OUR slaves amongst each other to use up the transaction spaces available on their contracts.”
“The down side of this is that each ‘sale’ a slave goes through takes a toll on them both emotionally and sometimes physically.”
“Some people can deal with being sold frequently and thus are freed quicker. While others can only handle it every few weeks. Most of the kids fall into this category” He said with a very sad look in his eyes.
“It isn’t perfect but it is the best we have been able to come up with so far. I just wish we could have gotten to them before they were sold in the first place” he added fighting back tears.
At this point Charlie and Bill put their arms around Dave’s shoulders and supported him like they would have one of their own brothers. I was so proud of them I almost burst.
The others around the table were also looking at Dave and Chief Williams in a new way. As understanding of just what they had been fighting against and what it had cost them began to dawn.
“Is there a ‘perfect solution’ as you put it David, to this problem?” Hermione asked. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised she asked given that she is always looking for the perfect answer.
Dave’s answer caught her a little off guard though. As he answered, “You mean other than having these poor people avoid being sold in the first place?” showing a little heat in his voice.
Hermione started to blush at this. Dave quickly continued, “Sorry Hermione. That was unkind of me and out of line.”
“The best solution for these people that are in this unfortunate situation would be the nullification of the contract at the source.”
“As there is a copy of each of these contracts at the originating Government. Meaning that the Ministry has got copies of them somewhere. We have taken to calling these collections of originals as ‘The Ledger’. We believe that given the scale of this that there will be several ‘Ledgers’ that we will need to locate.”
“Our biggest hope as it stands now is to locate these ‘Ledgers’ and have them nullified by the appropriate representative of that Government.”
“Who would that need to be?” asked Kingsley.
“The Minister of Magic would be a great starting point don’t you agree?” Dave asked Kingsley once again showing that familiar looking crooked smile of his.
Grinning broadly Kingsley replied, “I do think he would. And I can guarantee that the current Minister would lend his full support to the idea as well.”
Returning his grin, Dave replied “Thank you Minister. Thank you very much.”
“I’m getting the feeling that it is me that should be thanking, you, Chief Williams, your Team and your Minister for your work on this. While it is a deeply saddening topic. Your work on it has been exemplary.”
“No thanks are required Minister, although I will pass them along to my team. We were simply doing our job as humble Aurors Sir. It was what we signed up for.”
“But if I may I would like to ask for a favour, or more accurately a few favours.” He asked in a very firm voice.
“You may ask Auror Webb and I will see what I can do. Within reason of course, I hope you understand that.”
“I do Minister, fully.”
“Ask away then Auror Webb.”
“Minister, I would like to ask for a full and unconditional pardon for Mr P and the others like him that have been working with us. As it currently stands they are all guilty of High Treason in one form or another. They deserve to have their lives back Minister not living with the fear of being caught and thrown in jail.”
“A perfectly reasonable request, Auror Webb. One that I’m happy to grant and I can guarantee that it will be done. On that you have my personal word delivered in front of these witnesses.”
“Thank you Minister.” Dave added with a smile.
“I would like also to ask for the so called ‘Blood Purity Laws’ and the ‘Muggle-Born Registration Commission’ and their various ruling be repealed. This is to enable those people who we have rescued the opportunity of returning home if they so desire to do so.”
“That one could prove to be a little trickier Auror Webb. But I agree with you whole heartily on it. Indeed, moves have already been started that will lead to those laws being stuck down.”
Kingsley, Dave and Chief Williams stepped forwards to shake on the agreements that had just been made.
While they were doing this Hermione was taking a closer look at the document Dave had placed on the table.
“Excuse me David” Hermione asked.
“Why does your Grandfathers family name appear to be blurred out? Along with that of his next of kin on this form?”
“The names are blurred apparently to make it more difficult to trace his birth family. As after he was accused of his crime and sold into slavery as part of his punishment, his family cast him out. As it was done magically all documents that bear his name now have any reference to his original family made illegible.”
“That’s horrendous” she exclaimed.
“I agree it is. We believe it was done deliberately by his family, as they knew his feelings on the subject of family.”
“So I take it that Webb isn’t your original family name then Dave?” Arthur asked.
“No it isn’t Mr Weasley.” Dave replied. “We have no idea of what family Grandpa belonged to before he was cut off and sold. No idea at all. All we have is an old vault key to his personal section of the family vault. But without knowing which family he was a part of we can’t even begin to try and ask for access to it.”
“So where did the name Webb come from then?” Hermione enquired.
“After he was freed Grandpa realised that he would need a new family name. So he decided to choose one himself. In the end he selected two people who he held in very high regard and decided to make himself a new family name from theirs.”
“The man who eventually granted my Grandfather his freedom was called Byron Black. He remained a great friend of my Grandfathers until his death. So grandpa used his initials in the new family name. That is where the two b’s come from.” He said with a thoughtful expression.
“Where did the ‘We’ come from then?” Hermione asked.
Giving her a rather puzzled expression he replied, “I would have thought that was obvious Hermione. The ‘We’ came from the man who gave Grandpa his chance at a new beginning. It came from Weasley.”
“Our family name begins with ‘We’ to remind us that we began with the help of the Weasley family.”
If Arthur was surprised before he was thunderstruck now. His face was a study in different emotions, each fighting for time to be expressed.
Dave turned to look at him and said, “I don’t know if Grandpa ever explained how he came about his new name to your father or not. But I do know that his intention was to add a permanent memorial to him in his new family as a way of honouring him. All of us are taught the meaning of our name and about the people involved in its creation. My dad has your father’s name as his middle name as a personal memento, but this was meant for the whole family.”
“I do hope that it meets with your approval Mr Weasley. As it would have meant a great deal to my Grandfather if it did.” Dave said facing Arthur.
Still not knowing what to say Arthur crossed the room and quickly embraced Dave and held him tightly to him. After a brief moment of alarm Dave returned the embrace only to be joined by all the Weasley men in the room.
I felt the urge to join them but there just wasn’t enough space. I would have to wait my turn later.
While this was going on a new voice spoke up from the door and said, “I’ve been listening to what you said earlier Syd, and I’m grateful for the pardon you have organised. Does this mean I can come clean now and get my job back?”
Extracting himself from the impromptu male bonding session, Dave turned to look at the source of the new voice and exclaimed, “Mr P”
The rest of the family turned as one and with looks of disbelief said “Percy?”
Dave quickly crossed the room embraced Percy and picked him up and spun him around.
Placing him back on the ground he put one hand on each of Percy’s shoulders he looked him directly in the eyes and said, “We got them mate. We got them ALL. Every single last one of them.”
Percy stared back with a look of wonder on his face. In a small voice he said, “All of them?”
“Yes mate every last one. We even came out with a few extras once we broke open those cesspits.”
“But they were scattered over so many countries, how did you do it?”
“That’s a story for another day mate.”
“I told you we would hunt them down and we did. We got them ALL back. We even got a surprise haul of Death Eaters also.” Dave said with fierce pride in his voice.
Percy had actually begun to smile at this news.
“You did it Mr P. Without that information you got for us, we would have been far too late to save even half of that lot. I was coming back into the country to take you and your Missus out to Dinner tonight to celebrate when I was asked to come here instead.”
“So are you are free tonight? As you hadn’t responded to my message as yet. Dinner is on me.”
Not able to contain his smile Percy asked, “Dinner? Where are we going?”
“Anywhere you and your Missus would like to go mate. You, just say the word and strings will be pulled to make it happen.” Dave said grinning ear to ear.
Not one to miss out on a chance to rib his brother George spoke up, “Percy is this mysterious ‘Mr P’ we have been hearing about? AND he has a Girlfriend? Can the world get any stranger than this?”
Looking at Dave with a resigned expression, Percy said, “I think smuggling people and fighting Dementors with you is going to be easier than surviving the ribbing that my brothers are preparing for me.”
Looking across at the rest of the Weasley boys I could see them all wearing looks of feigned innocence. And failing badly at it as well if I might add.
Chapter 7: Coming together
“Brothers? You mean this is your family?” Dave asked momentarily confused.Percy fixed Dave with a look that clearly said ‘your messing with me right’.
“I got so used to thinking of you as ‘Mr P’ I completely left off the Weasley from your name. Took a moment for me to reattach it.” He said with a bit of a shamed face grin.
With the light of comprehension on his face he turned to Percy, “So all those chats we had about family. You were actually complaining about that Mr Weasley?” he said pointing a finger at Arthur.
“Yes.”, Percy answered more than a little shame faced.
Dave stepped forward and slapped Percy on the back of the head. “You really were a bloody drongo you know that don’t you? I bloody well hope you have patched things up with them by now. Fireball in particular is going to be pissed if you haven’t.” Dave said with a very intense look in his eye.
Talking just loud enough for everyone to hear him, George said to Charlie “I knew there was a reason I was starting to like this bloke.” In a poor attempt at Dave’s accent.
This statement gave everyone a good laugh.
Holding his hands up in mute surrender Percy explained, “You can tell her I have. It was kind of impossible not to. With you and your team always pushing the subject, then when Audrey took your side as well, I had no choice.”
Dave looked to George for confirmation and he nodded to confirm Percy’s story.
“When did you finally do it?” Dave asked.
“3 days after you left.” Percy confirmed.
“3 days? You said you were going to do it the next day. Or did you want to wait for your ass to recover after Fireball was finished kicking it?” he said looking at Percy with a rather evil grin.
“Percy got his butt kicked by a gi….” George started to say. But stopped when he saw the looks directed at him by Ginny, Hermione and Dave.
“By what George? Hmmm” Ginny was enquiring directing one of her famous glares at him. “By a what?”
In an attempt to save George from the wrath of Ginny, Dave added “Tell you what George. I’m make a deal with you. If you can survive one round of a sparring session with Fireball, I’ll let you finish that statement.”
George seemed to be considering the offer, but during this time Dave lost his battle to keep a straight face. After that George seemed to have second thoughts on the matter.
“No thanks.” George answered.
“You sure mate? I mean she is only a ‘little’ girl.” Dave supplied.
At this point Ginny rounded on Dave and fixed him with one of her famous glares. “What did you say?” she snapped.
“I merely supplied our intended sacrificial lamb here with some pertinent information on his potential opponent. So he could make an informed decision.” Dave answered seemingly immune to Ginny’s furious glare.
“Fireball isn’t ‘little’ Syd you know that.” Percy said.
“She’s littler than him isn’t she? Therefore to him she is little. I’m mean there might be only an inch in it. But it still makes her littler don’t you think?” he asked.
Ginny was opening her mouth to reply when Dave’s mirror phone issued a strange buzzing sound.
This sound seemed to have captured the immediate and complete attention of Dave, Chief Williams and strangely Percy.
Looking curious, Dave grabbed his Mirror Phone and held it to his ear and said “Syd.”
The look on his face turned from one of curiosity to a look that had everyone wondering where their wands were.
“I’m not sure, I’ll check. Wait one.” He said in a very crisp and business-like manner.
Turning to Chief Williams he asked, “Boss, do you currently have a detail assigned to you?”
“No Syd.” was his answer.
“Minister, do you have a security detail assigned to follow you around at all?” he asked Kingsley.
“No I don’t. Why do you ask?” he replied.
“I ask as Mick as just called to let me know that there is a group of 4 possibly 5 disillusioned people currently stationed outside the stone wall that runs around your yard.”
Everyone now seemed to be wearing looks similar to that of Dave.
“When we arrived Mick thought he saw something out there. But whoever it was they were doing a good job of hiding themselves. So he wasn’t sure.”
“It wasn’t until Percy here arrived and one of them moved carelessly that he could confirm what he was seeing.”
“He has done a quick check of the area and found 4 people who are disillusioned positioned around what he assumes is the main apparition point for this location.”
“It also appears that they have been there for more than a day. It is clear that they are waiting for someone to arrive and it wasn’t Percy.”
“We have seen this type of behaviour before in certain groups but they always operated in teams of 5.”
“So I would like to confirm with you all. That to the best of your knowledge there is no reason for those group of people to be where they are, behaving as they are?” he asked very intently.
After a chorus of ‘No’s’, he turned to Chief Williams and said, “Boss it looks like we have a group of potential hostiles out there. Can we make a move to grab them? As I would like to find out what they are playing at?”
Kingsley spoke up and added, “I think we would all like to know what is going on out there, Auror Webb.”
“I can very quickly request a full team of Aurors from our Chief Roberts and they can be here very shortly.” He added.
Dave was about to speak when Kingsley cut across him.
“I understand your reservations Auror Webb, but Chief Roberts is thoroughly dependable and reliable. He can be trusted to only bring reliable Aurors with him on a mission like this.”
“Minister he may well be under normal circumstances. But he is also currently compromised.” Dave stated.
“His newly pregnant wife has been kidnapped and is being held by the opposition.” Dave said in a very professional tone.
“What? When?” Kingsley questioned.
“On the day he returned from his Honeymoon Minister. Someone in your Ministry changed the details of his Portkey and they were taken to an alternate location. Where he was very quickly outnumbered and over powered.”
“His wife was taken away to a separate location where she is currently being held. We understand that she is allowed to communicate with him via Floo and occasionally by Owl.”
“Do you know where she is being held?” he almost demanded of Auror Webb.
“Yes Minister we believe we do. I have a team watching the location now and we intend to raid it as soon as we have confirmed her presence there.” Dave explained.
“When do you expect the raid to take place Syd?” Chief Williams asked.
“Within the next 48 hrs Boss.” Was the reply.
“This is why you told the Minister not to visit until next week isn’t it?” said Chief Williams.
“Yes Boss. The surprising thing is that he listened to us.”
“The next question Boss, is how do we want to handle this lot who are sneaking about outside?” asked Dave.
“We have a few options. First we can go after the 4 that Mick has identified. Or we can give Mick sometime to do a proper scouting of the area to see if there is indeed a 5th person as we suspect.”
“If we are not pressed for time my preference is to give Mick time to do his thing. As the more warm bodies we collect the more we will have to talk to. And the more we have to talk to the greater the chance of useful information being uncovered.”
Dave turned his gaze on all those present while waiting for their response.
Kingsley, Chief Williams, Arthur and Bill were having a hurried discussion while all watched them. Eventually Kingsley spoke. “We agree with you Auror Webb. It would be ideal to gather as many of these people as possible in one swoop. How long would it take for this ‘Mick’ to check the area?”
Dave placed his Mirror phone back on the table and spoke directly to it, “Mick, its Syd here. I have you on speaker with me are the Boss, Minister Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley and his Family. It has been decided that they like your idea of having a proper Captain Cook of the area.”
“Can you advise who you have with you and how long it would take for a sweep to be done?”
“Syd, there is only myself and Fireball here.” Mick started to respond.
“Fireball? What is she doing there? She is supposed to be back in France resting as she has been on the go longer than me.” Dave asked clearly agitated.
“Syd I tried to stop her. But after you left she pulled rank and told Rowdy to stand down as she was coming with me.” He answered.
“Why on earth…” Dave started to exclaim when he was cut off by a female voice stating, “I have orders from a ‘higher power’ than you Syd.”
Dave put his head in his hands and started to take a deep breath.
“Trouble with the Missus?” George wanted to know.
Dave looked at him confused for a moment, while laughter came over the phone.
“She isn’t my Missus mate. She’s worse. She’s one of my sisters.” Was Dave’s reply. Followed by “I heard that” from the Mirror phone.
“I’d be worried if you hadn’t Fireball.” Said Dave with a grin on his face.
“Sisters? How many do you have?” enquired George.
“Six.” Was the distracted reply from Dave.
“Now that must have been painful” George remarked to no one in particular.
Ginny however stepped up and exclaimed “Could have been worse it could have been six brothers.” She then punched George in the arm.
Almost without thinking about it Dave remarked, “Keep your wrist straight, and remember to twist so as to use your back muscles as well.”
“Thanks” said Ginny excitedly while she tried the suggestions, and then admired the end result of George wincing for real.
Dave watched the exchange and smiled. Turning serious he continued, “Fireball, can you keep track of the currently identified targets while Mick goes for a Captain Cook? Or are they two spaced out too do it without giving your position away?”
“They are sufficiently spaced that to properly stay concealed an extra pair of eyes wouldn’t go astray Syd.”
“Do you have a suitable jump point there?” Dave wanted to know.
“We do” she replied.
“Ok, mark the positons you know now and then notify, Cassy, Rowdy and Jono to jump there now. That will give a set of eyes to each target. But make sure everyone stays undetected. We want all of these jokers. Is that understood?”
“Yes Syd. It’s understood. Moving now.” Fireball replied.
“Mick as soon as they are in position begin your search. Do you need any assistance from this end? As I have some willing volunteers here.” He added seeing the looks in the eyes of those in the room.
“Not right now Syd. But will advise once I have completed the circuit.”
“How long Mick?” Dave questioned.
“15 minutes, minimum Syd.”
“We will be waiting Mick.” He replied.
“Mrs Weasley, could I trouble you for a larger Mirror? Or a shiny steel tray?” Dave asked.
I was momentarily confused by the request, but moved to grab the large mirror from the lounge. Bringing it back into the kitchen Dave motioned that I should place it flat on the table. He then placed his Mirror Phone on it in one corner and tapped it a few times.
When he removed it from the mirror we were looking at a map of the Burrow showing the surrounding area. There were 4 red dots over near the apparition point. There were also 4 blue dots moving into a position behind each of the red dots. But far enough back so they would be difficult to spot.
Pointing to the mirror Dave said, “The Red Dots are the disillusioned individuals Mick first noticed. The Blue Dots are my team moving into position.”
“What I want to know is, if there is a 5th person as we suspect out there where would be the most advantageous position for them to be?”
Chief Williams was the first to speak up. “Why doesn’t Mick show up on this?”
“Mick won’t show up, as when he is cloaked his beacon is blocked. This map is only a very simple tactical one to co-ordinate between us all. It is still a new feature and not all the ‘bugs’ are worked out yet. But it does show promise.” Dave answered. Chief Williams nodded.
“If I wanted to watch the kitchen door which is the main entry to the house, I would be in that gully over near the orchard.” Bill offered.
Dave was beginning to ask more questions when a new blue dot appeared on the map on the side opposite the red dots. Then a voice came from the Mirror Phone, “Syd?”
“That was quick Mick. What did you find?” he asked.
“Syd, I think we have a situation here. As I have found a section of ground here with some very serious protective charms on it. Marking the outer boundaries on the map now.”
A rather large area was soon marked in red on the map just past the orchard.
The expressions on the faces of Syd and Percy as they looked at each other were definitely making me check for my wand.
“Mick, what if anything can you detect inside that area?” Dave asked.
“Syd, I can’t get past those charms without them knowing that I’m here. But I can tell you there is a patch of grass and some trees here who are showing signs of frost damage.”
“Kind of an odd time for that to be happening in summer don’t you think.” Mick stated.
Once again Percy and Syd looked at each other and exclaimed almost at once, “Dover!!”
“What’s Dover got to do with this?” Kingsley asked with some concern.
“It means Minster that we are all inside a very carefully prepared ambush.” Dave said with a completely emotionless voice.
“How long have you all been back here? A day? Two?” Dave wanted to know.
“This is the Fourth Day since we came home from Hogwarts” Arthur said looking a little concerned.
“Ok, when you arrived home did you scout the area and put your charms back up or were they already in place?” Dave enquired of Arthur.
“We checked the house and the out buildings as well as the yard for people and traps. But not much outside of the stone wall” Bill said with resignation.
“All but the most basic of charms had been broken and needed to be re-set on the house and surrounds. We did that before brining everyone back here.” Bill said and Arthur confirmed.
“No checks on the surrounding area since then?” Dave asked of Bill and Arthur.
“Not since we chased off the reporters the day after we got back” Ron added.
“Reporters? Where were they located?” said Dave.
“By the gate near the Apparition point” said Ron pointing to the gate on the map.
Exchanging another look with Percy, Dave replied “That probably explains why there is only one pocket here instead of two then.”
“As when you chased off the reporters you most likely upset the wards for the other pocket. It would explain why those other 4 are exposed on that side.”
Percy nodded but still looked worried.
“Syd, can you explain for the rest of us what you two are talking about.” Chief Williams asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.
“Can do Boss.”
“As I mentioned before this looks very much like an Ambush that was sprung on us in Dover. Although back there we didn’t have Mick out scouting for us.”
“In that ambush they had two ‘pockets’ each with a quad of Dementors in it positioned on opposite sides of the location we were in. Also positioned very near the apparition points that we used.”
“They were waiting until the early hours of the morning and then tried to raid the house we were in. Luckily for us we had started a planned move earlier that night/morning. So there were only myself, Percy, Shelly and Rowdy on the scene when they attacked.” He added.
“In that case we had a group of nearly 80 people who were our priority to get safely away so we didn’t stay to play.”
“But we could today.” He asked almost hopefully.
“What do you expect to be facing in that ‘bubble’ as you called it Auror Webb” enquired Kingsley.
“If they follow the same plan as in Dover there will be a group of between 10-15 Dementors and maybe about 8 Wizards / Witches in there.”
“Counting the 4 over the other side that will bring the total up to 12 Witches and or Wizards.”
“I’m wondering who the target is going to be. Given the amount of time it takes them to set this up it will have to be someone who is usually here. Not a visitor.”
“That will count out myself, you Boss and you Minister. As our visit here is rather last minute.”
“My money is on it being, either Arthur or one of the ‘golden trio’ as the paper here calls them.” Dave said with a slightly thoughtful expression.
“The next question is going to be what do we want to do about it?”
“My vote is not to wait till they are ready to move in the early morning but spring the ambush now in daylight when we are ready.”
“Dementors don’t like bright sunlight. If we are lucky and that isn’t a squad of them waiting for us they will leave on their own.”
“But if it is a squad we are going to have to fight them, and I only have the 3 of us here who can directly do that currently.” He said looking very directly at Chief Williams and Kingsley.
“Your thoughts?”
Everyone seemed a little shaken by this rather blunt assessment. However they were also determined to take action to defend their home and family.
“I agree we do not want to wait till dark.” Kingsley began, “However I would like a few more people on our side if possible given the numbers you expect there to be.”
“I have another 6 members of my team I can call up and have here very quickly Minister. More than that and I will need to issue an all hands alert. Unless we want to go through Ministry red tape Boss?” Dave offered.
“Not if we can help it Syd.” Was his reply.
“Minister, Mr Weasley are you able to call in anyone else? Given that we are being watched here?” Dave asked.
“If Chief Roberts is indeed compromised as you say Auror Webb our options are limited.” Was Kingsley reply.
Arthur was about to reply when Hermione spoke up, “What about the DA? We can get a message to them with our coins. I’m not sure who will be able to help come though.”
“Coins?” Dave asked, “How detailed a message can you send with coins?”
“Not very, she replied. I could ask for assistance at the Burrow now. That would be about it.”
“Where would they arrive if you asked them to come? The apparition point near your gate?”
“Yes” she replied after getting confirmation from Ginny and George.
“It could work, Boss. But we will need to secure that point and have someone meet them there to explain things so they will know who is who.”
“My team have communication gear so we can stay in touch and co-ordinate. I can organise some more for the ones in this room. Without knowing how many of this DA mob are going to show I can’t be sure we will have enough.” Dave offered.
“What are you thinking Syd?” Chief Williams asked.
“Boss, I’m thinking we get my team into place, capture their attention and then spring their trap from behind.”
“Drunkmouse are you listening in on this at all?” Dave asked with a smile.
“But of course Syd.” Came the reply from a very correct sounding voice.
“You know I always start to take notice when someone draws a tactical map during a supposedly ‘quiet’ visit.” The voice of this ‘Drunkmouse’ replied.
“Thanks Mate. Knew we could count on you.” Dave said with a smile.
“You can see the map and the names”, he added tapping his screen so that names appeared next to the dots.
“That I can Syd.”
“Right then. If we call in Shelly, Goose, Olly, Abby, Guz and Izzy, we can pare up the team like this.”
“Cassy can pair with me once the trap is sprung, but she can join up with Fireball before that. Send Goose to Join up with Mick and have Olly and Abby go to Mick as well.”
“Rowdy and Jono will be another pair, along with Shelly and Guz and Izzy and Fireball”
“Those three pairs along with Cassy will take out the group near the apparition Point. Secure their prisoners and then join in with the main group dealing with what comes out of the bubble.”
“In the mean time we will pair the people here like this, Chief Williams and Minister Shacklebolt we will keep together to co-ordinate and act as a reserve if required.”
“Arthur and Bill Weasley” Dave began to say before a female voice spoke up and said, “Is that actually Bombshell?” to a few laughs over the phone and in the room.
“Yes Fireball it is. You can ask him about the stories later” Dave said smiling. Looking at Bill he said “Told you that you were famous in the family.”
Bill had the good grace to blush slightly under Fleur’s rather amused direct look.
“As I was saying, Arthur and Bill Weasley will form one pair, ‘Mr P’ and George another, Charlie and Ron also. Molly and Hermione will be paired and the last group will be Fleur, Gabrielle and Ginny.”
“My thoughts on a plan are this, after we get the team in place outside the current wards. Charlie, Ron and me will setup a distraction. That will enable the teams near the four disillusioned people to make their move. Once they have been secured, Hermione can send out her message to her DA mates. Then Hermione and Molly can take a position near the apparition point to greet any arrivals and brief them on what we are doing. As well as to equip them with comms gear so they can hear what is going on.”
“We can then setup a perimeter around the bubble in preparation to take down their charms.”
“Bombshell, you’re the curse breaker so you will be the logical choice to break their charms. You ok with this?” he asked Bill.
“Got to get used to this name but yes that is fine.” Bill replied.
“Excellent, everyone is to stay with their group or pair. If your opponent is taken down, look to support those nearest you. If no opponent is available, announce that that on the comms gear and Kingsley or Chief Williams will assign you a new one.”
“Under no circumstances are you to leave your buddy. If one of you is hurt the other will provide cover and call for assistance and you will then ALL move together. Is everyone clear on that?” Dave asked the note of command clear in his voice.
A chorus of Yes’s greeted that statement.
“Now if there are indeed Dementors under that bubble, our first goal will be to try and drive them off with Patronus charms as usual. If they don’t leave and only circle back that will be the signal that we are facing a squad.”
“If that happens then the plan is to change thus, those nearest the current wards get outside of them and setup Patronus Shields to keep the Dementors from Escaping.” Dave explained with a very serious look on his face.
Seeing the stunned looks he explained.
“Once we start to take on the Dementors to destroy them we want to make sure we get them all. As we don’t want them to carry word back to whoever is giving them orders about what we can do. The longer we keep them in the dark on that the better it will be for us.”
Looking around and seeing nods he continued.
“Those who are on the outside of the shield will follow the instructions of Mick or Goose if Mick isn’t answering”.
“Everyone else is to fall back to this house and set up Patronus shields to keep the Dementors out of the house and provide a haven for those working on the Dementors directly.”
“Chief Williams you can run the show inside here or if you are unable Minister Shacklebolt will.”
“Those here in the house will also need to setup some extra shields to cover the expected… let’s call it ‘Noise’. That will be experienced when a Dementor is destroyed.”
“It is not noise that will damage your ears as such. It is more like very intense emotions of all sorts. Usually it is despair, anger and hatred. It will ‘mess with your head’ in many different ways, but it will also give you a major headache none the less. The longer it goes on the more damage it will do though.”
“Boss the ones you will want on that shield if it is needed will be Fleur and Gabrielle” Dave said to the surprise of those in the room.
“Why them?” Chief Williams asked.
“They are both part Veela and as such are experienced in shielding powerful emotions both from and of others. That is basically the same type of shield needed here. I’m confident that they can show the others who end up in here how it is done if needed.” Dave stated.
“Ow do you know zat we are part Veela, Dave?” Fleur asked curiously.
“It is a few things, but mostly your wings. As I can see them hiding behind you both.” Dave replied with his eyes quickly showing a golden tint over them.
Fleur and Gabrielle were clearly surprised by this statement and by the change shown in Dave’s eyes when he spoke.
“Eet is a useful skill to see zat which is ideen no?” Fleur said looking at Dave with a thoughtful expression on her face.
“It depends on what is hidden and why it has been hidden” was Dave’s reply.
“Zat is a very deep answer Dave. Per’aps we can talk later?” Fleur enquired.
“If that is what you wish. I will place myself at your disposal after we deal with these buggers outside.” Dave replied to a round of chuckles and some laughter from those of us in the room.
“Ok, back to the task at hand. Cassy and I will take first crack at the Dementors if it proves to be necessary. If we start to tire Fireball you and Shelly will take over from us. Clear?” Dave asked.
“Yes Syd that is clear.” Fireball replied.
“No one else is to be between the shields except for the pairs actively engaged against the Dementors.” He stated very forcefully.
“’Mr P’ do you still have the gun I gave you?” he asked Percy.
Percy nodded and produced an odd looking device that resembled the letter L made from a metal of some sort. He passed it over to Dave.
Collecting it from Percy Dave activated a switch and a piece fell out of the handle. Picking it up he showed it to those of us in the room.
“This is an experimental weapon that we are working on. It is based on a Muggle Weapon called a ‘Gun’ or a ‘Firearm’. In short it is a tool, which can fire a metal object with great force in a straight line.”
“This one has been modified to fire magically enhanced ammunition.”
“What I’m holding up is called the magazine. It holds the bullets, these Magazines are magically expanded and can hold around 50 bullets. Each bullet carries a set of curses and charms on them.”
“These curses and charms are designed to get the Dementor to absorb the bullet much like it would absorb emotions. Then once the bullet is inside the Dementor it will break open and release something rather like a Patronus.”
“This will cause the Dementor great pain and weaken it a good deal. In theory enough of these bullets into a Dementor will destroy it. But we have not yet achieved that goal. It will however drive the Dementor away in the event that your Patronus charms are not enough or you are unable to cast one.”
“It is extremely important that these are not pointed at or used against anything other than Dementors. If a person is standing in front of this Gun and I pull this trigger they WILL die.”
“These are weapons of a last resort nature at this point in time and are to be used as such.”
“’Mr P’ here has been trained by us on these items so he can show you how to use them if required. My team members also carry these items and will use them to support you if needed.”
“Keep in mind when they are used they will sound like very loud fire crackers going off and will emit a bright light and flame from the barrel here.”
“Any questions?” Dave asked, while pulling another 5 of the ‘Guns’ from his jacket pocket and placing them on the table.
“I have a question Dave” asked Charlie, “What sort of distraction are we going to cause to get the attention of that lot outside.”
Smiling ear to ear Dave answered, “Just how far do you think the two of you can throw me from your porch when you toss me out of here?”
Returning the grin Charlie answered, “Oh, I think we could get you a good ways out into the yard.”
Ron was agreeing with Charlie when he added, “Why would we be throwing you out of the house though?”
“I understand that it is part of the distraction, but I’m also guessing that we are going to have an argument out in the yard. So what is it to be about?”
“Good point Ron” said Dave giving the matter some more thought.
“I know, I have a great idea for a fight.” Ron said excitedly.
“We can throw you out for making a pass at our sister.” Ron said rather pleased with himself.
“Why would I have wanted to do that though” Dave started to say before there was a loud thud and Ginny started to swear while holding her wrist.
Looking at her with amusement Dave said, “Sorry I should have warned you. According to my sisters I’m denser than a normal bloke, so extra care is needed if you wish to thump me.” There was quite a bit of laughter at this comment.
Holding out his hand to Ginny he said, “Let me fix that for you, as you are likely going to be needing your wand hand shortly”.
He quickly placed both his hands on Ginny’s offered wrist and then released her. “Feel better?” he asked.
“Much better. Thank you” she replied before slapping him on the back of his head saying “Git”.
“I think I might have deserved that one.” Dave chuckled.
“Unless anyone has a better idea we will run with Ron’s” Dave asked.
When no one offered a better alternative Dave spoke to his Mirror Phone again.
“Drunkmouse, can you put at least 20 ear pieces into my tray for me. All coded to the channel for my team?”
“Will do Syd. Give me a moment” was the reply.
“Drunkmouse is currently gathering up some more of these.” Said Dave while holding up a small oddly shaped device that looks like a squashed kidney bean.
“This is another idea we have taken from the Muggles. It is a device that goes in your ear and will enable you to hear everyone else who has one in their ear also. Every time you talk it will broadcast your voice enabling others to hear you.”
“The range on these devices is currently only about one kilometre but that should be more than enough for today.”
“It goes in your ear like this” he said putting the device inside his ear.
“Inserting it like that will activate it. There is a light sticking charm on it to help keep it in place.”
“Speak only when it is necessary when wearing one as otherwise it can quickly become like a noisy party with all the different voices going at the same time.” He cautioned.
“They are ready and in your tray Syd” came the voice of Drunkmouse.
“Thanks mate” Dave replied before again opening his Auror wallet but to a different pocket this time.
Reaching into the pocket he brought out twenty of the devices that he had just shown us.
I would like you all to put one of these in your ears now and say your name so you can confirm that they are working and get a feel for what they are like.
We all complied and I must say it was a rather strange experience to have a voice buzzing in your ear like that. But I could also see it being very useful. As each one of us spoke a dot and our name appeared on the map.
“Drunkmouse, are the others briefed and ready to jump?” Dave asked.
“They are Syd.” Was the reply.
“Boss, Minister” he said looking at Chief Williams and Kingsley, “Are we going to get this done?”
After a quick chat between them Kingsley replied, “Yes Auror Webb we are.”
“Is everyone clear on what the plan is and their role in it?” Dave asked the group and those on the Mirror Phone.
Once again there was a Chorus of Yes’s coming back.
“Excellent. Any other questions before we begin?” Dave asked.
“Syd, what about those cursed knives from Dover? We never worked out who was using them.” Percy asked.
“Good Point. Mr P.”
“Listen up everyone. In our last encounter in Dover there were some unusual weapons used against us. One of them was a device that looked a bit like a wooden stake.”
“However they were actually a cursed throwing knife. They are rather nasty objects as a normal shield won’t do much to them other than slow them down. They will still go through the shield, but you will have a little time to get out of the way but DON’T expect your shield to stop them.”
“Do NOT under any circumstances touch them with your bear skin. The curses on them are strong enough to affect you by touch alone.”
“If anyone is hit by one of these do NOT touch them. As the Curse will transfer just as easily from them to you by touch also.”
“Your best bet at treatment will be to put a freezing charm on the person until we can get them to a curse breaker”, he said looking at Bill. “And a healer depending on the nature of the damage done”
“I would also like to remind everyone to continually check ‘six’ or your back. If your pair is not near the active engagements turn and check the area’s behind us all. We don’t want to be caught from behind at all.”
“Hermione, any members of the DA who arrive after the action starts might be best placed to take on this role, as they will already likely be away from the action. If they do find anyone make sure they themselves are in pairs and that they let everyone else know about any new opposition.” Dave instructed.
“Makes sense”, Hermione agreed.
“Fleur. I would like your group to keep near the house when we go to ‘break the bubble’. The reason being if there is a Dementor squad present your team will be the first back to the house and be able to get the shields in place to protect the minds of the people inside the house. While Kingsley and the Boss will be able to get the Patronus shields up. Others can help as they arrive.” Dave requested.
“Oui. Agreed” was Fleur’s reply.
“Any other questions or suggestions?” Dave asked.
Getting none, he turned to Charlie and Ron and said with a smile, “Would you two gentlemen like to throw me out of this most excellent house?”
“Dave I thought you would never ask” was Charlie’s chuckled reply.
“Then lead on then my good man”
Once Charlie, Ron and Dave had got themselves positioned just inside the kitchen door they turned to look at Kingsley and Chief Williams.
Chief Williams nodded and said “Go.” He then spoke to the Mirror Phone and said “Drunkmouse we have begun. Give a count of 15 seconds and then get the others to jump.” He then faced Hermione, “Hermione as soon as those red dots change to crosses call your DA friends.”
While this was going on there were sounds of “You Smarmy git, how did you think you could get away with trying something like that on MY sister.”
Between them Charlie and Ron seemed to have been able to get Dave to almost fly into the centre of the yard. Dave appeared to have landed badly and was groaning on the ground when Charlie and Ron descended on him and began to kick into him while still yelling all sorts of insults.
I turned my attention back to the map on the table. Very quickly after the boys started in the yard there were extra blue dots showing on the map. Both over near the apparition point and near where the dot labelled ‘Mick’ was positioned.
Shortly after the arrival of these extra blue dots the 4 red dots changed to show crosses.
“They are now disarmed, secured and in custody” remarked Chief Williams. “Hermione, call your friends and get yourself and Molly over there now”.
Hermione performed the charm on her coin. I grabbed the extra ear pieces from the table and went with her to the apparition point.
While we were making our way over to our position the others were all moving also. There was also a group of 7 people that I didn’t recognise running for the other side of the yard. I did absently notice that one of them had bright flaming red hair. They also seemed to be moving as one in co-ordinated pairs.
I next remember feeling something almost like an explosion and the hearing Bill’s voice in my ear saying “Wards are down” followed by different sets of voices calling out “Contact” or “Engaging” followed by the sounds of spells being cast.
Just then we had our first arrivals at the apparition point. It turned out to be Neville who was closely followed by Luna and Terry Boot.
Hermione very quickly briefed them on what was happening and the plan that was being followed. They were given ear pieces and announced themselves just like we had done.
At this point there was a cry of “Dementors” followed by a few shouts of ‘Expecto Patronum’.
Quickly after this Dave’s voice spoke up over everyone one else saying “It’s a squad. Repeat it’s a squad they are not fleeing only drawing back to regroup.”
“Everyone to their assigned positions and ready shields. Remember we can’t allow them to escape. All eyes must remain alert for further hostiles.”
Kingsley quickly spoke up and asked the newly arrived members of the DA to move to the house and provide cover for those who were falling back to it.
The next sounds chilled my heart. There was a feminine scream and Fleur’s voice spoke saying “… is down”. I missed the name but my heart skipped a beat as Ginny was with her.
Her call was quickly answered by Guz and Shelly saying they were able to assist getting them all into the house.
Chief Williams was the next to speak saying “Syd, the killing ground is all clear of all hostiles except the Dementors. All friendlies are clear except for you and Cassy. You are free to engage.”
“Understood Boss. Engaging Dementors now.”
The next thing I remembered was what sounded like the largest thunder clap that I had ever heard coming from the yard behind me.
Turning to look I saw one of the most frightening sights I had ever seen. A group of about 15 Dementors were circling Dave and Cassy. Occasionally one of them would swoop down only to be met by either Friendfyre or another lightning bolt like flash of light and sound.
The Friendfyre seemed to almost hug the Dementors. It also seemed to be causing them a great deal of pain. But they were not fleeing, they would circle back and be met by another strike of light.
During this process we had some more arrivals. Angelina Johnson, Dean Thomas, Katie Bell, Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein and Cho Chang had all arrived in quick succession.
They were all quickly gathered and the remaining ear pieces were given out. Despite their initial confusion as to what was happening in front of them, once it was explained they all readily agreed to assist with the outer Patronus Shield to stop the Dementors from fleeing.
I had just turned back to watch the scene in the yard when there was a very loud explosion which knocked a few of us over.
However the shock was not from the noise, but from the undisputable fact that a Dementor had just been destroyed.
In its wake there was a rapidly dissipating black cloud as well as a few feeble almost twinkling golden lights that looked almost like fairies.
The remaining Dementors sprang towards those lights but I saw Dave raise his hand and summon them to him. This action only seemed to enrage the remaining Dementors even more.
Two more explosions quickly followed from Dementors who had previously been on fire. They also left behind some lights that were collected by Dave.
At this point Cassy appeared to stumble and before she was on her feet had three Dementors on her. Two of them appeared to have grabbed her arms while the third was trying to raise her face.
Dave appeared to crash himself into the Dementor trying to raise Cassy’s face while yelling, “Dammit Cassy, Burn it. Burn it NOW!!!”
While he was struggling with the Dementor he just crashed into, Cassy seemed to fully catch on fire. The Dementors holding her were also wreathed in flame.
Dave set his Dementor on fire also and there followed another three bright flashes of light each one shortly followed by another louder explosion.
Once again Dave summoned those odd yellow lights.
Both Dave and Cassy were now fully aflame and they seemed to have become enraged as they attacked with reckless abandon. They were now not just trying to set Dementors on fire by touching them when they came close enough. They actually seemed to be throwing balls of fire at them, lots of them.
The balls of fire appeared to be more effective than the previous methods. As all the Dementors who were hit ignited. Once alight they seemed to be weakened to the point where they could not climb very high or move very fast. Those so weakened were finished off by Dave with his odd flashes of light.
This resulted in another 6 Dementors being destroyed. Significantly more lights were released this time and while Dave tried to summon them all, one of the Dementors managed to grab a light and began to draw it to itself.
At this point I clearly heard Dave yell, “No you don’t, he belongs to me now. NOT YOU!” at which point he threw what looked to be a fireball at the Dementor who was focusing on the yellow light. Only this time the fireball was pure white not yellow and it moved much faster.
When the white ball hit the Dementor it detonated immediately. The resulting explosion knocked Cassy sideways but it knocked Dave to the ground and he didn’t immediately get up.
Instantly one of the Dementors was attacking Dave. It picked him up and threw him into the porch. Dave sailed through the porch railing to crash into the wall of the house.
Two voices could be heard screaming “No!!” and then two more people were on the scene. One of them had the brilliant Red Hair that I noticed earlier and she came from outside the outer Patronus shield. The other had hair the colour of midnight and emerged from the house.
Both of them were also fully aflame with the same Golden light as Cassy and Dave.
The remaining two Dementors were soon alight and obviously weakened. But were not yet out of the fight.
Cassy and the Red Headed one were teaming up on the Dementor in the yard. While the one with the Midnight hair was trying to get Dave away from the Dementor near the porch. She seemed to be struggling with Dave and wasn’t paying full attention to what was occurring as the Dementor was soon right behind her.
“Shelly Down!” Arthur yelled and then I could hear what sounded like fire crackers going off.
Soon the Dementor was off the porch and I could see Arthur, Bill, Percy and someone I didn’t know standing on the porch and pointing the guns that Dave had supplied at the Dementor.
Dave’s voice could next be heard saying, “Thanks all. Out of the way please.”
Arthur, Bill, Percy and the unknown person moved back inside the house. Leaving Dave on the porch being supported by Shelly.
Dave raised his hand, there was another flash of white light followed by a thunderous crack. Then the Dementor from the porch exploded.
Once again Dave summoned the strange lights to him.
Shelly and Dave continued out into the yard. All four of them continued to hurl fire at the remaining Dementor. Dave attempted to strike it with the same white light as before, but he seemed to be weakening himself. As the white lights didn’t have the same effect.
The Red headed one after what appeared to be a quick whispered conversation with Dave turned and fired a white fireball at the Dementor. This had the effect of causing it to explode.
Dave summoned the strange lights to himself once again before falling to the ground on his knees.
The silence that followed was thunderous. Broken only by Dave’s whispered voice. “Everybody stand back, give me some room. Then after I’m done sweep and secure the area.”
Chief Williams asked, “After you have done what, Syd?”
“You’ll know Boss. You’ll know” was Dave’s reply.
The three people with Dave moved back leaving him on his knees and gave him a good amount of room.
Dave himself had begun to glow with a faint golden light. After a moment he lifted his head raised his arms and there issued from him lights lots of lights.
These appeared to be similar to the lights that came from the Dementors, but they were no longer feeble and twinkling lights. They were bright golden lights giving out a solid steady glow.
All who saw them were amazed and couldn’t help but feel the immense sense of happiness and joy that came from them. The lights seemed to hover briefly around Dave before raising up and disappearing into the sky above.
Once the lights were gone Dave fell face first into the dirt of the yard. I thought he had passed out until I heard him say, “Mick, take over and have the area checked. I’m knackered and need some lunch.”
Several sets of laughter could be heard at this before Mick replied, “No worries Syd. We will get it done.”
The three who had been with Dave in the yard helped him to his feet and then assisted him into the house.
A set of commands could be heard over the earpieces we all had organising a search of the area. It seemed to all be names of the Aurors from Dave’s team. So I joined the line of people heading for the house.
Chapter 8: The Power of Love
Walking into the house just behind Dave and the three who were assisting him, I was expecting there to be scenes of jubilation. However I was immediately confronted by Fleur’s tear streaked face and sorrowful looks on all in our now very crowed kitchen and living room.“What’s wrong” I asked. Wanting to know what had happened.
Bill was the one who gave me the news. “It’s Gabrielle. She was hit by one of those cursed knives we were told about.” He said in a very grave voice.
“Where was she hit” the girl with the red hair helping Dave wanted to know. She looked up for an answer.
Bill turned to look at her to answer the question when I saw his expression change into one of recognition, wonder and confusion.
I stepped out from behind the group holding Dave to see what had caused such a reaction from my eldest son.
What I saw nearly made my heart stop. The girl, no woman with the red hair who was helping Dave into a seat looked like she could have been Ginny’s sister.
Admittedly she would have been her older and bigger sister as she was easily over 6 feet tall and appeared to be in her mid to late twenties. But the face, eyes and even the expression were unmistakeable.
Bill and Fleur were speechless. So was I. We just stood there looking at her, not knowing what to do or say.
For her part she was looking at us wondering if we had taken leave of our senses. As that was the exact same expression that Ginny herself used.
It was now that Ginny herself entered the kitchen, she first noticed the strange looks on Bill and Fleur. Then she noticed my expression as well. Turning to the others in the room for an explanation she saw the Red Head who was standing next to Dave.
If I hadn’t already been so shocked I would have burst into uncontrollable laughter at the looks on the faces of the two of them.
Ginny was now wearing an expression much like the one of Bill’s face and the Read Headed girl was now mirroring it.
“Who the hell are you?” Ginny asked of the Red Headed girl.
Dave took this opportunity to look up and noticing Ginny’s expression glanced over his shoulder, looked back at Ginny and then back over his shoulder again. Then he replied, “Ginny this is Fireball. Fireball this is Ginny Weasley. Arthur Weasley’s daughter.”
“What sort of weird name is Fireball?” Ginny wanted to know.
“Sorry Ginny, her real name Jasper Charlotte Webb. She is one of my sisters.” Dave replied.
“I see, so why the hell does she look like me then?” Ginny asked.
“I have no idea Ginny. But there is no need to get worked up over it. She didn’t have a say in it did she” Dave replied with a chuckle.
At this comment all three of the girls standing behind Dave smacked him over the back of his head. This resulted in his head almost making contact with the kitchen table.
I have to admit that I started to laugh at this point. My only saving grace was that the others in the room also began to chuckle as well.
Looking back over his shoulder at the ones behind him Dave gave a theatrical sigh and then turned back to the rest of us and said, “The remaining ‘lovely’ ladies behind me are, Michelle ‘Shelly’ Rosemary Webb” he said indicating the one with the black hair, “Yes she is another one of my sisters.”
“This is Cassandra ‘Cassy’ Violet Blanks, one of my many Cousins. But apart from that she is mostly ok.” He said with a smile.
This time he was quick enough to avoid the blows aimed at the back of his head.
“Ladies may I introduce, Mrs Molly Weasley, wife of Arthur Weasley. Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur.” He said pointing to us all in turn.
As handshakes were exchanged Fireball asked Dave, “Is that really Bombshell?” to general laughter.
“Yes it is Fireball and you can ask for his side of the story later. As I’m sure we would all love to hear it too.” Dave replied.
Turning serious again he added “However right now I would like to get the answer to your earlier question Fireball.”
“Bill, where was Gabrielle hit and how bad is she hurt.” Dave asked.
At this the colour that had returned to Bill’s face drained away and he replied. “She was hit almost in the middle of her chest by one of those knives you mentioned. It has gone in far enough that it is in danger of coming out the other side of her.”
At this statement Fleur again broke down into tears.
You could almost see Dave, Fireball, Shelly and Cassy switch into the Aurors that they were.
“What was done after she was hit?” Dave asked very intently.
“Fleur put a freezing charm on her like you advised almost at once. Then she and Ginny levitated her into the house and put her on the sofa in the lounge” said Bill, worry clearly showing on his face.
“No one has touched her since? Have you examined the knife for any curses or poisons as yet?”
“There are at least three different curses on the knife that I could detect through the freezing charm. I’m afraid one of them looks like it is indeed an active curse.” Bill answered.
“Can we see her?” Fireball asked of Bill.
Nodding and pointing to the lounge we all got up and went in. From the way he moved Dave was clearly in pain. It was also clear however that he had other worries on his mind at that point.
Gabrielle was laid out on the sofa in the lounge with her hands raised at though casting a spell. Her face still registered the shock of being hit.
Fleur could not bear to look at her little sister and again buried her face into Bills chest.
Dave and Fireball moved to kneel next to Gabrielle’s body. The DA members in the room were clearly wondering who these people were. I could also see a few of them sharing thoughts similar to the ones we had just had in the kitchen.
Dave placed his hands over Gabrielle’s head, close to but not touching her. He closed his eyes for a moment and then moved his hands down her body to the knife that was sticking out from her chest.
All the while his hands were close to but never touching her. During this Fireball had her hand on the back of Dave’s neck and sat like that with her eyes closed while Dave moved his hands over Gabrielle’s body.
Eventually he withdrew his hands and stood up. Beckoning to the Weasley family he moved into the kitchen with Fireball, Shelly and Cassy close behind him.
Once we were all there he closed the door to the lounge, ignoring the questions being asked from inside.
“Ok, the good news is, she is still with us right now. The freezing charm was applied very quickly so the Poison and the Curse haven’t had much time to work.” Dave began.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at this news.
“However the bad news is, the knife has gone through her heart and into her left lung.” Fleur fell to her knees and began to almost scream her cries now. The rest of us were also in a state of serious worry as we were all aware of the seriousness of a knife to the heart is.
Bill dropped to the floor to assist his wife. Looking up at Dave he asked, “So there is no hope at all?”
“No Bill there is a degree of hope here. Given that Fleur was able to apply the freezing charm so quickly we have a window of opportunity to work on this.”
“However I do need to know the answers to some rather strange questions first to decide how much hope we have.” He asked Bill and Fleur.
“What do you need to know?” Bill asked.
“Her parents, are they still alive and if so do you know where they are?”
“Our parents are at ‘ome in France, at ze moment.” Fleur replied.
“Can you Apparate that far to get them and bring them here?” Dave asked.
“I have not tried to do it over such a distance before but I am willing to try.” Fleur responded.
“No. Now is not the time for experimenting with things like that. We will get you to your parents very shortly. But I do need you to bring them both back. Having both parents will greatly increase our chances of success.” He added.
“Do you have access to any of Gabrielle’s hair at all? The more recent the better?” he asked.
“Pardon ’er ‘air?” Fleur asked confused.
“Yes her hair, we will need a sample of her hair from before she was hit with that knife.”
“There was hair on her pillow this morning back at Shell Cottage” Bill answered.
“Excellent. Bill can you arrange someone to go and collect this hair. Minimum of three stands the longer the better from this ‘Shell Cottage’?” Dave enquired.
“I will go myself it will not take me long at all.” Said Bill. Keen for something to do.
“No not you Bill. I have another job for you to do, which is slightly more important. Do you have someone else who could go?”
“I’ll go Bill.” Ron answered. “I know your place well and can get the hairs and be back quickly.”
Bill looked at Ron with a grateful look and said, “Thanks Ron”.
“Yes, thanks Ron. However don’t go alone. We don’t know if Shell Cottage has a similar ambush setup to what we just dealt with here. Take 3 or 4 people to go with you.” Dave suggested.
“I’ll go and so will Luna and Neville” Ginny said.
Normally I would have raised objection after objection about Ron and Ginny going off like that but this time I only had one suggestion.
“Ron, Ginny use the Floo that way you won’t need to be outside in case others are indeed there.” I told them.
They both gave me a strange look that seemed to imply the statement ‘who are you and what have you done with our mother’, but they also both nodded grabbed Neville and Luna and left.
“Drunkmouse are you still eves dropping there?” Dave called out to the Mirror Phone that surprisingly was still on and connected.
“There are no eves here Syd, but I’m listening yes.” Was the reply.
“Excellent. Please tell me Nat or Craig have been past to collect their Mirror Phones.” Dave almost pleaded.
“Sorry Syd. They got back in country yesterday (our time) but have not yet been pass to see me or ‘Q’ as yet.” Drunkmouse answered.
Dave let out a string of swear words that made even Kingsley and Chief Williams go pale.
“Ok then. Fireball I need to send you home to track down that wayward sister of ours and her husband. Who is best to go with you?” Asked Dave.
“Guz would be best as he knows Craig’s home better than me.” Fireball said looking slightly annoyed.
“I know you want to stay Fireball, but you know ALL the wards of Nat’s new place. Not all of us have been there as yet. Guz is a good bet that he knows the ones on Craig’s work as well. So it is likely that you two will find them the quickest.”
“Guz, get your butt in here ASAP” Dave called out.
“Was already on the way Syd after I heard myself being ‘volunteered’ by the ‘fiery one’” said a solid looking man who had just walked in off the porch.
“Thanks Guz. You heard the conversation?” Dave asked.
“Correct.” He replied.
“Mrs Weasley can I borrow the door to your scullery for a few moments? It won’t be damaged in any way.” Dave asked.
Startled by this very strange request I could only nod and watch with great curiosity as Dave walked over to the scullery.
He opened it looked inside and when seeing my odd look said, “Just need to make sure no people or animals are in there. As you do not want to be on the wrong side of a doorway.”
With that he touched the door in the middle with an almost loving caress. Then moved his arms up to the top of the door then out to the edges and down to the bottom before bringing his hands together once again and then back up to the middle of the door again.
He touched the door handle and suddenly it changed to a more ornate one with a lock and a key in it. He withdrew the key and looked at it briefly before inserting it again in the lock.
Turning the key he opened the door. The room on the other side of the door was most definitely NOT our scullery. It was a large room that appeared to be a family dining room with a kitchen off to one side. One wall of the room appeared to be almost entirely made of glass and looked out over a night shrouded coastline.
Turning to Fireball and Guz he said, “Looks like mum and dad are not up yet. Go and wake them. Tell them what has happened here and what we are doing about it. Get them to grab anyone they can put their hands on to help track down Nat and Craig. Bring them back to mum and dads as soon as you have got them. Ok”
“No worries Syd.” Was the reply.
“Tell Nat and Craig that we think we have an active curse on that knife and we are on the clock on this. For even with the freezing charm it won’t stop. We can wait only 1hr more at the absolute most before we have to start at this end. Also tell them to bring their usual ‘bag of tricks.”
“Drunkmouse, can you setup a dedicated operator for Fireball and Guz to co-ordinate everything for the search?” Dave asked.
“I can Syd but that is not simple task, your dad might have an issue with it.” Drunkmouse responded.
“He might and if he does I’m happy to speak to him about it. Just let him know that this is for someone that Arthur Weasley introduced as family. Got it!!” he ordered.
“Loud and clear Syd. Being organised now.” He replied.
“Ok you two, take the key and go. Be quick be safe.” Dave said in parting.
They grabbed the key and Dave closed the door. Oddly the key was still in it. I was about to ask about this when Kingsley spoke up.
“Where did they just go?” he asked.
“Home. East coast of Australia” was all Dave said. The look on everyone’s face was nothing but shock.
“How...” Kingsley started to ask before Dave replied. “I will be happy to chat about transport later Minister. Right now we are on the clock and need to get things moving.”
Looking at everyone in the room he asked, “Is this the first time that Gabrielle has been to this house? Have her Parents ever been here before either?”
Bill answered, “She has been here a few times, however I think her parents have only been here for our wedding?” he asked Fleur.
“Oui” she replied.
“Where was the wedding held? Inside or outside?” Dave asked.
“Outside in the yard.” Bill answered.
Turning to Charlie he asked, “Were you here at the wedding?”
“I was the best man, of course I was here.” Came Charlie’s rather confused reply.
“Good news. Can you go into the yard and find me something metal. Doesn’t matter what it is, it just needs to be from the yard and likely to have been here for a while so it is ‘of this place’ does that make sense Charlie?” Dave asked.
“Not really but I think I know just the things. There is a pile of old nails, big ones over near the shed. They have been here as long as I can remember.”
“They sound perfect. Can you go and get me a dozen or so of them, or as many as you can find. It doesn’t matter their condition as long as they are all roughly the same size.” Dave asked.
“On it” he replied before running out the door.
Turning to Fleur Dave said, “I’m going to send you and Shelly to collect your parents. I also need you to gather some hairs from them as well. I will also need hairs from you also, will that be ok?” He asked with a slightly worried expression.
“Eet will not be a problem, Dave. I zink I know zee stories you are zinking of. Zey are not true, eet is ok for a Veela to donate ‘airs. Zough we seldom do.” Fleur said with a smile. Seeing the relief written plain across Dave’s face she continued.
“I know you ‘ave a reason for a zese requests. Zey will ‘elp my sister no?” She asked.
“Yes there is a reason, and they will not only help save your sister but help keep alive those who are going to help us in healing her.” Dave said in a very serious voice.
“Zen it will be done.” She said with some steel showing in her voice.
“My thanks.” Was Dave’s relieved reply.
“Please come with me to the door. Shelly you to.” Dave asked.
“In order to send you to your parents Fleur, I need you to hold my hand and put your other hand on the door handle. Then think of your parents place, but pick a location outside any wards they may have up. We don’t have time to fight through any wards just now.” Dave instructed.
Fleur nodded and held Dave’s hand and then grasped the Door handle. Dave closed his eyes and placed his hand on the middle of the door.
“Is that the location you wish?” he asked Fleur after a moment.
“Oui” was her response.
“Ok then when I ask you, turn the handle and open the door. However as we are opening in a location with no frame please be VERY careful not to touch the edges of the door frame as you step through. If you do you might lose something that could be important later on.” He explained.
Fleur nodded and said ‘Oui, understood.”
After a few moments of concentration Dave spoke again.
“Ok, I have the back of the door to a rock outcropping that should make it safe. So go ahead and open the door please.”
Fleur opened the door to reveal a very ornate garden. “Is this the correct location?” Dave questioned.
“Eet ez” she replied.
“Ok go on through then. Shelly, you grab the key so you can make the return trip once you have her parents. It will work on any normal door with a keyhole as it will be paired with this one.”
“Go now, quickly” he instructed.
They both stepped through the door and Dave closed it.
“Mr and Mrs Weasley, could you both step over here please and remove this key together.” Dave asked.
We both did as asked and removed the key. It felt very odd in my hand and very warm. When we opened our hands we noticed that we each held a key in them.
Smiling Dave said, “This door is now secure. No one can come through it unless one of you use your key to admit them.”
“When those that we have sent through just now are ready, they will put their key in on their side and knock while stating their name. You will be able to hear them clearly. All you need to do is put in your key also and say enter followed by their name. Open the door and they will be able to enter.”
“Once they enter back through the door their key will automatically disappear, as yours are the masters. Unless you command them to keep their key of course.” He explained.
We both nodded our understanding.
Dave turned to the Mirror Phone and said, “Drunkmouse, can you get a hard copy of Nat and Craig’s notes on that incident in Indonesia with the cursed knife and put them in my tray.”
“Already done Syd. Thought you would have asked for those.”
Dave reached into his wallet again and brought out a pile of parchment. He handed this to Bill. “These are the notes my sister and her husband made of a similar knife used on an Indonesian Auror. Unfortunately he died as his body wasn’t discovered in time. But the Indonesian Ministry permitted his body and the knife to be examined in the hope that further losses could be prevented.”
Bill nodded as he accepted the notes from Dave with a rather grave expression.
“If I remember correctly that knife also had multiple curses. One was an active curse and one was a curse that stopped the blood clotting around wounds. Can’t remember what the other curse was though. Hopefully those notes will help you identify what is actually on that knife so it can be dealt with quicker.”
“I understand.” Bill replied and began to read.
“Minister I have a request for you also.” Dave asked Kingsley.
“How can I help?” he replied eagerly.
“I need you to go to your hospital and see if there are any healers who are available to come here to assist. The most difficult challenges with these items is that multiple things are going wrong all at the same time. If we can get people who can work on each problem separately but also work together our chances of success go up significantly.” Dave explained.
“I would like to ask you to see if you can bring back any healers that have as their speciality, internal medicine specifically physical damage to the Heart, Lungs and the Blood. Anyone who specialises in Poisons and a curse damage specialist would be a bonus. We have Bill as our curse breaker, but any help we can get him will be good also. If Nat and Craig get here in time that is our ‘ace in the hole’ as they have more experience with active curses than anyone.”
“A tall order Auror Webb, but I will bring back all that I can.” Kingsley said before he headed off to the fireplace to Floo to St Mungo’s.
“Is that the DA members in the other room with Gabrielle?” Dave asked of me.
“Yes now that your team members have gone they are all DA members.” I answered.
“Can you introduce me to them? I think that they will be able to help as well.” He asked.
“Of course follow me.” I said as I lead him into the lounge.
Opening the door we were meet with a sea of concerned and confused faces. Dean was the first to step forward and ask what was going on with Gabrielle and who our visitors were.
I decided to start by introducing Dave first, “Everyone I would like to introduce you to Auror David Webb of the Australasian Auror Service. He has asked for your help in the attempt that is soon to be made to try and heal Miss Gabrielle Delacour here.”
“Auror Webb, these are Terry Boot, Angela Johnson, Dean Thomas, Katie Bell, Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein and Cho Chang.” I said pointing to each in turn.
“Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, were the ones who left earlier with Ginny and Ron” I added.
“Longbottom?” Dave asked, “His parents used to be Aurors?”
“I believe they were why?” I replied.
“They might be the ones who helped my mum escape back in 81 after she lost her brothers. I would like to meet him later if at all possible.” He requested.
“We should be able to arrange that.” I told him and he smiled.
“All of these people are in the DA with George, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny. They also all fought at the recent battle at Hogwarts” I told him.
“I’m very pleased to meet all of you” he started, “I have a very strange request to make of you which will help us when we attempt to heal Gabrielle here.”
“One of the curses that we believe is on the knife that she was hit with is a particular nasty one. As it will try to make her feel alone, abandoned and frightened. Doubly so when we begin to directly attack it.”
“In order for us to increase our chances against it we need a ready supply of love and friendship to combat it with.” Dave explained.
“The love that she will require will be provided by her immediate family. The friendship required I’m hoping will be provided by you all.”
“One of the best sources of friendship that can be used is a room full of people happily chatting to each other about shared experiences that brought them together. Nothing major or earth shattering. Just simple everyday things that made you realise you were friends.”
“What I would like for you all to do is stay here if you can and chat with each other about these sort of experiences. Not a party by any means, just a group of people having a collective discussion. Does this make sense to you at all?” Dave asked.
“How will that help fight a curse?” Angelia asked Dave.
“It will setup a… Let’s call it a vibration in the Magic that we are going to attempt that will be beneficial to our goal. That vibration will flow throughout the house. However if we need a stronger amount we will have the door opened to allow more in.” Dave explained.
“What sort of Magic would be affected by such a thing?” Terry asked.
“Very old Magic. Almost ancient you could say.” Was Dave’s reply, “Will you help us?”
With quick looks at each other the DA members present nodded their assent to help.
“You have my thanks.” Dave said almost formally.
“Mrs Weasley, can we get a supply of drinks in here for them as talking in thirsty work. Maybe some snacks as well?” he asked.
“Certainly dear” I replied and I could see it startled him a little.
We went back into the kitchen to find Charlie waiting for us and Ron just emerging from the fire place with the others close behind.
Charlie had placed a set of twelve large nails on the kitchen bench. “Will these do?” he asked Dave.
“Just about perfect. Thanks Charlie” Dave said.
Ron laid on the table a bag he said had four long hairs from Gabrielle’s pillow in Shell Cottage. Dave also thanked him.
Dave arranged the nails from Charlie into groups on the bench. There were four groups of 2 with a single nail placed above each of them.
Taking three of the hairs from the bag Ron had just provided he arranged them in a similar manner to the nails. He then carefully wrapped a single strand of hair around each nail.
Staring at the first nail very intently it began to rise from the bench and then the hair that was wrapped around it began to sink into the nail itself. The nail then started to glow slightly. As the nail started to glow Dave started to make motions with his hands like he was trying to knead the glowing nail as one would bread dough. The nail responded as though it was indeed the dough.
Very soon the nail was a bright golden colour. Dave continued to work on the ‘nail’.
“That looks like Gold.” Ron exclaimed.
“That’s because it now is Gold, Ron. As close to pure as it is possible to be. Also impervious to anything that will try to damage it.” Dave replied to startled gasps from the people in the room.
He kneaded the nail a few more times and then conjured a small wooden rod and began to wrap a thin thread from the golden nail onto it. The amount of golden thread that he got onto the wooden rod was astonishing.
Putting that rod aside he worked the other two nails. These however didn’t turn golden, they were more silver in nature.
“How come they are not gold also?” Ron asked.
“Because I need them to be Silver and Platinum” was Dave’s reply.
Dave then set each of the three rods to weaving with itself into ever thicker thread. While this was happening then was a knocking at the Scullery door and a voice called out, “Auror Shelley Webb requesting entrance. I have with me Fleur and her parents.”
Arthur quickly put his key into the door and said “Enter Auror Shelly Webb” and opened the door.
Out stepped Shelly, Fleur and Fleur’s parents. Fleur quickly introduced her parents to Dave and gave him hairs for each of them.
“Many thanks for these. Please allow me a moment to get these started and then I will explain what we are going to be doing.” Said Dave rather hurriedly.
He quickly repeated the process that he had done with Gabrielle’s hair with the hair from Fleur and her parents. Like us they were also astonished at what he was doing.
Once there were 12 sets of metallic thread weaving themselves Dave turned to Fleur and her parents and explained, “Your daughter Gabrielle has been hit in the chest with a cursed knife. This knife has gone through her heart and into her lungs causing a good deal of damage along the way.”
Madame Delacour almost fainted at this news. Dave however continued to explain, “What you see behind me is preparation to make up a set of talismans. One for each of you. These are to protect you while we work on curing Gabrielle.”
“You will be required to make skin contact with Gabrielle while we work on her. The need for this skin contact is to make it easier for you to call to Gabrielle. To encourage her and to let her know that you love her with all of your heart. This needs to be done with your thoughts not your voice.” He explained, looking at them all for confirmation that they understood.
“As we start to break through the curses Gabrielle will start to respond to your calls. She will ask questions about what is happening and who is around her. As she will be able to sense others in the room with her.”
“When she asks questions they must be answered 100% truthfully. Any falsehood will setup potentially dangerous vibrations. If she asks if it will hurt tell her truthfully ‘Yes’. As this isn’t going to be a pleasant experience by any means.”
“If she asks if it is all going to be alright, tell her you don’t know. But that we are all working very hard to make it that way.” He almost commanded.
“Can you do this?” he asked.
“Oui. We can and will.” Came the reply from Monsieur Delacour.
“That is great news sir. Please all of you make yourself comfortable as I need to finish these and we are waiting on our healers to join us.”
Dave turned back to the talismans behind him. They had now spun themselves into something resembling a thin but wide metallic rope. Taking the three thin metal ropes from the first set Dave began a complicated weave with them that left a very beautiful pattern in a band about thickness of two fingers.
He left the ropes weaving each other and did the same for the other sets.
Very quickly the ropes were all woven on each of them. Dave then ‘fused’ (as he called it) the ends of each strip. This resulted in there being on the bench four strips of beautifully woven metallic material. That was the only way I can describe them.
Dave picked them up and handed them to Monsieur Delacour. Here are your talismans, please don’t put them on just yet. You will be able to feel which one is yours as it contains your own hair in it.
I would like you all to hold them for a time each and while doing so think about all that you love about each other.
Nodding Monsieur Delacour accepted the talismans from Dave and closed his eyes while holding them to his chest.
Dave got up and went for a drink of water, saying “Its thirsty work.”
“Cassy, can you act as scribe for this? As Nat will want to know everything that happened, when and in what order when she gets here.” Dave asked.
“Of course” she replied.
Kingsley arrived back with two healers.
Kingsley introduced them as Healer Jones and Healer White. Healer White specialised in the treatment of the heart and lungs while Healer Jones specialised in the treatment of Poisons.
He brought them into the kitchen where they were quickly briefed on the situation with Gabrielle.
“Can’t be done I’m afraid” was the rather stiff response from Healer White after he had been informed of the damage to Gabrielle’s heart and lungs.
“What do you mean it can’t be done?” Dave rounded on the healer before anyone else could speak.
“I thought that as a Healer you could ‘heal’ damaged heart tissue?”
“I certainly can Auror Webb, but I can’t while there is a knife sticking in it. Each time her heart moves it will just damage itself against the knife again.” Healer White went on in a rather pompous voice.
“That presents a simple solution Healer White. Stop her heart while you work on it.” Dave responded.
Healer white fixed Dave with a look of purest loathing and replied, “I wouldn’t expect a simple Auror to understand this, but the heart must keep beating in order pump blood around the body. If it stops she will die.”
“Not necessarily, Healer white.” Dave replied. “It is the movement of the blood around the body and it’s oxygenation in the lungs that is important here. Not the movement of the heart.”
“The heart can be stopped to work on it. Muggle surgeons do it all the time. Surely you are more capable than a muggle are you not?” Dave replied in a direct challenge to Healer White.
Pointing to himself and Shelly Dave continued, “We can arrange it so that her blood will still circulate and her lungs will still oxygenate her blood as well. That will enable both the lungs and the heart to be stopped so that they can be worked on.”
“Will that present a sufficiently still set of organs for you to work on Healer White?” Dave asked rather intently.
“Magic can’t do what you propose Auror Webb. It’s unheard of.” Healer White exclaimed.
“It can Healer White. It’s still magic, just not as you know it. As it is old magic, very old.” Dave explained.
“Sorcery!” Healer White said in shock, “I will not participate in heathen Dark Magic.”
“The core of what we are going to do here ‘Healer’ White is the oldest and most pure and powerful magic that there is. Do you know what that is?” prompted Dave, while searching Healer White’s face.
“I concern myself with only what I know I can do Auror Webb. Not fairy tales.” Healer White rebuffed.
“It is love Healer White. The most powerful of all the magical energies. Also the most pure and challenging to control. But one that we have all been touched by at some point in our lives.” Explained Dave.
“You must be able to feel it. Even a ‘simple Auror’ like me can feel its power in this room.” Said Dave as he turned to take in the people in the room.
When he looked back at Healer White I noticed that Dave’s eyes again had a slight golden tint to them.
“If you focus Healer White and concentrate you can even see the bonds of love that exist here.”
Pointing to the Delacour Family he said, “They almost shine with it. The bonds between them are strong and deep. The bonds between Fleur and Bill are also equally powerful.”
“That is one of the most remarkable things about love Healer White, it can be shared almost infinitely. Strong deep bonds between close family members do not stop one from making new bonds with your chosen one. In fact they often strengthen them.”
“Young love or old, the bonds will prevail. Case in point here.” He said pointing to Ron who went a little pale at being singled out.
“This young man. Ron has very significant bonds with his family. But that has not stopped him forming a new bond with Hermione here. While it is a new bond it shows all the signs of growing as deep and strong as his parents bond.”
Ron and Hermione both had rather shy smiles on their faces at this statement.
“Young Ginny here is another literally shining example. Her chosen one” at this comment Ginny and a few of the others smiled and giggled a little, “is not even here in the room and the bond between them still shows. Fiercely bright. It is new and they are still learning but I can almost see it growing just watching it.” He said with a kind of wonder.
“Do you not understand that power Healer White? When given freely to help others that power is truly a force to be reckoned with.”
“Will you help us Healer White? Even with all this love, we still have many things to fix in the young lady who needs our help. Teamwork will magnify our ability to respond to the challenges that we are going to face. So I ask again, will you help us?” Dave asked with a desperate kind of hope on his face.
“I will not risk my reputation by participating in a crack pot scheme hatched by an Auror who is pretending to be Healer” shrieked Healer White.
“Your reputation?” exclaimed Dave, “We are not here for your reputation! We are here to help a young woman who has been badly injured Healer White.”
“Her life is more of a concern to me that your bloody reputation. Now will you fulfil your Healer’s oath and help us or not?” Dave asked again.
“My reputation is as dear to me as my soul Auror Webb” I will do nothing to risk it.
“Your soul?” Dave said as once again he was surrounded by a halo of golden flame. This time his eyes also turned solid gold, no trace of the previous brown or even the white remained. Startling everyone in the room in the process and frightening Healer White backwards.
“Your soul has nothing to do with your reputation.” He thundered, while he walked towards the still retreating Healer White.
“I can see your soul Healer White. It is as plain to me as the nose on your face. I can also see the damage you have done to it when you turned away those difficult cases. Preferring to bask in past glories rather than challenge yourself to help the patient’s right in front of you.”
“If you truly valued your soul you would have taken those cases. For even had you failed your soul would have revelled in the fact that you tried and gave it your all. Even your patients would have been grateful for your efforts.”
“But no instead you chose to turn them out into the cold. Rejected their pleas. Crushed their souls as they felt their self-worth be diminished. And scarred your own soul in the process.” He said with the air of a man who seemed to know he was fighting a losing battle, but was still determined to go on.
“I would think that I know the state of my own soul better than a crack pot like you” Healer White snapped.
“Perhaps you would like me to remove your soul and show it to you? That way we would all be able to see it and judge its current state, hmm.” Dave thundered.
When Healer White refused to answer Chief Williams spoke up.
“Syd! There is no need to tear Healer White’s soul from his body. We will take him back and get a different Healer.”
“Good idea Boss. Let’s get rid of this useless excuse for a Healer. While you’re at St Mungo’s look for a Healer Grant, he apparently works with Healer White.”
“Healer White here is thinking of him as someone who cares more for the patient than their reputation. That sounds exactly like the type of Healer we want right now.” Said Dave still eyeing Healer white with open contempt.
“Healer White, for your information I qualified as a Healer. As in addition to my regular Auror duties I also provide emergency medical care for my team.”
“I also have nothing but contempt for people like you who seem to have no regard for their patients. Get out of my sight.” He snapped as his eyes turned back to normal and the golden flames went out.
As Kingsley and Chief Williams began to move Healer White to the fireplace Dave called to them, “Boss, I’m guessing we have about 30mins before we need to start. Even with the freezing charm the curses and poisons are spreading.”
Nodding their understanding Kingsley and Chief Williams hurried to the fire place and almost threw Healer White into it.
“Healer Jones, can you help us?” Dave asked of the rather nervous looking Healer who was still with us.
“I don’t know Auror Webb. But I would like to. I need to see the patient to give a realistic answer” he explained.
“Good answer” was the not so quiet response from George.
Healer Jones and Dave both got a chuckle from this along with a few others in the room.
“Most certainly Healer Jones. Monsieur Delacour, may Healer Jones here examine your daughter?” Dave requested.
“But of course he may.” Was the reply.
Monsieur Delacour, Healer Jones and Dave all went into the lounge room where Gabrielle still lay.
“Blimey, that was intense” said Ron while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Can he really see what he claimed?” Ron asked of Shelly and Cassy who had remained quiet throughout the confrontation.
“Of course he can.” Shelly replied. “If fact he isn’t the only one who can see it.” She said as her own eyes turned golden while she stared at Ron. Cassy’s eyes also briefly flashed a golden hue across them as well.
“What is it that you actually see when you look like that?” Hermione asked clearly afire with curiosity.
Thinking for a moment while everyone was watching her intently Shelly eventually replied, “Magic. More correctly the energy OF Magic.”
“That is the simplest way I can think of to explain it. It takes a great deal of study and practise to read what that energy actually means. But that is the core of it.” She explained.
“I can’t read a soul as well as Syd can. He can’t read them as well as mum, well not yet anyway. Mum can even to a degree read inherited Genetic memories in a person.”
“But I can read love better than Syd can, and almost as well as mum.”
“We all see the world differently and we all have different talents. But as Syd mentioned, it is when we all combine our unique views and talents that is when the REAL magic begins.” She said with a smile.
“That is probably one of Syd’s greatest strengths. His ability to get people to work together and his willingness to work with just about anyone or thing to get the job done.”
“It’s why he makes such a great team leader, and why we all willingly follow him. Despite his age.” She replied almost thoughtfully.
“What’s his age got to do with it?” Hermione asked.
“Nothing. Sorry, my thoughts wondered there for a moment.” She quickly covered.
The fire place flared and Kingsley and Chief Williams stepped back into the room with a different Healer accompanying them.
Monsieur Delacour, Healer Jones and Dave also came back in to the room looking a little worried.
“What’s wrong?” Fleur and Madam Delacour both asked at the same time.
“A small complication.” Healer Jones replied.
“I could detect the poison in the knife and in Gabrielle. It is one I have seen before. However the antidote takes 2 weeks to make and doesn’t last for long.” He answered as the colour drained from both Fleur and her mother.
“I don’t mean to alarm you ladies.” He added hastily. “Auror Webb here had a suggestion on what we could try and I think it will work. However it will cause a good deal of discomfort to Gabrielle.”
“He is reluctant to try it without her permission” he explained.
“’ow do you intend to get ‘er permission Dave?” Fleur enquired.
“The old fashioned way. I’m going to have to ask her and explain what we will need to do. If she agrees it should work. If she doesn’t and she tries to fight us then everything might fail.”
“W’at do you need to do?” Fleur asked.
“Change her blood into something else. Something hostile to the poison in her. The catch is, it will also be hostile to her as well. Although not as much.” He explained with a worried frown.
“S’e will agree, s’e is a fighter.” Fleur said with confidence.
Seeing the new arrivals in the room Dave went to introduce himself and Healer Jones. There was a rather hurried conference as they briefed the new healer on the situation.
After another quick examination of Gabrielle the new healer who was indeed Healer Grant and a proud Scot to boot agreed to assist with the attempt.
After this things began to move quickly.
Chapter 9: It's Magic but not as we know it.
Gabrielle was levitated into the kitchen and placed on the dinner table.Dave began to position us all around Gabrielle and explain the plan.
Standing by Gabrielle’s head Dave began, “Once we begin we must all keep the ‘normal talking’ to a minimum.”
“We will start by lessening the freezing charm so that Gabrielle will become more aware of us all.”
“I will start by trying to introduce myself to Gabrielle, as well as her soul as I place my hands on her head. I will then ‘talk’ to her and try to explain to her what we are going to be doing and why.”
“Once I have explained things to her and hopefully obtained her permission I will nod to you Monsieur Delacour.”
“Beginning with you Monsieur Delacour, you will each introduce yourself to Gabrielle by stating your name and relationship to her. Then place the Talisman I made for you on your wrist and tell it to stay. The Talismans will keep you safe from the curse and help me and Bill identify you while we work.”
“Monsieur Delacour after you have placed your Talisman on your wrist please pick up Gabrielle’s hand closest to you and place it on her chest with her fingers near the knife.”
“Madam Delacour please do the same with her arm closest to you.”
They both nodded in understanding.
“Once you have done that please place you hand either on her shoulder or her stomach some where you can make skin to skin contact. After that you may start to send your thoughts of love and support to Gabrielle. She will not respond straight away, but when she does it will be a good sign.”
“When you begin to ‘hear’ her replies or become aware of her responding please let Cassy know and she will take a note of it.”
“Fleur, after your parents have made their introductions and made skin contact it will be your turn. Introduce yourself and place your Talisman on your wrist and also ask it to stay on. Then take hold of her ankles and begin to send your thoughts to her as well.”
Fleur nodded also.
“Bill, Healers Jones and Grant once the introductions are done we can begin our part.”
“Shelly and I will stop Gabrielle’s heart beating and stop her lungs as well. Shelly you will take over for her lungs and keep her blood getting the oxygen it needs.” Shelly nodded.
“I will keep the blood circulating through her body. I will also throw up wards around her heart, lungs, liver and brain to keep them from all being affected by the poison and hopefully the curses.”
“Healer Jones and Grant, if my wards interfere with your ability to carry out the tasks you need to do tell me and I will adjust them. Ok?” he asked.
They both nodded in reply.
“Mrs Weasley, Hermione and Ginny. You three will be helping Gabrielle to remove the knife from her chest.” Dave said looking at each of us in turn and noticing our slightly shocked expressions.
“Gabrielle will be doing most of the work on this. You are there to assist her. The more the knife is pulled out of her the more it will fight to remain.”
“At the start we will be only moving it slowly. While it is moving up Healer Grant will be repairing the damage done to the lungs and the heart. Healer Jones will be looking for any bleeding that we missed or that may begin. He will also be monitoring the poison.”
“When her Heart and Lungs are again whole, the knife will be able to be removed. Hopefully Gabrielle will be able to do most of the work. However the three of you who are assisting her are likely to find she will require a good deal of assistance.”
“If she does need some help give it to her. Once the knife is free we will need a wooden bowl or something similar to put it in. As it will need to be burnt fully to destroy it. It is imperative that no one touch that knife with their bare skin.” He added checking with each of us that we understood.
“Once the lungs and heart are repaired we will be able to tackle the poison through the method I mentioned before. As it is a painful process she might start to thrash about. Only lightly restrain her. We only need to keep her from making contact with anyone else or from falling onto the floor.”
“Once all that is done is done Shelly and I will restart Gabrielle’s heart and lungs. At this point she may begin to verbally speak. Be prepared for a lot of swearing, as our main focus will turn to any remaining curses that Bill hasn’t yet dealt with.”
“Any questions so far?”
When no one asked any he continued on.
“While you are wearing those Talismans you may notice them get warm, even almost hot at times. This is normal do not be alarmed by it.”
“If however they start to get cool or worse cold tell Cassy. If they start to freeze let go of Gabrielle until either I or Bill tells you to take hold again. Understood?”
“While you are holding onto Gabrielle you may see things differently. You might even see some of what I will see. If that does happen, you MUST remain calm. Nothing you see will attack you, or cause you harm while you are wearing that Talisman. This is extremely important.”
“W’at might we see?” Fleur asked.
“Magical energy, or even Souls, at least the outer shell of them.” Dave replied. “If you do see a soul please remain calm, as it can be a shock when you see one for the first time, especially if it is under stress, or damaged.”
“They may appear to you to resemble something like a Patronus, or they may well be something very different. They operate by very different rules to us however. If you are questioned by one be very clear to it that you are there willingly to help Gabrielle. They will understand that and accept it.”
“The last Talisman is for Gabrielle herself. It is only to go on after her heart and lungs have been successfully restarted. Monsieur Delacour I would ask you to perform this task when it is required.” Dave requested
“When you place it on her tell it to stay on. After Gabrielle has been revived you may remove your own Talismans whenever you like just by asking them to come off. Gabrielle however must continue to wear hers for at least another 2 full days.”
“As you will be placing it on her Monsieur Delacour she will not be able to remove it. You will need to do that. After you have removed it, she will be able to put it on or take it off as she likes.”
Checking his watch Dave looked up, “We have time for anyone who needs water to get some now. As this may take a while.”
With that he quickly drank a few glasses of water and a few others followed suit. Dave also briefly stuck his head into the lounge room and I heard conversation begin in there.
Coming back to stand at Gabrielle’s head Dave looked across to Chief Williams, “Boss, Nat isn’t here yet and we can’t wait much longer.”
“I understand Syd.” Chief Williams replied.
“In order to do this I will need to be unencumbered by this” he said pointing to his chest, “so I can reach for my magic with no interference.”
“I think this situation falls under that ‘just cause’ clause for that restriction to be removed?” he asked with a pleading look in his eye.
“It does Syd. It does. I will back your decision to the Minister if he asks.” Chief Williams replied.
“Thanks Boss” he replied.
Looking around at us all Dave said in a voice that clearly carried worry with it, “Just before we begin, I will need to change back to my ‘natural’ appearance.”
Every eye in the room was on Dave as he fought some obviously strong emotions to try and explain.
“I ask that you please do not be alarmed by this. My appearance has caused many odd reactions over here for reasons I can’t explain.”
“I will endeavour to keep this change as short as possible, so as to keep your discomfort to minimum.” He said in a small voice.
He next turned to Monsieur Delacour and asked almost formally, “Monsieur Delacour, I would like to request for your consent to reach out to your daughters’ soul. More specifically the core or centre of her soul.”
“Why do you require my consent Monsieur Webb?” asked Monsieur Delacour.
“It is required Monsieur Delacour, as it is considered a very intimate act for two people to openly display their soul cores or centres directly to one another in order for them to communicate fully and unencumbered.”
“To do so without permission is a horrendous act. Almost akin to forcing ones attentions on someone who does not desire them.” He added actually blushing.
“In the event that I can’t communicate successfully with Gabrielle herself, I will need your consent to try and save her life. For without the consent of at least one of you, our attempt will be doomed from the start.”
“Her consent is the more important of the two, but I would like the consent of you both Sir.” He explained.
“I understand Monsieur. You ‘ave my consent and my blessing.” Monsieur Delacour answered.
Bowing his head to Monsieur Delacour Dave turned once again to Gabrielle.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, expanding his chest. It was then that I noticed his chest was expanding more that it should have for a deep breath. Even for a very deep breath.
His height was also increasing. Very shortly he towered over everyone in the room. His shoulders broadened and his arms and legs became noticeably more muscular.
His brown hair became raven locks that were in need of a haircut. I also noticed that it seemed to be a rather untamed set of hair as it was sticking up all over the place.
I couldn’t see his face as he resumed his natural form as he called it. But Fleur, Bill, Charlie, Hermione and Ginny clearly could. As I could see the colour drain from their faces and the stunned almost worried looks that they wore.
I hissed at them to try and get them to behave themselves and not to embarrass this young man who was about to attempt something very obviously difficult. But I was too late as he had noticed their shock.
Almost recoiling from their looks of shock he very quickly summoned his hat and pulled it firmly down on his head. He also looked down at Gabrielle’s face effectively cutting anyone else off from seeing his own.
I fixed them all with looks of deepest disappointment. But they were still too stunned to even register my expression.
An idle thought flashed through my mind wondering how bad his face must have been to get a look like that. I mean after all they were all used to Bills scars by now.
Placing one hand on Gabrielle’s forehead, Dave noisily cleared this throat and said, “Mademoiselle Gabrielle Delacour, my name is David Fabian Gideon Webb”
My eyes widened in shock. I quickly looked to Arthur only to see a similar recognition on his own face. If Arthur had noticed it too, I can't have imagined it.
Arthur and Bill were now exchanging looks between them and I saw Arthur mouth the word ‘wards’. Bill nodded at his father’s suggestion. Frowning to myself I wondered what he was talking about. Then I remembered this man had appeared in our yard inside our wards. Wards that would stop anyone who wasn’t family or who was added to them specifically (like Harry and Hermione) from gaining access to the house.
Looking at Charlie, Percy and George I could see similar startled looks on their faces.
I remembered him saying his mum’s younger brothers were killed by Dolohov, just as my older brothers were. An impossible idea dawned in my head as I tried to get a look at his face. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t have, could I?
Before my mind could go any further into overdrive Dave continued on.
“I am an Auror with the Australasian Auror Service in the Special Operations Command.” He explained.
“I and several others have gathered here to help heal you of your injuries. However before we begin I would like to approach and discuss with you what is to be done and how we hope to achieve it.” He requested.
He seemed to pause here for a moment before continuing, “My thanks Mademoiselle Gabrielle Delacour.” He said before he moved his hands to either side of her head. He now bowed his own head and was motionless.
I found myself watching him rather intently for a few moments. Looking across to Shelly I asked, “He hardly seems to be breathing is that normal?”
Not removing her eyes from her brother she replied, “It is normal. Just as long as it does not go on for too long.”
“Eee is crying” Fleur remarked not long after, as she had moved so as to get a look at his face.
“Why ez ee crying. ‘as somezing gone wrong?” she asked a little worried.
Shelly moved closer to Dave and I saw her eyes change as she looked at him very intently. “No, nothing has gone wrong.” She said in a clinical tone.
“He is talking to Gabrielle. She is frightened and asking him many questions. Unfortunately she is asking him about the scars on his soul and that has led to them talking about his wife and how she died.”
“A more painful line of questioning for him would be hard to find.” She said sadly.
“Scars on his soul?” Hermione asked.
“Yes, in life particularly traumatic (or highly emotional) events can leave an imprint or ‘scar’ on one’s soul. Some darks are dark and evil. Others are just scars almost like a reminder. The loss of a family member can leave such a scar.”
“Over times scars may heal or fade. Other times they become like an old friend and are comforting to the soul that bears them. In Dave’s case he has had two particularly traumatic experiences within the last year. They both left significant scars.”
“While they may be healing, they are also very noticeable. They have obviously drawn Gabrielle’s attention.”
“This could be a good thing however. As it means that she sees him clearly and he will be able to see her. That means the likely hood of them being able to communicate successfully is very good.”
“The downside is that when communicating like this, it is impossible to lie. He will also not be able to avoid her questions either. I suspect he is having to face things right now that he himself was not yet ready to deal with.” Her worry beginning starting to show a little.
“W’en did she die? ‘ow…” Fleur asked quietly.
Looking up at Fleur then across to her brother Shelly replied, “They were married on the 11th of August last year. She died 3 days later on the 14th. It almost killed him, to lose her.”
Fleur, Hermione, Ginny and myself looked at Dave, their sympathy (and I’m sure mine also) was clear in their eyes. I was also very sure we were all thinking the same thing.
“She had been ill for many years. But she...” Shelly began. However Dave spoke up at this point.
“She agrees. She will help us.” He said clearly relieved. “You were right Fleur, she IS a fighter.”
Dave nodded to Monsieur Delacour to begin. After which he removed the freezing charm enough to allow Gabrielle’s arms to be moved and her to be placed in a comfortable position.
Looking a little frightened Monsieur Delacour spoke up saying, “Ma fifille Gabrielle, I am Julian Delacour your father” while he placed his Talisman onto his wrist. Smiling as he did so. “I am here to help you.”
He then picked up Gabrielle’s arm and placed her hand at the knife in her chest. After this he placed one hand on her shoulder and one on the exposed patch of skin near her hip.
Madam Delacour was the next to speak, “Mon petit Gabrielle, I am Apolline Delacour your mother”, she too placed her Talisman onto her wrist as she said this. As with her husband she also smiled once it was in place. “I am here to help you.”
She moved Gabrielle’s arm closest to her and placed it on her chest alongside her other hand on her chest near the knife.
Now it was Fleur’s turn. “Ma poupée Gabrielle, I am Fleur Weasley your sister”, she said placing her Talisman onto her wrist. She too also smiled once it was in place. “I am ‘ere to ‘elp you”.
At this Fleur moved to gently but firmly hold Gabrielle’s ankles.
Taking a quick glance up at the Delacour family and Bill, Dave said, “I can see you all clearly.”
“Bill how about you?” Dave sked.
“I can sense them all as well.” He said “and also you Dave” he added with a trace of wonder.
Fleur must have noticed the wonder in Bills voice as she glanced at him and smiled clearly happy with what she saw. She then glanced at Dave. While Dave had lowered his head to look at Gabrielle, Fleur must have seen something hidden from the rest of us as her eyes widened in surprise and also wonder. Along with curiosity as well.
Dave formally intoned, “Gabrielle, Your family are joined by myself, Michelle Webb, Bill Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Healer Jones and Healer Grant. We are all here to help you.”
“The rest of the Weasley family is here also and will assist if needed. If you are ready we will begin.”
Dave seemed to listen for a moment then nodded his head. He reach over his shoulder and withdrew his wand, it was the first time I had seen him hold one. The wood seemed to be almost alive with the patterns it displayed.
“Very well let us begin. Shelly, Bill, Healer Jones and Healer Grant are you all ready?” he asked.
Getting replies in the positive he said, “I will remove the freezing charm completely and set the wards. Shelly and I will then stop her heart and lungs and maintain the blood flow and circulation.”
At this he waved his wand and the freezing charm was gone. Then very quickly but precisely he outlined the wards in Gabrielle’s body. Finally he held his wand over Gabrielle’s chest and it ceased to move.
While this was going on Shelley also had her wand out and was doing a series of complicated wand movements over Gabrielle’s chest.
Bill had his wand and it was focused on the knife. Healer Jones and Grant where also busy at work. All of them had looks of extreme concentration on their faces.
Bill soon spoke up saying, “The blood clotting curse has been broken.”
“Healer Grant are you ready for the knife to be moved?” Dave asked.
“Yes I am.” He replied.
“Mrs Weasley, Ginny and Hermione I am going to ask Gabrielle if she can start to pull the knife from herself. Please help her steady it and stop it from sliding back in.”
“Are you ready?” he asked us.
“Yes” was the reply from all of us.
I couldn’t hear what Dave said to Gabrielle but soon her hands gripped the knife a little awkwardly. She then slowly began to pull upwards.
Slowly ever so slowly the knife began to rise. Even with the three of us working together on the knife it was a challenge to hold it still.
After what seemed an age but was most likely only 30 minutes Healer Grant spoke “The knife is removed from her lungs. They are repaired and I think there is no damage or bleeding.”
“Healer Jones do you agree.” Healer Grant asked.
“I do” he replied.
“Fantastic work everyone. It is a great start but we have more to do. Let’s focus on the heart next.” Dave replied.
He once again turned his attention to Gabrielle.
Once again the knife began to rise. Gabrielle continued to pull it from herself.
Healers Grant and Jones continued their work as the knife slowly rose.
It took over an hour for the knife to be removed from Gabrielle’s Heart. Towards the end it was a real battle for the three of us to hold it steady let alone stop it sliding back into Gabrielle’s chest.
I could clearly see the strain on both Hermione and Ginny. I knew how tired I was from effort required to maintain the spell for that length of time.
When the knife was finally pulled free from her chest and Gabrielle held it out for collection, the relief I felt at not having to maintain the spell any longer was enormous.
Charlie darted forward holding a wooden bowl large enough to accept the knife. He was also very prudently wearing his dragon hide gloves.
Once the knife was in the bowl he took it outside and placed protective charms on it to keep anyone else from touching it.
Sitting down I noticed that Shelly had begun to sweat. Her clothes were beginning to become soaked. Hermione and Ginny were also sitting down and looked ready to pass out.
Both Bill and Dave had a light sweat on them but otherwise showed no other signs of the strain.
Healer Grant looked like he had put in a full day at the office already. Healer Jones who had been assisting him looked only slightly tired.
“Something isn’t quite right here.” Dave remarked almost to himself.
Dave repositioned his wand and began to circle around Gabrielle’s heart. While he was doing this Gabrielle’s chest seemed to almost glow from within. After a few moments however Dave commented, “It’s all good now.”
As he put his wand away, he looked over to Healer Jones.
“Healer Jones, we need to deal with the poison now. Are you ready to monitor while I perform the change?” Dave asked.
“Yes I am, Auror Webb.” Healer Jones replied.
“Thank you. Once there is no more trace of it please advise straight away I do not want to prolong her discomfort any more than is required.” Dave said slightly worried.
“I will.” Was the reply.
Taking his free hand Dave gently picked up her right hand. Placing his first two fingers on either side of the first two fingers in Gabrielle’s hand. He then touched both their fingers to her chest where the knife had previously been.
He paused here for a moment or two. I could only assume that he was talking to Gabrielle about what he was about to do.
He then said one word “Change”
At once Gabrielle stiffened. I’m sure if she could have cried out she would have. Her face contorted in agony.
Healer Jones was moving his wand over Gabrielle and focusing very intently on something only he could see. He called out, “Another 10 seconds Auror Webb from my mark.”
“Mark” he called.
I’m sure we were all counting down those 10 seconds while holding our own breaths.
A few of us called out “0” at the same time and Dave removed his and Gabrielle’s hand from her chest.
Healer Jones continued to wave his wand over her.
Eventually he stated, “Her blood is clear of the poison. I can find no trace of any Poison in her body.”
“Thank you Healer Jones.” Dave replied and then looked to Shelly, “You ready?” he asked.
“I am Syd. On your Mark.” Was the reply.
Dave put down Gabrielle’s hand and placed his three fingers in the middle of her chest again.
“I will need you all to let go and stand clear for a moment.” He requested.
Monsieur and Madam Delacour let go of their daughter and stood back. Fleur let go of her sister and stood back.
“3, 2, 1, Now” Dave called out as he sent some kind of jolt into Gabrielle.
He removed his hand and looked to Shelly and Healer Grant, “Is she?” he asked.
Healer Grant replied with a wide smile on his face “Yes she is breathing on her own and her heart is again working.”
The relief on everyone’s face was obvious.
Dave looked to Monsieur Delacour and indicated that he should place the Talisman onto Gabrielle’s wrist.
As he did so the corners of Gabrielle’s mouth could be seen to begin to smile. Dave seeing this began to smile also, if his cheeks were anything to go by.
Dave and Bill moved back into position. He also indicated that the Delacour family should move back as well.
Once everyone was in position both Bill and Dave set their shoulders and readied themselves.
I got the impression at once that this was to be their real battle.
After a time Bill again called out “Broke the second curse. One more to go.”
The time dragged on. I noticed that both Bill and Dave had begun to sweat, heavily. Both of them looked as though their clothes were completely soaked through.
After nearly another hour they were both starting to sway, Bill by an alarming amount.
Bill called to Dave, “I might need some help here.”
“Cassy drop the pen and go to Bill, hold his hand. Shelly come here to me and hold mine and Cassy’s” Dave ordered.
When they were all in position, Dave called “3, 2, 1, Now.” All three of them burst into golden flame.
Only this time Bill was engulfed as well. The flames were spreading to Gabrielle as well. Monsieur and Madam Delacour and Fleur were looking rather alarmed at the approaching flames.
“Do not fear this fire. It will not harm you.” Dave instructed.
The fire eventually fully engulfed Gabrielle. Although it took longer than it did with Bill. It also spread to the rest of the Delacour family.
After an initial spate of panic at the flames touching their fingers they all seemed to calmly accept the flames.
Eventually Bill called out “It’s broken, it’s gone. It is done. She’s clean” he slumped into the chair behind him. As the golden flames went out.
Everyone except Dave let go from Gabrielle. Dave stood there for a moment with his hands either side of her head. He own head was bowed as though he was again talking. He soon released Gabrielle and stood back.
“Maman?” Gabrielle said in a small voice as she tried to sit up.
Her parents and Fleur were to her in an instant and engulfed her in hugs and kisses.
Cassy and Shelly went back to their seats and collapsed in exhaustion.
Dave watched the scene in front of him then his shoulders dropped.
“Fantastic work everyone. Absolutely fantastic.” Dave said with a very tired smile evident in his voice.
He turned and went to move to a chair near him but he started to lose his balance.
“Catch him someone” Chief Williams called out.
Bill was closest but he was also too late. He only managed to grab a hold of Dave’s hat before he toppled over and fell to the ground. Striking his head on the kitchen table on the way down.
Healers Grant and Jones were to him in an instant and were able to stop the bleeding very quickly. They then moved him into the lounge and quickly kicked the DA members out of there so that they could work on him in private.
Not long after Dave collapsed Chief Williams Mirror Phone started to beep. It was quickly followed by the Mirror Phones of Shelly and Cassy. More beeping could be faintly heard from outside along with the sound of running feet and raised voices.
“What’s going on?” Kingsley asked Chief Williams.
“It is an Auror Down alert. Happens automatically when an Auror loses conciseness.” He replied while quickly trying to cancel the noise.
“I just hope it hasn’t woken the…” he started to say when his Mirror Phone rang.
Chief Williams lifted the Mirror phone to his ear with a look of dread on his face.
“Chief Williams” he answered the phone.
“Yes Minister, I copied that alert to.” He said in the tone one always uses to deliver bad news.
“I was in the room when it happened Minister. That is correct Minister it is not a drill.”
“The Healers are working on him now.”
“Yes Minister, the Auror down alert was indeed for your son Dave.” Said Chief Williams Sadly
Chapter 10: Family ties
“Yes I understand Minister. I’m standing with them right now and will ask for you.” Chief Williams said with a trace of apprehension.“Excuse me Arthur and Molly. Our Minister would like to request your permission to come here and see Syd. If that is ok with you.” He asked.
“Is Dave indeed the Ministers son?” Arthur asked beating me to it by a heartbeat.
“Indeed he is. His only son now.” Replied Chief Williams a little sadly.
“Then by all means he is most welcome.” I replied, this time beating Arthur to it by what felt to be a heartbeat. “Will that key Dave gave us help to open the door like he did?”
“Shelly or Cassy would be the ones to ask about that. As creating doors like that is beyond me I must confess.” Chief Williams explained. Looking across to the two women he asked, “Shelly? Cassy? Can either of you open a door to the Ministers House at all?”
“Of course I can open that door to home Chief.” Shelly replied with a smile. “But I will need Arthur or Molly to unlock it first” she added.
“Minister, Arthur and Molly Weasley have given their permission for you to visit. We will open a door shortly.” Chief Williams said into his Mirror phone.
Arthur quickly moved over to the scullery door and put the key in, “Just turn it to the left till it clicks once. That will enable us to open the door from this end.” Shelly instructed.
Arthur did as she suggested and then stepped back.
Shelly stepped up to the door and touched the middle of it briefly and then turned the door handle and opened the door.
Standing on the other side was a very imposing looking man. He must have been at least 7 feet tall. Solidly built, with broad shoulders. A mass of slightly scruffy looking black hair flecked with grey covered his head. His eyes were solidly grey to the point of almost being silver. But they were perhaps the most ‘alive’ looking eyes I had ever seen.
He had an air of purpose and drive about him. He seemed to be the type of person that you would immediately notice and listen to. The scars that were visible on his neck, and arms gave mute testimony to battles in his past. I wondered if he too had been an Auror.
However, it was his face that held my attention. It seemed to hold the attention of Kingsley and Arthur as well. For they seemed to be fascinated by it.
Looking at his face I was immediately reminded of a photo that Harry has in that album Hagrid had made up for him. It was a photo of his father. Now the man standing before us on the other side of the door was certainly much older than James was in that photo. But you could not have helped wonder if James would have looked like this had he lived long enough.
He was by no means a twin of James but the similarities were far too strong to be discarded out of hand. He had no glasses for one, a heavier jaw, slightly more defined cheekbones and a more serious expression. But the similarities seemed to hint at the possibility of a family connection somewhere, I thought.
I don’t know if he was used to people gawking at him like that. Or if he was truly focused on the wellbeing of his son. He certainly didn’t give any acknowledgement or show any issue with the intense scrutiny he was getting.
Chief Williams stepped up to the door and beckoned to Kingsley, who quickly moved over to the door. “Minister Webb, it is a great pleasure to introduce to you the British Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. Minister Shacklebolt this is our Minister of Magic Ivan Septimus Webb.” He said formally.
Both the Ministers warmly shook hands through the door way.
“Minister Webb, it is a great privilege and an honour to finally meet you. I understand we have you and the New Zealand Minister to primarily thank for sending your Aurors here during our recent troubles.” Kingsley said in his quiet deep voice.
“Minister Shacklebolt, the pleasure is mine. I have learnt a great deal about you recently and I believe that between us we will be able to restore the previously solid relationship between our two countries.” He said in a voice that seemed to begin somewhere around his toes.
“Do you mind if we save all that flowery guff for the formal visit next week Minister? As I would dearly like to find out about my son right now and political speak slows things down as well as grates on my ears.” He asked with a shy smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Nice to meet a Minister after my own heart.” Kingsley replied also with a smile.
“Your son is currently being tended by two of our best Healers in the next room. We expect that they will be coming back out shortly.” Kingsley explained. “While we are waiting” he said directing Minister Webb’s attention to Arthur.
“Minister I would like you to meet Mr Arthur Weasley, our temporary Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And the master of this house.” Kingsley said with only slight formality showing through.
Arthur waved Minister Webb into our kitchen, he had to be weary of the top of the door frame as he stepped through. But he greeted Arthur with a genuine smile on his face and with warmth that was clear in his voice, “Mr Weasley, it is a very great honour to finally get to meet you. When David told, me he had spoken to the son of Septimus Weasley I nearly didn’t believe him. I do hope he passed onto you my greeting and invitation earlier.” He said while warmly shaking Arthurs hand in both of his.
“Minister Webb, I’m humbled that you consider meeting me an honour. I must confess that until today I was unaware of the actions of my father in relation to yours. I can say he would be greatly pleased to know that he helped a man who turned out such a fine family. If the actions of your son and daughters today are anything to go by. And Minister please call me Arthur.” Arthur said humbly.
“Many thanks Arthur. It is indeed gratifying to an old man’s ears to hear that his children are doing some good in the world.” He said smiling. “No need to keep up with the Minster fluff, please call me Ivan.”
Nodding to Ivan, Arthur next turned to me, “Ivan I would like to introduce my wife Molly Weasley.”
As he turned toward me I saw his eyes widen and flicker with obvious recognition before quickly reverting to his usual expression.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Ivan.” I said. And before I could stop myself, adding on, “Have we met before?”
Given I had just put ‘my foot in it’ I thought I might as well go all out and explain. So, I continued, “You seemed to have recognised me just now. I must admit I thought I noticed a similar reaction on your sons face when we were first introduced earlier also.”
“A pleasure to meet you also Molly. Please forgive my startled expression before. It’s just that you bear such a striking resemblance to my wife. It caught me off guard for a moment.” He replied.
“Of course, you are forgiven. Your wife must be an exception woman to take after me.” I said cheekily
“She is most definitely one of a kind.” He replied with a smile. “Would you like to meet her? She did say she would be right behind me.”
“It would be a pleasure.” I said quickly, trying to hide my own curiosity.
Ivan quickly walked back to the door and called out, “Sandra, are you ready yet? The door is open and everyone is waiting.”
“Coming, I was just selecting a nice bottle of wine to bring.” a female voice replied.
Very soon another person joined him in the door way. As he stepped back to allow her into the room we both made eye contact at the same time.
If Ivan’s reaction to seeing me was one of surprise it was as nothing to our reactions to seeing each other. She dropped the bottle of wine she had been holding and I dropped the tea pot that I had just picked up to make tea with for everyone. Both items smashed unnoticed on the floor of the kitchen.
While I felt a great deal of curiosity it was also clear that she was feeling something much stronger. As the colour, had drained from her face and she was beginning to look horrified.
The next words from her were heart breaking, “It’s a trap” she hissed to her husband.
“They didn’t manage to kill me last time I was here. Now they have lured me back, by hurting my son.” She exclaimed.
“We must rescue him darling and get out of here, all of us. They can’t be trusted.” She almost pleaded with her husband.
“Who can’t be trusted dear?” Ivan asked somewhat confused.
“Her.” She said pointing a finger at me. To the enormous shock and surprise of everyone in the room, myself included.
“I don’t follow you my dear. Why can’t Molly be trusted?” Ivan asked of his distraught wife.
“She’s a Prewett” she almost spat the word, “Just like ‘Great’ Aunt bloody Muriel who had Fabian and Gideon killed because they tried to protect me.”
“They can’t be trusted. Let’s get our family and go. They took my little brothers, this country took my first-born son. I will NOT let them take my daughters and only remaining son.” She said with steel coming back into her voice.
The Aurors outside had obviously heard the exchange and were paying more attention to the goings on in the room. They also looked to be ready to spring into action when called. I noticed that Shelly and Cassy had moved over to place themselves between the lounge where their brother and cousin was and the group in the kitchen. They hadn’t drawn their wands, but from what we had witnessed earlier they didn’t really need them.
The potential for immediate and extreme violence in the room was almost palatable.
Arthur was trying to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. My mind was going like an out of control Hippogriff. But I couldn’t get my mouth to express my words.
What I couldn’t communicate verbally I was trying to communicate with my face. If this woman was to be believed she would have to be my sister. My older sister. As she referred to Fabian and Gideon as her younger brothers. But to me they were my older brothers. She also mentioned Great Aunt Muriel. The names alone would have given me pause to think.
But her appearance was so familiar, I could almost picture her at the dinner table in my parents’ house.
Ivan, Kingsley and Chief Williams were likewise tongue tied with no idea what to say.
Into this mix there arrived a Fireball.
Not a real fireball obviously that would have been disastrous, but the other sister of Dave had arrived. She had two more people in tow behind her. They also looked rather confused.
“What’s going on? Why does everyone look like a bunch of stunned wombats?” she asked.
“That woman over there is a Prewett, Jasper.” Sandra said through clenched teeth.
“Yeah, I know. So, what’s the problem?” asked Fireball.
“You know? How can you possibly know?” her mother demanded.
“Dave told me. He recognised it as soon as he arrived and let me know.” She said with a rather direct look at her mother.
“Dave knew? And he didn’t warn you?” she asked.
“Mum do you honestly think Dave would have stayed for even a moment if he had read any guilt from her. You know what he is like.” She said with an exasperated sigh.
“He not only stayed, he fought alongside her and her family and their friends to protect them when we found the ambush waiting.” She explained.
“Then after that he went way above and beyond to help heal the young woman over there who was hit with one of those hideous cursed knives.” She said pointing to Gabrielle.
At this comment the two people who had entered with her moved off to where Gabrielle lay.
“Now mum, do you see Dave doing ANY of that. Let alone all of it if he thought she was guilty of or involved with the attack on you and your brothers?” she asked rather pointedly.
“You said it yourself, when you were last over here that Muriel wouldn’t let you meet any more of the family. So, it’s a good bet she hasn’t told them about you either.” Fireball said with some frustration starting to show.
The two women were almost glaring at each other.
“Bloody Hell Mum, you are one of the most stubborn and frustrating women that I know. If you don’t believe me ask Dave. You know that he can read people far better than any of us. If he says it is a good bet, that we can trust her and Arthur that’s good enough for me.” She exclaimed.
“Where is Dave anyway?” Fireball asked looking around for her brother.
Concern for her son over riding any other emotion Sandra joined Fireball in looking for Dave.
Kingsley ever the Diplomat, chose this moment to speak up, “Dr Webb, your son David is in the other room with two of our Healers.” He said with more calmness than usual.
“Healers? What did they do to him?” she asked a little heatedly.
Speaking in his deceptively calm and deep voice Kingsley tried to calm her fears by saying, “He collapsed after Gabrielle here, was herself healed from the cursed knife she was struck with.” Kingsley answered.
Fireball immediately began to move to the door that was currently guarded by Cassy and Shelly.
Shelly held up one hand to her sister and calmly but firmly said, “Let them do their job FB. Let them do their job.”
Glaring at her sister for a moment, Fireball moved to one side and put her hand on the wall. She closed her eyes and bowed her head for a moment.
“What do you see?” her mother asked desperate for news.
“Dave’s hurt. Badly” she mentioned quietly, almost clinically.
Her mother on the other hand only seemed to get more concerned. “How badly?” she asked in a small voice.
“He’s broken a lot of bones, in his legs, arms, back and most of his ribs. Must have been from when the Dementor threw him through the balcony” she went on in a clinical voice.
“Dementors?” Sandra croaked. “What...” she tried to say before her husband quietened her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Looks like he tried to heal himself but he must have been too tired to do it properly. I think they are going to have to re-break several of the bones to reset them.”
“The Healers in there are working hard and honestly. But they are struggling with something, as we know that Dave doesn’t respond in the usual way to most treatments.”
“I think Shelly is right. We need to let them work in peace. Although we should have something ready for them to eat and drink when they get out. As they are going to need it.” She said taking her hand off the wall and turning to face the rest of the room.
“What?” she said taking in everyone staring at her when she turned around.
When no one answered her, she walked over to the crowd that was gathered around Gabrielle.
After a quick glance between them the two Ministers seemed to make the decision to take advantage of the quiet that had descended.
“Sandra, I would like to introduce you to Mr Kingsley Shacklebolt. The British Minister of Magic. Minister, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Dr Sandra Webb.”
“Dr Webb, it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Kingsley began with a small smile, as he took her hand in a warm but gentle hand shake.
“Minister, I’m very pleased to meet you also. It is reassuring to finally meet a British Minister of Magic who isn’t a total drongo.” She said returning Kingsley smile.
“Been reading my briefing papers again I see.” Ivan replied laughing at his wife’s comment and Kingsley’s reaction to them.
“I’m glad I have filled you with confidence in my abilities” Kingsley replied after recovering from his initial shock at her rather blunt assessment.
“A sense of humour too. Things are looking up.” Sandra replied to her husband while giving Kingsley a warm smile.
“Darling, this is Mr Arthur Weasley, son of Mr Septimus Weasley and Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He is also master of this house.”
“Mr Weasley, it is indeed an honour to meet you. The exploits of your father are almost legendary in my husband’s family. I for one are very grateful to him, for without him I would have never have met my husband.”
“Thank you for welcoming us into your home.” She said very warmly.
“You do me and my family great honour Dr Webb. I was unaware of my father’s actions in regards to your family until today. I’m still coming to terms with it myself I must admit. But you are most welcome here. Please call me Arthur” Arthur replied clearly nervous with all these guests.
“Thank you Arthur. I suspect that your fathers’ actions will have affected not only my husband’s family but a great many others. But that is going to be a journey for another day.”
“I greatly suspect that I myself are about to learn some new things about my own family” she said turning to look at me.
The woman standing before me looked at once so familiar and very much a stranger at the same time. She was slightly taller than Arthur. She had the fiery red hair so common in the Prewett family, even with the flecks of grey that showed through it was still a mane that she wore with almost regal bearing.
Her eyes were the bluest that I had ever seen. They reminded me of a bright summer’s day. But you could also almost feel the mind working behind them. They were the eyes of someone who remembers all of what they see. I don’t doubt that trait caused her children no end of grief while they were growing up.
While her face wasn’t like looking in a mirror, you couldn’t see it and not think it had to be a close family connection. Her expression was now of open curiosity; it was so familiar I couldn’t help but start to smile.
However, her build was the most noticeable difference between us. She put me in mind of someone who had spent a great deal of time outdoors. Not labouring or working on a farm, but just being outdoors for the pure enjoyment of it. She probably enjoyed walking in nature or a similar active pursuit.
My emotions were in such a jumble I almost didn’t hear Arthur making the introductions.
“Molly, I would like to introduce you to Dr Sandra Mary Webb. Dr Webb, this is my wife Molly Weasley.” Said Arthur a little nervously.
Keeping in mind her earlier comments, I raised my hand to shake hers very gently so as not to cause her any alarm. She also rather hesitantly raised her own hand to mine.
The handshake was tentative, but warm. I could feel all the questions behind it, I was willing to admit they were most likely the same as my own.
“Very pleased to meet you.” I finally managed to get out. As she squeaked out a similar reply.
Looking for a starting place for a conversation I said, “You have such a beautiful name. How did you come by it?”
“My parents each picked one name for me. As I was my mother’s first child she named me after her mum, Sandra Black. Of whom she had many fond memories. My dad named me after his wife, my mum, Mary Longbottom.” She explained.
“What was your father’s name?” I asked. I was almost positive that I knew the answer but I had to be sure.
Looking at me with searching eyes she answered, “William Prewett.”
My legs went weak and I would have fallen if Arthur hadn’t of caught me. I was only vaguely aware of all my children following the conversation very intently. But at the same time trying to look like they were not overly interested in it. Except for Bill, he was opening displaying his interest.
Looking up at Arthur I asked of him, “Why didn’t they ever tell me? Why?”
“I don’t know Molly. Truly I don’t know.” He answered with tears beginning to form in his own eyes.
“May I ask after your parents?” Sandra asked tentatively.
Wiping my eyes, I answered in a rush, “William Prewett and Mary Longbottom. I also had two OLDER brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewett.”
I watched her very closely as she absorbed those names. Comprehension dawned on her as to their meaning. There was a look of hope, longing as well as apprehension on her face as she drank in my face in the light of this new information.
“Sisters?” she said to the utter astonishment of all in the room.
Not knowing what to say, I could only nod. I wanted to move forward and embrace my older sister. However, she still seemed too stunned to accept it.
“Why?” she asked her eyes still searching my face. It was the one question I feared. As I had no means to answer it.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.” I replied. It was the most honest answer I could give.
“I never knew. Growing up I thought that Fabian was my parents’ oldest child. There was never a hint that he wasn’t.” I tried to explain.
Her face was still searching mine, for what I could only guess. Her husband came up and put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear that I could not make out.
She glanced at him in surprise and then turned back to me. Her eyes turned almost completely golden and she just stared at me for a few moments. I had the oddest feeling that I had just been weighed and measured.
Whatever she saw seemed to remove the tension from her. She lost the defensive stance she had adopted since we first met.
She approached me again holding out both of her hands.
I took her hands in mine and held them, smiling at her.
“Sisters?” she asked again.
“Sisters!” I replied, with my eyes becoming moist.
We embraced each other in rather fierce hugs. People often tell me I give very strong hugs but my sister trumps me in that department.
When we finally released each other, I looked around at the crowd in the room, as well as the gathering of DA members on the porch with some of the Aurors from Dave’s team sprinkled amongst them.
“Everyone” I called out, “I would like to introduce my big sister Dr Sandra Webb”.
This set off a roar of approval and triggered a very hasty round of introductions as my family came over to meet their new Aunty and Uncle. Charlie was the first to us and was warmly embraced by both Sandra & Ivan. He was followed by George and Ron.
When Percy was introduced he was also warmly embraced, but Ivan asked him, “Mr P?” to which Percy nodded. Ivan then proceeded to tell Percy that Dave was highly impressed with his work with his team. He also mentioned that he had endorsed the nomination from Dave for Percy to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. As it was the highest honour that they could bestow on an operative who worked with them.
Percy’s face was the same colour as his hair when he moved on and made way for Ginny.
When she saw my Ginny, Sandra put her hands over her mouth and said, “It’s like looking back in time to when Jasper was about to come of age.” Ginny smiled shyly at the comment.
Ginny was also warmly embraced by the two of them. She then also offered her apologies for losing her temper and trying to Hex Dave not long after he arrived.
At this statement, I could see, Shelly, Cassy and Fireball take more of an interest in the conversation. Although they still seemed to be very relaxed.
“Thank-you for telling us Ginny” Sandra said with genuine warmth, “but it is nothing to do with us. It sounds to me like it was a misunderstanding between you and Dave, which you both have already dealt with.”
“Yeah it’s not the first time one of his cousins has tried to Hex the cheeky bas…” Fireball stated before being cut off.
“Jasper!” Sandra exclaimed, “mind you tongue. You are a guest here.”
“It’s true mum.” She retorted.
“That maybe but here is no need for that language young lady.” Sandra replied.
“The resemblance just gets clearer and clearer” Charlie remarked to Bill with a smile. “Indeed” he agreed also with a smile.
“Cousin?” Ginny asked a little surprised. “He would be, wouldn’t he? Another dam boy in the family.” She exclaimed.
“Don’t forget the six new FEMALE cousins that you just found out about also.” Fireball replied with an impish grin directed to Ginny.
Ginny gave the idea some thought and must have liked it as she moved off with a smile on her face to go and talk to Fireball, Shelly and Cassy.
I went to introduce Bill to my sister, but when I looked at him I was shocked. Without meaning to I exclaimed “Bill, what has happened to your face?”
Poor Bill found himself as the centre of attention in the room now.
Sandra spoke up saying, “They are only very mild scars, Molly. There’re nothing to worry about.”
“That’s just it. They were never mild scars.” I said, “They were deep and angry red scars before.”
At this Fleur and the woman who entered with Fireball came over to examine Bill’s face.
“C'est comme un miracle” Fleur said clearly surprised. Noting the looks from the others in the room she said, “It’s like a miracle”
“What are you talking about?” Bill asked
“It’s your scars Bill.” I said, “They are almost gone. You can still see them, but you must need to be looking for them to notice them now. As they are a lot fainter than before. They are also very shallow, nowhere near as deep as before.”
Bill was startled for a moment before he borrowed a mirror from Fleur and saw for himself.
The woman who had entered with Fireball asked, “How did you get those scars originally? How long ago?”
“Fenrir Greyback the werewolf gave them to me. It would be just over a year ago.” He answered without looking up.
“Curse wounds then. Take it has wasn’t transformed at the time?” she asked again in a very clinical manner while still staring at the scars.
I could see Fleur beginning to get a little agitated from the attention that this woman was giving to Bill.
“Correct.” he replied taking his eyes off the mirror to look at the woman before him. His eyes had a curious look in them, like he was trying to place where it was that he had seen her before.
“Don’t worry Bombshell, it will come to you eventually.” She said grinning ear to ear.
At this statement Bills eyes lit up with recognition. He also started to blush slightly.
“Look a bit different when I’m not covered in scaffold wreckage, dust and sand don’t I.” she said still smiling.
“Oh my.” Bill exclaimed. “I had almost completely forgotten about that until your brother reminded me of it earlier.” He said with the blush continuing to spread.
Fleur looked at the woman standing in front of Bill and asked “You are Natalie ‘ood? Dave’s sister?”
“I try to deny it but I am.” She replied smiling, “From what your parents said you must be Fleur, Bill’s wife and sister to the young lady on the table?”
“Oui” Fleur answered returning Natalie’s smile.
“Was Bill exposed to ‘Friendfyre’ at all during the effort on your sister?” Natalie asked.
“’Friendfyre’?” Fleur questioned.
“That’s what we are calling it at the moment. It doesn’t have an ‘official’ name currently. But it is Golden flames that don’t interact with things unless they are cursed or been exposed to dark magic.” Natalie exclaimed.
“Ahh… In zat case, Oui. We were all covered in it.” She answered.
“There is your answer Mrs Weasley. The ‘Friendfyre’ as we call it has destroyed all the curse damaged tissue on Bill’s face and most likely the rest of his body also.”
“Dave must have closed up the remaining wounds and healed them. But it has been a while since he was that clumsy about something like that. But given the other things he was doing at the time, I guess we can forgive him this once.”
“Excuse me, I must get back to examining Fleur’s sister.” With that she turned and went back to the table where Gabrielle and her parents were clustered.
Taking advantage of the break in the conversation, I introduced Sandra and Ivan to Bill and Fleur.
Sandra was greatly amused to meet Bill in person.
“So you are the near mythical ‘Bombshell’ that we keep hearing about.” She said struggling to contain her laughter.
“I must say you certainly made Craig’s proposal to Natalie a memorable one.” She chuckled.
“Proposal?” Bill said surprised, “Blimey, an entrance like that would have certainly put a dampener on the event.”
“I had no idea that that’s what they were doing. I just thought it was a dinner for two. I probably should go and apologise for interrupting them like that.”
“No need for that” Sandra said, “she has gotten great mileage out of the stories.”
“You might want to get Craig a beer at some point though. As he was a little put out with you for a while.”
“Although I suspect, that was mostly because you ended up in his lap. Drove the engagement ring he had in his pocket into his thigh and then tried to cuddle him.” She said finally failing to control her laughter.
“He was happy that you decided not to kiss though.”
Fleur also joined in the laughter although she might have been laughing more at the expression on Bill’s face at the moment. It was one of abject horror as he tried to imagine the scene.
While Bill was recovering from that news Fleur was introduced. She was also warmly welcomed and unconsciously turned on some of her Veela charm. The effect on my boys (except for Bill) was most noticeable, several of the others outside on the porch was also caught by it. However, Ivan was curiously unaffected by the display, and calmly mentioned that he was pleased to meet her and expressed his wishes that her sister would recover fully from her injuries.
Fleur once she realised what she had done was only a little surprised that her charm didn’t seem to have its usual effect on him.
She graciously accepted the good wishes and moved back to be with her sister and her family.
I next introduced Hermione to Sandra and Ivan. She had been hovering in the background clearly excited at the arrival of the woman who had been involved with looking after her parents over the past year.
When I made the introductions, I made sure to stress just who Hermione was to Sandra and Ivan. They were both very pleased to meet her and confirmed the information that Dave had provided earlier to her.
Namely that her parents were well, with some slight problems in regards to the charm that had been applied to them. But now that Sandra could question Hermione about the specifics of the charm that she had applied to her parents, Sandra was confident that it could be restored and removed fully.
Arrangements were quickly made to take Hermione back to Australia two days before her parents arrived. It was felt that this would give them both plenty of time to plan their course of action.
As the healers who were working on Dave had not yet come out of the lounge I took Sandra and Ivan over to where the Delacour family were gathered around Gabrielle.
I introduced Sandra and Ivan to Monsieur and Madame Delacour. Once they understood that they were the parents of Dave, the Delacour’s were lavish in their praise of the work that had been done by Dave.
They seemed to be pleased to hear this news, but were also very startled by the very French kisses that were bestowed on them both by Monsieur and Madam Delacour. I remembered thinking that I could relate as it also took me a while to become accustomed to them myself.
Looking at his daughter Ivan asked how Gabrielle was doing.
“I do believe that she is out of the woods right now, I also believe that she will make a full recovery with no ill effects.” She said very clinically. These comments also brought a smile to Madame and Monsieur Delacour and Fleur as well. Even Gabrielle managed a small but very tired smile.
“From what I have heard Dave did a solid job in dividing up the work load so no one was burdened to heavily. However, I am worried that he may have drained himself too much in the process.” She said a little concerned.
“How so?” Ivan asked.
“Think over the events of this day dad and what Dave has been through. Late yesterday he had a significant battle with a group of Death Eaters. Then they moved a large number of people from Thailand back to Australia. With a short rest he then moved a good number of people to southern France and then came here.”
“While here he apparently fought against the ambush that had been setup. Then once the humans had been dealt with he took on 15 Dementors. Now while Shelly, Fireball and Cassy helped that is still a tall order. Especially as it is currently only Dave who can deliver the ‘coup de grâce’ on them.”
“That alone takes a huge effort on one of them. Imagine doing it 15 times.” She said.
“I got one of them.” Fireball added.
“Ok then, 14 of them” Natalie said with a half-smile to her sister.
“To put it simply dad, I’m worried.” She said, “If all those healers had to contend with were a collection of broken bones on him they should have been done well before now.”
“I want to go in there and find out just what exactly is going on with him.” She added.
Ivan nodded and looked to Kingsley who had been listening to the conversation.
“I will go and ask for an update on his condition for you” he said before quickly making his way over to the lounge door.
The women gathered around it let him pass without hesitation. Clearly they wanted an update as well.
Kingsley opened the door and stepped through.
Chapter 11: Dave
As he stepped through he was greeted by Healer Grants voice, “Minister I was just about to send for you. We have a problem here.”This was enough to cause the Webb family to quickly appear in the lounge along with Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Ron, Ginny and Hermione.
“What is the problem?” Ivan asked.
Healer Grant looked up at the crowd of people had appeared in the lounge. He quickly stated that only family members should be present, to which Kingsley replied that they were all family in here.
Slightly taken aback by the news Healer Grant continued.
“We have repaired the broken bones to Auror Webb’s, Skull, Neck, Arms and Legs. We believe that we have taken care of most of the internal bleeding as well.”
“However, we can’t do anything for the damage to his chest. As he is wearing something that is blocking all of our spells.” He added in frustration looking to Kingsley and Ivan.
“Let me see” Fireball added determinedly walking past the two Ministers and the Healer with Natalie and Craig hot on her heels.
Their action caused the rest of us to move further into the room so that we could see Dave laid out on the couch. He was still unconscious.
Upon seeing his face there were several gasps from assorted Weasley family members (Fleur and Hermione included).
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Sandra spoke up.
“Blimey, he looks just like Harry a younger Harry.” Ron exclaimed, “If he had the scar and green eyes and was smaller I would say he was his twin.”
“Harry? Who’s Harry?” Sandra asked clearly confused. Ivan also had a slightly confused look on his face, but his was more the look of someone who was trying to place a name he knew rather than a name he didn’t.
“Oh, come on. You must be kidding me.” Ron said, “Harry, as in Harry Potter.”
“You must have heard of him.” Ron asked in disbelief.
“Is that the same Harry Potter that your ministry was trying so hard to capture until recently?” Ivan asked.
“Yeah, you could say that.” Ron replied, disbelief evident on his face that these people were not fully aware of Harry’s role in recent events.
“When he gets here you can stand them next to each other and compare for yourself.” He added.
“That might not be a good idea.” Ivan answered.
“Why not?” Ron asked.
“The name Potter in our family is viewed in pretty much the opposite to the way the name Weasley is viewed.” Ivan said to a suddenly very silent room.
“As it was the Potter family who made the accusations against my father that lead to him being arrested. They were also instrumental in driving through the punishment that was assigned to him. The one that Mr Septimus Weasley did his utmost to undo.”
“Yeah? Well maybe he deserved it. Did you think of that?” Ron asked, clearly only thinking of defending his friend.
“Deserved it? How can ANYONE deserve that punishment?” Ivan said as his anger become evident in his voice.
“I gave my son a copy of the documents that detailed his supposed crime and the punishment to show you all how the actions of your Grandfather saved my father. How can you have seen them and make a statement like that.” He said with more and more heat coming into his voice.
“Minister Webb”, Kingsley spoke up hoping to defuse the situation, “Auror Webb had shown a document listing the selling of your father into slavery only. The other documents had not been discussed when the ambush was discovered and dealt with.”
This seemed to have a calming effect on Ivan. As he nodded to Kingsley and then turned to Ron. “Forgive my outburst just now.” he asked calming himself down.
“The other documents show that my father was accused of marrying a Muggle woman. For this crime, he was arrested. After a show trial, which was held the day after his arrest he was convicted.”
“He was then forced to watch as his wife was executed in front of him by having her throat slit and then pushed through the execution arch in the ministry.” He said through tightly clenched teeth.
“He then had to watch as his 6-month-old son was also sent through the execution arch.”
“After this they broke his wand. Then they broke him, and sold him into slavery.” He finished almost spitting the words.
“Now can you please tell me if that punishment fitted the supposed crime of marrying a Muggle Woman and having a child with her?” he asked Ron.
Ron and indeed the rest of the room had gone quiet. Indeed, quite a few of them had gone almost white with shock.
“They broke him?” Hermione asked. “Please Sir, I don’t understand what you mean by that.”
Kingsley answered that one, although he did so with reluctance. “The breaking of someone, Hermione is a gruesome event. As it involves the breaking of their connection to their magical core and the forcible removal of the majority of a person’s Soul.”
“I must admit I had not heard of anyone surviving the procedure.” He said looking to Ivan.
“Me neither Minister.” Ivan answered, “And we have researched any, and all records that we can get our hands on in relation to this punishment.”
“The only similar event we could find was a case of it being performed on a pregnant woman who gave birth not long afterwards. Her child survived, but he was considered an outcast for the rest of his life. With fewer rights than even werewolves.”
“His magic was also changed and had become wild and almost uncontrollable.” He said sadly.
“How did your father survive?” Kingsley asked.
“We can only guess that the people who carried out the procedure on my father botched the job. As they seemed to have left a slightly larger portion of his Soul behind in his body than was intended.” Was the answer.
“What happened to the portion of the soul that was removed?” Kingsley asked with worry beginning to show.
“We do not know for sure. To the best of our knowledge its fate wasn’t recorded. Although my father does recall being taunted by the Potter’s, with them alternately telling him that they fed his Soul to a Dementor or that they kept it in a Horcrux like device.” He added.
“A trapped pure soul, would be a powerful magical object indeed” Kingsley said almost in awe.
“Indeed, it would be. But we have no way of knowing what its fate was.” Ivan said sadly.
“What happened when your father died?” Hermione asked in a small voice. She was aware of the fate that Tom Riddle Jr suffered when he died with a torn soul.
“Before my father died, my two sons stepped forward to offer themselves as hosts to support his soul. Until either they died or they discovered the fate of the rest of his soul.”
“Eventually they convinced their grandfather to allow them to do this for him out of their love for him.”
“So, when he died they took up the burden of being bearers of his soul. However, since the death of my eldest son, Dave has carried that burden alone.” He said sadly, unshed tears in his eyes.
“Zat’s w’at ee was ‘olding. Wasn’t it?” Fleur exclaimed.
Ivan looked up at Fleur with an expression of surprise, “Pardon?” he asked.
“When we were working on Gabrielle, Dave said we may see each other’s Souls or at least zeir outer shell I zink ‘e called it. I remember looking across at Bill and zen Dave. When I looked at Dave I was startled as I zought I saw more zan one Soul zere.” She said in a slightly awed voice as she remembered.
“What did you see when you looked at him?” Sandra asked very intently.
“I… I don’t zink I can properly explain eet. It was like nozing I ‘ad ever seen before.” She said.
“Please try.” Sandra encouraged her.
“Ze closest I could describe it would be to say it looked like a Dragon.” She explained
Eyebrows were raised around the room. Charlie however seemed to be very interested in this news.
“How did it differ to Dragons that you have seen?” Charlie asked. Remembering that Fleur had encountered a dragon during the Tri-Wizard tournament up close and had also watched the champions who came after her deal with their dragons.
“It was different in zat it ‘ad four limbs, plus wings. It also looked more regal and alert zan any Dragon I ‘ave seen.” She stated, “It also seemed to be cradling a figure close to its chest. A figure who was badly ‘urt.”
“See I wasn’t imagining it” Sandra said to her husband, “we know his Patronus is that weird looking dragon he is so fond of. Makes a certain amount of sense that his outer Soul would resemble that also.”
“Veela are very perceptive and she has no ties to him. So, it is an objective viewing.” She said almost smugly to her husband as though she was claiming a bet.
“’ow did you...” Fleur started to ask.
“Know that you are part Veela?” Sandra finished for her.
“Oui” Fleur responded.
“I can see your wings dear. They look very nice I must add.” Sandra answered to Fleur’s astonishment.
“Dave said ze same zing earlier.” She said in confusion.
“That’s surprising” Shelly said.
“Yeah.” Fireball agreed. “He’s usually as thick as two planks when it comes to do with anything about women. Even Emma…”
“Jasper!” Sandra snapped at her daughter, who returned a sullen look and then went back to her discussion with Natalie, Craig and Healer Jones about his examination of Dave.
“In answer to your earlier question Fleur” Ivan said, “Yes. What your saw being supported by Dave’s soul was indeed the remnants of my father’s soul.”
“He’s a Horcrux? Just like Harry was.” Ron exclaimed.
“No Ron. He is most definitely not a Horcrux.” Ivan remarked.
“The most crucial difference here is that a Horcrux involves magic of the darkest sort. What my father and Dave are doing is just the opposite. It is only possible through love. To willingly give up part of your life force to support another’s soul. It is a sacrifice only possible with unconditional love and a pure soul.”
“Also unlike a Horcrux, both Souls here are fully aware of each other. They are not fighting for dominance or control. They can also freely communicate with each other.”
“Therefore, Dave often seems far older than he actually is. As he has access to a lot of my father’s memories and experiences.”
“However, this is also the core of a potential problem.” He added with his face becoming serious.
“If this Harry Potter you mentioned has any connection to the Potter family that was involved with the accusation, arrest and conviction of my father. Then the last place he should be is around my son.” Ivan proclaimed.
“At least until we have had a chance to talk to him as well as Dave and my father.”
“For while remembering what happened to my father makes me feel angry. To Dave it will bring not only his own anger, but my father’s unbridled fury.” He stated.
“I can see how that would be a problem” Arthur replied from the doorway.
“Indeed” Kingsley agreed.
“What names are on that document?” Kingsley wanted to know.
“Henry and Fleamont Potter.” Ivan replied.
“We have a real problem then.” Hermione answered. “As they are Harry’s Great Grandfather and Grandfather.”
“We need to move him, before Harry gets back.” Ron stated.
“With all the broken ribs he has, if you try to move him before we can properly put him back together you will shred his lungs” Healer Grant replied.
“He is breathing now, but barely. I’m not willing to risk any major movements until we can fix his ribs.” He stated rather forcefully.
“Let me in.” Fireball exclaimed.
“What are you going to do?” Healer Jones asked
“I’m going to cut his top off so we can see what is blocking your spells.” She answered.
“We have tried that already. Whatever that top is made of you can’t cut it in a normal manner.” He said with resignation.
Clearly frustrated Fireball looked around the room and formed a plan.
“Dad, you Bombshell and Ron gently lift Dave up. While you do that Shelly and I will pull up his shirt and try to lift it over his head and arms.” She explained.
Understanding the reasons for it they all got themselves in position. Working together they could remove his shirt with only a minimum of fuss. Although I must admit that it was a blessing in disguise that poor Dave was unconscious at the time.
Once his shirt was off, we could all see the rather strange garment he was wearing underneath it. It looked like an oddly shaped singlet. The material was an off-white colour. But in many places, it was cut through exposing something shinny underneath.
“Could it be?” Shelly said in wonder, “Did he actually get it to work?”
She moved forward and opened the parted the material to expose the underlying layer.
“Stone the crows.” Cassy said, “He did get it to work. No wonder that cutting charm didn’t stop him in Thailand”
“The question is, HOW he got it to work.” Shelly asked.
“Got what to work?” I had to ask as I had no idea what they were talking about.
Looking at the shiny layer I couldn’t see anything to explain what they were talking about. It wasn’t until Shelly laid her fingers on the shiny layer and moved them up slightly that I could see that the layer was made up with what looked like rather small overlapping scales.
“What are they?” I asked in curiosity.
“Bunyip scales.” Fireball answered, a rather fierce note of pride in her voice.
“Oh come ON!” Hermione exclaimed rather forcefully, “There is no such creature as a Bunyip. They are purely Myth nothing more.”
She suddenly found herself the target of disbelieving stares from all the Australian’s in the room.
“I would beg to differ Hermione” Ivan said giving her a very direct look, “while they are rare they are indeed very real.”
“On several of our properties back home we have very large areas set aside for them as reserves to try and provide them with some protections from the Muggles who want to kill them onsite.”
“While they are very ‘odd looking’ creatures, they are extremely magical as well as highly intelligent. They are also very loyal to their family/herd and to those that they accept.”
“We are very fortunate in that the various family groups on our property have accepted our family over the years. They permit us to approach them and observe them. Some of us are accepted enough to be allowed to approach their campsites. Dave is one such person.”
“We he is awake I fully intend to ask him how he fashioned such a garment. As Bunyip scales, will ‘die’ when they are picked up and removed from where they have fallen. It is truly remarkable that he has that garment with so many scales on it and that they all appear to be alive and healthy.” He said with admiration evident in his voice.
Fireball and Shelly had been examining the garment that Dave was wearing. After a few moments, Shelly grabbed one of Dave’s Arms and placed it across his body so that his hand rested on his ribs.
Once Dave’s hand was in position a seam could be seen along the side of the garment. She tried to dig her own fingers under it but the seam would not open.
Placing Dave’s fingers under the seam caused it to open however.
“Looks like it is charmed so that only Dave can remove it.” She said with a smile, “clever little bugger he is at times”.
Once the seam was fully undone it was possible to take the garment off him. We were not prepared however for what was underneath it.
When it was removed Dave’s chest was exposed, and this caused several startled oaths to be uttered.
His chest was one giant bruise. Black and purple marks extended from one side of his broad and well-muscled chest to the other. They were a deep angry purple and black as well.
Healer Grant let out a gasp as he began waving his wand over Dave’s chest, “Almost all the ribs on the right-hand side are broken to one degree or another. With three broken on the left. How he could still breathe I don’t know.” He said as he set to work.
As my eyes roamed over the rest of his rather broad chest I was struck by the number of scars on it. There was a set of scars that ran in an almost half circle on his left-hand side. Starting near his shoulder, then curving out to just past the middle of his chest then back down to just above his waist.
There were also a set of three rather jagged parallel scars that look like they were from a set of claws that started on the lower right hand side of his ribs and went underneath him.
Toss in a few scars that looked like puncture marks and the odd horizontal slash, and the set was completed.
But apart from the scars the next oddest thing I noticed was that his skin was smooth with no hair. Either this man shared that silly muggle obsession where men shaved their chests, or he was a lot younger than he seemed.
I was not the only one to notice this either. Fleur it seemed had noticed it as well.
“’ow old ess Monsieur Webb?” she asked of Ivan, “As ee looks no older zan Quinze or Seize”
“Pardon? My French is very rusty I’m afraid” he answered.
“He will be sixteen on Halloween”, Sandra supplied.
“What? Sixteen?” Kingsley almost yelled.
“How can that be so? No one can be an Auror that that age. It just isn’t possible.” Kingsley asked of Ivan.
Aware that he was the focus of the room, Ivan replied, “Actually he joined the Aurors at the age of Twelve and Half.”
“Why would you allow such a thing? That is one of the most irresponsible things I have ever heard of.” Kingsley said very upset.
“Kingsley, are you familiar with the exams both the theory and practical needed to become recognised as a Senior Auror Internationally?” Ivan asked him.
“Yes I am. I still have nightmares about them.” He replied.
“Same here.” Ivan said with a wry smile. “Would you consider someone who passed them to be competent for field operations?”
“I certainly would. Not only to go on operations but to lead them as well.” He answered.
“I agree as well” Ivan said, “that’s why when Dave passed them at the age of twelve and a half I had to give in and allow him to join the Aurors.”
“We just didn’t have any tests left to make him do. His first 6 months we gave him every “cold case” we could find and told him to work on them. It was an effort on our part to try and keep him out of the field.” He said with a crooked smile clearly remembering back.
“Eventually we ran out of them as well.” He sighed, “During those 6 months, he had also been paired with just about every Auror we had on our roster as a duelling partner. Some of the other Aurors had obviously hoped to ‘teach him a lesson’ and get him to quit.”
“But the only people he lost to on a regular basis were, myself, my father, James (my eldest son), Shelly and Mick.”
“Even then they were only narrow loses, and we all had to stretch ourselves to the very limit.”
“Thankfully he is also a very good and talented teacher and readily helped those that he did beat with constructive criticism and instruction so that they could improve for the next time. This gave him the ability to win the respect and trust of Aurors many years his senior.”
“It wasn’t long before they started asking for him to work with them in the field. Even though I had my doubts at first, the results spoke for themselves.” He added.
“But why wasn’t he in school?” Kingsley asked.
“He had finished school by the age of 12.” Ivan supplied.
“One year of school seems hardly enough to learn what a competent wizard needs to know” Hermione said rather stiffly.
“I agree with you Hermione. However, he started school at the age of 8.” Ivan said, “So four years of magical schooling. With 14 Newts at the end of it. I couldn’t find a reason to keep him there. He didn’t enjoy school very much. Kept on saying he didn’t fit in. There were a lot of people that had their noses out of joint thinking he was getting special treatment because he was my son.”
“Personally, I think he studied so hard just to get out of there as fast as possible.”
“14 Newts by the age of 12?” Hermione said. She looked almost outraged at the thought. “Are your standards different to the ones here?” she asked a little snidely.
“Our schooling requirements align very closely indeed to the British standards I can assure you.” Ivan explained.
“What marks did he get?” Hermione asked.
“Straight O’s” Sandra answered unable to hide the pride in her voice.
Hermione had gone white, “That’s just not possible” she said clearly getting upset at the thought of someone (else) getting 14 Outstanding Newts.
“Given how hard he worked himself over those years, I would say it is indeed possible. Just very unlikely that anyone would want to try it willingly.” Sandra stated.
We all took a while to absorb this information about my nephew. Fleur however again seemed to be one step ahead of us all as something else occurred to her.
Pointing to the golden chain that was now clearly visible around Dave’s neck and the two rings upon it she asked, “Was ‘e really married? As ‘e said zat zose were ‘our’ Wedding Rings.”
The looks on the faces of Ivan and Sandra, along with those of Fireball, Shelly and Cassy were enough to answer that question. Even before any words were said.
“Sadly, yes he was.” Ivan answered, “Sometimes I still wonder if we did the right thing allowing those two to get married at that age.”
Sandra looked at her husband with her heart in her eyes and answered him, “We could have done nothing else. They loved each other as much as it was possible for two people to love one another.”
“Emma knew she was dying and it was her greatest wish to be married to Dave before she died.” She said with tears standing in her eyes.
Grabbing a hanky, I passed it to her and asked, “What happened?” before I could help myself.
She stared at Dave for a few moments and then she glanced around at the room and took in each of the faces. I wasn’t sure if she was going to say anything at all, I remember thinking of ways to try and tactfully change the subject. In the end, she spoke up before I could think of anything to say.
“The only way I can think of to describe them, is that they were perfect for each other. Two halves that made a whole.”
“They had known each other all their lives, practically growing up together. As kids they were inseparable, if you found one of them the other was bound to be close by. They always seemed to have a collection of books with them wherever they were also.”
“The books were never ones you would have thought appropriate for their ages either. Dave liked reading O.W.L. level text books when he was six years old.” She said with a smile for the memory.
Hermione also smiled at this statement. I could easily imagine her as a small child with an ever-present book collection.
“Both of them began to read at an early age. They were veracious in their reading. It was almost like they devoured the books that they had access to. “
“Once they had read all the books in her parent’s library they started on ours. We had to send them to school much earlier than is the norm as we couldn’t keep up with their learning and the questions.”
She looked at her husband with a heart-warming smile and touched his face in such a tender manner, “I still remember when they walked into one of your conferences and wanted to know where babies came from.” She laughed at the memory.
Ivan must have remembered it also as he had begun to blush, “Yes they had found an old Muggle first aid manual that covered child birth.” He smiled as he recalled the memory, “They were rather confused as to how the baby would have gotten in there in the first place.”
“Given that they were only 5 at the time I could understand their confusion.” He laughed along with the rest of us.
“The following year they both joined the Nippers at the local surf club. They had both always loved the beach, it was the only thing that could compete for their attention apart from books and each other” she said fondly.
“I remember watching them support each other through that program. How they would work together to overcome the challenges that they faced. Emma’s mother remarked to me one day that she was sure that they would end up being married one day and that she was looking forward to seeing it.”
“I told her I wouldn’t bet against that happening. But I wondered aloud if they were aware of that possibility.”
“Jackie (Emma’s mother) told me that apparently, Emma had given it lots of thought already. Has she told Dave I asked her? Jackie told me she had asked Emma the same question, her exact answer was apparently, ‘Dave doesn’t need to know right now. I will tell him when he is old enough to understand.’” Sandra was trying to contain her laughter at the memory.
“She’s a smart girl I told Jackie. The men in my husband’s family tend to be a trifle dim witted when it comes to women.”
“Only a trifle?” both Fireball and Shelly spoke up with grins of their faces.
“Now there is an understatement of the year” Fireball added, “I mean look at their track record, Emma had to belt Dave over the head with his own surf board to get her message through to him. Grandma practically had to tie Grandpa up to make him understand she was interested in more than being ‘just friends’. And then there’s you and Dad…”
“That’s enough, Jasper.” Sandra chided her. “Your father might have been a little slow on the uptake but he got the message in the end. That’s all that matters.”
“Hey, I’m standing right here you know” Ivan replied a little hurt.
“Why I do believe you’re right dear.” Sandra replied with mock surprise to the general laughter of the ladies in the room.
“Once I was aware of Emma’s intentions towards my youngest son it was easy to see her plan at work. She had him wrapped around her little finger and all tied up in a pretty little bow by the time he was 8. The poor boy never stood a chance. He didn’t seem to mind though, as I could see their bond growing on a daily basis.”
“Their bond?” I asked momentarily confused until I recalled Dave’s comments from earlier. “Dave mentioned something about being able to ‘see bonds’ between people before when he argued with that annoying healer.”
Healer Grant laughed at that statement, “That’s a polite way to describe him.” He added while still working away on Dave.
Sandra looked at me and I could again see the golden tint in her eyes, she then looked at the others in the room with her eyes tinted also. “I can imagine he would have mentioned them. There are some very strong and honest bonds on display here.” She remarked.
“What is it exactly that you see? When you look at people like that.” Hermione asked, her curiosity once more on full display.
“It depends on what you are concentrating on at the time.” Sandra replied.
“If you are not focused on anyone thing you will see just random magical energy.” She said as her eyes had only the faintest hint of a golden tint to them.
“However, if you change your thoughts to think of family, specifically the love that exists between family members,” Here the tint in her eyes became more pronounced, “You will begin to see the energy linking between the family members. But only if there is genuine affection between them.”
“With my sister’s family, I can see the mighty connections between you all. Connections that can only be made with long term and unconditional love.” She added smiling.
I couldn’t resist looking across at Arthur and smiling a special smile just for him at hearing this. He met my smile and returned it and I could feel my heart flutter just a little bit as well as a slight weakness in my knees.
“Bringing your thoughts to the specific love that exists between two individuals,” her eyes turned more golden again, “you will see the connections change once more.”
Here she looked from me to Arthur, “The connection between Molly and Arthur is almost painfully bright to look at. Similarly, the connection between Bill and Fleur is also very strong and deep, but much newer than Arthur and Molly’s. Fleur’s parents in the other room have a connection much like Arthur and Molly’s as well.”
She turned her gaze onto Ron and he started to glow scarlet much to the amusement of everyone in the room. “Have no fear Ron, I do not intend to embarrass you in front of your family. Today anyway.” She cheekily added.
“Is it a soul bond that you are seeing?” Ginny asked her eyes wide with wonder.
“No. Souls maybe connected to one another but they can’t ever be truly bonded.” She explained almost sadly to Ginny.
“To try and truly bond souls would cause immeasurable amounts of pain to each of them. What is commonly called ‘bonded souls’ or a ‘soul bond’ is in reality two very separate souls who have a very strong connection over which they communicate freely.”
“While those who are described as ‘soul mates’ not only have a connection like I described above, they also ‘talk the same language’ to one another and so even more readily understand and fully accept each other for who they actually are. Not who they wish to be or who they wish their partner to be.”
“Dave and Emma were connected thus. Half the times their conversations were almost one sided. As they both understood what the other was trying to say. Almost before the other one finished speaking. It was kind of maddening to watch or listen to at times.”
“I fully expected them to develop their connection to the point where they would be communicating by thought alone in a year or two if they had gone on the way they were any longer.”
“Does that answer your question Ginny?” Sandra asked.
“I guess” she replied looking a little disappointed at the answer she had received.
Sandra smiled at Ginny “Do not be discouraged Ginny. You are off to a wonderful start with your connection to Harry.”
Ginny was surprised by this comment and it showed on her face, “How?” she asked.
“I can see your connection to him, and his connection back. Even though he is not here currently. As you both currently have a very strong and honest connection.” Sandra remarked to her smiling.
“Keep on communicating with each other honestly and it will continue to grow.”
“Don’t talk the poor boys ears all the way off” Ron snickered and received an elbow in the ribs from Hermione for his efforts.
“I didn’t tell her to talk to him Ron. But to communicate. Communication takes many forms, talking is only one such form. A simple act of bringing them a cup of tea when they are feeling down and holding them to let them know that they are loved is a very powerful act of communication between two people.”
“Encourage him to communicate back with you also. Let him know what he means to you and you will be surprised at how well even rather dense men can communicate.” She replied smiling fondly at her husband again.
“But keep him in line also.” She added with a wicked little grin that Ginny readily returned.
“W’at ‘appened to Emma? ‘ow did she die?” Fleur asked, clearly interested in getting the story back on track.
“Oh yes… Sorry I got a little side tracked there, didn’t I?” Sandra remarked.
“When Dave had turned 8 he had already completed Muggle Primary School and almost out of pure spite sat the test for the final year of Muggle High School. He was against going so insisted on sitting the test to prove he shouldn’t have to go. He can be very stubborn at times.”
“So, the decision was made to send him off to Winninnie.”
“Winninnie?” I asked.
“It is the Australian school for Magic users.” Sandra replied, “Its origins are quite literally lost in time. No one knows when it was started. The local Aboriginal people just reply it has always been there, when they are asked how old it is.”
“Thankfully it also has a very open policy towards students. Anyone who shows ‘talent’ is welcome as long as they wish to study honestly. The school is named from the aboriginal word for ‘Meeting of the Clans’ as its original purpose was to bring together magic users of all types and from all backgrounds.”
“One result of that original purpose is that it isn’t limited to only the Study of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
“Which in the case of my husband’s family is a true blessing. As they tend to frequently have talents that lay outside of the ‘traditional’ area of Witchcraft and Wizardry as you may have noticed.” She said shyly.
“We have” Ginny replied with a slight blush of embarrassment at the thought of her earlier misunderstanding with Dave.
Smiling at Ginny Sandra continued.
“Naturally the two of them were more than a little upset when they found out that Emma wouldn’t be going to Winninnie with Dave. As she had to wait another year before they could accept her, even on their ‘accelerated program’.”
“The separation was hard on the two of them. Kevin, our Kookaburra got a real workout that year carrying all the letters that they wrote to each other. I think he was happy when Emma joined Dave as at least then he could get a rest.”
“Dave threw himself into his studies with a single mindedness that at first impressed his professors and then worried them. He seemed to want to make one year do for two.”
“Initially we thought he would slow down when Emma joined him, but that didn’t prove to be the case. If anything, they seemed to egg each other on more.”
“It was in the summer of Dave’s third year (Emma’s second) that we got the first hint that something wasn’t right. As Emma got sick over the break and stayed like that for most of the holidays. Usually she bounced back from illness very quickly.”
“The following year at school she frequented the school’s infirmary on a regular basis and no one could figure out why.”
“At the end of her third year her parents decided to take her to Melbourne to see a specialist that worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital there.”
“That’s a Muggle Hospital, isn’t it?” Hermione asked
“Yes, it is primarily a Muggle Hospital. But like all the major Hospitals in Australia it has a Wing dedicated to the treatment and care of Magical people as well.” Sandra answered.
“This is mostly due to Australia’s history of initially being several separate and independent colonies. It has led to a few odd hang overs like this. But it seems to work out with having a magical medical resource in each capital city given the distances involved.”
“The Healers there diagnosed Emma with a very rare Auto-Immune disorder. What it meant was that her own body was attacking itself as though it was a disease.”
“They started her on a treatment of highly specialised potions to try and correct her condition.”
“But as time went on the hopes for cure faded and it then became hopes of a treatment aimed at controlling the symptoms, slowing the symptoms until finally all they were trying to do was to make her as comfortable as possible.”
“As you might expect Dave didn’t take this news well. On top of his already ambitious goals at school he started reading every medical text book he could get his hands on.”
“When he was home from school and was not at Emma’s side he would seek out and question healers from all around the region who had knowledge of her type of condition and would question them almost relentlessly.”
“For a while we were all worried he would work himself into an early grave he was pushing that hard.”
“That’s not to say he didn’t make progress however. At one point, he had learnt how to make the body repair itself and he could reverse to a degree the damage that had been wrought. But it was only ever temporary.”
“Once he stopped focusing his energy on the damage it would begin again. The effort required of him to repair each small area that he worked on was immense.”
“Eventually he got to the point that he could repair or in some cases rebuild whole organs. But the cost was very high, the effort almost drained him to the point that he barely had enough energy to keep his own heart beating.”
“At first Emma was very grateful for his efforts. But when she found out the price that he was paying each time he attempted to heal her in this way she forbade him from anymore attempts. Until he was certain that he wouldn’t be in any danger from it.”
“It was just about the only time I heard them have a serious quarrel. He was more than willing to run the risks involved. But she wouldn’t allow it.”
“This was around the time that Dave finished his schooling at Winninnie.”
“His stated intention was to go off to a specialist school to study medicine and become a healer so that he could try and find a cure for Emma.”
“She had other ideas though. She wanted him to take some time off and do something that he had always wanted to do. Something purely for the fun of it.”
“Eventually she convinced him to have a go at qualifying for the muggle Rip Curl Pro World Surfing Championships in the junior division. That year they were to be held at Soorts-Hossegor in France.”
“Whilst he was competing in the event he was attacked and bitten by a great white shark.” she said in a broken voice.
“Is that what that roughly circular set of scars is” I asked pointing to the marks around his chest.
“Yes, they are the teeth marks of the shark that bit him. The tooth that is on the chain around his neck is one that had been wedged in his ribs. He asked that it be kept for him as he was taken off to the hospital.”
“I still remember all the blood, in the water on the sand it was everywhere. How he could have lost that much blood and lived I still don’t know.”
“We found out later that when Emma heard about what had happened she suffered the first of the many heart attacks that were to come.”
“Dave has never been a fan of hospital, but the 3 months he spent in hospital after being bitten he tolerated better than usual. As he was in a room next door to Emma and got to see her every day.”
“It was amazing to watch how they would support each other through their various treatments or physical therapy. I think they became closer in that time than they were before.”
“Eventually Dave healed enough for him to be able to go home. But Emma couldn’t leave the hospital just yet. She had not yet regained enough strength to enable her to leave.”
“She convinced him to go home and begin his training to become a healer if that was indeed what he wanted to do. So, we took him home with us. The plan was that we would take him into the Ministry the following day so he could lodge his application to begin to be a Healer.”
“Unbeknown to us while he had been in France the then Minister of Magic had changed the laws regarding people like Dave and the ‘approved’ professions that they could work in.”
“W’at do you mean people like Dave?” Fleur asked.
“People with his unique abilities. I believe the polite description is ‘Non-standard Magic user’ according to all the ministry guff we were sent anyway.” Sandra remarked bitterly.
“Ze Ministry controls ze jobs ee can do? Zat is ‘orrible.” Fleur remarked.
“Yes, very much so. Dave had a few other choice descriptions of the situation, which I won’t repeat here.” She said to a few chuckles.
“The only jobs that were still on the list when Dave was 12 were Ministry Functionary or Auror. While Dave had quite a few family members who were Aurors his first love before Emma had become sick was to be a craftsman or a teacher of some sort. Becoming an Auror wasn’t high on his list of things to do.”
“It was his older brother Jimmy and his cousin Joseph who eventually convinced him to agree to join them as Aurors.”
“We believe that the Minister of the day had done this deliberately to force Dave to join as he knew he would never be happy working in an office. Knowing how effective his other family members with similar skills were as Aurors the Minister was hoping that Dave would also be very effective in successfully closing cases. Thus, making the Minister look good.”
“In a way, he got his wish. As after he qualified as an Auror he was put to work on the cold case collection, one of the first cases that Dave brought to a successful close was for a very old murder. Turned out the guilty party was none other than the current Minister.”
“Dave took immense pleasure in throwing him in a cell. His next step was to convince his dad to run for Minister of Magic so that the laws could be over turned and he could try and become a Healer again.”
“Whatever the faults of the previous Minister he was VERY good at law making. He had tied these new restrictive laws to the International Statue of Secrecy. So, the only way to have them changed would be to gain approval from all the countries who have signed up to those accords.”
“That is rather problematic, as several of the countries still have laws mandating the execution of people like Dave on site. Or their imprisoning for life.”
“So, Dave was stuck working as an Auror. He is very good at his job and I believe he has started to enjoy it. It is the fact he has no choice in it however that still grates on him in no small way.”
“The life of an Auror is a hard one, more so when you are as young as Dave. The time he spent away from Emma took its toll on him and on her. Even with his ability to travel from one side of the country or even the globe to the other it was still very difficult for him to be able to see her.”
“When they were both 13 Emma told Dave that she wanted to marry him. That she had wanted to marry him since she was 6.”
“Being a true male of his family, he was caught off guard by this and stunned.” She laughed.
Shelly, Fireball and Cassy also got a good laugh out of it as well. Even Ivan had a case of the giggles.
Looking up I could see that Fleur, Ginny, Hermione and even Madame Delacour (who had drifted over to the door of the lounge) were listening intently to the story. They also had smiles on their faces.
“Dave somehow got the notion into his head that if he married Emma while she was still sick he would have been taking advantage of her in some way.”
“Stubborn nobility is apparently an occupational trait with our boys” Cassy remarked to giggles from Shelly and Fireball.
“Be nice to them girls. They may be as you describe them, but they do have other redeeming traits.” Sandra commented while giving her husband an arch little smile.
“It took the combined efforts of us” Sandra pointed to herself and Ivan, “all his sisters, his brother, Emma’s parents, all her brothers and sisters and most of the cousins from both families before we were able to convince Dave that he would not indeed be taking advantage of Emma in any way.”
“He proposed to her just after she turned 14. He had organised a trip for her to the Great Barrier Reef, one place she had always wanted to go. While she could not go snorkelling or swimming like she would have liked, he organised trips in glass bottomed boats and even a submarine ride for her to see the fish and the coral.”
“She told us that he had proposed to her at sunset after they had come back from the trip in the submarine and were sitting on the pontoon feeding the fish that were swimming around their feet.”
Fleur, Ginny, Hermione and Madam Delacour all had tears in their eyes at this point.
“What did he say? When he asked her?” Hermione enquired.
“That’s another story.” Sandra replied, “I don’t want to embarrass the poor boy too much in one day.”
“Spoilsport” mutter Fireball under her breath to some naughty sounding giggles.
“The trip to the Great Barrier Reef was to be Emma’s last trip outside the hospital. As not long after their return her condition took a major turn for the worse.”
“Her immune system had started to attack the major nerves of her body. When she went back into the hospital and found that she had lost the ability to walk unaided she wouldn’t let anyone see her for quite a while. She wouldn’t even let Dave in to see her.”
“She did relent just before Dave had to leave to go back to the UK after his leave was up. This time he had procured a prototype of the mirror phone. While it wouldn’t do video yet, he could at least talk to her and message her while he was away.”
“This was a major source of comfort to the two of them.”
“Then Jimmy was killed. I had never seen Dave like that, he completely lost it and fell apart. Especially after he found the recording of what happened.”
“We practically had to drag him and his sister’s home to stop them doing something rash.”
“Naturally when we did get him home Dave went straight off to see Emma. We found him the next morning curled up next to her on her hospital bed. Apparently, he had come in during the night and sat in the chair next to her just watching her sleep. When she woke, and noticed him she beckoned him onto the bed and just held him while his heart broke and he cried until he lost his voice.”
“When we eventually did find, him he had only just fallen asleep. We tried to get him into a bed next to her, but she would not let him go. She might have been very ill but there was no force on this planet that would have made her let go of him then.”
“We left the two of them together like that for the rest of the day. The healers on duty told us that it was the happiest that they had ever seen Emma when she had her arms around Dave like that.”
“The next day was the funeral for Jimmy. Dave was one of the pallbearers. But it was like he was on auto pilot. Thankfully we had not planned for him to speak at the service.”
“As soon as it was over he again went back to the hospital to see Emma.”
“The following day, both we and Emma’s parents received an urgent summons to the hospital. Fearing the worst, we all got there as quick as we could.”
“Arriving in Emma’s room we were met by Dave and Emma who had both somehow gotten themselves dressed up.”
“We knew that something serious was going on when Dave was dressed properly. As when he is not working Dave’s idea of formal is shoes and socks.” Sandra giggled.
“Or his ‘formal thongs’” Cassy chortled. Noticing the confused looks Shelly remarked, “I think you call them flip flops here.” Understanding (as well as a bit of relief) dawned and the story could go on.
“Emma and Dave both informed us that they were getting married right then and there and wanted us to be there with them when it happened. A Minister then entered the room and waited expectantly.”
“We couldn’t say no as we knew what it meant to the two of them. We had also been all working so hard to convince Dave that he wouldn’t be taking advantage of Emma if he married her. That we would have been the biggest hypocrites in history if we had objected.”
“Once we had agreed Dave took the spoons that they had used at breakfast and made them both wedding rings. He was very careful to make them according to the design that Emma had in her mind. He was even able to fashion the sapphires from his own tears and the black opal from her hair.”
“It was a very simple ceremony, short on everything but the love between the two-young people who were being joined.”
“Dave had even been able to organise a honeymoon of sorts for them. He managed to get Emma’s hospital bed and all of its support equipment into the roof top gardens that the hospital had. They spent the day there eating chocolate and enjoying just being with each other.”
“By nightfall they had both talked themselves into the ground and were all worn out.”
“We altered Emma’s hospital bed and made it slightly wider and left the two of them curled up on it together.”
“They were still in the same position the next morning. All the next day and the day after, they would not let each other out of their sight, it was almost like they knew what was coming.”
“Emma died the following morning. I was just arriving to visit and I could hear her talking to him. Just from the tone of her voice I could tell the end was near. She made him promise to let her go and not to try and revive her as she was so tired. But that she was also so very happy that he was with her.”
“Her last words to him were ‘Thank you’, to which he replied, ‘For what?’ she smiled at him and said, ‘For being you.’ He kissed her and told her ‘Thank you for letting me love you.’”
“She smiled at him one last time and then breathed her last.”
“It was as though light had been turned off in the room.”
“Dave just sat there holding her hand and not doing anything. I don’t think he was even aware of what was going on around him.”
“It took his father, Joseph and one of Emma’s brothers to get him home. For four days, he did nothing but sit and stare. The life had gone out of him. He wouldn’t eat, would barely drink anything. Just sat and stared at the ocean.”
“He only moved voluntarily again when it was time for her funeral.”
“If I had thought he was on auto pilot at Jimmy’s funeral it was nothing compared to how he was at Emma’s.”
“Once again he was a pallbearer but this time he delivered the eulogy at Emma’s request. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when he finished. But that was nothing compared to the singing.”
“He has always been very shy about his singing, he would never perform in public or for a crowd. But he would always sing for Emma. The day of her funeral was the first time that most of the family had heard him sing.”
“He sang alone performing some of Emma’s favourites that she requested. He sang with Emma’s brothers and sisters also. It was their last song that left the whole funeral stunned. It was so lovely, no one knew what to say.”
“Sadly, he has never sung again since.”
“Since her passing he has thrown himself into his work with such abandon it has been almost frightening to watch.” She said with tears freely flowing over her cheeks.
Not knowing what else to do I went over to her and hugged her and her husband both.
“I know that the work he has been doing is very important and is helping a great many people. But sometimes like now, when I look at him all I can see is my little boy. Who I just want to take home and let him be a normal teenager and only have to worry about normal teenage things.” Sandra said the longing evident in her voice.
“Unless he is very different to everyone else, I’m afraid no one will be taking him anywhere for a while.” Healer Grant said very tiredly.
“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.
“Minister we have only just got your son put back together. I’m not going to risk him travelling by magical means for a while. When was the last time he saw a Healer?”
“Why?” Ivan and Sandra asked almost at the same time.
“He has been carrying some major injuries for quite some time. Just about every major bone in his body appears to have been broken, quite a few of them multiple times.”
“If I didn’t know any better I would say he had healed them himself.” He said with a sigh.
“He most likely has.” Fireball said looking at Healer Grant. “He hates hospitals. The only way you can get him inside one is when he is unconscious. Even then he will sneak out as soon as he can move.”
“I see” Healer Grant replied, “Skill has been shown in the healing he has received. But you can’t set your own bones properly when they are as badly broken as most of his have been at one point or another.”
“We had to re-break a good deal of them to get everything back how it should be. I’m still also worried about his internal injuries. They will need to be watched. To ensure that we have caught all the damage.”
“Right now, he is in a very fragile state. He needs rest and a lot of it.” Healer Grant said a little forcefully.
“We can’t take him home?” Sandra asked with almost pleading eyes.
“Where is home?” he asked.
“Australia” she replied.
“Australia? I’m reluctant to move him from this couch, I’m certainly not going to agree to move him to the other side of the world.” Healer Grant said in a kindly tone, but one that also conveyed that he would not be argued with.
“Could we get him to the consulate in London?” Sandra asked her husband.
“If he can’t travel by magical means it will be a difficult trip for him.” Ivan replied, “But it could be arranged.”
“He could stay here.” I said after looking over at Arthur with a question on my face and getting a nod of agreement.
“Here?” Sandra said looking a little worried, “But Ivan said we should keep him away from this Harry you mentioned. At least until we have had a chance to talk to Dave and Harry separately.”
“Stick him in his tent.” Fireball offered, “Honestly I sometimes think he prefers his tent. Even over his house that he has been building since forever.”
“If we can pitch our tents in the field over there we can charm them so that no one will ever see or find them.” She offered.
Everyone looked at Fireball like she had gone a little crazy. Especially Ron, who we had learned had ended up hating the tent that he had shared with Harry and Hermione while they were on the run.
“Who would prefer a tent, even a magical tent over being in a house?” Ron asked clearly confused.
“Someone who has always loved camping, and has spent years working on the design of his tent.” Fireball replied.
“I must admit I’m not a huge fan of tents. But even after living in our tents for the better part of two years, I can honestly say I don’t mind them.” She explained.
“I’m going to tell Dave that when he wakes up. He and ‘Q’ are going to be gobsmacked that you said nice things about their tents” Shelly exclaimed while smirking at Fireball.
“If you do I will deny it.” Fireball replied.
“Too many witnesses to try that one FB.” Shelly retorted clearly happy at out manoeuvring her sister.
“You are more than welcome to set up your tents in the yard, inside our wards.” Arthur replied, “There will be no need to hide your tents at all. I will ask Harry to keep away from them until we have had a chance to chat to him.”
“Charlie, can you take Jasper, Shelly and Cassy outside and show them where they can put their tents?”
“Will do dad.” Charlie replied. With a grin at the girls he said, “Ladies if you will follow me.” And headed out of the lounge into the kitchen.
“It’s been a while since anyone called me a lady” Fireball replied with a smile, while eyeing Charlie’s behind as he headed out of the room.
“Yeah and it’s for good reason too.” Shelly replied while grabbing Dave’s wallet and following the two of them out of the room, “Keep your thoughts out of the gutter FB. Remember he is your cousin.”
“Well he isn’t MY cousin” Cassy replied under her breath as she followed the crowd out of the room.
“I hope he knows how to keep himself safe in the face of dangerous females” Ivan asked Arthur with a grin.
“He should, he works with Dragons.” Arthur replied also smiling.
“I get the feeling he has yet to meet ‘Dragons’ like them.” Bill said a little absentmindedly, then he blushed slightly when he realised that he said that out loud.
Ivan however found it highly amusing and laughed at the comment, “You could be right there Bombshell. You could very well be right.”
In short order Charlie and the girls were back inside letting us know that the tents were all setup and ready. Charlie seemed to be a little hot under the collar for some inexplicable reason.
George must have noticed as he was mercilessly asking Charlie why he was blushing. Bill raised an eyebrow at the conversation. But demonstrating that discretion was the better part of valour he wisely decided not to get involved. At least until Fleur was out of ear shot.
A stretcher was quickly conjured and Dave was carefully levitated onto it. His clothes and vest were placed on top of him
Then Ivan, Bill, Charlie and Kingsley carried him out of the lounge. Healers Grant and Jones followed them out.
As they passed through the kitchen Gabrielle was sitting up on the table. She watched them carry Dave through the kitchen with a very strange expression on her face.
I was still trying to decide what her expression was when she spoke to Fleur rapidly in French, “Qui est-ce sur la civière?”
“Monsieur Dave” Fleur replied with a curious look at her sister.
“Très mignon” she muttered under her breath, then blushed to the roots of her hair when she realised that Fleur had caught what she said.
Recovering quickly, she replied, “Je l'ai vu auparavant, il était sur une couverture de magazine.”
“Vraiment?” Fleur replied with a slightly disbelieving look on her face.
“Oui vraiment.” Gabrielle answered.
“Je pourrais encore avoir une copie du magazine” she added a little defiantly to her sister.
“Pardon me, but what did she say?” Sandra asked.
“She said she thinks she has seen Dave before. But on the cover of a Magazine.” Shelly replied, “She also thinks that she may still have a copy of it.”
Both Fleur and Gabrielle were caught by surprise, as they hadn’t realised Shelly spoke French.
“No, I meant before that.” Sandra replied, then she curiously asked, “When was Dave on the cover of a magazine?”
“She was asking if that was Dave on the stretcher.” Shelly answered while giving Gabrielle a very direct look that conveyed clearly that she had caught ALL her previous comments.
Gabrielle blushed even more.
“I see” was Sandra’s only comment.
Trying to control her blush Gabrielle said “I ‘ave seen ‘im on a Surfing Magazine, I’m sure of it. Ze scars on ‘is chest reminded me of it. ‘ee was doing well in a competition before ‘e was bitten. I remember ‘ee was even voted ze number one LCB.” She added.
At this comment Natalie, Fireball, Shelly and Cassy collapsed into gales of laughter. Everyone else was very confused at their behaviour.
“Was this back in 1994?” Fireball asked
After a moments’ thought Gabrielle answered, “Oui, I zink so.”
“Makes sense in 94 the comp he was in was in France” Fireball added “He was also the only one who was bitten that year. Must admit I had forgotten about the LCB part though.” She said while trying (unsuccessfully) to hide a smile.
“LCB?” Fleur questioned.
“Petit mignon bum” Shelly replied.
Fleur had a small attack of the giggles and gave her sister a very cheeky little smile that made her blush even more. Madame and Monsieur Delacour were also having a bit of a chuckle at their daughters’ predicament.
“So, what is LCB?” Sandra asked Shelly.
“Don’t worry mum it’s a surfing term, you wouldn’t understand.” Shelly replied, managing to keep a straight face that time.
“Somehow I don’t quite believe you.” She told her daughter as Gabrielle had laid back down on the table and covered her face with her hands.
Letting the matter drop Sandra continued out to the yard with the rest of us in tow. Fleur followed, after helping her sister off the table so that she could follow along with her parents.
Outside in the yard there was a collection of tents setup close to the rock wall on the far side of the yard. It was a good spot for them as they were out of the main traffic areas and had plenty of space.
Each of the tents looked like an elongated dome shape. They were also covered in some sort of silvery material.
We followed the stretcher into one of the tents, which I presumed was Dave’s one.
I was used to magical tents, having stayed in them many times over the years. But they were tents only intended for short term stays. These tents were a different manner, they were clearly set out with long term stays in mind.
After hearing the earlier stories, it only took one look to see that this was indeed Dave’s tent. There were books everywhere. They were not haphazardly left just anywhere, they were all neatly arranged on shelves.
The first room held a good-sized kitchen, a dinner table and chairs. There was a lounge area with a very comfy looking couch and two reclining chairs a fireplace and a strange black object on the chimney above the fireplace which I couldn’t work out what it was. There were also the numerous book shelves I mentioned earlier.
The walls were covered in what I first took to be paintings. But they turned out to be photographs but on canvas instead of paper.
All the photos were of landscapes, most of which were of the beach. They were also all moving which added to the feeling that they were more like windows than photos.
Off the main area there was a door to what looked like a bathroom. There was also a door into the bedroom. We could see the boys in there placing Dave into his bed.
Curiously there was also a door that went nowhere. Behind it was just a blank wall.
I turned to my sister and was about to ask what this door was for. She anticipated my question and said, “That is to give Dave a place to anchor his doorways to. Much like he did with the door in your scullery.”
“That makes sense” I said to myself.
“Where are the places in these photos?” Hermione asked, “They look gorgeous.”
“Dave will be able to tell you all about them, as he took the photos. It is one of his hobbies.” Sandra answered.
“This one I can tell you about though.” She said pointing to a photo showing a gorgeous looking white sandy beach viewed from the broad veranda of a house.
“Where is that? I would love to go there.” Hermione said with longing. A few other people gathered around to look at the photo as well.
“Don’t worry, you will.” Sandra replied.
Hermione gave her a questioning look.
“That’s home.” Sandra said simply, “that is taken from the veranda in front of our kitchen.”
“When we take you back to Australia to restore your parent’s memories we will have to take you there. As the guest rooms your parents have been staying in are just off to the left of that view.”
Hermione smiled happily and then gave Ron a dirty little smile that I don’t think she intended for anyone else to see.
“All zee’s photos were made by Dave?” Gabrielle asked Sandra.
“Yes, he loves taking photos, especially landscapes like these. His house has an enormous collection of photos scattered all through it.” Sandra replied while looking around at the different photos. Eventually she stopped in front of one of them that showed another beach scene.
“This one is taken from the veranda of the house that he is building.” She said pointing up at a photo that hung near the fireplace.
The photo showed a beach as well, but unlike his parents place this beach had larger more powerful looking waves. A rocky headland jutted out at one end of the beach and there were fewer trees in the photo, but they were significantly larger than the ones in his photo of his parent’s place. It also didn’t look to be as tropical in its location either.
Our contemplation of the photo was interrupted by the procession of people leaving Ivan’s room. Sandra immediately went over to Ivan and asked, “How is he?”
“Knackered.” Was Ivan’s response, “But he is at least sleeping now. His healing abilities seem to be taking effect. But even with them it will take a large effort to make himself properly whole again.”
“I have placed a monitoring charm on his bed so we will know when he wakes.”
The two of them embraced clearly relieved that Dave was on the mend.
Chief Williams entered the tent carrying a collection of parchment and cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the two of them.
“Minister, I have a preliminary copy of the interrogation report of the prisoners. I thought that you might like to see it as soon as it was available.” He said in a very business-like manner.
“You thought correct, Chief Williams.” He replied reaching for the report, “Thank you for the quick action on this.” He said as he began to read.
“If you all will excuse me, I will organise something quick for you all for lunch as we seemed to have missed it. I also need to start organising dinner if you are all going to be staying.” I said as I made my way to the door.
I was very surprised when Chief Williams stepped out to stop me from leaving. “Actually, Molly you should really stay to hear this as it concerns you.” He said his eyes showing his concern.
At his words, Kingsley and Arthur moved to join Ivan as he sat at Dave’s dinner table.
The three of them quickly read through the report. Once they were done Kingsley and Ivan turned to Arthur who had gone deathly pale.
“What is it Arthur?” I asked, as I felt the icy tentacles of fear begin to encircle my heart. “Who were they after? Is it Harry? They are after Harry, aren’t they?” the questions coming rapidly before I could stop them.
Arthur got up and came over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. I could see his fear and worry showing clearly. “It’s you Molly. They are after you.” He almost cried before enfolding me in a very fierce and protective embrace.
“Me? Why would they be after me?” I asked him.
“Rodolphus Lestrange has placed a price on your head because you killed his wife.” Arthur said his voice almost breaking.
“What’s the bounty?” Fireball asked, concern showing in her eyes.
“Five Million Galleons” Kingsley said as Arthur broke down in tears. I could feel them running onto my neck and soaking the shoulder of my dress.
“Five Million Galleons?” Everyone seemed to say at the same time.
“That’s going to get some rather high level attention.” Fireball remarked, concern now clearly evident on her face.
“High level attention?” I asked her while still holding onto Arthur.
“With a bounty of that size every criminal in Europe is going to start looking for you. Some professional assassins from other regions might also be interested.” She said very clinically but with her concern still showing.
Turning to Ivan she said, “It’s a shame Jimmy isn’t here he was one of the best at this sort of job.”
“True” Ivan replied, the sadness in his voice unmistakeable. “But don’t sell Dave short, he gave even Jimmy a run for his money in these jobs as well. Not even Joseph, or Cameron and their teams or even Doug’s team could catch him in training and simulations.”
“Dave?” Fireball replied, “True he was better at offence side, but we are looking for defence here.”
“The best defence.” Ivan replied in a manner that made me think he was giving an old often used speech.
“Is a good offence.” Shelly, Cassy, Fireball and Chief Williams replied automatically.
“Pardon me” I asked again “but what are you all talking about?”
“Assassinating the assassins.” Ivan replied in a very serious tone of voice, “Jasper is right, with a price like this on your head you are going to get the attention of some very professional individuals.”
“Unless Dave, or one of his legends has been offered the contract we won’t have an inside line on the ‘competition’ we will be dealing with.” He said deep in thought.
“Are you saying Dave ees an assassin?” Gabrielle asked in shock.
“No, he isn’t an assassin, Gabrielle” Ivan replied, “but he does frequently hunt them down and neutralise them.”
“Administratively only” Shelly told Gabrielle “at least so far.” She added with a slightly worried look at Ivan.
“If you are thinking of turning him lose on hunting down whoever is going to be coming for Aunt Molly you are going to have to craft some clever rules of engagement for him. As you know full well what he is like when someone threatens family.”
“He may not be willing to operate administratively.” She stated.
“What do you mean ‘administratively’?” Gabrielle asked.
Chief Williams spoke up here and answered Gabrielle’s question, “An administrative assassination doesn’t involve the target actually being killed.”
“While a body (or parts of one) will often be found, it will be a copy of the target. The actual target is taken away and depending on their crimes and willingness to co-operate is either thrown into jail, for life. Or they are placed into witness protection.”
“Enough evidence is left behind on purpose for them to be ‘declared dead’ by the government of the country in which they are found.”
“Dave is VERY good at this sort of operation. Although he doesn’t willingly accept them. He prefers to ‘legitimately’ catch them as he calls and then have them publicly thrown in jail.”
Gabrielle seemed to be very relieved at this news.
“Steve” Ivan said startling Chief Williams through the use of his first name, “Contact Drunkmouse have him check all of Dave’s cover legends to see if he has been sent an ‘expression of interest’ in this job. Also check any of Jimmy’s that might still be active and could possibly have been offered the contract.”
“Also request him to have my staff send out communications to the other Ministers in our region to ask them if any of their operatives have been contacted.”
“No worries mate. It will get done.” Chief Williams said and left pulling out his mirror phone as he went.
Ivan looked over to Kingsley, “Do you have any similar contacts amongst the local criminals here that might be active on a job this high profile? Can you ask around the Ministers from your neighbouring countries as well?”
“We have lost a lot of people recently, so we don’t have our usual resources. But I will ‘ask around’ as best we are able to.”
“I have good contacts in the French Ministry of Magic, Minister” Monsieur Delacour offered to Kingsley “I can approach them on your behalf if you wish?”
“That would greatly speed things up. Thank you.” Kingsley said to Monsieur Delacour.
“My thanks to you all also.” Arthur said to the three men after he composed himself.
“After losing Fred recently I don’t think I could survive if I were to lose Molly.” He said while looking at me with those adorable eyes of his.
“Who was Fred? If I may ask.” Sandra said a little tentatively.
With the grief, still clear on his voice Arthur replied, “He was one of my sons. George’s twin.”
“He was killed in the recent ’Battle of Hogwarts’”
At this news, Sandra came over to embrace both myself and Arthur, as words were not enough to express her feelings at that point. Even Ivan gave us both a good squeeze. Merlin that man is strong, I was worried for my ribs for a while there.
Ivan seemed to be deep in thought for a moment and then he spoke to Kingsley saying, “Minister, in the light of recent events and with your permission, I would like to offer you the services of the Australian contingent of our team that is currently operating in here in Europe.”
“For the immediate purpose of removing the threat to Molly Weasley here, as well as to continue tracking down the records of those individuals that they helped leave the country previously.”
“I can’t promise the contingents from New Zealand, Fiji and New Caladonia at this point as I will need to consult with their respective Ministers. But given the mission I don’t see them complaining too much.”
Kingsley appeared as though his Christmas had come early, “Minister Webb, I would be greatly honoured to have the assistance of your team in these roles. As our own Aurors have suffered many deaths and many more injuries.”
“Knowing the capabilities and training of your Aurors I would most humbly accept your offer.”
“If you agree I would like them to work directly with Arthur here as he is the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and given the current demands on my time has free reign in running his department.”
“That is acceptable to me Minister.” Ivan replied, “I also don’t think Dave will have any issues with it either. At least once he wakes up he won’t.”
“You have my thanks Minister.” Kingsley said with a smile as he shook hands with Ivan.
“If I may ask one more favour of you Ivan” Kingsley said a little hesitantly, “would it be possible to ask your Aurors to help train both our existing Aurors and the new recruits we hope to be getting shortly. They seem to have a unique way of approaching the job as well as some unique abilities that I for one am very interested in learning.”
“Has Dave been showing off again?” Ivan asked his daughters who looked at him with looks of manufactured innocence. Getting no answer from them be turned back to Kingsley.
“Teaching is one of the primary roles of this particular team.” Ivan said. “I’m sure they will be more than happy to assist you in that regard.”
Openly grinning Kingsley replied, “Thank you Ivan. I have a feeling that this could be a very entertaining and enlightening time for us all.”
“You’re very welcome Kingsley. Let’s see how entertaining you think it is after going through some sessions with this lot. The Fijian minister didn’t talk to me for a week after a practise duelling session with Jimmy one time.” He chuckled.
“We will see Ivan. We will see.” Kingsley replied with a sly smile.
“Brave man” was all Ivan said, also smiling and patting Kingsley on the back.
Chief Williams re-appeared and said “There is a young man who looks very familiar at the gate asking to come in. He says he lives here and wants to know what’s going on and why we are all doing here.”
At this news, Ginny was off out the door as I’m sure she knew exactly who it was. Strangely Gabrielle seemed to have no interest in following her to go see Harry.
Fleur also seemed to have noticed this seeming sudden disinterest in Harry from her as well. For she was looking across at Gabrielle with a very direct and enquiring expression.
Gabrielle for her part was doing her best to ignore her older sister’s unspoken questions. As well as the looks she was getting from her parents.
Shelly and Fleur exchanged a knowing look between them before Fireball remarked, “This could be an interesting deployment in more ways than one.” Before she, Shelly and Fleur had a small case of the giggles.
True to form the men in the room completely missed all of that exchange. Instead they were listening to Kingsley and Arthur who were giving both Ivan and Chief Williams a very quick summary of Harry’s recent past and his achievements to date.
“Are you coming?” I said to the people remaining in the tent as I went to follow the crowd back to the house.
Gabrielle had stayed seated on the couch and was showing an intense interest in a book that had many photographs of Australia its places, people and animals. It also seemed to contain a good bit of information about the country in addition to the photographs it contained.
Noticing that Gabrielle had not moved from the couch Fleur called to her, “Il dormira probablement jusqu'au matin.”
“I told ‘er zat ‘e is likely to sleep zrough until ze morning. Zis ez correct? No?” Fleur explained.
“I believe that you are correct in that assessment Fleur.” Sandra replied with only a small smile showing.
Gabrielle looked up a little disappointed, but nodded put the book back on the table and went to get up and follow.
“If you like the book, I don’t not think he will mind if you would like to borrow it.” Shelley said struggling to contain the smile that wanted to run across her face.
Smiling gratefully Gabrielle returned to the coffee table and retrieved the book. Then we all made our way out of Dave’s tent leaving him in peace.
Chapter 12: Family Interactions
I quickened my pace to catch up with the others and we proceeded to the gate where Ginny was ‘greeting’ Harry. As we got closer we could catch snippets of conversation from the two of them. It appeared that in between kissing him she seemed to be providing an abridged version of what had occurred since he left for St Mungo’s in the morning.It truly warmed my heart to see the two of them together. The glow on their faces when they were around one another was unmistakeable.
As we got closer I could hear Ginny say, “Here they are.”
Harry looked up and saw Kingsley, Arthur and Chief Williams. But when Chief Williams stepped aside and Harry laid eyes on Ivan and Sandra I thought his eyes were about to fall out of his head.
Apparently even being forewarned by Ginny wasn’t enough to stop the shock he was clearly experiencing.
Kingsley stepped forward, “Harry it is good to see you again. I hope everything went well at the hospital and you are officially on the mend?”
“Kingsley. Yes, thanks the healers say I’m recovering well but they still want me to take it easy for a time.” Harry replied while eyeing both Ivan and Sandra wearily.
“That is great to hear Harry.” Kingsley answered, “Harry I have some people here that I would like to introduce to you. This is the Australian Minister of Magic Ivan Webb and his wife Dr Sandra Webb.”
“Minister.” Harry replied as he stepped forward to shake hands with Ivan. The look on his face clearly indicating that he had a great many questions about this very familiar looking person who he was greeting for the first time.
“Mr Potter.” Ivan replied while shaking hands with Harry, “It is a pleasure to meet you. Kingsley and Arthur here have been bringing me up to date with your recent exploits. It seems that you have been very busy of late. I’m very pleased that you survived your recent ordeals.” He added with a slight smile.
“Thank you Minister.” Harry replied, his mistrust of political figures seeping through. Ivan seemed to have picked up on it also, judging by his following statement.
“A healthy suspicion of political figures can be useful at times. However it is best reserved for those who chose to be politicians, rather than those who do the job to protect those that they love and those who can’t protect themselves.” Ivan replied.
“Which one are you?” retorted Harry.
“I would like to think I’m the later. But for an objective view you will need to ask someone else.” Ivan replied thoughtfully
“Based on recent news and events” Kingsley said in his deep slow voice, “I WOULD say you are both.”
Harry seemed to take this information on board as some of the stiffness went out of his stance.
“Harry, this is Dr Sandra Webb, she is Ivan’s wife and as we recently discovered Molly’s older sister.” Kingsley said smiling.
“Sister?” Harry asked his eyes wide as he looked at Sandra.
“Yes.” Sandra answered, “It was quite a shock, as my family threw me out and disowned me when they thought that I was a squib. The one time I tried to visit many years later during the first rise of Tom Riddle Jr they tried to have me killed. My younger brothers Fabian and Gideon died protecting me. I never knew I had a younger sister and she was never told about me either.”
“When I first saw her tonight I thought it was a trap by the Prewitt family to lure me out by hurting my son. Thankfully it was nothing of the sort.” Sandra said with a smile. She looked over to me and I could see the longing in her eyes, “I think we have a great deal of catching up to do.”
“I must admit that I’m looking forward to that journey” she said smiling at me. I couldn’t help but return the smile.
“I’m very pleased to have met you Harry.” She said extending her hand.
“Same here Sandra.” Harry replied shaking her hand, “I hope your son is well also.” He added.
“He is getting better, as he pushed himself too hard against the Dementors earlier and then the effort of healing Gabrielle drained him more than it should have.” She said.
“He is currently resting in that tent over there.” She pointed to the tents behind her.
“Ginny briefly mentioned him just now. Could I meet him?” Harry asked.
“You already have apparently.” Fireball added stepping into view.
“Ginny?” Harry asked while looking quickly between Ginny and Fireball.
“W… W… What? H… How?” Harry stammered while trying to gather his thoughts.
“You have already met me before also Harry.” Fireball said. “I’m Jasper Webb, the two people you just met are my parents.”
“We’ve met?” Harry questioned, “When? How?”
“Your little stunt at the Ministry back in September.” Fireball explained. “We were there looking to ‘obtain’ records. But thanks to the actions of you, Ron and Hermione we were able to make off with a large number of Muggle-Borns before they were processed.”
“You kidnapped them?” Harry asked showing a little anger.
“We DO NOT Kidnap people.” Fireball shot back her own anger showing, “We rescued them from your bloody Ministry and got them safely out of the country.”
“Jasper.” Sandra said laying a hand on Jasper’s arm to calm her down. “Harry here is coming into this story half way through. Let’s get him inside so he can hear the WHOLE story. Then we can figure out how we can best help each other. Ok?”
Jasper nodded and headed off back to the house.
Harry while he also looked startled also nodded. Hand in hand with Ginny he walked back up to the house as well.
Once we were all in the kitchen and Harry had greeted the members of the DA who had arrived to help earlier and were now feasting on scones and tea. Harry was introduced to Chief Williams, Shelly and Cassy in addition to several other Aurors from Dave’s team.
We told him how everyone came to be here today. He was very relieved to hear that Hermione’s parents were being looked after so well and was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were currently on vacation.
The news of the ambush shocked and angered him. He tried to hide it but I knew the signs well enough.
“Were they after me?” he asked “Am I putting my family in danger by my being here.”
At this Ginny reached up and grabbed his hand and looking in his eyes said to him very forcefully, “It wouldn’t matter if they were after you, we wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else Harry.”
Shelly leaned over to Cassy and smiling said in a ‘slightly too loud’ voice, “Your right their similarities run more than just skin deep.”
This caused Ginny and Jasper to giggle and stare at each other curiously.
“No Harry, they are not after you.” Arthur answered him. “Ginny is right, even if they were after you we wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else.”
“Then who were they after?” Harry asked.
“Me” I replied.
You could see the blood drain from him face and the worry begin to show in his eyes.
“No!” he exclaimed.
“We all thought rather the same thing actually.” George replied to the room with a smile.
“What is being done about it?” Harry asked his eyes straying to Kingsley looking for an answer.
“Minister Webb has graciously offered us the services of the Australian Aurors currently assigned to the team that has been operating here. After he speaks to the Ministers of the other countries that have provided Aurors we may gain their services as well. These Aurors are part of the Australasian Auror Service, Special Operations Command.” Kingsley answered before continuing.
“They have a formidable reputation both in their region and around the globe. I have worked with them before and found them to be both very professional and highly competent in their work.”
“Although they do employ very different methods to us. But that could very well work in our favour in this case.”
“What? They had a team here and they didn’t help? What are they Aurors or bloody cowards?” Harry almost bellowed.
At this comment Fireball, Shelly, Cassy, Chief Williams and all the Aurors outside were on their feet and with thunderous expressions on their faces. Chief Williams had even drawn his wand. The others likely didn’t need theirs.
“Stand down, NOW!!” bellowed Ivan and everyone seemed to be startled back to their collective senses. Although I noticed that they all kept their eyes on Harry for quite some time afterwards.
Turning to face Harry, Ivan continued, “There has apparently already been one misunderstanding over the role of our team here tonight.”
“I do NOT intend for there to be another.” He said in an icy cold voice while looking at everyone in the room. Although he did linger on Fireball for a moment longer than the others.
“Harry, this team is primarily focused on covert missions. Intelligence gathering, Surveillance, Sabotage, Extraction, Hostage Rescue and missions of a similar nature. While they possess formidable offensive firepower that is not the focus of this teams role. We have dedicated Assault teams who fill that requirement.”
“They were originally sent here with a mission to rescue citizens of our member countries who wished to leave the country but were unable to do so.”
“The original team leader carried out those orders very satisfactorily.”
“As the situation here deteriorated their mission statement was amended to allow them to assist Muggle-Borns and Muggles to escape the country. Very quickly afterwards it became a ‘assist any and all who wished to leave’ type mission”
“Part way through this mission I tried to contact an Auror that I had worked with many times over the years. Someone I knew and trusted without question.”
“Unfortunately that person was killed in action only a few days before the scheduled meet.”
“Who was it?” Harry enquired.
“Mad Eye Moody.” Ivan answered with a slight tightening of his eyes as he remembered his friend.
“He died trying to get me safely away from my Aunts house.” Harry replied.
“I see.” Ivan answered, “He was a good friend to me. I deeply mourned his loss.”
“Mad Eye being who he was had arranged an alternate for the meeting in case he was unable to make it for any reason. When word reached us of his death the team leader tried to schedule a new time and place. But the alternate contact wouldn’t allow it. So the meeting took place as planned.”
“In that meeting, the leader of our Team here was betrayed by Mad Eye’s alternate contact. He was captured and brutally murdered. The meeting was recorded and we have a copy of the recording. You can hear it happening.”
“Who?” Harry began to ask.
“The team leader that was murdered was Senior Auror James Webb. My eldest son.” Ivan answered with unshed tears in his eyes.
“The contact that he was meeting was a British Auror by the name of Nymphadora Tonks. We currently have an international arrest warrant for her, and I for one am very keen to question her as to why she betrayed my son to his death.” He said in tones that clearly conveyed his conviction to track her to the ends of the earth.
“Y… you can’t.” Harry stammered, “She’s dead. She was killed in the battle of Hogwarts alongside her husband.”
“What?” Ivan asked shocked, “Dead?” he said as he sat down.
“Yes Minister, I can vouch that she is indeed dead. As I helped carry her body down to the great hall.” Kingsley answered.
“I was going to try and explain to Chief Williams and Dave earlier. But things got a little tense when Ginny tried to Hex him from behind.” He said with a wiry smile at Chief Williams.
“You WHAT?” Harry exclaimed to Ginny as he almost fell off his seat in surprise.
“It was an accident Harry. I was so upset when he said that he wanted to arrest Tonks. I still hadn’t admitted to myself that she was dead and I acted without thinking.” Ginny answered looking slightly ashamed of herself.
“What happened?” Harry asked almost fearfully.
“He caught it.” Ginny answered.
“Oh Merlin, Gin” Harry exclaimed, “What’s going to happen? Attacking an Auror is a serious offence.” He said very worried.
“Nothing” Chief Williams replied.
“Nothing?” Harry asked.
“Correct. Nothing is going to be done to Ginny. As nothing happened to Syd, I mean Auror Webb.” Chief Williams answered.
“When Ginny said he caught it, she doesn’t mean he got hit by it. He caught it in mid-air and froze it in its tracks. He then modified the Hex slightly and showed it to her at rather close range.” He said to some nervous giggles around the room.
Chief Williams proceeded to then give Harry a run down on that event and the conversation that followed it. The emotions on Harry’s face were interesting to watch. He was naturally angry at someone threatening Ginny. But he couldn’t deny that she was in the wrong, he seemed slightly amused at the same time that Dave had used Ginny’s own Hex to do the threatening. His offer of duelling her also seemed to take him off guard as well.
But he was clearly relieved when the issue was resolved through an explanation and a ‘reset’ of their introductions.
“He seems to be a rather ‘interesting’ man, this Dave.” Harry offered. “I would definitely like to meet him.”
“I would be happy to make the introductions myself Harry.” Ivan offered. “But before I do, I would like to have a chat with you myself. First off I need to explain something about Dave, myself and our family to you. As our two families, have crossed paths before.”
“They have? When? How?” Harry asked before he could help himself. As he was always keen to find out more about his own family.
“How much of your own family history are you aware of Harry?” Ivan asked. “I understand that your parents were killed by Tom Riddle Jr when you were around 18 months old.”
“Not a lot Minister.” Harry answered.
“I know a few names of the family tree and that my family links up to the Pervell’s in a distant connection. But other than that not a lot.”
“Hmm. Ok then.” Ivan answered. “When you meet Dave be sure to tell him that.”
Seeing the questioning look in Harry’s eye Ivan explained, “It will become clearer as you find out about the interaction between our families.”
Looking to Chief Williams, Ivan asked “Did Dave show any of the documents I gave him before he left?”
“He did Minister. I believe that they are on the kitchen bench over there behind Charlie.” He answered.
Charlie looked behind him and grabbed the documents and the necklace of teeth and placed them on the dinner table in front of Ivan and Harry.
“What’s this?” Ivan asked holding up the necklace.
“Teeth from that Werewolf Greyback.” Fireball answered.
“Really? What are they doing here?” Ivan asked Fireball.
“After their ‘altercation’ Dave collected the items that Greyback left behind. He strung the teeth into that necklace in the hope of showing it to Greyback if he ever got the chance to see him again.”
“As Dave REALLY wants another go at that Furry SOB when he doesn’t have to protect a couple of kids.”
“His hoping that showing Greyback his own teeth being used as a decoration will goad Greyback into attacking him so that Dave can properly nail his oversized furry ass to the floor.” Fireball said with a smile.
“I see. I do believe I’m going to have to have a word to Dave about this.” Ivan said pocketing the necklace.
Looking over to Chief Williams, he said “Tell Dave if he wants this back he needs to justify his plan with me. Ok.”
“Yes sir.” Was the disappointed reply.
“Chief, we don’t want to condone or encourage him in things like this.” Ivan replied with a serious expression.
“Even if the furry S.O.B. does deserve it.” He added with a slight smirk.
Ivan placed the documents out on the table. The entry of the slave ledger on top.
“These are copies of my Father’s ‘papers’ from when the British Ministry sold him into slavery” Ivan explained.
Harry’s face showed his outrage at the thought, “Why would someone do this?” he asked.
“Many reasons Harry. It is by no means an isolated case either. Dave’s team has rescued a great many people during their time here. Some before they were sold others after. The ones who were sold have papers much like these ones here.” Ivan explained.
“In the case of my father the ‘official’ reason is that he married a muggle. But the punishment that was dished out far exceeds that for even a capital crime.”
“This document here shows the date of his ‘arrest’, ‘trial’ and conviction. As you can see they occurred in a very speedy manner. 4 days between arrest and conviction with the punishment being the day after.”
“This fact alone made my father highly suspicious of what was really going on. I must say I agree with him.”
“So would I” Kingsley replied nodding.
“Thank you Minister.” Ivan answered formally.
“As is shown here, my father was initially written up as being sold into perpetual and hereditary slavery.”
“Fortunately for our family, he had the luck to cross paths with one Septimus Weasley who worked for the Wizengamot.”
Harry looked up at Arthur with a question clear on his face, “Yes Harry, he was my father” Arthur answered.
“Mr Septimus Weasley apparently didn’t agree with the punishment handed out to my father. As he altered the official records before they were signed which would then make the contract binding.”
“The alterations are up here. The Hereditary component was cancelled out. The perpetual condition was also changed so that he could be freed by an owner if he so chose to do so.”
“Mr Septimus Weasley also somehow arranged for my father to be sold to people who had the same distaste of slavery as he did. As the records show, my father was only sold a few times and each time it was to a person who was able to help him get further away from England. Eventually my father made it to Australia where he was freed shortly after by a Mr Byron Black.”
“Mr Black then took my father in, almost adopted him you could say.”
“Was this Byron Black, connected to the Black family here?” Harry asked.
“I would say that is very unlikely. Byron Black was a Muggle Born Wizard. His family were originally Blacksmiths by trade that is where the Black in their name came from.” Ivan answered.
Harry nodded his understanding and indicated for Ivan to continue.
“Once he was freed, my father tried to continue on with his life. However, a great deal of damage had been done to him. He could remember nothing about what he did before he was arrested. So, he did not know if he had a trade at all or any other type of skillset, other than a few skills he considered as Hobbies. He also had absolutely no idea of what family he had belonged to.”
“Why was that” Harry asked.
Giving Harry a long steady look Ivan explained what had happened, “When my father was first arrested, he had a wife and a child.”
“Had?” Harry enquired, catching the use of the past tense.
“Yes. Had.” Ivan answered with a very grim voice, “He was forced to watch as his wife had her throat slit and was then pushed through the execution arch in the ministry.”
The shock and outrage was plain to see on Harry’s face as he fought to control his emotions, “That is the same Arch that Sirius went through, isn’t it?” he asked Arthur and Kingsley.
“The very same.” Kingsley answered with sadness.
“Who is Sirius?” Ivan asked.
“Sirius Black was my Godfather.” Harry answered, “He died fighting Death Eaters in the Ministry. He was hit with a killing curse and then fell through the veil of that Arch.”
“He sounds like a good and brave man.” Ivan answered, “I’m sorry for your loss Harry.”
“Thank you Minister.” Harry replied with a subdued voice, “what happened to the child you mentioned?”
“The child who was only 6 months old was also sent through the arch while my father was forced to watch.” Ivan answered grimly.
“That’s horrible” was Harry’s stricken reply.
“Yes it was. But worse was yet to come.” Ivan said in a voice that struggled to hold back his emotions, “My father’s wand was snapped, he was then ‘cast out’ of his family magically. This is what caused him to lose any and all knowledge of his family connections.”
“After this was done to him the final indignity was carried out. My father was magically broken as well.” Ivan said with a tear running down his cheek.
“Magically broken?” Harry asked confused, “What does that mean.”
“It means Harry, that a person’s connection to their magical core is broken. Often the vast majority of their soul is also removed as well.” Kingsley answered to give Ivan a few moments to compose himself.
Ivan seemed to have noticed this act of kindness from Kingsley as he gave him a small smile before continuing.
“Kingsley is correct Harry. We believe that the people who performed his hideous act on my father botched the job somehow. As although he was greatly damaged and hurt by this process, he was not an empty shell as happens when someone is ‘kissed’ by a Dementor.”
“He could also still perform magic with a wand. Although it was to be quite a while before he was able to obtain one for himself again though.”
“What happened to his Soul? The part that was removed.” Harry asked.
“We do not know for sure.” Ivan answered, “My father had memories of his accusers telling him that they had kept it and locked it away in vessel for all eternity. Stopping it from moving on after his body died.”
“He also has other memories of them telling him that they fed it to a Dementor.” Ivan said sadly.
“Neither one of those options sounds like a good choice.” Harry lamented.
“You sound just like Dave.” Ivan said with a smile, “He said that he would try and find his Grandfathers soul even if he had to destroy every Dementor around and extract the souls that they have taken.”
“No one could convince him it was impossible.” Ivan said in resignation.
“I think he has figured out how to do just that Dad.” Shelly said in an almost awed voice.
“What are you saying Shelly?” Ivan asked.
“When we were fighting the Dementors earlier, each time Dave destroyed one you could see all these strange lights appear from them. This lights were all feeble and dim, several of them seemed to be very shaky as well.”
“When they appeared Dave drew them to himself and into himself. Then once all the Dementors were destroyed, he just sat down for a few moments and then he began to glow. After a short time, all the lights that he had brought into himself earlier re-appeared only brighter and stronger. They then rose up into the sky and were gone.”
“I was standing quite close to him when he did that and I would swear that I could hear voices coming from those lights and that they were thanking him.” She said clearly still awed by the memory.
“That’s… That’s not possible.” Ivan said a little disturbed by the news, “It’s not possible, isn’t it?” he said to his wife.
“I really can’t say. It is beyond anything I have even heard of, let alone read about.” Sandra answered.
Ivan looked to Kingsley for his views, “I’m afraid that I can’t add anything to this, Ivan. I must agree with your wife here on her comment.”
Nodding he said, “I guess it will just have to be added to the list of questions that I have for him when he wakes.”
“It’s getting to be a long list” Kingsley chuckled.
“It does seem that way.” Ivan agreed with a chuckle also.
Harry seemed to be struggling with something while the others were talking, during the lull in the conversation he blurted out, “He destroyed a Dementor?”
“Yes he did. Several of them. Well except for the one that I got.” Fireball replied.
“I thought that was impossible. Dementors are supposed to be indestructible.” Harry stated.
“It’s possible. Just very difficult and dangerous.” Fireball answered.
“How do you do it?” Kingsley asked with a very interested look on his face.
“As Dave explained it to me, you need to have an ‘edge’ on your Patronus.” Fireball said before adding, “You also need to be able to cast it very fast. That usually means non-verbally”
“An edge? How do you have an edge on your Patronus?” this time the question was from Harry.
“By having your happy memory you use to cast the Patronus to also be an equally unhappy one. The trick is to be able to feel both emotions at the same time in equal measure.” Fireball explained.
“That would be painful, wouldn’t it?” Arthur asked.
“It was for me. I don’t know about Dave though.” She answered, “I do know that he isn’t all that happy after he has taken them on. Jimmy used to get really grumpy whenever he destroyed one. Had to raid the closest supply of chocolate before he even thought about cheering up.” Fireball answered.
“Do you know who taught Dave how to do that?” Ivan asked Fireball.
“He didn’t say. I do know that he has just about every single book ever written about Dementors in his library. He also has been incessantly asking questions about them to just about anyone who will listen to him.” She answered.
“When we were in China, just before we were sent over here he spent every spare moment he had talking to a very aged Wizard there who was telling him all about some ancient legends of heroes who destroyed Dementors.”
“He and Jimmy also practised on any Dementors that were sighted back home. I would guess they are the prime reasons Dementors are now very rare at home except for in Tassie.” She said with a slight note of pride.
Ivan and Kingsley exchanged a ‘look’ between them, “Another one for the list Minister?” Kingsley asked smiling.
“I believe so.” Was the reply.
“If your father’s soul wasn’t fed to a Dementor does that mean it is a Horcrux?” Harry asked.
“It would be similar, but very different at the same time.” Ivan answered
“The soul it contained would not be there by choice. It would also be actively wanting to get back to its remaining parts to become whole again.” He explained.
“It would also be a powerful magical object in its own right” Kingsley commented, “Who ever had possession of it would guard it very carefully.”
“Is your father still alive?” Harry asked hopefully.
“No sadly he passed away a few years ago.” Ivan answered.
With a look of horror on his face Harry exclaimed, “That means he ended up like Voldemort did.”
“Calm yourself Harry. My father’s soul has not yet ‘passed on’ it is currently being cared for.” Ivan explained.
“How?” Harry asked.
“My sons offered themselves as bearers for my father’s soul before he died. They promised him that they would sustain his soul for as long as they could or until they could re-unite them once more.”
“Now that Jimmy is dead that burden is now Dave’s alone. A huge burden for one so young. Yet he seems to bear it almost with ease.”
“’ow old is Dave?” Gabrielle asked startling a few people who seemed to have forgotten that she was there.
“He is 15 years old, 16 at Halloween” Ivan answered.
Both Harry and Gabrielle were unprepared for that answer. Although Gabrielle did appear to be approving of this new information about Dave.
Harry was the first to recover though and he asked, “How can he be an Auror at 15?”
This prompted Ivan and Sandra to retell the abridged version of Dave’s story. While the others had heard it previously they still listened to it. Although both Harry and Gabrielle were both paying very close attention to it.
Fleur seemed content to watch her sister throughout the telling of the story though. She had an odd look about her as she contemplated her younger sister.
“That’s remarkable” Harry exclaimed once the story was completed. “I’m still a little confused as to how my family fits into it however?” he asked.
Leaning forward Ivan spoke in a very calming voice, “We are now getting to the heart of the matter Harry.”
“Dave has been nominated as the person best suited to track down those people who are likely to be trying to collect the bounty on Molly.”
“This means that he is going to be around here for a while yet.” Gabrielle had a small smile at this statement.
“I don’t see a problem with that” Harry offered, “I’m actually looking forward to talking to him”
“The problem Harry, lays with the people who accused my father of the ‘crime’ that lead to his arrest.”
“Who were they?” Harry enquired.
At this Ivan swapped the sheets of paper around and pointed to a set of names and signatures at the top right.
“Do these names look familiar to you at all?” Ivan asked Harry with a questioning look.
Harry glanced over at the document, while he didn’t say anything you could see him go pale. More pale than I had ever seen him before. He had goose pimples erupting all up and down his arms and he began to shake.
He staggered to his feet and with tears in his eyes bolted for the bathroom where we could hear reaching.
Ivan looked to Arthur with a concerned expression on his face.
“He is a good lad, young Harry. It is a sign of his strength that even with all he has seen and gone through that he can still react that way to troublesome news.” Arthur replied.
“I agree, it takes a certain type of strength to maintain your humanity and emotions and not let them get damaged in difficult times.” Ivan said thoughtfully.
Sandra looked over to Ginny and said, “Perhaps you should go up to him. Take him some water and help calm him down. He is most likely terrible embarrassed by his reaction.”
“Please tell him that none of us think any less of him because of it. Quite the contrary in fact.”
Ginny nodded and then went up to the bathroom with a glass of water and a fresh towel for Harry.
After several minutes the two of them came back down stairs hand in hand. Harry sat back down at the table next to Ginny still holding her hand.
“I’m sorry for that…” Harry said, not knowing what else to say.
“Harry there is nothing to be sorry for” Ivan explained, “The price of an intact and pure soul is to keenly feel injustices. Some more than others.”
“Frankly I’d be worried if you hadn’t acted like that.” Ivan explained.
“You… You don’t hate me? For what my family did to your father?” Harry asked tentatively.
“While I am very angry about what happened to my father. I’m not about to lay the blame at your feet Harry”
“It happened long before you were born and it’s very clear you knew nothing about it.”
“Members of my family are keenly aware of what it is like to be accorded the blame for the ‘sins of the father’ as they say. So we try VERY hard not to perpetuate the cycle of blame.”
“Thank you” Harry said, “I’ve had some experience of that myself over the years.”
“Do you think your son will blame me for this?” Harry asked.
“Dave? No he will not blame you. Like me he will be VERY interested in finding out the WHY of the situation. He will also be extremely interested in any records both official and personal which may exist about my father’s arrest, trial and punishment.”
“He will also be extremely keen to try and recover his grandfather’s souls if indeed it was kept.”
“No the problem lays with my father’s reaction to you.” Ivan said cryptically, “the fragment of my father’s soul that Dave supports can talk to him and him to it. If Dave loses control of it (or allows it to) my father’s soul can speak to us through Dave.”
“It possess him?” Harry asked.
“Not exactly. The fragment of my father’s soul is small enough that it can’t fully possess and control another person.”
“Dave can assist my father’s soul however, so that it can take control of his voice and see through his eyes.” Ivan answered.
“They can also freely ‘talk’ to each other. Often if you catch Dave with a ‘detached’ look on his face you can almost always safely bet that he has been talking to my father.”
“Before my father passed away they often spent a great deal of time chatting on just about any topic when they were together. It comforts me that they can still do this now.”
“This is one reason why Dave often seems much older than he actually is. Because he can access my father’s memories and experiences if he chooses to do so.”
“The downside of that is he sometimes picks up my father’s temperament as well.” Ivan chuckled.
“My hope, Harry is this. If I can explain to my father’s soul that you are an innocent party in this and that you will help us by sharing any records your Grandfather or Great Grandfather may have kept or made of the incident with my father. It may enable him to let go of the unbridled rage that I know he feels over the incident.”
“At least in connection to you that is.” Ivan explained with hope showing on his face.
Ivan and indeed the rest of his family that were present watched Harry very closely but not in an overbearing way. They were clearly very interested in his response but they were not going to press him for one. They gave the impression of being quite content to just wait for Harry.
“I do not know what records may or may not be in my family vault about this. But I would be willing to see what I can find out.” Harry offered.
The gratitude on Ivan’s face just melted my heart. He got up and walked around to Harry and picked him up and embraced him with such warmth I was almost reduced to tears. After he put him back down Sandra also embraced Harry as well.
Even Natalie, Shelly, Fireball and Cassy had slightly moist eyes at the scene in front of them.
“Thank you Harry. That is more than we could have dared to hope for.” Ivan said beaming down at Harry.
“Your welcome” Harry replied, “Could I ask you something?” he enquired.
“Anything.” Ivan answered.
“You said that your father doesn’t remember anything about the family he came from.” Harry began.
“But you have such a striking resemblance to my own father, I can’t help but wonder if there is a possible family connection there somewhere. I have a photograph of my father if you would like to see it.” A hint of longing was evident in his voice at this statement.
At this Ivan looked rather embarrassed and even slightly ashamed if that was possible.
Sandra placed her arm around Ivan’s shoulders and said to him, “It’s alright dear. I do believe you can tell him. Neither him nor any of his family here will judge you or Dave because of it.”
This statement got the attention of everyone in the room. What could he be worried about I wondered as I’m sure all the others were as well.
Ivan nodded to his wife before looking to Harry, “I’m afraid Harry that showing me the photograph of your father will not help.”
“Why?” Harry asked a little hurt.
“You see Harry, I have absolutely no idea what I look like.” Was Ivan’s very surprising answer.
Harry’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It may be easier to show you than to try to explain. But I need to warn you that if I show you what I see when I look at myself in the mirror, it is not a pleasant sight.” He explained.
“Please show me, if you are willing.” Harry asked.
“Molly, could I trouble you for a mirror and a wide bowl of water?” Ivan asked me.
“Of course you can” I answered, “Just give me a moment.”
In short order, I had given Ivan a hand-held mirror and filled a serving tray with water and placed it on the table.
While he waited for the water to subside Ivan looked over to his daughters. “Girls if you do not wish to look you do not need to do so. I know you are aware of the results of this ‘condition’ but I also know that you have not seen it before. I will leave the choice to you.”
His girls just nodded to him, looking slightly worried.
Ivan raised the mirror to his face and then waved his hand over the water in the basin. Slowly there appeared an image in the water.
Even with Ivan’s warning Harry wasn’t prepared to be faced with an image like that. Ivan looked extremely uncomfortable and Sandra was doing her best to comfort him.
“Is this what you see when you look in a mirror?” Harry asked
“Yes” was the reply.
“What about photographs, paintings?” Harry tried again clearly troubled.
“The same” he replied.
“If you look at your hand what do you see?” Harry asked.
Ivan lifted his hand and stared at it for a moment before answering, “Basically the same, although not as bad.”
“What about Dave?” Arthur asked also looking quite shocked
“He sees the same as the image in the water” Ivan very nearly cried.
“What?” Arthur exclaimed, “He has never seen your face?”
“No he hasn’t. Neither mine or his own.” Ivan said with tears running down his face. “I never saw my father’s face, my boys have never seen mine.”
“I never got to see Jimmy’s face either” he said as his voice finally broke.
As I got the chance to look into the water I had to struggle not to let out a scream. As the face in it staring back at me was that of a skull covered in rotting flesh. The eye sockets were empty and the teeth were not covered by lips any more. What hair there was present was very patchy and matted.
I reached over to Ivan and got him to put the mirror down and then I hugged him. I didn’t know what else to do. For a parent, not to know what their child looked like, or for a child not to know what their parent looked like was a terrible fate.
“Your daughters?” Arthur asked showing his concern.
“Thankfully they are unaffected. This only appears to affect the direct male descendants of my father.” Ivan explained.
Ivan’s daughters quickly joined me around their father offering him their support.
“What…” Harry tried to ask, as he struggled to get his voice back.
“What has caused that to happen to you?” Harry finally managed to get out.
“No one really knows for sure, Harry.” Ivan said still a little embarrassed, “we believe it is directly related to my father being magically broken.”
“Because that process is (thankfully) seldom used no one knows a great deal about its effects. Especially its effects on decedents of someone who has been broken.”
“Another side effect of being broken is that we have a very different type of connection to our magical core than most magical folk. This leads to some unique abilities.”
“Magical core?” Harry asked
“Yes Harry, all magical beings and I’m including, Goblins, House Elfs, Centaurs, Unicorns, Dragons and the like in this, have a magical core.”
“Some beings have only a slight connection to their core, others are more profound. While yet others may have more than one.”
“Wizards and Witches?” Harry asked
“How about a demonstration? It might make things a bit easier to explain.” Ivan offered.
He scooped a handful of water from the basin and then stared at it for a moment and it became a triangular shaped object that looked to be made of glass.
“Did you study physics at a muggle school before going to Hogwarts Harry?” Ivan asked
“Not that I remember.” Answered Harry looking curiously at the object in Ivan’s hand.
“I did” Hermione volunteered.
“Excellent, do you remember what this is called?” Ivan asked.
“It’s a prism” she answered
“Correct” Ivan said smiling, “a prism is used to bend light, and we are going to use it to break light into its component parts. But to do that we need to black out the windows for a moment.”
With that he waved his hand at the windows and they were all covered by heavy black curtains plunging the kitchen into darkness.
“Excellent now we need just a tiny bit of light.” He said as a small hole appeared in one of the curtains making a very small beam of light that shone onto the kitchen table.
“Next we place the prism so that the beam of light travels through the outer edges to display the visible spectrum of light” he said as he placed the prism in the light and twisted it so that a rainbow appeared on the table.
“The way it was explained to me many years ago Harry is this. If you think of magical energy as daylight or ‘white light’ the areas of that energy that the different magical creatures can access could be thought of as the colours.”
“Goblins with their mastery of metal work might be the Violet light here. House Elfs with their own brand of magic might be the Red light here.”
“While witches and wizards could be this large green area roughly in the middle.”
“Now some witches and wizards might be able to touch on some areas of magic that go into the other colours. However the majority of them can only have a connection to one other area.”
“Say something like ‘wandless’ magic for instance. It could be more into this Blue area.”
“While someone who is a Metamorphmagus might have a connection to the Yellow area.”
“Does that make sense so far?” he asked Harry
“Yes it kind of does.” Answered Harry.
“My old school teachers will be proud.” Ivan chuckled to himself.
“Now someone like my father could be described as someone who had very strong connections to the Violet, Blue, and Green areas shown here.”
“While some of his daughters were more to the Red and Orange end of the spectrum.”
“However very occasionally someone like Dave comes along. Someone who has not only a connection to just about every colour area here. But an extremely solid connection to them as well.”
“He possibly even has connections to areas that are not part of this spectrum.”
“The trouble is almost nothing is known about magic that lays outside this spectrum. So, it is very dangerous to experiment with it. Not even Dave who has a thirst for knowledge like none I have ever seen, will willingly stray outside those boundaries.” He said very gravely.
“What lays outside those boundaries?” Harry asked quietly.
Taking a moment to compose his thoughts before he answered, Ivan banished the heavy black curtains that had blocked the windows moments before.
“We don’t know for sure.” Ivan answered, “All I know is Dave says that it ‘doesn’t feel right’ on those occasions when he felt himself getting close to them. He is also very reluctant to go near them.”
“It is probably a good thing. As I’m not keen on him doing too much experimenting until he has got full control of his full strength in the areas he will connect with.”
“What do you mean full control?” Kingsley asked a little worried, “You mean he can’t control himself?”
“No. Not at all, Kingsley. Probably a poor choice of words on my part. I should have said, ‘full mastery’ of his current abilities.” Ivan added.
“He still seems to be growing into his abilities, as he is always learning new things that he can do. I know he loves to learn, especially magical craft skills as he gets a joy that has to be seen to be believed out of making things. Especially if the thing he is making is going to be useful for someone.”
“I remember when he was in Kindergarten, he and some of the students broke a table as they were dancing on it. He was very upset at breaking it, but the teachers were more worried that the kids might have been hurt. He ran outside and came back in with a bunch of tree branches and wove them into this table like none I have ever seen. It is a very simple looking table, but is has this unique beauty about it that you can’t help but admire.”
“He was so happy that he had been able to make something useful that everyone seemed to enjoy and even like. He was smiling for days just at the memory of it.”
“That same table is still being used by his old Kindergarten and it hasn’t got a mark on it since the day he made it.” Ivan reminisced.
“Like wise with his skills, his strength still seems to be growing. Sometimes alarmingly. Our biggest saving grace here is that his own strength frightens him a little so he almost never uses it. We occasionally need to organise special training sessions for him to push him to make him test and explore his strength so he has a better understanding of it, and more importantly control over it.”
“But it can be a challenge. I’m starting to think for his next re-qualification session in duelling we are going to need to do it eight onto one. Or make him do it blindfolded.” He said with a slightly forced chuckle.
“Just what exactly ARE his current limits?” Kingsley enquired very intently.
“I can give you a copy of his personal file if you would like Kingsley. But I must ask that it be kept eyes only to you and Arthur as he will be working directly with you both while he is here.” Ivan offered.
“Thank you that would be greatly appreciated.” Kingsley answered his excitement at reading Dave’s file evident.
“No problem. Just please keep it secure, somewhere other than in your ministry. As there is an ever-growing list of criminals who would dearly love to get their hands on it.” Ivan reminded Kingsley as he turned to Dave’s mirror phone on the table.
“Drunkmouse, I’m guessing that you’re still listening in here?” Ivan asked with a smile.
“Yes Minister I most certainly am.” Came the reply.
“Can you place a copy of Dave’s personal file into my tray for me?” Ivan requested.
“It’s there now Minister as I guessed you would make it available when you gave Dave away to the Pom’s.” Drunkmouse replied with a small amount of cheek.
“He wasn’t given away Drunkmouse. He is on loan.” Ivan chuckled, “I’m pretty sure that they won’t want to keep him anyway.” He said winking at Kingsley.
“That’s a safe bet” Fireball said to Shelly with both sharing a chuckle also, “The POMs no, but I’m not so sure about the French just now” Shelly replied in a very quiet voice to Fireball. However Fleur and I both still heard it and we shared an amused smile between us.
Ivan extracted a wallet much like the one Dave had used before and opened it up. Reaching in he pulled out a surprisingly thick folder of parchment.
He put it on the table and placed his hand on it for a moment before sliding it over to Kingsley. “The file is charmed to only allow yourself or Arthur to be able to open it and read the contents.”
“I understand fully, as I’m sure Arthur will also.” Kingsley replied, while Arthur nodded.
“It is a lot thicker than I was expecting”
“It has his school records, as well as the usual Auror service records and a case history summary as well.”
“Given Dave’s rather unique talents, there are also some extra records in there relating to testing and training of those abilities as well.” Ivan answered.
“It sounds like it is going to be an interesting read.” Kingsley said to no one in particular.
“Minster? Can I ask another question?” Harry asked Ivan.
“Certainly you can Harry, and my name is Ivan. All those ‘Minsters’ grate on my ears as I get older.” He said smiling.
Harry returned the smile, “Thank you Ivan.”
“You mentioned before that your team here were carrying out rescue type missions primarily.”
“I did.” Ivan answered
“Do you know how many people that they rescued?” Harry asked nervously, “I ask as several of my friends had family members go missing during the war and they have had no news about them at all. I was hoping that maybe your team might have gotten some of them.”
Ivan regarded Harry favourably for a moment before once more speaking to the mirror phone, “Drunkmouse, do we have a total count on the number people that have been through our operation over here at all?”
“We do Minister.” Drunkmouse answered.
“Can you please tell us?”
“It’s classified Sir.” Drunkmouse answered nervously.
“What? Who the bloody hell did that?” Ivan asked very annoyed.
“You did Sir.” Drunkmouse replied even more nervous, “you said under no circumstances is that information to be given out without written approval from you.”
“Crikey, I did to.” Ivan answered feeling a little shame faced. He quickly scribbled a note and signed it and placed it I his wallet.
“Check my tray Drunkmouse you will find the required note from me.” Ivan said a little impatiently.
“Got it Minister, give me a moment.” The voice came back,
“Total number of people through our operation was, Fifteen Thousand Three hundred and Forty-Two people” he said to a stunned room.
“Five house Elfs, one vampire, and four Centaurs.” He finished.
None of us knew what to say. The looks around the room were of disbelief and almost denial.
“They kept themselves busy, didn’t they” Kingsley said to Ivan who seemed quite surprised himself.
“It would appear that they did.” He replied while deep in thought.
“Drunkmouse, did we hear you correctly before. You did say Fifteen Thousand, didn’t you?” Ivan inquired
“Yes I certainly did Minister.” He replied.
“Do you have a breakdown on that number at all?” Ivan requested
“Not an exact one Minister as a lot of the people we have under our care are still too traumatised to admit their true status. There are some people who are obviously muggles, but keep on claiming that they are wizards as they fear that they will be killed otherwise.”
“I also don’t have a break down by nationality locked in, as a lot of these people are not giving honest answers as to where they have come from for the same reasons. They are still extremely afraid that they will be further targeted if they admit to their country of origin. It is a slow process to convince them otherwise Minister.”
“Understood, please give us the best you have on the breakdown of overall numbers then.”
“Yes Minister, the numbers are: 15,342 total. 9,205 muggles, 6,137 magical. Of the magical number, we have 450 confirmed supporters of Tom Riddle Jr who are in custody. There are a further 207 classified as ‘snatchers’ (or supporters of opportunity) also in custody.”
“657 Voldemort supporters who were not at the final Battle at Hogwarts” Kingsley exclaimed while looking directly at Harry.
Harry could only nod his reply, as he was clearly thinking about what might have happened with those extra numbers on the side of Voldemort.
“Harry if you can get me the names of the people that you know are missing, or the name of the family that they belong to I will organise for Drunkmouse and his team to locate them if they are under our care.” Ivan offered.
“Thank-you very much, Ivan” Harry replied happily.
“Could I ask a question?” Arthur said hopefully.
“Certainly you can.” Ivan answered
“Do you know how many of that number were assisted by my son Percy? Or ‘Mr P’ as Dave called him.” Arthur asked the mirror phone.
“One moment sir.” Was the reply, “We have ‘Mr P’ listed as directly involved in the cases of 6,809 people and 2 House Elfs.” Drunkmouse answered.
At this news Percy turned so red I thought he was going to catch fire. But Arthur looked like he was going to swell with pride.
Arthur quickly went over to Percy and embraced him fiercely. After he released him he looked him in the eye and said, “I know we had our disagreements over your actions in the last few years son. But if those disagreements enabled you to be where you could do that much good then they were worth it. I’m proud of you my son.” He said as he hugged him again.
The rest of us joined him in that embrace.
After he disentangled himself from the impromptu family hug Arthur spoke with Ivan quietly, “Would it be possible to see the recommendation that Dave wrote for Percy?”
Ivan quickly conveyed that request to Drunkmouse and was soon extracting a copy of the recommendation from his wallet. We he handed it over to Arthur he advised “Read it when it is a little bit quieter, as it might embarrass Percy to read what has been written here.”
Arthur nodded in agreement.
“You can share it with Molly however, as you two deserve to know what your son has been up to.” Ivan added.
Standing up Ivan spoke to his Aurors, “I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old man, but I do believe it might be a good idea for those of you who are going to be staying here to get some sleep. As you have all been up for close on 24 hours or more.”
He was met with a few good-natured grumbles from his team as they began to make their way towards their various tents.
“But all of you should be aware that I am extremely proud of the efforts you have put in while you have been here and I’m in awe of what you have accomplished as well.”
“All of you will be receiving letters of commendation in your personal jackets from me and when I speak to the other Ministers as well I’m confident that they will agree also.”
“I will also be pushing for yet another unit citation.” He added with a smile.
“Shelly, Fireball, can you please check in on Dave before you get some sleep yourself?” he asked.
“Will do” they replied together before heading off to the tents.
While Ivan had been talking to his Aurors, Sandra had gone across to speak to Harry. I couldn’t hear what they discussed but he quickly left the room and returned with the photo album that Hagrid had made for him in his first year.
He opened the album and showed it to Sandra saying, “This one is of my parents James and Lily on their wedding day.”
“They do look like a lovely couple don’t they.” Sandra said smiling and looking between the photo and her husband.
“I agree with you Harry. There is a strong similarity between the two of them.” She said, “If Ivan had Brown eyes instead of his mother’s grey ones the similarities would be even stronger.”
Everyone seemed to gather around Harry’s album and were looking between the photo of James and Ivan.
“I feel like a specimen in a Zoo being examined by trainee vets” Ivan remarked to Kingsley who had also joined the throng around the album.
“Do you?” Kingsley asked with a smile before adding “can you turn a little to the left please.”
“The odd requests that I get at times” Ivan replied good naturedly as he turned in the requested direction.
“It certainly is a strong likeness. But there are distinct differences as well.” Kingsley replied.
“The height and build he got from his mother’s side along with his eyes” Sandra answered, “His jaw is also a little heavier than on James. But yes everything else matches, even the expressions.”
“Who is Ivan’s mother” I asked Sandra.
“Her name is Lillian.” Sandra answered, “Her family had been amongst some of the earliest pioneers in Australia apparently. She does love to tell stories of the ‘early days’ as she calls them.” She said smiling.
“Is? Do you mean she is still alive” I asked.
“Yes she is 89 years young as she puts it.” Sandra said a little proudly. “She will soon be turning 90”
“89? That is a good run.” Arthur said, “What’s her secret?”
“Good beer, good laughs, good pranks, good times, good family and good chess apparently.” Ivan said with a chuckle.
“Good Pranks?” George added with a twinkle in his eyes. “You mean pranks can extend your life?”
“Depends on who your pranking George.” I told him with a slightly stern look at him. He had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.
“Unless you are at the top of your game George I don’t recommend taking her on. She might look like a sweet little old lady, but believe me that is only a well-practised front. She has a wicked sense of humour and loves to prank family members.” Ivan said surveying George with a professional eye.
“Sounds like a challenge eh?” George said nudging Ron in the ribs.
While keeping a perfectly straight face Sandra turned to her husband and said “Five Galleons on Grandma”
“No bet.” Ivan replied
“Don’t you have faith in your mum?” George teased.
“Oh no, I have more faith in her than you know. I just don’t like seeing lambs lead to their slaughter without at least some fair warning. Or a chance to size up their opponent or opponents.” Ivan replied now struggling to keep a straight face.
“Lamb to the slaughter eh? Never have I been so in….” George tried to say before a thought struck him.
“Did you say opponents?” George asked.
“Yes I did.” Ivan said smirking.
“Who is the other one?” George requested.
“Her partner in crime, the one who taught her just about all she knows.” Was the reply.
George had a slightly confused look on his face.
“Her mother, George. Or as Dave calls her, Great Grandma Vogt.” Ivan answered.
“Blimey. How old is she?”
“She just turned 112 years young in February.” Sandra answered.
“This could be even more fun than I thought with the two of them…” he started to say before Arthur cut across him asking,
“You aren’t seriously planning on pranking the 89 year old mother and the 112 year old Grandmother of the Australian Minister are you?”
“No I’m seriously planning on pranking my new Uncles Mum and Grandmother” George replied loftily
“He is ambitious I’ll give him that” Ivan said to Arthur with a smile.
“That he is” Arthur answered also smiling.
Surprisingly Bill said to “How long has your mother in-law been playing pranks?”
“Just about all her life” Sandra replied.
“201 combined years of experience up against 21” hardly seems fair he said to Fleur.
“Oui” she answered, “I’ll bet 5 Galleons on Grand-mère Webb and Arrière grand-mère Vogt” she said to Sandra while ignoring George’s look of mock hurt and Bill’s chuckles.
“Shouldn’t we let the poor boy at least meet his opponents before he decides to embarrass himself?” Ivan asked the room.
“Nah” was the almost universal reply.
“Betrayed by my own family. I’m both shocked and stunned” George said while trying to appear hurt. But the grin on his face at the thought of the upcoming battle couldn’t be completely hidden.
“Would your mother know any more about your father’s family?” Harry asked Ivan.
“I do not think so Harry. As she would only know what my dad could have told her. He has told me all he knows and that isn’t much. He wasn’t even 100% sure of his name that is listed on his documents. He always insisted that Douglas never felt completely right to him. One reason why he wouldn’t let me name either of my boys after him.”
“The only hard evidence we have of his life before is this key” Ivan said while extracting a key from a golden chain about his neck. The chain looked almost exactly the same as the one Dave wore. Only on this chain there was only one item a small key.
Ivan tugged on the key gently and it came off the chain and he held it out in the palm of his hand for Harry to see.
Bill came forward and looked closely at the key, “That’s definitely a Gringotts key he said.”
Looking to Ivan he pointed to the key and asked, “May I?” seeing the hesitation he added “I work for Gringotts and may be able to discover more about the key for you.”
Ivan passed the key to Bill who held it in his hand for a moment while muttering something under his breath. He then held the key up to the light and examined it closely.
“It isn’t a main key to a family vault, it is definitely a key to a secure room within a family vault though. Not many vaults would have rooms like that and it would have to be an old vault to have multiple rooms in it.” He said thoughtfully.
“If you come to Gringotts with me we might be able to identify the main vault that this key belongs to.” Bill offered.
“That is a very interesting offer Bill. One I’m sorely tempted to take you up on.” Ivan said hopefully, “However there is a small flaw in that plan.”
“What flaw?” Bill asked.
“Goblins do not take kindly to people like me and my children. Our particular skills make them feel threatened.” He replied.
“Threatened? How so?” Bill asked.
“Gold and Jewels are very important to Goblins are they not?” Ivan asked him
“Of course they are. Goblins are very protective of their treasures both their own and those under their care.”
“They are protective because of the value of the treasure?” Ivan asked, prodding for a specific response.
“Agreed and it is valuable because it is rare.” Bill offered.
“Correct. So how do you think they would react to people who have the ability to make their treasure common place?” Ivan enquired.
Seeing the look of slight bafflement on Bills face Ivan reached over to a plate of scones and tossed one to Bill. However when bill caught it the scone was now solid gold.
Holding it up Bill looked at it in amazement. Everyone else gasped astonished.
“I can do that with gold and silver, most of my girls can do the same also. Dave can do it with just about any type of metal as well as jewels. Dave can also work metals and produce results very much like Goblin wrought arms and armour.” Ivan explained.
“Although I do believe his favourite materials to use are wood and stone.” Ivan said smiling.
“All it takes is a glance at his house to tell you that darling.” Sandra agreed.
Bill was still staring at the scone Ivan had thrown to him. He started to talk a few times but could find no words.
“Back home the Goblins in our Wizarding Banks become very worried each time we visit. They seem to think that if we can turn just about any object into gold then we can turn their gold into more common materials.” He said with a chuckle.
“Can you?” Ron asked curiously.
“Would you?” Bill asked seriously.
“Not willingly. As we have no desire to undermine the Wizarding economy.” Ivan answered also seriously.
Bill nodded and then asked, “Can Dave really work metals like that? Goblins guard those secrets very closely. If they think that he has stolen those secrets they will never rest until he is dealt with.”
The look on Ivan’s face showed that he was very clearly aware of the Goblins views on such matters.
“You are correct in your assumption Bill. The Goblins back home also expressed those views when they first saw some of Dave’s handiwork. He had to give them a demonstration of sorts to give them an idea as to how he worked the metals. He was able to convince them that while the results were very similar the methods were very different.” Ivan explained.
“Your wife and her family are wearing examples of Dave’s work. I can see from here that the metals are as pure as they can be. They are also almost totally impervious to damage and will never need cleaning.”
“There are also some very powerful protective charms and wards on them that will afford some serious protection.” He added seemingly impressed.
Monsieur and Madame Delacour along with Fleur were now looking at their bracelets in wonder. Gabrielle raised her wrist to look at her bracelet also, although she seemed to be noticing it for the first time. She had a most curious expression on her face.
“Quand est-ce que j'ai eu ça?” she said rapidly in French, before catching herself and asking “When did I get this?” while holding her wrist up.
Fleur’s eyes widened when she saw the bracelet on Gabrielle’s wrist. Unlike the ones worn by Fleur and her parents Gabrielle’s one was studded with numerous bright blue Sapphires.
“I put it on you Gabrielle once your physical injuries had been healed but before the last curses were removed.” Monsieur Delacour explained.
“However it did not have any sapphires on it then.” He said with a look of curiosity on his face.
“What is it for?” she asked with a questioning expression on her face.
“It is a Talisman, a bit like this one” Bill answered her as he touched the fang earring that he always wore.
“Their purpose is to provide protection for you from curses. In the case of the Talisman that Dave made for you, Fleur and your parents it was to specifically protect you from the curses that were on that the knife that stabbed you.”
“They also carry a measure of the love from your family in it.” Bill said impressed.
“I see” Gabrielle replied now very interested in it.
“You said Dave made it?” she asked Ivan.
“It has all the hall marks of his work yes. But I did not see him actually make it though.” He answered
“We saw ‘im make zem Gabrielle. Eee took some old rusty nails and some of our ‘airs and made zem right in front of us. I ‘ad never seen anyzing like eet” Fleur answered.
“Rusty nails and my hair?” she asked in disbelief.
“Oui” Fleur answered smiling.
“Incroyable” she exclaimed also smiling.
“Dave did say you needed to wear yours for two more days before you could take it off.” I told her.
“Do I zen need to give it back to eem?” she asked with obvious reluctance to part with it.
“No dear, knowing Dave he would not accept them back from any of you as he made them with your own hairs” Sandra answered to Gabrielle’s relief.
“But I would advise you all to take care of them as they are truly priceless.”
“Inestimable?” she said with her eyes widening in shock, while her parents and Fleur also wore similar expression of surprise.
“I wouldn’t argue with that.” Bill agreed, “Knowing what it cost me for this Talisman” he said again indicating his fang ear-ring.
“I would hate to hazard a guess as to the value of those ones.” He said pointing to the bracelet on Fleur’s wrist, “Let alone the one Gabrielle is wearing.”
Looking a little shocked now Gabrielle began to say “I can’t wear something zat is worz so much. I couldn’t afford to pay ‘im for eet…”
“My dear, do not be worried. As I know what Dave will say if you said that to him.” Said Sandra while looking at Gabrielle kindly.
“He would say that next to someone’s life such an object has no worth, not unless it is helping them” she replied. “Dave is not one to stand on ceremony nor is he one to seek the spotlight for his actions. He much prefers to go about his job in quiet and have his team be appreciated for their efforts.”
“When he does things like this” at this she indicated the bracelet, “there are absolutely no strings attached to them. Indeed to even suggest that there might be would be taken as a major insult to his team and by extension himself.”
“If you feel the need by all means tell him you are grateful for the efforts of his team and what they did. But as you fought alongside his team to defend others he would have viewed it as dishonourable to NOT help you for YOUR efforts to help his team.” She explained.
“Does that help to explain how he views things?” Sandra asked her.
“Oui” Gabrielle replied managing to look both relived and impressed at the same time.
With Gabrielle calmed down Ivan and Bill were able to continue on with their conversation.
“Bill, if you can convince the Gringotts Goblins that we are no threat to them or their treasure I would be very happy to visit and bring the key for them to examine and see what they can find out about it for us.” Ivan offered.
“I will see what I can arrange” Bill answered while offering the golden scone back to Ivan.
“Keep it.” Ivan told Bill, “It might help with your explanation to them.”
Bill nodded in agreement.
“Harry, if the Gringotts Goblins can find out anything about that key I will be sure to let you know.” said Ivan warmly.
Trying not to look to hopeful Harry replied, “Thank you.”
“I must ask you Harry to try and not get your hopes up too much about this. As I have been told many time before that I or my father have a resemblance to people from a particular family.”
“Further investigation of these claims usually shows no actual link exists and that it is just coincidence that the resemblance exists at all.” Ivan explained to Harry.
“I understand. Thank-you for explaining that to me.” Harry replied.
“On that note I think we should be going dear. We have intruded far more than I had intended to do so upon these good people.” Ivan said to his wife as he stood up.
Arthur and I started to protest saying that they are more than welcome to stay and that we would love the opportunity to get to know my sister and her family better.
Ivan replied saying, “We would both be deeply honoured to stay and talk the hours and days away with you all as well. However I do have some official business to take care of back home. I also need to organise a few things with the New Zealand, New Caladonian and Fijian Ministers so we can borrow some of their Aurors for the work here.”
“But I would like to ask for permission to visit tomorrow morning (your time) when Dave wakes up if that is possible.” He asked hopefully.
“There is no need to ask Ivan, you are more than welcome here at any time.” Arthur responded before I could.
“You have my most humble thanks, Arthur and Molly.” He replied.
“Once again I would love to extend my invitation to you and all your family, and your adopted family members as well” he said looking to Hermione and Harry “to visit with us. We have more than enough room to comfortably accommodate you all”
“Perhaps when Sandra or Dave brings Hermione over to lift the memory charms on her parents you will all be able to visit for a time? I know the rest of the family would love to meet you all as well.” Ivan offered.
I could see the hopeful looks in the eyes of Hermione and Ron as well as the rest of the family. Gabrielle also entertained a hopeful look as well which didn’t go unnoticed by Fleur.
Arthur had clearly been put on the spot, I could see his desire to go and visit family fighting with his desire not to impose himself or his family onto others doing war with one another. I could feel the excitement within myself as well at the prospect of going to visit with my newly discovered big sister as well.
Surprisingly Percy stepped in to help Arthur make his decision.
“You know Dad, Dave has told me all about one of his Brother-in-laws who works on Muggle Aeroplanes and is a qualified pilot. I’m sure he would be able to answer all those questions you have about them you know.”
“Really?” Arthur said with genuine surprise and delight on his face. I knew then that Arthur had made his decision and that we would all be off on a journey soon.
“If Dave was referring to Colin I’m very certain that he would not only be happy to answer your questions he would offer you a few rides as well.” Ivan said grinning.
“In that case I would be very happy to accept your kind offer Ivan.” Arthur said while holding out his hand to Ivan.
“Wonderful, just wonderful” Ivan said grinning while he shook hands with Arthur.
“Shall we say we will collect you about 9pm on the 20th? As that would make it 8am on the 19th at home.” Ivan offered before saying to Arthur, “It’s easier to adjust to a longer day than a shorter one”
“If that is convenient to you we will all be ready then.” Arthur said excitedly.
Fleur quickly spoke up at this point and asked, “Could I please bring my sister Gabrielle along? As she ‘as never been to Australie”
Ivan looked a little confused by the request, but Sandra quickly covered for him, “If it is ok with her parents we would be more than happy to have her come along as well.”
Gabrielle raced to her parents and began to speak to them excitedly in rapid fire French. After a quick conversation with Sandra they readily agreed to allow Gabrielle to accompany Fleur and Bill to Australia.
Gabrielle hugged her sister in thanks and I distinctly heard Fleur say to her “You owe me one.”
I tried my best to stifle a smile at that comment.
A round of hurried goodbyes ensured after that. Ivan said he would be ready by the door at 9am our time tomorrow. But that if Dave woke up earlier than that to have someone call him and he would be ready earlier.
With a final round of Hugs and Kisses Ivan and Sandra, along with Natalie and Craig went back through the door and with a final quick chat to Arthur about how to close and lock the door way, they closed the door behind them.
Once Arthur had turned the key on the closed door, we heard a distinct click. When he next opened the door I could see only the usual scullery behind it.
“Now that was an interesting day if ever there was one” Arthur said to me. Everyone else was in agreement with him as well.
Chief Williams mentioned that he too needed to leave as he had reports to get finished before tomorrow now that he knew his minister was going to be back in the morning. He did say he would be back in the morning if it was ok with us (it was). I tried to get him to stay for dinner but he politely declined and said he did need to get back to the embassy.
With his departure it left just my family, the Delacour’s, Kingsley and a few members of the DA for dinner. It was a typical noisy and chaotic family dinner with guests and I loved every minute of it.
After dinner was done and the dishes were cleared away, our guests had also departed. We sent the Delacour’s along with Bill and Fleur off to bed. As they had had a very eventful day. George and Charlie had also headed off to bed early as well.
Arthur and I sat down to read Percy’s nomination that Dave had written for the Australian Distinguished Service Cross.
While Dave had a plain spoken almost blunt approach to his writing he was also lavish in his praise of Percy’s efforts as well as that of this mysterious woman Audrey that had been mentioned before.
“Well that was most certainly a VERY interesting read I must say.” Arthur remarked once he had finished it.
I was in full agreement with Arthur once I had finished reading it as well. There were even tears in my eyes as I realised how proud I was of my once wayward son.
“You know dear, if they wish to honour Percy like this for his work, we really should speak to Kingsley about formally recognising the efforts of Dave and his team also for their work over here.”
Arthur looked at me and his smile just melted my heart, “You know Mollywobbles that is a fantastic idea. I will certainly raise it with him tomorrow.”
“But now I feel that we should get ourselves off to bed as tomorrow promises to be as interesting as today was.”
“After you” I told him as I followed him to the stairs.
I said goodnight to Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione who were all still in the lounge talking as we went off to bed.
Chapter 13: The Next Day
15th May 1998 (Friday)The next morning when I awoke I wasn’t sure if the events of the previous day had been a dream or not. I know I certainly had experienced some rather strange dreams during the night.
It wasn’t until I got up and looked out the window to see the collection of tents that were being used by Dave and his team that it all came flooding back to me.
I couldn’t help myself, I had this giddy feeling inside of me at the thought of having an older sister. Knowing that I was going to get to see her today was also an exciting thought as well.
Quickly getting dressed in something that I thought was more presentable than my attire from yesterday I went down stairs to the kitchen to get breakfast going.
Once in the kitchen I got the kettle going and was getting the rest of the breakfast things out when I noticed movement out at the tents. Wondering why they would be up so early I went out to see them.
I hadn’t made it half way to the tents before I was met by a familiar face, “Good Morning Mrs Weasley” Cassy said very cheerfully to me as she passed tying her hair up.
“Good Morning Cassy.” I replied, “What gets you up so early this morning.”
“Early? I’m afraid we have all slept in a bit today and are running a little late. Shelly and Mick are a little upset that we have slept in and I think that they are organising a special PT session for us to make up for it.” She answered.
“PT?” I asked a little confused, when a voice behind me explained, “Physical Training. Nothing like a small 5 mile run to wake you up and get you thinking straight.”
Turning around I saw Shelly walking towards me with a wicked little grin on her face as she looked over to Cassy.
“Good Morning Shelly.” I said warmly “please tell me you are not making Dave run 5 miles this morning after what he went through yesterday.”
“Good Morning Aunt Molly” Shelly said turning her smile on me and surprising me momentarily.
“Goodness me. That comes as a pleasant surprise” I told her as I gave her an appropriate hug which she readily returned.
“Don’t worry about Dave, Aunty. We are under orders to let him sleep, for this morning at least.” She said smiling.
“I will organise a test for him later today to see if he can join in normal PT tomorrow morning.” Shelly almost purred at the thought of it.
“When will you all be back? As I was about to get breakfast going for you all.” I asked her, when suddenly there were several heads poking out of tents enquiring about the offer of breakfast hopefully.
“We should be back in less than an hour. But there is no need to make breakfast for this mob.” She said looking back over her shoulder at the suddenly disappointed faces.
“They are more than capable of cooking their own meals.” She stated.
“Now don’t be silly dear. It is no trouble at all to make breakfast for an extra 12 people. I can’t have family and friends starting the day without a proper meal in them, now can I?” I told her. There seemed to be some cheering from the tents behind her when I made this comment. I did manage not to smile at the response I must say.
Giving in to the inevitable Shelly relented but not before her inner drill sergeant made an appearance, “All right you lot if you would like to join the Weasley’s for breakfast you have one minute to be ready and we need to be back here inside record time.”
“Your time starts NOW.” She added while struggling to hold back an evil grin.
“You know I think that they might just break their record today after all.” She remarked as they all assembled inside the allotted time.
“We will see you soon.” She said as they took off running in formation.
I watched them head off on their morning run with a mixture of gratitude and worry. Gratitude for the work that they had already done and were doing. But also worry for their safety as they were in a dangerous line of work.
As tempting as it was to check on Dave I decided to let him sleep and headed into the kitchen to continue with the breakfast preparations. Entering the kitchen I found Arthur making a pot of tea and looking at me with a question on his face.
“Shelly has taken them for their apparently normal morning run and physical training session.”
“Didn’t see Dave in the group. Did he go earlier?” he asked.
“No apparently, she was under orders to let him sleep.” I replied.
“After the day he had yesterday I’d say he has earnt a sleep in.”
“He certainly has.” I agreed, “I invited Shelly and the others to join us for breakfast when they get back from their training.”
“That will make for an interesting breakfast I’m sure.” Arthur said while smiling, “I was going to ask you if we should invite them in but seems you beat me to it.” He said while planting a kiss on my cheek.
“Isn’t it a bit early for that sort of thing?” a voice asked from behind us.
Turning to face the stairs I could see our youngest son looking at us with a slightly apprehensive look about him while two emotions battled. One was the desire for food the other a desire to avoid watching his parents snogging.
“When you’re with the woman of your dreams Ron, it’s never too early.” Arthur advised his son, “something I’m sure you would agree with if Hermione was down here alone with you. Hmm?”
Ron didn’t answer but his ears did change colour and he made his way to the table only a little sullenly. The desire for food having won the internal battle.
In short order, I had bacon sandwiches on the table and the smell of them quickly drew down several other occupants of the house. Bill, George, Charlie, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were all soon around the kitchen table Monsieur and Madam Delacour had also come down soon after. I could hear the shower running upstairs. I was wondering who it was when Fleur came into the kitchen.
“Gabrielle should hurry up if she wishes to get any breakfast” I told Fleur, “at the rate this lot are eating there will be nothing left when she gets down.”
“She will be ‘ere shortly” she said just as the shower cut off.
The conversation around the breakfast table quickly shifted to the events of the previous day. “Bill, did the two of you sleep ok after yesterday’s events?” Arthur asked.
“I think I was basically asleep before my head hit the pillow. The next time I opened my eyes it was morning, so I must have slept like a log.”
“Was very stiff when I got up though like I had been playing Quidditch all day.” He remarked.
“How about you Fleur? How are you this morning?” Bill asked his wife
“About ze same.” She answered, “I don’t zink I even recall falling asleep. I just remember laying down and zen ze sun was shining in zrough ze windows.” She offered.
“I can imagine that. I was exhausted just from watching you all.” Arthur said still amazed at yesterday’s events.
“How about you Julian and Apolline I hope you slept well?” enquired Arthur.
“Oui. We both slept very soundly thank you.” Julian replied.
“Glad to hear it.” Arthur said happily, “How about Gabrielle?” he ask Ginny and Hermione. As the three girls, had been forced to squeeze into Ginny’s room last night.
“I think she slept ok last night Dad.” Ginny answered with a smirk, “But I did hear her talking in her sleep quite a lot. I couldn’t make out what she was saying though.”
“It didn’t sound like it was a nightmare, but I just got the feeling she was worked up about something.”
“Wouldn’t you agree Hermione?” Ginny asked with a perfectly straight face, one I had seen on her many times before when she was playing innocent.
Hermione very nearly chocked on her juice and the ensuring coughing fit required Ron to deliver a few heart felt blows to her back to help her recover. “Yes I would Ginny. But I also couldn’t understand what she was saying very well. It seemed to be mostly in French though.”
Fleur and I seemed to be the only ones who caught the undertones in that exchange and I wouldn’t bet against Fleur having a quiet discussion with the both of them and Gabrielle when the occasion presented itself.
Gabrielle arrived in the kitchen soon after and she seemed to be in good spirits.
“Did you sleep well dear?” I asked her.
“Oui” she replied.
“No dreams?” Ginny asked with her unnaturally straight face.
“Non.” She answered looking a little confused.
“It’s just I thought I heard you talking in your sleep last night. But couldn’t quite make out what you were saying. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t having any nightmares that’s all.” She asked with the strain of maintaining the straight face giving her away to Arthur.
“Merci, but zere ez non need to be worried. I don’t recall any ‘aving any cauchemars.” She answered quickly finding herself some juice and a sandwich.
At this point we could hear a set of voices growing louder in the distance, it sounded like a group of people coming up the lane from the village.
Arthur got up and looked out the window.
“Looks like Shelly and the others are back from their morning run.” He replied while going back and sitting down.
They were soon in the yard and heading for their tents to wash up before they had a chance to eat.
Far quicker than I thought possible Shelly and Fireball were walking across the yard to the house.
“That was quick.” I remarked to Arthur caught off guard, thinking I had more time to make the next round of meals.
Just as the girls were coming in through the door I was trying to shoo everyone away from the breakfast table.
“Please don’t chase people away from the breakfast table on our account Aunty Molly.” Shelly said, and I could tell the form of address didn’t go unnoticed by the others in the room.
“It’s no bother dear” I told her still trying to get Ron to move from the table.
“Please Aunty we are all very happy to eat outside, it is a beautiful morning so we were just going to put some tables up and use those.” She offered, then looking over at Ron and Charlie who were still enthusiastically attacking their breakfasts she added, “Besides if your boys are anything like ours it isn’t usually safe to get between them and their food.” She said smiling broadly.
“It’s not just the boys that are attached to their food.” Bill smirked at Ginny until she smacked him on the back of the head and Fleur elbowed him in the ribs.
“So I see” Shelly answered.
“We were just wondering if you all would like to join us outside, as I think there might be more room for us all and we also picked up some fresh supplies coming back through the village.” Fireball invited.
Seeing the sense in having the group of us outside we quickly transferred breakfast from the kitchen table to a set of tables outside with enough room for us all to be seated comfortably.
Fireball and Shelly quickly handled the introductions of the Aurors from Dave’s team that we hadn’t yet met. They were an interesting mix of Australians and New Zealanders. The most surprising thing for me was that they were more like a large extended family. I had expected them to be more like Arthur’s co-workers at the Ministry. But they were obviously a very tightly knit unit of people.
I could only imagine how they would have taken the news of the death of their team leader.
The members of Dave’s Team in addition to his sisters and cousin were from the Australian contingent: Michael ‘Mick’ Winmar he was the teams scout and tracker as well as their liaison with the Australian Aboriginal Magical Community, Arron ‘Rowdy’ Brennan, Russell ‘Guz’ Chambers, and Ryan ‘Goose’ Colbert.
From the New Zealand contingent, there was; Jonothan ‘Jono’ Marshall he was the ‘leader’ of the NZ contingent as well as the liaison with the New Zealand Maori Magical Community, Isabella ‘Izzy’ Christian, Oliver ‘Olly’ Jackson and Abagail ‘Abby’ Cartwright.
The contingents from Fiji and New Caledonia were not currently with Dave as they formed his dedicated surveillance team. They were currently on a stakeout and we were promised introductions later.
Once the introductions were complete we all sat down to enjoy breakfast complete with the fresh supplies that Shelly and her team had brought up from the local village.
“Ez Dave not joining us?” Gabrielle asked with an almost forced casualness that seemed to have caught Fireball’s, Fleur’s and Ginny’s attention.
“No he isn’t” Shelly replied to Gabrielle’s quickly masked disappointment.
“I was given orders to let him sleep this morning. As after expending that much energy and having that many bones re-broken and then set correctly he will need all the rest he can get.”
“Even with his remarkable healing abilities it will still have taken a lot out of him to deal with all of that.”
“Having broken a few of my own bones a time or two I can certainly say it does take it out of you when they are healed.” Harry replied almost without thinking.
“Not to forget the time that Lockhart made the bones in your arms disappear.” Added Ron.
“Why did he make the bones in your arm vanish?” Shelly asked baffled.
Chuckling Ron answered, “The stupid git thought he was healing Harry’s broken arm. But he messed up the incantation and poor Harry suddenly had no bones in his right arm.”
“How did such a ding-bat get to be a teacher?” Fireball asked confused.
“No one else wanted the job.” Harry offered, “Thanks to him I had to spend the night in hospital getting doused with that disgusting ‘Skele-Grow’ potion every few hours.”
“It was one of the worst nights of my life, certainly one of the most uncomfortable.” Said Harry with a shudder as he remembered that night.
“Don’t you like your ancestral brew then Harry?” Fireball asked him with a lopsided smile that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Harry’s face.
“What do you mean ancestral brew?” Harry asked her.
“You mean you don’t know about your link to it?” Fireball asked now genuinely surprised. Everyone else around the table had now started paying attention to the conversation as the table was now set for breakfast for the combined groups.
“I’m afraid I don’t have a huge amount of information on my family. My parents were murdered when I was only 18 months old. After that I was raised by my muggle Aunt and Uncle who absolutely hate anything to do with magic.” Harry said, still with a trace of bitterness in his voice at his past.
“Oh, I see. I’m very sorry to hear that.” Fireball added with a quick glance at Shelly that strangely seemed like a whole conversation.
Sitting down she fixed Harry with a very direct look that seemed to be measuring him for something. Ginny noticed her attention on Harry and was obviously unsure about what it implied. After her eyes (and Shelly’s) had flashed Golden quickly another silent conversation occurred between the two of them. This time a decision seemed to have been reached as Fireball began to speak.
“Skele-Grow has a link to your family Harry as it was created by the ‘Original Potter’ I suppose you could call him” Fireball explained.
The look on Harry’s face was priceless. His jaw almost hit the table. Ginny, Ron and Hermione were equally stunned. The rest of the Weasley’s not to forget the Delacour’s were also caught out by this comment.
“Are you really sure.” Harry asked with intense interest.
“Very sure” Fireball answered. “After my Grandfather was freed he had a raging fury at what had happened to him. But the only thing that could match his fury was his desire to know why. As he never bought the official line of what had happened and why.” She explained.
“So he began to research the Potter family, with a hope of learning why they had decided to single him (and by extension his family) out for such treatment. There are quite a few book cases at Grandpa’s place dedicated to your ancestors. Interesting reading, they are too.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m stunned that someone would have such information on my family. But at the same time I’m also grateful that the knowledge still exists somewhere as well.” Harry added still coming to terms with this new information.
“Have you seen these books on my family?” Harry asked Fireball.
“Seen them? Yes, I’ve seen them. Read most of them too. They are a mixture of old newspaper stories, birth and death notices as well as official documents like Marriage records, Birth Certificates, Death certificates. There are also some interviews that have been recorded and even quite a few letters that have been purchased or copied from libraries over the years. Photos and paintings of people are few and far between though.” She added.
“That sounds like a lot of work for someone to put in just to work out why something happened.” Harry said before quickly noticing the bristling look he got from both Shelly and Fireball.
“Don’t get me wrong, what happened to your Grandfather was a truly horrific event. But his reaction with that sort of research isn’t normal.” Harry explained.
“One thing you will learn about our family Harry is that the word normal isn’t applied very often.” Shelly smiled while she said this.
“Grandpa Webb was a very unique individual. He believed in being thorough with his research and knowing his enemy.” Shelly said looking very directly at Harry.
This last statement caused a bit of concern around the table. When Harry didn’t respond past a slight nodding of his head Shelly continued.
“When Grandpa met and eventually married Grandma she tamed most of his ‘rough edges’ and added an extra belief to the list above. This new entry was to curb his more ‘hot headed and impulsive’ nature.” She said still focused on Harry very intently.
“It was ‘Be sure of your target’. It can be interpreted in many different ways, but the upside was Grandpa expanded his research significantly trying not only to identify the members of the family that had targeted him (and who he believed at that time might still come looking for him). But to also learn about them as best as was possible.”
“So you could say that Grandma Webb was the prime reason for the more ‘human’ side of his research. That in turn caused Grandpa to get to know the Potter family better and ‘took the edge off’ his rage. It also turned up some of the more interesting aspects of the Potter family.” She remarked.
“Like the creation of the Skele-Grow potion.” Harry said
“Yes, exactly. And the pepper up potion as well. In fact, they were created by the same person” she offered.
“W… Who was that exactly?” Harry asked.
“If memory serves me correct it was a Mr Linfred of Stinchcombe (also known by the nickname The Potterer). He was a wizard in the 12th Century, a keen experimenter and potioneer and is credited with inventing many Medical Potions.” She replied as though reading from an old school report.
“I always seem to come across people who know more about my family than I do.” Harry said still intrigued by this new information but also annoyed by his own lack of knowledge about his own family.
“Be comforted by the fact that you know which family you belong too.” Fireball said while devouring her bacon sandwiches while still giving harry a measuring look. “As I can assure you that not knowing where you come from is worse than not knowing much about where you come from”
Harry thought about that for a while before he ended up agreeing with her.
“Was my family history required reading in your family or something?” Harry asked with a shy smile.
“Not exactly” was the answer, “but in the absence of much information on our own family we would often do our school reports on family history about yours instead as we knew much more about that topic.” Fireball remarked.
“Some of our Teachers/Professors thought it a little morbid. But most understood it.” Fireball said around a mouthful of bacon sandwiches.
“I can see it being a difficult topic to explain at school” Harry offered.
“W… Would it be possible to see these books about my family at all?” Harry asked nervously.
“That’s two red jelly beans you owe me Fireball.” Shelly laughed at her sister, who was a little miffed at losing their private bet.
Focusing back on Harry she added, “If Dad can convince Grandpa of what you two discussed last night. Then I believe Grandma will be happy to show you the information that she has at her place.”
“Thank you” Harry said gratefully.
“I think the thanks will be a two-way street Harry if we can locate any records here.” Shelly offered.
“Agreed” Harry replied.
“Two Red Jelly Beans? That doesn’t sound like much of a bet.” George remarked.
“Just what should we have bet then?” Shelly asked with a raised eyebrow.
“A good bet is about 5 — 10 Galleons depending on how sure you are of the result.” He replied.
“I see”, Shelly replied, then placing her hand on the desk she asked, “Is this enough for a serious bet then?” while she lifted her hand revealing a stack of golden Galleons underneath it.
“How?” George started to ask while looking at the pile of coins.
“Our family have some unique abilities that tend to make others rather nervous. This particular ability makes Goblins very nervous?” Shelly asked now openly smiling as she banished the galleons. Ron let out a groan of longing as the gold disappeared.
George’s eyes widened in understanding. “I guess that would cause a good deal of trouble with family bets then wouldn’t it.”
“Yes it does, once it gets to the point of betting whole rooms full of conjured gold the bets lose all sense of fun.” Shelly answered.
“It was Grandma Webb who suggested the use of Jelly beans instead. As food just can’t be conjured and Jelly Beans keep better that chocolate. Besides you can enjoy them in ways you can’t with gold.” She smirked.
Bill lent over to Charlie and commented, “We need to get a supply of Jelly Beans and soon.”
“Agreed” Charlie answered chuckling.
“And just what sorts of bets do you two Gentlemen have in mind? Hmm?” Cassy asked with a very direct look at Charlie.
“You never know what opportunity will present itself, so it is good to be prepared. Don’t you think?” he answered returning her direct look.
“I think you’re pretty well prepared right now. As I’d be happy to bet against your…” here her eyes began to roam over Charlie, “Let’s say shirt. That seems like a good place to start.” She said smiling.
Charlie wasn’t ready for that reply and took a moment to compose himself, while Bill had a good laugh at his brother’s predicament. Shelly must have taken pity on him as she just then spoke up, “No making unfair bets with family members Cassy. You should know that rule by now.” She smirked as she spoke.
“How do you know I was planning on making an unfair bet with him?” she asked with a perfectly straight face.
“Because I know you. I’ve known you all my life.” She remarked with an evil grin showing.
At this point, there was a strange beeping noise coming from Shelly, Fireball and Mick. They all pulled out their Mirror Phones, after checking them quickly they all just looked at each other briefly before Shelly and Fireball excused themselves and headed over to Dave’s tent.
Mick however tapped on his Mirror Phone for a few moments before he spoke to us.
“Dave has just woken up.” He said, “Shelly and Fireball are going in to check on him. I have just notified the Minister and Chief Williams who I expect will be arriving shortly.”
“I’m glad he is awake” I said, “Should I make a tray of breakfast for him and take it in?” I asked.
Chuckling Mick answered, “Dave isn’t one to enjoy having people fussing over him. He is probably going to be mortified that he has missed the morning PT session.”
“Given also that his jaw was one of the bones that had to be re-broken and set again last night it is probably best that we let the Healers check him out before we offer him anything to eat.” He said.
“Makes sense” I answered just as I noticed Shelly come striding out of Dave’s tent towards us.
“Dad has just notified me he is ready at home and would like to come over here if he can. He has Andrea with him and wants her to check out Dave thoroughly before he gets himself into any more mischief.”
“Could one of you unlock the door for me so I can open it for dad to come though?” She asked.
“Of course, I will go and unlock it now.” Arthur replied as he got out of his seat.
Shelly followed him back to the house and they were soon striding over to Dave’s tent with Ivan, Sandra and a woman I hadn’t yet met. Both Ivan and Sandra waved warmly to us but I could see that their focus was on their son so I motioned for them to go direct to Dave first.
They both seemed grateful for this and continued-on their way to the tents without stopping.
I noticed the eyes of Dave’s team tracking them all the way to the tents. They all seemed to have slightly concerned looks on their faces.
Arthur re-joined us shortly afterwards.
“Poor Dave seems a little out of sorts at being confronted by a Ministry Healer first thing in the morning. Even if it was one of his sisters” he chuckled.
“’ow ez ee?” Gabrielle asked Arthur with genuine concern.
The whole of Dave’s team seemed to be waiting intently for Arthur’s reply, “He seems very stiff, going from the way he was moving when they got him out of bed. The bruises that covered most of his chest yesterday seem to have almost completely disappeared.”
“He was complaining good naturedly about Andrea’s cold hands as she was examining him. So he seems to be in good spirits as well.” He answered.
You could see all of Dave’s team visibly relax at the news. The rest of the table also seemed happy with the news as well. Gabrielle seemed to be in good spirits also going from the way she was chatting with Fleur and even Ginny.
Kingsley and Chief Williams turned up shortly after the arrival of Dave’s parents. While they came over to say good morning, they also politely refused the offer of breakfast saying that they had already eaten. They seemed to have been up very early going over transcripts of the people who were captured yesterday.
They quickly went over to Dave’s tent to join the others.
Kingsley came out a short time later to collect Arthur as they were apparently going to try to talk to Dave’s Grandfathers soul as Ivan had promised last night.
Kingsley felt that having someone there who had known Harry for a long time would go a long way towards helping convince Dave’s Grandfather that he wasn’t aware of the incident and that he had offered to help.
Conversation around the table was light hearted, but you could see everyone sneaking looks at Dave’s tent every so often. Looks of apprehension evident on their faces.
A cry of “YOU WHAT…” came from the direction of Dave’s tent in a voice that no one recognised before some obviously hasty silencing charms were thrown up to silence the noise.
I quickly glanced over at Harry and found him to be holding hands with Ginny and staring intently at Dave’s tent with a slightly nervous look on his face. Ginny was whispering something in Harry’s ear in an attempt to keep him calm.
Eventually Sandra came out of the tent and made her way over to us. After exchanging greetings and hugs (I found that I enjoyed hugging my sister) she spoke with Harry.
“They are asking for you in there. Ivan has spoken with his father’s soul as you may have heard.” She said smiling.
“Ivan has talked him around somewhat and I actually think he is more curious than anything right now. But I would like to offer some advice if I may before you go in.” she offered.
“Please do Mrs Webb” Harry requested.
“No need for the formality Harry. Just Sandra will do.” She smiled at him. “Both my husband and my sons have the same approach to forming an opinion on someone. They learnt it from the way his father made his assessments.”
“They do it through observing how someone interacts with those around them.” She explained.
“I don’t know if you have noticed that or not. But they tend to be the quiet ones in the room, especially when they are trying to make up their mind about someone. You can kind of even forget that they are even there. Which is a neat trick given their size” she remarked.
“Even Dave?” Bill asked.
“Especially Dave.” Sandra replied with a smile, “He is famous for it. There are ministers in a few different governments who employ watchers just to keep track of him at functions so that he can’t watch them without being watched himself.”
“Does it work?” this time it was Charlie asking.
“Only when he wants them to think it does.” She chuckled.
“Why do they do that?” Harry asked his curiosity evident.
“You see they are so often faced with people trying to ‘butter them up’ for one reason or another that they tend to form their opinions on someone by watching how they treat others. Both those above, below and on the same level as them. Do you take my meaning?” she asked.
“I do” he answered.
“Excellent. To that end I would like you to bring in Molly, Ginny, Charlie, Bill and Fleur with you.” She requested.
“Why them?” Harry wanted to know.
“They bring out different aspects of behaviours in you. All of which my father in law needs to see if he is to see who you really are.” She answered.
“One final piece of advice Harry. Don’t be afraid to give blunt answers. A blunt HONEST answer is always valued with my boys, as well as my girls.” She explained (with a quick glance at Charlie). Harry nodded his acknowledgement.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you being so helpful?” Harry enquired.
Sandra smiled at Harry before answering him, “A perfectly reasonable request.” She began, “For my father-in-law being cast out of his family caused him more pain than he cared to admit. Even more than his being sold into slavery did.”
“That pain has travelled down to my husband and to my sons. By ‘stacking the deck’ in his interactions with you I’m hoping I can get him to let go of his rage, as I believe it will help heal his pain. Then by extension the pain of my husband and son”
“I will do anything within my power to try and reduce that pain in my family. I also much prefer to encourage people with differing views to actually talk to one another. It is far more productive than the alternatives.” She said with a strong hint of steel in her voice as she looked Harry in the eyes.
“I couldn’t agree with your motives more.” Harry answered as he got up to go to Dave’s tent. With the rest of us following close behind.
Chapter 14: Dave, Doug and Harry
Upon entering Dave’s tent, we found everyone gathered around the table in the kitchen area.The two Ministers, Kingsley and Ivan were seated at each end of the table with Dave sat in the middle on one side.
Dave was flanked by, Shelly, Fireball, Andrea and Sandra (when she sat down). While on Harry’s side there was room for Him, Arthur, me, Ginny, Bill, Fleur and Charlie.
I noticed that Dave was in his natural form when we entered, he still seemed almost shy to be like this. When Harry entered, Dave locked onto his face and his bright blue eyes almost seemed to glow with a light of their own.
Harry on the other hand was clearly surprised by what he saw. As he just stopped and stared at Dave for a few moments. Ginny was going to encourage Harry forward when Sandra indicated that she should just leave him be for a few moments to allow him to gather himself.
I noticed Dave’s sister Andrea was also absorbed in Harry’s face as well. Although she seemed to be displaying more of a professional interest than a personal one.
Bill, Fleur and Charlie took seats on the far side of Harry while Ginny, Arthur and myself took the seats on the near side of him. From my vantage point sitting at the corner between Arthur and Kingsley I could easily see the two of them facing each other.
I remember thinking a runaway thought, “If I didn’t know any better I would have thought that they were family of some sort. Especially when they are together like this. But the differences are also interesting as well...”, then I jumped when Kingsley replied quietly “I agree”. This surprised me a bit and I realised I must have spoken my thoughts aloud. That brought a blush to my cheeks.
Harry had just sat down and before even introductions could take place Dave spoke, although he didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone in the room, “He has known Friendfyre” he said smiling.
“Pardon Dave?” Arthur asked, “Who were you talking to?”
“Sorry I was talking to my Grandpa. I didn’t realise that I have spoken aloud.” He replied.
“What did you mean ‘He has known Friendfyre’?” Harry asked “What is Friendfyre?”
“You know what Fiendfyre is?” Ivan replied.
“Yes” Harry answered.
“Think of Friendfyre as its polar opposite.” Dave answered.
“I think I understand” replied Harry, “so why the smile then when you said it?”
“Because if you were truly evil Mr Potter or had true malice in your heart, and you had used Friendfyre you would either still be on fire yourself or dead.” Dave answered in a slightly chilly voice. Just like yesterday his use of the more formal type of address had me a little worried. But unlike yesterday this usage wasn’t as ‘coolly correct’ as with Ginny.
This statement rocked everyone back on their chairs for a moment. Some worried looks were exchanged as well.
“I take it from that re-action the others were not aware that you had used Friendfyre before.” Dave asked intently.
“No they were not. I wasn’t either. I have no idea of the incantation for it.” Harry replied.
“Very interesting. Very interesting indeed.” Dave watched Harry for a few moments with his eyes briefly showing that golden tint again, before he continued. “There is no incantation for Friendfyre, Harry.”
The use of Harry’s first name gave me a very warm and hopeful feeling.
“Why is that? All magic has an incantation.” Harry said confused.
“There in lays your answer.” Dave said still staring into Harry’s eyes, “All MAGIC has incantations.”
“I still don’t follow you” Harry replied.
“Are you saying this Friendfyre isn’t magic?” Kingsley asked.
“By the definitions you use here it isn’t no.” Dave answered.
“Do you recall what I showed you in the kitchen Harry with the prism and the beam of light?” Ivan asked.
“Yes I do. It was very interesting and a real eye opener.” Harry replied.
“You showed him the spectrum explanation?” Dave asked his father, who nodded.
“Ok that will help.” Dave said then he explained, “Friendfyre exists in a region of the spectrum located between what is referred to as Magic here and another region that is commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as Sorcery.”
There were a few startled reactions to that statement and Kingsley let out a low whistle. Harry’s eyes however went as large as saucers.
“You mean I’m a sorcerer as well as a wizard?” Harry asked.
“For your sake I should hope not.” Dave answered very seriously.
“Why?” Harry asked a little hurt.
“If you were indeed a sorcerer then Kingsley here would be required by law to execute you here and now.” Dave answered very calmly.
“What? Why?” almost everyone exclaimed at the same time.
“Silence!!!” Kingsley boomed, but I could see the shock on his face as well.
“Please explain your comment Auror Webb.” Kingsley almost commanded. The use of Dave’s title indicated that Kingsley was becoming a little worried by the conversations direction.
“The current laws for Magical English citizens’ states that it is a crime punishable by death (or Dementors kiss) for them to be Sorcerers or try to become Sorcerers.” Dave replied. “The law was written back in the 1600’s before much was known of wandless magic. When it was first introduced just about anyone who could do wandless magic was killed.”
“It is limited to English citizens because as at the time they needed assistance from a group of foreign (mostly German) sorcerers.” Dave explained.
“Does that exclusion apply to you as well Dave?” Kingsley asked.
“I wish it did. It covers my father, sisters and cousin though. Along with a few other members of my team.” He replied. Noting the confused look from Kingsley Dave elaborated, “According to your laws here, I don’t classify as a Sorcerer. I’m much further down the list, I’m classified as a ‘Broken One’.”
“’Broken One’?” Kingsley asked, “I have never even heard of the term before.” Looking around the room he got similar looks of confusion from the others as well.
“I’d be surprised if you had.” Dave answered, “There isn’t much said in the law books about people like me. About all they say can be summarised as the following.”
“Broken Ones have no place in Wizarding Society. It is perfectly legal to kill them onsite by any means necessary.” He said is a very calm voice while there were some genuine cries of alarm and outrage from those of us in the room.
“Broken Ones are to be afforded none of the rights and protections granted to Wizards and Witches and other magical creatures.”
“We are specifically excluded by English wizarding law. The intent was to make sure we have no rights and protections. But the unattended consequence of that is, we are ‘outside the law’. For all intents and purposes ‘untouchable’ in a legal sense.” He said in an emotionless voice looking at his hands on the table.
“Are you sure of this?” Kingsley asked obviously shaken by what he had heard.
“Very sure.” Ivan answered “When we first became aware of this possibility I asked Madam Bones to look into it for us. It took her a while but she eventually confirmed the legal status of my son over here.”
“Once that was known I wanted to bring him home. But by that point the operation here was in ‘high gear’ as they say. So, I explained the situation to Dave. He didn’t want to leave with the job ‘half done’.”
“He acknowledged the risks but was willing to continue to operate knowing that he was not protected by the laws of the country that he was operating in.” Ivan said with pride for the actions of his son.
“Knowing what your status would be while you are here Dave, why did you decide to stay?” Kingsley asked interested.
Dave raised his gaze to meet Kingsley’s and he looked at him for a moment before speaking, “I’m intimately aware of what it is like to be cast out by wizarding society. How it feels, how it affects your self-worth and how it continually eats at you.”
“There is no way I can stand by and watch that happen to other innocent people. And I sure as hell will not watch from the side lines when that happens to kids.” He said with the steel clearly evident in his voice.
“I agree with your choice Dave and very happy that you did choose to stay.” Kingsley replied, “I merely wanted to understand your reasoning behind your decision.”
Dave continued to study Kingsley for a moment before Kingsley began to speak again, “I do believe that is another law that will need to be looked at and rather soon.” Kingsley said thoughtfully.
“Looking to train some Sorcerers, are you?” Dave asked with a crooked grin at Kingsley.
“Absolutely I am” Kingsley replied, “If training some of my Aurors in those capabilities can help us make our world a safer place then I’m all for it.”
“But I will not ask people to learn new skills and abilities if it will put their own safety at risk.” He added seriously.
Dave nodded his agreement to Kingsley, “Just make sure you have some good teachers when the time comes.” He said in a very professional voice, “As the ‘usual safeguards’ used for training of wizards don’t always work when applied to sorcery or other abilities.”
“Do not worry on that score Dave. I fully intend to have some of the best around available to help teach us.” Kingsley said smiling to him.
Without missing a beat Dave turned to his father and remarked, “How many of us did you sell off?”
“I hope you at least got a good price for us” he said with an amused look at his father.
“I have no idea what you are talking about Dave.” Ivan replied with a perfectly straight face.
“There was no monetary exchange involved at all.” He said still with a look of innocence on his face.
It was Kingsley who gave the game away as he was obviously enjoying the exchange between father and son. When Dave glanced over at him he had to quickly hide his smile.
“The Minister is quite correct Auror Webb. No money was exchanged at all.” Kingsley said in attempt at a formal response that fooled no one.
“So it is a ‘Good Will’ deployment focusing on rebuilding and retraining then?” Dave asked his father.
“Correct Dave that will be one of the main aims of your team here. The other aims we will discuss shortly once the required reports and dossiers arrive.” Ivan answered.
“I’m fine with that” Dave replied relaxing, “Teaching deployments usually offer better ‘office hours’ anyway.” He said chuckling while Shelly and Fireball nodded in agreement.
“Glad to have you and your team with us Auror Webb.” Kingsley answered with a smile.
“Thank you minister. It’s nice to be ‘officially here’ as they say.” Dave chuckled along with the rest of us.
Dave now turned his attention back to Harry.
“Can you describe to us when you made use of Friendfyre?” he asked Harry.
“I’m afraid I still don’t know what it is or how to recognise it, so I couldn’t tell you if I have used it” Harry answered still a little confused.
“Fair point.” Dave replied before getting up and walking over to a set of shelves. He came back carry a small wooden box which he gave to Fireball and asked, “Will you do the honours?”
Fireball nodded and opened the box then sat waiting.
“Ok, I’m going to give you a bit of a demonstration in a few moments.” Dave said looking at us all, “As well as a bit of a test. I will ask you all some questions and would like you to think honestly about your answers before you give them.”
“Everyone will have a different experience with what I’m going to show, but you will NOT be in any danger from what I show you.”
“Your different experiences will not be an indication of different magical strengths. But more of ‘natural talent’ in different magical areas.”
“Natural talent alone however isn’t enough; it only indicates the likely hood of how readily you will take to the training required. Even without natural talent perseverance can succeed as well.” He explained.
“Make sense?” he asked.
A chorus of “Yes” answered him.
“Ok let’s begin.” He said raising his hand and holding it palm up.
Suddenly a flame appeared a short distance above his hand.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Fire” we all answered.
“What do you feel” he asked.
“Warmth” was the most common answer.
“What is this?” he asked as the flame came together into a ball.
“A Fireball” Harry replied a moment before the others.
“Correct.” Dave replied, “Does it feel any different to you?” he asked us.
“It feels more intense, like it is more focused and almost driven compared to the flame you had before” Harry answered.
Dave was openly grinning at that answer from Harry, “Anyone else?” he asked.
“I was going to say if felt less cheerful than the other flame. More like it had a job to do.” Bill answered with a frown.
Dave also seemed very happy with this answer.
Looking over at Fleur he asked a question with a raised eyebrow.
“It is faint, but it feels to me like it has a purpose to it, but it has yet to have been made aware of what it is.” She answered.
Dave also seemed happy with this as well.
“Charlie?” Dave asked.
“I’d agree with Bill in how it feels.” He answered also getting a smile from Dave.
He looked over to me and Arthur, “It just feels warmer to me” Arthur replied.
“It feels hurtful” I answered.
“Same with me.” Ginny answered, “I feel that it wants to hurt or destroy something”
“Kingsley?” Dave asked.
“It feels to me like it a tool. Something created to get a job done” he said, getting a large smile from both Dave and Ivan in the process.
“All very good answers” Dave said clearly happy, as he put out the ball of fire by closing his hand.
“How about this one then.” He said as he raised both his hands with the palms facing each other.
With a look of extreme concentration on his face a ball of flame appeared between his hands. Immediately I was struck with a wave of revulsion from it, I could also see what looked like creatures in it and almost hear a scream coming from it.
Looking over at all the others I could see similar reactions from them as well.
Dave glanced around at everyone in the room and saw the same thing for he quickly put out the ball of fire.
“Do you know what that was?” he asked.
“Fiendfyre.” Kingsley answered, getting a few shocked looks in the process.
“But it was also very tightly controlled and rebelling against its restraints.” He said sounding impressed.
“It was. Very strict limits were placed on it. You are correct.” Dave answered breathing heavily from the exertion required to conjure and control the Fiendfyre.
“But how did it make you feel?” he asked us all.
“Revolted.” I answered before thinking. But all of the others quickly agreed.
“That’s a relief” Dave answered earning a few chuckles from the group.
“Ok, now for another one.” Dave said as he once again raised his hand palm up.
This time a flame sprang up above his palm that had a blue base and the most brilliant yellow and red finger like flames.
“What is this?” he asked.
Everyone looked at it in confusion. The only exceptions were, Harry, Fleur and Charlie. They all had looks like they recognised it but were too shocked to say anything.
Eventually Charlie burst out saying, “It’s Dragon Fire” with a look of wonder on his face now, “But how?” he asked his own face afire with curiosity.
“Correct Charlie. It is Dragon fire, or as close as we can get without an actual dragon in the room.” He chuckled.
“How does it make you feel?” he asked Charlie
“A sense of wonder, but also wariness” he answered.
“Is that the flames making you feel that? Or your own thoughts about Dragons?” Dave asked him.
“Truthfully? A bit of both” replied Charlie with a grin.
“Fair enough.” Dave responded, “Anyone else?”
We all gave answers that agreed with how Charlie felt, but with only slight differences.
After getting our answers Dave put the flame out and then turned to look Harry directly in the eyes.
“Do you recognise this?” he asked Harry as his hand was enveloped with the same Golden Flames that he showed us yesterday.
Upon seeing the flames Harry’s eyes went wide with recognition but there was also wonder expressed on his face, “Yes. Yes, I do recognise it.” Answered Harry still staring intently into the flames.
“Can you tell me when you last saw it?” Dave asked still looking intently into Harry’s eyes.
“It was when they were moving me from my Aunts house. Hagrid was taking me on the motor bike that used to belong to Sirius.”
“We had been ambushed and were fighting our way out of it. Hagrid and I had escaped from most of the Death Eaters. But when we narrowly missed two Avada Kervada curses Hagrid jumped from the Motor Bike onto the broom that the Death Eater was riding. Then they both fell from view.”
“I then remembered feeling a Death Eater behind me as well as Tom Riddle, my Scar was blazing with pain. Pain so bad I had to close my eyes.”
“The next thing that I was aware of was that my wand had dragged my hand around and it shot Golden Flame at Tom Riddle.”
“He seemed to almost be terrified of those flames. Apparently, the flames destroyed the borrowed wand he had been using and he broke off the attack and tried to find another.”
“The next thing I remember clearly was forcing the bike into a dive to try and catch Hagrid before he hit the ground.”
“Did the flames you cast ever touch your skin or any part of you at that time?” Dave asked with his eyes still locked on Harry’s.
“No they didn’t. They appeared at the end of my wand and came no closer to me than that.” Harry answered looking away from the flames and into Dave’s eyes.
“Does your wand have a phoenix feather in it at all?” Dave asked.
“It does. Why do you wish to know?” Harry asked.
“Friendfyre seems to be closely related to the Phoenix’s fire, although we are still unsure as to the exact relationship. Still it is very interesting that you were able to produce it.” Dave remarked.
The two of them sat there looking into each other’s eyes with rather intense concentration for several minutes. Eventually Harry spoke saying, “I’m not sure exactly what I was feeling. Why does it matter?”
“It matters a great deal. I can’t tell you the why until you tell me what you were feeling when you cast the flames.” Dave answered.
Harry closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a few moments.
“Panic, worry and a powerful need to try and protect my friends who were risking so much to help me.” Harry replied.
“Then Harry that is the answer to your earlier question.” Dave said smiling.
“What question was that?” Kingsley asked.
“I asked how to cast those flames.” Harry said to Kingsley.
“When?” Kingsley replied.
“Just now while we were talking” Harry said slightly annoyed.
“Harry you went quiet for several minutes. You never said a word from when you said the flames never touched you till you asked Dave why your feelings at the time were important.” Ginny said with some confusion.
“I can’t have.” Harry remarked, “We were talking, both of us were asking questions of each other.” He said looking at Dave.
“You are correct Harry, we were talking. But we were not speaking aloud for several minutes like Ginny said.” Dave said.
“We were reading each other’s minds?” Harry said slightly worried.
“No we were not.” Dave replied.
“You were so intense with your questions you were in a very real sense throwing your thoughts at me. I only accepted your offer and invited you into my mind for a chat.” Dave said to the astonishment of Harry and just about everyone in the room.
“You may be surprised to learn that we were only silent for about 3 minutes. Not the 15 you thought it to be.”
Harry now looked at Dave with disbelief and had to check with the others to confirm his statement.
“How?” He asked Dave.
“When conversing as we just did it is far more efficient than normal talking. As you are using your actual thoughts and emotions not just the words.”
“It is also extremely difficult (as well as painful) to lie or deceive when communicating in that manner.” He said very calmly to Harry as though trying to convey extra meaning.
“What does this mean then?” Harry asked Dave.
“When combined with the knowledge that you were able to cast Friendfyre with no conscious knowledge of it?”
“I would say that it means you have many latent talents and abilities that you are yet to discover. These have most likely been suppressed by the fragment of Tom Riddle’s soul that you carried for such a long time.”
Here we were all surprised as none of us had told any of my sister’s family about that.
“I would also go so far as to say there is a very high probability that you do have natural Sorcerous abilities. Most likely that you have inherited from a relatively recent ancestor.” Dave said still looking at Harry very intently.
Harry was clearly shocked by all of this new information. To buy himself some time he asked a question of Dave.
“Why was it so important that the flames I conjured during that fight with Tom Riddle never touch me?”
“Let me show you.” Dave replied and looked over to Fireball and nodded to her.
Fireball extracted a match from the box in front of her and floated it over to the flames coming from Dave’s hand.
“You are familiar with Muggle matches?” Dave asked Harry.
“I am” Harry replied.
“What do you expect to happen when I put that match into these flames?” Dave asked him.
“It will ignite and catch fire.” Harry answered. Dave only smiled at him and moved his hand so that the match was in the flames.
Nothing happened to the match. It just sat there.
Dave moved his hand away from the match and it was obvious that there wasn’t a mark on it. He then indicated to Fireball to remove the match.
Once the match was back in the box Fireball floated a small rock over to Dave.
“How about this Harry. This is a piece of granite that has a very minor curse on it. What is your prediction as to what will happen?” Dave asked him.
“Same as with the match. Nothing. As rocks don’t burn.” Harry said confidently.
Once more Dave only smiled his response and moved his hand over to the rock.
Before his hand had even made it all the way to the rock the flames leapt from Dave’s hand and latched onto the rock. It then ignited with a rush and a great tongue of flame.
The flames rapidly consumed the rock leaving nothing behind.
To say we were all astonished would have been a vast understatement.
“What? How?” Harry began to ask.
“That Harry is how Friendfyre reacts to Dark Magic. It is also the reason why it was very important to know if it had touched you in anyway when you first cast it.”
“If it had touched you while you were carrying a portion of Tom Riddle’s soul you would either still be burning or dead by now.” Dave said matter-of-factly.
“And now?” Harry asked Dave.
“That is the question isn’t it.” Dave answered, “I have my suspicions. But I want to ask you first, how do these flames make you feel right now?” He said as he held up his hand with the golden flames still on it for Harry to see clearly.
Looking into the flames Harry answered, “Peaceful. Calm, almost relaxed.”
If Dave had grinned any wider, I think his head would have split in two. Seeing his reaction Harry asked, “I take it then that is a good thing?”
“Yes Harry it is a VERY good thing.” Dave answered.
At this point Dave stood and held out his hand to Harry as though to shake hands with him. Before any of us could say a word Harry also stood and firmly grasped Dave’s hand. The flames that had been on Dave’s hand expanded to fully engulf the two of them.
“My name is David Fabian Gideon Webb, I’m an Auror with the Australasian Auror Service in the Special Operations Command. And I’m very pleased to meet you Mr Potter.” Dave said in a formal introduction, albeit with a smile on his face.
“Harry James Potter, recent school dropout and Auror hopeful.” Harry said with a slight chuckle at his own expense. “I’m also very pleased to meet you. Please call me Harry though.”
“As you wish Harry. But I do believe that there is more to you than that.” Dave responded with a smile, “If indeed it is your goal to become an Auror I hope to be able to assist you on that journey Harry. And please call me Dave.” He said as he let go of Harry’s hand and sat down.
“I do believe that I will take you up on that offer Dave.” Harry said also smiling.
“That’s one way to make an introduction memorable.” Arthur remarked to no one, but everyone got a laugh from it all the same.
At this point Ivan turned to look at his still madly grinning son.
“What’s made you so happy?” he asked.
“I’ve just won a bet with Grandpa, while at the same time utterly destroying all his arguments as to why we shouldn’t listen to or even trust Harry here.” Dave replied.
“Now that is something to smile about” Kingsley said also smiling.
There were murmurs of agreement around the table.
“What would have happened to Harry if your Grandfather had been correct?” Ginny asked with a slightly annoyed look on her face.
Dave either didn’t notice her expression or was completely unfazed but it as he happily explained.
“If my Grandpa’s suspicions were correct and Harry had knowledge of what had happened to him and did nothing about it then that would have left a ‘dark scar’ on his soul.”
“A scar of that sort would have reacted adversely to the Friendfyre. Even the act of showing it to Harry would have made him feel ill at ease and uncomfortable.”
“The fact that he said it made him feel Peaceful, Calm and Relaxed indicates that he doesn’t have any scars on his soul of that sort.”
“Then when he was willing to shake hands knowing that it would mean coming into contact with Friendfyre that was the final proof that he didn’t and doesn’t harbour any ill intent towards us (or just about anyone else).”
“If he had, he would now be in agony on the floor.” Dave explained.
“I see” Ginny replied still looking slightly annoyed.
“Ginny, I do not deliberately endanger people. Even those that I have been sent to hunt down.”
“If I had intended to cause harm to Harry I would have told him of my intentions and then nailed his arse to the floor.” Dave replied in a calm voice that was all the more frightening because of it.
“Why do all the men in my family have to be so bloody frustrating?” Ginny exclaimed.
“Pardon me?” Dave asked clearly very confused, both at Ginny’s comment and the general laughter around the table.
“Got you there didn’t I.” Ginny said now openly grinning at Dave’s complete bafflement.
“What have I missed here?” Dave asked looking to his parents.
“Yesterday after you passed out, an Auror down alert was issued. Naturally knowing which Auror it was your father and I needed to get to you.”
“We rang Steve and he asked Shelly to open a doorway for us. As I stepped into the kitchen in Arthur and Molly’s house I nearly has a heart attack. As I recognised her as a member of the Prewett family.”
“I then thought that this was an elaborate trap by them to lure me back and finish off what they didn’t achieve the last time I was here.”
“I’m afraid I might have over reacted a bit.” Sandra said looking at me clearly embarrassed by her reaction yesterday.
“There is nothing to be embarrassed about. It was quite a shock for all of us.” I told her.
“What was a shock?” Dave asked trying to get the conversation back on track.
Sandra smiled at Dave and went on, “You know your middle names are in memory of my two younger brothers who died protecting me from my family when I was last here?”
“Yes I do. You have told me the story many times mum.”
“Well Molly here also had two OLDER brothers called Fabian and Gideon who died on that same day.” She said and then sat back and watched Dave.
The expression on his face were highly entertaining to watch. The expression on his face when he turned to look at me just melted my heart.
“Your mum’s little sister?” he asked me, with surprise and awe showing on his face.
“Yes I am.” I replied.
“Aunty Molly?” Dave said with the goofiest grin on his face that I had ever seen. I couldn’t help but smile back at him and nod.
Dave was very quickly out of his chair and picking me up and giving me a hug the like of which I had never experienced before.
People often tell me my hugs are bone crushing, but I have got nothing on Dave. He is stronger than even his father, who had nearly broken all of my ribs. But it is also a highly disciplined strength that can only make you feel safe and comfortable in his arms. In fact, the women in my family have come to love Dave’s hugs almost as much as we have come to love him.
Eventually Dave put me down. I noticed that Sandra, Andrea, Shelly, Fireball, Ginny and Fleur all had tears in their eyes at the scene.
“Uncle Arthur?” Dave asked as he next shook hands with and then hugged a very surprised Arthur.
He then went on to shake hands with and hug a very surprised, Bill and Charlie. He next went and picked up little Ginny and gave her a hug as well. She seemed very embarrassed by this but she also didn’t complain. Even Harry got a laugh out of her reaction.
After he had put Ginny back down Fleur held out her arms to Dave as well and got the same treatment. Although Fleur managed to surprise Dave, by planting two very French kisses on his now flaming red cheeks as well. This caused another round of enthusiastic laughter.
When Dave eventually sat back down his cheeks were still flaming red but he didn’t seem to care. He was obviously thrilled to discover these new additions to his family.
“Stone the flaming crows that was a surprise.” He remarked once he was back in his seat.
He looked down at his dad and with a huge grin on his face said, “Looks like we finally got some more boys in the family at long last.”
“I still think you’re going to be out numbered though” Ivan said with a laugh at his son who seemed to agree with his dad.
“Just how many girls are in your side of the family?” Ginny asked.
“Well you know I have 6 sisters.” Dave said starting to run numbers through his head while Ginny nodded.
“What you don’t know is that I have 45 female cousins.” He said with a look of mock despair on his face.
“What?” Ginny said with her eyes nearly falling out of her head.
“Yup, 45. Dad has 7 sisters and they each have between 6 — 8 kids.”
“So Joseph, Justin, Tim and myself are majorly out numbered.”
“But we are always happy for more re-enforcements” he said grinning at Bill and Charlie.
“I bet Christmas at your place is an interesting experience.” Charlie chuckled.
“We call it ‘The Horde’ when the whole family gathers at Grandma’s. When her brothers families turn up we could probably invade some small countries.” Dave said with a smile while his parents and sisters all chuckled.
“That many women gathered together all in one place is dangerous. It’s no wonder us boys are all in jobs where being able to disappear is a key skill.” He chuckled before Shelly smacked him on the back of his head.
“Any more comments like that and we will have to tell everyone about your ‘super powers’ hmm…” she said with an evil chuckle.
“Feel free if you want to.” Dave replied with his own evil grin, “I’ll just share your baby photos with a certain French Auror who is currently serving as our liaison officer?”
The two stared at each other for a few moments before Sandra asked, “Who is this now?” looking at her daughter with a knowing grin.
“It’s none of his business, and nothing for you to worry about either mum.” Shelly replied fighting back a blush.
“Of course it isn’t, you just became VERY proficient in French all by yourself very quickly without the need for any translation spells.” David said clearly enjoying himself.
“Takes some serious motivation to rapidly learn a second language, doesn’t it?” Dave asked Fleur who only smiled and laughed at him then glanced over to Bill who was also enjoying the moment.
“Although private lessons also go a long way to gaining proficiency as well.” Dave asked needling his sister some more while she was busily fighting her ever-increasing blush.
Fireball was also having a laugh at Shelly’s expense, “Got caught, did you?” Fireball asked her.
“You can talk FB.” Shelly replied.
“Of course I can. I’m free and clear.” She smirked at her sister.
“At least until you catch up with a certain Quidditch player.” Dave smirked at her.
“Why you little…” Fireball started to remark before Dave cut her off.
“Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out? You do know what I do for a living Fireball.”
“Even to someone as dense as me all those questions of yours were just too obvious.” He chuckled.
Looking across to Charlie and Bill he said, “Helpful hint for survival in this family, gather as much blackmail material on the girls as fast as you can or you won’t last a day.”
“If you need help we have a ‘starter pack’ of selected baby and school photos that usually form the basis of a good defence for new arrivals.” He said with a vicious grin directed at his sisters.
Both of them laughed while looking slightly nervous at the same time. I think they might have felt the death stare that Ginny was giving them.
“Dave, don’t go frightening them all off, they are probably still adjusting to the shock of the situation.” Ivan said with a straight face to his son.
“You can continue to embarrass you sisters later. Right now, we need to talk to dad. Can you arrange that?” Ivan asked his son.
“Yes I can. He has been listening with intense interest to these discussions.”
“Give me a moment and we will swap over.” Dave said as he sat back and closed his eyes.
“Swap over?” I asked Sandra.
“He is going to allow his Grandfather’s soul to look through his eyes and use his voice. He doesn’t do it very often as it is very tiring on them both.” She answered.
Not knowing what to say I turned to look at Dave and watched him waiting to see what would happen.
Eventually Dave sat up and opened his eyes, we were all a little shocked to see that they were now a Golden-Brown colour. The eyes swept over all of us, I could see endless curiosity in them, as well as a sparkle of mischief a well.
But when those eyes spotted Arthur they locked onto him and went wide with recognition and a kind of wonder.
“Are you young Arthur Weasley? Septimus’s boy?” A strange voice spoke from Dave’s mouth.
“I am.” Arthur answered equally fascinated but also a little hesitant at the same time.
“It is truly a pleasure to meet you Sir. An honest to Merlin pleasure.”
“Your father was one of the bravest men I have ever known. Also, one of the most honest and decent ones as well.” The voice said to Arthur who was beaming with pride at hearing this news.
Dave next looked down at his hand and his brow furrowed while the voice coming from him said, “Let go of your arm” with a touch of frustration, “because I wish to shake hands with young Arthur over there that’s why. I thought it would have been bleeding obvious.”
Ivan and Sandra had smiles on their faces and Shelly and Fireball were also smiling, so I could only assume that this was to be considered normal for this situation.
Eventually Dave’s right hand began to move although it was a set of very awkward and rather jerky movements. Dave’s face was focusing on his right hand with an intensity that was rather amusing to watch.
“He has let go of his arm, but I swear he has left his clumsiness behind in it.” He chuckled, along with the rest of us.
Looking over to Ginny and Fleur he remarked, “Ladies if you ever have the misfortune to dance with my Grandson make sure you have steel capped shoes or at the very least good cushioning charms.”
Both Ginny and Fleur burst into laughter at this.
“The boy can sword fight while standing on a tight rope in a high wind. But put him in dancing shoes and suddenly he had two left feet.” He exclaimed.
Everyone had a good laugh at this comment, Dave’s other hand even attempted a one arm shrug before it tried to assist with the right hand.
“Leave off you young buck, I can manage this without you interfering.” The voice exclaimed.
Eventually Dave’s right hand made it over to Arthur who had been patiently waiting. He grasped Dave’s hand warmly in both of his and the two of them shook hands.
“Douglas Webb, at your service Mr Weasley” came the voice.
“Arthur Weasley, at yours. Please call me Arthur.” He replied.
“Thank you Arthur. Please call me Doug.” Said the voice of Doug. While Arthur nodded in response.
“If I may be so bold Arthur, may I ask a favour of you?” Doug asked.
“Of course you may ask.” Arthur replied curiously.
“When you eventually do meet your father again, please tell him that I kept my promise to him.” Doug said in a voice thick with emotion.
“I can certainly do that for you Doug. But I’m sure that you will be able to tell him yourself one day won’t you.” Arthur replied.
“There is no guarantee of that Arthur. If we are unable to find the rest of my soul I’m afraid that I will not make it to the other side at all.”
“Oh… I see” said Arthur with concern showing on his face, “May I ask what the promise was that my father asked of you?”
“You may.” Was the reply, “Many years ago your father placed into my care a young girl who had been cast out of her family for her perceived lack of magical ability.”
“Her family’s matriarch was deeply ashamed by this and was determined to cover it up. She planned on throwing the girl out of the house during the winter in the hope that she would die before her lack of ability was widely known.”
“However a distant relation of hers came to the young girls rescue. She spirited the girl away from her family and got her to your father.”
“Your father decided that getting her out of the country would be the best thing for her. So, he made arrangements for her to be sent with friends to me.”
“He asked me to care for her and to see to her education and help her find her way in this life.”
“I did that to the best of my ability, as it allowed me to repay some small measure of the kindness and compassion that your father had shown to me in my time of need.”
“I continued to guide and nurture this young lady as best I could. I tried my best to in still in her a belief in herself as well as some good common sense. As well as good judgement.”
“However despite all of my best efforts, she ended up falling in love with my only son.” He said to shocked gaps around the room.
“So I stumbled on the final hurdle.” He chuckled.
“Dad!!!” Sandra exclaimed very shocked by the news, “Why did you never mention any of this before?”
“I was asked to not say anything until after you had made contact with your family again.” He said looking over to Sandra with his heart in his eyes.
“I can only hope you can forgive an old man who tried to do his best for an old friend and for a young lady that I came to love as one of my own.”
“Of course I forgive you. I know the hardships you had just to stay alive. But I also know the love and support you gave to us all.” She replied with her own love for her father-in-law showing clearly in her eyes.
“Thank-you my dear. You have made an old many very happy.” He said while smiling at her. Dave was also trying to make some sort of gesture to him mother as well with his hands to indicate his support for her and his grandfather also.
It was a strange thing to watch, almost like a puppet being controlled by two different operators who were trying to work together but had different ideas on how to do so.
Dave/Doug turned back to look at Arthur and said “Please pass on my message.”
“I certainly will.” Arthur replied “From where I’m sitting I think you have more than fulfilled the promise you made to my father. Indeed if your family here is anything to go by I would say you most likely exceeded his wildest dreams.”
“You have my most humble thanks Arthur.” He replied.
Dave now turned to face Harry and the brown eyes in Dave’s face studied Harry’s very intently for a few moments.
“So you are the young Mr Potter that everyone has been so nervous about me meeting?” the voice remarked.
“I am” Harry replied still slightly on edge.
“They tell me you had no knowledge of what your family took from me until you were told about it yesterday. Is this true?”
“Correct Sir.”
“Don’t Sir me young man. There is no need for blasted formality here.”
“Yes Si… I mean ok.” Harry finally managed to say.
“What were your thoughts and feelings when you were told about it?” he asked.
“Sickened and horrified.” Harry answered.
“Why?” Doug asked.
“Why?” Harry asked with some confusion.
“Yes why were you sickened and horrified?” he asked.
“It was a truly terrible thing that they did.”
“The thought of that being done to a person, anyone is horrendous. I was also deeply ashamed that it was members of my family that carried it out.” Harry answered.
“What would you have done had you found out about it before meeting any of my family?” Doug’s voice asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know what can be done about it.” Harry replied while Doug’s eyes intently watched Harry from Dave’s face.
“I… I would like to think that I would have tried to do the right thing, to try and find out why that happened. Then maybe try and set things right. Or at least as right as they could be given the circumstances.” Harry answered thoughtfully.
Doug’s eyes continued to study Harry’s for quite some time. Harry calmly met his gaze and returned it showing no signs of discomfort or worry.
“I do believe that is the most honest answer I have ever heard young Harry. We would all like to believe that we would do the right thing. But to admit it openly, that takes courage.”
“My son tells me that you have offered to look through your family records to see if there is anything mentioned in them about what happened to me. Is this true as well?”
“Yes, it is.” Harry answered.
“Again I ask why?”
“I can only refer you to my earlier answer. If by looking for those records it enables me to try and set things right, I will do what I can. I can’t however promise what if anything will be found.” Harry replied calmly.
“Another honest and heartfelt answer there young Harry.”
“Tell me, why is it that you know so little of your own family history?” Doug’s voice asked.
At this point Harry began telling his own story. He explained about how his own parents had been murdered when he was little and how he had to go and live with Muggle relatives who hated magic and by extension him.
He talked about finding out about being a Wizard and Magic and Hogwarts through meeting Hagrid. The whole time he talked Doug’s eyes intently followed the conversation.
Because Sandra had keyed me into it earlier, I could see how Doug’s eyes watched not only Harry but also how he interacted with the others in the room when they contributed to his story.
Doug also seemed very interested in Harry’s relationships with Hagrid, Remus, and Fleur. As well as how he felt about Dobby, Kreacher, Firenze and Buckbeak.
“You are a very unique Wizard Harry.” Doug said at the end of Harry’s tale.
“Why after the treatment at the hands of your blood relatives did you not become bitter in your dealings with other people?” Doug’s voice asked.
Harry thought about this for quite some time before he answered, “I chose not to.”
“After experiencing that sort of treatment I had no desire to inflict it on anyone else.” Harry answered.
“It seems that my now overly smug Grandson was right about you after all.” Doug’s voice replied while Dave’s hands both gave the thumbs up gesture and waved about his head in celebration to the amusement of all in the room.
“Ok Dave calm down. You may have been correct this time, but don’t get too smug about it.” Doug’s voice said to the room. There were several sets of smiles in the room at this.
“I’m a firm believer that it is our choices that define who we are Harry. Even more so than where we came from. To that end I will listen to my Grandson and Son in their assessment of you. That you are a decent and honest person who does his best to try and do the right thing.”
“You have my heartfelt thanks for your offer of assistance.” He said bowing his head to Harry.
“You also young William have my thanks for your offer to help try and learn more about my key.” He said once again bowing his head to Bill who returned the gesture.
Looking down the table at his son Doug’s voice said, “I believe we will take Dave’s advice when he says we no longer need to fear any further attacks on our Family from the Potters”
Ivan’s face split into a wide grin, along with the rest of his family. You could see a good measure of tension leave them at this announcement.
“He has been telling you that for some time Dad. I’m very glad you finally decided to take his advice.” Ivan said smiling broadly.
“The older one gets the harder it becomes sometimes to let go of old hurts and wrongs and try to move on.” He said sounding a little embarrassed.
“I don’t think I would have achieved even this much if it wasn’t for your son’s almost infinite ability to love and see the best in people. Even after all he has seen and been through. Thank you also.” He said smiling at Sandra while Dave’s hands seemed to be almost blushing.
“You’re welcome dad. You truly are. I’m so very grateful to you for all you have done. And also to these wonderful people here as well.” She said while smiling at us all.
Looking down at Dave’s hands she said, “I think we should wrap this up before poor Dave dies of embarrassment. As I don’t think I have ever seen anyone’s hands actually blush before.” Before she began to laugh at her son’s predicament.
The rest of us joined in the laughter once we realised what she was referring to.
Dave quickly removed his hands from the table.
“If we want to embarrass Dave that is easy” Doug’s voice said with a smile, “we just need to discuss his adventures in the art of co…” he started to say before Dave’s hand re-appeared and place themselves over his mouth cutting off any further words.
This of course only caused more laughter from everyone in the room.
Doug looked back over to Harry, “Thank-you for taking the time to talk to me today young man. I appreciate it more than you know.” He said with a warm smile directed at Harry.
“You are very welcome. I’m glad to have been able to help. I will let Dave know what I find and I’m sure he will pass it on to you.” Harry answered.
“Once again my thanks.” Doug replied.
“I have some books at home about your family that I think you may find informative. If you would be interested I would be happy to make arrangements for you to have access to them?” he offered. It sounded very much like a peace offering for a long held grudge that only one side knew about.
“Yes I would most certainly be very interested in seeing them, and thank you.” Harry replied warmly.
We then got to witness a repeat performance of Doug trying to use Dave’s arm to shake hands with Harry. While they seemed to do a better job of it this time it was still very awkward to watch.
“It has been a very interesting and enlightening experience to meet you all. But now I think I had best let Dave get back in the drivers seat again. Once again my thanks to you all.” He said before sitting back in the chair and closing his eyes.
When Dave’s eyes next opened, they were indeed his bright blue eyes that looked out at us all.
“There is always such a weird feeling to do that.” He said as he looked at his own hands confirming that they were indeed under his own control again.
With a look of unbridled mischief on her face Fleur caught Dave’s attention and asked him “So, just ‘ow bad is your dancing Dave?”
With a groan of despair Dave dropped his head onto the table and covered it with his own hands in an attempt to hide his clearly flaming cheeks from view.
The rest of us of course thoroughly enjoyed the resulting rounds of laughter.
After the laughter had died down a bit Dave looked up, “Now that that is over would it be too much to ask for something to eat? I’m starving” he almost pleaded.
“I’m seeing the similarities with Ron more and more.” Ginny remarked to Charlie as they got up from the table.
“As well as you too Gin” Charlie replied with a grin, while she tried to elbow him in the ribs.
“Follow me dear and we will get you taken care of” I told Dave. He was soon on his feet and following me out of the tent.
Chapter 15: Magic both ancient and new
We walked back out to where the tables had been setup for breakfast. Once the members of Dave’s team saw him they were quickly on their feet and at his side.It was interesting and enlightening to watch. It was more like a family gathering than a boss being re-united with his employees. Dave seemed far more concerned with the health and wellbeing of those in his team than he was with his own.
The members of his team seemed used to this however as they quickly updated him on how they were, before they began to pester him with questions about his own wellbeing.
Dave seemed to be trying to down play the extent of his injuries, so that they wouldn’t worry about him. Sandra quickly stepped in and told them all that Dave is well on the way to being fully mended.
However, he would have to have a ‘movement assessment’ at some point to assess his suitability for field operations. This seemed to placate his team more than Dave’s own comments.
After finding that out Mick asked Dave very directly how he felt.
“When I first woke up I felt like I have been a dozen rounds each with the ‘Iron Lady’ and ‘Master Yoda’.” He replied with a bit of a grimace, but to which Mick only smiled broadly.
“However now that I have been moving about a bit, I’m starting to feel a lot better.” He answered Mick.
After giving him a long look Mick eventually nodded and embraced Dave again and then let him move on to the others.
“Who are the ‘Iron Lady’ and this ‘Master Yoda’?” I asked Sandra.
“They are nicknames for two of his favourite instructors from the Auror Academy back home.” She replied with a smile.
Eventually Dave made it passed his own team and was properly introduced to Monsieur and Madam Delacour. Monsieur Delacour was the first to great Dave with a hearty handshake followed by a warm embrace and some very French kisses on his cheeks which Dave clearly wasn’t used to.
“Ah Monsieur Webb. Thank you for saving our bébé Gabrielle.” He remarked while still holding tight to Dave’s shoulders and beaming at him.
“You are very welcome Monsieur Delacour” Dave replied still clearly very embarrassed by the attention, “It was very much a team effort from all involved. Including yourself.”
“You are too modest Monsieur Webb. Your sœur Natalie told us in great deal just how much effort was involved for you to do what you did. You have our eternal gratitude for the life of our little Gabrielle.” Monsieur Delacour said smiling at Dave.
“Once again Monsieur Delacour you are very welcome. Your Daughter is a very brave young woman who willingly stood up to defend others at great risk to herself. That sort of bravery should always be rewarded, I could not in good conscience stand by and do nothing after seeing that.” Dave replied.
“Merci Monsieur Webb. Merci. You do us great honour with your words.” Monsieur Delacour said with very moist eyes.
“No Monsieur Delacour the honour is mine. I’m extremely grateful for the help your daughters willingly gave us yesterday. They are both very special and brave young women you should be very proud of them both. And please call me Dave.”
“Merci Dave. Merci” Monsieur Delacour said once again hugging Dave.
“Does Dave realise that Gabrielle was standing right next to him while he was saying that about her?” I asked Sandra who had been standing next to me along with Fleur.
“He might but I doubt it. He tends to speak his mind before he thinks too much about the consequences. It gets him into trouble from time to time. But today I think it might be getting him into a different sort of trouble.” Sandra replied as she looked over at Gabrielle with a smile.
Fleur and I looked over at Gabrielle while Dave was being hugged and kissed by her mother. She was clearly very happy with what she had heard Dave saying and was looking forward to her own turn at greeting him.
“Oui, I do zink zat ‘e ‘as caught Gabrielle’s attention. I just ‘ope it is for ze right reasons.” Fleur remarked thoughtfully.
“From what I can see” Sandra replied with her eyes once again displaying that golden tint, “she has an honest interest in Dave. Steaming not from what he did for her but from what she saw and what he said to her before the attempt was made.”
Sandra looked over to both myself and Fleur and then asked us both, “Just what exactly did Dave do before he tried to heal Gabrielle?”
“I remember ‘e asked permission from papa to talk to Gabrielle’s soul. As ‘e wanted to get ‘er permission and support for ze attempt.”
“’e seemed very nervous and even slightly embarrassed about doing zat even with permission.” Fleur answered.
Sandra’s eyes widened in surprise, “You mean he stood before her soul core with no defences in place at all?” she said with a touch of awe in her voice.
“What do you mean by defences?” I asked.
“When we interact we other people we all want to display the best possible version of ourselves, to try and make a ‘good impression’ on others.”
“If Dave did what you said he did, he would have had to stand in front of the core of Gabrielle’s soul with no defences in place and she would have seen him as he truly is. No sugar coating on anything, all his scars, insecurities, fears, worries, hopes and dreams would have been wide open for her to see and question him about.”
“He would have also been bound to answer her questions without deception as well.” Sandra explained to us.
“Shelly did say zat she was questioning ‘im about ‘is wife when we noticed zat ‘e was crying.” Fleur replied.
“So she has seen the core of his soul uncovered then.” Sandra remarked while staring at Dave, then across to Gabrielle.
“What does zis mean?” Fleur asked a little concerned but also very interested in the answer.
“If they have both seen the core of each other’s soul and been able to successfully communicate on that level, it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for them to deceive each other. As they will have an intimate understanding of each other on a very fundamental level.”
“It will also make it very easy for them to talk to one another as well.” She said smiling.
“Why are you smiling like zat?” Fleur asked Sandra.
“The men in my husband’s family are notorious for being rather dense about women. As well as for their ‘skill’ in talking about their feelings.”
“My mother-in-law describes them a bit like nuts.” She said giggling.
I must admit here that both I and Fleur joined in the laughing at that analogy. Many more of the women in the family have found it rather apt over the years as well. It has become something rather like an inside joke.
As unbelievable as it may sound the boys still have not picked up on that ‘inside joke’ that us girls all share about them.
“Nuts?” I had to ask. I could see Fleur also bursting with curiosity as well.
“Yes nuts. As according to her once you finally get past the rather dense outer layer, you discover the true treasure that lies within.” She said smiling, clearly remembering her own journey with Ivan.
“Is zat what you found?” Fleur asked.
“Beyond my own wildest dreams. Beneath that rather dense exterior of my husband lay an ohhh so soft and gooey centre overflowing with love, compassion and support. As well as a very cheeky sense of humour. It is a cocktail that I’m still thoroughly enjoying to this day.” She said with a very naughty little smile.
“Gabrielle may have gained an inside track advantage to a similar treasure. I just hope she is not one to toy with his emotions. For despite Dave’s own rather rough exterior I know that he is a truly gentle soul inside.” She asked Fleur.
“I do not believe zat she is likely to toy with ‘ez emotions. As she is only two familiar wiz ‘ow it feels to ‘ave someone toy wiz ‘er own.”
“I’m sorry to hear that she has experienced that” Sandra replied to Fleur.
“Merci. As we are part Veela we are often considered as trophies or prizes by some. Zus we learn early, sometimes too early how to deal with powerful emotions. Boz our own and zose of others. We also ‘ave to learn very early about deception and falsehood and ‘ow zey are used to take advantage of ozers.”
“It is always refreshing to meet someone who can talk to us as zey would to anyone else. Or to be recognised for something other zan our beauty.”
“I zink zat may ‘ave been where Dave really put ‘ez ‘foot in it’ with ‘ez comment about Gabrielle’s bravery” Fleur smiled.
“Oh he often does that. His sisters often say that the reason he has such a big mouth is so that he can fit both his feet into it at the same time.” Sandra said then burst into laughter with the two of us joining in.
Dave by this point had managed to extract himself from Madam Delacour and turned to the three of us with a look of profound puzzlement on his face at our antics.
“He is just so cute when he is confused like that.” Sandra remarked still laughing
“Oui, ‘e is” Fleur replied and this set off another round of laughter.
While this exchange was going on Gabrielle had obviously got tired of waiting and flung her arms around Dave and brought him into a fierce embrace which she seemed to hold longer than was really necessary. That might have been partly due to the fact that Dave had to hold tight to her to stop himself from being knocked to the ground.
When he regained his balance, and drew back from her embrace slightly Gabrielle seized her chance and planted two kisses on Dave’s now flaming cheeks.
“I would also like to zank you for saving my life, Monsieur Webb.” Gabrielle said with a radiant smile.
“Please call me Dave. And you are very welcome Mademoiselle Gabrielle.” Dave replied returning her smile while staring into her eyes.
It now appeared to be Gabrielle’s turn to blush.
“I probably should be thanking you for helping us fight off that ambush. Your bravery in that situation was clear for all to see” he replied.
“’ow can you say I was brave? When I was terrified ze entire time it was ‘appening.” Gabrielle replied with her eyes downcast.
Dave reached out and lifted her chin with his finger, when he was again looking into her eyes he said, “It is not the absence of fear that makes us brave.”
“It is acknowledging that we are indeed afraid and then still doing what needs to be done.”
“Without fear, one cannot be brave. Does that make sense?” he asked her.
Gabrielle’s smile could have lit up a Quidditch stadium.
“I think he just ‘put his foot in it’ yet again” I said to both Sandra and Fleur.
Sandra only smiled while Fleur replied “Oui” and then smiled.
“Merci Dave.” Gabrielle replied before again embracing Dave (which he also returned) and then kissing his cheeks once more.
“Would you sit wiz me?” she asked him.
“If it is your wish, I will happily do so” he replied smiling.
Gabrielle returned his smile and grabbing his hand almost dragged Dave off to the empty seat that she had evidently kept next to where she had been sitting.
Neither of them noticed the smiles from Dave’s sisters and cousin. Nor the smiles from myself, Fleur, Sandra and surprisingly Ginny and Hermione.
The conversation around the table flowed with an ease that almost surprised me. For while the topics covered were mostly around everyone’s different experiences in the recently ended war there were enough light hearted moments covered that the laughter never truly died from around the table.
Eventually the topic of all the rather unique names of Dave’s team came up. I could see my children, in particular Ron and Ginny were intrigued by the different names. In the end, it was Shelly who explained that the names they used were their ‘call signs’ when on the radios or communication equipment that they use.
The purpose of the call sign being that it was easy (and quick) to say and clearly understood by the people listening to the conversation.
Most of the names used were based on the person’s actual name. But in the case of Rowdy, Guz, Goose, Fireball and Dave there seemed to be stories behind the names.
Rowdy appeared to have gained his name as he was always the quiet one in the group. Even when they were out celebrating he was apparently a ‘quiet drunk’ as they called him. Seeing as how he hardly said anything the entire time he had been here I could believe the story.
Guz had earned his name from Guzzling large amounts of drink very quickly. He came by this name in school due to his house mates nicking his drinks at meal times.
Goose got his name through an incident while he was courting his wife where he made a complete Goose of himself in the process. His wife one day made the mistake of relaying the story to his co-workers and the name stuck. His tendency to ‘mother’ the younger team members often resulted in him being called ‘Mother Goose’ frequently.
Fireball ended up with her name due to her fiery temper and personality. She is also very proficient in the use of various types of fireballs as well. Given that she is also one of the explosive experts on the team the name is very apt.
Once we got to Dave however he displayed a remarkable level of skill in redirecting the conversation into other areas or outright changing the topic. Eventually Gabrielle and Ginny both realised what was happening and pinned Dave to the mat as they say and rather directly asked him the meaning behind his name of ‘Syd’.
Of course, when they did this ALL of Dave’s family were openly grinning at him along with his fellow team members. Looking around at the ‘supportive’ faces all smiling down at him he eventually had to admit defeat and explain the story. Although even then it had to be dragged out of him.
“It’s short for Sidchrome.” He replied and it was all he would give up for a while until Hermione spoke up, “Isn’t Sidchrome a muggle tool company? Don’t they make screwdrivers and spanners things like that?”
At this Dave started to blush slightly and could only nod.
“So you mean to say that they are really calling you a ‘Tool’ when they use that name?” George asked with an evil light in his eyes.
“Not quite” was Dave’s reply to the general laughter of his team.
“It’s more along the lines of I’m the ‘Right Tool’ for the job. Rather than being a tool if you take my meaning.” Dave tried to explain when Fireball jumped in.
“I much prefer Emma’s explanation of it.” She said with a truly evil grin to Dave’s now worried expression.
“What was her explanation?” Ginny asked Fireball with a very similar evil glint in her eye.
“That he HAS the right tool for the job.” Fireball answered to the cat calls and cheers of Dave’s team and the laughter of his family.
Dave meanwhile had his head in his hands trying to hide his embarrassment. When he eventually looked up and caught Gabrielle’s amused and questioning look his cheeks turned so red I was worried that they might burst into flame.
Eventually Dave extracted his face from his hands, although his cheeks were still flaming. Looking over to his father he remarked, “Less than a day she has known we are family and already she is teaming up with Fireball like a seasoned pro.”
“Outnumbered and out gunned son.” Ivan replied with a smile of commiseration.
“Outnumbered?” Ron asked confused.
“Yes outnumbered. In our family, the girls vastly outnumber us guys. They also hunt in packs and that makes them even more dangerous.” Dave answered with mock angst, while Fireball, Shelly, Andrea and Cassy all fixed him with looks that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Lioness hunting her prey.
Noticing the looks on their faces Dave pointed them out to Ron and remarked, “See what I mean”.
By the time that Ron had looked at the girls they were all wearing looked of feigned innocence.
“No I don’t.” Ron replied.
“Ron, if you want to survive ‘The Horde’ of girls in this family learn to catch the signs of impending doom and quickly. Or you will not last very long. As they are relentless and more often than not without any pity.” Dave replied.
“Horde? Just how many are there?” he asked.
“Let’s see, 6 sisters and 45 female cousins.” Dave replied.
“You forgot your 7 Aunties as well Dave” Ivan said ‘helpfully’.
“Yeah, thanks dad. And 7 Aunties. They are all as bad as each other and they always back each other up over us boys. So, don’t even both asking them for help as you won’t get it.” He said.
“Oh I almost forgot Grandma Webb and Great Grandma Vogt. Those two are probably even worse than all the others put together. More than likely as they have had longer to practise.” Dave laughed.
“How many guys are there?” Ron asked.
“I have 3 male cousins with which to try and counter balance that.” Dave answered.
“Your uncles?” Ron asked hopefully.
“Are you kidding? They are not silly enough to stand against ‘The Horde’.” Dave chuckled.
“I was hoping the discovery of 5 new male cousins would provide a glimmer of hope. But you seem to bring a female cousin with you who is almost as bad as Fireball here.” Dave chuckled while pointing to his sister who threw a bit of toast at him which he easily ducked.
“But one on one you can take them, can’t you?” Ron needled him with a grin.
“Have you been listening Ron? They are never alone; they hunt in packs. There is no ‘one on one’, at least outside of training.” Dave explained.
“But surely…” Ron began.
“How about a demonstration?” Dave asked with a rather suspicious smirk on his face.
“Ok. I’m game” Ron replied with a smile.
“Oo pick me, pick me!!!” Fireball almost jumped up and down in her seat.
“Ah… No I don’t think we will do that Fireball. You tend to be too rough.” Dave said reprovingly.
“We will do this with his sister.” Dave decided.
“Me?” Ginny exclaimed.
“Yes you Little Fireball. Or should I say LFB.” Dave smirked at Ginny’s surprise.
Harry laughed at this exchange before Ginny fixed him with one of her looks.
“Pick a side Scruffy and quickly. These women are getting more dangerous every day.” Dave advised Harry before Gabrielle elbowed him in the ribs.
Staggering back in mock pain and hurt Dave exclaimed “Et tu Gabrielle?” This got a laugh from Fleur and Sandra.
He quickly ‘recovered’ and gave her a bow and a smile (which she returned) before excusing himself. But not before asking her to hold his seat (which she agreed to do).
“Guz and Goose, can you make us a temporary sprung training floor here? Usual dimensions?” Dave asked.
“Can do skipper.” Came the reply as the two of them quickly conjured up a flat square floor that seemed to be a little springy as they walked across it.
“Ginny, Ron will the two of you please come up here.” Dave asked as everyone turned in their seats to watch ‘the show’.
Dave seemed to notice some commotion amongst his team as he quickly spoke up, “All bets are off at this point guys and gals. Don’t let Fireball or Mick lead you astray. This is only a demo.” He said smiling at the two named conspirators.
Fireball made a rude gesture and sound in Dave’s direction. This made him laugh and respond, “And I love you to sis. Now behave.”
Fireball reluctantly sat down at this comment but she did watch the proceedings with interest.
By this time both Ron and Ginny had approached the training floor. Noticing that Dave had taken his shoes off they also took their own off as well.
“Ok Ginny, grab Ron’s wrist.” Dave instructed and she did so.
“Ron get out of it.”
Ron twisted and turned a few times and eventually managed to twist his way out of it.
“Ok, now swap.” Dave asked them, which they did.
“Ginny, get out of Ron’s grip.” Dave asked her.
Ginny had a much tougher time trying to get out of Ron’s grip. Ron seemed to get more and more smug as the time went by. But she did eventually get out of it.
“Ok, interesting. You both tried to use brute strength to get out of that. Why?” Dave enquired.
“How else would you do it?” Ginny answered
“How else? Well there are several alternatives. Let me show you a simple one now.”
“Ron. Look away for a moment.” Dave instructed.
From where I was sitting I could see Dave got Ginny to grab his wrist and then proceeded to show her some sort of movement involving making circles with his arms.
Ginny’s face was a delight to watch as it was obvious she was clearly intrigued by this and she was watching very intently.
After a few moments Dave asked Ron to turn back around and grab Ginny’s arm again. This time however when Dave asked Ginny to get out of Ron’s grip she not only got out of it very quickly she also had him on the floor and clearly in an uncomfortable position.
I’m not sure who was the more surprised Ron or Ginny. As they both wore rather startled expressions.
“That was a very simple demonstration of ‘It’s not what you have, but how you use it. That counts.’” Dave said helping Ron to his feet.
“That was achieved with a few moments of instruction. Just imagine what can be achieved with years of study?” Dave asked Ron.
“All the women in my family are fully trained in these sorts of skills.” Dave explained while the girls in his family were openly grinning at them like predatory animals.
This time Ron noticed the looks on the girls faces and he seemed to have gotten the message, but Dave drove it home further by saying, “That’s not all they are trained in either.”
“Now do you see the predicament us boys are in?” he said grinning.
“If you and your brothers want to play, we will gladly welcome the re-enforcements. But we do want you to know what you are getting yourself in for.” Dave said as he prepared to head back to the table.
“Does that also apply to how you use your magic?” Kingsley asked standing up.
“It applies to just about anything Kingsley.” Dave answered.
“Can you demonstrate for me? With me?” Kingsley asked with a smile.
“But of course Kingsley.” Dave said returning Kingsley smile with his own one, “step this way”.
Kingsley eagerly joined Dave on the training floor and removed his shoes.
“A demonstration with shields and stunners?” Dave enquired.
“Agreed” Kingsley replied.
A roughly human shaped dummy appeared at one end of the training mat opposite Kingsley.
“Draw your wand Kingsley and when I ask you send a stunner at the target over there. However, make the first stunner rather general and the second one targeted on the chest.” Dave asked.
Kingsley drew his wand and pointed it at the target.
“Now” Dave shouted and Kingsley sent a stunner racing to the target. But like in the kitchen yesterday Dave ‘caught’ it and made it stand still. He then raised the stunner up a foot or so to enable Kingsley to see the target.
“Again with the focused one.” Dave instructed and again Kingsley sent a stunner at the target and again Dave caught it and placed it next to the first one.
“Come join me down here and tell me what you see as the differences between the two stunners here.” Dave invited Kingsley.
Kingsley came down and joined Dave and began to look at his two stunning spells with mixture of interest and awe.
“The rest of you can come and look also if you wish, but I do advise you not to touch them, for the obvious reasons” he chuckled and got a few nervous ones in reply.
We all gathered around the two stationary stunners and closely examined them. It was a very interesting experience as I had never seen spells motionless like this in the air before.
When we all had been looking at the two spells for several minutes Dave again asked us what we saw different between the two red bundles of energy.
“I will give you a clue.” He said sounding very much like a teacher, “It’s to do with the front of the spell.”
So, we all shifted our focus to the front of the spells.
After a moment or two Harry spoke up, “The second one looks a little more pointed than the first.”
“Give that man a red jelly bean.” Dave remarked grinning broadly.
“You are absolutely correct Harry. As the second stunner, had been cast with a more specific target in mind it has more of a point to it than the first.”
“What difference does that make?” Ron asked a moment before George did.
“That’s the second part of the demonstration” Dave answered.
“Harry if you could stay for this bit, then rest of you can sit down”
We all went and sat down while Harry stayed on the training floor with Dave and Kingsley.
“I’m going to release these now so that they will hit the target, so stand back a moment.” Dave instructed.
Once everyone was clear Dave released the spells and they both struck the target producing large red marks that were displayed for a few moments before fading away.
“Ok, this time Kingsley is going to send stunners at the target while Harry casts a shield to protect it and himself.”
“Are you two ready?” Dave asked them both. Getting affirmative responses Dave asked Harry to cast his shield. Once that was done he asked Kingsley to send a general stunner at the target.
The stunner hit the shield and stopped.
“Ok send the second stunner but this time aim for the black dot on the targets chest.” Dave requested.
Kingsley sent the second stunner at the target. While this one was also blocked by the shield it was also evident that Harry had to try harder to keep it out.
“You ok Harry?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Came the reply.
“From your point of view what was the difference between the two stunners.” Dave asked him.
“The first one felt very familiar like a push against my shield. The second one felt almost like a knife stab instead of a push. It took more of an effort to keep it out.” Harry remarked.
“Exactly the point I was trying to make. Both stunners had roughly the same energy. But it was how that energy was used that made a difference.” Dave said.
“If you can narrow your focus of a spell sufficiently you can send it straight through most shields.” Dave replied. “Even multiple shields under the right conditions.”
Both Kingsley and Harry had slightly sceptical looks on their faces at this.
“I take it you want a demonstration?” Dave asked them with a knowing grin.
“If you are offering one” Kingsley replied also with a grin.
“Ok who wants to go first? Or do you want to do a shield together?” Dave asked.
After a quick conference, together was the option that they chose.
“Tell me when you’re ready.” Dave requested.
A moment later there was a shield in place that could be seen clearly so it must have been a very significant one.
“Ready” came the call back.
Dave quickly pointed his finger at the target and what looked like a very long stunner raced out and hit the target.
Both Kingsley and Harry were very startled and all the rest of us were shocked. Except for Dave’s team and family.
“Are you both ok?” Dave asked them.
“We are fine. Surprised but fine.” Kingsley replied catching his breath.
“Tell me how you did that.” Kingsley requested.
Dave nodded and waved for Fireball to join him on the stage. Once Kingsley and Harry were out of the way and Fireball indicated that she was ready Dave cast another stunner that Fireball caught and held in place.
“What do you notice that is different?” Dave asked Kingsley and Harry. Then raised his gaze to us all.
While Kingsley’s stunners had appeared to be about as thick as a medium sized log or as thick as a man’s arm. Dave’s stunner looked more like a knitting needle.
“It’s a lot thinner.” Kingsley replied.
“Is that all?” Dave answered with a slight smile.
When no one else could add anything after a few moments Dave nodded to Fireball who then moved her hands like she was opening a cabinet. To my surprise what I thought was a single stunner turned out to be three separate ones. Just very close together.
Kingsley looked to Dave with a question plain on his face. Dave saw this and answered, “The best shield in the world will fail if hit hard and fast enough. By casting spells in this manner, you greatly increase their effectiveness. Especially if you need to send them through an opponent’s shield.”
“If the shield is of a sufficient quality then the failure caused will only be brief and small. That is the reason why those stunners were cast in such a manner.”
“I do believe that if the target is checked it will show that the first stunner was blocked but that the 2nd and 3rd ones got through to hit the target close to each other. In the black dot, itself.” Dave answered.
Kingsley went over to check the target and must have confirmed Dave’s statement as he came back muttering under his breath about show offs or something. Dave seemed unfazed by it however.
Obviously aiming to head off an argument Dave asked, “Do your Aurors all train in the Muggle Martial Arts?”
“Some do. But it isn’t compulsory. Why?”
“Did you?” Dave asked.
“I trained in boxing. As I wasn’t too keen on the other choices.”
“Ok. Well in boxing do you always expect your first punch to land? And if it did would you expect it to knock your opponent out?” he asked Kingsley.
After a moment of thought Kingsley replied, “No you never expect your first punch to land let alone knock them out.”
“It is the combination of blows…” Kingsley trailed off as recognition of what Dave was saying dawned on him.
Once he grasped the idea he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like a mad man.
“It is the same principle as demonstrated earlier. Using what you have more effectively rather than relying on brute strength alone.”
“If I may make a suggestion as to your training schedule here. I would strongly suggest that Muggle martial arts be made required training. Then once the basics are masted you take those skills and combine them with magic so that casting spells flow as naturally as punches and kicks do.”
“Also the movement skills are very beneficial as well.” Dave explained.
“I see your point Dave. I do think I will indeed suggest just that.” Kingsley answered.
“What are Muggle Martial Arts” Ginny asked and I could see Arthur becoming interested in the topic at the mention of muggles.
“They are a variety of fighting styles created by muggles all over the world. Primarily they are unarmed but there are a wide variety of weapons also available in them as well.”
“When taught properly they cover not only the physical fighting, but also self-discipline, focus, balance, co-ordination and above all self-control.”
“Could you show us?” Arthur asked hopefully.
Dave seemed a little hesitant but Ivan quickly stepped forward and said “That can be organised. As he needs to be put through a movement assessment anyway.”
“Is that really required?” Dave exclaimed.
“You had 37 different bones re-broken and re-set last night Dave. Even with your rapid healing ability I’m not willing to put you back into the field until I’m convinced that you’re fit and able.”
“Now we can either do this here or back at the academy. It’s your choice.” Ivan asked his son.
“Ok, let’s get this over with”. Dave said with a resigned sigh.
While Dave might not have had much enthusiasm for the event, the same couldn’t be said for Dave’s team. They were all clearly excited by the prospect of it.
“Who am I up against?” Dave asked.
“Me.” Replied Ivan. This seemed to only increase the excitement of Dave’s team.
“Rules?” Dave asked.
“Let’s start out with ‘Muggle Rules’ and no weapons or armour.” Ivan answered.
Dave only nodded his head in reply before his clothing seemed to ripple and change. The ripple travelled from his shoulders downwards and it left a different set of clothing behind.
When the ripple had passed, Dave was dressed only in a T-Shirt and shorts.
I noticed that his T-Shirt had a larger version of that pirate type figure I saw yesterday on his other shirt. Only this time the pirate figure covered the whole back of the T-Shirt. While above the pirate figure was the word, ‘Marauders’ followed by ‘Be Different’ below it.
This T-Shirt seemed to be the cause of some amusement for Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and George.
“What exactly is about to happen?” I asked Sandra. Although the other members of my family all seemed to be listening for the answer as well.
“They are going to engage in some mock combat drills. These are prearranged moves where they each know what the other is going to do and needs to do.”
“Because they each know what the other has to do it makes it easier to assess the other persons capability.”
“If for instance Dave has lost some mobility because of his recent injuries it will show up rather clearly as he will not be able to offer the correct response.”
“Because these two have spared so often over the years they know each other’s style very well. Ivan will start out with ‘simple attacks’ that will have a simple response. He will then move onto ones that are a bit showier to make Dave really stretch out.”
“Finally he will move onto much more complicated attacks that will require a far more complicated response from Dave.”
“Once Dave has been able to satisfy Ivan that he can move sufficiently they may perform some freestyle sparring where they are both free to attack and defend as they see fit.” Sandra explained.
“I see. It sounds like it will be interesting to watch.” I replied as we all turned back to Ivan and Dave who had both just turned to face each other on the training floor and bowed.
They then both stepped back into an odd-looking stance before Ivan darted forward with a punch, to which Dave responded by simply moving out of the way.
Next Ivan tried a punch and followed it up immediately afterwards with a second one aimed at Dave’s head. Dave avoided both attacks simply by moving.
Very quickly the number of attacks grew until the point where Dave was required to use his hands to deflect them.
Not long after this Ivan added some kicks into his attacks and then things really started to heat up. They were both soon jumping and spinning on the mat with their hands and feet flying in all directions.
It was very impressive to watch. The part that most amazed me was that these two men who were both over 7 feet tall could move like that. They seemed to have a fluid grace to their movements that completely disregarded their size. It put me in mind of those Muggle Ballet Dancers I had once seen a long time ago.
Looking around at the other members of my family I could see that they also were stunned by what they were seeing. They were also keenly following the action with rapt attention.
Eventually after a particularly impressive combination of a jump and spin followed by a kick by Dave, Ivan clapped his hands together twice and they both came back to the middle and bowed to one another again.
“It seems like he can still move as required.” Was the comment from Ivan after the assessment.
“Is that all you’re going to do?” Fireball asked them with a rather cheeky grin, “Seems like that was only a warm up. Come on dad push the little bugger some more will you.”
This comment resulted in a round of good natured laughter from Dave’s team and his family.
After a quick conversation between the two they seemed to reach an agreement. After which Dave shrugged and pointed to his seat, Ivan nodded and headed to his own seat as well.
“Are you to going to play or not?” Fireball asked.
“In a moment. We are just going to grab a drink first, as this is thirsty work.” Ivan answered.
“Unless you want to sub in for Dad?” Dave asked his sister.
“Not just now thanks. I want to see you two boys work hard for a change.” She said with a grin at him.
“We always work hard.” Dave protested while gulping down water.
“At what?” Fireball needled him in what appeared to be a frequent game between the two of them.
“Everything of course. That’s why I’m so good at what I do.” Was Dave’s rather cheeky reply.
“hmmph. The only thing you’re good at is trying to embarrassing me.”
“Good? I’m a master at that particular task.” Dave responded with an evil grin.
“All I need to do is dress as you and the rest is easy.” He said still grinning at a slightly nervous Fireball now.
“How are you going to embarrass her if you’re the one in a dress?” Ginny asked confused.
“I would have thought that you would be embarrassing yourself. Not the other way around.” Ginny said grinning at him.
“Is that a challenge there cuz?” Dave asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, I guess it is cuz. Do your worst and let’s see who gets embarrassed here.” Ginny said with a smug little smile on her face. “I can even lend you a dress if you like.” She added breaking out into laughter.
Her brothers joined in the laughter as well, along with Harry and Hermione.
Dave glanced over at Ginny and then Harry and seemed to reach a decision. He walked around from his seat to hers, “My worst huh? I don’t think we will need to go that far” He remarked, with a grin growing on his face.
Holding out his hand he proclaimed, “Challenge accepted.”
Ginny took his hand and said, “Challenge accepted” while they shook on it.
Dave then walked a short way away from the table while everyone turned to look at him.
He stood still for a moment while he appeared to be thinking. After a moment or two more he looked up and with the evilest grin on his face he looked into Ginny’s eyes and winked. This seemed to startle her a bit.
Dave then spun on the spot and when he stopped and faced everyone we all broke into hysterical laughter. With one exception. Poor little Ginny was sitting at the table with an absolutely horrified expression on her face.
‘Dave’ on the other hand seemed to be enjoying himself a great deal.
The cause of Ginny’s horrified expression stemmed from the fact that Dave was now her identical twin and was cheekily waving to her. To further compound the horror for poor little Ginny, Dave/Ginny was now wearing a very formal and very girly ball gown. Of the type that little Ginny would not have been seen dead in.
After allowing everyone to enjoy the view for a moment or two Dave/Ginny sashayed up to Harry with an overly extravagant swaying of ‘his’ hips and promptly sat down in a very startled Harry’s lap.
He then proceeded to put his arms around Harry’s neck and leaned in as though he was going to kiss him.
Thankfully for poor Harry, Dave/Ginny stopped just sort and simply asked him, “Well what do you think?” all the while displaying a particularly evil smirk on his face.
“Do I measure up to the real thing?” he asked in Ginny’s voice while battering his eye lids at Harry.
“Bloody Hell.” Was all Harry could say in response, in between his laughter.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Dave/Ginny replied.
He then got up off Harry’s lap and walked over to a very embarrassed Ginny and stood there with ‘his’ hands on ‘his’ hips. A pose that was so very familiar. Then he asked Ginny, “Well do I win?” all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Ginny was completely lost for words. The poor girl simply couldn’t find her voice let alone the words to go with it.
‘Dave’ then wandered over to poor Arthur and sat in his lap and asked his opinion of his ‘outfit’.
Between tears of laughter Arthur answered that he thought it suited him. This of course just set everyone but Ginny off into a fresh round of laughter again.
Getting back up Dave walked a short distance from the table and said, “Since little Ginny seems to have misplaced her voice for the time being, I’m asking this group for a ruling on who won this bet.”
“The vote is simple. Who is the more embarrassed here? The young lady seated at the table” ‘he’ said pointing to Ginny.
“Or this one.” ‘He’ said pointing to himself.
“Her” came the unanimous response (minus Ginny) while everyone pointed to Ginny who now had cheeks that were so red they basically glowed.
“I thank you all for your assistance in this matter.” ‘He’ said with a bow.
When he straightened up again it was Dave once more standing before us as himself.
Giving himself a shake he exclaimed, “That always feels so bloody weird.” As he began walking back to the table shaking out his legs.
“Why would changing your face feel weird?” Ron asked confused.
Dave glanced over at him looking more than a little surprised, “It wasn’t only just the face that changed Ron.”
“EVERYTHING, has to change for it to be convincing.” Dave exclaimed.
“Everything?” Ron asked to the amusement of us all.
“Everything!” Dave answered.
“Ouch” Ron answered.
“That doesn’t cover the half of it Ron. Women have all these extra organs and odd substances in their blood. Not to mention the funny way their hips work, it makes walking very strange.” Dave explained.
“We blokes are much simpler creatures.” Dave said while walking back to Ginny’s spot.
“Do you want to play again Ginny? Or are you good for now.” Dave asked to a still very embarrassed Ginny.
“No, I’m good thanks. You win.” She said while trying to hide her head under her mass of hair, which incidentally was a good colour match for her cheeks just now.
Dave then wandered over to face Fireball, “How about you? Do you want to play some more?” he asked still with a wicked grin on his face.
Fireball seemed to feel a little trapped, as her sisters and cousin were egging her on to not let her little brother ‘get away with it’.
Eventually she gave in to the peer pressure and answered Dave’s challenge, “Ball gowns don’t frighten me. You’re on.” She said throwing caution to the winds.
Dave bowed to her and walked back to the same spot as before. Ginny meanwhile seemed to be peeking out from under her mass of hair to see what would happen next.
Once more Dave spun on the spot and when he stopped Fireball’s twin stood there dressed in a set of Orange and Black Quidditch Robes.
Fireball’s face had gone white with shock.
No one seemed to have a clue as to what was going on. Dave seemed unconcerned by this though. He cheerfully walked over to his father (with a little more ‘hip swaying’ than was needed I must add) and then quite happily sat in his lap.
Pulling his Mirror Phone from his pocket he held it up and took something called a ‘selfie’. This turned out to be a photo of himself (as Fireball) and his father both of whom were smiling at the camera.
Thanking his father, he got up and showed the photo to Fireball who was now looking rather worried.
“It is a great shot don’t you think?” Dave/Fireball said to Fireball.
“It’s so good in fact, that I think I need to share it with a certain Quidditch player from the…” Dave started to say before Fireball launched herself from her seat and took off after Dave.
Dave seemed to be equal to the task though as he was able to keep out of Fireball’s grasp. Although he like the rest of us was laughing a great deal.
Running past his father I noticed him throw his Mirror Phone to his dad before heading off to the training floor. Fireball must have not seen him throw the phone as she took off after him.
By the time Dave/Fireball was on the training floor he/she was again dressed in T-Shirt and Shorts but this time matching Fireball’s attire. Fireball got rid of her shoes and joined him on the floor as well.
They gave each other only the briefest of bows before they needed to hide their grins and focus.
The display we watched before was very impressive with what they were doing. This display was something else. Sandra made the comment that this was free form sparing with no pre-set moves.
It was also significantly faster and involved them both frequently making contact with each other. Although it was very obvious that they were not actively trying to hurt one another.
It didn’t take very long at all until we had lost track of who was the real Fireball and who was Dave/Fireball. While they each had their own group of supporters neither group really knew when to cheer for their champion.
Neither one of them did anything to give away who was who until Dave’s Mirror Phone gave out a rather annoying buzzing sound. Unlike the other sounds it had made before.
I didn’t know what it meant but it had the instant attention of Dave’s team along with Chief Williams, Ivan and Sandra. Both of the combatants up on the training floor also heard it. One of them stopped and looked over to Ivan and quickly changed back into Dave only to receive a very swift kick in the bum from the real Fireball.
Fireball let out a yell and fell onto her own backside holding her ankle. Dave quickly crossed to her and tended to her ankle before racing to his father to get his phone.
Once he had it in his hands he quickly stopped the buzzing and then was reading something.
When he looked up he had a neutral expression and he motioned his team to gather round.
“Ok, I can see you’re all interested in this latest news. To put you all out of your misery I will just tell you now.”
“That was a message from Semi.” He said with a pause while he looked at his team.
“He says and I quote, ‘We got her’” at this statement Dave had a huge grin on his face. His team also let out a great roar of celebration.
“Ok, ok settle down.” Dave told them.
“The rest of the message reads, ‘Captured the two minders. No injuries to all involved. Moved to secure location near Marseille with team, target and minders. Awaiting further instructions.’ So, they pulled it off and are ‘home’ safe and sound.” He said clearly happy at the news.
Dave moved amongst his team speaking to them all individually about this latest news. There were many hugs back slapping and handshakes all round. They were all clearly excited by the rescue of this person whoever it was.
Eventually the group quietened down and Dave moved back to sit down next to Gabrielle. She happily moved over and made room for him.
Once he was seated Kingsley was the first one in with the question of, “Just who did your team get?”
“The wife of Gawain Roberts.” Dave replied still smiling.
Kingsley eyes widened in surprise and then he to (along with Arthur) began to grin like mad men.
“I can understand the celebrations then.” Kingsley said extending his hand to Dave, “You have my most sincere thanks for the work of your team in this matter.”
Taking his hand and enthusiastically shaking it Dave replied, “No thanks are necessary. My team harbours a ‘special’ deep dark hatred of kidnappers. Especially those that go after kids. So, we are ALWAYS happy to recover someone from people like that.”
“I do think that we should get the news to Gawain as soon as possible. As I can’t control what the opposition will do once they find out she is missing.”
“If we get to him first we can at least give him the facts and take him to his wife, so that he will be prepared for their inevitable counter move.” Dave suggested.
“A great idea. I will go and get him now and bring him here.” Kingsley offered.
“If I may Kingsley, I have a suggestion I would like to put to you.” Dave said carefully.
“Go on, suggest away” Kingsley replied.
“It has been a while since we last observed Gawain and we don’t know what sort of controls the opposition may have placed on him since then.”
“With that in mind I would like to accompany you to the Ministry. As I can get Gawain and you out of there with no one knowing anything about it.”
“I can bring him back here without even him knowing where he is. Then we can assess what if any controls are on him and deal with them as required.” Dave said in a very confident sounding manner.
“A sensible precaution Dave. I agree.” Kingsley said after a moment’s thought.
“How will you get us out of the Ministry without anyone knowing?” he asked.
“Just off the Ministers office is the private conference room. If we all go into that room and you seal it, with a slight modification I can use the door to the hidden liquor cabinet to open a doorway to my tent.”
“If we have the main door of my tent sealed Gawain, and anyone who may be watching him. Will not know where they are.” Dave explained.
“How do you know about the liquor cabinet?” Kingsley asked.
“Do you remember what I told you yesterday? About extracting information out of your Ministry.” Dave enquired.
“I do indeed Dave.” Kingsley answered.
“A lot of the times I just waltzed into the Ministers office, dressed as him and made copies of the files I wanted right off his desk. Then walked right on back out.” Dave said smiling.
“You cheeky bugger.” Kingsley said also smiling.
“I hope you haven’t done that as me, have you?” Kingsley asked slightly alarmed.
“No Minister I haven’t. Not yet anyway.” Dave said with his evil grin once more on display.
This took Kingsley a little by surprise. He quickly recovered and said, “I think it will be a good idea to maintain good relations with your Minister so that he doesn’t turn you lose on me as well.”
Dave sat back with a look of feigned hurt and remarked, “Are you trying to get rid of me Minister?” while winking at his dad who just chuckled.
“How do we get you into the Ministry without anyone realising it?” Kingsley asked Dave.
“I think the simplest approach would be for me to dress as Arthur, if he has no objections.” Dave said looking over to Arthur to see his response.
“No objections from me Dave.” Arthur replied.
“Ok. Then after we get into the Ministry we both go and collect Gawain and take him up to your private board room. Once there you tell your secretary that you, Arthur and Gawain are going to be having a highly confidential meeting and that you are not to be disturbed for the next hour or two.”
“Once inside you will seal the room with the stipulation I mentioned before. I will then open a door to my tent here and we will take Gawain through.”
“There are wards in place on our tents that I will activate before we go that will prevent just about any tracking spell from giving the location away.”
“Once we have him here we can work on him to ensure that he isn’t tracked or have any controls on him. If possible I think it would be a great idea to borrow Bombshell to help with this task as he has some serious skills in that department.”
Once again Dave looked over to Bill for his views and received a curious nod in reply.
“Excellent. Once Gawain is ‘free and clear’ we can give him the news about his wife and what we intend to do about it. Then if he is agreeable I will dress as him and go back to the Ministry with you and Arthur.”
“From there we can split up and meet back here once we are sure that we are not being followed.” Dave said sitting back and looking for comment.
“Why do I get the feeling that you have done this before Dave?” Kingsley said with an amused expression.
“Maybe because I have done it a time or two.” Dave smirked.
“Ok, I like it. It is simple and direct. Given the element of surprise is with us I believe it will work.” Kingsley said, “How quickly can you be ready to leave Dave?”
“Give me a moment or two to have a very quick wash and get changed into something a little more tactical. Then I will be ready.” Dave said getting up.
“Will do” Kingsley replied.
Dave looked to Gabrielle and asked “Could you please find Mick as well as my sisters Shelly and Fireball. Tell them we are putting on a ‘bait and switch’ and ask them to meet me in my tent ASAP?”
“Oui” she replied smiling at him.
“My thanks to you, mi lady” Dave replied also smiling at her.
“Excuse me all, I have to run” Dave said as he stepped away from the table and removed his T-shirt as he quickly walked to his tent wiping himself down with his T-Shirt as he went.
“W’at are zose scars on ‘is back?” Gabrielle asked following Dave with her eyes as he walked away.
Sandra quickly glanced over at her son and replied, “Claw marks from a Griffin.”
“Aie, zat must ‘ave ‘urt a great deal.” She answered still following Dave with her eyes.
“It did indeed,” Sandra answered “but that is a story for another day.”
Then looking at Gabrielle with an amused expression she asked, “Don’t you need to round up some people for him?”
“Oui. Excusez-moi” she replied with a slight blush and ran off.
Those of us at the table were smiling as we watched her race off and track down the ones Dave had requested. She seemed to be gathering them up rather quickly.
Andrea then walked over to us and said, “Why do I get the feeling that I’m walking in on this story half way through?”
At this comment Sandra, Fleur and I all burst out laughing again.
“Oh Sweety,” Sandra said, “I get the feeling that this story hasn’t even got started properly yet.” We were all smiling at that statement.
“Is she the young lady that Dave helped heal yesterday?” asked Andrea.
“Oui. Zat ez Gabrielle, my little sister.” Fleur answered, just as Gabrielle lead the procession of Aurors into Dave’s tent. I could plainly see Fireball and Shelly smiling from where I was sitting.
“I would like to examine her if I may to make sure that nothing was overlooked in the chaos of yesterday.” Andrea said to Fleur.
“Zat can be arranged, our parents would be ‘appy to confirm zat everyzing is well.” Fleur answered.
“Excellent. Once her distraction has left, I think we will be able to get enough of her attention to get it over with very quickly.” Andrea said smiling before we all started to giggle uncontrollably again.
Chapter 16: Gabrielle's Story
Author's Notes: Just a quick note to deliver a (long overdue) apology for the French used in this story. I have been mostly relying on Google Translate as the few people I know who do "know" French don't "know" much of it. I'm sure some people have cringed at what has been used in the story previously (and below), so if I have royally stuffed something up with it please feel free to PM me and I will fix it.
My two little boys who are the main audience for this story love it when their daddy tries to read the dialogue for Fleur (and other French characters) from the HP Books with a 'French Accent'. So they have requested that Fleur and the other French characters continue to do so in 'their' story. This is the reason for those characters dialogue to be written that way. Once again if I am placing emphasis on the wrong sounds etc please feel free to PM me and I will correct to make it read/sound better.
Once again thanks for reading and joining us in this journey. Hope you are all enjoying it as much as we are here.
Kingsley and Arthur had only a short wait for Dave to re-appear. When he did he was now dressed in blue jeans, dark blue shirt and his rather odd looking belt around his middle. He also had on what looked to be Dragon hide boots.
Gabrielle was following Dave, but deeply engrossed in a conversation with Shelly and Fireball. They all had little smirks on their face and kept glancing at Dave’s back. I got the distinct impression that they were planning some sort of ‘revenge’ for Dave’s earlier antics.
Dave meanwhile seemed oblivious to the impending trouble behind him and was talking to Mick. The group met up with Kingsley and Arthur and after a quick conversation at the end of which Dave and Arthur shook hands. Dave then ‘dressed as’ Arthur and he and Kingsley left for the apparition point.
When they had departed Fireball, Shelly and Mick collected Bill and the rest of Dave’s team and began preparing his tent for their arrival.
Fleur had collected her parents and Gabrielle and brought them all inside. Hermione and Ginny followed as well. With the exception of Monsieur Delacour it resembled a ‘girls’ night’ in the lounge of the Burrow.
Ivan and Arthur were deep in conversation but heading towards the house. I waved them off and they happily wondered back to the table to join the other boys.
I had no idea what they were all talking about but it seemed to have caught the attention of all of them. Going from the laughter involved they seemed to be enjoying themselves. This was just as well as Gabrielle isn’t going to want the boys around for this examination.
Once we were all in the lounge Andrea spoke with Gabrielle and her parents and stated that she would like to examine her to make sure that there were no issues that may have been over looked yesterday.
Gabrielle and her parents were happy for Andrea to carry out her examination.
Monsieur Delacour turned one of the seats around so that he could still hear what was being discussed, but without embarrassing his daughter.
Andrea conjured a gown that would enable her to access just the areas that she wished to examine while allowing Gabrielle to cover everything else. Gabrielle quickly stepped out to change into this gown.
When she came back in Andrea asked her to turn around so she could start with her back. We were never sure if the knife had gone all the way through her or not. But after a careful and magical examination no trace of the knife exiting out her back could be found.
Next Gabrielle turned around and opened the gown over where the knife had entered her chest. Andrea very carefully examined this area. Both visually and magically.
Eventually after quite a few spells were cast she pronounced it clear of any infection and that it had healed very satisfactorily. Indeed, there was only the faintest of thin lines there indicating that she had been stabbed at all.
Next, she asked Gabrielle to lay down on the couch so that she could examine her lung and heart.
Andrea began by waving her wand over Gabrielle’s lung and asking her to breathe in deeply and hold the breath for a moment or two. Then to slowly exhale. This was repeated a few times.
Next Andrea checked Gabrielle’s heart. Here she seemed to take the most time of all. She asked Gabrielle to relax as much as possible to slow her heart beat down and allow a better ‘look’ as he called it.
Eventually she pronounced the knife wound fully healed and free of any infection. However, she still had a puzzled look on her face after that announcement.
“Is something wrong dear?” I asked her.
I must have startled her with my question as she almost jumped slightly.
“No nothing is ‘wrong’ as such, just odd.” She answered.
“Odd?” Sandra asked, “How so?”
“It’s just…” Andrea started to say before a different thought caught her. Turning to Madame and Monsieur Delacour she asked, “Did Gabrielle have a pre-existing heart condition before yesterday?”
“Oui” Madame Delacour answered. “We found out about it after ze Tri-Wizard tournament.”
“Why do you ask?”
“In a moment, if I may.” Andrea replied, “Can you describe the condition to me? Or share the memory of when you were told about it?”
“She has a small defect in ze… ‘ow do you say” Madame Delacour, thought for a moment, “La valve mitrale”
“The Mitral Valve?” Andrea asked while Gabrielle began to look a little uncomfortable.
“Oui, zat is ze one.” Madame Delacour answered.
“She ‘as been told to be careful wiz over exerting ‘erself and she must keep a supply of special potions with ‘er in case she ‘as any ‘eart pains.” Madame Delacour explained.
“I see. That certainly explains quite a few things that I noticed.” Andrea replied thoughtfully.
“What did you notice?” Madame Delacour answered beginning to get worried.
“Please don’t be alarmed.” Andrea replied hastily seeing the look in the faces of the Delacour’s.
“What I noticed is that there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Gabrielle’s heart at all.” Andrea said to the growing delight and confusion of the Delacour family. As well as to the rest of us in the room.
“What do you mean nozing wrong?” Madame Delacour asked, while her husband came and stood by her side with hope clearly showing on his face.
“I mean I could find nothing wrong with her heart. I couldn’t even see any damage from the knife.”
“I could see a lot of new heart tissue though. Along where the knife went and where the Mitral Valve is located.” Andrea explained.
“How?” Sandra began to ask when Andrea spoke again, “Dave.” She said with her face deep in thought.
“It is the only thing that makes any sort of sense. As Gabrielle’s heart shows all the signs of basically having been rebuilt from the ground up.” She said with wonder on her face.
“You mean Dave gave me a new ‘eart?” Gabrielle said with tears in her eyes.
“Not completely new, but he certainly rebuilt and replaced any parts that were damaged in anyway.” Andrea answered to the wonderment of all of us in the room.
“Why do you still look worried?” Sandra asked her daughter.
“I was there when Dave did a similar type of repair on Emma’s heart. That repair almost killed him from the effort required.” Andrea said still deep in thought.
“Given the effort he expended yesterday, before he arrived here. Then followed by the effort he expended while here there is no way he should have been able to do that.”
“Especially given that he apparently then purged her blood afterwards as well as unleashing Friendfyre to help Bombshell break the final curse.”
“Putting all that together he should have had no energy left to keep his own heart beating.” She said clearly confused.
During this Gabrielle had begun to look rather horrified at the possible outcomes.
“Dave could ‘ave died because of me?” she asked in a small voice.
Sandra quickly crossed to Gabrielle and took her hands in her own.
“Please don’t blame yourself for this Gabrielle.” Sandra told her while looking in her eyes with concern.
“Dave is very aware of his limits. While he will always give his all in a task, he will also only attempt it if he is sure he can safely complete it. For all involved” Sandra explained to Gabrielle.
“Are you ok now?” she asked Gabrielle.
“Oui” she replied with a small smile.
Sandra embraced Gabrielle and was quickly joined by the rest of the Delacour’s.
After they had released each other Andrea again spoke, “The only thing I can think of is that Dave has ‘levelled up’ again.”
“He can’t have. It’s too soon.” Sandra said more than a little worried.
“Excusez-moi, w’at do you mean by ‘level up’?” Fleur asked puzzled.
“Dave’s abilities do not seem to be developing the same as his brothers. Nor even as his sisters or cousins.” Sandra began to explain, “They all grew, and in a few cases, are still growing, into their abilities on a reasonably smooth curve.”
“Dave’s abilities seem to grow in spurts. He will go along for a year or so with no real changes noticeable. Then suddenly he will start doing feats of ‘magic’ that truly astound you.”
“The danger in this is that when he experiences a ‘level up’ as we call it, it takes him a while to come to terms with his new abilities and the power at his command.”
“I worry that if he draws too much he could hurt himself.”
“In the past, each time he has had a ‘level up’ episode we have had him spend some time back at the Academy with his instructors who have helped guide him through it.”
“This time… This time we don’t know when it occurred.” Sandra remarked.
“Either it happened more gradually. Or he has had some sort of breakthrough in understanding his abilities and how to control them.” She said thoughtfully.
“Gabrielle, could… could you tell us what happened yesterday. From your point of view?” Sandra asked, “If you want to that is.”
“Oui. I zink I can do zat.” She said as she went to sit herself down on the couch.
“Thank you. Maybe you should go and get dressed again first so that you are more comfortable. Then you can tell us your story.” Sandra offered.
“Merci” Gabrielle replied as she stepped out to get changed.
Once she had returned, we all found seats for ourselves. I did notice that Fleur very quickly chose the seat that would enable her to sit closest to her sister.
“I remember seeing ze Dementors and being told to get back to ze ‘ouse.” Gabrielle began.
“As I was about to ‘ead back to ze ‘ouse I saw someone behind Bill. So, I fired a stunner at zem.”
“Zen, I felt a ‘orrable pain in my chest, followed by a terrible chill coming from it.”
“Everything zen went dark.”
“Zat would ‘ave been w’en I cast ze freezing charm on you” Fleur told her sister, “I couldn’t zink of anyzing else to do.” She said with unshed tears in her eyes.
“It was exactly the right thing to do Fleur.” Andrea told her.
“It would have been one of the first things that Nat or I would have done had we been there.” She said giving Fleur an encouraging look.
“Merci” Fleur answered.
“Please go on.” She encouraged Gabrielle.
“Ze next memory I have is of a voice. I do not know who it belonged to or what was being said.” Gabrielle said while recalling the memory, “Only zat it was very worked up and determined about somezing.”
“That’s most likely when Dave was arguing with that awful Healer White. The one who was more concerned about his reputation than his patients.” I told her.
“That sounds like something Dave would do.” Sandra said with a smile.
“Yeah he hates Healers who won’t at least try to help someone.” Andrea said with a small chuckle at some memory, “I hope he didn’t get too worked up by the idiot.” She asked me.
“If I remember rightly at one point he offered to remove Healer White’s soul so he could see for himself the damage that he had done to it with his actions” I replied with a rueful smile.
“Oh my.” Sandra said with a small blush, “He has always been passionate about helping people. But that is the first time I have heard of him saying anything like that.”
“Sounds like this Healer White deserved it mum.” Andrea said.
“He may well have. But Dave still shouldn’t have said that. Especially in front of his Grandfather”
“Who knows maybe it was Grandpa’s suggestion. As they both have rather short fuses for those who won’t help those who are in need.” Andrea replied.
“Maybe. But we are getting off track here.” Sandra remarked, “Please go on Gabrielle.”
“Dave calling me by name was ze next zing I remember. It was like a light in ze darkness literally, to me.”
“Zen ‘e introduced himself to me wiz his full name and told me who ‘e was and why ‘e was zere. I remember ‘im asking for permission to speak to me. Zis I remember zinking was odd as ‘e was already talking to me.”
“But I remember saying yes ‘e could talk to me. Zen everyzing changed.”
“How so?” Sandra asked with a very intent look in her eyes.
“Before everyzing was dark, and cold and I was very frightened.”
“But zen zere was light and warmth. While I was zere I wasn’t frightened, I was calm.”
“Zen I saw ‘im” she said and smiled and a small blush appeared as well.
“What did you see?” Fleur asked with a very curious expression on her face.
“Dave” Gabrielle replied, “But not as I ‘ad seen ‘im before”
“How did he appear to you?” Sandra asked.
“Adorable.” Gabrielle answered before she realised it. Then she blushed deeply and we all had a good giggle at her discomfort until Fleur took pity on her and enfolded her in a hug. She held the hug long enough to enable Gabrielle’s blush to subside, at least a little bit.
“That’s a word very few people have used to describe Dave before.” Sandra said smiling at Gabrielle, who was still trying to control her blush.
“What made you chose it?” she asked.
“’e reminded me of a great big ours en peluche” Gabrielle replied fighting back a giggle.
Sandra and the rest of us looked a little confused until Fleur translated it for us, “Teddy Bear?” she asked her sister.
“Oui” she replied still with her cheeks blushing. The rest of us could only smile at this image of Dave.
“Are you sure? You didn’t see a dragon or something like a dragon at all? It was definitely shaped like a person?” Sandra asked with a very intense expression and her eyes were locked onto Gabrielle’s.
“Non. I didn’t see a dragon. It was definitely a man. A big man who was trying to appear small and ‘armless.” She said with a smile.
“How about around him? What could you see around him? Was there anything at all?” Sandra asked with her gaze still locked onto Gabrielle’s eyes.
Gabrielle thought for a moment. “I zought zat I could see somezing or someone else, but zat zey were a very long way off in ze distance.” She said thoughtfully.
Sandra went very pale at this piece of news. She sat as though stunned for a few moments. Eventually Andrea succeeded in getting her attention again.
“MUM.” She called to her, “What is it?”
“He did it. He actually did it.” She said as though she was having a hard time believing what she had been told.
“What? What did he do?” Andrea asked her.
“He… He…” she said almost in a daze.
“He what? Mum.” Andrea almost pleaded.
“He brought her into his soul. Right INTO his soul. What she was seeing wasn’t the outer shell of his soul, but the very core of his soul, of himself.” Sandra said with awe clearly showing on her face.
Andrea on hearing this also had a similar look of wonder on her face. She turned to look at Gabrielle and there was something different in her expression as she looked at her. Something almost akin to respect and admiration was visible on her face.
Fleur then asked, “What do you mean he brought her into his soul?”
“A soul has two fundamental components to it. One is the outer shell, it is basically a reflection of how the soul sees itself. This is most likely what you would have seen during the attempt to heal Gabrielle when you said you thought you saw Dave as a Dragon holding someone who was hurt.”
“The other is the CORE of the soul. The true soul, how it actually is. Too catch a glimpse of someone’s true soul is a gift beyond price or measure.”
“To actually see, properly see and ‘talk’ to someone’s true soul is so rare it is basically unheard of.” Sandra explained to a very stunned collection of people.
“Why is it so rare?” I asked.
“Because it is dangerous. Extremely dangerous.” Sandra said thoughtfully, “Do not be alarmed, please.” She added seeing the concern on the Delacour’s.
“The danger was never to Gabrielle. It was all to Dave. For him to invite you in like that and allow you to ‘talk’ to him there would have required him to surrender to you. Totally and without question.”
“If you had become angry and had lashed out at him in anyway, he would have had absolutely no way of defending himself from you.” Sandra explained to a very stunned Gabrielle.
“If ‘e was surrendering to ‘er, why zen did ‘e need ‘er permission?” Madame Delacour asked.
“If Dave had attempted to bring Gabrielle’s soul into his own like that without her permission, he would have caused great harm to himself and his soul. He would have also caused great distress to Gabrielle as well.”
“Even with permission being given by both parties it is still a massive and very significant act of trust for him to open his own soul like that. It would also require an almost as significant amount of trust for Gabrielle to accept that invitation.”
“Soul’s that have trusted each other like that do not EVER forget it. If the experience was bad for either party, they would never be able to forget it.”
“Do you remember why you accepted Dave’s invitation? How did it make you feel?” Sandra asked with her eyes focused on Gabrielle’s.
“I accepted ‘is invitation as ‘e made me feel extremely safe and protected. So, I felt very comfortable to accept ze invitation from Dave.” Gabrielle said with some conviction.
“If the experience was good, it will be an eternal pleasant memory.” Sandra said to Gabrielle with a smile.
“I hope it was a pleasant experience for you?” she asked.
“Oui. It was. VERY much so.” She said smiling to herself at the memory. Sandra and the rest of us also were also smiling at her reply.
“I’m glad to hear that Gabrielle. Otherwise I would have had to throttle my only son.” Sandra answered with a chuckle at Gabrielle’s reaction to her statement. I had to have a small chuckle at that thought myself.
“Please continue with your story, Gabrielle.” Sandra requested with a smile of encouragement.
“I could see zis very large and obviously powerful man standing in front of me. But ‘e was also obviously trying very ‘ard to appear ‘armless as well as make me feel comfortable.”
“’e stood there looking at me with a smile on his face. Zere was also a question on ‘is face as well. After a few moments, I realised zat I understood ‘is question.”
“As soon as I zought of an answer to ‘is question I could tell zat ‘e ‘ad ‘eard it and understood.”
“It was zen zat I realised we were talking wiz our zoughts alone. It was one of ze strangest conversations I have ever had. But also, one of ze most relaxed and enjoyable I ‘ave ever ‘ad.” She explained with a shy little smile on her face.
“Why was it enjoyable?” Sandra asked.
“Because I got ze feeling zat he saw me. Zat ‘e saw ze real me, and zat ‘e accepted me for who I was wiz non-judgement. ‘e also talked to me. Properly talked to me.”
“’e wasn’t talking at me, or saying zings he zought I wanted to ‘ear. ‘e was listening to my questions and answering zem wiz real answers.”
“I felt like I could ask ‘im anyzing or tell ‘im anyzing and ‘e wouldn’t judge me because of it. Or tell anyone what I had told ‘im. It was a very warm and safe feeling.”
“I enjoyed it immensely.” She said with her smile growing at the memory.
“Can you say what you talked about?” Sandra asked.
At this request, Gabrielle’s face deepened into a full-blown blush that you could almost feel the heat from.
“If there are some topics that you would prefer to not mention that is perfectly fine.” Sandra told her with a knowing smile.
“Merci” Gabrielle answered.
“At ze start I asked ‘im what was happening. ‘e told me we were in ze place where our true souls resided.”
“Zat we were ‘ere so we could talk in safety and privacy as well as quickly. ‘e told me zat in zis place if our two souls wished to ‘talk’ to each other zat zey could do so, and do it freely and zat it was not possible to deceive or lie to each other while ‘talking’ like zis.”
“I asked ‘im why we were talking like zis and not like we were before.”
“’e told me it was so zat he could answer all my questions (as ‘e could sense zat I ‘ad a great many) and do so in a way where ‘e couldn’t deceive me. As ‘e wanted my help to try and ‘eal my body.”
“I asked ‘im what was wrong wiz my body and why it needed to be ‘ealed.”
“Dave zen told me what ‘ad ‘appened and what damage zat ‘ad been done,”
“’e also told me zat if I was willing to ‘elp ‘im, ‘e and a group of other people (zat he promised to introduce to me) would be doing all zat zey could to ‘eal me and bring me back.”
“I asked ‘im why someone who was as powerful as ‘im would need my ‘elp.”
“When I ‘said’ zis to ‘im, ‘e actually laughed at me. I didn’t expect it. It almost made me angry wiz ‘im, until I asked ‘im why ‘e ‘ad laughed.”
“Dave zen told me zat in zis endeavour zat it was my power zat was ze more important. In addition to zat ze main skills required to ‘eal me, zat I was indeed more powerful zan ‘e was, or would ever likely to be.”
“I zen asked what skills were required to ‘eal me.”
“He told me it was ze most ancient and powerful magic of all.”
“Love and the capacity to love which would be ze most fundamental power zat we would be using to ‘eal me.”
“I asked him if he really zought zat I was zat powerful in zose skills.”
“His answer was simply. Yes.”
“I wasn’t prepared for such a straight forward answer. It shocked me, but also made me ‘appy and relaxed me a great deal.”
“I zen asked what did ‘e see when ‘e looked at me.”
“He answered this question also.” She said and then she blushed so hard it was almost embarrassing to watch.
“Well? Are you going to tell us what ‘e said?” Fleur asked with a smile of encouragement. But a touch of irritation at having to wait for an answer.
“Non.” Gabrielle replied with a shake of her head and her face in her hands in a futile attempt to hide her blush and her smile also.
“I take it his answer pleased you?” Sandra asked Gabrielle
“Oui. It did. Very much. It was per’aps ze kindest zing anyone ‘ad ever said to me.” She answered still hiding her face in her hands.
“I ‘ave ‘ad many people try to flatter me many times before. For many different reasons. But I could never believe what zey said about me.”
“’owever with Dave’s answer, it was so straight forward and heartfelt and honest. I wanted very much to believe it. But I found it ‘ard to believe zat someone could see all of zat in moi.” Gabrielle answered with her heart in her eyes.
“Dave is famous for giving straight forward honest answers. Usually without thinking about the long-term consequences of his answers.” Sandra said to Gabrielle with a smile on her face.
“He has a habit of answering questions people put to him honestly. If he can’t answer honestly he will usually not answer at all or tell you he can’t answer the question honestly.”
“One of my favourite examples of this was just before he proposed to Emma.” She said with a smile for the memory.
“We were getting ready to go out together to a formal ministry function. Emma came out dressed in a very nice outfit and asked us if it looked ok. As she was worried it made her butt look too big.” She said trying to hold back a giggle.
“Oh non. He didn’t?” Fleur said putting her hands to her face to try and stop her giggles.
“He did. He did it without even batting an eyelid.” She said with the giggle escaping from her and the rest of us laughing in shock.
“She walked out and asked her question. All of us were saying she looked lovely, which she did. Then when Dave walked into the room she asked him and did a twirl to show him her outfit.”
“Dave took one look and said ‘Yes it does’. You could have heard a pin drop in the room.” She answered.
“I thought she was going to kill him then and there.” Andrea said with tears of laughter in her eyes.
“Me too.” Sandra said, “She yelled at him saying something like ‘Why would you say that?’ but he was just giving her this adorable confused look that he has.”
“Eventually he answered, ‘If you didn’t want to know, why did you ask the question?’” Sandra was now having to hold her ribs as she was laughing so hard.
“His next comment was ‘Did you want me to start lying to you?’ once more with that cute confused look that he has.”
“After a moment or two of thought Emma calmed down and said, ‘No I don’t. But don’t EVER say that again.’ And she raced out of the room and changed her outfit.”
“Poor Dave was so confused about what had just happened. He didn’t know what to do or say he just stood there stunned.”
“Of course, his sisters took no pity on him and they all came out and asked his opinion of their outfits as well.”
“The poor boy made a break for Jimmy’s room to try and get away from the girls.”
“We ended up having to send Emma in to rescue him. Once she stopped laughing at what his sisters had done to him of course.” Sandra said now with tears running freely down her cheeks.
The rest of us were in a similar state.
“Poor Dave seems to have a terrible run of luck when it comes to anything fashion related.” Andrea said with an evil grin on her face.
“Have you heard about what happened to Dave in Paris back in March?” Andrea asked her mum.
“No, I haven’t. What happened?” Sandra asked with her face afire with curiosity.
“Ah… Well it is his story to tell. So, he should really do it.” Andrea said with an evil grin.
“You are just wanting him to embarrass himself, aren’t you?” Sandra said.
“Oui” Andrea replied collapsing into gales of laughter.
“Ez zat when Dave got into trouble for ‘crimes against fashion and ze French language?’” Fleur asked.
“Oui” was all Andrea could reply between fits of almost hysterical laughter.
“I can see that there is a story that I must simply know more about.” Sandra said.
“I’m sure I can count on all you girls to help me get it out of him?” she asked with a conspiratorial grin.
“Dave is right. You girls do hunt in packs, don’t you?” Hermione remarked.
“Of course, we do. Does that mean you won’t help us?” Sandra asked.
“I never said I wouldn’t.” Hermione replied with her own evil grin.
This only seemed to set us all off again into gales of laughter at poor Dave’s fate.
Eventually we got ourselves back under some sort of control.
Looking over to Gabrielle who was wiping away her own tears of laughter Sandra said, “As you just heard, Dave has a long history of giving honest answers.”
“However, in that place where you two were talking there are very strict rules as well that govern how Souls ‘talk’ to each other.”
“Dave wasn’t lying to you when he told you that he couldn’t deceive you in that place. Neither of you could have deceived the other while you were there.”
“So, whatever Dave told you he sees when he looks at you, you can believe. You can take it as hard solid fact that is what he honestly thinks when he sees you. He could not have lied even if he wanted to.” Sandra explained to her.
Gabrielle just sat there stunned, but with a small shy smile playing about her lips.
Eventually she said, “Je peux vraiment le croire pour de vrai?” before catching herself and saying, “I can truly believe it for real?”
Sandra smiled and nodded to her. Fleur simply said “Oui”.
Gabrielle flung herself out of her seat and into Sandra’s arms where she hugged her tightly and cried, “Merci pour votre fils.”
Sandra returned the hug and patted Gabrielle on the back while she looked over to Fleur for a translation.
“She says, Thank you for your son.” Fleur answered with a smile.
“There is no need to thank me, Gabrielle.” Sandra said to Gabrielle encouragingly, “Whatever it was that Dave saw in you was there long before he saw it. It is in you and has always been so.” She said to her while wiping away her tears.
“Merci beaucoup.” Gabrielle said with a smile, “I can see where Dave gets ez eloquence from.” She said with a giggle.
“Dave? Eloquent?” Andrea asked confused.
“Do I have another brother that you haven’t told me about mum?”
At this comment, Gabrielle just threw several cushions at her, while the rest of us laughed.
“Gabrielle, do you feel that you can continue with your story? Please?” Sandra asked.
“Oui” she replied.
“After Dave gave me ez answer I felt much more confident and sure about certain zings. However, I still ‘ad many questions and some worry.”
“Dave, I think sensed zis. So ‘e encouraged me to ask my questions”
“I did not know where to start, or ‘ow to even ask them. To give myself sometime to zink I began to ask ‘im questions about ‘imself.”
“Ze first questions I asked ‘im were about ze two big scars running across ‘is chest over ‘is ‘eart.”
“Scars?” Sandra asked very intently.
“Oui. Zere were two large ones. Zey were made close together so zey almost look like a single one.” She answered.
“What did he say about them?” Sandra asked.
“He told me one was from the death of his frère. He called Jimmy. The other was from the death of his femme, Emma.”
“Only the second scar is still open in a couple of places.” She answered.
“Still open?” Sandra asked with the colour fading from her face somewhat.
“Oui. W’at does zat mean?” Gabrielle asked with genuine concern.
“It means that it is highly likely that he is still keenly feeling the RAW pain from the loss of his wife” Sandra replied.
“Could you see how big the openings were or how many?” Sandra asked.
“I zink zat zere were maybe only two parts where it was still open. As for size zat was ‘ard to tell.” She answered.
“Makes a certain amount of sense if you think about it mum. Two openings in that particular scar, two upcoming significant dates that we have been worried about.” Andrea said with worry showing on her face.
“What dates are you worried about?” I asked them both.
“Emma’s Birthday is the 21st of May. This year it will be the first time without her.” Sandra said with sadness in her eyes.
“We still don’t know how he is going to deal with it. Jackie says she has got something that she thinks will help him through it. But she says she can’t tell me too much about it. As it is something she can only give to Dave.”
“She does?” Andrea remarked, “That is a good thing mum. You know she wouldn’t tell you something like that unless she really thought that she did.”
“She isn’t one to toy with him. As she loves him almost as much as you do.” Andrea told her mum with a reassuring smile.
“Excusez-moi, who is zis Jackie?” Gabrielle asked with only a slightly forced casualness.
“She ez ‘is Belle-mère.” Fleur answered with a knowing little smile to her sister, “Emma’s Mère”
“Ah… Merci.” Gabrielle replied only slightly blushing.
“What you say is true.” Sandra said to her daughter after smiling gently at Gabrielle.
“All the same I think I will organise someone to keep a close watch on Dave on that day, as well as the other dates we have worries about.” Sandra said the concern evident in her eyes.
“He has only started coming back out of his shell since Christmas. I don’t want him to be going backwards after all his hard work.” She said.
“Shell?” Gabrielle asked.
“After he lost Jimmy and Emma close together, he kind of just re-treated into himself for quite some time. My happy vibrant and fun loving little boy didn’t exist for several months.”
“During this time, we only got to see the professional Auror in him. Don’t get me wrong we are all VERY proud of his work with the Aurors and what he has done. But that is nothing but a candle in the wind to the pride and love we have for our little boy.”
“It wasn’t until Christmas when we were able to get him home with the whole family around him that we got to see the first re-emergence of our little boy again.”
“Since then it has been a slow process. Today was the first time since before Jimmy died that I have seen him play with his sisters like he used to.”
“I know that they have all been worried about him. Jasper was particularly worried. As after Jimmy she was the one he was always closest to.”
“That’s logical mum. They are the two youngest.” Andrea answered while Ginny had a little smile on her face.
“But don’t worry about Dave too much. He will be home by then, so he will have the whole family backing him up. Both old and new.” She said looking around at those of us in the room.
“We might be planning on ganging up on him to get the full story of the ‘Paris Incident’. But we will also be there for him if he needs us.” She said to her mum.
“I will certainly help however I can” I told my big sister and was rewarded with a wonderful smile from her.
The other ladies in the room voiced their support also.
“I may not be ‘is Famille but I would also like to ‘elp ‘ow ever I can.” Gabrielle said to Sandra with a shy smile.
“Thank you my dear. That means a great deal.” She replied smiling brightly at her, “Somehow I get the feeling that Dave won’t mind one bit if you are around to support him.” She said to Gabrielle who once more had to fight against her resurgent blush.
We all had a giggle at her response.
“I know that we keep on getting side tracked my dear. But please continue with your story.” Sandra asked her.
Gabrielle nodded her reply and then continued, “After he finished telling me about ‘is big scars, I asked about some of ze smaller ones. I then asked him about himself and ‘e asked me many questions about me.”
“We talked about a great many things. Eventually I relaxed more and more until I felt totally at ease.”
“’e zen again spoke to me about my injury and what needed to be done to fix it.”
“A few times I asked him to repeat and explain certain zings again as I didn’t really understand zem ze first time. Or even ze second time in a lot of cases.”
“I remember being nervous and a little frightened about all the zings zat ‘ad to be done to make me well again. But Dave seemed to ‘ave endless patients with me. ‘e wanted me to know, truly know what is was zat ‘e and ze others were going to do.”
“I zen asked if it was going to ‘urt at all. ‘e simply said yes.” She said with a nervous giggle.
“Good old blunt Dave” Andrea replied chuckling.
“It felt like we had talked for ‘ours and ‘ours but eventually I felt I ‘ad enough information about both Dave and what ‘e was going to try and do to feel comfortable about ze attempt.”
“Would it surprise you to know that to everyone else it was only a few minutes that you and Dave were engaged in that particular conversation.” Sandra told her.
Gabrielle seemed to be very surprised by that information, “How did you know?” Gabrielle asked.
“Shelly has given me some general details on what happened yesterday.” Sandra replied.
“Dave did tell you that communication in that manner was more efficient that normal conversation, didn’t he?” Sandra asked her.
“I zink ‘e did, but I wasn’t paying too much attention at ze start.” Gabrielle admitted with a rueful little smile, before she continued with her story.
“I told ‘im zat ‘e ‘ad my permission and blessing to try and save me.”
“Zis seemed to make Dave very ‘appy and ‘e bowed to me and said zank you. Zis I found a little odd, as I was ze one in need of saving.”
“Zen ‘e told me zat ‘e ‘ad to return to ze others to let zem know zat I ‘ad agreed to ‘elp. And, to make a start on ze attempt.”
“I ‘ad a small panic attack zen and asked ‘im to not leave me alone in ze dark.”
“’e replied zat ‘e would stay wiz me if I wished it. So I told ‘im zat I did wish it.”
“So ‘e did. ‘e was zere wiz me in ze dark ze whole time, standing beside me.” She said this with a smile, “I zen felt my famille join me zere as well. First Papa, zen Maman, and zen Fleur.”
“When each of you joined me I could feel your love, like it was almost a physical zing. A blanket I could wrap myself up in and nothing could stop me.”
When she said this the smiles on her parents and Fleur were like the new risen sun. It was very clear that they were very pleased that she could sense their presence.
“I remember Dave introducing ze others zat were zere to ‘elp me. Most of ze names were new to me so I ended up asking ‘im about zem. ‘e told me who zey were and zat zey ‘ad agreed to ‘elp me. When I understood zat we began.”
“Once zey began I could feel many different zings ‘appening at once. I could sense Bill standing between me and some dark beings like a protective big brother.” She smiled gratefully at Fleur as she said this and Fleur happily returned it.
“Bill seemed to be battling zose dark zings some ‘ow. Zey seemed to be afraid of ‘im also. I saw ‘im destroy some of zem before I was distracted by ze ozer zings zat were going on.”
“I could also feel shields of some sort go around certain parts of me. I couldn’t tell you which parts zey were on, but I did feel more comfortable once zat was done.”
“Dave zen told me zat he and Shelly were going to stop my ‘eart and lungs. ‘e asked me not to panic but to relax as zey would take over ze role of zose organs so zat ze knife Damage could be repaired.”
“I told him zat I was afraid, but ‘e told me zat he zought I was very brave and zat my family agreed with ‘im. I zen felt for my family and I could feel zeir unconditional love and support. Zis gave me ze strength to agree and to go on.”
“When zey stopped my ‘eart and lungs it was a very strange feeling to ‘ave no beating in my chest or movement in my lungs. But I could feel ze blood flowing in my body still and I did not feel like I was chocking. So, I thought whatever zey were doing must be working.”
“Next I remember Dave coming to me and asking me to grip ze knife zat was stuck in my chest and to begin to pull ze knife out.”
“I remember holding ze knife and starting to pull it out, but it hurt. I almost let go but I could feel my family willing me on so I tried again. It hurt a little less, but I was still a little frightened.”
“As ze knife began to move I could feel healing spells following very closely behind it. It was an odd feeling but strangely comforting as well.”
“At some point, I started to panic again, I remember reaching out and finding Dave’s hand and holding on to it. It was very comforting to me.” Sandra and Fleur both smiled at this statement.
“I could feel it when ze knife was removed from my lung. Zen zey started to focus on my heart. It was much ze same as before only I found zat I was squeezing Dave’s hand very tightly.”
“Ze whole time Dave was whispering in my ear. Telling me to listen to my family, about how much zey loved me and how zey (and ‘im) zought I was strong enough to get zrough zis.”
“It ‘elped a great deal. Wizout it I don’t know what would ‘ave ‘appened.”
“I could feel it get more and more difficult to pull ze knife out. At one point, I was worried zat ze knife might start to go back in. Zen Dave told me zat Mrs Weasley, Ginny and Hermione were ready to help me if I needed assistance. Once I knew zat I felt confident to try. When I focused, I could feel zem helping me, it made relax some more.”
“When ze knife was eventually removed, I could only describe it as a feeling of great relief. As zough a huge evil had been removed from me and a massive weight was off my chest.”
“After that I remember giving the knife to someone who took it away. Zen Dave’s face looked worried for a moment while ‘e said, ‘something isn’t right ‘ere’. Zat worried me for a moment until I looked into his eyes and he asked me to relax and zat ‘e was going to fix something zat was overlooked earlier.”
“’e closed his eyes like ‘e was concentrating very ‘ard and I could feel warmth in my chest again. Followed by a lot of tingling. I could swear that both Dave and my chest ‘ad started to glow, although zat seemed to be for only a moment.”
“Your chest did glow for a moment” Ginny answered.
“Pardon?” Gabrielle said.
“Just after they got the knife out of you and we could eventually rest, Dave then said, ‘Something isn’t right here’ and then he had his wand right over your heart. Your chest then looked like it was glowing from within for a few moments.” Ginny recalled.
“The next thing he said was ‘It’s all good now’ and then they got ready for the next step.”
“A few moments?” Andrea asked with a look of incredibility on her face, “Are you sure?”
“Very sure.” Ginny answered with a nod of her head.
“That’s incredible.” Andrea remarked to her mother, “If he could do that in a few moments he has definitely levelled up again. And by more than one or two levels at that.” She said with more than a trace of awe in her voice.
“You mentioned that he had done something like this before? How long did it take him then?” I asked Andrea
“Hours.” Was her reply.
We were all a little stunned by this.
“So, he has gone from needing a few hours and nearly killing himself to only taking a few moments?” Andrea asked her mother with a mixture of awe and worry.
“Something has changed. Something almost at a fundamental level” Sandra said with her face deep in thought.
“We are going to need to have a talk to him about this, and very soon. Hopefully before he over exhorts himself and does himself any serious harm.” Sandra said to no one in particular.
However, we all readily agreed that was the best action to take. Once Sandra realised that all the girls as well as Monsieur Delacour had agreed with her she had a small chuckle.
“You can add it to ze list of questions zat your Mari ‘as for ‘im.” Fleur said with a smile to Sandra.
“I think we must.” She answered, “Please Gabrielle continue.”
“After Dave ‘ad stopped glowing ‘e turned to look at me with very sad eyes. ‘e said zat we had now come to ze part zat ‘e ‘ad told me about before.”
“Ze part zat would be very painful. ‘e told me zat ‘e wished zat zere was anozer option available. As ‘e really didn’t want to ‘urt me.”
“I ‘eld both of ‘is ‘ands in mine and told ‘im zat I trusted ‘im and zat I ‘ad faith in ‘im to do ze right zing.”
“’e ‘ad tears in his eyes and ‘e apologized to me saying ‘I wish I knew of anozer way to do zis. I’m so very very sorry.’”
“I again told ‘im zat I trusted ‘im and told ‘im it was ok wiz me for ‘im to do what ‘e needed to do.”
“’e looked at me with ‘is big beautiful blue eyes and said ‘Zank you Gabrielle’. Before he put both of my hands on my chest and cast the spell.”
“When ‘e ‘ad cast ze spell it felt like my whole body was on fire. Ze pain was like nozing zat I ‘ad ever felt before. I wanted to scream more zan anyzing but I ‘ad no breath in my body.”
“’ow long I was like zat I do not know. But when ‘e reversed ze spell I could tell straight away zat it ‘ad worked.”
“As I felt so much better, ze fog in my mind was gone. Ze darkness in my vision was gone. Ze fear in my heart was gone. I felt so ‘appy.”
“I could not ‘elp myself I grabbed ‘im and ‘ugged ‘im and zen kissed ez cheeks. ‘e blushed so much, like ‘e was a little school boy who ‘ad never been kissed before. It was adorable.” She said with a giggle.
There was a chorus of giggles from the rest of us as well and many smiles at this.
“Once ‘e recovered from ‘is blushing” again she had a small giggle that we joined her in.
“’e told me that ‘e and Shelly were going to ‘elp me restart my ‘eart and breazing.”
“In order to do zis ‘e was going to ‘ave to ask my family to let go of me for a few moments. But not to fear as zey would be ack wiz me as soon as I was breathing on my own again and my ‘eart was working on its own again.”
“I told him zat I wouldn’t worry as ‘e was zere with me. Zis made ‘im blush all over again.” She laughed at the memory and it was a truly joyous sound.
“’e ‘ad me place my ‘ands on my chest again and close my eyes and relax.”
“I felt my family fade away from me. Zen Dave asked me ‘Are you ready?’ I told him Oui.”
“I ‘eard ‘im count down 3, 2, 1, zen zere was a jolt zrough me and Dave whispered to me breathe Gabrielle.”
“I could once again feel my heart beating and feel myself taking breath again.”
“When I opened my eyes again I could see Dave smiling at me and I felt so warm and ‘appy like I ‘ad never felt before.”
“Dave zen told me zat papa was going to give me something to ‘elp me ‘elp zem fight ze last curse zat had to be dealt wiz.”
“A moment later I felt what Dave had mentioned. It was a feeling of overwhelming love from my family, but it was far more personal zan before.”
“Zen I could feel ze rest of my family returning to me and it was wonderful.” She smiled to her family when she said this.
“Next I felt Bill and Dave start to battle ze dark shapes zat I had seen before. At first zey seemed to be doing well against zem. But eventually zey were starting to become overwhelmed.”
“I zen remember Bill saying ‘e might need some ‘elp. Looking over to where ‘e was I could see ‘im starting to become outnumbered by dark shapes.”
“I turned to Dave to ask what zey were. When I looked at ‘im I could see ‘is concern, but also ‘is respect and admiration for Bill.” She directed this comment to Fleur who seemed very happy to hear it.
“Dave called out to Bill saying ‘we are coming’ zen all of a sudden zere were two women zere with us.”
“We all quickly ‘eld ’ands and Dave told me to relax and trust ‘im, zen ‘e counted 3, 2, 1 and zey all became brilliant flame.”
“I soon noticed zat Bill and moi were also flames as well. We all advanced on on ze dark shapes zat were around Bill. Ze shapes appeared to try to run from us. But our flames were faster and ran zem down and burnt zem all, until zere was nothing left.”
“After zat Bill said, ‘It’s broken, it’s gone. It is done. She’s clean’. Bill smiled at me and zen Dave said Merci to ‘im for all his ‘elp.”
“’e also zanked ze ozer women as well. Zey all disappeared after zat.”
“Dave zen looked me in ze eyes and said ‘Merci for your ‘elp today. And well done wiz your efforts today also’.”
“He zen smiled at me again and said, ‘See I told you, you were strong and powerful enough to do zis’.” She had tears in her eyes when she said this. Not many of us had dry eyes either I can tell you.
“He zen ‘eld both my hands again and gave zem a gentle squeeze and told me to wake up as my family was waiting for me.”
“Ze next thing I knew I opened my eyes and saw maman and papa and Fleur and Bill. I zought zat I could still feel Dave holding my hands zough.”
“Zen I heard Dave say something and stumble and fall over.”
“My ‘eart nearly stopped again for a moment.”
“Yours wasn’t the only one to nearly stop Gabrielle.” I told her and there was a murmur of agreement around the room.
“But ‘e ez ok now zough?” Gabrielle asked her genuine concern showing.
“He certainly seems to be. But I definitely do want to have a talk to him.” Sandra said.
“Just as importantly Gabrielle, how are you feeling?” Sandra asked her watching intently for her answer.
“I feel fantastique. Really fantastique.” She said beaming at Sandra.
“That is great to hear Gabrielle.” Sandra told her to smiles from Gabrielle and her parents and Fleur.
“I do have one favour to ask of you though if I may.” Sandra asked.
“Of course ask away.” Gabrielle replied.
“Dave has shown a great deal of trust in you, with both how he communicated with you, along with whatever he may have told you about himself.”
“All I ask is that you please honour his trust and faith in you.” Sandra asked her.
“Oui. I can do zat for ‘im” Gabrielle answered her with a brilliant smile.
“Thank you, Gabrielle. Thank you very much indeed.” Sandra answered.
“Unfortunately, both my boys have had to deal with betrayal in the past. Rather public betray at that also.”
“They both work very hard to stay out of the spot light. So, it is doubly painful for them when that is the reason for them to end up in the papers yet again.” Sandra said with her heart in her eyes.
“Do not worry Madame Webb, I will never betray your son.” Gabrielle said with some steel showing in her voice.
“I believe you Gabrielle. Thank you for this.”
“Oh, and Gabrielle, please call me Sandra.” She requested as she stood and warmly embraced Gabrielle.
“Now let’s go outside and see what those boys of ours have been up to shall we?” she said to a now blushing Gabrielle.
Madame and Monsieur Delacour led the procession of us all out to the backyard. I could see Dave (as himself again) and Arthur walking rather quickly over to the house so I was curious to find out what had happened.
Monsieur Delacour was the first to reach Dave, and he embraced him fiercely and kissed him on both cheeks. He thanked him profusely for all that he had done for his daughter and then hugged and kissed him again.
Needless to say, Dave was thoroughly confused by this and the look on his face was priceless. I think it was this expression that sealed his fate with the rest of us girls.
Madame Delacour was the next to reach Dave and she repeated the process of hugs and kisses and she also thanked Dave again.
Sandra was next and Dave even managed to squeak out a simple “Mum?” before she also embraced him and kissed his cheeks.
Andrea followed suit, although she was clearly displaying an evil grin to her little brother. After hugging and kissing him she passed him off to me. I also gave Dave a big hug and kissed his cheeks before passing him off to Ginny.
Ginny was quite a bit shorter than Dave but she also managed to throw her arms around him and hugged him and kissed his cheeks as well. She then passed him onto Hermione who did the same before passing him over to Fleur.
Fleur displayed a strength I hadn’t seen from her before when she hugged Dave and gave him another set of kisses on his cheeks. She also looked into his eyes and saw genuine confusion as to what was going on and she couldn’t contain her laugh at his predicament.
None the less she passed him onto Gabrielle who, had she been any more enthusiastic in her hug I would have had to say that she was trying to attack him. She gave him a fierce and full hug which Dave seemed to enjoy as he returned her hug more fully than any of the others.
Gabrielle then relaxed her embrace and planted two very French kisses onto Dave’s now flaming cheeks. She then pulled back and looked deeply into his eyes. Dave was still displaying that adorable look he has when he is really confused. But when he realised that Gabrielle still had her arms around him he started to smile at her.
She must have liked what she saw in that smile as she pulled him down and planted a very deliberate kiss on Dave’s lips. Not even the cat calls, wolf whistles and cheers from those who witnessed the scene was enough to break through to them.
It was only when Dave’s legs gave way under him and they both fell over with Gabrielle on top of Dave did she release him.
If Dave had looked stunned before it was nothing to how he looked now. Gabrielle seemed to be greatly enjoying her effect on Dave as she was merrily laughing at the poor boys confusion. While very happily still laying on top of him.
Eventually Dave made it up onto his elbows and managed to find his voice, “What was all that for?” he asked her.
Gabrielle also seemed to be a little out of breath but she eventually replied, “For being you.”
She then burst into peels of silvery laughter at Dave’s reaction. All the other girls also could no longer contain themselves either, and ended up joining in.
Sandra eventually took pity on poor Dave and came over to help Dave and Gabrielle to their feet.
Dave turned to his mom obviously hoping for an explanation. However, she refused to provide one at that time. Prolonging his confusion seemed to be her agenda for now.
“Mum, can you tell me what’s going on?” he almost pleaded.
“No. No, I can’t” she replied to her son while unsuccessfully containing her giggles.
“I will leave that up to Gabrielle. When she’s ready of course that is.” Sandra said while smiling at the two of them.
Dave looked over to Gabrielle and implored her with his eyes for an answer. But she only smiled back at him and said, “We will talk later, when we can ‘ave some privacy.”
Of course, this only had Dave even more confused.
Arthur eventually stepped in and spoke up, “Sandra we have come to find you to seek your assistance with Gawain. As he appears to be under an Imperious Curse currently.”
“Dave mentioned that you might be able to help us lift it enough so that he will be able to fool the one who cast it on him. While being able to function unimpeded.”
“Yes, I do believe that I can assist with that Arthur.” She replied.
“Let me collect my rather confused son and I will join you presently.” She answered him as she went to retrieve Dave.
“Excuse me Gabrielle, but I need to borrow this rather confused little fellow for a few moments.” She said with a cheeky little smile to Gabrielle.
“I promise to return him to you shortly in good working order.” She added with an almost evil glint in her eye.
“You are welcome to ‘borrow’ ‘im Sandra.” Gabrielle replied returning the glint in Sandra’s eyes.
“But please return ‘im shortly as I ‘ave many zings I would like to discuss wiz ‘im. At length.” She said unleashing a devastating smile upon poor Dave who stood no chance in his currently confused state.
“Thank you my dear” Sandra answered and put her arm through Dave’s and lead him away to his tent.
Chapter 17: Bait and Switch
Almost as soon as Dave was out of sight Fleur, Hermione and Ginny descended onto Gabrielle and were bombarding her with questions.She seemed very happy to answer them and I think that they were enjoying the answers also judging from all the giggling that was going on.
Not wanting to intrude on them and sure in the knowledge that Fleur would provide me with the details later (I could see that Madame Delacour was also directing a similar questioning look to Fleur) I headed over to where the rest of the family was sat at the tables.
The conversation had now apparently changed to places in Australia that they would like to try and visit while we were going to be there.
Ivan saw me approach and asked me if I had any places that I would like to see “Down Under” as he called it. The question surprised me more than a little, as my focus had been to try and spend as much time as I could with my newly discovered sister.
When I told this to Ivan he didn’t seem overly surprised at it. He asked me about what I liked to do for fun and what I found interesting in terms of activities. From this he made a few suggestions.
While this most enjoyable conversation was going on we all became aware of Dave’s team all racing to their own tents only to emerge a short while later dressed in what Ivan called their “work clothes”. These seemed to be for the most part what looked like Muggle clothing.
It looked to me like they were in black trousers, boots, shirts and ties. With this they also had on some strange belts much like the one that Dave wore previously.
As Mick went past with a quick wave I noticed him tuck two of those Gun things into his belt as well as his wand. I could also see some silvery metal thigs on one side of his belt and was looked to be a short metal stick and a can of something.
They then quickly disappeared onto Dave’s tent.
I asked Ivan about the strange belt that they all seemed to be wearing and said it was called a ‘utility belt’ and held various tools for easy access. It was apparently modelled on what the Muggle Policemen used. Dave’s team frequently appeared as Policemen to Muggles as part of their duties so they had ‘borrowed’ several useful things from them.
Ivan then got up and excused himself and went over to Dave’s tent. On a whim, I followed him. I noticed that the boys came along as well.
Entering the tent, I noticed that they were all focused on a map of the local area. They appeared to be discussing a plan to capture some ‘watchers’ as they called them.
From what I could gather now that they had rendered the Imperious Curse that was on Gawain ineffective they were aiming to capture the watchers who had been assigned to keep an eye on him.
The plan seemed to be for Kingsley, Arthur and Dave (‘dressed’ as Gawain) to go back to the Ministry and then head their separate ways. Kingsley and Arthur were to Apparate to a few different locations quickly and then come to The Burrow where they would then make for Stoatshead Hill.
Dave’s team were going to position themselves around Stoatshead Hill and configure some sort of trap.
Dave on the other hand was going to allow these watchers to ‘capture’ him and allow them to find out where he was going as he left the ministry after the other two.
Once he arrived at Stoatshead Hill the trap would be sprung. The captives would then be sent to a safe location in France and secured for questioning by some members of Dave’s team who specialised in it.
The rest of the team would come back here. Gawain would then be escorted to France to see his wife.
Once the plan was made known my boys (who had indeed sneaked into Dave’s tent) volunteered to come along and assist.
Dave looked to be about to object but then he considered the looks in the eyes of Harry, Ron, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill and saw there a fierce desire to help. He nodded his approval and this seemed to be accepted by his team.
“I must be honest and say that while I’m glad of the extra help I’m also a little apprehensive about this.” He said in a very calm but commanding voice. Seeing objections about to rise on the other he held up his hand for quiet.
“I do not mean to question your skills and abilities. My concern is more around methods and the different sort of approach that we use.”
“If you do come long I only ask that you follow the lead of the group leader that you are assigned to. As while this team is very democratic in many things, when in the field on an operation it is rather different.”
“Agreed?” he asked all assembled.
Getting a chorus of “yes” from everyone he then got things organised.
“First thing is to get you all kitted out with some armour and tools.” Dave offered.
“Armour?” Harry asked.
“Yes Armour. It’s not widely used here in Europe as I understand, certainly the Germans and French like to make fun of us for using it almost routinely. But it only takes one time for it to save you from a stunner or a cutting curse to change your mind.”
With this he grabbed a garment that had been hanging on the back of one of the many bookshelves in his tent.
“This is what we most commonly wear” he said as he showed us the garment he had just grabbed, it looked a bit like a set of long legged and armed PJs. He tossed it to Harry who looked at it in confusion.
“I understand your confusion Harry, but believe me that will stop the effect of just about anything this side of an unforgiveable.”
“It is made from Bunyip fur and despite its appearance it is very comfortable.”
“At long last.” Fireball said with a giggle.
“Yes, I know some of the early versions felt like you were wearing sandpaper. But thankfully Jackie was able to work out the best way to prepare the material.” Dave explained with a smile.
“The material breathes very well so you will not get too hot while wearing it. However, if you decide to apply a cooling or warming charm to it you will find that the garments will hold that charm for a long time.”
“Bunyips are very magical creatures; they can change their size and shape at will. So, if you find the sizing not quite right simply apply a light engorgement or shrinking charm to it.”
“If you do get hit by a stunner or a cutting curse or similar while wearing these you will still feel the physical impact of the spell hitting you. However, you will not experience the effects. Thus, a cutting curse may make a mess of your clothes and leave you with some impressive bruises. But you will not be cut. Unless you get hit somewhere that is not covered.”
“Give me a moment and I will get some more of them.”
Dave then went into his bedroom and returned with sets of clothes. These he gave out to Ron, Charlie, Bill, Kingsley, Arthur, Percy and George. Harry had already been given a set.
“Go and get those on quickly. I still need to get changed myself so you have a few moments.”
“Team, can you show them all where they can get changed?” Dave asked.
“Charlie, you can come with me to my tent” Cassy called to him with a rather cheeky grin.
Charlie seemed a little surprised by the offer but he readily agreed to accompany her.
“Don’t damage him Cassy, we need him in working order for this. He is also our only Dragon Keeper and he might be able to help keep some dangerous females in line after as well.” Dave said with a chuckle and shake of his head as he disappeared into his own room.
“So, you’re the Dragon Keeper Dave mentioned yesterday.” Cassy remarked with a smile as she linked her arm with Charlie’s and lead him away. “I’m sure you have all sorts of ‘interesting stories’ that you can share with me.”
I noticed that the door to his room didn’t shut fully and Gabrielle ‘conveniently’ chose the only seat in the tent with a view into Dave’s room.
She was very subtle in the way she kept watch on his room. But her occasional blushes gave her away somewhat.
No one said anything about her activities though. I did notice Fleur Keeping an eye on her sister with a knowing smile on her face.
In a short time, Dave was back in the main room of his tent, although he still seemed to be in the process of getting dressed. Gabrielle in particular didn’t mind the fact that he was still struggling into his Bunyip fur top. She didn’t offer to help him though as I guess she was enjoying ‘the view’.
Eventually Dave got his top on and then went to put on that rather strange vest he had on yesterday. While he was doing it up Ivan spoke up and asked him, “How did you come up with that contraption Dave?”
“This?” Dave said pointing to his vest.
“Yes” Ivan answered.
“I got the idea when Jimmy did his rotation with the A.F.P. a few years back and he was showing me the body armour that they used to protect against muggle weapons like Knives and Bullets.”
“The Bunyip fur is very effective against spells but not so much against projectile or edged weapons. So, I did some research into how the muggles made their armour and how magical armour used to be made.”
“I then tried several different types of materials but nothing was much good against both types of attack. Not unless you wanted it so thick that you couldn’t wear it. Let alone conceal it.”
“Then one day I was visiting with Mick and had a good chat with his dad about what I was trying to do. He suggested trying Bunyip scales. As they are naturally resilient to spells. Given that they are also very hard they promised good defence against projectiles as well.”
“The catch with Bunyip scales as you know, is that they tend to ‘die’ if you collect them off the ground. Even if you have permission from the Bunyips to do so.”
“Permission?” Arthur asked as he re-entered the room still tucking his shirt in.
“Oh yes. You don’t go collecting Bunyip fur or scales without their knowledge and permission. You may not be seen ever again if you tried that.” Dave explained.
“We worked at it for a while but couldn’t ever find a way to collect the scales without them very quickly dying. Emma happened to mention this to Mick’s Great Aunt one day. Most likely out of sheer frustration at all the effort that we had spent on this problem so far.”
“Mick’s Great Aunt then took Emma to the Bunyip mob near her place and showed her what she called ‘the trick’ that was needed to successfully collect the scales.”
“Well what was it?” Ivan asked a little frustrated at his son.
“You can’t collect the scales for yourself. You can only collect them for someone else. Furthermore, to successfully collect them you must first tell the Bunyips who you are collecting them for and why.”
“The Bunyips will then question you about the person who you wish the scales for.”
“If they deem that person worthy and that you have an honest love for them and an honest desire to keep them safe. They will then tell you which scales you can successfully collect.” Dave blushed slightly at this statement.
“Depending on the time of year that you go up to see them, it can take multiple trips to collect enough to make a vest like this. But much like the other garments it readily changes size and shape once made. Which is very useful for me.” Dave added.
“Did Emma collect ze scales for your vest?” Fleur asked.
“Yes. She did.” Dave said and you could see his heart in his eyes when he said it. “It was her wedding present to me. She had apparently been collecting them for a while. As she couldn’t go very often or stay too long when she went up to where the Bunyips are.”
You could see all the girls (even his sisters) with moist eyes as he explained the story.
“Once we had them we needed to work out a way to attach them to a vest. They couldn’t be put on with a sticking charm as it just bounced off the scale. In the end, we found that we could ‘drill’ a hole in the corner of the scales if we were careful enough.”
“Then once we had a hole in the scale they could be attached much like the muggles did with their leaf armour in the Middle Ages.”
“Jackie attached the scales for me.”
“It took her 4 months of solid work to make this one for me. Although she thinks she has the trick of it by now and could do it much quicker next time.”
“Then just after New Years, she gave me the completed vest. It has proven to be very useful and highly effective.”
“It was even able to stop a Cruciatus Curse that that bloody dipstick Nott tried to put on me. He was rather surprised when it didn’t work” Dave chuckled.
“What did you do to him?” Ron asked.
Dave smiled a thoroughly evil looking grin and replied, “Not much really. Disarmed him, tied him up and then threw him in a cell.”
Ron seemed a little disappointed with this until Shelly piped up and said, “You forgot to mention that you ‘accidently’ forgot to open the cell door before you threw him in.” with a similar smirk on her face.
“We all make mistakes” Dave answered with a look of feigned innocence.
“Yeah but three times in a row?” Fireball exclaimed to the general laughter of the room. Dave could only shrug by way of answering. He seemed to be struggling to maintain his false air of innocence.
Dave was by now finally dressed in his ‘work clothes’ although he hadn’t yet done up his tie that was still sitting lose in his collar.
He next got out several of the belts that his team were wearing. These he placed on the table and called everyone around to ‘walk them through’ the belts.
“These are our ‘utility belts’ as we call them. We have modelled them on the belts worn by the Muggle coppers as they are a good basic design.”
“Each belt holds two modified muggle pistols. This one” he indicated the one sitting on the left “holds ammunition intended for use against Dementors. Just like was used yesterday.”
“The other one holds standard steel tipped rounds. Both pistols have magazines that are magically enlarged to hold 50 rounds and there is a spare magazine for each pistol as well.”
“Today we will hopefully not be needing these as we are aiming to capture people for questioning. However, the ‘usual rule’ applies. Safety first. If your safety or a team members’ safety is at risk, use the appropriate tool to remove or neutralise that risk.”
“These are port key hand cuffs” he held up the shiny objects that I had seen on Mick’s belt before.
“When applied to a subject’s wrist they will activate and transport the person wearing them to our facility in France where our interrogation and intelligence team is located.”
“When you apply the hand cuffs you have two seconds to let go or you will follow your prisoner. When applying them to a prisoner place their hands behind their backs with their wrists at their waist and then snap the cuffs on.”
“Ideally you will have your assigned partner(s) with you to get this done.”
“The other items are a tactical baton” he held up a small metal object.
“With a flick of a wrist like this” he flicked his wrist and the metal object extended to the length of his forearm, “the baton will extend and it is ready for use. It is designed as a blunt clubbing weapon.”
“These batons differ from muggle ones as they will greatly multiply the force used with them. Very useful if you find yourself up against a troll or a small giant. Or if you need to make a new door and can’t use explosives or magic to achieve it.”
“Or an overly large ‘little brother’” Fireball said while fixing Dave with a grin.
“Only if you could catch me Fireball” Dave laughed at her.
“This canister has a spray inside it that is very effective against werewolves and even vampires to a degree. It will also stop a normal person in their tracks as well.”
“When spraying it try not to point it into the wind or you will get to ‘enjoy it’ as well.” He remarked.
“That is the load out we will be carrying today. There is a holster on the belt that will securely hold your wand as well if you desire to use it.”
“The wand holster is charmed to be accessible through your clothing. It will also only allow the person who inserts the wand to remove it.”
“The only exception being someone who is wearing a ‘recognised talisman’. Unfortunately, we don’t have time right now to make any of those for you.”
“Are there any questions on any of that? I know it was very brief but we are on the clock here and need to move soon.”
There we no major questions so they were all soon putting on their belts except for Arthur and Kingsley who needed to go into the Ministry and might be a little conspicuous wearing them. Dave apparently had rather unique ways of hiding his belt from detection so he still wore his one.
Ear pieces like we had worn yesterday were given out next. Dave’s team already had their own but the rest were given a fresh set to use.
Dave established what he called a ‘comms link’ to Drunkmouse and he had a map displayed of Stoatshead Hill up on that big black thing above his fireplace. It was apparently a modified Muggle device called a TV. Dave promised to demonstrate its ‘proper use’ later tonight after dinner.
Once established Dave asked Drunkmouse to let the ‘Hôtel de France’ know that they were to be expecting guests soon.
“Ok now is the time for the part that everyone ‘loves’ the team assignments” Dave said with a smile.
“We will group into teams of three. With three teams in relatively close and another three teams placed further back.”
“I fully expect the two ‘watchers’ to Apparate basically right next to me. But I have a feeling that there will be another team who will be watching them but not as closely.”
“So, the inner team will focus on whoever appears with me, while the other teams will keep an eye out for anyone who appears further out.”
“Ok Inner teams will be, Team one: Shelly, Cassy and Ron. Shelly, you take charge of that group and overall charge of the inner teams”
Getting a nod from Shelly, Dave continued, “Team two will be Fireball, Mick and Harry. Fireball you will look after that team.”
“Team three will be Goose, Izzy and Bill. Goose you will look after that team but if our ‘friends’ drop anything let Bill examine it and follow his advice.”
“The outer teams will be. Team four: Rowdy, Guz and Charlie. Rowdy you will look after them and the other teams in the outer group.”
“Team five will be Jono, Olly, Kingsley and Arthur. Jono, you will look after them. And both you and Olly best keep those two safe or we will all be in trouble” Dave said to laughter from all assembled.
“Team six will be Abby, Mr P and George. Abby, you will look after them.”
“We will have a reserve team back here consisting of, Chief Williams, Molly, Fleur and Gawain if he feels up to it.” Dave said with a look over to Gawain who while he appeared to still be rather shaken still seemed eager to participate.”
“The rest of you are to guard the Burrow and assist with any communication required.”
“Any questions so far?” Dave asked.
When no one spoke, he quipped, “I must be getting better at this in my ‘old age’”. This brought about some laughter from the group.
“Once we are done here, those of you going to Stoatshead hill get moving. Ready your groups and make sure you all know where the others are. Also ‘map’ the area so the ‘bad guys’ will be highlighted on the tactical displays.”
“Olly once your position is worked out get back here so you can take Arthur and Kingsley to it once they arrive.”
“Rowdy, Guz and Abby once everyone is established and Olly has left to come back here I want you lot to put up one of your special ‘one way shields’ to let people Apparate in but not out ok?” he asked.
“No worries Skipper” Rowdy replied to the surprise of the room.
“See I told you he could talk” Jono remarked to Mick who just rolled his eyes while the rest of Dave’s team laughed at their inside joke.
Seeing that Ron had raised his hand Dave motioned for him to speak, “How many people are we expecting to be following you?”
“Anywhere between 2 and 6 would be a realistic expectation. Any more than that and it becomes too difficult to co-ordinate them all unless they have proper comms gear and someone co-ordinating them.”
“Oh ok. So that means we have 19 people to take on 6? Doesn’t really seem fair, does it?” Ron asked.
“Fair?” Dave remarked with a smile playing about his lips, “I’m not interested in fair. I’m interested in keeping my team, family and those working with us safe.” He said in a serious tone of voice.
“Oh I guess it makes sense then.” Ron remarked a little disappointed.
Laughing Dave replied, “Ron you are adorable. But unfortunately, fair play is rarely part of our job. The people we are after will not hesitate to hurt others to get away.”
“So, whenever we can we plan on giving them no option to do so.” Dave answered.
“If you want fair combat, you are in the wrong job. The bad guys almost always out number us.”
“Fair is what happens in the Olympics.” He said smiling at Ron.
“What’s the Olympics?” Ron said confused.
“It’s a muggle sporting event held every four years. But we can talk about that later.” Dave answered.
“Is there anything else before we get going?” He asked.
At this Gabrielle got up and walked over to Dave. She put her hand on his shoulder and turned him around. She then reached up for his tie to straighten it.
But as she did so Dave started to look worried, but before he could say or do anything his tie had wrapped around Gabrielle’s wrists binding them together.
Gabrielle had a look of such surprise on her face that Dave couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.
“Sorry about that.” He said with a smile, “it is a protective charm to stop people from trying to use our ties to choke us or worse.”
By now the others had seen what had happened to Gabrielle and had joined in the laughter.
Fleur however walked over and said in a soft wicked little voice, “It’s a bit early to start something so kinky, isn’t it?”
Gabrielle blushed and laughed at her sister’s comment, while looking at the floor. Dave however looked confused for a few moments before a look of horror crossed his face and he quickly removed the tie from Gabrielle’s wrist. While he was doing this his cheeks were almost glowing red.
By the time, he had the tie removed from Gabrielle’s wrists she was looking up at him with a small smile. She then put her arms around him and gave him a hug (which he returned). She then kissed his cheeks. Followed by one more on his lips ‘for luck’ as she called it.
“You’re getting better at that” came Fireball’s voice from the doorway.
“A little birdy told me that last time she did that to you. She cut your legs right out from under you.” Fireball commented with an evil smirk on her face. Andrea, Shelly and Cassy were wearing similar expressions.
Dave glanced over to see his sisters and cousin all smirking at him. He didn’t however remove his arms from around Gabrielle.
Turning back to Gabrielle he placed his forehead against hers and remarked, “My fair lady Gabrielle, will you help protect me from those evil witches yonder?”
At this comment, he and Gabrielle both burst out into laughter and embraced again.
Fireball seemed a little disappointed that her brother hadn’t risen to the bait. But the smile on her face changed just enough to indicate that she was happy for her ‘little’ brother. Her sisters and cousin were wearing similar smiles also.
The rest of us also had a chuckle at the exchange and going from their smiles they also approved and were happy for the couple that seemed to be getting off to a good start before our eyes.
Ivan the stepped forward and cleared this throat noisily to get Dave attention, “You need to get dressed and get moving.” He said to his son.
“Yes dad.” Dave replied. He quickly squeezed Gabrielle once more in a hug that she seemed to fully enjoy if her smile was an indication.
Dave then crossed over to Gawain and shook hands with him after getting his approval to ‘dress’ as him. He then changed into Gawain and crossed to the door in his tent that he used for travelling.
Kingsley and Arthur met him at the door and together they went through it, back into Kingsley’s office. The door was then pulled closed behind them.
Once the door was closed the map on the TV (as Dave called it) changed to show the dots that were forming up around Stoatshead Hill and three dots in London.
A few moments after they left we could hear the voices of the three of them as they left Kingsley office and split up. Not long after that the dots indicating Kingsley and Arthur appeared at a few random points on the map before they once again entered Dave’s tent.
Olly joined them shortly after their arrival.
“Dave said he is going to head down to the café in the Atrium and get something to eat quickly. He hopes that this will give us about 10 minutes to get things ready at the other end.” Kingsley informed us. As he and Arthur both grabbed a ‘utility belt’ each and put them on along with their ear pieces.
Just as he was turning to leave Fireball’s voice sounded out saying, “Someone is trying to use the Imperious Curse on Dave. The protective charms are holding it at bay though.”
Everyone instantly went quiet while Ivan replied, “Does he know who it is and what are they wanting him to do?”
“It is someone in a set of Wizengamot robes. He doesn’t recognise them but he has gotten a good look at them and can produce an image for you later. He appears to be a rather dumpy person with a large black moustache, is the best description Dave can give right now.” Fireball answered.
“It’s a good start” Ivan answered making a note of this information, “What is he wanting Dave to do?”
“He is wanting Gawain/Dave to tell him about the meeting with Arthur and Kingsley.” Fireball replied.
“Dave is telling this person that they were discussing a potential witness who has information on the whereabouts of several known Death Eaters who are still at large.”
“He is also passing along to them that this person with the information will not divulge it until they are guaranteed immunity from prosecution.”
“He is now telling him that he is on the way to a ‘meet’ with this person to formally accept their offer of help and agree to their terms. As well as to place them into witness protection.”
“This appears to be making this bloke in the Wizengamot robes very nervous.” Fireball informed us all.
“Is he giving Dave any instructions?” Ivan asked.
After a few moments, Fireball again answered.
“Dave is being told to wait at the Apparition point for three minders who will accompany him to this meet.” She answered.
“Heads up all. Dave will be inbound with a minimum of three targets to your location.” Ivan broadcast.
“Acknowledged” came the reply from Shelly.
The sets of dots around Stoatshead hill changed slightly in position. After a few minutes, there came a call of “Apparating!”
This was very quickly followed by a call of “DOWN!” followed by a chorus of voices yelling “Stupify”. While this was happening, the screen was showing the arrival of Dave and his three ‘minders’ as well as another team of three further out from the main group.
This second group had the misfortune to land almost directly in front of Rowdy, Guz and Charlie. They very quickly dispatched them and their markers soon changed to red X’s.
The three who arrived with Dave were also unlucky. They had spread out to ensure that Gawain/Dave was surrounded by them. This only placed them almost directly in front of each of the teams that was lying in wait for them.
They too quickly changed to be represented by red X’s on the map.
Not long after this there were several calls of ‘Cuffed’ and the red X’s disappeared from the map. Soon after there was a notice from the ‘Hôtel de France’ acknowledging the arrival of 6 guests who were being prepared for interrogation and accommodation.
Dave and his team along with my boys, Kingsley and Arthur returned shortly afterwards. They all had grins on their faces from the successful completion of the mission.
Dave quickly crossed to the kitchen and grabbed a tray and a jug of water. He brought them back to the table and then put the tray down and filled it with water.
He quickly calmed the water and then concentrated for a moment. Waving his hands over the water a face appeared in it of a rather dumpy looking person with a large black moustache who was wearing a set of Wizengamot robes.
“That’s who was trying to put the imperious curse on me. Does anyone recognise him?” Dave asked us all.
Harry was the first to look at the image, “I don’t know his name but he is definitely a member of the Wizengamot. As he was at my trial for use of underage magic.” He said with a frown while he was trying to recall the name.
“What sort of underage magic did you do?” Dave asked with a questioning look.
“I blew up my Aunt” Harry replied with a sheepish look.
“WHAT!!!” Dave exclaimed. “How did you not end up in Azkaban for that?”
Harry looked rather startled at Dave’s reaction until Hermione stepped in, “He means blew up as in ‘inflated’ not ‘exploded’.” She said with a smile at Dave’s startled expression and Harry’s confused one.
“Ohhh… ok. That makes more sense now.” Dave remarked, “I had trouble reconciling the hero of the wizarding world here with the thought of him casually blowing up his Aunt.” Dave said with a sheepish grin.
“Hey, I’m not the hero of the wizarding world.” Harry protested.
“Really?” Dave asked him, “Is he a Hero to you?” Dave asked Ginny, who was struggling to hold back a grin at Harry being put on the spot.
“Always.” Ginny replied giving in to her grin and battering her eye lashes at Harry in an imitation of Dave’s earlier effort.
“Ok. Hero of the wizarding world it is then. Until new evidence comes to light.” Dave replied with the same off-hand manner he used on his sisters to great effect.
Harry meanwhile was rather confused about the whole exchange and unsure about what it meant. Sandra quickly walked up to Harry and whispered something into Harry’s ear that seemed to remove some of that confusion.
I could make out her saying “Later” to him. It sounded like a more interesting conversation was to continue later. I would have to see if I can be around when it occurred.
“Anyone else recognise him?” Dave asked.
Kingsley finally made his way through the crowd to look at the image in the water.
“Eldon Wigworthy.” He said confidently.
“Wigworthy?” George remarked with a snigger. “That Wig he’s wearing isn’t very worthy if you ask me.” He said before his laughter got the better of him.
“Excellent. Let’s go and collect him, then shall we?” Dave said enthusiastically.
“Collect him?” Kingsley asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Pick him up and throw him in an interrogation room and start asking him some questions.” Dave remarked.
“You just can’t go and throw Wizengamot members into interrogation with no cause.” Kingsley said rather stiffly.
“No cause?” Dave questioned, “The bloody galah performed an imperious curse on me. He has obviously performed it before on Gawain also.”
“He attempted to interfere with what he thought was a witness that was coming forwards to offer evidence in exchange for protection.”
“They seem like pretty bloody good reasons to pick the wanker up.” Dave said a little heatedly to Kingsley.
“You can’t treat Wizengamot members like they are common criminals…” Kingsley was trying to say when Dave cut across him.
“Ok so he is an un-common criminal then.” He said with his frustration on display. I could feel that Dave’s team agreed with him.
“They have rights, Dave. Protections under the law.” Kingsley tried to explain.
“That must be such a comfort to them. Wish I knew what that felt like.” Was Dave’s rather devastating answer.
Kingsley was caught by surprise by this response and it clearly showed. He tried to speak a few times but nothing came out.
“For any ‘common criminal’ what we have already is more than enough for them to be brought in for a chat. What is so different with this joker? Other than his job?” Dave asked Kingsley with a very intense look in his eyes.
“You see, it is a very serious matter to accuse a Wizengamot member of such behaviour.” Kingsley tried to explain.
“As opposed to say using an unforgivable curse on your Head Auror?” Dave asked clearly not backing down.
When this got no response from Kingsley, Dave continued.
“Ok, forget for a moment that he used an unforgiveable curse on an outcast like me,” Dave remarked casually, and in that one statement, you could clearly see the hurt in him that he felt in being excluded from the Magical society.
The others also seemed to pick up on that statement as you could see them flinch at the mention of it.
“Under what conditions is it legal to cast an unforgiveable on the head Auror and try to force them to divulge the subject of a closed meeting with the Director of MLE as well as the Minister of Magic?” Dave asked.
“I can’t think of any.” Kingsley replied.
“Ok. How about interfering with witness protection?” Dave asked.
“Or about being involved in the kidnapping of the pregnant wife of a Ministry Employee to use as leverage in getting them to comply with your wishes?” Dave asked even more intently.
“Ok you have made your point. Auror Webb.” Kingsley replied in exasperation.
“If we move against a Wizengamot member and it turns out we were wrong there will be serious repercussions involved.”
“Any more serious than them already behaving like they are above the law?” Dave asked Kingsley.
“Dave. Just what are you planning?” Ivan asked his son in an almost formal tone of voice.
“Nothing that wasn’t in the proposal I sent to you back in Feb.” Dave answered still with his eyes on Kingsley.
“Which proposal? You have sent quite a few since then. It is rather difficult to keep track of them all.” Ivan answered to the confusion of all in the room.
“The one about ‘bag limits’” Dave answered turning to face his father.
Ivan’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought that you were joking about that one.” Ivan replied shocked.
“Why would I joke about something like that? You told me to follow this where ever it went. And it went to that mob of archaic bureaucrats.”
“The laws I listed in that proposal are valid and can be applied to them without restriction.” Dave answered.
“But you won’t get the support from the required governments.” Ivan countered.
“Want to bet on that one?” Dave asked his father with a very predatory grin.
“You haven’t?” He asked his son.
“Just about.” Dave replied, “I have secured the sign off and approval of the Magical Governments of, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Russia and Switzerland.”
“Currently missing the French Ministry’s approval but their Minister has been ill and off work. He is back in the office next week and I have an appointment to see him on Monday morning.” Dave explained.
Ivan was shocked. Everyone else was clearly confused about what they were discussing.
“Just what are you working on Auror Webb?” Kingsley asked.
“He is planning on arresting the entire Wizengamot.” Ivan answered to the surprise and shock of everyone present.
“Are you mad?” Kingsley almost screamed at Dave.
“Apparently not. Otherwise the legal divisions of those governments wouldn’t have agreed with me.” Dave answered very calmly.
“Just what do you intend to charge them with?” Kingsley asked.
“Crimes against humanity. For starters.” Dave answered.
“Who is the arresting power going to be? I can’t see the Australian Magical Parliament being able to enforce such an arrest.” Kingsley said in disbelief
“You could be right on that. Thankfully I proposed a different organisation.” Dave responded.
“Who?”
“The International Confederation of Wizards.” Dave replied.
The emotions running through Kingsley were very interesting to watch. He went from outright anger and disbelief to cool professional politician then finally his Auror side seemed to win out and he started to laugh.
Eventually he was almost in hysterics at the thought of the entire Wizengamot being clamped in cuffs and marched off to The Hague.
Arthur was also very confused at this turn of events but as he began to grasp the idea behind Dave’s plan he too couldn’t resist succumbing to laughter.
Eventually Kingsley got himself under control enough to look at Dave with clearly demonstrated admiration in his eyes.
“I must say Auror Webb, you are indeed as dangerous and resourceful as your file indicated you to be.” Kingsley said with a broad smile on his face as he looked down at this young man who had just seemed to grow even more in Kingsley estimation of him.
“Minister, it is a very rare and resourceful and forceful son you have here. You should be very proud of him.” Kingsley said to Ivan.
“Thank you Minister. We are rather proud of him, and his team.” Ivan said looking with pride at his son and the members of his team that were gathered there.
“He is a bit of a handful at times, and you do need to be careful when you turn him loose. As he tends to keep at a problem or a target until it is dealt with.”
“I didn’t realise how far he and Jimmy would take this when I arranged to send them here. But they do appear to be doing their usual thorough job. And living up to their Units Motto and history.” He said smiling at them all.
“What would their Units Motto be?” Kingsley asked.
Ivan simply looked over to Dave with a raised eyebrow. Dave immediately snapped to attention and called out: “We are the light in the darkness” he bellowed with a smile, the rest of his team also snapped to attention at almost precisely the same moment and responded with: “And a shield of the weak.” After which they all yelled “Oohrah!”
If they were not all smiling I would have been worried. As it was slightly intimidating.
Kingsley seemed to be impressed at the response.
“I’m certainly glad that they are on our side.” He remarked to Arthur with a large smile.
“So am I Minister.” Arthur replied.
“Dave, when do you expect to have all the signed International warrants for the Wizengamot?” Kingsley asked.
“If the French Minister agrees with our proposal, which I fully expect him to do. I have been told to expect the warrants by Tuesday evening if the paper work is submitted no later than Monday afternoon.” Dave answered.
“That quickly? That is rather surprising.” Kingsley replied.
“Not really.” Dave answered with a grin.
“I’ve kind of made a nuisance of myself amongst various European Governments over the last year. Especially in The Hague. I think they are fast tracking this paper work in the hope that I will leave them alone after this.” He explained.
“You? A nuisance? I find that hard to believe.” Ivan answered grinning ear to ear, “You’re too much like me.”
“Where do you think he and Jimmy learnt it from?” Sandra answered giving her husband a rather direct look.
“My mother I think.” Ivan answered before deftly dancing out of range of his wife’s rather quick swipe at the back of his head.
“I’ll let her know that you said that.” Sandra replied to a round of laughter.
“Dave, if I may I would like to make a suggestion, in regard to Eldon Wigworthy” Kingsley asked Dave.
“Go on. Suggest away” Dave answered with a look of curiosity.
“Given that you are likely to arrest them all on Wednesday morning anyway. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to put some of our own watchers on Mr Wigworthy until then to find out who he speaks to between now and then?” Kingsley suggested.
“We may even find a few extra fish for the net you are casting.” He remarked with a smile.
Dave seemed to think for a few moments before a smile formed on his face, “That’s a good idea Minister. I like it.”
“Rowdy, Olly. Do you two want first shift of a job where you can sit down most of the time?” Dave asked with a grin. It seemed to be something of an inside joke as they both feigned being forced into it.
“Sure, Skipper if we HAVE to.” Olly answered.
“Don’t get too comfortable. Once Semi and his team are rested up I will send them over to relieve you from your onerous duties.” Dave laughed.
“Get yourselves a decent lunch and make sure your snack bags and water bottles are full. You don’t know where this joker is going to be going in the next few hours once he realises that his cronies have disappeared.”
“Good oh Skipper. Moving off now.” Olly replied and the two of them headed out of the tent.
Dave then turned to Shelly and motioned to Gawain to come over as well.
“Do you want to take Gawain to our safe house near Marseille so he can see his wife?” Dave asked her with an oddly tender expression on his face.
Shelly looked to be about to object when Dave added, “I understand that a certain French liaison officer is currently at that location looking for an update briefing on our recent work.”
The effect on Shelly was instantaneous. She broke into a brilliant smile for her brother.
“We will see you back in time for dinner?” he asked her with a wicked little smile on his face.
“Briefings don’t take that long Dave.” Shelly answered rather quickly.
“Well then I guess you will need to find something else to occupy your time in southern France for a few hours then won’t you.” Dave said while struggling to keep a straight face.
“Maybe mend some international relations?” he said as he lost his struggle to keep his straight face.
Shelly got his meaning at once. She darted forward and hugged her brother and kissed him on the cheek. Then she grabbed Gawain’s arms and almost literally dragged the poor man from the tent as she raced off.
Dave could only laugh as his sister took off.
Dave’s other sisters were openly smiling at their little brother. I even heard Fireball remark to Fleur, “He might be as thick as two planks about women. But occasionally he gets it very right too.”
“Oui” Fleur answered as the two of them enjoyed a laugh.
“Can I interest anyone in some lunch?” I asked the assembled group.
“Always” Ron answered to some laughter. He wasn’t the first one off to the tables however. Jono being quicker on his feet than Ron.
As we were walking to the door Sandra sided up next to her son and asked, “So just what sort of international incident would warrant sending your sister off to try and repair our relations with the French for? Hmmm?”
While Sandra had been talking to Dave, Gabrielle had sided up on the opposite side of Dave and linked her arms through his as they walked off to the tables for lunch.
What Dave didn’t notice was the other girls and his remaining sisters and cousin also formed up around him as he was marched to the tables. It is also probably highly inappropriate to remark on the similarities between this formation and the one surrounding a condemned man as they are lead off to the gallows.
If it wasn’t for my own curiosity about the ‘Paris Incident’ I would have felt sorry for poor ‘little’ Dave.
Chapter 18: The Paris Incident
By the time, we had reached the table poor Dave had a look on him like that of a hunted animal that knew it was cornered.Sandra, Gabrielle, Andrea, Fireball, Cassy, Fleur, Madame Delacour, Ginny, Hermione and I must confess me had effectively surrounded and cut off Dave from any hope of support from any of the other boys. Even the remaining girls from Dave’s team Izzy and Abby had helped by ‘randomly’ choosing seats that pushed Mick and Jono further down the table.
Gabrielle still had her arm looped through Dave’s. Although I could no longer tell if that was for her enjoyment, to support Dave or to keep him from escaping. Or maybe even a mixture of all of them who can tell. She is a rather devious woman when she sets her mind to it.
I have always prided myself on the subtle ways I could extract information from my children without them ever knowing what it was that I was trying to find out. My sister on the other hand uses a much more direct approach. Commonly referred to as a ‘frontal assault’ to get information out of her children. It was on full display during this interrogation, I mean conversation with her son.
It also enlightened me as to where Dave truly got his own ‘eloquence’ from despite any objections that my sister might raise on the issue. Dave truly seems to be his mother’s son when it comes to the fine art of being subtle.
“Now Dave, I find myself in the ‘difficult’ position of needing to know everything that occurred in the so called ‘Paris Incident’ back in March.” Sandra began with a deceptively straight face.
“Now that we have started to mend relations with the British it is imperative that we not alienate any other European governments as well.”
“So, I need you to give me a full de briefing…” she began to say before Fireball and Andrea totally lost the struggle at keeping a straight face and began to laugh almost to the point of hysterics.
Dave just sat stoically much like a prisoner of war might, while giving his sisters such a filthy look that I could imagine that had it been put into words we would need to be washing his mouth out.
“If you two young ladies can get a grip on yourselves…” Sandra tried to say. This only seemed to set them off even more.
“You told them, didn’t you?” Dave said to Fireball giving her a very direct look that probably would have reduced most other people to tears of terror instead of tears of hysterics.
“You happily sold me down the river in Paris and now you have done it again, haven’t you?” Dave remarked to his sister.
Fireball eventually got herself under enough control to hold her hands up in mock surrender and protest her innocence.
“I swear I haven’t told another living soul.” She managed to say before once more succumbing to an attack of the giggles.
“So why then is Andrea also in near Hysterics then? I mean if you haven’t told anyone, how did she find out?” Dave questioned.
“I read about it.” Andrea replied in between fits of giggles as well.
Dave’s eyes looked like they were almost about to fall out of his head. “You mean it made the papers?” he asked in abject horror.
While some of us girls were struggling to keep a straight face at this point Andrea and Fireball felt no such conviction. They were reduced to gooey puddles of mush at the look on Dave’s face.
Even Gabrielle had by now a slight upturning of her lips at the continued antics of Dave’s sisters.
Eventually Andrea was composed enough to answer, “No. I didn’t read about it in the newspapers.”
You could see a degree of relief start to appear on Dave’s face.
“It was more like the official report from the police that arrived on the scene and rescued you from that group of women.” She managed to get out before both she and Fireball began laughing so hard that they fell off their seats.
Poor Dave wasn’t fairing any better. He had managed the magnificent feat of somehow going white as a sheet while still retaining the ability to blush hard enough that it was just possible to feel the glow from his cheeks, neck and ears.
It was at this point that Gabrielle could no longer hold a straight face and started to smile at the proceedings. Her timing proved to be almost fatal for poor Dave who had looked to her for support only to see her ultimately lose her battle and begin to smile and laugh.
Of course, his look of surprise just sent her over the edge and only served to set her off even more.
Dave collapsed onto the table and tried to bury his head in his hands.
At this point we could have used him for a heater in the winter time.
“I’m never going to be able to show my face around here or in France again after this.” Came a voice from within the folds of Dave’s arms on the table.
“But it ez such a cute face.” Gabrielle almost purred to Dave.
He lifted his arms away and off his head and raised his eyes to enable him to look up to Gabrielle. She smiled at him and added, “Especially when you blush like a little school boy.”
At this we all just lost it and fell into fits of giggling. I honestly couldn’t say if it was from Dave’s reaction or Gabrielle’s reaction to his reaction. All I can remember it was some time before we had ourselves under a semblance of control.
Eventually through the liberal application of some well-placed kisses and hugs Gabrielle was able to coax a still glowing Dave out from under his arms.
When he eventually did sit up, he wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone. Not even Gabrielle, but he was ‘allowing’ her to put her arms around him for ‘support’. Or it could have been that she sensed he wanted to flee the scene. Like I said she is a devious woman at times.
“Do you still have a copy of this report Andrea?” Sandra asked her daughter while Dave cringed.
“No I don’t. I really wished that I was able to keep a copy but when a certain French Auror realised that it had been ‘accidently’ left out on the table he hurriedly collected it and put it away.” She said between giggles.
“Jean-Luc had a copy of that report?” Dave asked with increasing worry.
“That means that Shelly has seen it too as he shows her every bloody thing.” This remark set Andrea and Fireball off into another fit of laughter.
“Get your mind out of the gutter girls.” Sandra chided her daughters.
“You are supposed to be helping me de brief Dave…”
This resulted into another round of hysterical laughter which almost caused an injury to Fireball when she tried to stand up.
“Now really girls what is the problem with you two?” Sandra was starting to get rather frustrated with her daughters at this point.
Eventually around alternating fits of laughter between them they managed to get out,
“But…”
“…that’s…”
“…what…”
“…those…”
“…women…”
“…were…”
“…trying…”
“…to…”
“…do.”
Before they completely lost control.
As realisation dawned on the assembled group as to what they had implied, Dave now found himself the target of 8 different sets of stares all from women who now JUST HAD to know what had occurred in Paris.
“I think I’m just going to go and hide away in my tent until you all forget about this ruddy conversation.” Dave said as he made to get up and leave.
Only to be forced back down into his chair by Gabrielle who then promptly sat herself on his lap to ensure he wasn’t going anywhere.
I told you she could be devious at times.
She placed her fingers under Dave’s chin and lifted it up till his eyes met hers.
Then displaying her own predatory grin, she said one simple word, “Talk!”
Dave now knew that he was well and truly trapped with no hope of escape. Gabrielle’s gaze held him as surely as though he was chained to the wall.
To soften the blow somewhat she leaned in and gave him a solid set of kisses. Solely for medicinal purposes she would claim later.
Whatever her real motivation for the kisses, they seemed to have done the trick of loosening Dave’s tongue.
Get your own mind out of the gutter here also. I simply meant that he began to talk. Really! Some people.
“I blame ‘Pretty Boy’ for the whole mess.” Dave said as he acknowledged his inevitable defeat and began to spill the beans as to what happened.
“How is Thomas to blame for this incident?” Sandra asked her son.
“He’s the one who performed the Translation charm on me to teach me French.” Dave answered a little defiantly.
“But Thomas doesn’t speak French dear.” Sandra replied a little confused.
“Yeah I know that... Now.” Was Dave’s answer.
Sandra’s only response was an amused look at Dave and a raised eyebrow to indicate that he should continue.
“After some disastrous attempts at French during my time here I decided to give in and use one of the Language spells from the Ministry. After all I figured, ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ you know.”
Andrea and Fireball were now at the point where their self-control was a touch and go kind of thing.
“So, when I was home in Feb, I looked up the list of people who were qualified to cast the spell for French and found Pretty Boy’s name on it. Given that he owed me some favours I asked him if he could perform the charm on me before I had to head back to France on the next day.”
“He agreed and did the spell for me right then and there. I thought that all was going well and I would easily be able to carry out Grandma’s request and organise part of her present when I was back in France.”
“What was your Grandma’s request?” Sandra asked.
“She wasn’t happy with my ‘formal attire’ that I wore to her Birthday last year. So, she requested that I find something more suitable for this year, preferably from Paris. Given that it is her 90th I thought that was a reasonable request and decided that I would get something special in Paris on my next day off.”
“That’s what you get for having only 2 rules of fashion Dave.” Fireball smirked at him.
“What are your two rules of fashion?” Hermione asked Dave.
“Does it fit?” Fireball answered.
“Is it comfortable?” Andrea answered next.
“I don’t understand?” Fleur questioned.
“I have had so much trouble over the years finding ‘fashionable’ clothes that fit me I just basically gave up on what I was wearing.” Dave answered.
“That’s one way to describe your wardrobe” Fireball laughed.
Seeing Fleur’s questioning look Dave continued, “I would make my decisions on what I would get based on what fitted me without splitting when I moved or sat down.” Andrea was close to losing it at that comment.
“Every single female in my family seemed to think this was a betrayal of the world of fashion for some reason I could not understand.”
“They would take every opportunity to point out the short comings of my wardrobe to me.” Dave said with a sigh.
“But not Emma?” Gabrielle asked.
“I wish.” Dave replied, “She was the ruddy ring leader in this particular campaign.” he remarked.
Gabrielle had to stifle a giggle at this point mostly due to the expression on Dave’s face.
“You have to understand it from her point of view Dave. If she was going to be seen in public with you, she wanted you to look a bit better than a beach bum with no fashion sense.” Andrea said before having another fit of giggles.
“Yeah, when he isn’t working Dave’s idea of formal is shoes and socks.” Fireball added.
“I still don’t see what your problem with my T-Shirts and Shorts are Fireball?” Dave asked clearly bewildered.
“You wear them all the time. That’s my problem with them.” She answered.
“You make it sound like I have only one set or something.” Dave shot back.
“No, I mean all the time. You even had them on when we were in Scotland during the winter for crying out loud.” She exclaimed.
“What was wrong with that?” Dave asked.
“It was snowing.” Came the reply from a disbelieving Fireball.
“So?” Dave asked.
“It was snowing Dave. It was bloody cold. We were all wrapped up in whatever we could find and here you were walking around in a T-Shirt, Shorts and Sneakers.”
“I wasn’t” Dave answered indigently.
“You bloody well were.” Fireball added.
“I had a jumper on as well” he replied to the disbelief of the rest of us there.
“A bloody jumper? Like that would have made a difference.”
“It did. I was comfortable.” Dave replied.
“Well I wasn’t. Every time I looked at you I could feel myself loose another degree or two of body heat.” She added.
“You might be a human hot water bottle, but the rest of us bloody well aren’t.” Fireball exclaimed. I did notice Gabrielle take note of that particular comment though.
“So, don’t look next time if it bothers you.” Dave replied.
“I had to look as we were following you. You great big galah.” Fireball added in exasperation.
“Galah?” Gabrielle asked with an amused look.
“It’s a type of bird in Australia. They are notorious as being a bit dim witted and silly creatures.” Sandra explained.
“Oh, I see.” Gabrielle replied looking back at Dave with a very amused smile on her face.
“Please don’t encourage her.” Dave almost begged Gabrielle.
“Who said I was going to encourage ‘er?” Gabrielle said with a wicked little grin.
“No one. I could see it in your eyes, what you were thinking.” Dave said with his own smile.
“Ah… Zen I don’t need to say it, do I?” Gabrielle said with a throaty chuckle followed by a kiss.
This got more than a few smiles around the table as well as a knowing glance between Sandra, Fleur and Madame Delacour.
“Ok now that we have discussed the faults of Dave’s wardrobe. Can we get this conversation back onto its intended topic?” Sandra asked as the colour once more departed Dave’s face.
Sandra smiled at her son and remarked, “You thought that you had changed the topic, didn’t you?”
The rueful look on Dave’s face was all that was needed for this to be confirmed.
“So, we have you planning on going into Paris to try and get something decent for Grandma’s 90th” Sandra said to get things back on track, “What happened next?”
“I made the monumental mistake of agreeing to take Fireball along. She said that she would help me pick out something special for Grandma’s 90th party”. Dave said with a rueful smile.
Fireball was once again sitting on the edge of her seat with a look of almost pure evil again on her face.
“We jumped over to Paris and found one store that Jean-Luc had recommended to us. We went in and found the salesman who seemed to be very helpful. He started to assist me with finding both some formal robes as well as a Muggle style suit.”
“While I was trying on the suit, which was actually quite comfortable by the way. I stepped back outside of the change room to ask the salesman if he had any shorts that would match the suit.”
At this Fireball rolled her eyes and groaned at her brother.
“What?” he asked her, “If we have a formal occasion at Uncle Jason’s place in Cairns it would nice to have something a little cooler to wear than full length trousers don’t you think?”
“Don’t try to change the subject Dave.” Sandra reminded him.
“But mum this IS the subject.” Andrea replied gleefully.
All eyes again turned to Dave who was trying to fade away into the background.
Once more Gabrielle lifted his face up and planted another kiss on him and told him to keep talking.
“Well you see, when I stepped out to ask the salesman about the possibility of shorts I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on around me.” He said to the ever-increasing volume of giggles coming from Andrea and Fireball.
“Go on” Sandra said.
“I tried to ask him in French about the possibility of shorts to go with the suit. I didn’t realise that the person I was talking to wasn’t actually the person that I thought it was.”
“Or what you had said either” Fireball remarked with glee.
“It was a simple translation mistake.” Dave replied, “But she seemed to want to take it literally.”
“She?” Sandra asked.
“Yes. She.” Dave said in resignation, “The salesman had been called off to a different part of the store and a young saleswoman had taken his place.”
“So, when I stepped out asking for the possibility of trying on a pair of matching shorts I didn’t realise who I was talking to.”
“Or that she would be so enthusiastic about her job suddenly either.” Dave added starting to go red.
Fleur had been starting to smile when she asked, “What word did you use to describe what you were after?”
Dave just looked at the ground and refused to say anything. Gabrielle tried to lift his face again but he wouldn’t allow it. He buried his face into her shoulder in an attempt to hide.
Needless to say, this crowd that wasn’t going allow that tactic to work.
Eventually after some prompting from Gabrielle, Dave whispered something in her ear. She immediately began to giggle almost as bad as Andrea and Fireball were.
Fleur’s eyes flashed and she said in a very stern voice “Just say it Gabrielle.”
Once she had a degree of control Gabrielle said, “un caleçon”
Fleur’s eyes and that of Madame Delacour both went wide and then they too began to laugh.
Poor Dave meanwhile was still trying to hide his embarrassment in Gabrielle’s shoulder. She also didn’t seem to mind him snuggling up to her like that either.
Sandra and the rest of us were a little annoyed at being left out of the joke. After a few moments, Fleur regained enough control to say, “It is a word in French zat can have multiple meanings. One meaning is as per Dave intended to describe shorts.”
“But ze ozer meaning is for what ze English call ‘boxer shorts’ as in underwear.” She said with a smile.
“Did she offer to measure you?” Fleur asked Dave with a knowing grin.
“I have no idea what it was that she said” came the voice from Gabrielle’s shoulder.
“What did you say back to ‘er?” Fleur asked.
“It was when you didn’t reply that she took ah… ‘matters’ into her own hands that the trouble began.” Andrea said with tears now running freely down her face.
Dave now extracted himself from Gabrielle’s shoulder and fix his sister with a very direct look. One that was a mixture of curiosity and horror.
“Just how much information was in that report?” he requested from his sister.
“More than enough to keep you ‘honest’ in its retelling” she replied while struggling for breath at the ever-growing worry on Dave’s face.
“So, what happened next Dave?” Cassy asked him with feigned innocence.
“She suddenly became far too enthusiastic about her job.” Was all that Dave would say.
“Can you blame her?” Fireball asked.
“Yes, I most certainly bloody well do.” Dave replied with his cheeks once again starting to colour up.
“Now come on Dave I’m sure it was an ‘honest mistake’ on her part.” Fireball replied trying to defend this unknown sales woman.
“Look at it from her point of view, will you?” she said as fresh tears of mirth ran down her cheeks.
“You stepped out of the change room with your shirt on but all undone. You had your pants on but not done up all the way”
“That’s because they had those silly bloody hook things that I can’t use because my hands are too dam big. I still don’t see why they can’t use a normal fly and a button.” Dave remarked.
“Be that as it may Dave. When you were umm ‘mostly dressed’ like that can you blame her for wanting a closer look?” Fireball got out before she and the rest of the ladies around the table (yes including Sandra and Gabrielle) burst out into laughter.
“A closer look at what?” Dave asked. Only to be met with looks of incredibility by Madame Delacour, Fleur, Gabrielle, Ginny, Hermione and myself.
“You dummy.” Fireball answered rolling her eyes.
“Why would she have wanted a closer look at me for?” Dave asked with genuine confusion.
Fleur looked like she was about to say something rather naughty (judging only by her smile and expression) at this point, but she caught the almost imperceptible shake of Sandra’s head. It gave a clear indication she wished the conversation to not venture into that area.
“Per’aps she only wished for better access for ‘er tape measure? No?” Fleur said instead of her original comment.
Sandra smiled at this statement (along with the rest of us) she also mouthed ‘Thank you’ to Fleur who smiled by way of reply and raised a questioning eyebrow.
Sandra acknowledged the response and mouthed ‘Later’ to her, which Fleur seemed to accept.
Madame Delacour and Gabrielle caught this exchange also and were equally curious about it. But they seemed willing to wait for the more private discussion to come ‘later’.
It goes without saying that Dave missed this whole exchange and continued with the conversation.
“Maybe but that’s still no reason to try and remove my dacks.” Dave replied to renewed laughter from his mum, Andrea, Fireball and Cassy.
The rest of us were confused for a few moments until Sandra explained that ‘dacks’ was an Aussie slang term for pants or trousers.
With this bit of information, we all joined in with the laughter.
“She didn’t have to pull them down by much. As you basically jumped the rest of the way out of them.”
“I thought you were going to end up in the next aisle of clothing.” Fireball said, now having to hold her sides due to the strain of laughing so hard for an extended period.
“Now that part wasn’t in the report.” Andrea said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“The sight of your bear arse running behind that rack of clothes was one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time.” Fireball added to Dave’s abject horror.
“David!!!” Sandra exclaimed, “I certainly hope you had something on underneath.” She said before her own giggle caught up with her surprise.
“I did mum. Despite the accusations from my supposedly ‘loving sister’ I had a pair of undies on. So, don’t worry.”
“Given how old and threadbare they were, you needn’t have bothered.” Fireball shot back, clearly happy that she had added some extra embarrassment to her brother’s predicament, “About the only part that wasn’t threadbare was the writing on the back of them.” Fireball said just as Dave went fully white.
“No. You wouldn’t” He exclaimed.
“Try me.” She answered with her predatory grin once more on display.
Dave opened his mouth to speak only to have Gabrielle place her hand over it and motion for Fireball to continue.
Grinning from ear to ear Fireball said, “#1 petit mignon bum” before having a fit of hysterics.
Madame Delacour, Fleur, Gabrielle, Andrea and Cassy all were now in hysterics also. The rest of us along with Sandra were all rather confused as to what it meant.
Dave had once more taken refuge in Gabrielle’s shoulder and she had happily enfolded him in her arms and was rubbing his back trying to impart some sort of comfort to him. All the while merrily joining in with the laughter.
Sandra eventually spoke up and said, “I don’t see what’s so funny? You said yesterday that it was a surfing term.”
This of course just set Fireball, Andrea and Cassy off again.
“He might have been given that ‘title’ during a surfing comp mum. But it certainly isn’t a surfing term.” Andrea said looking over at Dave who was now clearly dreading his mum finding out just what it meant.
“Is it related to this LCB term that I used to keep hearing about?” Sandra asked.
Andrea could only nod her head by way of reply.
“So, what does it actually mean?” she almost demanded. The rest of us were also itching to find out as well.
It was Madame Delacour who ended up selling Dave out when she said, “It means, Little Cute Bum.”
It was like someone had released a tickling or laughing hex on the group of us.
Sandra’s eyes were as big as tea cups as she realised the meaning and then she succumbed to the hysterics that were affecting all of us.
Even the boys at the other end of the table now knew something was up. They seemed happy to leave Dave to his fate however.
I noticed that Abby and Izzy were also using every inch of their own self-control not to also burst into laughter at their boss. While they were struggling mightily I could also tell it was a losing battle and would only be a matter of time.
Dave was looking over at Madame Delacour with such a look of shock that she felt sorry for him. She got up and came over to him and said, “I’m sorry Mon cher, but a mère should know zese zings about ‘er enfants.”
After this she kissed his cheeks (I was almost worried about her getting burnt from the glow that they were now producing) and gave him a hug before going back to her seat. Once there she also was laughing hard enough to produce tears.
Gabrielle had a very amused little smile on her face and she had to again extract Dave from her shoulder. Once he was looking at her she asked, “Where did you ever get such a pair of un caleçon?”
Dave did not have a chance to reply before Fireball answered for him.
“They were a gift for him from Emma.” Fireball answered.
“Emma?” Sandra exclaimed. “How did she find out about that ‘title’? As she wasn’t there.”
“Yeah Fireball.” Dave asked rather pointedly, “How did she find out? I wonder who would have told her ALL about it.”
Fireball was trying to display an air of innocence at these accusations. But she was also far too busy laughing at her brothers’ embarrassment to be able to pull it off.
“Oh, all right. I told her about it.” Fireball admitted, “You both were still in the hospital and having a rough time of it too. I thought that anything that could raise her spirits would be worth a try.”
“One day while you were off having your physical therapy she had a rather bad episode happen. When she came around she was rather unhappy as you were not there. I wanted to attempt to cheer her up, so I told her about the ‘title’ that you were awarded by the girls at the surfing championships.”
“It was the first time I had seen her properly smile since you were bitten. She thought it was absolutely hilarious.”
“I do believe that she also agreed with their decision.” Fireball added with a VERY naughty grin at her brother.
“She then decided that someone with such a title should have a ‘crown’ worthy of it.” Fireball added with a grin that was in danger of splitting her face wide open it was so big.
“After I also told her about the Magazine article she just HAD to see it.”
“Magazine?” Dave asked with real worry showing on his face, “What Magazine is this?”
“Yes, Dave a magazine. Please do try and keep up.” She smirked.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get a copy while we were in France as I had other things on my mind at the time.” She said with an almost tender expression on her face as she looked at her brother.
“Emma was a rather determined and resourceful young woman, especially when she set her mind to something. It goes without saying that she was determined to see that magazine.”
“She asked her father who has significant contacts back in France if he could track down a copy of it for her. After he recovered from his own attack of hysterics he readily agreed.”
“Oh no. Emma’s dad knows?” Dave asked as his face seemed to crumple in on its self.
“Of course, he does. You don’t think she would have hidden something like this from him, do you?” Fireball added with undisguised glee.
“She was very ‘proud’ of your ‘title’ and I think she told most of the family.” Fireball added. Poor Dave looked like he wanted to make himself invisible at this point.
“Thankfully I was able to get to him before he obtained a copy of the Magazine for her. I told him that the Magazine also had an article in it about the shark attack along with a few rather graphic photos. I didn’t think that Emma would be able to deal with them just now. Her dad thankfully agreed also.”
“He apparently spoke with one of his business contacts in France who arranged to get a copy of the article about Dave (and not the attack) sent to him.”
“Once Emma got her hands on it she devoured the article in record time. When she finished reading it she had tears of joy in her eyes she was laughing so much.”
“For that fact alone it was thoroughly worth it.” Fireball said while smiling a genuine smile over to Dave.
Dave meanwhile had his own wistful smile on his face as he listed to Fireball’s story. Gabrielle had been carefully studying Dave’s face during this story as well. She had an expression of such tenderness on her own face that it just couldn’t help but tug at your own heart to see it.
“After reading the article she changed her idea for a suitable ‘crown’ for her #1 LCB. She organised for a set of undies to immortalise it for Dave.” Fireball explained while Dave was exploring new shades of red to display.
“A set?” Sandra exclaimed with a giggle, “Just how many of these undies do you have Dave?” she asked her son.
It was clear that Dave didn’t want to answer the question but Gabrielle was relentless and would not allow him to escape her own questioning gaze. Eventually he showed some common sense and gave in. Although the kisses Gabrielle offered him may have contributed to his decision to capitulate also.
“It was a pack of 7 undies that she had ‘customised’ for me.” He eventually admitted.
“How is it that I have never seen them before?” Sandra asked her son with an arch little smile.
“I’m not in the habit of showing my undies to other people mum…” Dave tried to explain before his mother cut across him, “No. Only to french women apparently.” Sandra remarked with a raised eyebrow and a very cheeky little smile. At this comment BOTH Dave and Gabrielle broke out in a fresh round of blushing. It was amusing to watch them both trying to hide in each other’s shoulders.
“I can understand Dave blushing ‘ere, but why are you blushing also Gabrielle?” Madame Delacour asked her daughter with a knowing look.
At this everyone turned their attention to poor Gabrielle who was now experiencing the same sort of scrutiny that Dave had been experiencing just moments ago. Dave also looked up at Gabrielle with his own questioning look for her. Upon seeing his expression Gabrielle broke out into uncontrollable giggles for a few moments before she could squeak out a reply.
“Pardonne-moi” she said with her own very naughty little smile. This only seemed to confuse Dave even more until Fleur supplied the missing information he needed.
“It seems zat ze door to Dave’s chambre didn’t fully shut when ‘e was getting changed earlier.” Fleur explained to a now rather worried Gabrielle and a VERY embarrassed Dave.
“Gabrielle bravely took on ze job of making sure zat no one else could observe ze goings on in zere ‘owever.” She finished with her own evil grin on full display.
Poor Gabrielle looked like she wanted to flee but Dave’s arms were already around her waist and they tightened ever so slightly to ensure that she didn’t get away. There followed a whispered conversation between the two of them that had a lot of giggles coming from Gabrielle during it.
Eventually a peace offering of some kisses was ‘extracted’ from Gabrielle by Dave (she really didn’t seem to mind this ‘punishment’) and they again re-joined the conversation. Albeit with a smile still playing at the corners of Gabrielle’s mouth.
“At least I had on a new pair of plain undies today.” Dave commented to himself. Before all the girls had another round of the giggles at him.
“Well if that magazine brought some joy to Emma I guess it is worth all of this embarrassment.” Dave said trying to get his blushing under control. “As long as it never sees the light of day again that is.”
“I must ask Jackie if she knows it where it is” Sandra remarked, “as I would dearly love to see it.”
“It wasn’t with her things in the hospital mum. As we didn’t see it when we were packing up her room.” Fireball said with a touch of sadness.
“I zink zat I still ‘ave a copy of it at ‘ome” Gabrielle said in an offhand manner.
The look on Dave’s face could only be described as adorable as he was both bewildered and frightened at the same time. He was totally focused on Gabrielle’s face with such a pleading look that he missed the outburst of laughter from his sisters before they launched into a bidding war amongst each other trying to persuade Gabrielle to allow them to see the Magazine.
Poor Gabrielle was at a loss as what to do with all the attention from Dave’s sisters and cousin. Eventually Sandra broke through the noise.
“I think that Gabrielle should turn the Magazine over to her mother and between the two of us, as the responsible adults here we will decide if it is suitable for viewing by a group of impressionable young ladies.” She said trying to maintain a straight face the entire time.
“Don’t you agree Madame Delacour?” she asked.
“Absolument.” She replied also trying very hard to maintain a straight face as well. “Per’aps Molly could ‘elp us judge zis magazine as an impartial witness?” she asked.
“I would certainly be happy to offer my services.” I replied while smiling at the expression on Dave’s face.
“There, that was easily settled.” Sandra said before breaking out into laughter yet again.
Dave was now clearly imploring Gabrielle to ensure that she never found the magazine in question. She however only smiled at him and in between a few more kisses said, “Don’t look at moi like zat. You were ze one wearing ze naughty boxers.”
“They were not boxes Gabrielle. They were briefs.” Fireball informed her.
“Briefs?” she asked a little confused.
“un slips.” Fleur answered for her. At this Gabrielle seemed even more amused.
“un slips? ’ow did zey fit all ze writing on zem?” she asked.
This of course did absolutely nothing to help Dave’s cause. It only served as more fuel for the fire.
Ginny was the one who first managed to gain a degree of control and tried to get the story back on track. I don’t know if this was from a genuine desire to know the rest of the story or to try and get even for Dave’s earlier antics.
“What was the sales woman’s reaction to see that?” she asked with a look of wide eyed innocence that fooled no one.
“I think she wanted to check validity of the statement.” Fireball replied.
“However, our ‘brave’ Auror here was now cowering behind a rack of clothing. Trying very hard to keep it between him and the sales woman.”
“He must have been very flustered as he forgot the cardinal rule of combat.” Fireball said with even more mirth dancing in her eyes.
“What’s the cardinal rule of combat?” Ginny asked.
“It’s ‘check six’” she replied to a sea of confused female faces. The exception being Andrea and Cassy as well as Izzy and Abby.
“Check Six?” Fleur asked.
“It means check your 6 o’clock. Or look behind you.” Fireball answered once more struggling for control.
“I did check behind me while I was moving. I just forgot once I stopped.” Dave answered not willing to lift his eyes from his shoes.
“Yes well. If you had kept on moving, you might have been safe. But why you stopped in that particular location I have no idea.” Fireball replied.
“Where did he stop?” I had to ask to keep the story going.
“Let me put it this way, the area behind him had a sign that said, ‘Lingerie feminine’ along with a contingent of now very curious trainee saleswomen.” Fireball almost cried out.
“Oh non…” Madame Delacour said losing her battle to keep a straight face yet again.
“Oui” Fireball said in between fits of giggles.
“With our brave Auror holding out his hands in a valiant but ultimately vain effort to fend off the one saleswoman he could see, he failed to realise that his shirt had ridden up and his undies (as well as their message) was on full display to this group of curious trainee saleswomen.”
“Such a bold claim just had to be… shall we say, ‘investigated’ by this group of suddenly very dedicated women.” Fireball said from the ground as she had again fallen off her chair from all her laughing.
“Just how many women were there Dave?” Sandra asked her son.
“It was about to be a case of six on one. Seven on one if I count Fireball on their side. As she certainly wasn’t on mine.”
“Hey, I had prime seats to the best entertainment that I had seen in years. I was going to enjoy it to the fullest.” Came the reply from the floor.
“Are you trying to tell me Dave that you couldn’t defend yourself against six saleswomen?” Sandra asked her son her amusement clearly evident.
“We might have to speak to the academy and get them to deal with this chink in your armour.” She added with a knowing glance at Gabrielle.
“Their teamwork was some of the best that I had seen. Besides if I had started tying them up or cuffing them they probably have taken that as even more of an invitation than they thought that they already had.” Dave said with his glow now spreading to his neck.
“Teamwork?” Sandra asked with a smirk on her face, “Just what did they do that demonstrated good team work?” she asked with the smirk growing larger.
“Well they got his shirt off him very quickly apparently.” Andrea added because Fireball was incapable of speech just now.
“You were only in your un slips?” Gabrielle asked with great amusement. She was clearly picturing the incident in her mind.
“He was.” Andrea added ‘helpfully’. “Although they had designs on them as well as per the report.”
“It was at this point Dave remembered his fancy footwork and the fact that he is ‘magical’” Fireball added. Once again able to speak after having a short break from commentary.
“He started to dodge and weave and was slowly making his way back to the men’s changing rooms. Obviously hoping to find sanctuary with in.”
“He was almost back to the change rooms when one of the saleswomen got a solid grip on his undies.”
“Dave then demonstrated some truly creative magical abilities as he managed to summon another set of undies to appear underneath the pair that he was already wearing.”
“The saleswoman who had a grip on his original undies was most disappointed.” Fireball giggled.
“Spoilsport.” Cassie remarked to poor Dave. This of course only brought about more bouts of giggles.
Dave was once more trying to hide in Gabrielle shoulder but I think she was having more enjoyment from watching his face throughout the telling of the story. As she kept on ‘digging him out’ from her shoulder with sets of kisses.
“Dave eventually broke free of the woman who had a grip on his undies. However, in his enthusiasm to get away he over balanced and crashed through the men’s changing rooms.”
“There was no sanctuary to be found there now.”
“FINALLY remembering his Auror training, he used the noise and chaos as cover to grab his original clothes and make a break for an alternative location.”
“His plan was obviously to try and get dressed in peace and then sneak out of the store or something.” Fireball explained with tears still flowing freely.
“It was and it would have worked too if you hadn’t had pointed out to those women where I was.” Dave said rather indigently to his sister.
“Why did you do that to your brother?” Sandra asked Fireball with her own lips twitching into a smile.
Fireball could only shrug and smile in response. Her power of speech was an optional thing at this point.
“Where did ‘e run off to zen?” Gabrielle asked.
“The only change rooms still standing. The women’s ones.” Andrea answered for her sister.
“As per the report that’s where the French Magical Metro Police found him.”
“The cubical that he had selected was the only one without a working lock. So, he was having to hold the door shut against 6 very ‘helpful’ saleswomen and hadn’t been able to try and get any of his clothes back on.” Andrea eventually explained.
“I would have paid good money to have been there when they eventually opened the door and let him out.” She said relishing the scene in her mind’s eye.
“They could have at least let me put my own clothes back on before making me get out of the dressing room.” Dave said a little bitterly.
“There was a very simple reason for that Dave. As an Auror you should have known it.” Andrea said with tears once more starting to fill her eyes.
Dave gave her a filthy look and was obviously trying to tell her something with his eyes.
“And zat was?” Gabrielle asked.
“They needed to photograph the ‘evidence’ for the report.” Andrea said as all of us just collapsed in laughter. I hadn’t laughed that hard in years.
“That was only because the senior Police officer on the scene was a woman. A bloke would have been ok with a description only.” Dave said a bit sullenly.
Eventually once we got ourselves back under control Sandra asked, “Is that the end of the story?”
“I bloody well hope so.” Dave answered to another round of giggles.
“Jean-Luc apparently let Shelly know that a framed copy of that ‘evidence’ photo proudly sits on the desk of that Policewoman and another framed copy resides in the Female change room of her police station.” Andrea said with a grin at her brother who was once more impersonating a radiator.
“Why would they put it in their change room?” Dave asked, rather to the amusement of Fleur and Gabrielle.
“Apparently, the other female officers at her station requested it be put there. For in their words ‘why should the boss get all the fun’.” Andrea said as Dave once more blushed and turned white, then repeat.
“I hope you fixed the men’s change rooms before you left.” Sandra asked Dave.
“I had to.” He answered. “It was the only place they would let me change back into the clothes that I had on when I arrived.”
“They even gave you a ‘guard of honour’ as you walked from the women’s change rooms to the men’s ones didn’t they.” Fireball added.
“And you wonder why I never want to go clothes shopping with you or any of my so called ‘loving sisters’.” Dave said to Fireball.
“I think I would prefer combat against Dementors to another experience like that.” Dave answered.
“After all, zat did you end up getting any clothes for your Grand-mères 90th?” Madame Delacour asked Dave.
“Not even close.” Dave answered, “After they were finished with their photos and statements and they finally let me get dressed. I got out of there as quickly as I could.”
“I scrapped the plans for the rest of my ‘weekend off’ and headed off to Normandy for a meeting with Mr P instead.” Dave answered.
“Ah so that’s where you went.” Fireball replied, “I thought you had been spirited away by those lovely Policewomen who were so eager to ‘help’ you.”
“They did make a rather lot of suggestions. But I had had my fill of female help for the day.” Dave answered with his ears now adding to the number of glowing body parts.
“I thought that work was shaping up as the safer option. At least there there’re rules that make some sort of sense.”
“So, you still need to get some clothes zen?” Madame Delacour answered.
“Yeah I do. I’m planning on trying a trip into London this weekend to see what I can find. As I’m sure after that incident I will not be able to walk into any store in Paris ever again.” Dave said.
“Oh non, mon cher, if your Grand-mères wanted you to get somezing nice from Paris you must do it.”
“I would be very ‘appy to accompany you to Paris and ‘elp you find something suitable.” She said to Dave as hope began to dawn on his face again.
“If you are lucky we might be able to persuade a certain someone to also come along and assist as well?” she said looking to Gabrielle who was now smiling and blushing at the thought.
Dave looked to Gabrielle with such a puppy dog expression on his face that she just had to kiss him again and say “Oui, I will ‘elp if you wish me too.”
“Very much.” He answered to her obvious pleasure.
“I zink zat I could be of ‘elp as well if you wish” Fleur offered to Dave.
With a glance at Gabrielle who quickly nodded her agreement Dave also gratefully accepted her help as well.
“Thank you very much ladies, for you very kind offer of assistance.” Dave said with his gratitude clearly showing. “It promises to be a much safer experience with your help. Especially if we could somehow ban my sisters from Paris for the weekend.” He said with an evil grin of his own directed at them.
“It is ze least zat we can do for you after all your ‘ard work, mon cher.” Madame Delacour answered.
“Did you manage to get your Grand-Mères present organised as well?”
“No, I didn’t as the weather wasn’t co-operating that weekend. So, I had to abandon the attempt. With the way, the weather has been on those occasions when I have had enough ‘time off’ I don’t think I will be able to get it organised in time.”
“What are you trying to organize?” Madame Delacour asked.
“I wanted to find Grandma’s brothers.” Dave answered.
Madame Delacour looked rather confused at this answer. Sandra, Andrea, Fireball and Cassie however had stopped giggling at their brother and were now looking at him with their hearts in their eyes.
“Ses frères?” Madame Delacour asked.
“Yes. She is the youngest in a family of three.”
“Her eldest brother was killed in action during World War One. He died in one of the last great big battles on the Somme. I believe that I have located his grave there, but want to visit to make sure.”
“If it is indeed him then I want to get a good photograph of it and a memory of the place that I can give to her.” Dave answered. His sisters, cousin and mother were all smiling so warmly at him that he was becoming embarrassed.
“Il était un ANZAC?” she asked surprised.
“Yes, he was. He was in the 8th Australian Battalion” Dave explained.
“Sang et bandages?” she said, when she saw Dave’s confusion she said “Zey were ze ones called ‘Ze Blood and Bandages’?”
“Yes, they were. Their unit insignia was white over red going horizontally.”
“I know of zem. Zey fought at Pozières in 1916.” She remarked.
“Yes, they did. Grandma’s brother Otto was in that battle. He along with a lot of his mates from his section were badly wounded there. Many more died. But he survived only to be killed near Amiens in 1918.”
“My parents remember the ANZACs and especially the 4th and 8th Battalions. As they saved their village in 1916 from ze German Army.”
“It will be an honour to ‘elp you find your Grand Oncle’s resting place.” She said beaming at Dave.
Dave was very surprised by this piece of news. He was also appeared to be very happy for the extra help.
“Who is the other Grand Oncle you are trying to find?” Madame Delacour asked.
“He was a member of the RAAF and was killed a few days after D-Day in WWII. From what we know he was shot down outside of Caen in 1944.”
“He is supposedly buried in Ranville Military cemetery.”
“They have not responded to my requests for information on him though. I was planning on going there and searching for him myself.” Dave answered.
“My Mari, Julian has Famille in Caen still. If you can give me ‘is details I will happily ask zem if zey can check ze cemetery for you. As I do believe it is only a short trip from where zey live.”
Dave was now the one with tears in his eyes. He asked Gabrielle to allow him up (she reluctantly did so) and he crossed to Madame Delacour and engulfed her in his arms and hugged her tightly. All the while saying Thank-you to her. It was very clear that it meant a huge amount to him.
Gabrielle also had tears in her eyes at this scene. As she was just beginning to fully understand exactly how important family was to this young man.
Chapter 19: Questions and Answers - Part One
Eventually Madame Delacour released Dave from her embrace (I think she rather enjoys his hugs also) and Dave quickly headed off to write down the details of his Great Uncle who he was trying to locate near Caen.While this was occurring, the others moved off to see what (if anything) was still available for lunch. Interrogating Dave was after all hungry work. By the time that Dave returned to the table with the information for Madame Delacour the girls were all happily enjoying their lunch.
I did notice that Gabrielle had collected some sandwiches and a drink for Dave in addition to herself. Dave seemed to be suitably appreciative of her efforts if the kiss that the two of them enjoyed was anything to go by.
Lunch passed with enjoyable but rather general conversation around the table. Dave and Gabrielle seemed to be enjoying their own private conversation if the smiles and laughter were any measure of it.
It was during this round of conversation that it was let slip by Ginny that we were all going to be accompanying Hermione back to Australia. The effect on Dave was rather surprising as it seemed to have slipped everyone’s mind that he was not aware of this development.
“Really?” he asked showing surprise and delight.
“You are all coming back with us for a visit?” he said looking around the table, but with his gaze lingering on Gabrielle. When she smiled in return and nodded Dave’s face lit up with such a wonderful smile that Gabrielle almost blushed.
“How long are you all going to be there with us?” Dave asked everyone.
“We haven’t really decided yet Dave.” Sandra answered him with a small smile playing on her lips.
“I was thinking a week or possibly two would be a long enough time to get Hermione’s parents memories sorted out and to spend some quality time getting to know my ‘little sister’. What do you think?”
“2 weeks sounds good to me.” Dave answered with an innocent look that was not fooling anyone. Although Gabrielle seemed to agree with his assessment.
“Molly? Apolline? Does 2 weeks sound ok to you both?” Sandra asked with her struggle now starting to show.
“I think it sounds lovely.” I answered to the obvious pleasure of Hermione, Ginny, Dave, Fleur and Gabrielle.
“It does seem zat it would allow enough time for all ze tasks Sandra mentioned to be done. But what will ze children do wiz all zat time?” she asked with a cheeky smile to Fleur and Gabrielle.
“Oh I’m sure we could find someone willing to show them around.” Sandra said with her smirk now showing through. “Couldn’t we Dave? I mean you know so many people back home I’m almost positive you could locate someone who would be willing to give up two weeks to act as tour guide.”
Dave had obviously picked up on his mum’s comments as he played along, “I’d be happy to volunteer my services if it meets with the approval of our guests’ mum.”
“It all boils down if they would be willing to be seen in public with me or not.” He said with his own smirk on full display. Looking over to Gabrielle he asked her, “Would you have any objections to me being ‘your’ tour guide for your time in Australia?”
“Non. Non at all.” She answered with her own brilliant smile. Going so far as to seal the deal with a kiss.
“Ginny? Any objections?” Dave asked.
“Not that I can think of off the top of my head.” She answered with her own smirk showing, “I mean if you do get too embarrassing to be around we can always swap you for one of your sisters.”
“Such a tough crowd.” Dave remarked with mock hurt.
“Fleur do you have any objections with me being your tour guide?” Dave asked.
“Non. I zink zat you will do.” She added with a smile to her sister, who readily returned it. While Dave bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“Hermione?” Dave asked.
“No, no objections from me. Besides I think Ginny is right with her idea.” She said trying not to laugh.
“Thanks. I think.” Was Dave’s reply.
“Have you all given any thought as to what you would like to see or do during your visit?” Dave asked everyone. Not seeing any forth coming answers Dave decided to plough on.
Dave then described with great passion all of his favourite spots ‘Down Under’, along with his favourite activities to do. He also made a great many suggestions on other possible activities as well. It was clear that he had a very deep and abiding love for his home country. It only increased my desire to see it. The others all appeared to be similarly affected by Dave’s enthusiasm.
Dave suggested a few books from his collection that might help us make up our mind. He also suggested something called ‘DVDs’ that he said we could watch to get an even better idea of what he was talking about.
He then had an idea that brought a real light to his eyes.
“If we are lucky we might even be able to persuade Mick’s dad to give you one of his special tours of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. They are always special no matter how many times I have done them.” Dave said with a smile.
“Zat sounds like it would be lovely” Fleur replied with a smile. Glancing at Gabrielle she flashed a cheeky grin and asked, “Are you going to take us all out dancing at all?”
At this comment Ginny, Sandra, Andrea, Cassy and Fireball all burst out laughing at the suddenly worried look on Dave’s face.
Noticing the look of concern on Dave’s face Gabrielle asked him, “Is zere somezing zat I should know about zis?” she said with a smile.
“It all depends on if your dancing shoes have steel caps in them or not.” Ginny replied with undisguised glee in her eyes.
“Pardon?” Gabrielle asked.
“They are trying to warn you Gabrielle about Dave’s dancing ability. Or the distinct lack of it.” Sandra answered for her embarrassed son.
“When we were talking to his Grandfather’s soul before he commented on Dave’s lack of co-ordination when ‘trying’ to dance.” She said with a smirk.
“Zat should be non problem. Wiz ze proper teacher I’m sure zat Dave will be able to dance very well.” She said while beaming at Dave.
“Are you offering to try and teach me how to dance?” Dave asked in a small voice that was almost a whisper.
“Oui. I am.” Gabrielle replied full of confidence.
“She’s a brave woman. I’ll give her that.” Fireball said smiling at Gabrielle.
“I’d rather give her some steel capped shoes to save her toes.” Andrea answered to giggles around the table.
Dave looked at Gabrielle with a very tender expression and asked, “Are you sure? As they are really not that far off the mark.”
“Oui, I am sure Dave. If you wish me to teach you I will.” Gabrielle said smiling broadly at him.
At this point Dave reached out and picked up a surprised (but pleased) Gabrielle. He then sat her down in his lap and wrapped his great big arms around her (as she wrapped her arms around him). Dave then proceeded to kiss her properly.
Gabrielle seemed to just melt into his embrace and no one could get the attention of either one of them for some time.
“I do believe that he has accepted her offer.” Fireball remarked to Cassy as they both had a fit of the giggles. Along with the rest of us.
When the two of them came up for ‘air’ they both had the goofiest smiles on their faces. But you couldn’t deny the affection that they were showing for one another.
“Thank you.” Dave said to Gabrielle.
“Oh non, mon cher. Thank you!” Gabrielle answered before she had a fit of the giggles and collapsed into Dave. The other girls around the table all had rather wistful smiles on their faces also at this exchange between the two of them.
Fleur in particular, seemed to be regarding Dave almost with admiration for this ‘achievement’.
The rest of ‘the boys’ chose particular moment to interrupt and join us.
“I can see that you have all finished your ‘lunch’ now.” Ivan remarked as he pulled up a seat next to Sandra across from Dave and fixed his son with a little smirk that caused both Dave and Gabrielle to blush all over again.
Us girls also had another good giggle at this comment.
“If you are up to it Dave we would all like to ask you some questions.” Ivan requested.
Dave looked suddenly worried. “It’s not another de-briefing, is it?” he almost groaned while the girls had a bout of hysterical laughter.
“I feel like I am missing something here dear.” Ivan said to his wife with a questioning look.
“Don’t worry dear it will all be in the formal report.” She replied to the utter horror of Dave. Whose expression had just set off another round of laughter amongst the girls.
“No Dave, I won’t do that to you. It will only be a verbal report.” She replied with a smirk.
This didn’t completely placate Dave’s worries but he seemed to think it was the best deal that he would get out of the incident.
Ivan then spoke to Dave (attempting to change the topic of conversation). “Dave, I… we, would like to have a chat to you about some recent reports about changes in your abilities”.
“Going from reports about the incidents yesterday, as well as some incidents that happened in India and Thailand it seems to me that your skills and abilities have taken another jump. Much sooner than was expected.”
“We would like to understand more about this development so we can take any actions that might be necessary.”
“Are you happy to discuss this here?” Ivan asked his son.
“After what I’ve just gone through?” Dave said with his crooked smile once more on display, “Talking about this will be a walk in a park.”
Ivan looked over to his wife and remarked, “I get the feeling that I’m really going to need to hear your report, and soon.” He said smirking.
“Of course dear. Anything you wish.” Sandra said in a deceptively compliant voice.
Ivan seemed to have picked up on this also as he had a rather suspicious look on his face. “What are you up to?” He asked with a curious expression, “What are you after? You only agree with me like that when you’re after something.”
“You make it sound so cold and calculated when you say it like that dear.” Sandra said with a cheeky smile at her husband while the girls had a bout of the giggles again.
Ivan wasn’t taken in however, he just continued to regard her with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow.
“Oh all right.” Sandra said in mock resignation, “I want to go first with my question. Is that ok with you?”
“Of course ‘dear’, all you had to do was just ask.” Ivan said with a smile playing at his lips.
“Why thank you dear.” Sandra said with a smile of her own as she turned her attention to Dave.
“Dave, we have had a good chat with Gabrielle and the others here about what happened both during the ambush as well as during the effort to heal her.”
“During both of those events you exhibited significantly greater abilities than you possessed back around Christmas time. It is almost as though you have ‘levelled up’ again by several notches.”
“Can you tell us what has happened? And when this occurred?” she asked.
At this question the entire group went quiet and all eyes turned to Dave, who while he was aware of the attention didn’t seemed to be concerned by it. That could have been due to Gabrielle still being present on his lap and running her fingers through the hair on the back of his head though.
After a moment’s thought he replied.
“I don’t think I have ‘levelled up’ again yet mum. But I do think there is another one, a big one coming rather soon.” Dave tried to explain. I saw the very quick and rather worried look that Ivan and Sandra shared between them. It made me wonder just what was involved in a ‘level up’ for Dave to cause that sort of concern.
“I think what has happened is I have understood somethings finally. Things that both Mick’s dad and Grandpa have been trying to get across to me for a while now.”
“That understanding has brought a different view of somethings and given me an alternate set of options for them. In yet others it has allowed me to achieve the same results as before but with significantly less energy being required to achieve them.”
“Does that make sense?” he asked his mum.
“It might. But can you tell me what has changed?” she asked with her eyes intently focused on his.
“We were all at our base in France, it would have been the day before New Years Eve. We had the camp fire going and had been sitting around it chatting since dusk.”
“Eventually everyone had headed off to bed except for me, Abby and Shelly. We were still talking. Somehow the topic of Abby’s remarkable shields came up.”
“Abby then launched into a description of how she constructed the various shields that she makes. A lot of what she said that night didn’t make any sense to me at the time. But I did my best to hold onto it so I could think about it later. But one thing she mentioned really stuck with me.”
“What was that?” Sandra asked.
“She said that she wove her shields. Actually, wove them.” Dave answered.
Sandra looked down the table to Abby who had been listening to the conversation. Abby nodded in agreement with Dave’s comment.
Sandra seemed to be rather surprised by this information. Everyone else seemed to be interested in it but were not sure about what it meant.
“You mean she wove them like weaving a carpet?” Fireball asked, “Or say braiding someone’s hair” she said with an evil little smirk that didn’t make any sense (at the time) to those outside of Dave’s immediate family.
“Not exactly but that is a very good analogy to use though.” Dave replied, returning her look with some sort of unspoken message.
“She said that depending on what she wanted the shield to do she used a different ‘weave’ to achieve a different result. Instead of changing the amount of power in her shields she more often changed the weave.”
“By this time it was very late and we were all tired so we put the fire out and went to bed. But her comments stayed with me and something made me keep on thinking about them.”
“A few days later we had some downtime so I asked her if she could demonstrate what we had been talking about before New Years.”
“Thankfully she agreed and she spent a few hours walking me through how she made her shields and how she manipulated the magical energies that she used.”
“It was utterly fascinating how she worked them into the different ‘weaves’ to achieve the desired results.”
“After many frustrating attempts I was able to replicate some of her simpler shields.”
“I found myself practising them whenever I had a ‘spare moment’ to myself.”
“Trying to make me obsolete are you Syd?” Abby asked with a cheeky grin.
“Never Abby. You are too valuable to this team to ever be obsolete.” Dave replied with a grin to Abby’s obvious pleasure.
“After I started to get the hang of weaving basic shields I tried to ‘see’ if there were weaves in other spells. What I eventually came to understand rather surprised me.”
“What was that Dave?” Ivan asked him.
“They all had a weave of one type or another. Some were simple, some were almost incredibly complex. But they each had a distinct weave.”
“All spells have a weave?” Arthur asked Dave.
“Yes. Well at least so far I have been able to see a weave in every spell I have ‘looked’ into.” Dave replied.
“That was how I was able to recognise Ginny’s Bat Bogey Hex that she tried to use on me in your kitchen. I recognised the fundamental weave of her Hex.”
“She had changed a few elements of that weave to get the usual counter Hex to produce even more Bat Bogey’s. But the fundamental weave was still there.”
I looked around the table and everyone was utterly stunned. None of us had ever heard of Magic being described in this manner before. Everyone seemed to be completely absorbed in what Dave was saying.
“When I’m next at home I’m planning on discussing it with a certain undesirable to see what she thinks about this idea.” Dave said with his crooked smile.
“David. Your sister is an ‘Unspeakable’ not an undesirable.” Sandra reminded him.
“Oh… Yes, you are correct that’s the word.” Dave said with his cheeky grin back at her.
“I started to wonder if this concept applied to the other Magical energies. After some investigation, it appeared that it did apply to them as well. The only thing I haven’t been able to confirm yet is ‘pure sorcery’. As true or pure sorcery is a thought released through a word that aligns with that thought.”
“So either the weaves involved are so incredibly fine to the point that they are undetectable. Or it doesn’t involve any weave at all.”
“I have even been thinking about weaving the different magical energies together to see what the results are when they are combined.”
“So far the results have been interesting to say the least.” Dave remarked.
“What results have you found so far?” Ivan asked his son.
“My own healing abilities have strengthened significantly. Also my ability to heal others feels like it has gone through the roof in several areas.” He said rather calmly.
After a glance at Gabrielle (to obtain her permission I guess, as she nodded to her) Sandra asked, “Is that how you were able to heal that faulty valve in Gabrielle’s heart yesterday?”
“Yes. Yes it was.” Dave answered with a small blush on his cheeks.
“Can you explain it for us?” Sandra asked.
“You know that old teaching axiom about the ways boys and girls differ in their learning approaches?” Dave asked his mum, who nodded by way of reply.
“Well I found that I had fallen into that same trap myself. Without being aware of it.”
“If I had been smart enough to work out what Grandpa and Mick’s Dad had been trying to tell me earlier I could possibly have been able to heal Emma’s heart much more safely. Then she might have let me try and heal more of her.” Dave said with a look of such loss on his face.
“Each time I healed her heart it was almost like I had to physically wrestle with the different threads of energy to get them to do what I needed them to. I could ‘see’ the structure of what her heart needed to be in my head. I just wasn’t smart or strong enough to be able to create that structure for her.” Dave said with his head bowed.
Gabrielle simply wrapped her arms around Dave’s neck and pulled him into her and just held him. It struck me as a very mature sort of response for a teenager to take.
“Excuse me Sandra. What teaching axiom is Dave referring to?” Hermione asked.
“It is more of an observation than an axiom, but the one Dave is referring to says that when learning something new involving physical components, girls tend to pick up the technique first then learn when and where to use physical strength. While boys (especially teenagers) tend to focus too much on the physical aspects before focusing on the actual technique required.”
“It isn’t a hard fact and there are always exceptions but it does playout more often than it doesn’t.” she answered.
“It was certainly true at the academy in the martial arts classes. The girls generally got the technique that was required long before the boys.” Fireball added thoughtfully.
“So, how did you heal Gabrielle’s heart so quickly and easily yesterday?” Sandra asked him.
After a moment Dave raised himself up off Gabrielle’s shoulder and she also smiled encouragingly at him. I also noticed that Fleur and her parents were listening with rapt attention.
“After Healer Grant and Jones had finished their excellent work I thought about the next step that was required. More importantly what stresses it would place on Gabrielle’s body, specifically her heart. For even though her heart wasn’t beating at that time the change in her blood would still have placed a significant stress on it.”
“With this thought in mind I decided to…” Dave blushed at this point, “I decided to ‘check her out’.” He said with a shy smile at Gabrielle. She readily returned it and gave him a kiss.
“I’m very ‘appy zat you did.” She said while beaming at him.
Dave returned her smile and seemed to draw strength from it.
“When I ‘checked her out’ I noticed that one of the valves in her heart wasn’t working properly. It appeared to not be able to close properly. Much like the problems that Emma had with the valves in her heart at different times.”
“While looking at it I could easily see the pattern that it needed to be. I also found that I could ‘see’ a weave that would enable me align her heart to that ‘perfect pattern’. While there was a difference between the two I was confident that I could produce the required weave to bring them together.”
“Being able to repair that heart valve would significantly reduce the risk of harm to Gabrielle. So I made the decision to repair the valve before purging her blood of the poison.”
“When I produced the weave and released it into her heart I was very (but pleasantly) surprised at how readily it healed the valve in her heart.”
“Once the valve was healed I allowed the weave to flow over the rest of her heart. It applied some minor changes to the healing that Healer Grant had already done on the knife wound. These changes removed any possibility of scar tissue ever forming along that wound.”
“After her heart was fully healed I knew that she would now be able to survive the change to her blood. Although I wish I had been able to identify a weave to enable me to purge her blood without having to perform that change on her. As it was rather painful for her.”
“I’m so very sorry that I couldn’t think of an alternative to putting you through all of that.” Dave said to Gabrielle with his heart clearly showing in his eyes.
“You ‘ave nozing to feel sorry for Mon Cher.” Gabrielle told him, “You told me it would hurt, but only for a time. It was my choice, to allow you to carry out ze change. I’m very ‘appy zat you did.” She said as she once again hugged him rather fiercely.
“Merci.” Dave replied, causing them both to have a small giggling fit.
Dave’s and Gabrielle’s parents were both smiling at this scene unfolding in front of them. Fleur and the other girls (yes I’m including myself in this) also seemed to be approving of them as well.
“Dave, have you noticed any other abilities that seem to be affected by this new-found understanding.” Sandra asked him with her smile still playing on her face.
“One of the most interesting is I when I combine a selection of sorcery and magic I find that I can still perform magic and sorcery when I’m in animal form.” Dave said almost offhandedly.
Ivan and Sandra both looked like they had been stunned. Kingsley looked like his eyes were about to fall out of his head.
“Can you show us?” Hermione asked with her eyes alight with fire and curiosity.
“Yes please, can you show us?” Arthur asked with such enthusiasm that Dave could only smile by way of reply.
“Dave! Dave, can you do the one that you did for Shelly on Tuesday?” Fireball asked almost politely but also very excitedly. “I missed that one and she said it was absolutely adorable.” She said with a smirk at Dave and a wink for Gabrielle.
At the mention of the word adorable all the girls set to work to convince Dave to choose that form. The boys were not fussed about the form but were willing to go along with the girls’ suggestions.
“Ok.” Dave replied with a slight blush.
“Could you let me up please Gabrielle. If I change here into the requested form, you will end up squashing me.” Dave said with a cheeky grin.
“I could be persuaded to move.” Gabrielle said cheekily to Dave. But she got the kiss that she was obviously hoping for so she stood up and allowed Dave to stand.
“Stay aware of your talisman Fireball. I’m going to try something and want to see if it works or not.” Dave asked her. She indicated that she would.
Dave stood still for a moment with his head bowed as he took a few deep breaths. Then his body just seemed to melt and he disappeared behind the table.
The people on the other side of the table could see what he changed into however. Their responses did indeed seem to indicate that the form Dave had assumed was indeed adorable.
After a few moments Fireball’s eyes went wide with surprise and she seemed very excited by something.
“Gabrielle, Dave is asking for you to please sit down on his seat.” She said in surprise.
“You can hear him?” Sandra asked with her own surprise and excitement on display.
“His thoughts, yes. Not his words so much but definitely his thoughts.” She said still excited.
Gabrielle sat on Dave’s seat still staring at Dave’s form with adoration in her eyes. After a moment, she jumped a little in surprise as something landed in her lap.
The next thing I saw was a set of paws on the edge of the table directly in front of Gabrielle. Then the head appeared.
As soon as the head of Dave’s form appeared all the girls (and Arthur) let out a collective moan of ‘Awwwww’.
Dave’s form was that of a Tiger cub. Complete with whiskers and fluffy fur. The cub looked around at everyone who was present at the table. It then (a little awkwardly) tried to climb onto the table itself. Gabrielle ended up having to help Dave onto the table.
The cub turned and did a bow to Gabrielle that she thought was adorable.
“He says thanks for the assist.” Fireball said still smiling at Dave.
“’e is welcome” Gabrielle replied still smiling.
Dave then walked up and down the table so that everyone could see him. Purely to be mischievous no doubt he even drank out of Fireball’s glass.
He then walked back to Gabrielle and stopped in front of his own glass. He seemed to stare at it for a moment before it was transfigured into a saucer with some milk in it. Which he then proceeded to lap up.
This got a reaction from everyone. As it was truly remarkable.
“Is it only in that form that you can do magic?” Kingsley asked Dave.
The tiger cub cocked his head to one side as it looked at him. Then it closed its eyes and suddenly a Labrador puppy was in its place.
The puppy walked over to sit in front of Gabrielle. Gabrielle seemed delighted and had her hands on her cheeks in delight at the sight in front of her. She tentatively reached out and began to pat the puppy, who did seem to enjoy it as he leant into her hand. The puppy then thoroughly licked her face causing Gabrielle and everyone else to laugh at the scene.
Satisfied with its work the puppy went back to the saucer of milk and took a taste. Finding it not to its taste the saucer of milk became a bone for it to chew on. The puppy then looked up to Kingsley and Fireball spoke, “Does that answer your question?”
Looking at the puppy with a mixture of amusement, delight and wonder Kingsley replied, “I do believe it does.”
The puppy bowed and then jumped off the table albeit a little awkwardly. A short time later Dave was once again standing before us all.
None of us knew what to say until Ginny spoke up, “I think he makes a cuter puppy than a boy.” She said to Dave with a very cheeky grin at him which he returned.
This caused another round of laughter amongst those present. Although Gabrielle didn’t seem to agree with Ginny’s assessment, as she seemed very happy with Dave in his natural form.
“How many animals can you transform into?” Kingsley asked.
“If I do it through sorcery alone I have an almost unlimited choice. Provided I have a solid understanding of the animals’ anatomy I can usually change into them.”
“If I want a form where I can still do magic of some description then I’m limited currently to about 15 different types.” Dave replied.
“Limited to 15?” Kingsley said. “That is unbelievable. Animagi can only become one type of animal.”
“Can you become any magical creatures?” Ron asked hopefully.
“Not yet.” Dave answered.
“What do you mean not yet?” Ivan asked his son.
“Jimmy and I with the help of Semi had been trying to learn how to change into magical creatures. It is far more difficult than with normal animals.”
“As with a magical creature you need to know not only about its anatomy but also its magic before you can change into it.”
“Jimmy could partially turn himself into a phoenix. But he could not hold it stable for very long at all before he had to change back.”
“The best I can do currently is a few funny looking golden hairs. We don’t even know what creature they are from, as even when I meditate on it I can’t see all of the animal.”
“All I get is a sense that, it isn’t ready for me to know just yet. It is almost like it is waiting for me to reach a certain point or understanding before it will reveal itself fully.” He tried to explain.
“Can you show us?” Ron asked clearly excited.
“Sadly no. Not now, as the effort required is still very considerable. If I tried now I would most likely need to spend the rest of the day in bed asleep.” Dave answered a very disappointed Ron.
“What else have you found by combining energies?” Sandra asked her son.
“A few things but most are not yet safe enough to try outside of controlled conditions.” He said thoughtfully. “My Illusions have also improved though.” Dave said with a devious smile.
“What sort of illusions?” Ivan asked.
“Well let’s just say they are different to Jimmy’s ones.” Dave answered cryptically.
He then walked away from the table to almost where the training floor was still setup. He then stood still with his head bowed for a moment or two.
I’m not sure how to describe what happened next other than to say that Dave seemed to just multiply. Soon there was a crowd of Dave’s milling around.
We were all looking very surprised at the scene before us. No one seemed to know what to say.
Fireball was the first to speak up, “It’s like I’m living some sort of nightmare.” She said with a disbelieving look on her face.
This triggered some surprised laughter and caused the crowd of Dave’s to turn and bow to her before pulling a variety of faces at her as well.
“Oh, I don’t know, I razer like it.” Gabrielle said with a smile playing about her lips.
“My thanks, my lady” The crowd of Dave’s replied in unison. This caused a small round of applause for the effort.
“That is a very remarkable and useful trick.” Ivan said to his son, “How many can you produce?”
“At this range this is the most I can make.” Dave answered, “The closer I get the more the illusions begin to break down.”
He demonstrated this by walking closer to the table. When he got to the point where he had been standing during his change into animal form you could easily tell the difference between him and the illusions.
Of the 20 Dave’s now standing before us only one of them was truly solid. The others looked more transparent, much like the ghosts back at Hogwarts.
“If I reduce the number of illusions” he said as the crowd shuffled about and merged into each other until there were only 5 Dave’s standing before us.
“They become more solid yet again.” The crowd said with a variety of smiles.
“These illusions however will break down if they need to interact with something.” He explained as he went to try and pick up his chair with one of the illusions. The hands of the ‘Dave’ that tried to pick up the chair just passed straight through it.
“If I really focus and further reduce the number of illusions. This happens.”
The group of Dave’s milled around again until there were only two left. Both of these Dave’s were able to move the chair. This caused an excited reaction from the rest of us.
“The big problem at the moment is working out how to interact with actual people.”
“Somethings I can do easily without giving away which is the illusion and which isn’t.” this he demonstrated by walking over to Fireball and each Dave gabbed a bit of her hair and lifted it up for all to see.
“More significant contact causes problems however.” He said as he held his arms out to Gabrielle. As she stepped up to embrace him however she found herself stepping through him. Rather to her own surprise and everyone else’s laughter.
Gabrielle corrected this issue by giving the real Dave a hug while the illusion disappeared.
“The odd thing about illusions is that I can do other people better than I can do myself.” He demonstrated this also.
After a whispered conversation with Gabrielle he stood with his back to us for a moment. When he moved clear there were two Gabrielle’s standing in front of us. They both appeared to be equally surprised at the sight of the other.
Both of them walked to the table and were moving objects around on it. This was truly remarkable.
“Illusions I make of others are also able to better interact with people as well.” With a nod to the Gabrielle’s he demonstrated this by having each of them kiss Fleur on either cheek one after the other.
Fleur’s eyes were wide in shock as she realised that both of the kisses felt real to her. She was looking at the two Gabrielle’s with eyes filled with wonder.
“Much like the illusions of myself though more significant contact causes the illusion to break down.” He said as one of the Gabrielle’s went to sit in Fleur’s lap and promptly fell through it.
This left the real Gabrielle standing next to her sister with a shy little smile on her face.
Fleur got up and gave her a hug, “Just to make sure you are ze real one.” She said with a smile.
“I can see how that would be very useful in your line of work” Arthur said in amazement to Dave.
“Do you need to be able to see the illusion in order to control it?”
“At this point I do need to be able to see the illusion to control it.” Dave answered.
“I have a feeling however that the more I practise with it I may eventually be able to allow it out of my sight.”
“That is almost unbelievable.” Arthur remarked to Kingsley.
“Truly. I would have had difficulty believing it if I hadn’t seen it myself.” He added.
“Do you think you will be able to teach others how to do this?” he asked.
“I might be able to.” Dave replied thoughtfully, “As the Threads of sorcery I used to do this are not close to the CORE of sorcery. They are more aligned with wandless magic.”
“But I will need to practise more myself to get things straight in my own mind before I try to confuse others with it.” He added with a smile.
“Understood Dave.” Kingsley answered, “I would be most interested to hear what you eventually work out on that score. I could see this being very useful and potentially lifesaving to many of our Aurors.”
“The same thoughts occurred to me as well Kingsley.” Dave answered in his professional voice as he returned to his seat.
“Is there anything else you have found different since this new discovery Dave?” Sandra asked almost excitedly.
“Well I have noticed that my Wandcraft has now significantly improved also.” Dave answered with a crooked smile.
Chapter 20: New Wands and New Abilities
“Wandcraft?” Kingsley asked, “You mean you can actually make wands?” he said with surprise and awe on him face.“Yes, Grandpa Webb was teaching me before he passed. His soul is now trying to continue that teaching. But until recently I was struggling to understand what it was trying to tell me.”
“Since this new understanding about the weaves involved with spells I have been able to produce Wands that are much more successful than earlier versions.”
“Your Grandfather was able to make wands also?” Kingsley asked with surprise “Even with all that was done to him?”
“Yes he could. He made my first wand that I ever had.” Dave answered.
“He was unsure where the knowledge came from however. As it seemed to be something he had ‘before’ he was broken. But he always thought that the greater part of what he had known about it was missing.”
“For this reason he never made a living as a wand maker and became an Auror instead.”
“He was very motivated to see that others never faced a miscarriage of justice like he had experienced at the hands of the Potters.” Dave said with a guilty glance at Harry.
For his part Harry, did look slightly embarrassed about this comment but he acknowledged it and indicated for Dave to continue.
“For Grandpa Webb Wandcraft became more like a hobby to him. Because he wasn’t doing it commercially he felt free to experiment with different woods and cores. Items that commercial wand makers wouldn’t use for fear of harming their reputations.”
“Very few wand makers will utilise native Australian woods in their wands insisting that the ‘traditional’ woods from the ‘old country’ are the only way to produce a true wand.”
“Grandpa on the other hand would readily experiment with and investigate any potential new material or core. He uncovered many new potential combinations that have proved to be highly effective over the years.” Dave answered with obvious pride.
“I have also tried to experiment and investigate like Grandpa did. But until recently my efforts were very much hit and miss and even when they did work they were not very capable.”
“Once it dawned on my thick head that the patterns Grandpa kept talking about aligned to the weaves that I can see, things started to make much more sense to me. My success rate went up and the power and capability of my wands also greatly increased.”
“Very recently I have even been able to produce a wand very different to anything before.” He said with a proud smile on his face.
“What was different about this wand?” Ivan asked his son.
“I have managed to produce a wand that functions for sorcery. Much like a ‘normal’ wand functions for magic.” He said to the utter astonishment of everyone but particularly his father.
“May I see it?” Ivan asked him.
“If you wish. Give me a moment to go and fetch it.” Dave replied. At this he had to again ‘bribe’ a disappointed Gabrielle to allow him up. He then headed off to his tent and returned with a bundle under his arm.
Once he was back at the table he untied the bundle and rolled it out. It was full of different wands, of all different types. The choice was simply astonishing to see.
Dave selected a wand that was made from a reddish coloured wood with a very distinct pattern in it. He handed it over to his dad handle first. When Ivan held it you could see a glow come from it. He also had a smile on his face as he held it.
“It feels friendly.” He said in surprise to his son.
“I should hope so. I was thinking of you when I made that one.” Dave said with a smile.
“Try it and see if it works for you.” Dave requested. “See if you can ‘encourage’ that small tree over by the rock wall.”
“What from here?” he asked.
“Yes. Might as well make it a real test.” Was Dave’s reply.
Ivan stood up and pointed the wand at the tree. He then nearly dropped it in surprise when the tree began to grow and was several meters tall in a very short period of time.
Dave was grinning ear to ear at his father’s reaction of surprise. The rest of his family were also evidently surprised but pleased as well. Ivan moved to give the wand back to Dave but he indicated that he should keep it.
“I made it for you dad. You should keep it.” Was his reply.
“Thank you. It is truly a precious gift.” He replied.
“What is it made from?” he asked.
“The wood is Snow Gum from the big tree near Grandma’s place.” He replied.
“The core?” Ivan asked.
“Diamond with a touch of gold.” Was Dave’s slightly embarrassed reply.
“Diamond?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. There are no sorcerous animals that can be used for a wand like this.” He answered.
“But during our trip to China a few years back I learnt that they use various gems to focus their sorcery and some magic through. Diamond being the main gem used for sorcery although sapphires were used very commonly to.”
“I had to experiment a bit, but I found I could create a very thin ‘thread’ of diamond. If I made several threads and mixed in one or two similar threads of gold as a type of re-enforcement. Then when they were ‘woven’ together just right I found I could focus sorcerous energy through it much like a lens.”
“When that ‘core’ is combined with a suitable and compliant wood it formed a wand that behaved much like a ‘regular’ wand for a witch or wizard.”
“Only that wand will not respond to someone who cannot manipulate sorcerous energy” he explained.
“That’s remarkable.” Ivan said to the general agreement of everyone present.
During this conversation Gabrielle, had been looking at the various wands that Dave had created. One wand in particular seemed to have caught her eye. Tacking advantage of the lull in conversation she asked, “What is that wand over there?” she said indicating one of the wands near the end of the roll.
Following her gaze Dave asked, “Which one?”
Gabrielle raised her hand to point to the wand in question. As she did so the wand leapt from its location into Gabrielle’s out stretched hand.
“I guess she means that one.” Fireball laughed before she caught the look of utter surprise and awe on Dave’s face.
Dave appeared to be completely thunderstruck. He kept on looking between the wand in Gabrielle’s hand and her face. Whenever he returned his gaze to Gabrielle’s face his own expression became one of such complete awe it was almost embarrassing to look at.
Gabrielle seemed to be getting a little flustered at Dave’s lack of response to her questions. She ended up kissing him again to get his attention. This seemed to bring Dave out of whatever trance he was in.
“So THAT’s the trick to getting his attention.” Fireball exclaimed to her mother. “No wonder we have such a hard time with it.” She said before having an attack of the giggles.
This seemed to once again set off the rest of the girls as well.
“Does it work for you?” Dave asked Gabrielle with a burning curiosity in his eyes.
“What is it made of?” She asked him.
“Please. My questions first? What do you feel when you hold it? Does it work for you?” Dave asked again with that burning curiosity still in his eyes.
“It feels warm, like it ez welcoming me.” She replied with a small smile.
“Do you feel anything else?” Dave asked very intently.
“There is a strange feeling with it.” She said returning Dave’s rather intense gaze.
“Can you describe it? Please?”
Gabrielle closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, “I would say there is a feeling of Safety and Strength” she replied. She then opened her eyes and stared very intently into Dave’s for a moment before whispering something into his ear.
I couldn’t catch what she said to him, but whatever it was caused a full body blush on Dave. Dave didn’t even notice the comments that were being freely offered by his sisters, cousin and fellow team members. Whatever it was that Gabrielle had said to him had his complete attention.
For her part Gabrielle was standing facing Dave with a rather naughty little smile on her face. She was enjoying every moment of this I’m sure.
Finding his voice again Dave asked her, “Do you want to test it?”
“Oui”
Dave pointed to the training floor that was still in place from this morning and a target much like the ones used for his earlier demonstration appeared at the far end of the floor.
Dave then whispered something to Gabrielle and she nodded by way of reply. Dave then stepped back and gave her a clear shot at the target.
Gabrielle raised her wand at the target and fired what appeared to me to be a stunning spell at it. The effect on the target however was rather unique. Instead of there being a red mark on the target as had happened earlier in the day, there was now a piece missing from it.
Everyone was on their feet and cheering at Gabrielle’s effort. But she only seemed to notice Dave’s brilliant own smile and his applause for her.
“Another test?” he asked her.
“Oui. Ok” she answered.
Dave walked over to the low rock wall and came back with a loose stone that he had found. He grabbed his chair and moved it back from the table so that everyone could see and then placed the stone on the seat of the chair.
He next walked over to Gabrielle and whispered some instructions in her ear. “Just like that, but also don’t force it.” I heard him say as he stepped back to join the others at the table.
Gabrielle focused and pointed her wand at the stone. The stone seemed to shimmer for a moment and then it just seemed to flow into the shape of a flat bowl. The bowl was not made from common stone though. It looked as though it was now made of quartz.
The look of astonishment on her face was only matched by the look of joy and excitement on Dave’s.
“It bloody well worked.” Dave said with his face alight with joy.
By now everyone was getting a little annoyed with Dave. As they all wanted to know what was so special about that wand that had him so worked up.
Ivan was eventually able to get Dave’s attention and asked him, “Just what is that wand made from Dave. And why are you so excited about it working?”
“The wood in that wand came from BOTH Emma’s and my trees back home.” He answered.
“Both of your trees?” Sandra asked in astonishment.
“Yes both. I blended the wood in that wand much like I did for that dressing table I made for Grandma Webb.” He said still smiling.
“What do you mean ‘your trees’?” Kingsley asked Dave.
“Back home at mum and dad’s place, there are two trees that kind of ‘adopted’ Emma and me as we were growing up. I’m still not entirely sure how the magic of it works, Mick’s dad would be the one to ask for the best explanation.”
“The short version is that these trees seemed to recognise us as ‘kindred spirits’ to them and to each other. So, the trees ‘adopted’ us to protect and guide us and to also serve as an anchor in times of need.” Dave explained.
“I have always carried a twig from my tree and Emma’s tree with me wherever I travel. It helps me to avoid feeling homesick when I’m gone for too long.”
“What trees are you referring to Dave?” Sandra asked.
“The big Red Gum and the Ironbark on the bank of the river near the beach, the ones with all the Bowtruckles in them.” Dave answered.
“Oh, I see.” Sandra said with a knowing smile. “What about the core of the wand? What is it?”
“It has two cores actually.” Dave answered to the astonishment of everyone.
“What are they?” Sandra asked, but I’m sure all the rest of us were only moments away from asking the same question.
“The first core is almost identical to the one in the wand I made for dad. Except that I added a few strands of sapphire as well.” Dave explained.
“Hang on. You said a core like that couldn’t be used by a witch or a wizard.” Ivan remarked.
“Correct Dad. That’s exactly what I said.” Dave answered while looking into Gabrielle’s eyes. She was as surprised as everyone else.
“Did she use that core at all?” Ivan asked Dave.
“If she followed my instructions she did.” Dave answered, “She would have used it when she transformed the stone I found into that quartz bowl.” He answered.
“Didn’t she just transfigure it?” Hermione asked.
“Did you Gabrielle?” Dave asked her, “How did you achieve that result.” He asked her.
“I just told it to change. Zen it changed in front of me.” Gabrielle replied, still astonished at what she had done.
“That’s all? You just said ‘change’?” Hermione asked disbelievingly.
“Oui” Gabrielle answered, “Alzough I didn’t say ze word out loud.” She clarified.
“Does zis mean I am a Sorcerer?” she asked Dave.
“No. Well not yet anyway. But you most definitely have the native ability and strength to be one.”
“With the right training and a good teacher of course.” He answered her with a smile.
“Will you train me?” she asked with a shy smile.
“If your parents allow it and if you desire it. I would be happy to teach you.” Dave answered with his own rather shy smile.
“It is a lot of work and it takes a long time to properly develop the skills. But I do believe that you have the right temperament to be able to control and eventually master it.”
“Some of your native Veela traits will also serve you well in this training.” Dave said with a smile.
“What you have already done today it more than some people can do even when they have been training solid for a year or more.”
“Yes you had a wand to help focus your energies. But the fundamentals, are the same regardless of there being a wand involved or not.” Dave tried to explain to a still very surprised Gabrielle.
Thinking for a moment he next added.
“You will have French law on your side, as they allow their citizens to learn and practice sorcery. The only provision being that you sit a test much like the one for Apparition to show that you have mastered the required basics.”
“Something for you and your parents to keep in mind also.” Dave said smiling at both Gabrielle and her parents.
“To the best of our knowledge the French Ministry currently does not have ANY sorcerers who have successfully passed the licencing requirements.” Dave explained to Gabrielle’s and her parents delight.
“As soon as they are made aware of your natural talents and what you have achieved here today, they will be trying their very best to convince you to come and work for them. You will also within reason, be able to almost write your own employment contract if you so desire.”
“But of course you didn’t hear any of that from me did you?” Dave said with a very cheeky grin at Gabrielle and her parents.
“Hear what Monsieur.” Exclaimed Monsieur Delacour with his own devious smile on his face and the sound of laughter from all assembled.
“Well played Monsieur Delacour.” Dave replied with a little salute to him.
“What is the other CORE that is in Gabrielle’s wand?” Hermione asked with her curiosity still in the hunt for answers.
Here Dave began to look a little nervous and a slight blush began to form on his cheeks.
“David!” Sandra said with some irritation. “Answer the question. What is the other core in that wand?”
“It’s… It’s me.” Was Dave’s very surprising answer.
Upon hearing his answer Gabrielle blushed to the roots of her hair and Dave quickly copied her. Everyone else was just gobsmacked.
“What do you mean, you?” Ivan asked his son. “Please explain it son.”
“When I try to transform into my magical creature, all I can achieve so far is a collection of golden hairs as I mentioned before. When I showed Grandpa Webb what I could do he collected some of them from me.”
“One of those golden hairs is in that wand.” Dave said more than a little embarrassed.
“I wanted to see if my magical creature was ‘good enough’ for Wandcraft. But when I tried to use the wand it wouldn’t respond to me.”
“Until today I thought that I had royally screwed it up and wasted one of those hairs.” He said looking at his feet in embarrassment.
“That’s why I was so surprised when that wand accepted Gabrielle as its master and worked for her so wonderfully.” Dave said with a quick glance at Gabrielle and a shy smile at her before he again examined his shoes.
For her part Gabrielle was looking at the wand in her hand with a new sense of wonder. She also seemed to be regarding Dave in a new (and VERY approving) way.
“Zose feelings I was getting from ze wand. Zey are ultimately coming from toi?” Gabrielle almost purred to Dave with a fierce light burning in her eyes.
Dave seemed to be a little dumbstruck at this observation and his power of speech also seemed to have left him for the moment.
‘Thankfully’ for Dave his father was close at hand to ‘help’ him through this ‘difficult’ moment.
“From what I know of Wandlore, given that the wood is from Dave’s and Emma’s own trees that alone would indicate that any emotions you feel from that wand would indeed be connected to him.”
“Add to that the fact that the magical core IS Dave, that could only serve to magnify and add to the emotions carried with in the wood itself.” He helpfully explained.
“Merci Monsieur Webb.” Gabrielle replied to Ivan with a wonderful little smile. “I zink I need to borrow your son for a bit so we can ‘ave some time to properly talk togezer.”
Without waiting for a reply, Gabrielle used her free hand to grab Dave’s and ‘dragged’ him off to the orchard in search of somewhere private to ‘talk’.
“Should we send a protective detail after them?” Fireball asked her parents. Her eyes were alight with mischief.
“To protect who?” Ivan asked, “Gabrielle seems to be in good hands.” He remarked.
“I do not zink it is Gabrielle who may need protecting in zis case.” Fleur said with her own naughty little smile on her face as she struggled with her own case of the giggles.
“If zey are not back in an ‘our or two we can always send some policewomen in to rescue Dave.” Madame Delacour said before succumbing to a bout of the giggles herself. She seemed to have started a chain reaction amongst the other girls also.
Ivan looked to his wife with a confused expression on his face that was just so very similar to Dave’s. Sandra could only smile at him and run her hand lovingly along the side of his face and through his hair.
“Oh my dear, there are just some things that they don’t teach our Aurors at the academy.” She said with a smile before joining in with the fresh round of laughter that had erupted.
“I get the feeling that this is related to that report that you had promised me earlier. Isn’t it.” He asked with a very intense but curious expression.
“You could say that my dear.” She answered, before she proceeded to tell her husband what she had learnt of the events that took place in Paris back in March. All the girls were only too happy to assist with the commentary.
Without Dave, around to engage in futile attempts to defend himself the story went so much quicker. Ivan and indeed the rest of the males there (yes including the ones from Dave’s team) were greatly enlightened by this story.
I also got the feeling that poor Dave would not be living this incident down for a significant amount of time to come.
The most interesting thing to come out of the retelling of this story was the admission by Monsieur Delacour that he thought that he might have been the one to supply a copy of the magazine. As he had a business partner of his own in Australia that had once requested that he track down a copy of a surfing magazine for his daughter.
Ivan asked him the name of his business partner in Australia and he replied, “John Thompson”.
At this Ivan and his family fell into Hysterics. Eventually they informed us that he was indeed the father of Dave’s Emma. This only seemed to embarrass Monsieur Delacour for the embarrassment he had brought to Dave.
Dave’s entire family on the other hand were profusely thanking him for his efforts. Going from the looks on the faces of my own boys I was sure that they were also appreciative of the efforts of Monsieur Delacour as they all (George particularly) looked like they were planning something ‘suitably memorable’ for Dave.
It was the second time that day that I began to feel sorry for poor Dave. But in the end my curiosity won out and I had to see what they would do to the poor boy. I also have to admit I was interested in what Dave’s response would be also.
Dave, when you get to this part of the story I hope you can forgive me for not warning you about the plans of my boys. I know that you still get teased about this story, but it is only because we all love you so much. Besides your future bride still LOVES to hear the story retold and we can’t disappoint her now can we my dear.
As to your rather unique response to their antics. Those stories have brought more joy and laughter to our family than you can know. Angelia nearly suffered an injury when she was told about what you did to poor George. Of course the photos provided by Ginny are among some of her most treasured possessions (although she does need to keep them out of the reach of George).
Chapter 21: Ginny's Introduction and First Lessons (Ginny's P.O.V)
Ginny's IntroductionAs the next few chapters of this journal relate to some events that were either a little traumatic for my mum, or for events that occurred when she wasn’t around. It was felt that I (along with some others later) would contribute to the next couple of chapters for her. Mum’s memories of some of these events are a little shaky as well. She was either a little overwhelmed by them, or she was frequently quickly removed from the scene for reasons that should be obvious.
Writing this also gives me an opportunity to set the record straight with a certain cousin of mine around selected incidents that have made it into family ‘lore’ and ‘legend’. The stories about me wearing my hair in curls or worse rollers, I was not involved. It would have been that oversized lump of a cousin of mine. Along with some other ‘loving’ family members.
Sure, various women in my family (I can think of one in particular) may claim he has many ‘redeeming’ qualities, but he can also be one of the most infuriating men known to woman kind. With the only possible exceptions being my own dear husband and his best mate my ‘dear’ brother Ron. Put those three together (or worse add in some of ‘his’ cousins, I’m talking about you Joseph) and any women who want to keep their sanity should just give up and leave the immediate area.
Ok, I will admit this person does have ‘some’ redeeming qualities that have enabled me and various other family members and friends to escape serious injury or harm (or worse). He occasionally (but only very occasionally) can be one of the sweetest people around as well. But that only serves to make him even more frustrating as it shows how well he can behave (well at least when his soon to be wife is around to keep him in line) when required.
As my mum, has pointed out already my own introduction to him got off to a rather bumpy start. But thankfully he offered me a ‘reset’ of our short relationship. In so many ways I am glad that I took that opportunity as we have both gained a great deal from it. Not the least of which is his friendship, love and support that he (and his family) have shown to me and the rest of my family over the years.
While I do still thoroughly enjoy teasing my cousin over the ‘Paris Incident’ and some similar ones since (I just can’t understand what that boy’s problem is with fashion/clothing in general) he isn’t as bad as we all try to make him out to be. Sometimes he is even worse. But even with all of that I am grateful that he and his family are in the lives of mine.
I hope you enjoy our chapters here and who knows I might even contribute some more before this journal is over. As I know several good stories that took place at a certain school (namely some classes that didn’t quite go to plan, or some detentions that ended up proving to be rather popular instead of a deterrent) which I don’t think your bride to be knows about just yet.
Scared yet cuz? You should be, they are great stories.
I hope you all enjoy my memories of my newly discovered cousin and his family.
Ginny Potter.
P.S. Another word to the wise for my family, any time you hear of an incident or are shown a photograph of me in pink clothing ANY type of pink clothing I can solemnly swear it wasn’t me. I don’t care if Harry was spotted with me or photographed with me. IT WASN’T ME. My wardrobe has not, does not and never will contain any items of pink clothing. The blame for those events can be laid squarely at the oversized feet of a certain oversized cousin of mine. Along with my husband and youngest brother. I swear if it happens again I will HEX all three of them in public, I don’t care who may be around as witnesses next time.
First Lessons (Ginny's Point of View)
It goes without saying that the job of locating my ‘missing’ cousin fell to me. For some reason whenever that particular lump of a male disappears it seems to be my job to locate him. His sisters are much more capable of locating him quicker than me, but for some reason my mother always seems to select me for this job.
Another infuriating thing about him is that given his size you would be forgiven to believe that he would be easy to locate. The reverse seems to be the case though. He is usually located when you walk right into him or trip over him. That can also lead to some ‘odd’ situations, but more on that later.
On this particular day, I was looking for Dave as he had been ‘dragged off’ by a certain French Female for a ‘discussion’ of some sort. Given the determined look in her eyes as she left with him I was reasonably sure as to what form this ‘discussion’ would be taking. To be honest I wasn’t looking forward to locating them if they were still in the middle of their ‘discussion’.
With that thought upper most in my mind, I tried to make as much noise as was practical as I began my search of the orchard. While searching through the orchard I found my mind drifting back over the events of the past two days that had forever changed my world. It was a lot to take in and try to process.
I still had a hard time believing that I had tried to attack an Auror from behind. Even more unbelievable was his response to that attack and then afterwards his response to me. Given what I have since seen him (and other members of his team) do to others who tried similar attacks I know how truly lucky I was.
On top of that particular event was the attempted ambush on my family and then the way that everyone worked together to heal Gabrielle of her injuries. While I was rather irritated with her that day I certainly had no wish to see her get hurt like that. I found myself feeling very relieved when she was successfully healed. The way in which she was healed however had me questioning a lot of what I thought I knew about the nature of magic.
Sometimes I think the truly ‘magical’ thing about my newly discovered cousin (and the rest of his family) is how open they are, almost eager to share what they know about the various forms of magic. Once Kingsley had the English laws around sorcery sorted out they were also very happy to share that knowledge with us as well.
Many other people in the wizarding world would have hoarded the store of knowledge that Dave and his family possess and only begrudgingly share it with others.
This willingness to share and explain his knowledge and the obvious joy he gets from it. Especially when people truly comprehend what he is passing along, have lead me to one opinion about my cousin Dave. That despite all his obvious flaws and faults and bloody annoying tendencies, he is first and foremost a teacher. While Dave claims that Harry is a naturally gifted teacher who truly cares about his students and loves to see them grow and learn I would say that he also fits into this category.
I was about to experience this first hand as I conducted my search for him.
After coming up empty searching through the orchard I sat for a moment and thought about all the places that someone would head off to for some quality ‘alone time’. It wasn’t long before I thought of the pond. On the other side of the small dock that extends into the pond there is a rather cosy little depression in the ground at the base of a willow tree. This little depression is perfectly suited for two people to hide themselves in and be almost impossible to spot unless you are deliberately looking for them.
Gabrielle had found Harry and myself there just recently so it seemed logical that she would make use of it. Unknown to her though is another well sheltered spot not far from there where one can watch without being seen, if only you can sneak into it unobserved.
With this thought in my mind I set out for this spot to see if I could catch those two in a position that would be worthy of a little blackmail later on.
Getting myself into position I found that Dave and Gabrielle were indeed seated at the base of the willow tree. Gabrielle was located in her favourite seat (Dave’s lap). While they were both obviously a little ‘mussed up’ from some earlier ‘activities’ they were indeed deep in conversation. I couldn’t hear what they were discussing as some sort of privacy charm had been put into place around them. But from the wrapped expression on Gabrielle’s face I could tell that she was greatly enjoying whatever the topic of the conversation was.
After watching for a few moments, I noticed that Dave seemed to be trying to teach Gabrielle something. As he was using some intricate hand movements to get his point across to her. Gabrielle would then take her new wand and point it at a stone or a small branch and then it would move a small way.
She would then put her wand down and concentrate on the same object that she had just moved. Sometimes the object she focused on would move as before, other times it would just twitch slightly. But the truly astonishing thing was, she had without a doubt been able to move objects near her without a wand in her hand. It wasn’t clear if this was done through magic or sorcery though.
Regardless I found myself fascinated by what they were doing. I settled down to watch some more, careful to keep myself hidden.
You may no doubt be laughing at me already for my belief that I could observe an Auror undetected. Let’s just say that Dave is very good at ‘putting people where he wants them’ especially when he is wanting to make a lesson out of something. If you don’t believe me I invite you to try and sneak up on him when he doesn’t want to be observed.
After Gabrielle, had completed whatever lesson she was working on with Dave. The topic of their conversation appeared to change to the trees that surrounded them. I found myself wondering what he could be teaching her about the trees surrounding the lake.
I found out what he was teaching her when I felt myself being grabbed from behind, picked up and turned upside down by something very hard and unyielding. Once my initial shock was over I realised that the tree I was sitting under had reached out and enfolded me in its branches. It was currently holding me a good two meters off the ground. To say that I was annoyed was a slight understatement.
This was only made worse by the very calm and even cheerful greeting I got from Dave.
“Would you look at that? We seem to have caught a Little Fireball.” Dave said with that crooked smile of his.
“Hello there cuz. You are most welcome to join us if you wish. No need to hide over there at all.” He said with that annoying smile of his. He wasn’t even gloating at having caught me. He just seemed pleased with himself. Even Gabrielle seemed too happy to gloat as she waved for me to come and join them.
“It’s a little difficult to join you when I’m tied up like this.” I told him, while trying to remain calm.
“You know, you could be right about that.” He replied and then the tree put me back on the ground (the right way up) in a surprisingly gentle manner.
I was all ready to go over there and give him a piece of my mind about his behaviour. But they were both so genuine in their invitation that I found myself wanting to know what they had been so happily discussing.
Once I was back on my own feet and had straightened out my clothes I walked over to them and sat down opposite them. “So what have you two been so happily discussing here all this time?” I asked with an arch little.
“Non-verbal communication.” Dave replied with a very straight face. Although Gabrielle had a shy little smile that she couldn’t quite hide.
“Oh is that’s what it’s called ‘down under’ is it?” I tried to see if I could get him to crack first. I didn’t realise at the time that they indeed had been working on non-verbal communication. As it is apparently a very common ability for those with sorcerous abilities. Unfortunately for me I didn’t realise it at this point in time and I was only going to be digging myself in deeper as the conversation went on.
“I think it is known as that just about everywhere.” Dave answered still with that deceptively straight face of his (I hadn’t yet learnt to read his face as well as I can now).
“Would you like me to demonstrate with you?” he asked with a raised eyebrow while he leaned in towards me. Gabrielle seemed to understand what Dave was talking about as she had a sly little smile. This caused me to become a little worried as I was thinking that I was being out manoeuvred somehow.
It was only when I realised that I was blushing did I understand just how well he had managed to out manoeuver me.
“Ah no thanks. I’m good.” I replied in a futile attempt to cover my blushing before they both had a good laugh at my expense.
After they recovered, Dave explained that they had indeed been previously practising some non-verbal communication. This involved ‘throwing’ or ‘casting’ your thoughts to the other person and then replying in kind.
Now I understood why he had could keep such a straight face. As he had indeed been telling the truth. Boggarts.
“So what were you trying to do with the stones while I was watching you?” I asked with my curiosity getting the better of me. Yes, I know that I had forgotten that I had been sent to collect Dave and Gabrielle. But we will get to that.
“I was beginning to explain to Gabrielle how to enhance her movement with magic. Much like I did when I caught your Hex yesterday.” Dave answered.
That had my full and immediate attention as I was VERY curious as to how he had managed that.
“How do you enhance your movements?” I asked.
“Fundamentally it is a very simple idea. It is the execution of that idea where it gets complicated.” Dave explained.
“Have you ever noticed how when you cast a spell that the magic seems to flow from and through you?” he asked me.
I must have given him a rather blank stare as he smiled back at me and said, “Don’t worry not many people do notice it unless they are specifically concentrating on it.”
Dave proceeded to repeat the lesson he had been working on with Gabrielle. It involved casting a very simple spell, but doing it very slowly and lightly. The object being trying to feel the magical energy move through your body.
Eventually I could begin to feel something. It was like a very light tickle almost like ‘pins and needles’ and it seemed to flow from the middle of me down my arm to my wand and then out through my wand only to push over the stone which I had my wand pointed at.
Dave must have been watching me as he seemed to recognise when I could notice this. Once I could feel the energy move through me he got me to see if I could do it without a wand. Then when I could to try and hold the energy for a short time before releasing it through my wand once more. This proved to be a harder task. I was still working on this when I noticed Dave sit up and look around.
“We are about to have visitors.” He advised.
“Visitors?” I asked.
“The golden trio” he answered with a smile.
“Should we welcome them as we, did to you?” He asked me with a crooked grin.
“Sounds fair to me.” I replied returning his grin.
Dave closed his eyes as he said it enabled him to ‘see’ them better. He seemed to be waiting for something but eventually he smiled. When he did so, I thought that I could faintly hear and almost feel something leave him and move over to the small dock and then beyond. I was about to mention this when Gabrielle spoke, “What was zat?” she asked Dave.
“What was what?” he asked her with a knowing grin.
“I felt somezing from you. It moved zat way.” She said pointing to the small dock.
“Yes and it made a funny sort of sound as well.” I added.
“Did it indeed?” he asked me with that same annoying grin.
“The two of you may be more talented than you both realise. But we will speak more on that later.”
“Let’s check on our guests, shall we?” he offered.
A little reluctantly I got up along with Gabrielle and Dave and we walked over to the small dock. Once we reached it we could see the results of Dave’s greeting.
The sight before us was VERY amusing. I couldn’t help but break out into a smile and laugh at it.
Poor Harry had been grabbed from behind by a large willow tree and was now held very securely against its trunk. Ron and Hermione had been pinned together by the same willow tree and were now securely wrapped in its branches facing each other but also hanging upside down.
Hermione was struggling with trying to be mad at the situation, but also trying not to laugh because of Ron’s antics. Apparently, his struggles to free them were rather ticklish to her.
“Hello all.” Dave called out.
“Were you looking for us by any chance? Or are you just out enjoying the woods?” he asked in that annoying casual voice he has. I more clearly understood his enjoyment at catching me before after watching the faces of the golden trio.
“Let me… Us down. Now. Dave” Ron was bellowing.
“You seem to be a little worked up Ron. Whatever is the matter?” Dave asked him.
“I thought you would have enjoyed some ‘together time’ with Hermione?”
At this both Harry and I burst out laughing at the comments coming from Ron and the laughter now emanating from Hermione as the tickling from Ron’s movements finally got too much for her.
Dave and Gabrielle were both smiling broadly and fighting against their own laughter. “Should we release Harry first? He seems to be the most composed.” Dave asked.
“Ok I agreed. But I would like to try something first, if I may?” I asked Dave with a smirk on my face. He must have caught my meaning as he indicated I should go ahead with my plan.
I walked over to Harry with a rather evil grin on my face and I could see his own worry grow the closer I got.
“Gin? What are you up to?” He was almost begging. I didn’t answer, I just added a bit more evil into my grin.
Once I reached him I began to tickle his stomach. Solely to prove an earlier idea I had, not for any ulterior motive I must admit. Well maybe not completely.
My earlier suspicions proved to be correct as Harry was soon laughing almost hysterically, while trying to call me all sorts of names at the same time. I let him calm down and then soundly kissed him by way of an apology (of sorts).
While I was kissing Harry, Dave decided to release him from the embrace of the tree. As I felt Harry’s kiss change to a grin as he quickly grabbed me and started to tickle my own stomach. He knew dam well how ticklish I am there and he was also taking full advantage of his stronger grip as well.
Remembering the earlier demonstration from Dave (against Ron) I tried the same technique on Harry and to my surprise it worked. His momentary surprise was all I needed to take off and start running through the orchard trying to escape from him.
Dave must have let Ron and Hermione down at around the same time as I recall them begin to bicker about whose fault it was that they got caught.
None of us noticed Dave and Gabrielle head back to that little depression near the Willow together. I think that might have been part of his devious plan all along. As he can be a sneaky bugger when he wants to be.
Eventually we all remembered that we had been sent into the orchard to collect some certain individuals. So we trouped back to the Willow tree where I was very sure we would find them.
Find them we did indeed. They were happily snuggled together once more talking together quietly and exchanging kisses on a rather frequent schedule.
“Decided to stop playing amongst yourself and come and join us have you?” Dave asked with his face alight with mischief.
“How did you do that?” Hermione asked him. I should have guessed that would be the first thing out of her mouth. A question.
“Until Kingsley gets the laws changed here I’m afraid that I can’t tell you that.”
“But I can say that Harry nearly got away. Did you feel the ‘spell’ hit the tree?” Dave asked him.
“I don’t know if I felt it, but I definitely heard something.” Harry answered.
“So did your little lady here.” Dave answered.
“Looks like you both have some latent abilities near the surface.” Dave said approvingly. “It shouldn’t take much work to get you both to better recognise them.”
Both Harry and I had smiles on our faces at this news. For some reason learning these new skills seemed VERY intriguing and important to me.
“So what have you all be been doing here all this time.” Ron asked.
“Non-verbal communication.” I said before I could help myself and then collapsed into laughter at the looks on their faces. In my defence Dave and Gabrielle also were laughing along.
“Sorry, it was a location joke. You had to be there.” I replied.
“Dave was showing Gabrielle and me how to better feel our magical energies so we can ‘enhance our movements’. Is that correct?” I asked him.
“Very well put Little Fireball” Dave said with his own smirk showing. “Would you all like to try it?” he asked.
They all readily agreed eagerly.
In a very short time we were all trying to nudge our small stones from the log in front of us. Harry was the first one amongst us to be able to briefly hold his magical energy before releasing it.
Gabrielle managed it next and then Hermione and I achieved it. It was a very strange but rather pleasant feeling.
Ron seemed to be struggling with it a bit. Dave had to ‘bribe’ Gabrielle to once more vacate his lap so he could go over to Ron and help him. He put his hands on Ron’s shoulders and asked him to relax, then he began to massage Ron’s shoulders to get him to unclench them.
As soon as he relaxed his shoulders he was able to briefly hold his energy before releasing it. The look on his face was priceless.
“The next part of the process is to release the energy that you are holding into the muscles of your arm. Not out through your wand.”
“The reason we do this with such a small amount of energy is that if you use too much your muscles will tear themselves apart.”
“That isn’t a fun experience. Trust me.” He added with a rueful smile.
He next summoned a small branch to him. This then hung in mid-air as he turned that crooked branch into a perfectly straight, round and smooth bit of timber.
We were all fascinated watching this. Harry even more so as he had not seen Dave work with the metal yesterday.
Soon the branch was the size that Dave seemed to require it to be. It would have been almost as long, as he was tall. He next looked around for some green leaves which he gathered together and wrapped them around the piece of timber that he had just made.
Soon these leaves were made into a padded handle (for want of a better term) that could slide up and down the length of the timber rod that he had just made.
Dave set the padded handle in motion and it was soon moving up and down the rod quite quickly.
“The object of this exercise is to grab the puck or the handle when it is directly in front of you. At the moment, it is moving just fast enough that ‘normal’ human reflexes will not be quick enough to grab it. The puck is also soft enough and has sufficient cushioning charms on it so that if you miss you will not be injured by it.”
“The hardest part of this exercise is to consciously control your muscles. As at the start it is just like learning how to walk. You need to consciously order your muscles to move and the magical energy to move into them.”
“Practise this now. Consciously think about the major muscle groups that you need to move to lift your arms and grab something.”
We must have been a strange sight all siting there concentrating on moving our own arms and hands to try and grab an imaginary object in front of us.
“The key is to make your movement as smooth and ‘graceful’ as possible. The smoother you can make your movement the faster you will be eventually be.” He said with a smile.
After another 30min or so of this exercise we were all starting to complain of sore arms.
“Excellent.” Dave answered our complaints. “That means we are ready for the next part.” He said with a grin. I now know that Dave has the soul of a Drill Sergeant at times. When he is teaching, no one not even his bride to be gets to cut corners.
“We will try this one at a time. I will go first. Watch me not only with your eyes, but with your other scenes as well. See if you can detect the energy flowing through my arm. I will try to be a bit more obvious than usual to try and make it easier for you.”
“Ready?” he asked us. We all answered that we were.
Dave then took a breath and watched the puck moving up and down the stick. His hand just shot out and grabbed the puck on the first try. Even though I had seen him move like this yesterday I was still surprised by it.
The rest of us were also suitably impressed.
“Did you see what I did?” Dave asked.
“That was amazing.” Harry exclaimed. “It would be a huge advantage in Quidditch to be able to move like that.” He said a little wistfully.
“I’m not sure about the rules here, but back home this is banned in professional and school sports. There is also a cost to being able to move like this.” He explained.
“Cost?” Hermione asked.
“Yes all magic has a ‘price’ or ‘cost’ to it. Mostly as in the case here it is just energy expenditure. You can move much quicker than ‘normal’ but it also take a bit more than ‘normal’ out of you.”
“For this reason it is best used for brief spurts of speed only. Not for extended periods of time.”
“For longer periods of time there are other techniques that can be used.”
“One ‘side effect’ of being able to move like this is the development of more ‘efficient’, ‘smoother’ or even ‘graceful’ movement. This translates into movement that is overall measurably faster even under normal conditions.” He explained.
“Who would like to try first?”
Harry was the keenest to try it next, so we let him have a go at it first.
“Just relax and make your assessment on when you should make your grab. It might take a few goes to get used to the speed difference.” Dave tried to explain.
Harry’s first go was so very very close. He just caught the tail end of the puck. But you could see from the look in his eye that he was pleased with himself.
His second go was even closer. On his third try he caught it cleanly. The smile on his face just melted my heart. I could tell that the smile on Dave’s face was having a similar effect on Gabrielle as well.
“Excellent work.” Dave said grinning ear to ear, “How does your arm feel?” he asked.
“Tired.” Harry replied.
“That is very normal. It takes a god deal of practise to get your body used to this sort of enhancement. So it is a good idea to work on it slowly, only small amounts at a time.”
“Who would like to try next?” Dave asked looking around at us.
“I would.” I told him optimistically.
Harry and I quickly changed places and I found myself in front of the training device. My first 3 attempts while close were not as close as Harry’s first one. I was starting to get a bit stressed. At this point I noticed Dave whispering to Harry. Just when I was about to snap at them both for distracting me I felt Harry lean in and whisper in my own ear.
He whispered encouragement to me. I closed my eyes and just listened to his voice. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and looked at the puck moving up and down the rod.
I only remember thinking about grabbing it and then my hand was around it holding it securely.
For a moment or two I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But it was definitely in my hand. When I looked up I could see Harry grinning like a mad man. Ron also looked impressed, Hermione was happy as well.
Dave had a smug little smile on his face like he knew I could do it and I only had to prove it to myself. I couldn’t help it I returned his grin.
“Well done.” Was all he said, “Who wants the next go?” he asked.
“Moi” was the answer.
So, Gabrielle and I swapped places and she studied the moving puck. Her first attempt was so very close we all let out a little groan at how close it was. Her second attempt caught it securely. She was obviously delighted with her achievement. As she launched herself at Dave and covered him in kisses. He didn’t seem to mind though.
While she was attacking Dave, Hermione stepped up to the device. Like me she missed on her first three attempts. Dave repeated the technique he used on me. After extracting himself from Gabrielle he got Ron to whisper encouragement and calming thoughts to Hermione.
After listening for a moment or two she caught it on her next try. Her smile and giggles were infectious. We were all soon giggling just like she was.
Ron was the next one to try. The annoying git caught it on his first try. The look of delight and surprise on his face caught me completely by surprise and I just collapsed into hysterical laughter. Hermione also seemed to enjoy the look on his face as well. She certainly didn’t complain about the kisses he bestowed on her.
“I’m impressed with you all.” Dave remarked after Ron and Hermione had come up for air. “Not many people manage to catch the puck that soon.”
“What you all just managed to do today didn’t involve any new fundamental skills. Just using skills you already possessed, only in a slightly different way.”
“That is the true object of this lesson. It isn’t what you have. But how you use it that makes the biggest difference.” He said while beaming at us all.
“When we get back make sure you all have a good drink of water and have something to eat. Ideally something with some protein in it as your muscles just had a good work out.”
“But very well done to you all.” He said still smiling. The joy that he had on his face was infectious. This was also before Gabrielle came over and hugged and kissed him thoroughly again.
“So that’s what you have all been doing.” Came a voice from the dock.
Looking up we noticed George and Charlie standing on the dock looking at us all with an amused expression on their faces, “Interesting training technique you have there Dave.” George said with a smirk.
“Can anyone learn that?” he asked.
“Well, Ginny managed to.” Dave answered with his own smirk at George.
Without thinking I struck out to hit him in the arm. Only to cry out myself as I hurt my wrist again on the bloody dense slab of meat that is his upper arm. To add insult to injury he just looked at me with that questioning look he has and remarked.
“You do remember what I told you yesterday don’t you?”
Before he held my wrist for me and once again fixed it.
“Yes I do actually.” I replied before clipping him over the back of the head. This seems to be the safest way to belt Dave, as while his head might be the densest part of him it is also the softest to actually hit.
“Once you all have finished playing over there.” George remarked, “Ivan and Kingsley have requested the presence of a certain Australian Auror who seemed to need two rescue parties sent after him.”
“Now while they might not be French Policewomen they were all we had easily to hand.” He said with a massive grin (Charlie was also thoroughly enjoying himself). Dave on the other hand was laying on the ground groaning about female family members who can’t keep information to themselves.
Gabrielle was ‘required’ to administer a few rounds of ‘medicinal affection’ to get Dave to sit back up.
George and Charlie were still grinning like mad men over on the dock.
“They also requested that he bring his badge with him as it is time for him to earn his keep.” George replied in a more serious tone of voice that immediately caught Dave’s attention.
He soon had us all up on our feet heading back to the rest of the family.
Chapter 22: Finances and Contracts
Arriving back at where the tables were still setup with my family gathered around I noticed a good number of smirks and giggles directed at Dave. He however seemed to have resigned himself to this (especially from his team) as he seemed ‘happy’ to grin and bear it.This approach made me more than a little curious, it was only later that I found out his reasoning for it. After learning the reasoning for his approach I started to see why he had the fearsome reputation that he does in various circles. More on that to come. Sorry George, but for ‘historical accuracy’ it does need to be told.
Having Gabrielle holding his hand also seemed to make him impervious (or oblivious) to what was going on around him. The exception being the looks he was getting from his parents.
While they were showing obvious signs of laughing very hard recently (they were still wiping the tears away when I was asked to locate Dave) they both now had very serious looking expressions on their faces.
Dave sat down opposite his parents. He was a little surprised, but pleased when Gabrielle again sat in his lap. But I was a little surprised/worried that Dave’s sisters were now either side of him. I got the feeling that something was up.
“We were starting to get the feeling that another search party would be required to locate you to.” Sandra said with a smirk showing through her straight face.
“Yes, I get the feeling that recent events requiring rescue parties for me have been under discussion here.” Dave answered giving his mum a rather direct look.
“Events that could potentially affect our relations with other countries do need to be ‘carefully’ discussed. Don’t you agree dear?” Sandra asked her husband.
“Absolutely.” He replied with only the faintest of smiles, “Your poor sister has been having to put in a lot of overtime with our French Liaison Officer recently. In an attempt to smooth over a recent event. I’m sure what we have just discussed was the cause of it.” He answered still with a straight face.
“Don’t be too concerned for Shelly dad. She enjoys ‘working’ under him.” Dave said with only the slightest trace of a smirk. But this was more than enough for his mum to pick up on. I could see her eyes light up as she learnt this new piece of information about one of her children.
This slip on Dave’s part seemed to have been very carefully calculated also. His dad may have missed the signal but his mum caught it. I started to find myself wondering what form Shelly’s revenge would be on her brother once she found out about his ‘accidental’ slip.
Or what it would be worth to him for my silence. As I did remember his advice about the need for blackmail material in his family.
“That may be. But we do need to keep up good relations with the French.” Ivan explained as Gabrielle’s smile grew more than it should have.
“They are providing a great deal of support for our operations in this part of the world.”
“I will do what I can to make sure that they are kept happy dad.” Dave replied with only the slightest glance and smirk at Gabrielle. She seemed to have caught both of them as she smiled back and blushed slightly.
“Glad to hear it son. They can be a handful at times, but in the long run it is definitely worth while keeping them happy.” Ivan answered as he grabbed a pile of folders that were next to him.
In doing so he completely missed the looks exchanged between Gabrielle and Dave. I’m very sure they were planning on doing their utmost to maintain good ‘international relations’ as well.
Fleur seemed to have caught the exchanges between them as well. She also seemed to be approving of what she was seeing. This surprised me a little, I wondered why she was so openly accepting of Gabrielle’s and Dave’s obviously growing affection for one another.
Was it because Dave was so much closer to Gabrielle in terms of age? Or was there something there that she could see or know that I was missing.
Those of you who have read the earlier chapters will indeed know what piece of the puzzle I was missing at the time. So we will leave it there shall we?
“Earlier today we spoke of the goals of this deployment.” As Ivan said this I could see Kingsley, Dad and Mum sit up more and take a much keener interest in this conversation.
“While some of the main goals are indeed going to be the; rebuilding and retraining of the much depleted Auror Department here along with the continued search to the various ‘Ledgers’ to help those currently under our care.”
“There is another much more personal goal of this deployment that is going to need our attention.” Ivan said while fixing him with a very intense look that seemed to be conveying a great deal of information.
“This is connected to the ambush that we found yesterday, isn’t it?” Dave replied calmly returning his dad look.
“You have identified the intended target. Haven’t you.”
“Indeed, we have Dave. Indeed, we have.”
“Well who is it?” Dave asked.
Ivan glanced over to my parents and Dave followed. “It’s me Dave.” Mum answered in a small voice.
I was looking directly at Dave’s face when she told him. I could actually see it change from that of my cousin into the professional Auror that he was. It was like one of those muggle switches had been thrown. However, it quickly reverted to my cousin once more. He looked directly into mum’s eyes to offer her his assurances that he wouldn’t let harm come to her.
“We will all have your back, Aunty Molly.” Dave said to mum with his eyes showing the resolve behind that statement. Mum picked up on both the spoken and unspoken messages as she started to smile back at Dave. Dad also caught the meanings as he had a grateful smile for Dave also.
My brothers and Harry were showing support for Dave’s statements as well. I would bet that they would be willing accomplices in any plans that were made.
Dave turned back to his father after taking note of the expressions around him.
“Personal or Professional?” Dave asked his father in overly calm voice.
“A little bit of both Dave.” Ivan answered carefully watching Dave.
“Explain.” Dave requested.
“A professional contract has been offered but for personal reasons.” Ivan explained.
“By who”
“Rodolphus Lestrange.” Ivan answered in a voice that seemed to hint he was expecting trouble. “He has placed the contract because Molly killed his wife in a duel at the Battle of Hogwarts recently.”
Several things seemed to happen all at once. Gabrielle suddenly had a rather surprised look on her face as she felt the rush of ‘goose pimples’ across Dave’s arm and his neck.
At the same time, Dave’s eyes almost seemed to ignite with a cold blue flame. For a moment, there I would have sworn that there were actual blue flames rising out of his eyes. There also seemed to be a golden ripple that ran across his body as though something long hidden had finally started to stir.
The most frightening thing however was the sudden drop in the temperature. The day had been a beautifully warm spring day and we were all in light clothing. But right now, I was beginning to wonder where my snow gear was as I was feeling a definite need for it.
To my surprise, I realised that Dave seemed to be the cause of this sudden drop in temperature. As the angrier he became the colder it got. Gabrielle had come to the same conclusion as well, as she started to run her fingers through the hair on the back of Dave’s head, while whispering something to him. I’m not sure how she figured that out but I am very glad she did, as her actions seemed to have a very strong calming influence on Dave.
A few moments were all it took for Gabrielle to dilute Dave’s anger enough that the temperature started to return to where it should be for a lovely spring day. Eventually Dave seemed to have calmed enough that he could regain control of his emotions. With a thankful look to Gabrielle he continued.
“That blockhead!!! You’re sure?” Dave remarked with some surprise. Seeing the confirming nod from his father Dave sat back in his chair. “We have had him marked as a key ‘person of interest’ with regards to several sets of ledgers that we have been tracking also.” He commented.
“Rules?” he asked with a calculating look at his father.
“The usual ones for now.” Ivan reminded him.
Dave seemed a little disappointed in this reply. “Are we working with the British Ministry on this one?” was his next question.
Ivan looked to Kingsley for his response, “Yes you will be. We will be willing to lend you and your team any support that we can.” Kingsley answered.
“Makes a nice change.” Dave said to Kingsley with that familiar smile of his. Kingsley returned it.
“If we have official sanction for this action then I suggest we take advantage of some dubious laws that the previous administration brought in.” Dave began with an evil looking smile.
“What do you have in mind Dave?” Ivan asked him with an evil glint coming into his own eyes.
“Going by what we faced yesterday I’m sure that they are not offering chicken feed.” He asked.
“Correct the bounty is Five Million Galleons.” Ivan replied.
“Ok then. Given it is something substantial, we should leverage certain financial laws while they are still on the books.” Dave explained.
“Such as?” Kingsley asked.
“One of the rules brought in by the previous administration gives the Minister of Magic the ability to freeze all family related funds of any individual who carries out any acts deemed by the Minister to be against the best interests of the ministry.” Dave explained as his grin just got bigger and bigger.
“I’m reasonably confident that the current Minister ‘might’ find this act against the Ministries current interests?” Dave enquired of Kingsley.
“You could VERY safely assume that yes Dave.” Kingsley replied.
“Just how far reaching is this law you mention?” He enquired.
“Minister, I’m afraid it has extremely far reaching powers that could cause all sorts of economic hardship for families at which it is targeted.” Dave replied with manufactured concern.
“We would need to hope that the government wouldn’t overstep its authority and fully implement it.” Dave answered with vast insincerity and a wink to Kingsley.
“Oh dear.” Kingsley replied, “That is cause for concern. We will have to hope that the current government will use its ‘best judgement’ in the matter at hand.”
“Just what sort of worries do you have for the families that ‘may’ be targeted by this law?” he asked with his eyes afire with curiosity.
“Well Minister, it could allow for the seizure of the assets of the ENTIRE Lestrange family.” Dave said with a manufactured look of concern.
“What a shame” Kingsley replied while taking notes, “Please do go on.”
“The seizure of their funds would only be the begging of their troubles I’m afraid.” Dave said with even more ‘concern’ showing.
“How so?” Was Kingsley’s reply.
“Well, the way that the law is written it states that to regain access to their funds the family so targeted would need to satisfy ALL of the governments ‘concerns’ about the past and potential future use of the funds in question.”
“Just what sorts of ‘concerns’ are listed in this law?” Kingsley enquired.
“Well going from the original copy that we ‘borrowed’ from the Ministry the section covering the governments list of concerns is actually blank. There is a note saying that the concerns are to be defined by the serving minister at the time of the law being applied to a specific family.” Dave answered with only the slightest hint of a smile.
“That’s just scandalous.” Kingsley replied with mock shock.
“Do you still have a copy of this law you speak of?” Kingsley requested.
“Well, now that you mention it Minister. I do believe I know where there is a copy of it being held ‘for safe keeping’.” Dave replied.
“However, to gain access to it would require the authorisation of a certain Minister of Magic from a country on the other side of the globe.”
“Given the odds of a representative of that Government being available and willing to cooperate the likely hood of it being accessible is rather low.” Dave said with a wink to his father.
“You mean this law scroll?” Ivan asked as he held up a rather official looking scroll and handed it to Kingsley.
“Oh dear. I have never been so disappointed in government red tape in all my life.” Kingsley said with a straight face as he looked over the scroll.
“It does indeed carry all sorts of nasty provisions in it doesn’t it.” He said with a chuckle coming through.
“The space set aside for those ‘concerns’ you were so worried about is rather limited.” Kingsley said a little disappointed.
“I see Minister. Well that is a hope that may protect the families targeted by this law. We would need to hope that the original doesn’t fall into the hands of a world class ‘document specialist’ now won’t we.”
“Izzy. I’m sure you can advise the Minister on just the sort of people who shouldn’t be around this copy of the scroll now can’t you?”
“Given that you currently happen to have nothing scheduled for tomorrow.” Dave asked with a wink.
“For certain skipper. I would be happy to assist the Minister with his ‘concerns’.” Izzy answered with a perfectly straight face.
“You have my most humble thanks.” Dave answered.
“We wouldn’t want this sort of law to fall into the ‘wrong’ hands and cause ALL sorts of mischief, now wouldn’t we?” Dave said just as he lost his struggle to keep a straight face.
“Your concern for the welfare of our citizens warms my heart.” Kingsley replied with his own grin.
“Just how straight forward is it for such a horrible law to be enacted.” Kingsley questioned Dave.
“I do believe that the only thing currently protecting any targeted families from this law is the signature of the current Minister of Magic. As the Full Wizengamot has already signed it.” Dave said ‘worriedly’.
“That is very worrisome.” Kingsley answered.
“Another concern that I have around that law is that certain financial specialists of a rather short stature might be called in. To lend their particular expertise to tracing the past and current patterns of expenditure from the family accounts in question.”
“As they tend to be rather tenacious in following money trails. Especially considering the incentives offered to them by that particular law.”
“We would need to hope that no representatives from a financial organisation with access to those sorts of specialists arranges for them to be available to a government willing to make use of their services.” Dave said with only the slightest of glances to Bill.
Bill for his part was starting to smile very broadly as he understood just what Dave was trying ‘not to’ imply to Kingsley.
“That would be cause for concern yes.” Kingsley replied.
“Bill I’m sure you can provide some advice on just who shouldn’t be made aware of this law?” Kingsley requested.
“I’d be happy to.” Bill said not even trying to hide his grin.
Having seen that grin on Bill before I’m sure he would locate every forensic accountant that Gringotts had.
“Excellent, now that we have taken care of that particularly troublesome law. We probably should discuss worrisome Press releases that may be printed if it was ever put into effect.” Dave said with an almost childlike delight.
“Can you imagine what further hardship could be bestowed on any family targeted by such a law?”
“Especially if ALL their business partners and contractors were suddenly made aware that they were not going to be getting their Money for a VERY long time. Or that they could have any recently paid sums seized by co-operative governments.”
“I mean any such ‘hiring arrangements’ or ‘investments’ that they tried to put into action would just fall apart.” Dave said with worry all over his face.
“The only thing more concerning than that would be if the international papers were made aware of the ‘plight’ of this particular family. Along with any of their past business partners or contractors.” Dave remarked to Monsieur Delacour with a wink. Monsieur Delacour for his part played the ‘shocked’ conspirator very well.
“Although an offer of immunity (or access to money owed) in exchange for actionable information might encourage certain people to become more ‘helpful’?” Dave said trying to appear innocent (and failing very badly).
Kingsley turned and regarded Dave with a very approving look.
“I may have mentioned it before but I have been reading through your file that was provided to me. In which it is mentioned many times just how dangerous various criminal organisations (and Governments) consider you to be Dave.”
“Going from your actions over here and this latest display from you I can honestly say that I think they have significantly underestimated you and just how dangerous and effective you truly are.”
“I am certainly very pleased and comforted that you are on our side.” Kingsley said with genuine sincerity. Mum, Dad and the rest of us indicated our agreement with Kingsley in his statement also.
“Thank you Minister and to the rest of you also. I try to make myself useful as best I can.” Dave answered with an embarrassed smile.
“My team are a very large part of the reason that I have been able to accomplish what I have. So they are more than deserving of that praise also.” Dave said with a grateful look over at his team. I could clearly see their appreciation of his comments written across their faces at his acknowledgement of them in front of both the Ministers.
The reasons for the bonds between this group of Aurors was becoming much clearer.
“There is more to this method than just a desire to make life difficult on the Lestrange family Minister.” Dave explained.
“Just about all criminals have a finely tuned sense of a RISK / REWARD balance when they consider a job.”
“If we can significantly upset that balance by altering one of those items we are going to be giving ourselves an advantage. In this case, I’m planning on altering both of those items.”
“My hope is to make this contract so unpalatable to any ‘traditional’ criminals or assassins that it will in turn be offered to the ‘non-traditional’ ones.” He said grinning.
“How does it help us if the contract is offered to ‘non-traditional’ criminals?” Arthur asked.
“It helps us because the only ‘non-traditional’ criminals currently capable of successfully handling such a public contract are employed by various governments.” Dave answered.
“Of the top 10 in that area, 6 of them ‘work’ for governments who are signatories to the Australasian Auror service. Of those 4 of them are me.”
“I think I can be confident in saying that Molly has nothing to fear from me.” Dave said smiling at mum and she returned it gratefully.
“The other two belong to people who report to the New Zealand Minister and are also related to a rather scruffy looking Kiwi sitting at the end of the table.” Dave said looking over to Jono.
“I’m sure Jono and the Kiwi Minister can prevail on her to not accept this job as well. Can’t you?” Dave said with a smile.
“That might be possible” Jono replied with a smile.
“What about the other 4?” Arthur asked.
“Well unless things have drastically changed one of them works for the French Ministry. One for the Spanish Ministry and two for the German Ministry.”
“Now if a certain Minister were to authorise a certain Drunken Mouse to put out feelers to those Governments (who owe us for successfully extracting their entire diplomatic personal and their families by the way) I feel that the chances of them providing their co-operation might be better than average?” He said smiling at Kingsley and Ivan.
“I do believe that could be arranged.” Ivan said to Dave.
“How does a non-traditional criminal work?” Hermione asked Dave.
“In a few ways. Most commonly, instead of being paid in Galleons or gold, we are paid in something more significant.’ Dave answered.
“Information.” He answered seeing Hermione’s questioning look.
“Ah I see.” She replied, “I could see how that could be useful.”
“At other times, we are bidding for the work only to secure a meeting with the person who wishes to hire us. The purpose of the meeting being so that we can capture and arrest them.” Dave explained.
“Do we have any more information on this contract at all?” Dave asked.
“Yes we do.” Ivan answered handing over the pile of folders. “That pile contains dossiers on the most active assassins in Europe. We currently are checking the cover legends for assassins working for us and other friendly countries in our region. We are also making enquiries around Europe to see who this contract has been offered to.”
“Once the Lestrange family assets are frozen we believe that the only serious takers will be governments or someone with a personal agenda who isn’t interested in financial reward.” Ivan explained to Dave.
Dave listened to his father and then pulled the pile of folders towards him. I expected him to begin reading them, however he did something rather different.
He closed his eyes and put his hand to the cover of each folder briefly and then began sorting them into piles. Very soon he had 3 piles of folders.
“That pile on the far left are already all in jail.” He said in a rather offhand tone to Ivan.
“How do you know that?” Hermione asked showing a very confused look.
“Because 80% of them are in jails at our safe houses around the globe. The others were handed over to friendly governments and then thrown in jail.” Dave asked in a rather calm manner.
“No I mean, how do you know who is mentioned in those files? As you didn’t read them.” She remarked.
“No I didn’t read them. I didn’t need to.” Dave said very matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean you didn’t need to read them? Did they just tell you what was in them?” she asked with her irritation growing.
“Something very much like that yes.” Dave answered.
“That doesn’t make any sense David. How can a report tell you what is in it?” Hermione almost demanded.
“It’s called the summary and index spell.” Dave said a little surprised at the passion in Hermione’s statement. “It tells you the main subject of the book, scroll, report etc.… that you are touching. With practice, you can even search on multiple topics with each use.”
“The what?” She replied, “I have never heard of such a spell.”
“Just because you haven’t heard of a particular spell doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist Hermione. This particular spell is a very common one, almost an everyday type of spell in certain professions.” Dave tried to explain.
“What professions?” she asked almost indignantly.
“Librarians.” Dave answered very calmly.
At this point I just had to laugh at the expression on Hermione’s face. Ron and Harry also were also trying mightily to keep straight faces in support of their friend.
The thought that there was an apparently ‘easy’ spell that would greatly speed up searching in the library for information seemed to have an almost orgasmic effect on Hermione. The fact that she hadn’t known about this spell before now seemed to be inducing the opposite effect at the same time. The struggle between these two forces was very entertaining to watch.
“Does it work on any written documents?” Kingsley asked.
“Provided you can read the language that it is written in yes. It seems to work on any written documents. Not so much good on stone carvings though for some reason.” Dave replied.
“And it is a common spell for Librarians you say?” Kingsley asked again while Hermione was trying to come to terms with this new information.
“Yes Librarians, archivists, researchers even accountants make use of it frequently.”
“Certainly, the Aurors in our service both the local one and the Australasian one routinely use it. As it greatly speeds up searching for information. Given enough practise with it you don’t even need to touch the book you are searching.”
“Someone like Izzy can stand at the front of a library cast the spell and basically walk straight up to the book or scroll that she is after.” Dave explained to us all.
Hermione made a painful groaning noise and then buried her head in her hands. At one point, I thought that she was going to cry as she thought back over all the time she spent searching in the Hogwarts library.
“Is it a difficult spell to learn?” Kingsley asked while he looked at Hermione with a worried expression.
“No, it is a very simple spell actually. Especially when used on books one at a time. To use it without making contact that is when it becomes complicated.” Dave answered to even more groans from Hermione.
“You seem to be in some distress Hermione. Would you like Andrea to examine you and find the cause of it for you?” Dave asked innocently.
“I know the cause of my distress David.” Hermione said looking up. “It’s you.”
“Me?” Dave asked in surprise.
“Do you know how many hours, days, and weeks I have spent in the library looking for information?” Hermione exclaimed. “Only to find out now that there is a much simpler way to locate it.” She said starting to get frustrated.
“Nope. Not at all.” Dave answered, bravely I thought considering how worked up Hermione was getting.
“AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!” she screamed. “Men!!! Why are you all so bloody frustrating” she exclaimed to the general amusement of everyone gathered.
Dave was watching Hermione with a kind of confused amusement.
“I take it then that you never asked your school’s librarian if there was a simpler way to search for the information that you were seeking.” He asked.
“Just shut up David and teach me the spell.” Hermione exclaimed. “Otherwise I’m going to have to kill you.”
“You will need to take a number and stand in line for that one Hermione I’m afraid.” Dave replied with a strange little smile. His comment however gave us all a little insight into his world.
“The spell David.” She said giving him a very direct and angry look.
“It doesn’t work when you are angry Hermione, it requires a calm mind to function.” He tried to explain.
Hermione next pulled her wand and pointed it at Dave. She looked about ready to Hex poor ‘little’ Dave. Still looking completely relaxed Dave simply opened his hand and Hermione’s wand flew directly to it.
“It also doesn’t need a wand. Librarians often have their hands full with books you see.” He said very calmly.
The rest of us were however very surprised and a little alarmed at how quickly and easily he had removed Hermione’s wand from her. Hermione also was brought to her censes by this little demonstration.
“Please?” She asked with an almost genuine pleading look.
“If you wish. The incantation is; ‘Notitia Revelare’ it is performed non-verbally. As librarians, don’t usually like talking in their establishments.”
This seemed to kick off a hysterical fit of giggling for Hermione. I don’t know what she found so funny with that statement. But I do know that I was getting a great deal of entertainment out of watching her.
Dave handed Hermione’s wand over to Ron, “Maybe you should hold onto this for her until she regains a measure of control.” He said still looking at Hermione with an amused expression.
“Probably a good idea.” Ron agreed placing Hermione’s wand alongside his own inside his jacket.
“What about the other piles Dave?” Ivan asked.
“This middle pile are the ‘non-traditional’ criminals for the French, Spanish and German governments. As I said before if we reach out to them I’m very confident that they will agree to help.”
“The last pile?” Ivan asked with interest.
“This pile are the troublesome ones.” Dave answered thoughtfully.
“One of these people I’m reasonably sure is a Russian Ministry operative. But Jimmy was the one who mainly dealt with the Russians, so I can’t be completely sure.”
“If we spoke to Günther Bräuer from the German Ministry I’m sure he could arrange introductions for us.” Dave offered.
“Günther Bräuer?” Ivan said with a thoughtful look on his face, “The name sounds familiar to me for some reason.”
“It should.” Dave said with a rather evil grin. I quickly glanced at his sisters and cousin. They also had similar grins on their faces.
“Why should it sound familiar?” Ivan asked him with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t cause an international incident with him, did you?”
“Me?” Dave said with mock shock. “No Jimmy caused this international incident. Not me.” He added with his evil smirk on full display.
“Only it wasn’t with Günther was it. I do believe it was with his sister. The Ambassador’s daughter to the UK at the time.” Fireball added with her own fully formed evil grin on display.
Ivan and Sandra’s eyes went wide with recognition and then two started to have a chuckle at the memory. “Yes I remember now.” Ivan remarked.
“She was extremely co-operative with Jimmy wasn’t she.” He said struggling to keep a straight face.
“That she was. She made attempts to be co-operative with him on multiple occasions if memory serves.” Dave said with an evil delight in his eyes.
“What sort of ‘incident’ was zis?” Fleur asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
Dave looked over to his dad for permission to tell the story. With a grin, Ivan nodded giving the ok.
“The German Embassy had been set alight one night. We hadn’t planned on moving them for another two nights as they were still getting ready for the move. We were however nearby at the Spanish Embassy moving the last of their personnel out.”
“When we saw, what had happened, me, Jimmy, Jono, Olly, Rowdy and Shelly quickly raced to the Embassy grounds to check on their personnel.”
“We quickly located the people who were still on the embassy grounds and started to gather them into one location where we could open a door for them back to France.”
“During the rounding up however the Ambassador realised that his daughter was missing. We quickly did a check for her in the wing where her rooms were. She was eventually found passed out in her bedroom.”
“We got her out via a separate door back to France.”
“Once there we were able to organise treatment for her injuries. Thankfully they were relatively minor. A touch of smoke inhalation and some small burns.”
“She came too as Jimmy was carrying her in his arms to the Healers tent.” Dave said with a smile.
“Because Jimmy was the one carrying her she assumed that he had rescued her from the burning building.”
“Her father made the same assumption.” Dave said now struggling to keep a straight face. Dave’s family were also trying very hard to keep a straight face as well.
“Despite Jimmy being fully fluent in German she somehow ‘misinterpreted’ what he meant by ‘being examined’ as he placed her in the healer’s tent.” Dave said as tears started to form in his eyes.
“She started to disrobe right there in front of him. Just as the Ambassador and his wife were coming into the tent.” Dave started to have an attack of the giggles at this point. His sisters and cousin were not much better off.
“I didn’t read that part in the report.” Sandra said her eyes alight.
“Yes I think Jimmy tried to ‘clean up’ the official version.” Dave answered.
“The Ambassador seemed to think that some sort of ‘intimate’ moment was occurring so he went to leave the tent with his wife. Poor Jimmy leaped up and grabbed them, he almost dragged them back into the tent and then made his getaway.” Dave said now with tears coming down his cheeks.
Gabrielle seemed to be enjoying the story also. Although I’m not 100% sure if her enjoyment was from the story itself or from seeing Dave laugh so much.
“The report certainly doesn’t read like that.” Sandra told Dave.
“Does the report say how many times she turned up to his tent asking him if he would like to complete the examination?” Dave said almost in hysterics.
“I know I pointed his tent out to her at least twice.” Fireball said with her ‘innocent’ look on display.
“Was this before or after he moved his tent?” Cassy asked, “As I know I pointed it out to her about three or four times after he moved it the first time.”
“The first time?” Sandra asked, “Just how many times did he end up having to move it?” she almost begged for the information.
“I saw him move it at least three times.” Dave answered, “I strongly suspect that Shelly was the cause of another 4 moves also.”
“She seemed to have some sort of agenda to convince Jimmy to keep our main base of operations in France instead of Germany for some unknown reason.” Dave said with his own ‘innocent’ expression.
“Yeah, it’s funny that is.” Fireball added with her own smirk.
“It wasn’t until we moved out the following day, that Jimmy finally escaped her.”
“The following Day?” Sandra asked with her eyes wide, “You mean Jimmy had to move his tent that many times in one night?”
Dave, Fireball and Cassy could only nod their heads. When Sandra looked to the rest of the team for confirmation they were all nodding as well.
“Oh my.” She said in exasperation.
“So, Dave, why do you avoid Herr Bräuer so much?” Sandra said fixing him with a direct stare.
“I don’t avoid him so much, as avoid his daughter.” Dave replied with a shy smile at Gabrielle.
“Explain.” Sandra requested.
“Well I’m a little concerned that she might realise one day that it was actually me who pulled her out of her burning bedroom.” He replied.
At this the entire table collapsed into laughter. It took a while but eventually some sort of control was re-established.
“To bring this conversation back on track.” Ivan said in his ‘professional’ voice.
“The remaining folders. What do you know about them?”
“Apart from the suspected Russian operative I believe that the last two ‘might’ be an Italian operative. But I don’t know much about her, except that she wasn’t happy with me for out bidding her on a job.”
“But the Italian’s owe us big time. So, they will co-operate IF it is indeed one of their agents.” Dave explained.
“The last one is a Frenchman we have heard about only a few times. He seems to be trying to make a name for himself, by taking on just about any high-profile commission that he hears about.”
“If you agree I would like to show it to Jean-Luc and see what they have on him.” Dave requested.
“Approved.” Ivan said without even a glance at Kingsley or Dad.
Dave next turned to mum, “Is it ok if I invite Jean-Luc to dinner tonight? He is easier to convince of things when he has had a satisfying meal.” Dave remarked with a wink at mum.
“That is not a problem Dave.” Mum replied with her own wink.
“Ok you lot, you are under orders not to let Shelly know that mum and dad are going to be here for dinner tonight after I tell her to bring Jean-Luc over.” Dave said with a stern look at his sisters and cousin.
“Wouldn’t dream of it Dave.” Fireball said not even bothering to try and hide the smirk on her face.
“I’m quite looking forward to seeing Jean-Luc meet his future father-in-law for the first time.” Andrea added.
At this Sandra got very excited and Ivan had a questioning look on his face, but a sly grin also.
“Relax mum he hasn’t asked her... Yet.” Dave said trying to get her to calm down. “The betting on the date is still open though. But the betting on the question of IF has been closed.”
This of course caused a flurry of activity as people wanted to get in on the action.
During the commotion Dave headed off to his tent to call Shelly and arrange for this Jean-Luc to come back as well for dinner. Gabrielle made to follow him but he said he would be right back as other things needed to be organised and soon.
She seemed a little disappointed but he promised her some ‘alone time’ soon. This seems to have been just what she was after. Although she did closely watch him depart, not even blushing when she saw me watching her.
She only smiled.
Chapter 23: Tools of the Trade.
Dave returned reasonably quickly and when he did so he was carrying a bag and a very focused expression. His team members were the first to pick up on it and they quickly arranged themselves back into their chairs.His parents were the next to notice and they got the attention of my parents and moved them up to bring them so that they were opposite Dave at the table.
Dave grabbed a spare chair and placed it next to him and asked Gabrielle to sit in it for the time being. He said this firmly but with a pleading look in his eyes. When she agreed, he thanked her and gave her a kiss as a further thank you.
When he sat down the professional Auror was once more on display.
“Ok, with the measures that we discussed before we will be taking most of the players that we know about out of the game.” He began.
“We now need to take some steps to try and counter-act the players that we don’t know about.”
“With that in mind I think we need to get you ALL kitted out with some of our ‘bag of tricks’.” He explained.
“All of us?” Mum asked him.
“Yes, all of you Aunty.” Dave replied with a very determined look in his eyes.
“Remember that I can clearly see the bonds that exist between the members of this family. An attack on any one of you will be interpreted as an attack on all of you.”
“I’m also very confident that if any of your family found out that you were being attacked they would be by your side in the blink of an eye.” He said looking around and reading the truth of his statement in our faces.
“Given that reality the best approach is going to be to equip ALL of you with some things that are going to hopefully tilt the odds in your favour.”
“Ok, to start with, most of the boys have already been given sets of the bunyip armour to wear. They will need to keep them. I have here sets for Aunty Molly, Ginny, Hermione, Fleur, Gabrielle and Madame and Monsieur Delacour.” He said as he handed out the items of clothing.
“As I mentioned to the boys they can be adjusted with a very light engorgement or shrinking charm.”
“The girl’s sets have a slightly different cut to them to make them more comfortable. I would strongly suggest that you wear them when you are not at home.”
“Monsieur and Madame Delacour and Gabrielle, while I know that the likelihood of you being targeted directly is small, there is a real enough possibility that anyone after Aunty Molly will try to get to her through you.” The Delacour’s looked a little disbelieving at this statement. So, Dave drove the point home with his following comment.
“If I was the one hired to hunt down Aunty Molly, I know that I would definitely scout out your family as a potential point of access or leverage to use against her.” He said in his professional voice. It looked as though it had the desired sobering effect on them.
“So, I would like you also make sure you adjust your sets of these clothes here today. As I’m not willing to gamble with your safety.” He said with a direct look at them all. They appeared to be a little stunned but readily agreed with him and thanked him for thinking of them.
“Ok next step is to get some more layers of security around your home here. If you are agreeable to it?” He asked mum and dad.
“Yes of course. What do you suggest?” Dad asked.
“What I’m suggesting is a layered defence like what we have at home around our houses there.”
“The outer layer is commonly called a ‘door mat’. It doesn’t actually stop anyone or anything but it will trigger an alert to those inside it. It is also setup to trigger for any magical creature not just witches and wizards.”
“This way anyone trying to gain access in animal form will also be detected. Along with any goblin, house elf etc.”
“The ‘door mat’ typically extends out for about a mile from the property.”
“A mile?” Dad exclaimed.
“Yes, a mile. It is a very light set of charms so it can cover that size of an area with no issue.” Dave told him.
“Closer into the property will be a set of several layers outside your existing wards. These layers have a cumulative effect on any potential intruder. Each one by themselves is harmless, thus they tend to be missed when people are looking for wards or barriers. It is when more than 2 of them are combined that the ‘fun’ begins.” He added with an evil grin. I noticed Bill returning it also.
“I will ask dad and Mick both, to help you configure those layers. I will also ask them to show both you and Bill some ‘surprises’ that can also be added to your existing wards. Between them those two can cause all sorts of mischief to someone who tries to tackle any wards they setup.” He offered Dad. Dad also agreed to this as did Ivan and Mick.
“Your Apparition point is another area that needs to be secured. We can do some different things here.” Dave said with a thoughtful little smile.
“A new Apparition point can be setup that will automatically stun anyone who arrives without a recognised Talisman on them or isn’t identified by the ‘Blood-wards’ on it. It can be a useful option if you are forced to side-along Apparate home at Wandpoint.” He said with a glint in his eye.
“Your main Apparition point can also be secured with a ‘passcode’ in it. If someone knows the correct point to use when arriving here and you can’t use the first option, you can think the passcode and anyone with you will be stunned. This still gives friends and family the ability to continue to use that point as well.”
Displaying an evil grin on his face Dave also remarked, “Of course the passcode can be triggered from the house as well. But if that occurs it will send out an alert to anyone you have placed on the notification list.”
“Would that be suitable?” He asked mum and dad?
“They sound like sensible precautions to have indeed.” Dad readily agreed, “What sort of Talismans are you referring to for use with them?” He asked, “Would they be like what you made yesterday?”
“Both yes and no. They would in many ways be very like those I made yesterday. But they will also have a different purpose and by necessity be a lot more general in nature.”
“I will be starting on them shortly.” He added to dad’s curiosity and delight.
“That reminds me.” He said excitedly, “We can give you the first batch of these.” He said as he reached into his pocket and poured onto the table what looked like little silver figure eights.
Holding one up he asked, “Any idea what they could be?”
Harry was the first to answer, “They look like smaller versions of those portkey handcuffs from those utility belts we had earlier.” He said while looking at it very carefully.
“Excellent answer Harry. Because that’s indeed what they are.” He said as he passed them out so that we all had two pair of them each.
“Now obviously at this size they won’t be of much use. But simply ask them to ‘grow’ like this” the miniature cuffs grew to full size, “And they are ready for use. They will also shrink back down to this size once more upon the command of shrink being given to them.”
“Anyone you apply them to will be sent directly to the ‘Hôtel de France’. Once there they will be ‘looked after’ by ‘Torquemada’ and his staff.” Dave said with a chuckle, several of his team members joined in.
“As I explained earlier today. Once both ends are applied to a person or persons you have 2 seconds to let go or you will follow your prisoner.”
“These cuffs will give you a safe and ‘legal’ way of disposing of anyone who you have had to stun or disarm for any reason.”
“The cuffs can also be used to get yourself out of trouble if you are cornered also.” Dave said in a serious voice.
“If you do end up needing to use them on yourself you will need to know a few things about your destination. First off when you arrive there you will be immobilised but safe. So please relax and don’t struggle.” He said looking around at us all to get confirmation of this.
“You will also be asked to identify yourself. Tell them your name and that ‘Syd sent you to see Drunkmouse’ when the Auror that greets you hears this he will get you somewhere significantly more comfortable than where the other guests are kept.” Dave again checked that we understood.
“They will ask you to remain there while your identity is checked. They will also ask you if there is any message that needs to be sent to me or my team as well. For they will assume that ‘something is up’ if we send friendlies there.”
“My team and I will be notified of your arrival and any message that you decide to pass along. We will then notify the appropriate family members and make our way to you with them. If for any reason, we can’t get straight to you we will send a message back to you, so you will know that we know you are safely there and why we can’t get straight to you.”
“’Torquemada’ and his staff will take good care of you while you are there. Just don’t eat his lasagne as it can be dangerous.” He said with a laugh. This was again met with a laugh by Dave’s team.
“Those miniature cuffs can be hidden in many different ways which we will go over in a few minutes.”
“Next I want to setup some hidden Muggle style surveillance cameras.” Dave explained. This caught dad’s attention very quickly but everyone else seemed a little confused.
“The reason for the muggle cameras is that they will go to a recording device to keep a record of what they can see. This can then be played back on demand at a later date. You can also move through the stored video footage backwards and forwards as you desire to see any gradual changes that may occur over an extended period of time.”
“That can highlight anyone who may be slowly building up a surveillance of your home. Or someone who is slowly sneaking in re-enforcements for an ambush like we discovered yesterday.”
“The cameras will also record not only visible light. They will record Infrared light; this will show a persons body heat. In some cases, even if they are under an invisibility clock or even disillusioned. The Infrared cameras will also enable you to see at night as well. They will also record Ultraviolet light.”
“This one is rather interesting as we have recently caught a few people who tried to sneak up on our safe houses with these cameras. Even if the person is disillusioned with a powerful spell or have a top-notch Invisibility clock, they will need to go to the loo at some point. When they do they never think about vanishing their wee.” Dave said with a vicious look on his face.
“The odd thing is, wee shows up on these cameras like a bonfire at night. Enabling us to ‘pay them a visit’ too see if they are ok of course.” He said with vast insincerity.
“Does that sound ok to you?” Dave asked.
“It all sounds wonderful.” Dad replied. Mum was also nodding her head as well.
“Excellent. Ok the next item is to improve your communications with each other.” Dave said as he pulled out two boxes.
“Unfortunately at the moment I only have two spares left. So, we will need to get the rest of you a Mirror Phone when the next version is ready. Drunkmouse and ‘Q’ are currently building the next version of these devices as I speak. The next version is much improved and will be replacing all our existing devices. They have both promised me sufficient numbers to cover everyone here.”
“Until then I would like Aunty Molly to have one and Uncle Arthur to have the other.”
“With these you will be able to call each other just about anywhere. You will also be able to call on me or my team or my family as well. If you need our help we will get to you and do our world-famous impression of an avalanche.” He said with his crooked grin. The other members of his team were also grinning as well.
“I will ask mum and dad to walk you through how to use them. These two are already programmed with the contact details for my team and family.”
“If required you can also pair them to the camera system that we will be putting in so you can send the footage to anyone with a mirror phone.”
Very useful if we want to get Drunkmouse to run an identification on any faces that are captured.”
“The security system we are going to setup can also send any alerts to your Mirror Phones as well. So even if you are not home you will still be notified.”
“I would like to see the same configurations to get setup at the home of each family member. So that would-be Bill and Fleur’s place at ‘Shell Cottage’. George at your shop and Percy at your flat also.”
“If we can get those locations done by Tuesday I would like to setup the same at the Delacour’s residence on Wednesday after we have dealt with the Wizengamot in the morning.”
“If you both are agreeable as well?” He asked Monsieur and Madame Delacour.
“We have no objection Monsieur. Merci for zinking of us.” Monsieur Delacour replied thankfully.
“Excellent.” Dave said genuinely happy.
“I would also like to request (if it is possible) for you both to stay here until we have had a chance to properly scout out your home. Provided that you both, as well as Aunty Molly and Uncle Arthur have no objections that is.” Dave enquired.
“If the house is getting too crowded, we can make things more comfortable for everyone by making a family tent available to you. This will give both Gabrielle and yourselves rooms of your own.” Dave offered.
“We have no objection.” Mum replied with dad nodding in agreement.
“Merci Monsieur Dave. We would be happy to accept the offer.” Monsieur Delacour replied. Gabrielle seemed to be happy with this also as it was very crowded with the three of us in my room.
“Ok next item to cover off is your personal security.” Dave said with a direct look at us all.
“Lightweight Personal armour you all now have. But sometimes the best defence is to not be there in the first place.” Dave said to some confused faces.
“Let me explain that bit better.” He offered.
“When hunting or targeting someone for assassination, routine is one of the most powerful tools in the hunters’ tool kit. If as the hunter, I know where you will be and when you will be there I can setup traps for you that will make it almost impossible for you to get away.”
“Disrupting those regular patterns will drive someone who is hunting you more than a little nuts. I can say that from firsthand experience.” Dave said ruefully.
“That explains a lot right there.” Fireball added with a smile at Dave.
“Thanks sis.” He replied with a resigned look on his face. There were some chuckles around the table at this also.
“Those of you with jobs in a fixed location, try to vary your time of arrival and departure. If there are multiple ways in and out of the location make use of them. Same goes for the different methods of getting in and out, try to vary them.”
“Bill, you might want to ask Gringotts if you can make regular use of their portals and secure Floo system in addition to the employee apparition points.” Dave advised Bill. For his part, Bill was wearing a look of profound shock.
“How did you know of those ways into and out of Gringotts?” He asked intently.
“We found the Death Eaters who were controlling Gringotts making use of them. So, we made use of them also. It was a much more convenient way to ‘borrow records from them” Dave said with a smile.
“Borrow from who? The Death Eaters or the Goblins?” He asked in a very serious voice.
“The Death Eaters. They were the ones who had the records we wanted. On those occasions when we required Goblin controlled records we ‘suggested’ to the Death Eaters to request a copy. Then we either took their copy or made our own copy of it.” Dave explained.
“Despite appearances and all the evidence to the contrary I’m not silly enough to steal from Goblins.” Dave said with a smile.
I noticed that Harry bristled a little at this statement. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reason other than the obvious one for his discomfort.
“Well at least not without a VERY good reason and laying down a convincing fake trail as well.” Dave added.
“It is a fine distinction you have made there Dave. But I do think the Goblins will accept it. If they ever find out about it.” Bill said with his own grin.
“Kingsley, can you enable access for Arthur, Percy and Gawain to the secure Floo and apparition points in the Ministry?” Dave asked.
“Let me guess you have been making use of them as well during your time here?” Kingsley said with a smile.
“Of course. They are so much more convenient and far less crowed than the main ones.” Dave answered him with a smirk.
“I thought as much.” Kingsley replied, “It will be done for all of them”.
“Thank you.” Dave answered.
“Something that is often over looked is ‘wand safety’. How do you secure your wands when you are at home and in public?” Dave asked us all.
“Wands?” Harry asked.
“Yes wands. You would have to be silly to the point of recklessness to go out with only one wand. Especially if you don’t have any other options available to you.” Dave said to a suddenly silent group of people.
After a few moments, Dave started to look around at a group of rather shame faced individuals.
“You are all kidding me, right?” Dave asked hopefully.
“No, we are not. Sorry Dave.” Dad eventually said.
“You’re all serious? You don’t carry a spare or two?” He asked us.
“Well how many wands do you carry Dave?” Hermione asked a little stiffly.
At this Dave started to produce some wands. He pulled out from over his shoulder the one we saw him use yesterday. Then from over his other shoulder he produced another one. Then he reached behind him and pulled out two more.
“That’s just for starters. I usually carry more when on operations as well as some ‘spares’ for my team mates. In fact we all carry some spares for each other.” He said to a now rather surprised Hermione.
“Why so many? It’s not like you need them.” She replied.
“Always use the best tool for the job. Sometimes a wand gives more precise control. Or gives better range than wandless options.”
“The more options you have the better your chances of survival are.” He explained.
“Ok given that you typically only operate with one wand. How do you secure it?” He asked us.
Once more there was silence. Dave was starting to look worried.
“Please tell me you don’t just put it in a pocket in your jacket or pants?” Dave almost pleaded.
“Kingsley? Harry? Please tell me you two use some form of secure holster at least?” He asked them.
“I used to.” Kingsley replied a little shamefaced.
Dave regarded Kingsley with a look of incredibly that was just so cute. Gabrielle certainly enjoyed the display and I must admit I was struggling not to laugh as well.
“Do any of you have an idea how many times we have captured people just by picking their pocket and taking their wand?” Dave asked Kingsley.
“Harry? Please tell me you secure your wand?” Dave asked with the air of a man gasping for ‘last straws’.
Harry could only stare back at Dave with a slightly bemused and almost amused look.
“So, you are telling me that all through your recent adventures not only did you not have a backup wand. Your primary one wasn’t properly secured?”
“Yes.” Harry answered a little shame faced, “I did get a second wand later though.” He added ‘helpfully’ and Dave started to look a little relieved.
“But that was only after my own wand was broken.” He said as Dave’s face just crumpled and fell off.
Dave stood up and collected his wands. Returning them to their various hiding placed he regarded his team with a slightly worried expression. “Ok, anyone who has a spare holster see if you can locate it. If we don’t have any, Mick ping ‘Q’ to see if he can put some in our cargo bay for us. We need to get some form of secure wand storage to this lot before they give me a heart attack.” He said seriously, then he paused for a moment.
“On second thoughts, Mick just call ‘Q’ and tell him to send us a selection of holsters for boys and girls and we will take it from there.”
“I’m going to go and get some things and will be back shortly. So, tell him to send the holsters to your tent as I need my door for something else at the moment.” Mick nodded and pulled out his Mirror Phone and began tapping away on it.
With that Dave walked over to his tent muttering about people pushing their luck unnecessarily.
“Were you lot just pulling his leg? Or do you really only carry one unsecured wand?” Fireball asked us with a slightly concerned look.
“Uh… No, we were not pulling his leg.” Harry said with a guilty look. “Thinking back, I can see where a second wand would have proved very useful. Quite a few times to be honest.”
The rest of us made similar statements.
“Oh Merlin. I thought it was only trainees that made mistakes like that.” Fireball said incredibly.
“Mick ask ‘Q’ to hurry up with the holsters. As I think I know what Dave is doing and we are going to need them.” She said as she got up and hurried over to Dave’s tent.
“Why do I feel like I’m back at the first day of Auror training?” Kingsley said with an embarrassed sigh.
Ivan looked over to him and gave an evil grin, “Just hope that he doesn’t bring ‘the log’ back with him.” He said with a laugh.
The rest of Dave’s team had a good laugh at this also.
“What’s ‘the log’?” Kingsley asked.
“It’s a ‘gift’ to any trainee that forgets either their primary or secondary wands during training.” He explained. “They are required to carry it with them for the rest of the day. Which can get rather uncomfortable.”
“How big is it?” Kingsley asked.
“About 2 meters long and as thick as your forearm.” He explained.
“Yes, I can see that would be very cumbersome to carry around.” Kingsley answered.
“It is designed to ‘make an impression’ as they say.” Ivan remarked with a smirk.
At this point, Dave and Fireball returned. Dave was carrying two bundles under his arms while Fireball was carrying an odd-looking bag.
When they reached the table, Dave asked if it could be cleared. This was done very quickly. Placing the first bundle on the table he untied it and then unrolled it.
The bundle was full of wands. They were all unique and several of them looked to be quite gorgeous as well.
“These are traditional wands. Although they are a ‘little’ different to what you normally see around here. More on that later. They have been made with Australian native woods with a mixture of local and ‘traditional’ magical creatures.”
“I would like you all to try and find a wand that suits you. These wands will feel warm in your hand and vibrate slightly if they accept you. If you feel a wand behave like that take it over to the training floor and give it a test with the usual flick and if it still feels comfortable try some stunners against the dummies that will be set up shortly.”
“If you don’t find anything that feels completely comfortable in this lot don’t worry. I have some others that we can show to you.”
“Please all of you try and find a wand.”
“Goose, can you give me a hand to get some more target dummies setup.” Dave requested.
The two of them quickly set off to the training floor. The rest of us were examining the numerous different wands that were on the table.
I was quickly drawn to one particular wand. It had a gorgeous golden honey colour to it. When I picked it up it did indeed feel warm and slightly vibrate. Feeling a little excited I gave it an experimental flick, some colourful sparks appeared from the end of it. For a better test, I took it over to the training floor where the target dummies were now setup.
Lining up in front of the target dummies I fired a few stunners at them. The wand just felt right in my hand and the stunners were right on target as well.
“Good shooting cuz.” Dave said with a grin as he came over to join me, “Which wand chose you?” he asked.
I held up the wand for him to see.
“Good one. That is a Huon Pine wand with a Lyre Bird feather for a core.” He explained.
“The Huon Pine is extremely resilient to things like corruption and temptation. Wands made from it tend to suit people who are very focused or driven in their goals.”
“The Lyre Bird is a native Australian bird, known even to the muggles for its power of mimicry. What the muggles don’t know is that they are extremely intelligent and sly creatures. They also have a very well developed sense of ‘fun’ or ‘humour’. As they like to tease and confuse people (especially muggles) with the sounds that they make.”
“I think that wand is very suited to you LFB.” He said as he had a chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked him.
“Fireball also has a Lyre Bird feather as the core in her primary wand as well. It just struck me as appropriate for some reason.” He said still smiling.
“Hold onto that one and I will show you some extra ‘features’ of it later once everyone has selected a wand.”
I walked back to the table to see how the others were going. Both Harry and Ron were already over at the training floor. They were both firing stunners at targets and seemed to be very happy with the results. They were shortly joined by Hermione, Fleur, Bill, Percy, Charlie and Monsieur and Madame Delacour. They too seemed to be happy with their wands.
Mum and Dad along with George and Kingsley seemed to be struggling to find a wand from the selection available. They looked a little worried until Dave told them to relax and reminded them that there were more to select from. Gabrielle seemed content to sit and watch the goings on.
I asked her if she had found an extra wand. She replied that she already had an extra wand, the one that she was using with Dave earlier. Dave heard this and wandered over.
“I would still like you to select a wand from one of these collections Gabrielle. As they are a ‘little different’ to other wands. I will explain the differences once everyone has found one.” Dave explained.
“Do any of these wands catch your eye at all?” he asked her.
“Non. None of zese seem to call me.” She answered.
“No worries. Let’s get the next selection out.” Dave replied.
With this Dave chatted quickly to mum and dad as well as George to confirm that nothing in this selection really called to them. When they confirmed that he rolled up the bundle and swapped it over with the other one.
This bundle like the first was filled with wands as well. I did notice that many of them were a little more ornate than the previous ones.
Once this bundle was uncovered George immediately selected a wand that was almost white in colour as the wood was so pale. It also seemed to have a slight pattern in it as well. I noticed Dave smirking as George wandered off to try it out.
“Why are you looking like that at George?” I asked him.
“That wand has as its CORE a set of hairs from a Yowie.” He said with a chuckle.
“What is a Yowie?” I asked.
“It is a local Australian Creature. In appearance, it looks to be like a large and very hairy man. Many people think that they are dim-witted creatures. But that is just how they lure in their prey.” He answered with a small chuckle.
“You think it suits George because he is hairy or dim-witted?” I asked with a smirk of my own.
“No. Not at all. I think it suits George because just like the Yowie there is more to him than meets the eye.” Dave answered in an almost serious tone.
I remembered thinking that maybe Dave wasn’t as unobservant as I previously thought.
Kingsley also located a wand which he held up to show Dave. Dave indicated that he should try it out.
Gabrielle brought up a wand made from a light brown wood that almost seemed to have a pinkish tinge to it.
“Can you tell me about zis wand Dave?” she asked with a smile.
“Certainly, I can. It is made from a Eucalypt tree called the Silvertop Ash. It is a tree that is very resilient to fire and the heat of battle. The core of the wand is from a Drop Bear.” He said struggling to hide a smirk.
Noticing the smirk of Dave’s face Gabrielle asked, “What is a Drop Bear?”
“They look like an ordinary harmless Koala. But when you get in range they bear their fangs and claws and then attack.” Dave said now openly grinning at Gabrielle.
“You zink zat zey suit me? Zis ‘Drop Bear’?” She asked trying not to smile at the expression on Dave’s face.
“Well there are some similarities in there yes.” He said meeting her gaze.
“So, you zink that I look ‘armless but have hidden fangs and claws?” She said now smirking at him.
“More like you look very cute and cuddly but are extremely dangerous to the unwary.” He said smiling at her with a genuine and tender expression.
She must have approved of this assessment, as she soundly kissed him before heading back off to her seat. Dave just stood there for a few moments with a goofy kind of look on his face.
“Back with us yet Dave?” I just had to ask him while I tried not to giggle at his expression.
“Yeah I guess so.” He said almost regretfully.
He then noticed mum and dad calling him over. Out of curiosity I followed him.
“Dave, none of these wands feel like they are calling to me or Arthur.” Mum said with a slightly concerned expression.
“Nothing at all?” Dave asked.
“Well, I do kind of feel something coming from that bag next to the table.” Mum said in a small voice.
Dave seemed to be intrigued by this, “How about you Uncle Arthur?” he asked.
“Same here. There is definitely something faint pulling me to that bag.” He answered.
“Well then let us do some exploring then.” Dave said obviously excited.
He quickly had the bundle of wands packed away. The bag was then placed onto the table and opened up. Inside of it was some rather strange looking tools as well as a selection of woods and some clear bags holding an assortment of what I can only assume to be the potential COREs for use in a wand.
Dave carefully arranged these potential COREs on the table for my parents.
“Can you tell me which of these items is ‘calling’ to you?” Dave asked watching my parents very intently. Looking around I saw that everyone else (including those members of Dave’s team present) was gathering around. It seemed that they had all become aware of what was potentially about to happen.
Mum and Dad were both closely looking at the various items on the table. They seemed like they couldn’t decide.
“Close your eyes and hold your hands out and see if anything seems to attract your attention.” Dave requested.
They did this and reasonably quickly they had each selected an item. Both of their items looked to be feathers of some sort. Looking over to Dave I could see him still watching them very intently. When they seemed sure of their choices he spoke again.
“Holding the item, you have selected in your hand come down here to where I have a selection of different woods.”
“Hold your hand with the item in it over the woods and you will clearly feel when you locate a match where both the wood and the item in your hand will accept.” He instructed them.
Mum located a piece of wood first. It looked to be a mixture of dark and light browns with an interesting pattern in it. Dad located a suitable piece of wood soon after. His one was a very light brown timber with patches of black in it. Once they had both found their timber Dave asked them to hold them out to him. He held his hands over and below the items that they had selected but he didn’t touch them. After doing this to both of their selections he smiled.
“I think you both have selected very workable combinations.” He said with a grin.
“Shall we begin with Aunty Molly?” He asked.
Mum was obviously curious as to what he was going to do, so she was happy to oblige. She handed over to Dave her selected items. Dave took them and placed the piece of wood onto a device that looked to be similar to a spit that would be used for cooking. Once on it he spun it to see if it would spin freely.
Next, he removed the item from the clear bag. It was indeed a feather of some sort. It had a very thin shaft on it, much too thin to even be considered for use as a quill.
Dave stared intently at the feather for a few moments, then the feather seemed to shake itself out. I noticed something that looked like a stain on the feather. I was about to ask Dave about it when he got in first, “Please Ginny not just now. I will answer your question in a few moments. But right now, I need to concentrate.” He asked.
“Ok, it can wait.” I replied turning my attention back to the feather.
The feather had now begun to braid itself very tightly together. At one point, it almost looked like it was folding in on itself. Eventually it had reached the size that Dave was looking for, he then had the feather float until it was parallel to the timer that mum had selected.
Then both the timber and the feather began to rotate very rapidly. Dave’s concentration was now such that he had begun to sweat. He would watch the wand and then look over to mum and stare intently into her eyes for a few moments and then he would return his focus to the wand again.
Slowly I became aware that the feather was gaining in thickness. Although I must admit that I couldn’t see anything going into it. It was undeniable though that it was indeed gaining more body.
Eventually Dave began to work on the shape of the wand. Like most of his wands the shaping was subtle, but going from the wand that I had selected earlier I knew that it would be comfortable to hold.
When the desired shape was achieved, Dave stopped the wood sample from spinning. He then lightly laid his fingers on the still spinning wand and I could see the wood start to almost shine. As he slowly moved his finders up and down the wand the wood became highly polished. This he did a few times, the last two times he did it his hands were on fire with that Friendfyre flame. The result was a beautifully simplistic wand. It was a mesmerising mixture of light and deep brown patterns. But it was also very highly polished almost jewel like in its finish.
Dave presented the wand to mum with a proud but restrained smile on his face. Looking around the crowd of people who had gathered I could see that they were mesmerised by what they had just seen. I know it was something that I would remember for a long time.
Mum received the wand from Dave with a look of wonder on her face. As she wrapped her hand around it Dave asked her, “How does it feel to you?”
“It feels happy, almost content. Is the only way I can describe it.” She said smiling.
Dave broke out into a very large smile and asked, “Give it a flick.”
As mum did there was a shower of golden stars from the wand.
“I think that will work for you quite well.” Dave said very happily, “Let’s get Uncle Arthurs one done now.”
With this he removed the wood that he had use for mum’s wand and placed it carefully back on the table. He next placed the wood that dad had selected into the machine. Dad’s feather was removed from its clear bag and examined just as mum’s one was.
This feather also had a stain running across it, but I held my question until Dave had finished making the wand. The process was repeated with dad’s feather and wood until a finished wand was produced. The wand was a very light golden brown colour with thin black lines running through it. Like mum’s one it too was highly polished.
“How does it feel?” Dave asked after he had presented the wand to dad.
“Welcoming. Friendly. They would be the words that best describe it.” He replied.
“Give it a flick.” Dave said smiling again.
Grinning like a small child at Christmas gave his wand a flick, a shower of coloured sparks came from the end.
“Excellent. Give them a spin on the training floor against the target dummies.” Dave suggested.
Mum & dad were quickly over at the targets and were sending stunner after stunner at the targets. They all hit as well.
After they returned to the table dad asked Dave, “Can you tell us what they are made from?”
“Your wand Uncle Arthur is made of Stringybark. It is a native Australian Eucalypt Tree. It is a very sturdy, solid and dependable wood. Able to withstand great loads.”
“Aunty Molly’s wand is made from Spotted Gum. Like Stringybark it too is a very solid and dependable wood.”
“In fact, Aunty Molly’s wood came from mum’s own tree. Just as yours came from my dad’s tree.” Dave said with a smile to them both.
Mum seemed to be delighted at this and she was quickly running over to and hugging her big sister. Dad and Ivan also shared a handshake and a quick hug.
“What are the cores?” Dad asked still looking at his wand in awe.
“Griffin in both. In fact, the same Griffin supplied the feathers for your wands.” Dave explained.
“A Griffin?” Dad asked with delight.
“Yes, most definitely a Griffin.” Dave replied.
Dad had the silliest grin on his face at this news. Mum also had a wide smile.
“Do you know that at Hogwarts both Molly and I were in Gryffindor House?” Dad asked Dave.
“No, I didn’t.” He said with a smile, “Seems quite appropriate to me.”
Everyone seemed to agree with Dave on that point.
“What were those stains or marks on the feathers?” I asked Dave.
“Blood.” Dave replied with a wistful little expression.
“Was the Griffin hurt?” mum asked him.
“No, he wasn’t hurt. I was.” Dave answered, “That was my blood on those feathers.” He said in a very calm voice.
Mum had a very shocked look on her face at this news.
“Is zat connected to ze claw marks on your back?” Gabrielle asked Dave. She seemed sad that he had been hurt but was also very curious about the story.
“Yes, it is. He gave me the feathers as an apology for attacking me.” Dave said with a faraway look on his face.
Seeing the question in just about everyone’s face Dave expanded on that explanation.
“I would have been about 9 or 10 and I was off exploring around mum and dads place. I headed off up the beach towards the river at the far end of the cove. I wasn’t supposed to wonder off that far on my own, but I had just had an argument with Jimmy and wanted some space.”
“When I reached the river, I walked along its banks until I came to the pool that formed in one of the bends. I liked this spot as I could watch the fish swim and the yabbies also.”
“After just watching the fish for a time I noticed a disturbance in the trees. So I went to investigate it.”
“Stepping through a particularly tanged group of trees I literally ran into a young Griffin. He had been feasting on a Kangaroo that he had caught and had not been paying attention to his surroundings as he should have.”
“I quickly bowed to him as you should, but he had been frightened and he lashed out at me. He knocked me to the ground and raked his claws across my back.”
“The pain was indescribable. I only remember screaming out in my mind for mum and dad before I passed out.”
“When I came to my parents were there along with Grandma and Grandpa. Mick’s dad was there also.”
“Mum and Grandma were trying to look after the wounds on my back. While Mick’s dad was talking to the Griffin.”
“He was talking to the Griffin?” Dad asked Dave confused.
“Yes, he was talking to it. Mick’s dad has a special gift with animals. There isn’t much he can’t communicate with in some way. Some he can talk to very easily and others hardly at all. But he does have a special place in his heart for the Bunyips and Griffins that are around both our properties and his own.”
“Once he realised that I was awake he brought the Griffin over to see me. To say that I was a little worried would have been an understatement.” Dave said with a smile, there were some nervous chuckles around the table as well.
“Mick’s dad told me that the Griffin was very sorry that he had attacked me. He was so focused on his meal he wasn’t paying attention as he should have. Apparently, I had frightened him.”
“He also told me that the Griffin’s name was Riverbeak as he loved the river that flowed from the mountains behind mum and dad’s place down to the sea. This was a common hunting place for him.”
“Riverbeak wanted to apologize for hurting me and to set things to rights, but he needed my permission to do so.”
“I gave him my permission. Riverbeak then removed the magic from the wounds on my back, this would enable them to heal fully. Otherwise they would forever be unstable and continually break open easily.”
“He also offered me several of his feathers as well. Mick’s dad told me that this is a gift without price as Griffin feathers are extremely rare.”
“I accepted the offers and I also made a request of him.”
“My request was that if Riverbeak would in future please pay more attention when feeding on mum and dad’s property, as I didn’t want to be attacked again. I also asked if he would allow me to approach and talk with him when he does visit.”
“Riverbeak was surprised by these requests but he agreed to them.”
“He is a frequent visitor to mum and dad’s place, and while I can’t talk to him like Mick’s dad can, we can ‘talk’ well enough that we enjoy each other’s company. He especially likes it when I catch him a fish from that pool and give it to him. He always offers some to me, but I’m not a fan of raw fish.” Dave chuckled.
“Would he allow us to approach him?” Hermione asked her eyes wide with wonder.
“The only way to find out would be to ask him. As he isn’t a pet. He is more of a friend.” Dave answered.
“Would you?” Hermione asked excitedly.
“I will ask him, but I can’t promise anything other than that.” Dave answered to Hermione’s delight.
“Ok I need to explain some of the differences with these wands to what you may be used to.” Dave commented.
“These are designed from the start as ‘covert’ wands. That is, they are designed to be hidden on you.” This caused some surprised reactions from us.
“They will also be very difficult to remove from you once they are sealed to you. Either via Expelliarmus or other methods.” Dave explained, “But first let’s see how they will hide on you.”
“Fleur, place your wand on your wrist like you did with your Talisman yesterday. Then tell it to ‘hide’” he requested.
Fleur placed the wand on her wrist and issued the command. Her wand which was a lovely deep brown colour immediately wrapped itself around her wrist. It ended up forming a beautifully carved and almost woven looking bracelet.
Her eyes were wide with wonder and delight, “Incroyable.” She exclaimed.
“The wands have a small amount of awareness about their owners and they will sometimes change their hidden form to better match what you may be wearing at the time.” Dave explained.
“To return it to its normal form just tell it to come off, just as with your Talisman.” He instructed.
Fleur issued the command and the wand returned to its original state.
“When the wands are hidden like that they can’t be removed from you by anyone without your permission. They will also not show on any checks with secrecy scanners.”
“Now Fleur try holding the wand to your chest as though it was a pendant on a necklace and then tell it to hide.” Dave asked her.
She did so and this time the wand transformed itself into a delicate necklace with a small wooden hook shaped pendant on it. Fleur quickly retrieved a mirror to see the results. They did seem to meet with her approval.
“The girls can show you a bit later other ways they have contrived to hide their wands also. As they have been experimenting with them for a while now.”
“Ron, would you like to try with your wand?” Dave asked.
Ron laid his almost blond looking wand on his wrist and told it to hide. It transformed itself into something that resembled a wooden watch. His smile was a sight to behold.
“Tell it to come off” Dave asked him.
When he issued the command, the wand returned to its original state.
“They can also make a necklace but the designs tend to be a bit chunkier and a little uncomfortable. Mostly we turn them into belt buckles, but we can go over those options later.”
“Let us experiment with the other useful property of these wands.” He said as he got up.
“Harry, Ron would you two like to do the demonstration?” He asked.
They both appeared to be quite eager to try them out. Together the three boys walked over to the training floor.
“Harry, I want you to try a disarming charm on Ron. Not too powerful though as we don’t want to damage him.” Dave requested.
The boys faced each other and Harry cast Expelliarmus at Ron. While the wand was removed from Ron’s hand it just fell to the floor.
“Is that the effect that you would have expected from a spell of that strength?” Dave asked him.
“No it should have made it over to me.” Harry replied.
“Ok try again, a bit stronger this time.” Dave asked.
Ron had collected his wand and stood ready once more. This time the spell was much stronger as it appeared as a bright red jet of light. Once more the wand only seemed to twitch from Ron’s hand and land a short distance away.
The surprise (and frustration) on Harry’s face was plain to all to see.
“Swap over and let Ron have a go?” Dave asked.
The boys readily agreed and the results were basically the same for Ron as they were for Harry.
“As these wands have an awareness of their owner they are reluctant to abandon that master for any reason.” Dave explained.
“This awareness can be significantly re-enforced with a simple blood magic identification charm.” Dave said as he conjured two small pins and handed one to each of Harry and Ron.
“Simply prick the end of your finger and place a single drop of your blood on the very end of your wand. As you do it say to the wand ‘I am Harry James Potter’ and ‘I am Ronald Bilius Weasley’ this will seal the wand to you.” Dave instructed.
The two of them dutifully followed the instructions and then banished the pins. Dave now asked for them to repeat the same exercise again.
This time neither of them dropped their wand. Even when the Expelliarmus charm was a red jet of light. Their arms twitched and you could see them change their grip on their wand to keep a hold of it. But they didn’t lose control of it.
“Do you think that is a useful feature to have?” Dave asked them both.
“It’s bloody brilliant” Ron exclaimed grinning widely. Harry also indicated that he thought it was a great and practical idea.
We were all keen to have our wands sealed to us and then to give them a test run. Having been the target of the Expelliarmus charm in the DA meetings I was used to its effects. This time however it was like the charm was almost muffled by something. It was truly a marvellous ‘feature’ of our new wands.
Kingsley was almost beside himself with glee at the results. I’m sure he would have asked Dave to make a wand for every surviving Auror right then and there if he could have.
The most interesting reactions to the new wands was from mum and dad. They had both enfolded Dave in their arms and were delivering twin powerful hugs. It is a good thing that Dave is the size he is as I don’t think many others could have survived that ordeal.
When they eventually released him from their grip I could see the gratitude on their faces as well as the joy that was on Dave’s face. His father was right, he certainly thoroughly enjoyed it when something he made was able to have a positive effect in someone’s life.
Once we had all tested our new wands Dave asked if we could pack up the tables. He also asked his team to pack away the training floor.
“Have we finished for the day?” Dad asked him.
“Not yet, but I need to start a search for some gold and the less clutter around the easier it will be.” He explained.
We were all a little surprised but also eager to see what he was going to do. So, we all pitched in to help.
“You’re going to look for gold here?” Ron asked in disbelief.
“There is gold everywhere Ron. Most of the time it is only in trace amounts. There is even gold inside of you.” Dave said with a little half smile.
“Me?” Ron asked.
“Yes you. Everyone, it is only about 0.2 grams but it is there.” Dave informed him.
“What I’m most likely going to end up going is grabbing a little bit of gold from all the different plants here and bringing it together into a single nugget. That nugget will form the core of the Talismans that I need to make for your family.” Dave explained to him.
“Oh… I see. Ok then.” Ron replied looking a little disappointed.
Dave had a strange little smile on his face as he watched Ron head over to help with the packing up of the tables.
Dave quickly focused on packing up his own gear. Once it was all packed away he tried to gather it all up himself. Gabrielle noticed this and quickly joined him and took one of the bundles of wands to allow Dave to carry the rest.
They then headed off to the tents together, chatting happily. Sensing an interesting conversation, I followed.
Yes, I know what happened the last time I tried this, but I figured that there were no trees within reach of me in the yard so I should be safe. Ok!
As we got closer to the tents I was trying to work out how to position myself so that I could see into Dave’s tent without being noticed. The only place I could think of was to hide next to Shelly’s tent as that would partially screen me from view.
Moving into position around Shelly’s tent I found a small crowd made up of Dave’s sisters and cousin already there. They were intently watching Dave’s tent interior also. Supressing my own grin at this scene I walked up to them and asked, “Is this a free show or do we need tickets?”
They must have been expecting me as they didn’t even flinch.
“Shhh… We are trying to listen” Fireball hissed.
I joined them in their vigil and we could see Dave putting away the bundles with his wands in them as well as his tools. He quickly disappeared into his bedroom (alone) and re-emerged a brief time later in a set of t-shirt and shorts and bare feet.
He and Gabrielle then seemed to be involved in a discussion that required a lot of kissing and cuddling. As well as a fair share of giggles.
We were so engrossed in the show in front of us (especially when Gabrielle seemed to let her hand ‘accidently’ disappear under Dave’s t-shirt) we didn’t notice mum and Aunty Sandra come around the tent behind us.
“Just what do you all think you are doing here?” Mum asked us with a broad smile on her face at the sight of the four if us nearly jumping out of our skins.
“We are just trying to keep an eye on those two and make sure that nothing untoward happens” Fireball said with a well-practised air of innocence.
She didn’t fool her mother for a moment. Sandra crept up and peered into Dave’s tent and asked, “I wonder what they are discussing.”
“If you really want to know mum why don’t you just ask.” Came Dave’s voice from behind us.
This time the six of us really did jump and there were a few startled oaths as well. Turning around there standing behind us was Dave and Gabrielle. They both had massive smiles on their faces at having caught us in the act. They were also still carrying the bundles of wands and Dave’s tool bag.
Looking back into the tent I could still see ‘Dave’ and ‘Gabrielle’ happily kissing away. I then looked back over at Dave and Gabrielle behind me and then back to the tent. This time the two in the tent broke off their activities and waved to us before disappearing.
Dave’s sisters and cousins seemed to take it as an almost personal affront that they had been fooled by an illusion but mum and Aunty Sandra saw the humour in it. Not as much as Dave and Gabrielle did though.
Muttering some excuses about needing to help pack up they all quickly took off. Leaving me all alone there. Boggarts.
Once I realised this I too quickly made tracks out of there.
Laughing merrily to themselves the real Dave and Gabrielle continued into Dave’s tent.
Chapter 24: Delayed conversations (Molly's P.O.V.)
My thanks to Ginny for providing the preceding chapters. It was enlightening and entertaining reading for me. I’m certainly looking forward to reading some more of Ginny’s work.Well, now we are back to some events where I was around and wasn’t so distressed, and have a much better memory of them. I do hope you will enjoy these memories.
For those family members of mine who have been proof reading and are complaining about not getting to the more ‘action packed’ chapters quicker, I’m only going to remind you that this journal is for Dave and his bride to be. Your own journals cover many of the events that you have requested in this one. So just be patient. Yes Ron I am talking to you here.
Molly.
After we were discovered trying to ‘keep an eye on’ the goings on in Dave’s tent we all raced off to assist with the packing up. Partly to cover our own embarrassment at being discovered, but also out of a desire to see what Dave would be doing to make the Talisman’s that he mentioned.
In a reasonably short amount of time the pack up was complete. I began to look around for Dave and Gabrielle, but they were nowhere to be seen. Having failed to convince any of the girls who were caught with me outside of Dave’s tent to go and collect him, I was facing the possibility of having to go looking for him myself.
At this point Mick arrived carrying two boxes and looking for Dave. It goes without saying that we took the boxes off him and sent him to Dave’s tent to collect Dave and Gabrielle. Mick seemed happy to oblige although I do believe he suspected we had an ulterior motive for sending him.
If he didn’t before he went to collect Dave he certainly did when he came back. As he couldn’t look at us girls without flashing that brilliant smile of his at us. I couldn’t help the guilty blush that quickly spread to my cheeks when he smiled knowingly at me like that.
Dave and Gabrielle were following Mick out from the tents. They had their hands around each other’s waist and were very happily chatting. Gabrielle seemed to be holding something in her free hand as she frequently glanced at it as they were walking. Like his earlier illusion Dave was dressed once more in t-shirt and shorts with bare feet.
When they reached the middle of the yard the two of them stopped and once more embraced and shared a kiss. Dave then sent Gabrielle on into the house with Mick. I did notice her putting whatever she was previously holding into her dress pocket while a contented smile played about her lips. Fleur also seemed to notice this and had the same questioning look on her face as me. Glancing at my sister I saw that she also had a knowing sort of smile on her face as well when she looked to Dave and Gabrielle. She saw me looking at her with an unspoken question on my face but she only winked at me by way of reply.
Dave was standing in the middle of the yard and was staring at the house. Initially I thought he was simply watching Gabrielle, but then I noticed Fireball also standing simply staring back at him. They were communicating somehow. After they broke off their conversation I noticed Dave switch his gaze to following Gabrielle as she walked from the yard.
His blush betrayed him when he noticed Fleur and I watching him though. He smiled cheekily at us and then sat down cross legged in the yard facing the house. He rested his arms on his knees and closed his eyes.
Once Gabrielle and Mick reached the House I could almost see small ‘waves’ rippling out from Dave and go running across the yard. It was rather fascinating to watch but Fireball had other ideas.
“Ok everyone listen up, while Dave is prospecting we are going to try and get you all fitted out with two or three different sorts of holsters for your wands.” Fireball explained.
“All of us girls will go into the lounge as that looks like it will offer the most amount of space for us. The boys can split up between the different bedrooms to try out the different styles of holsters on offer.”
“I will let Dad, Mick and Jono organise the boys across the different rooms. Try to ensure that you have options for covering formal, work and casual occasions. Ideally at a minimum BOTH wands will be in secure storage at all times.”
“The same will go for us girls. We will need to ensure that you have holster combinations that cover the scenarios mentioned previously.”
“The main points with a holster are to make sure it is comfortably positioned and affords easy access. All of these holsters are charmed to be accessible through your clothes. So unless you are wearing something like bunyip fur based clothing you should have no issues accessing them.”
“Please ensure that you practise inserting and extracting your wand with the holster(s) fitted to you.”
“Any questions?” she asked us.
As there were none we all headed off to various rooms in the house to try on the various types of holsters. I had never used a wand holster before but after trying several of the ones on offer I could definitely see the advantages of them. The ‘casual’ holster that placed the wand at the small of my back was indeed my favourite.
Some of the options for the more ‘formal ware’ type occasions were simply remarkable in the creativity that was shown in both the design and function of them. The girls from Dave’s team were also very creative in the various ways that they were able to hide their holsters and wands on themselves. Clearly a lot of time had been spent thinking about it. They also showed us various ways of hiding the miniature versions of the port key handcuffs as well.
No I will not be going into all the details about where we were able to hide our wands and cuffs here. Girls do need some secrets after all you know.
Surprisingly the girls were able to get ourselves sorted out with the holsters long before the boys. This was found to be rather amusing by us all, so we decided it was time to have a spot of afternoon tea and a good chat. I put the kettle on and while it was heating up I looked out into the yard to check on Dave.
He looked as though he hadn’t moved at all. He was still in the middle of the yard and those strange ripples I had noticed before were even more pronounced now as they raced around inside the rock wall of the yard. My sister must have noticed me looking into the yard and she came over and joined me at the window.
“I do hope he isn’t over extending himself on my account.” I said to her with worry in my heart.
My sister just simply stared at me in astonishment before she replied, “I would have thought that you of all people would have understood the power of family bonds.” She said with an amused twinkle in her eyes.
“If one of your children or family was facing a similar predicament wouldn’t you be doing all that you could to ensure their safety?” She asked me.
“Of course I would. But Dave hardly knows me.” I tried to explain.
“He knows you’re family, and that is enough. Family is something that all of my children are fiercely protective of. Even of those members that they do not see all that often.”
“I’m not completely sure where it comes from, if it was because their Grandfather was kicked out of his. Or because their Grandmothers family were so tightly knit. Or if it was my own experiences with my family”, She said looking at me with a wistful expression, as though thinking of all those lost years.
“However it came about it is like a warm impenetrable blanket that you can wrap yourself in and be sure of its love and support.”
“I have seen what lengths Dave will go to for strangers, I have seen the even more extraordinary lengths he will go to for family. Knowing that I almost have a trace of pity for anyone dumb enough to try and collect on the contract that has been offered.” She said while holding both my hands and staring into my eyes.
I could see the truth of her words in her eyes and it did make me feel very warm inside. She then smiled at me and pulled me into a very strong embrace that I thoroughly enjoyed.
When we broke apart I noticed that we were the focus of the other ladies attention. They all had smiles of some sort on their faces at the scene before them.
Not knowing what else to do I asked, “Who would like a cup of tea?” there were no shortage of takers for that offer.
Once tea was made for everyone I refilled the kettle and put it back on so that it would be ready for the boys when they eventually finished with the holsters.
While we were happily chatting over our tea, Fleur raised the topic of Sandra re-directing the conversation earlier during the de-briefing of the ‘Paris Incident’.
“Excusez-moi Madame Webb, can you please explain why you wished the conversation earlier to change direction?” She asked warmly, but also with heightened interest.
“Certainly I can. But only if you call me Sandra.” She replied, “Madame Webb makes me feel rather old.” She said with a smile at Fleur.
“Merci Sandra.” Fleur answered also with a smile.
Putting her tea cup down Sandra thought for a moment before replying, “Do you recall the image that Ivan made of what he sees when he looks in the mirror?”
“Oui” Fleur answered.
“Did it startle you at all?” Sandra asked.
“Oui, it did. It ez a terrible fate for someone to suffer.” Fleur replied.
“Did you notice how uncomfortable he was about what he saw in it? How embarrassed it made him?”
“Oui I did.” Fleur answered.
“My husband has had over 50 years to get used to that sight. It still affects him greatly whenever he sees it. It is always in his mind when he is made to think about his physical appearance. Much like a slice from a dagger across the image of his self-worth whenever he thinks about it.”
“It took me a long time to understand growing up why he never reacted well to comments about him being a very handsome looking man.”
“When we began dating ‘officially’” she said with a smile, “It became a real issue in our relationship. As I couldn’t understand what the reasons were as to why he almost cringed when I commented on things like his wonderful eyes.”
“It wasn’t until his father showed me what he saw in the mirror that I finally understood. I felt so ashamed of what I had been doing to him in bringing the conversation around to this topic so many times, in my attempts to try and understand.” You could see her anguish at the memories.
“After the conversation with his father I sought him out to apologise and to tell him that I finally understood. When I told him this I was not prepared for the fear and self-loathing that showed in his eyes.”
“He thought that I had come to break off our relationship now that I knew.” She said with very moist eyes.
“It took some rather direct action upon my part to convince him otherwise.” Sandra said with a naughty little smile and a throaty chuckle to herself. The other ladies caught her meaning and smiled.
“At the time he was 21 and I was 20. It was only at that point in our relationship did I learn that what I should have been doing is telling him what I saw when I looked at him. Not what others would see.”
“As I had finally learnt that while he had no concept of what he looked like himself, he did have a VERY strong concept of how he was viewed through MY eyes.”
“In a way MY view of him was far and away the most important way, maybe even the only way, of how he viewed himself.” She said thoughtfully.
“Does that make sense?” She asked Fleur.
“Oui it does. A great deal actually” She answered.
“There is one small ‘silver lining’ to the condition however.” Sandra said with a slightly evil grin that caught the attention of all of the ladies. “It keeps away all those annoying gold diggers and floozies who would try and take MY man away from Me.” She said with her grin now on full display.
“The loyalty and faithfulness of my boys has never been an issue. But there are those who like to try and steal what they can’t hope to earn honestly.”
“They always seem to try the same approach with every man that crosses their path. But their outrageous flattery and over the top flirting and compliments have the completely opposite effect on my boys. Each time I see them try to ‘chat up’ one of my boys I almost feel sorry for them knowing the reaction that they will receive for their efforts.” She said with an evil little chuckle.
“It sounds like there are some stories in there.” I prodded my sister.
“Oh there are many stories in there and if we started telling them all we would be going for days.” Sandra said with a real twinkle in her eyes.
“Just telling the ones that we witnessed with girls trying to flirt with Jimmy and Dave would take up a week or more, let alone the ones we only heard about.” Fireball said with a chuckle. “Emma used to tell some great ones about girls who tried to ‘chat up’ Dave in the hospital.” She said with an evil gleam in her eyes. This brought a look of surprise from Gabrielle.
“’ow did Emma find out about zat?” She asked Fireball.
“She either saw it, or Dave told her about it. As it always annoys him when things like that happened, and he would tell Emma about it as she seemed to get a strange sort of delight out of them. Or more specifically Dave’s reaction to them.” Fireball explained.
“Yeah like when he gave that cow Renee a bedpan that Emma had recently filled and asked her ‘sweetly’ to go and empty it.” Andrea said struggling not to laugh. Gabrielle looked like she was also struggling not to laugh as well at that image.
“There’s even some excellent ones about Joseph and he isn’t affected like Dad, Jimmy and Dave are.” Andrea said with a laugh.
“Who is Joseph?” I asked.
“Joseph is the son of Ivan’s eldest sister Barbara Webb. She married a man by the name of Anthony Webb, so she is jokingly referred to as the ‘real Webb’ in the family by the kids. Both she and her husband see the funny side of the situation and so do their kids.”
“Joseph is the team leader of one of the dedicated Auror Assault Groups so he is required to be a little blunt in his job. Unfortunately that sometimes carries over into social situations.” Sandra explained with a smirk.
“Like Jimmy he has beautiful long blond hair and eyes almost as blue as Dave’s. He is almost the same height as Dave as well, so the girls flock to him.”
“But he does have the same ‘world view’ as my boys though. So he shares a lot of their traits. One of which is being rather blunt to those who he doesn’t know that try to ‘butter him up’. His wife Scarlett sees the funny side of the situation thankfully. As it happens quite often, and she loves to tell the stories which are often very funny.” Sandra said smiling.
“Often? They are bloody hilarious, especially if you ask Joe for his version of them.” Andrea exclaimed.
“That’s a little cruel dear. You shouldn’t tease him like that. Even if it is very funny to see his reactions.” Sandra remarked. The other ladies also had a bit of a laugh as well.
“Ok girls that’s enough you can tease your poor male cousins later on. Your Grandmother’s party will be the perfect place to do that.” She said with an evil twinkle in her eye.
“Dave is so right about you girls ganging up on the boys.” Hermione said with a questioning look at Sandra.
“Well we do need to keep them all in line don’t we?” She said with her innocent look on full display. There was a round of solid laughter at this comment.
“Ok girls as fun as this conversation is we need to get it back on to the original topic.” She said with a look at her daughters.
“Dave is only 15. Soon to be 16, he is still trying to come to terms with this ‘condition’ himself.” Sandra said and the hurt in her eyes was very clear to see.
“To the best of my knowledge he has never shown anyone, what he sees when he looks in the mirror. He avoids mirrors more than any vampire that I know.” She remarked casually.
“I’m sure that this is why he, Jimmy and their father all have such expressive faces.” She said to a group of questioning ones. “They have never seen their own face so they don’t know how much they are animating it with their different expressions.”
“When Dave first showed the ability to change his form he was absolutely fascinated with the faces that he saw in the mirror. He would watch them very closely and often and quickly learnt to control all the muscles in them to make his expressions more ‘normal’ as he called it.”
“His Grandmother suggested that maybe we could use this method to teach him for when he was in his natural form as well. I told her absolutely not. As I love the expressions that would often play across all of their faces.” She said with her own face breaking out into a wonderful smile. Gabrielle was also smiling at this as well.
“When he is in his natural form, I have only seen him look in a mirror voluntarily once and he went as white as a sheet and collapsed to the ground.”
“I went to him, to try and comfort him. When I made contact with him however, I caught a glimpse of his memory of the sight he saw. I’m ashamed to say it frightened me and I screamed.” Sandra said with tears now in her eyes.
“The look of horror and self-loathing on his face was far and away worse than anything I had ever seen on my husbands. It wounded me in a way I have never forgotten.”
“After this he just took off and disappeared. I was desperately afraid that he thought I had rejected him or something similar. None of us knew where he had gone.” She lamented.
“It took us a week of dedicated searching by just about every family member and a lot of our friends before we found his trail. After that it was another few days before we had pinpointed where he actually was.”
“When his campsite was finally identified he still wouldn’t talk to any of us about this. His Grandfather, Father and Jimmy all had to basically force their way in and pin him down and talk to him about what he was seeing and why they believed it was happening.”
“It took almost another week to convince him to come back home. Then several more days before he would even leave his room. Not even Emma was having a great deal of success in reaching him about this.”
“I think it was finally his Grandmother and Great Grandmother who were the ones that eventually got through to him.”
“Together they are a force to be reckoned with, even so it took all of their skill to be able to handle our little Dave. I’m sure that is a big part of the reason why he is so close to his Grandmother and Great Grandmother.” She said with a small smile.
“How old was Dave when that happened?” I asked.
“It was just after he had done Nippers for the first time. So he would have been 6 years old.” She answered.
“I zink zat would ‘ave been difficult for anyone to deal wiz, at any age.” Gabrielle said looking out the window at Dave with a very tender expression on her face.
“Yes Gabrielle. You are very correct in that” Sandra replied with a smile, “Jimmy also had trouble with it as well. Dave’s reaction was much stronger though, we are still not sure as to the reason why.”
“To this day he still has great difficulty with certain types of comments when they are directed at him. As they bring to mind what he saw that day.”
“His Grandmother and Great Grandmother are the undisputed masters of slipping in comments about him into conversation so as to get him more used to them.”
“However I don’t think even they, would have been able to get away with the comment that Gabrielle used earlier.” Sandra said with a sly little smile directed at her.
“I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but he didn’t even flinch when you said he had a cute face.” Sandra remarked still smiling at a now blushing Gabrielle.
“She might have missed it, but we didn’t.” Andrea said with Fireball and Cassy agreeing with her. They were also smiling at Gabrielle who was still blushing. “I thought my heart was going to skip a beat while I waiting to see what he would do.”
“I think that perhaps it wasn’t only Dave being eloquent when giving opinions of what he saw in your conversation yesterday.” Sandra said with a knowing smile at Gabrielle, who was now in a blush that would have done a Weasley proud.
“Do not worry Gabrielle, I’m not going to ask you to repeat what you said to him. But I will thank you for it. It seems to have given him a degree of confidence that wasn’t there before. For that I’m extremely grateful to you.” Sandra said as she regarded Gabrielle very approvingly.
“I think you have been able to give him a good deal of confidence in himself recently.”
“Especially if he gave you what I think he did just now.” She enquired of Gabrielle.
Poor Gabrielle was already blushing rather hard and this new observation brought the full focus of the rest of the ladies there. She was staring very intently at her teacup in her hands.
Eventually she raised her gaze and looked at Sandra and asked, “How did you know?”
“A mother knows these things about her children.” Sandra replied cryptically, “Besides, I helped my mother-in-law create the invitations.” She said with a wink.
“Invitations?” Just about everyone seemed to ask at the same time.
“Yes invitations. I suppose Ivan will be giving them out at dinner. But Dave was most insistent about getting one earlier.” She said with a smirk.
“He wished to invite a certain person to the event in question and was desperately worried that someone else might ask her before he could.” She said with her smile on full display.
Gabrielle for her part was also smiling broadly at this news.
“I take it from your smile that he has indeed asked you to the event.” Sandra enquired with an arched eyebrow and a smile.
“Oui.” Gabrielle replied with a shy little smile.
“And?” Fleur almost demanded.
“I accepted.” Gabrielle said almost loftily.
“We gathered that much.” Fireball remarked, “What did the great oaf say?” she said trying to contain her smile.
At this Gabrielle began to giggle at the memory. This only served to irritate both her sister and Dave’s. This could have been part of her plan, who knows.
“Gabrielle?” Her mother asked her.
“I will not say ez exact words, but ee was very sweet. ‘e was most worried zat I wouldn’t want to go on such a formal date wiz ‘im.” She said smiling.
“I was a little surprised, but very pleased wiz ze invitation. And I think ‘e took zis to be hesitation on my part. As while ‘e waited for my answer ‘e was adorable as ‘e was so nervous. Zose eyes of ‘is can be so expressive at times.”
“When I realised zat he thought my surprise was hesitation, I quickly told ‘im zat I would be very pleased and ‘onoured to accept ‘is most wonderful invitation.”
“Ze smile on ‘is face was magnifique. It warmed my ‘eart.” She said also smiling.
“When we are in Paris tomorrow he wants to get me somezing special for ze party. So zat we will complement each ozer” She said with a huge smile.
Fleur and Madame Delacour seemed very excited by this turn of events. The other girls also seemed to be quite interested as well.
“Was the invitation to his Grandmother’s 90th Birthday party?” Ginny asked Gabrielle.
“Oui” She said still smiling.
“What sort of party is it going to be?” Ginny enquired with her eyes lighting up.
“A formal BBQ” Sandra replied with a grin.
“BBQ?” Ginny asked a little confused.
“It’s short for barbecue.” She clarified, “It’s a muggle style of cooking of which my mother-in-law is very fond. Most likely due to all the camping trips she and her husband went on over the years.”
“A friend of hers runs a catering company and they do the most wonderful barbecues and spit roasts. She has used them for many family parties over the years.” The girls (and I) were eager for more details so we prodded her to supply them.
“With her place being further north than ours it is much warmer all year round, so her parties are often done outdoors. As her place is close to the beach like ours and surrounded by native bush, especially the frangipani trees, it just all adds to the magic of it.” She was smiling as she said this. Clearly these parties were something special to her.
“As this year’s party is going to be more formal than usual she has also organised, a marquee a dance floor as well as a band.” Sandra gave Gabrielle a sly little smile and added, “Maybe we will get to see the results of your dance classes with Dave?” she said with a chuckle at Gabrielle’s reaction.
“The dress code indicated on the invitations isn’t ‘overly formal’ as in ball gowns or anything. But it is more along the line of what you would wear to a wedding or something similar.”
“Just make sure you have some shoes that are easy to get on and off. As walking along the beach under the moonlight in bare feet is kind of magical also.” She said with a faraway smile.
“I take it you have done that with Ivan a time or two?” I asked her with a knowing smile myself.
“You could say that.” She said with a naughty little smile, “I mean the sand dunes are just so comfortable and offer all sorts of opportunities.” She said with only a small trace of a blush.
“Don’t go giving the kids too many ideas now.” I told her, but I couldn’t hide my own smile at the thought. The other ladies also had smiles of their own at their own thoughts.
“She is also planning a big fireworks display as she absolutely adores fireworks. Watching them go off over the water is always so wonderful.” Sandra replied happily.
“So girls do please try to act surprised when Ivan gives out your invitations later on.” She requested us. We all indicated that we would indeed do our best to act surprised.
“I know that he is hoping to surprise everyone here with them. His Mother and Grandmother are also very keen to meet you all as well.” Sandra said smiling at me and with a quick glance to Gabrielle as well.
“It promises to be a special event and I’m very confident that you will all enjoy it.” She said happily. We were all in agreement with her.
“Now Fleur, I’m sorry that I got side tracked there again. But I hope that I also answered your question as well?” Sandra asked.
“It is a kind of a very fine distinction being drawn but it does make a great deal of difference in practise. I know that even now, if I make a comment without thinking to my husband I can still see a flicker of those thoughts go across his eyes.”
“But framing those sort of comments as though they are from someone he accepts doesn’t cause those sorts of thoughts to surface at all.” She explained.
“Oui, you did. It has made things quite a lot clearer.” Fleur replied.
“How do you know if you are someone that he accepts?” Hermione asked.
“I think it is very safe to say that you all here have been accepted by both of my boys.” Sandra replied, “Some more so than others.” She said with a cheeky grin at Gabrielle who happily returned it.
“Yeah after de-briefing Dave” Fireball said to general laughter, “I think he is a lot more relaxed around everyone here.”
“Very true. In some ways that was a very beneficial session for him.” Sandra said smiling at some of the reactions around the table.
“Beneficial for who?” Came Ron’s voice from the door as the boys started to arrive back into the kitchen.
“We were just discussing the earlier ‘de-briefing’ of Dave and how it seems to have helped him relax a bit more around everyone here.” Sandra replied. We all took this as the que not to mention the earlier discussion just yet.
“He seemed at ease to me.” Harry replied, “But why is he behaving so oddly towards me at times?” He asked Sandra.
Sandra turned to face Harry and simply stared at him for a few moments before answering. “I believe his behaviour towards you Harry is driven by a desire to ‘invite you in’ as they say. I’m willing to bet that he wants to know more about you.” She remarked.
“One thing to keep in mind about Australians Harry is that they don’t put much store in formality. In fact if you find yourself being addressed formally it is usually an indication of trouble. Unless you’re meeting someone for the first time.” She explained with a smile.
“Ask Ginny here about how Dave addressed her during their first meeting, before the reset.” She offered.
Harry turned to Ginny with the question clear in his expression.
“Aunty Sandra is right.” Ginny replied and I could see Sandra smile at the comment. I suspect though that her smile was more from the title used rather than from Ginny agreeing with her.
“When we first met I was rather annoyed at him and a little rude as well.”
“Only a little?” Ron asked, “You basically said he should have murdered those supporters of Riddle rather than capture them.” He exclaimed.
Ginny gave him a fairly dirty look and then turned back to Harry with a slightly embarrassed smile on her face.
“Like I said I was a little rude. In turn he was very correct and polite if a little blunt in his comments to me. He also always addressed me as ‘Miss Weasley’.”
“While he called mum and dad Mr and Mrs Weasley there was a warmth in the way he said it. When he addressed me there was nothing but correctness. Thinking back on it, it made me nervous.” She explained.
“I know it had me worried.” I said with a little smile, “After you two had your ‘chat’ and reset the introduction and he called you Ginny for the first time I was so relieved.”
“I think we all were.” Arthur offered. There were some murmurs of agreement at that statement as well.
Harry glanced around the room at those who had spoken. He then returned his gaze to Sandra.
“Do you see what I’m saying Harry? These little comments he is directing to you are offers of informality.” Sandra explained, “Another way to interpret them is like this. He offering to lower his guard with you, in order to have a real conversation. He is looking for a reply from you, to see if you are prepared to do the same.”
“I can see he is keen to talk to you about a great many things. But he also doesn’t want to force you into the conversation. He is giving you a ‘graceful way out’ as they say.” She said with a smile at Harry.
“You represent something of an enigma to him Harry. He lives everyday with the consequences of actions that happened long before he was born. While he knows the story of what happened, he like the rest of us are still looking for the why.”
“Knowing how Dave thinks, he will be wanting to come to understand you better in order to try and understand your family better. As the story of the ‘what’ that he knows, is not aligning with the facts that he ‘sees’ before him when he looks at you.”
“That sort of disconnect indicates that something significant had to have happened to cause it. Dave isn’t the sort to walk away from that sort of puzzle.” She explained.
“So he isn’t making fun of me then?” Harry asked.
“He is.” Sandra answered, “But not in a derogatory way. He is doing it just like he would to a family member.”
“A family member?” Harry asked with a strange look in his eyes.
“Yes Harry. Remember, he can see the bonds that exist between you and Ginny here. He obviously considers it a matter of WHEN not IF, you will be part of his larger family tree through his cousin Ginny.” Sandra explained. This comment of course caused a big blush on Ginny along with a large smile.
Harry for his part was also smiling as were all of my family. When the two of them looked at each other, even I could almost see the sparks flying between them.
“How do I accept his invitation?” Harry asked Sandra.
“Simply reply in kind when he next offers. Or if you are really game make a practical joke.” Sandra said with a smile.
“I might be able to help you there Harry.” George said with his eyes alight with mischief.
Harry simply grinned back at George, with his own eyes alight as well.
“This could get interesting.” Fireball remarked to Sandra with her own grin on display. “Should we start to take bets on the outcome of that little encounter?” She asked hopefully.
“No I think we should allow them this one as a training exercise.” Sandra said with a cheeky smile. George however seemed to take it as a challenge and he looked like he was indeed looking forward to it.
It was at this point I noticed Dave stand up out in the yard.
“Has he finished?” I asked Sandra.
“I do believe the first part is finished.” Ivan said after looking out into the yard, “Now is the time for everyone to join in the ‘fun’ and get dirty.” He said with a smile.
We all had questioning looks on our faces, but Ivan only smiled at our confusion and headed out into the yard.
Chapter 25: Talismans
“How did it go?” Ivan asked his son, “Did you manage to locate enough?”Dave approached and he was soaked through with sweat, but he also had a weary but satisfied smile on his face, “You could say that.” He replied.
“Where is it?” Ron asked full of excitement.
“Underground of course.” Dave answered with grin at Ron’s disappointment, “It needs to be ‘found’ by your family if it is to be suitable for use.” Dave answered.
“So how do we discover it?” Ron asked with his excitement back on show.
“With these.” Dave said as he conjured a set of shovels.
“Where do we need to dig?” Arthur asked as he collected one of the shovels.
“Right where I was sitting.” Dave answered.
“How far down is it?” Ron said eagerly heading over to the location.
“That I can’t say, but it isn’t overly far down.” Dave replied, “You can all help with the digging if you want. But the ones who MUST be using the shovels when it is found are Uncle Arthur and Aunty Molly.” Dave explained.
“I would suggest letting them dig down and the rest who wish to help can widen the hole.” Dave suggested.
We all readily agreed and grabbed a shovel each and began to dig in the location where Dave had been sitting. We had only dug down around 3 feet when Arthurs shovel hit something that sounded metallic.
The look of excitement on Arthurs face was infectious. Shortly we were all digging like mad. Eventually we had a hole just over 3 feet deep and around 5 feet wide. The bottom of which was filled with gold nuggets.
There was more gold there than I had ever seen before in my life. The exception being when we saw into Harry’s vault at Gringotts.
None of us knew what to do we were completely stunned, we just looked at each other.
Dave turned back up with a wheel barrow and spoke, “Uncle Arthur you will need to be the one who pulls it from the ground. You can then hand it over to any of the others for them to place in the wheel barrow here.” He said still smiling at our expressions.
“Where did you find all of this?” Arthur asked still in shock, “You didn’t just conjure it, did you?”
“No, I didn’t conjure it. It wouldn’t be suitable for use in Talismans if I did. The laws of magic are very explicit on that point.” He explained.
“As to where I found it. About a mile down there is a layer of rock with a solid seam of gold running through it. I broke up the rock and grabbed the larger gold nuggets that were inside the primary boundary of your property and brought it up a bit closer to the surface for you.” He said with a proud but restrained smile.
“A mile?” Bill exclaimed.
“Yes, a mile.” Dave replied.
“That’s remarkable. Gringotts would pay a small fortune for someone with skills like yours.” Bill said with a look of wonder at Dave.
“It doesn’t matter what they offer me, I couldn’t work for them anyway.” Dave replied with a hint of bitterness, “International law limits my employment options to the choices of Unemployment, Ministry Bureaucrat or Auror. Being Unemployed or a Ministry Bureaucrat would be one step above a living Hell so I became an Auror instead.” Dave answered with a sense of frustration.
“I would agree with those choices.” Bill answered with a sympathetic grin.
Dave nodded in agreement.
“You better get started on that lot. I’m going to get a drink and another wheel barrow.” He said as he headed over to the house.
“Another wheel barrow?” Arthur exclaimed, “Just how much did you find Dave?”
“I can’t tell you that. You need to ‘discover it’ yourself and I have already bent the laws as much as I dare.” He replied.
The first wheelbarrow was filled by the time that Dave returned with another one and a huge grin on his face.
“Still going?” He asked in that annoying overly casual voice that he has.
Ron gave Dave a filthy look, this wasn’t just because he was covered in dirt either.
“Come on Ron, I thought that you would be excited by all of this?” Dave teased him.
“I never realised that gold was so bloody heavy.” Ron bemoaned, but he did keep on working in the hole alongside his dad.
“It is and rather cumbersome to carry as well. Just be thankful you didn’t need to break the rock and pull it up from a mile down.” Dave replied with another cheeky grin at Ron.
“Was all this really all down there?” Ron asked.
“Yes, and there is more of it still down there. If you want to go and dig for it as well.” Dave answered.
“More?” Ron said with his eyes a light.
“Yes, I only brought up the larger gold nuggets that are inside the primary boundary of the property. The vein of gold extends about half a mile on the far side of your house and about 1.5 miles off in that direction.” He said pointing to the orchard.
“There is another layer of rock about 3 miles down that might hold even more, but that is over an underground river and any damage to that layer might cause the water to rise up and make a new lake here.” He said thoughtfully.
“I think that lot can stay down there.” Arthur said in a tired sounding voice.
“Agreed.” Dave answered, “While you are doing that I will get that tent set up for Monsieur and Madame Delacour and Gabrielle. As I think everyone might want to get cleaned up after this and the more bathrooms and showers on offer the quicker it will go.”
Looking around at us all I had to agree with Dave. While it was Arthur, Ron and Bill who were the ones working in the hole the rest of us (the exception being Dave’s team and family) were busily carrying the nuggets of gold and rock over to the two of wheel barrows.
“I think you might be right Dave, the more showers the better.” I told him.
Dave, Mick, Fireball and Cassy went off and set up some extra tents. At first, I wondered why so many, but eventually they explained that the big tent was a 4 bedroom family tent for the Delacour family as well as Bill and Fleur if they wished. This would enable the house to become less crowded and more comfortable to those staying there.
The other smaller tents were bathroom tents. This would enable everyone to almost shower all at the same time.
Eventually the gold was all removed from the hole. We got the boys out of the hole and stood back and admired our work. While Dave filled in the hole and restored the grass.
“How much gold do you think is there?” Ron asked.
“A little over 400kg.” Dave replied. Everyone turned to him with a look of incredibly.
“Do you need all of that for the Talismans?” Ginny asked.
“Nope.” Dave answered with a perfectly straight face.
The look on Ginny’s face was priceless. I thought that she was going to try and kill him right then and there.
“Then what the hell are you going to do with it all?” She almost demanded.
“Other than make your Talismans, I’m not going to do anything with it.” Dave answered still with that deceptively straight face of his, “It’s your gold not mine.”
This took several moments to sink in. All the while Dave was trying not to grin like a mad man.
Arthur was still looking between the wheelbarrows of gold and Dave, “You mean it is our gold? To keep.”
“Yes, it is Uncle Arthur. It was found on your property and you dug it out of the ground. That means by all the laws I’m aware of, both human and magical it is indeed yours.” Dave answered in his professional voice.
Suddenly, we were all grinning like mad men.
“What is that amount of gold in Galleons?” Ron asked.
“Just quickly off the top of my head it would be around 2.4 million Galleons. But you would need to check with the Goblins on that one. It might even be more valuable as the raw nuggets themselves.” Dave answered.
I thought Ron was going to drop dead of a heart attack. Arthur looked like he already had, as he had gone white. The rest of the family were just stunned. Truly speechless.
Fleur was the first one to recover she walked over to Dave and kissed him soundly on each cheek. She then said very softly into his ear, “Merci beaucoup, Dave. It ez a wonderful zing you ‘ave done for zem.” She said as she hugged him.
Dave was clearly embarrassed by this as he started to blush, and didn’t know what to say. Before he could find any words though the rest of the family was busy embracing him and the girls were kissing him on the cheeks. The exception being Gabrielle who soundly kissed him on the lips. Several times, just because she could.
When it was my turn I just had to ask him, “Are you sure Dave?”
“Sure, about what?” he asked with his innocent look once more on display.
“Are you sure you don’t want any of that gold. You did bring it up and make it accessible to us.” I said searching his eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure. Very sure. Why on earth would I want any of it? I have more than enough for my needs in the bank at home.” He answered seriously, “It is doing no one any good just buried there in the ground. This way it can at least be used for some good in the world.”
“You are a very special and rare young man Dave.” I told him with tears in my eyes. He just looked at me with that confused look he has and asked, “Why?”
Remembering the earlier discussion, I replied, “Because that’s how I see you.”
“I think we all see you as one.” I said as he really started to blush. Then I pulled him into a hug which he returned.
Eventually I released him and Gabrielle was again waiting for him and she hugged him again also. Along with some more kisses.
When she was done with him (for the time being anyway), Dave called us all over to the two wheel barrows.
“I need each of you to select a nugget that feels like it is calling you in some way. This won’t be like a wand calling to you. It will be a lot subtler, you may only feel that you like the look of it.”
“When you have found, a nugget carry it in both of your hands and place it on the table here. Then you can go and get cleaned up. The start of this next part might be a bit messy but it will not be as messy as what you have just done.”
“While you are cleaning up I will get a forge going so we can get the gold ready for use.”
“Dave” Hermione asked, “Why can’t you just work the metals like you did with the ones you made yesterday?”
“These are a different sort of Talisman from what I made yesterday. They are both more powerful and more difficult to make. The ones I made yesterday were very targeted and while they will give a good deal of protection they will not be able to match these ones.”
“Because these ones are more powerful the laws around their creation are much more ridged as well. If I had tried to make these yesterday they would not have been ready in time and we would have likely lost Gabrielle. That was something I wasn’t willing to risk.” He replied with a shy smile to Gabrielle. She happily returned it.
“Understandable and I agree with your reasoning.” Hermione replied with a smile to Gabrielle, “I’m just very curious about the differences between them.”
“If you are interested I can dig the book out for you to read if you wish.” Dave offered.
At the mention of a book Hermione’s eyes lit up, “Yes please, that would be lovely.” She answered.
“Ok, I will find it for you later after dinner.” He agreed, “Let’s get on with this shall we.”
With this Dave conjured an odd-looking device, it looked a bit like a strange kitchen oven of some sort. He called it a forge with a crucible in it to enable the nuggets to be melted down. He admitted that while magic or sorcery would do the job faster and better, the first part of the process had to follow the ‘old way’ as he called it.
“You all have some time to go and get cleaned up if you wish. This will take a while to get up to temperature as it needs to heat up naturally.”
“Once it is hot enough the nuggets can be poured out into a mould and then we can begin to work the metal. We will simplify this process as much as we can. But the first two ‘folds’ of the metal will need to be done by Uncle Arthur.”
“After that others may join in if they desire. It will most likely take about 20 folds before the ‘old laws’ are satisfied and we can use more efficient methods. While you are performing the folding, I will be ‘encouraging’ the impurities out of the gold itself.”
“It is once the gold has reached a purity of around 95% then we will be able to switch to the alternate methods I mentioned.” He explained to an intrigued audience.
“Any questions?” He asked us.
“What will we be working the gold with?” Ron asked.
“I will make those tools while you are all off getting cleaned up. Thankfully there are no laws or rules around the hand tools that can be used.” Dave answered.
“If there are no other questions I suggest that everyone should select a nugget and place it on the table. Then anyone who wishes take advantage of this break and get cleaned up can do so. It will be about 15 minutes before the forge is hot enough for our purposes.”
“I will show the Delacour family to their tent. Fireball can you show the others to the extra bathroom tents we have set up?” Dave asked.
At this we all made our way to an available shower. Arthur and I took the one in the house while the others made use of one of the showers in the various tents. Cassy graciously offered Charlie the use of her shower but he seemed a little embarrassed to accept it. I think the grins from Bill and George might have put him off (for the moment anyway).
I saw Dave leading the Delacour family to the tent that had been provided for them walking hand in hand with Gabrielle. Reaching the tent there was a quick kiss between the two of them, before the Delacour family slipped inside. At this I turned and hurried inside to get cleaned up myself.
When I made it back into the yard I found Kingsley, George, Bill, Percy and Charlie sitting at the table with Dave, Ivan, Mick and Jono. They were all happily chatting away about something, the laughter indicated that they were enjoying themselves at least.
Once Dave saw myself and Arthur he motioned us over to the forge that was now accompanied by an anvil a selection of hammers and some odd-looking tools. One looked like a set of tongs while the other looked almost like a wedge on a stick.
When Dave & Ivan stood up I noticed that they both had on a leather aprons, Dave had also changed out of his T-shirt and shorts into a different t-shirt, jeans and work boots. They also had some spare aprons as well, for use by any helpers I assumed.
The boys all joined us at the forge and the anvil. Once there Dave explained what was going to happen. He was shortly going to pour the melted nuggets into the mould. When it had cooled sufficiently Arthur would be able to begin hammering the bar of gold. Dave would be holding it in the tongs and turning it to keep it even, as well as to control the drawing out of the bar. When it was of sufficient length Ivan would place the wedge-shaped tool on it so that Arthur could drive it into the bar to ‘score’ the metal and enable it to more easily be folded along that line.
Once folded the process would be started again. Throughout Dave would be ‘encouraging’ the impurities to leave the metal as slag. Once the required purity was achieved Ivan and Dave would take over and utilise the alternative methods they mentioned before.
He also reminded us that Arthur had to complete the first two folds by himself. Then after that anyone who wanted to could assist. Although he did strongly suggest that they wear the leather aprons for protection.
Bill, Charlie, Percy and George along with Ron, Harry, Kingsley and Monsieur Delacour (who had just emerged from the showers) all indicated that they would like to have a go. While I was interested in the process I had no desire to try and swing the hammers that were on offer.
I went to turn and head back to the porch to join the more sensible women, when I noticed Ivan sharing one of those blank looks with Sandra. It was reasonably brief but long enough to be noticed. Hurrying up my pace I made my over to my sister.
“What’s going on?” I asked her full of curiosity. She smiled at me before replying.
“Ivan is going to try something to see if he can draw Dave out of his shell some more.” Sandra said with a broad smile. This of course caught the attention of all the ladies present, especially Gabrielle and Dave’s sisters.
“IF it works we are going to need everyone to participate. So, when the boys are finished with their hammering call them over here and we will be able to give them some instructions.” She requested. I nodded in agreement.
“What’s dad going to try mum?” Fireball asked with a half-smile as though she had her suspicions.
“I’m not going to spoil the surprise Jasper. IF it happens, it will be special and will greatly shorten the process involved.” Sandra told her, “Once they start working out there, go and bring the rest of the team over here. We will be able to make use of them also if it works.” She directed her daughter, who indicated that she would.
I really wanted to ask what was going to happen, but I also didn’t want to spoil whatever surprise Sandra indicated might be possible.
Dave was now removing what he had earlier called the crucible from the forge while Ivan was steadying the mould. When the gold was poured into it I was surprised by the amount of it. It looked smaller than I thought it would.
“Is that going to be enough to make Talismans for everyone?” I asked Sandra.
“I do believe it will be plenty. As that amount of gold is only the seed for what they are going to be doing.” She explained.
After only a few moments Arthur began hammering on the gold. With each blow of the hammer you could see scale coming off the bar of gold. Sandra explained to us all that the scale that was coming off was the impurities that Dave had ‘encouraged’ out of the main mass of gold.
In short order Arthur had performed the required two folds of the metal, he then stepped back and allowed Bill in. Bill was followed by Charlie then Percy, George, Ron, Kingsley, Monsieur Delacour and finally Harry. They each did two folds of the metal. All the while Dave was continually turning it over to keep it uniform. Ivan was apparently working on maintain the heat within the bar of gold also.
After they each had done two folds Arthur stepped up and did another two folds. After which Dave called a halt to the process and carefully studied the lump of glowing gold in front of him. He exchanged some words with Ivan and they must have agreed on something as they then each placed one hand on either side of the lump of gold. Both their hands and the gold glowed very brightly.
There were smiles and handshakes all around at this, after which Ivan directed all the other to join us on the porch of the burrow. It was starting to get a little crowded on the porch as Fireball had brought the rest of Dave’s team to join us. When the boys arrived however Dave’s team stepped off the porch and placed themselves on the grass with their back to the porch rails.
I was about to ask Sandra to get them to come up and join us when she told me, “They are there to provide a shield if it proves necessary.”
“A shield?” I asked, “Shield from what?”
“That.” Was all she said as she pointed to the yard.
Turning back to the yard I could see Ivan and Dave had each moved back from the anvil and were now facing each other. With the anvil and the gold in the middle of the two of them. They both had looks of extreme concentration on their faces and they were completely motionless.
However, you could feel something building in the air. There was a kind of energy about it that was almost palpable. It got to the point where I thought I could begin to see sparks on the two of them. Then not long after I thought that I could see the sparks they both stepped back into a strange looking stance. They looked like they were mirroring each other. Ivan had his back to us while Dave was facing us.
Dave had his right foot back and he knees were both bent, he looked like he was almost squatting. He had his hands placed one on top of the other at his waist. Eventually he slowly pulled his hands apart. One hand moving up and the other moving down. He appeared to be working very hard to separate his hands.
In between his hands there was a small but growing ball of light. The energy that was radiating out of it was simply amazing.
“What’s that in between his hands?” Hermione asked Sandra.
“Pure magical energy. Unshaped by spell or incantation.” She replied.
“I didn’t think that was possible.” Hermione said excitedly.
“As you can see it is. It’s just not done very often because of the effort required to summon it and control it is quite considerable.” She answered.
Once they each had ball of energy that looked to be at least the size of a good watermelon Dave started to change his hand position. Ivan must have been doing the same. When Dave launched his ball at Ivan, a ball of the same size was launched back at him.
The two balls met in the middle above the gold that was on the anvil. They collided into each other and made a larger ball that seemed to be bigger than the two of them were separately.
At this point, Dave and Ivan began to walk towards each other. It was very clear the amount of effort that was required for each step. As they got closer to the middle you could even see them start to slide backwards a few times.
I also noticed that there seemed to be some sort of shield in place around the ball in the middle. As occasionally what looked like a small bolt of lightning would erupt from the ball and strike it. This would cause the shield to be briefly illuminated.
Once they were both almost at the anvil they changed their movements to bring the ball of energy downward. When the ball of energy reached the gold, they continued to press it down. Eventually the ball of energy was fully inside the gold on the anvil. It was then that I realised that the amount of gold that was on the anvil had more than doubled.
Ivan and Dave were smiling at each other obviously happy with their efforts. At this point, Ivan looked over to Sandra with that blank expression again which she returned.
“Molly, Arthur I need you two to follow me for the next step.” She requested once she had broken off her conversation with him.
Slightly nervously we both followed her over to the two of them. When we arrived, Sandra spoke again.
“We wish to join our family Talismans to yours. This will repair and reinforce the bonds of family between us all, through enabling greater understanding of each other. It will also combine the strength of our two families together to create something greater than they are separately.” She intoned almost formally.
“Is this something that you two also desire?” She asked.
Arthur and I were both a little shocked but if the smile on his face was anything to go by he was very happy with the idea. “More than you can know.” I replied with a smile. Arthur also indicated that he approved as well.
With this Ivan, Sandra and Dave all placed their hands over their hearts and bowed their heads to us in a very formal almost ceremonial manner. I have since learned that Dave’s sisters and cousin along with this team mirrored the gesture as well.
Dave then stepped up to each of his parents and laid a single finger on the golden chains they each wore around their necks. As he removed his finger a very thin and brightly glowing golden strand emerged from each one.
He brought these two strands together and they immediately entwined themselves around each other. Dave cupped this combined strand in his hand and looked to his mother and nodded.
“I now need you each to retrieve a hair from the head of your beloved one.” She requested.
I plucked a single hair from Arthurs head and he did the same to me.
“Place the hair into Dave’s hands.” Sandra instructed.
As we did so the strand that was in Dave’s hand briefly glowed brighter and there once more appeared to be more of it than there was previously. Dave then gathered up the new larger strand and began to weave it on itself. Each time he did this it simply reformed into a solid single strand again. He then looked at his mother and smiled a most gorgeous smile at her. I couldn’t help but return it.
“The two families have been accepted as one by the ancient laws of magic.” Sandra said also smiling.
“With your approval, Dave will now add the newly formed core to your family’s offered gold.” She requested.
Arthur indicated that he could. When Dave added the newly made thread I could see his Talisman begin to glow very brightly. Looking to Sandra and Ivan I could see their Talismans also glowing bright as well.
Andrea, Fireball and Cassy also all had their Talismans glowing brightly as well. The members of Dave’s team also had a glow about their Talismans. We learned later that all of the Talismans of my Sister’s blood family (and their partners) also glowed brightly as well. This most likely greatly contributed to the wonderfully warm welcome we all received when we travelled to Australia to meet them all. But more on that later on.
“I think we need to get back to the porch and let these two continue on with their work.” Sandra said with a smile at her husband.
We quickly made our way back to the porch. Once we got there Ginny came up and asked, “Mum what just happened out there and why did all of their necklaces glow like that.”
“Our two families have repaired the bonds between them and made something new that is greater than the sum of it individual parts.” I told her smiling broadly.
“Really?” She asked with a smile playing around her lips.
“Really.” Sandra answered smiling at her. Ginny was now happily returning the smile.
“Let me be the first to apologise for Dave on behalf of the ENTIRE family.” Fireball said grinning broadly at her while we all enjoyed the resulting laughter.
Fireball looked over to Gabrielle and winked at her, but she was also smiling as well.
Turning our attention back to the two in the yard I noticed that they were now both standing holding heavy looking hammers on either side of the anvil. They appeared to be waiting on us. Once we were all calmed down again and focused on the goings on in the yard they turned their attention to each other and appeared to be communicating.
At this point, Sandra spoke up in a voice which while soft could be clearly heard by all of us.
“Listen up everyone, Ivan is going to try something to see if he can draw Dave a bit more out of his shell. He will be trying to get Dave to participate in ‘Singing to the Steel’ as it is commonly called. If it works it will greatly speed up the time taken to make the Talismans.”
“But if it does work we will need you all to join in with the singing as well. As this is something that involves either everyone doing it or no one.” She explained.
“How can we join in if we don’t know the words?” Hermione asked.
“There are no actual words for our part of it.” Sandra replied rather cryptically, “You will just need to follow the lead of myself and Andrea. As we will be following what those two set out there”
“This however is all dependant on Dave picking up his father’s offer to sing.” She said with a thoughtful look at the two in the yard.
“Does Dave sing?” Gabrielle asked with her eyes almost glowing in anticipation.
“Yes, he does.” Sandra replied with a gentle smile, “However he hasn’t sung since Emma’s funeral. So, I don’t know how he will answer this offer.” She said thoughtfully.
“Oh, I see.” Gabrielle said sadly, but oddly still with a trace of hope.
Out in the yard there was a rhythmic series of taps on the anvil with a hammer. Ivan stood with a questioning look at his son. Dave for his part had noticeably stiffened with his bowed, and almost looked defensive.
Looking around I could see Dave’s family looking at him with hope in their eyes. They were quietly imploring him to respond and accept it. Fireball almost sounded like she was saying one of those muggle prayers.
After a few moments, the rhythmic series of taps was repeated. This time Dave looked to his father. From where we stood it was difficult to read his expression. But it almost looked like he was frightened.
I distinctly remember Gabrielle saying in a soft voice, “S'il vous plait Dave.”
Looking to Dave he had half turned to the porch as though he had heard something and was wondering what it was.
A few moments later Ivan again repeated the series of rhythmic taps. But this time Dave slowly raised his hammer and repeated the same pattern.
Sandra’s face was one large smile and her daughters were also equally happy. They were now eagerly watching the two in the yard to see what would transpire.
The series of taps was again repeated, but answered almost immediately by Dave. The pace of the taps began to increase but also the power of them. This generated a distinct set of sounds coming from the anvil.
Eventually the series of taps included a solid blow to the gold that was situated on the anvil. Very quickly a rhythmic beat was coming from the yard with a very rapidly growing rate of blows to both the anvil and the gold.
Soon they let go of their hammers but they continued to work to the rhythm that had been set. They moved and grabbed another set of hammers. These appeared to be larger than the first ones. These they too started to tap on the anvil in a rhythmic manner.
Just like before they quickly set up rhythm and then left the hammers to continue the work. The two men then stepped back and just stared at one another. They stood that way for only a few moments before Sandra almost squealed with delight saying, “Ivan has begun to sing.”
“Has he? I can’t hear him.” I told her.
“He isn’t singing with his voice, he is doing it with his thoughts. Dave must have negotiated a compromise to singing out loud. He must feel he isn’t ready for that just yet.”
“Even if he only responds with his thoughts this will have been a big step for him.” She said hopefully.
“Is it possible to listen?” I asked her. She nodded and held her hand out to me. Taking my hand, she placed them on her Talisman, then after a moment I could faintly hear a single strong deep voice singing. I couldn’t clearly make out the words but the meaning was unmistakeable. The voice was singing of Home, Family, Strength, Companionship and Unconditional Love.
Gabrielle quickly crossed to Fireball and with her heart in her eyes simply said, “Please”.
Fireball smiled at her and held out her hands to her also. When Gabrielle placed her hands-on Fireball’s Talisman the singing that I could hear seemed to gain in volume.
Shortly after that I could make out a second voice. It was a younger voice, but also deep and rich. There was something about it though, an almost frightening power behind the words. But that power felt like it was under very strict limits.
We both looked over to Gabrielle and she had an expression of pure joy and wonder on her face. You couldn’t see it and not be made happy by it.
“Is zat Dave who just joined in ze singing?” She asked Sandra.
Sandra, who by now had tears in her eyes and couldn’t speak simply nodded by way of reply. Gabrielle’s smile became brilliantly radiant. There is no other way that I could describe it. The rest of the girls were eagerly wanting to listen now so Andrea allowed Ginny and Madame Delacour to touch her Talisman so that they could listen. While Sandra allowed Hermione to join me and listen through her Talisman. Fleur went and joined Gabrielle and listened through Fireball’s Talisman.
As each new person listened in the volume of the singing seemed to increase. The words were still indistinct but the meaning became ever clearer.
They all had broad smiles on their faces while they listened to the song that was being sung. Eventually even the boys wished to hear what was being sung. I did notice that they all took turns on either Sandra or Andrea’s Talismans, but no one seemed to want to disturb Gabrielle who was still listening with rapped attention.
Looking over to Ivan and Dave they were now both working on the lump of gold. Moving it about under the hammers that were still hammering in perfect unison.
Occasionally they would draw out the lump of gold into a long thin bar and then twist it around and then fold it back on itself and repeat the process over again. All the while they were singing in time with the rhythm of the hammers.
As they worked the lump of gold it seemed to get brighter and brighter. After quite some time they looked like they had achieved their desired result as Dave removed the lump of now very bright gold from the anvil and floated it over slightly away from the anvil.
He then conjured twelve spindles and they each seemed to draw off a thin thread of gold from the main mass. When the gold was fully onto the spindles Dave arranged them into two rows of 6 one above the other. He also started them weaving themselves together into a single thicker strand.
He then walked this strand down to Ivan who held out his hand for it. Dave then walked back to a position that was slightly closer to the house. He looked like he was reading himself. After a moment, he stood tall to his full height and raised his arms up. When he raised his arms, we could hear his voice ring out in a cry of celebration.
As before the words were difficult to make out but the meaning was very clear. It was a song of joy and happiness, I could feel my heart become glad just by listening to it. He stamped his foot and began to clap his hands with a rhythm that was similar to what the hammers had been working to previously.
Sandra and Andrea quickly took up the rhythm that he set and we all followed them. This of course meant that we could no longer hear what he was singing. But the chant that Sandra and Andrea started was infectious and joyful and it kept us busy.
Once we were all stamping and clapping in time and we had sung through the chant twice Dave signalled to his father. Ivan then burst into Friendfyre and the section of gold that he was holding seemed to catch alight also. He then hurled a ball of Friendfyre with the golden rope trailing along behind it at Dave who effortlessly caught it and sent it back to Ivan.
Each time they passed the ball of Friendfyre between them it laid down a new thread of gold into the rope that they were weaving. It almost looked like that they were dancing as their movements were perfectly in sync and very graceful. It was truly a sight to behold.
I honestly couldn’t tell you how long this went on for, it could have been only a few minutes or it could have been hours. The sun had moved in the sky however and it looked like it was almost dinner time when the two of them finished their work.
Dave now had on a single spindle what appeared to be an almost impossibly shiny gold rope. It looked almost exactly like the one that he and his family wore around their necks. Sandra beckoned to me and Arthur to follow her down to where the two boys were.
When we joined them both Ivan and Dave looked to be very tired but they also had very contented smiles on their faces. Sandra walked to the spindle of golden rope that they had made and pulled out a shot length of it. She then made an odd movement with her hands and it separated from the spindle. This she draped over her arm while she repeated it for a slightly shorter amount.
She then walked over to us and presented the two lengths of golden rope to us both.
“Here are the first of your family Talismans for you both. May they ever help protect and guide both you and your family. In good times and in adversity from now until the end of days.” She said smiling as she handed them over to us.
“Take each end in one hand and join the two together behind your neck as though putting on an ordinary necklace. The two ends will seamlessly fuse together. If you ever wish to remove it simply hold your hands together on the chain and ask it to come off three times. The chain will then separate and you will be able to remove it.” She instructed.
We did as she instructed and once the two ends met I could instantly feel the power of it flow through me. It was such a loving feeling that I couldn’t help but smile and embrace my sister, husband and brother-in-law.
Arthur seemed to be experiencing a similar feeling as he had such an adorable smile on his face also.
“Molly please call your first born to join us.” Sandra requested.
I turned and beckoned to Bill who came over to us. Sandra presented another length of rope to both Arthur and myself, she instructed us to hold one end each and place it around Bills neck. As the two ends met I could see a smile light up Bill’s face as he felt the power of the Talisman flow through him as well.
We next called Charlie down to us and repeated the process. Percy, George, Ron and Ginny followed. Once they had all received their Talismans Sandra requested Fleur to join us.
Fleur came down with a look of anticipation written large on her face. This time the length of chain was presented to Bill and he was asked to attach it around Fleur’s neck. As he did so she too broke out into a brilliant smile. Next Dave handed the spindle over to his father and stepped up to the two of them. He placed one finger on each of their Talismans and again drew forth a single thread from each one. These he quickly wove together into a single strand. Once he had a single strand he attempted to weave it again, but it reverted to a single strand again. This brought a large smile to his face and that of all of us present.
He looped the single strand around them both and then joined the ends together. Once the ends were joined the new strand was absorbed into their individual Talismans. The smiles on Bill and Fleur’s faces became even more radiant and they embraced each other and then a rather surprised Dave as well.
Fleur’s parents were the next ones to be called down. This time the golden rope was presented to both Bill and Fleur and they then placed it around the neck of each of her parents in turn. When Fleur’s parents each had their own Talisman Dave again took a single strand from each one and then wove them together into a single strand. That was looped around them both and was then absorbed into their own Talismans.
Gabrielle was next to be called down. Her parents presented her with her own Talisman and when the ends were joined she also broke out into a brilliant smile.
Harry was the next one to be called down. Arthur and I were given a length of golden rope to present to him. When the ends were joined he also had a radiant smile upon his face.
Sandra then beckoned to both Harry and Ginny to join her and Dave. “As you two are not yet married” she said as they both broke out into significant blushes, “We can’t yet join your Talismans together as we have done with Arthur and Molly, Bill and Fleur and Julian and Apolline. However, if you both are serious about your relationship and wish to make a promise of commitment to each other we can make your Talismans more directly aware of each other.” She explained
“This isn’t something to be undertaken lightly however. It requires the freely given commitment from you both that you are indeed serious about each other, and desire to form a long-term bond with one another. Through a loving and supportive relationship as equals.” She asked in a rather formal tone of voice.
“Is this something that you both desire and agree to?” She asked.
Harry gazed into Ginny’s eyes and replied, “It is.” As he smiled at her. Ginny for her part blushed deeply but she also smiled and said, “It is.”
“Then step forward and each of you take one of Dave’s hands. With your other hand hold your Talisman and touch it to your beloveds Talisman.” She instructed.
This they did and as they touched their Talismans together they both glowed brightly for a moment.
“Your Talismans are now linked and are aware of one another.” Sandra said with a smile at them both, “They have also acknowledged and accepted your intentions towards one another as well.”
“Congratulations.” She said to them both as they had a small attack of the giggles. Dave placed the hands that he had been holding together and stepped back with a smile on his face also.
Harry and Ginny quickly embraced and then kissed deeply. To a few cheers from the crowd.
Hermione was the next one to be called down. She came forward looking both excited and nervous. She also smiled shyly at Ron as she approached.
Once more Arthur and I were given the Talisman to present to her. As with the others when it was joined behind her neck she smiled radiantly as she felt its power infuse her.
As with Ginny and Harry she and Ron were called to stand with Sandra and Dave. The same questions were asked and the same answers were given as before. They then joined hands with Dave and touched their Talismans together. Just as before they both briefly glowed brightly. Then Dave joined their hands and once more stepped back.
Ron and Hermione followed Ginny and Harry’s example and embraced and kissed deeply once more to cheers.
Kingsley was the next one to be called forward. This time Arthur and Ivan were given the length of golden rope.
“You may not be a blood member of my sister’s family Kingsley, but they do regard you as basically an adopted member of it. To this end if you are willing they would like to present to you a Talisman as well. This they offer out of friendship and love.”
“Arthur will present the Talisman to you on behalf of his Family, my husband Ivan will present it to you on behalf of his. He is also offering it to you in the hope that the once good relations between our magical governments and citizens be restored once more.”
“Do you accept this Talisman Kingsley Shacklebolt?” Sandra asked formally.
“I do, most humbly and graciously I accept it.” Kingsley replied.
With this Arthur and Ivan placed the Talisman around Kingsley’s neck. Once it was connected his also grinned widely. He then shook hands and embraced Arthur and Ivan.
Sandra now approached the length of chain that was left and broke it into two separate but equal lengths.
“Who are they for?” I asked her.
“They are for two members of your family that you are yet to meet.” She replied with a little smile.
“One of them is for Percy’s special young lady when he eventually brings her to visit.” Sandra explained to me.
“You mean this Audrey that was mentioned in Dave’s recommendation for Percy?” I asked.
“Yes.” Sandra said with a smile.
“Who is the other one for?” I asked.
“That is for the one that holds George’s heart in her hands.” Sandra said cryptically.
“Who is that?” I just HAD to ask.
“All I can tell you is that it is a lady he knows quite well. I believe he went to school with her and was in both the same house and same team with her. Her name begins with the alphabet and means a heavenly messenger.”
“However, they have not yet fully admitted their feelings for one another. Until they do she will not be ready for this.”
“I ask you keep it for her until they are both ready.” She requested.
“I will happily keep it safe for her.” I replied. That my dear family was the first hint we ever had about George being ‘interested’ in Angelina.
“What about Charlie?” I asked.
At this comment Sandra answered, “He seems to be developing an interest is a blond-haired beauty who knows how to handle a flame and quite likes dragons.” She said with a knowing smile.
I couldn’t help but return it also.
“Besides, the said young lady already has her own Talisman.” Sandra smirked knowingly.
Ron approached us and asked, “Are we done now?”
“Why are you hungry Ron?” I asked him teasingly.
“Well yes I am actually, but Dave looks like he is about to fall over from exhaustion and I really don’t want to have to try and carry him back to his tent.” He explained.
“You know he makes a good point.” Sandra replied. At his she walked over to where Dave and Ivan were talking to Kingsley.
“Dave, why don’t you go and have a rest while we all get dinner sorted. You have had a rather full afternoon so far, I’m sure it will do you the world of good.” She advised him.
“Sounds like a plan mum, I’m stuffed. Will go and flake out on the couch in my tent for a bit.” He said as he took off his leather apron and t-shirt. The apron he handed to Sandra while the t-shirt he used to wipe his forehead.
While he was doing, this Gabrielle came up and hugged him rather fiercely. While she was hugging, him I noticed that both of their Talismans glowed brightly briefly before she led him away to his tent.
“Did they just?” I asked my sister in disbelief.
“They did.” She replied with her eyes showing the wonder that she felt.
“I wonder if Fleur or her parents noticed.” I said as I was looking around for them. I soon spotted them, Julian was talking to Bill and Arthur but Apolline and Fleur were just staring after Gabrielle and Dave as they walked off.
When they noticed, us watching them they both hurried over.
“Did you see zat?” Fleur asked breathlessly.
“Did zey really just link their Talismans just like Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione did?” Apolline asked.
“Yes, I think that they just did.” Sandra said, still with a look of wonder on her face as though she was trying to work something out.
“How is zat possible?” Apolline asked. She didn’t sound worried only extremely curious.
“The affection that is growing between them, must be very strong and deep as well as honest. It must also be equally felt by both parties involved.” Sandra remarked.
“Why do you say zat?” Apolline asked watching Sandra closely.
“Because Dave wasn’t even saying the incantation with their Talismans touched.” Sandra answered thoughtfully.
“Is there a bond between them?” I asked as Fleur’s eyes lit up at the thought.
“I don’t know I didn’t look.” Sandra replied, “Let’s go and find out, shall we?” she said with a wicked little smile.
We all quickly headed off to Dave’s tent, very interested in what we would find inside it.
When we arrived in Dave’s tent we found Gabrielle happily sitting on the couch in the lounge section of the tent. She appeared to be curled up with a cup of tea and book and some sort of chocolate biscuit. Dave however was nowhere to be found.
Gabrielle looked up in surprise to see the group of us arrive in a rush.
“Hello.” She said very happily, “If you are looking for Dave he is taking a shower just now.” She said indicating the closed door to the bathroom.
With the barest of nods, Sandra made straight for the bathroom door and opened it. As the door opened there was a rather loud yell of surprise from the shower and a rather soapy looking Dave was glaring at his mother.
“Bloody Hell mum, between you and Grandma I think I’m going to need a lock on my own bathroom door.” He said in irritation. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?” He asked before he glanced out the door and noticed the crowd of women intently staring into the bathroom. Gabrielle particularly was gazing very intently into the room. Although the clouds of steam covered most of ‘the view’ so to speak.
Dave however didn’t realise this and he quickly summoned a towel to cover himself with. “You are trying to give me a heart attack aren’t you as well as frightening those poor ladies outside.” He exclaimed.
At this comment, we all broke out into laughter as we couldn’t help but laugh at both the expression on Dave’s face and the note in his voice.
Our laughter seemed to have drawn a crowd as Fireball, Cassy, Andrea, Hermione, Ginny and Arthur had arrived to see what all the commotion was in Dave’s tent.
“Well now, just what is going on here?” Fireball asked with a dirty little smirk on her face.
“Our mother is trying to give me a bloody heart attack and damage the eye sight of everyone unlucky enough to be in my lounge.” Dave almost cried out.
“I see” Fireball replied while she climbed onto the couch with Gabrielle and grabbed one of the chocolate biscuits that was on the table.
“I thought it was the sequel to the Paris Incident.” She said to the laughter of all present.
At this comment, Ginny and Hermione also climbed onto the couch and joined her. They too had evil grins on their faces and grabbed biscuits as well.
Dave retreated further into the bathroom, to the obvious displeasure of Gabrielle. We could then hear him ask, “Just what are you after mum? What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I finished my shower?”
“I just wanted to check on you and see if you are alright.” Sandra said rather lamely, but she did manage it in an even tone of voice.
“Check on me? What did you want to do a Heart stress test?” Dave asked. This set off another round of giggles from the crowd in the lounge.
“No, I don’t think we need to do that today. You seem to be in good health just now. Your reflexes look like they could use some work though.” She said as she laughed at her sons reply and left the bathroom closing the door behind her while carrying Dave’s clothes.
She walked over to his bedroom and placed the clothes in a basket at the foot of the bed.
Once she left the bedroom the door suddenly closed behind her. Sandra was rather startled by this but then she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I had to ask.
“There is only one door into the bathroom, something I’m sure Dave will be fixing shortly. But he seems to have found it more convenient to Apparate from it to his bedroom.” She answered with an evil grin.
“Didn’t you want to come out and see your visitors?” Sandra asked.
“You mean after you took my clothes and vanished my towels?” Came the voice of a rather ruffled Dave from the bedroom.
“Is that what I did?” Sandra said with a look of innocence on her face.
“You bloody well know that you did.” Dave said as he emerged from his bedroom once more dressed in a t-shirt and shorts with only a slight blush.
“Now what was the real reason for your attempt at inducing coronary failure and eye trouble?” He asked with a questioning look on his face.
“I have already told you dear. If you choose not to believe me that is your problem.” She answered as she walked from the tent.
We all quickly followed her.
Once we were safely away from the tent we questioned her as to what she saw.
“Well?” we all asked close to the same time.
“Yes” she answered and for some reason we were all rather excited.
“Yes what?” Ginny asked.
It was then that I realised that Ginny and Hermione had followed us from Dave’s tent along with the others.
“There is a bond there between the two of them. It is very new and very light. I’d be surprised if they were aware of it themselves just now.” She said excitedly. “It is very possible it is just their souls stating their intentions just now.”
“Between Dave and Gabrielle?” Andrea asked.
“Yes.” Sandra replied.
Fireball’s face broke out into a beatific smile at this news.
“Now Jasper don’t you dare go teasing him about this just yet. Let them work this out for themselves.” Sandra admonished her daughter.
“Yes mum.” She answered a little disappointedly.
“After they have worked it out for themselves?” Andrea asked hopefully.
“Open season.” Sandra answered to a collection of grinning faces.
Chapter 26: Family Introductions
This new discovery gave us plenty to talk (gossip) about while we all pitched in and organised dinner together. The consensus of ‘the girls’ was that we all approved of this new development between Dave and Gabrielle. Sandra and Apolline in particular seemed excited about the possibilities that presented themselves with this relationship.Their conversation in particular got me thinking about Sandra’s earlier statement about ‘family I had not yet met’. As Percy passed through the kitchen with Arthur and George I seized the opportunity.
“Percy.” I called out to him.
“Yes, mum?” He asked with a questioning look on his face.
“Seeing as it is shaping up to be a large family dinner tonight I would like you to go and invite Audrey along as well.” I instructed him. The poor boy went a little pale at the thought.
“Is there a problem with that Percy?” I asked him with a knowing smile.
“It’s… Well… You see…” Percy was trying to find the words when Fireball spoke up.
“You mean you are STILL trying to prepare her for ‘the shock’ of meeting your family for the first time?” Fireball smirked at him, “I thought that we had had this discussion a while back.” She added with an arched eyebrow at him.
“Well we did. But still, it can be a bit much when faced with them for the first time all at once.” He finally managed to get out.
“A bit much?” Fireball exclaimed with a sly grin, “Perce, the girl has gone toe to toe with multiple Death Eaters at once. She has stood shoulder to shoulder with you against a squad of Dementors.”
“She also hasn’t run from a fight yet. What makes you think that this crazy mob might be a bit much for her?” Fireball asked him.
“Well when you put it like that.” Percy said in defeat, “Ok, I will go and invite her over then.”
“Good boy.” Fireball added smugly, “I’ll give you 45min tops before I bring a welcoming committee over to do the invite on your behalf.” She said with an evil grin at him.
“Ok, I’m going. I’m going.” Percy said as he hurried out the door.
Arthur looked over at Fireball with a smile of his own, “Dave hinted yesterday that you had been keeping Percy inline during your time here. It seems like he wasn’t exaggerating it all.” He remarked.
“Well, it was more of a team effort between, Audrey, Shelly and me.” She explained, “He can be a little stubborn at times.”
“Now there’s an understatement.” Ginny said with a smile of her own.
“Be nice Ginny.” I told her.
“I was.” She replied with a cheeky grin.
“Well you have our thanks for helping to keep him safe for us.” Arthur said with a heartfelt smile.
“You’re welcome Uncle Arthur.” Fireball answered to Arthur’s delight. “If we had known earlier that he was family we would have put more of a watch on him.” She explained.
“Him too.” She said indicating George.
“Me?” George remarked.
“Yes you.” Fireball answered, “I don’t know if Dave told you or not. But we were frequent visitors to your shop, before you closed it up.”
“Hardly a day would go by where we didn’t have either someone from our team through your shop, or someone who worked for us in there.”
“When we had a big raid ready to go, Dave and Semi would be in and out of your shop numerous times in a day. They would both dress differently each time they went in though. As we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.” She said with a smile.
“I think you even did your block at Jimmy one time. As he came in to get some more of your day dream charms and that darkness powder, but you had sold out. I think he offered to wait while you made some more but that just set you off.” She said grinning, “He came back the next morning and between him, Dave, Jono and Mick they cleaned out your entire stock before lunch.”
George had the strangest look on his face at this comment. “I think I remember that incident.” He said thoughtfully, “Did your brother Jimmy have long blond hair, blue eyes and about the same size as Dave?” He asked.
“That is a good description of him yes.” Fireball answered.
“Then yes that would have been me that went off at him. We were making so much of those products I was starting to get sick and tired of doing it.” He answered, “Although I do remember that Verity didn’t mind him visiting the store so often.” He said with a chuckle.
“Yes we gave him some good natured teasing about that also.” Fireball chuckled, “That’s probably why Dave got the overwatch job on your store in the mornings so often. As he was the ring leader for that particular campaign.” She laughed.
“Overwatch?” George asked, “What do you mean by that.”
“We usually had someone keeping an eye on your store at opening and closing times. Mainly to make sure that no one interfered with you or your staff.” Fireball explained.
“Why would you do that?” George enquired of her.
“A good joke shop is a fantastic resource to have access to when in the field. We all felt yours was one of the best we have used over the years. Your products had done a great deal to keep us safe while we had been operating here. Naturally we felt that we should do what we could to return the favour, so to speak.”
The surprise on the face of George was a delight, while the gratitude on Arthur’s was just heart-warming.
“Why would you consider a simple joke shop to be a great resource?” George asked curiously.
“They are a great resource as they are were creative ideas can be seen in action.” Fireball explained, “A good number of items in our ‘bags of tricks’ as Dave calls it originated in Joke shops.”
“People who want to make joke objects and trick others tend to be very creative thinkers. They approach problems very differently to everyone else. It is that different view that is so valuable to us. As we think differently again we can often take a simple idea seen in a joke shop and apply it in a very different way.” Explained Fireball.
“A very good case in point is those ‘covert wands’ that Dave gave everyone before. Did you know that the idea for them came from a joke shop?” She asked.
“Really?” George asked excitedly, “What sort of product was it?”
“From what Grandpa told me it was a type of wooden toy that was popular at the time. To make it easier to carry it could be ‘hidden’ on you. Grandpa brought it to the attention of the technical division back then and they worked on it for a few years and were eventually able to apply the idea behind it to wands.”
“They have proven to be very popular with the Aurors in our region, as you may have guessed.” She remarked.
“I can understand that.” Arthur replied, “So they are not a unique creation of Dave’s then?” He asked a little disappointed.
“No they are relatively common amongst Aurors.” Fireball laughed at Arthur’s expression, “But those type of wands are very tightly controlled as well. It is very difficult for just anyone to gain approval to possess one.”
“That makes good sense.” I told her. Fireball indicated her agreement. Then continued.
“Over the years our technical division has scoured virtually every joke shop in our part of the world for ideas. I do know that they were also very impressed with your decoy detonators and skiving snack boxes.” Fireball said with a smile.
“When you come back with us we are definitely going to have to introduce you to our current head of the technical division. As he has wanted to meet you for a while now.”
“Those ‘headless hats’ of yours were a big hit in his family back at Christmas and I do believe he is currently working on some ideas based on them.” She explained.
George looked very pleased with himself at this news.
“I suppose I can tell you now, that Dave was pushing for formal approval to ‘break cover’ so we could ‘reach out’, to you both and try to recruit you to work with us. By the time, we gained approval to make such a move however, you had closed up shop and moved to only operating via your owl post service.” She said a little sadly.
This enthralled George. Arthur was also very interested in this explanation. Ginny had a slightly guilty expression at this news. I was willing to bet that she was thinking back to yesterday’s comments about Dave and his team not doing enough to protect people from the Death Eaters.
“Even so before you closed up shop, Dave and Mick had run quite a few patrols around your store and ‘dealt with’ a few trouble makers, which were giving you both and Verity a bit of a hard time.” She explained.
“Which ones?” George wanted to know.
“I would need to check the reports to be sure. But that ugly bald bloke with the big black beard, he and his entire crew were removed back to France one night. As a result of Dave and Mick overhearing them saying they should burn your store down for making fun of the ‘Dark Lord’.”
“Also, the big overweight bloke who kept on hassling Verity, he ended up in France after asking for Jono’s help to kidnap her. Bad move on his part.” She chuckled.
“Always wondered what happened to him.” George said thoughtfully, “Did you guys do anything to keep that tall thin bloke with the really long braided beard off our backs as well?” He asked, “As he really freaked me out each time I saw him.” George explained.
“I’ll tell him that for you, as he would be pleased to hear it.” Fireball chuckled. George stood there with a confused look on his face.
“That tall bloke you just described is Dave. It is one of his more frequent ‘legends’ as they are called.” She said with a laugh.
“You mean, that was Dave? Causing that mischief in and around my store?” George exclaimed.
“Yup.” Fireball answered, and then laughed at the expression on George’s face, “Before you get too worked up George.” She said with a smile, “The grief he caused for you is NOTHING compared to the various groups of criminals that he literally frightened out of the city in that identity.”
“Why would he do that?” George asked with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.
“He needed to establish ‘his credentials’ with the local criminals in order for his identity to be taken seriously by them.” She explained.
“Those few incidents were enough to convince them that you were paying protection money to him. And that if they wanted to give you any grief then they would have to go through him to do it.”
“As you might have guessed, not many were willing to take him up on that offer. Those that were dumb enough to try were never heard from again by the local criminals. This acted as a VERY powerful deterrent to any other challenges to the status quo.”
“It does make a degree of sense I suppose.” George said thoughtfully.
“If it makes you feel any better George, that old bloke from ‘across the street’ who helped you tidy up. He was also Dave” She said with a laugh.
“You mean old Mr Brown?” George asked, “How could he be Dave? As he has been around since Merlin was a boy.”
“That’s a little trick of Dave’s, to make people think that someone is ‘part of the landscape’ as the saying goes.” She remarked with a grin.
“He certainly is a tricky little bugger, isn’t he?” George said with a smile.
“Well it is his speciality.” Fireball explained.
“Hang on, old Mr Brown got rather badly hurt, when he stepped in to help Verity. Did Dave really get hurt then or was that an act?” George asked.
“No, sadly it wasn’t an act. He still has the scar from that encounter.” Fireball said with a touch of sadness.
“But that group that were behind it are now all in jail. So Dave considers it a fair trade.”
“How can that be a fair trade?” George asked.
“Dave doesn’t pay attention to injuries like other people, partly because he heals so rapidly. And partly because he often can’t see them. As what he sees is so much worse than any injury.” She explained.
“It is bloody annoying at times I can assure you, as we all wish he would take greater care of himself.”
“I can see how that could drive you to distraction.” George said with a smirk, “But I am grateful for his and your efforts on behalf of my staff.” He said seriously.
“Maybe I won’t prank him after all.” George said thoughtfully.
“Bite your tongue George!” Fireball exclaimed, “You can’t exclude him from a well-deserved prank just for doing his job.” She said shocked, “It would set a very bad precedent.” She remarked to a chorus of laughter.
“Ok, I won’t then.” George said happily.
“Good boy.” Fireball said smirking at him, “I just hope that you have something appropriate planned for him.” She asked hopefully.
“Oh, I do think it will be.” George said with an evil grin.
“I will look forward to it then.” Fireball remarked.
“Speaking of Dave, George could you go and tell him and Gabrielle that Dinner will be ready soon.” I asked him.
“Ok mum.” George replied and headed off into the yard.
After George left Sandra turned to Fireball and asked, “I hope you are not setting poor George up at all, by encouraging him in trying to prank Dave young lady.”
“Why would you say that?” Fireball asked with a smile.
“Because I know that look all too well young lady.” She answered.
"I must admit that it does look very familiar to me also. I'm surprised George didn't pick up on it." I told her.
With that revelation, Fireball and Ginny looked at each other and they both displayed nearly identical evil grins.
“Why is George looking so cheerful?” Sandra asked while she was looking into the yard.
At this comment, we all looked out into the yard to see for ourselves. George was indeed in a very happy mood, and he was rapidly crossing the yard to the house. He entered the kitchen out of breath and took a moment to compose himself while we were all waiting expectantly to hear why he was so joyful.
“Ginny, grab your camera and follow me. We have to get a picture of this.” He said excitedly.
Ginny took off up the stairs to her room to collect her camera and then the two of them headed out the door. Full of curiosity the rest of us followed. We were a rather strange sight crossing the yard in procession following George and Ginny as though we were all on a school excursion.
George ended up leading us back to Dave’s tent. The door was open and he was motioning us to stay quiet. Sandra had a strange little smile about her face as she watched us all try and sneak into Dave’s tent.
Once we were inside we found the subject of George’s mirth. Dave and Gabrielle were snuggled up together on the couch asleep. Dave had his hands around Gabrielle’s waist while she had one of hers around his neck with the other one on his chest. Her head was comfortably nestled on his shoulder with her face burrowed into his neck. You couldn’t see that sight and not smile at it.
Certainly Sandra, Fleur, Apolline and Dave’s sisters and cousin all had large smiles on their faces at the scene in front of them.
Grinning like a mad woman Ginny moved into position to take a photo of the sight before us. As she raised her camera to her eye Dave spoke up saying, “You will need a flash to take a photo in here just now Ginny.”
We all jumped a bit at this. When I looked over at Dave I could see him grinning back at us, “Did you really think you could sneak this whole crowd in here without me knowing George?” he asked with the laughter clear in his voice.
For his part, George did look a little crest fallen at not getting away with it. But the spark was still there in his eyes, I think he was enjoying the challenge.
“You two just looked so cute like that Dave. I only wanted to capture the moment for posterity.” George said with such earnestness that even I almost believed him. I did say ‘almost’.
I could see from the look in Dave’s eyes as well, that he clearly was also doubting George’s stated reason. But he also seemed to like the idea of a picture of the two of them together as well.
“Very well George.” Dave said with a smile, “I will assist you and Ginny in your goal. Provided Ginny can take a shot for me on my camera as well.” Dave bargained.
“Deal.” George agreed looking across to Ginny for confirmation as she agreed to Dave’s request.
With a wave of his hand there was another light source in the tent. This bathed the two of them in a lovely soft light almost as though it was dawn or sunset. Dave suggested a better shooting position for Ginny and then laid back and closed his eyes as he was before.
As he was laying there looking very comfortable he again spoke, “Fireball, I would forget about those bunny ears you are trying to place on my head if I was you.” Twisting his head, he looked straight at her with a questioning expression. She wasn’t even embarrassed at having been caught in the attempt. Although Ginny did look a little disappointed.
Giving up on the attempt (this time) Fireball walked back to join the others. Dave again closed his eyes and laid back down, allowing Ginny to take her photo. After she had taken her photo Dave indicated the cupboard where his camera was located. Ginny opened this and was startled to see a large selection of camera bodies and lenses in there. Dave indicated one particular camera and Ginny brought it over to him. He quickly set it up for her and showed her how to operate it. Acknowledging this Ginny again stepped back and Dave once more laid down and allowed Ginny to photograph the scene.
After this was done Dave thanked Ginny for taking the photo for him and asked her to just leave the camera on the table. Then he asked, “To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“Oh, yeah. Well mum asked me to come and tell you that dinner was just about ready.” George answered.
“I see.” Dave said with a smile, “You required ‘support’ to deliver that message?” He asked now grinning at George.
“Well no actually. But I did require some help to try and get a photo of you two together.” George replied a little loftily.
“But this many?” Dave asked clearly enjoying teasing George.
“Well I guess if dinner is nearly ready we should wake up Gabrielle as well.” Dave said and then proceeded to tickle Gabrielle’s ear. This soon had her squirming and giggling.
“Time to wake up, as dinner is nearly ready apparently.” Dave told her, “ummmmm…” was her reply as she stretched out and then wrapped her hands around Dave’s neck again.
“5 more minutes, please.” Gabrielle said still half asleep, “You’re just too warm and comfortable to leave just now.”
“There may not be any dinner left if we wait that long. Ron and Jono…” Dave tried to explain to Gabrielle before she pulled his head down and soundly kissed him. I think that even Dave forgot about Dinner at that point.
“Your right Jasper. That is the best way to get his attention.” Sandra remarked before laughing. The rest of us joined in and you could see Gabrielle stiffen up as she realised that she was no longer alone with Dave.
She tentatively opened her eyes and looked around the tent. She seemed very surprised by the crowd of people who were present. When she spotted her mum and sister (who were smiling at her, but with definite questions in their expressions) she had the good grace to blush and snuggle tighter into Dave.
“You can’t hide in there for the rest of the day, you will need to come out at some point.” Dave said with a chuckle at her.
Reluctantly she untangled herself from Dave and stood up straightened her clothes and then helped Dave up from the couch as well. Once they were both on their feet she wrapped her arms around Dave’s waist, fixed her sister and mother with a look that seemed to dare them to say anything (they were too busy trying not to laugh to say anything) and walked with Dave from the tent.
The rest of us followed trying our best not to burst out laughing. Part way to where the dinner tables were setup Dave’s mirror phone gave an odd buzzing sound. He quickly checked it and had an evil light in his eyes when he looked up from it.
“What’s up?” Sandra asked him quickly.
“Shelly is about to make a door back to her tent. Grab dad quickly and meet me out the front of her tent.” Dave instructed.
Sandra’s face came alive with mischief as she very quickly dashed off to find Ivan. Meanwhile the rest of us made straight for Shelly’s tent where Dave quickly setup some sort of charm for us to all hide behind. Just as sounds could be heard from inside Shelly’s tent Ivan and Sandra joined us and were moved to the front of the crowd.
Presently Shelly’s head could be seen poking out from her tent checking to see if the coast was clear. Satisfied that it was she stepped out and waved to someone inside her tent. Out stepped a well-dressed young man who was only slightly taller than Shelly. He also had short black hair like Dave, unlike Dave however his hair was well groomed. He also had brown eyes and a mischievous smile was ready on his lips.
The two of them looked around and then shared an embrace and a kiss, “Looks like we made it undetected.” Shelly purred to this young man, “Told you we could sneak in without Dave knowing.”
“Don’t get to over confident.” The young man said to her with a trace of his French accent showing.
“You worry about him too much, Jean-Luc. Just remember he is my ‘little’ brother. I can handle him.” She said as she again pulled him into an embrace and soundly kissed him. Shelly had her back to us while this Jean-Luc would have been facing us had he not been so intent on kissing Shelly’s offered lips.
Dave and his parents were grinning like mad men at the scene in front of them. Motioning to us all to be quiet Ivan indicated to Dave that he should lift the charm that was hiding us. He then drew himself up to his full height and assumed an official looking stance while holding his arm out to his wife. Sandra was only too happy to play along as she to adopted an official looking pose.
We all stood up a little straighter and watched the scene unfold. Eventually the two of them finished their kiss and pulled back a bit from each other. Jean-Luc was the first to notice the crowd watching them. His eyes became as large as saucers and his face went white. He must have had an outbreak of goose bumps as Shelly suddenly asked him what was wrong.
When he did not answer, she turned around and saw all of us standing there watching them. The expression on her face caused Dave to burst into near hysterical laughter and Fireball, Andrea and Cassie followed suit. The rest of us were enjoying a good laugh as well, but not as much as Shelly’s family.
Ivan and Sandra however were made of sterner stuff as they both held firm in their official looking stance.
“Is this how ‘international relations’ are conducted these days?” Ivan asked in his official voice.
Jean-Luc quickly stood up tall and straight and tried to straighten out his clothing. “Minister Webb, it ez a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance Sir.” He remarked formally while holding his hand out to Ivan.
“Is it?” Ivan asked while just standing there staring at the poor man, “Is it really?” he said with a politician’s smile, the type that could mean anything or nothing.
Eventually he held his hand out to Jean-Lu and shook it politely.
“I would like to introduce you to my wife Dr Sandra Webb” he said formally, “Sandra this apparently is Jean-Luc Devereaux our liaison with the French Auror Office.”
“I’m pleased to finally meet you Jean-Luc”, Sandra said formally but also with genuine warmth, “I can see now why my daughter has enjoyed ‘working under you’ so much.” She said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Jean-Luc went slightly pale at that comment, Shelly for her part fixed her brother, sisters, and cousin with a furious glare. For their part Dave, Fireball, Andrea, and Cassy were either oblivious or immune to the look that they were getting from her.
Sandra calmly stepped up and looped her arm with Jean-Luc and began to chat happily with him as she began to lead him away from the others, “You must simply tell me more about yourself Jean-Luc and your adventures with man-handling, ops I meant handling my daughter during her time here.”
This statement left Jean-Luc looking positively terrified. Even Ivan had trouble keeping his face straight upon hearing it. None the less he joined his wife as they lead Jean-Luc away.
Shelly looked like she did not know what to do. Stay and deal with her brother, sisters, and cousin. Or accompany Jean-Luc and try to offer her support. After fixing her ‘loving family’ with a final death stare she took off after Jean-Luc and her parents.
“That was more fun than I imagined it would be.” Dave said while lying on the ground where he had fallen, from all his laughing.
His sisters and cousin agreed with him while wiping the tears of mirth from their eyes.
“Aren’t you worried about retaliation from her?” Ginny asked Dave, “If one of my brothers had pulled that on me there would be Hex’s flying everywhere.”
“Some things are worth getting into trouble for.” Dave said while Gabrielle helped him up, “Besides, it isn’t over yet.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Fireball asked him.
“You didn’t see it?” Dave asked surprised.
“See what?”” Fireball, Andrea and Cassy all asked.
“What Shelly was wearing!” Dave answered cryptically.
Facing a sea of confused faces Dave only grinned back, “Well if you missed it we will just have to wait for them to announce it formally.” Dave said with a satisfied grin.
Comprehension dawned on Dave’s sisters and cousin and they were all very excited. Dave had to quickly call them to order, “You all know ‘the rules’ for news of this sort, we don’t interfere. We have to leave the announcement up to them ok.” Dave said seriously.
“News of what sort?” I asked Dave.
“The family sort.” He replied with a smile. Still seeing confused faces he answered, “It looks like our family tree just got another addition.”
Understanding finally arrived for the rest of us, and we now understood the reason for the earlier excitement.
“Just remember we can’t do or say anything to give the game away. This is a once in a lifetime event, so we defer to them. Understood!” He said in an official tone.
We all readily agreed to this. As we made to move off Fleur asked, “’ow did you know zat Shelly was about to come back to her tent?” with a questioning smile.
“I’m in cahoots with Jean-Luc’s sister.” Dave said with a smile.
“Cahoots?” Fleur asked confused. Gabrielle was also directing a questioning look at Dave.
“It means that we are working together.” Dave answered with a cheeky smile, “From what she told me Jean-Luc went out of his way to embarrass her when she first brought her future husband home to meet her parents.”
“So she agreed to spy on him for me if I promised to ensure that Jean-Luc’s first meeting with Shelly’s parents was as awkward as possible.” Dave explained with an evil grin.
“I see” Fleur replied with a sly smile, “Your parents were in on it too I assume?”
“Of course. Mum especially would have never forgiven me if I didn’t let her in on it.” He explained, “She naturally recruited dad into the scheme as well.”
“They have so far successfully engineered very awkward first meetings for all of their daughter’s partners.” Dave said almost proudly. He also directed a challenging look at Fireball with this statement. While Fireball didn’t look worried she did have an air of concern about her for a moment. The look of concern was shortly replaced with her own challenging look directed back at Dave accompanied with a smile.
“Are all your family schemes always so complicated?” Ginny asked Dave.
“Only when they need to be.” Dave replied with another sly smile for Fireball, “We try to keep things as simple as possible but that isn’t always an option. Especially when it involves family members who are trained to keep ‘most things’” he said with a glare at Fireball, “secret.”
“Still it seems like a great deal of effort just to embarrass your sister.” Ginny replied.
Dave, his sisters and cousin all looked shocked at the thought. “Bite your tongue Ginny. That is a terrible thing to say.” Dave exclaimed to a round of laughter. We could clearly see the similarities between his shocked response and Fireball’s earlier one.
“Embarrassing ones own siblings is one of the main duties required of family members. If that duty is neglected the whole structure of the family could collapse.” Dave said in an attempt at an official sounding voice (it didn’t work). But it did generate some more laughter.
“Haven’t you got something appropriate planned for Percy when he arrives with Audrey?” Dave asked Ginny.
With a look of manufactured innocence (she wasn’t fooling anyone), she replied, “I have no idea what you are talking about Dave.”
“Really?” He replied with a smirk, “Well in that case I suggest you get your ‘no idea’ and put it into action. As they have both just arrived at your apparition point.”
This caused a general rush as we all quickly headed out from the tents to greet Percy and Audrey. And properly ‘welcome’ her into the family.
Chapter 27: Family Announcements
We all made our way over to the tables that had been setup for dinner. Dave and Gabrielle were content to wander over at their own pace, they seemed a little lost in their own world as they were walking along holding hands and very happily chatting about something.The same couldn’t be said for the rest of my family as they were eagerly heading over to the apparition point to greet Percy and Audrey. Percy looked like a sea of nerves, while Audrey appeared to be completely composed. She did however display a great deal of interest in the goings on that were happening around her. She also warmly waved to several members of Dave’s team.
I located Arthur on my way over to the apparition point and told him that Percy had arrived with Audrey. Arthur was quickly on his feet and joined us to greet the two of them as they came through the gate.
Audrey appeared to be around Percy’s height, she had lovely deep brown eyes and hair that was such a dark brown that it appeared to be almost black. Her skin looked to be well tanned and she had a friendly smile present on her face. She carried herself with a self-assurance and grace of someone who had seen more than her share of battles. Fireball’s brief description of her more than explained that aspect. She also had a grace and a purpose about her movements as well.
It took only one look at Percy’s face to tell that he was totally smitten with her.
“Mum, Dad, I would like to introduce you to Audrey.” Percy began, then after a short pause he added, “my fiancé.”
Arthur and I were both stunned and didn’t know what to say. Percy took advantage of this and continued with his introductions, “Audrey, I would like to introduce you to my parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley.”
We may have been stunned but Audrey certainly wasn’t. She flashed a brilliant smile at us and stepped forward with her hand out. I couldn’t greet my son’s fiancé in such a formal manner so I quickly swept her up into one of my famous hugs. While I was hugging, her she turned to Percy and said with a throaty chuckle, “It looks like you owe me, Fireball and Dave, 2 red jelly beans each Perce.”
At that comment, I quickly released her and asked her, “What? They all knew?” before I remembered my manners and said, “It is lovely to finally get to meet you Audrey. We have heard only a little about you and most of that was from my newly discovered nephew and his sister.”
“So, I decided to ‘encourage’ Percy here to finally bring you over to meet all of us.” I said with a smile, “With support of my niece Percy finally agreed to do so and I am so very happy that he did.”
“Thank you Mrs Weasley.” Audrey replied, “It is a real pleasure to finally meet all of you. Percy has told me so much about you all.”
“I bet he has” George replied in his slightly too loud ‘quiet voice’.
Thankfully this generated laughter from Audrey and Percy both which quickly covered up the moment of awkwardness.
After this Audrey was quickly introduced to Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry. She was warmly welcomed by them all and seemed very happy to finally get to meet them in person.
“Is what Percy said true?” Arthur asked excitedly, “Are congratulations in order?”
“Yes Mr Weasley, it is true.” Audrey replied with a smile, “Percy proposed to me on New Years Eve, when we were in France with Dave and his team.”
“Can we see the ring?” I asked, as I couldn’t help myself. Audrey beamed a brilliant smile and turned to Percy.
“Now that we have told your parents can we cancel the disillusionment charm on them?” she asked him while flashing her brilliant smile again.
“Of course.” Percy replied and pulled his wand out. With a quick flick of his wand we could suddenly see two gorgeous rings, one on Audrey’s finger and one of Percy’s.
“Oh my.” I remarked, “They are gorgeous.” I told them both. They only grinned even more.
The rings looked to be brilliant yellow and white gold woven together with a set of diamonds included in the weave. In the ring Audrey now proudly displayed there were 3 diamonds. A largish central one and two smaller ones on either side. While the ring Percy now displayed also had three diamonds in it they were all of the same size.
“Where ever did you get them Percy?” I just had to ask.
“They were a present for the two of us from Dave and his team.” Percy answered, “We saw him make them right in front of us. It was the most amazing sight I had seen. Until the more recent demonstrations he did here.”
“Yes my nephew certainly has a unique skill in making things.” I replied, “As well as keeping secrets” I grumbled with a little irritation.
“Your nephew?” Audrey replied with an air of confusion.
“Yes, we found out only yesterday that Dave’s mother is my older sister.” I replied with a smile, the thought of having an older sister still bringing a smile to my face.
Audrey turned on Percy, “When where you going to tell me that?” She asked him with an air of irritation.
“Well… I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest.” He said a little sheepishly, “I was more worried about your reaction to meeting this lot.”
“It’s a good thing you’re cute when your confused Perce. Otherwise I would be VERY annoyed with you right now.” She shot back as she grabbed his hand and lead him over to the dinner table.
“I can see that she is going to be good for him.” Arthur remarked with a straight face. I was rather proud of him just then being able to hold it for as long as he had.
“Yeah, I mean once she gets her eyes checked she could be REALLY good for him.” Ginny replied with no attempt at maintaining a straight face. We all turned to Ginny to try and gage what her thoughts really were.
With an evil smirk, she explained, “I mean anyone who describes Percy as cute obviously needs to have their eyes checked. Right?”
This brought a round of laughter from all of us as we headed over to the tables.
I quickly had a score of willing and able volunteers to get dinner on the table. As apparently, there were a large number of VERY hungry people present. It was so heart-warming to have the whole family around for dinner along with a good proportion of my sisters’ family as well.
The news of Percy’s engagement while not new news to Dave’s team was very happily discussed around the dinner table. Most of the discussion centred around Audrey, as Ginny, Fleur and Hermione were VERY keen for any and all details of Percy’s proposal and their plans for the wedding itself.
As for me I found the conversation around the dinner table to be very enjoyable. I was able to have a good chat with both Sandra and Ivan, we covered how they had met and grew up together. The ‘interesting’ start to their ‘official’ relationship as well as how they dealt with the usual ups and downs that everyone has.
I told her all about my relationship with Arthur, how we met at school. How I had quickly fallen for him and been rather frustrated at him for being so ‘slow on the uptake’ as to my feelings towards him. We were each bringing the conversation around to how our husbands had proposed to us when there was a tapping of a knife against a glass to get everyone’s attention.
Looking down the table we noticed that both Shelly and Jean-Luc were standing up with slightly apprehensive looks on their faces. I found it hard to contain my own smile as I knew what this announcement was going to be.
Very quickly the crowd around the table fell silent. I noticed that all the girls looked excited, as they obviously knew (like me) what this announcement would be. The boys mainly looked curious as to the interruption.
“Excuse me all, if we could have your attention for a few moments we would be most grateful.” Jean-Luc began with a nervous smile. He reached for Shelly’s hand and held it tightly and they shared a supportive smile between them, “We would like to announce that this afternoon I asked Shelly if she would do me the honour of marrying me so that we could spend the rest of our lives together.”
“To my eternal delight and pleasure she said yes.” Jean-Luc said with a brilliant smile that was matched only by the one on Shelly’s face.
The whole table erupted in celebration and congratulations for the two of them. Sandra and Ivan were clearly delighted at the news. Fireball, Andrea and Cassy were also very obviously extremely happy as well. Dave was also extremely pleased also. But he seemed to be concentrating very hard on his mirror phone that he was holding up. I was very curious as to what he was doing when he carefully got up from his seat and walked around to where Shelly and Jean-Luc were standing watching him with an expression of curiosity on their faces.
“Someone would like to congratulate you both.” He said as he handed the mirror phone over to them both.
Shelly warily took the mirror phone from him and looked at the screen. She immediately had a gorgeous smile on her face as she exclaimed, “Hello Grandma and Great Grandma.” She quickly pulled Jean-Luc to her side so she could introduce him to her Grandmother and Great Grandmother as well.
We couldn’t hear what they were saying to the newly engaged couple but they clearly loved what they were hearing. As they were both smiling very happily (Shelly was fighting back a rather significant blush also). After a few moments she handed the Mirror Phone back to Dave and he pocketed it and then embraced his sister and brother-in-law to be.
I expected Dave to head back to his seat after this, instead he looked over to his parents and exchanged one of those blank looks between them. After this Ivan and Sandra rose and approached Shelly and Jean-Luc in an almost formal manner.
Shelly noticed their approach and looked both excited and apprehensive about it. Dave quickly positioned himself between his parents and his sister but off to one side. Everyone went quiet as we all sensed something significant was about to take place.
“Jean-Luc, we would both like to take this opportunity to formally welcome you into our family.” Ivan began. He was trying to keep a straight face but he couldn’t keep the smile from displaying.
“For you to have some completely won the heart of our daughter, it speaks to your qualities as a good and fine man. For you to have put up working with her and her siblings for their time here in Europe speaks to your patients and tolerance.” He said grinning ear to ear.
“Now is probably the time to tell you that we have indeed had many a report about you. Both from Shelly’s family and your own.”
This brought a small amount of worry to jean-Luc’s face as well as a stern look from Shelly at her family members.
“Do not look so worried young man. Without exception, all the reports have been glowing recommendations of you. With the exception of one.” Ivan chuckled as the now very worried look on Jean-Luc’s face. Shelly was now glaring at Dave who was managing to look very calm despite her angry stare.
“Don’t be so quick to judge Shelly. It wasn’t Dave who gave this particular report. But none other than Jean-Luc’s own sister.” At this Jean-Luc went white, Shelly looked only slightly ashamed and everyone else had a good laugh.
“She tells us that when she brought home her future husband for the first time you did all that you could to make the poor man as uncomfortable as possible.” Ivan was openly grinning now, “So she teamed up with Shelly’s little brother to ‘return the favour’ to you.” Ivan, Sandra and Dave were now all grinning opening at Jean-Luc.
“I will indeed be reporting back to her that Dave succeeded in his mission and that you dealt with the ordeal extremely well. I’m sure she will be very pleased.” Ivan said laughing. Sandra was wiping a tear from her eyes.
“We would like you to know that despite the earlier awkwardness we whole heartily approve of Shelly’s choice of you as her future husband.” Jean-Luc and Shelly both appeared to be very relieved at this statement.
“I’m also very sure that you will also happily join in with the plans to make Jasper’s ‘special quidditch player’ first visit as memorable as yours was.” Ivan said to a suddenly grinning Jean-Luc and Shelly. Fireball for her part was sending her own murderous glare over to Dave and her parents. She was so focused on them she failed to notice that Shelly, Andrea and Cassy were turning their own predatory gazes onto her also.
It looked like she was going to be as outnumbered as the poor boys in Dave’s family reportedly were. I have to admit that I found myself suddenly looking forward to our visit to Australia as I was sure that she would use that opportunity to introduce this mystery man of hers.
“To show you that we do indeed truly welcome you into our family we would like to present you with this.” Ivan said with a very formal tone and a serious look on his face. He turned to Dave who extracted a very familiar golden rope style chain. This he held almost reverently in the flats of his hands. Jean-Luc looked at it with awe and surprise, while Shelly stared at it with almost the same reverence as Dave.
“This Talisman belonged to my eldest son James. It was stated in his will that if he fell in the line of duty it was his wish for his Talisman to be passed along to another family member.” As Ivan said this he had unshed tears in his eyes. Sandra and indeed the rest of her family also were fighting back their own tears at this statement. I could now also understand the reverence that Dave and Shelly were showing just moments ago.
Jean-Luc for his part was now also showing an almost equal level of reverence to Dave and Shelly. From what we had been told he had known Dave’s older brother quite well and as a result would fully understand the meaning behind this offer.
“Knowing what Jimmy wrote about you in his reports I’m very confident that he would whole heartily approve of his Talisman being offered to you.” Ivan said to a now beaming Jean-Luc and Shelly.
“With that in mind we would like to offer this Talisman to you if it is your stated desire to form a lifelong bond with our daughter Shelly. In a loving and supportive relationship as equals.”
“Is this indeed your desire Jean-Luc Devereaux?” Ivan formally asked him.
“Oui. It is indeed, with all my heart.” Jean-Luc answered him. Ivan and Sandra both smiled at this reply.
“Is this also your desire Michelle, to form a lifelong bond with Jean-Luc. In a loving and supportive relationship as equals?” Ivan asked her.
“Yes, it is” She answered her father, turning to Jean-Luc she added, “With all my heart.”
Ivan and Sandra also smiled at her answer.
“Then I would ask that each of you pluck a hair from your beloved and place it in Dave’s hands with the Talisman that we offer to Jean-Luc.” Ivan said formally.
With almost solemn movements they each plucked a hair from one another and placed them on the Talisman in Dave’s hands. As they did so the Talisman he held glowed brightly. Dave’s hands then caught a flame with friendfyre and he worked the golden chain as though he was mixing the hairs in with it.
When he was done he presented the still brightly glowing golden chain to his father. Ivan inclined his head in acknowledgement and smiled at Dave.
“As it is your stated wish to bring this young man into our family Michelle I present to you his Talisman, for you to place around his neck to both welcome him to our family and to offer him its protection.” Ivan said formally.
Shelly came forward and collected the Talisman from her father with a shy smile. She then approached Jean-Luc and with a glorious smile on her face fastened it around his neck. Jean-Luc had a massive smile on his face at this, his smile only got bigger with Shelly’s next action. This was to place her hands around his next and draw him into a deep and passionate kiss. The accompanying cat calls and wolf whistles had no impact on the very happy couple. Although they did have a few giggles when they did eventually break off their kiss.
I did notice that as Shelly joined the ends of the Talisman around Jean-Luc’s neck her own Talisman glowed brightly. The Talismans on Ivan and Sandra also glowed brightly, along with those of Dave, Fireball, Andrea and Cassy. My own Talisman along with those of my family also glowed briefly. There was also a very pleasant warm and cosy feeling coming from it.
Ivan and Sandra now stepped forward and warmly embraced Jean-Luc. Andrea, Fireball and Cassy followed quickly after. Dave was the last one to welcome Jean-Luc and he had a strange little smile about his face as he approached him.
Seeing his look Jean-Luc told him, “Do not worry for your sister Dave. I intend to do all I can to make her as happy as I can for as long as I can.” He said smiling.
Returning his smile Dave answered, “That’s a good answer Jean-Luc, but it isn’t her I’m worried about.” Dave said with a smirk.
“Non?” Jean-Luc asked, “Who are you worried about then?”
“You.” Dave replied with that annoying offhand manner that he has. Still smirking at Jean-Luc.
“Moi?” he replied.
“Oui.” Dave said to some naughty laughter around the table.
“Why would you be worried for moi?” Jean-Luc asked.
“You do realise that you have just marked yourself out as fair game for ‘The Horde’ now don’t you.” He remarked with an evil grin.
“La Horde?” Jean-Luc asked with a confused expression on his face. It wasn’t as cute as Dave’s but it was rather cute in its own right I had to admit.
“You didn’t tell him?” Dave asked a now grinning Shelly.
“I wanted to surprise him.” She said with undisguised glee in her voice.
“Surprise me with what?” Jean-Luc asked now rather worried.
“I’m sure you’re aware that Shelly has 5 sisters I hope.” Dave asked him.
“Oui” he replied.
“Did she tell you that Cassie is only one of 45 female cousins?” Dave asked Jean-Luc.
You could see the colour drain a little from his face at this news.
“45?” He asked.
“Yup. 45 female cousins. 7 Aunties, 1 Grandmother and 1 Great Grandmother. But those 2 are probably worse than all the other combined.” Dave said with glee, “Any second thoughts?” Dave asked him.
“Non. Non at all!” Jean-Luc replied confidently.
“Good man.” Dave replied before engulfing him in a very genuine hug that looked as though it nearly squeezed the life out of poor Jean-Luc.
“Good to have you in the family mate.” Dave said to him in a serious voice but with undisguised genuine warmth.
“Merci.” Jean-Luc said and then out of sheer mischief he reached out and kissed Dave on each cheek. This got a standing ovation from Dave’s team and the rest of us followed suit.
Ivan turned to Sandra and remarked, “I think he will fit in perfectly.” Before they both burst into laughter at the scene in front of them.
Jean-Luc smiled when he heard that statement. He then turned to Dave and said, “A little birdy told me that you will need to have to get used to that.” Before he flashed a cheeky grin and glanced over at Gabrielle who was smiling up at Dave with her own glorious smile.
“That maybe, but I will say Gabrielle kisses better than you do.” Dave said with an evil smirk before he danced out of reach of both Jean-Luc and Shelly.
After this we all went up to congratulate the happy couple. It was a wonderful way to spend a dinner. It was just after I had congratulated Shelly and Jean-Luc that Sandra came up to me with a twinkle in her eye.
“Are you going to present Audrey with her own Talisman as well?” She asked me barely able to hide her glee.
“Now that is a great idea.” I replied with my own grin. I headed off into the house and collected the Talisman that Sandra indicated was for Audrey.
When I came back out into the yard I quickly located Arthur and told him of the plan. He very readily agreed. Together we set out to grab Percy and Audrey. Once we located them we brought them up to where Sandra, Ivan and Dave were standing patiently waiting for us.
Arthur stood up and called the rather rowdy crowd of people to order.
“Now I might not have the polished silver tongue of my brother-in-law here” he said indicating a now grinning Ivan, “But I would also like to extend my own heart felt welcome to young Audrey here.” He said as Audrey fought back a blush.
“We haven’t known about her for much more than a day. But what we have learnt both through reading Dave’s recommendation for both her and Percy.” Arthur said to the surprise of both Percy and Audrey. They fixed Dave with twin very direct looks that seemed to contain a lot of questions. But Dave only happily smiled back at them.
“Fireball has also filled us in on some of their exploits as well.” Arthur continued, Percy looked a little pale at this news while Audrey flashed a naughty little smile at him and a sly one at Fireball.
“But all we have learned tells us that she is a remarkable young lady who is nearly fearless in defence of friends and family. As well as in defence of those under her care. She has kind and gentle heart always ready to lend comfort and support to those who need it.”
“All of this just leads us to ask one question.” Arthur said as he turned to direct his smile at Audrey, “Why on earth did you chose Percy?” he said to an outbreak of roaring laughter from Dave’s team and Percy’s brothers.
Audrey was blushing to the roots of her hair at this introduction. Percy was a little startled by it but he was quickly grinning at the gentle ribbing from Arthur.
“Whatever the reason that made you chose our son Percy we are all thankful for it.” Arthur replied with heartfelt warmth.
“To that end we would like to present you with your own Talisman to welcome you into our family. Arthur offered formally.
At this point Dave stepped forward and held his hands out flat as he had before. He nodded to Arthur who returned the gesture and then said, “Please pluck a hair from the head of your beloved and place it on Dave’s hands.”
They each did this and the Talisman in Dave’s hand glowed in response. Dave then repeated his earlier motions with the friendfyre and working the golden chain. He then presented the chain to Arthur and stepped back smiling very happily.
His smile must have been infectious as Arthur was happily smiling as he presented the Talisman to Percy with the words. “Percy if it is your intention to form a lifelong bond with Audrey in a loving and supportive relationship as equals please present this to your beloved.”
“Audrey, if it is your intention to form a lifelong bond with Percy in a loving and supportive relationship as equals please accept this Talisman from Percy on behalf of all of his family.” Arthur said with a smile.
Percy stepped up to Audrey with a question written plainly on his face. She smiled back at him and indicated her agreement to his question. With her permission Percy placed the Talisman around Audrey neck and connected the ends together. As before all of our Talismans glowed brightly and we again felt that almost physical manifestation of love flow from our own Talismans.
As with Shelly and Jean-Luc they embraced each other and shared a very passionate kiss to cheers and cat calls once again from all of those gathered.
Once more we all gathered around to welcome the newest pair within our family into our family.
Eventually when things quietened down sufficiently Ivan stepped up and asked for everyone’s attention.
“Now I’m sure we all agree that it has been a wonderful dinner and evening so far.” At this there were a good number of cheers and applause. “However I have an announcement of my own that I would like to make to you all.”
“Our two new arrivals may not yet be aware but we have invited all our family here to come and visit with us for 2 weeks (starting next Thursday) in Australia”. At this there was some more cheers.
“Dave’s team are excused as I’m sure that they would like some time away from him.” Ivan said with a grin. This brought on some more cheers also.
“As you may or may not know during this time is my mother’s 90th Birthday and she is putting on a special event at her place in Queensland.”
“I would like to invite you all to join us for that special celebration if you are available.” He said with a smile, “And before you ask Jono, no it isn’t compulsory to attend.” He added with a laugh for a now very embarrassed Jono. The rest of Dave’s team were however relentlessly ribbing the poor boy over some inside joke.
“Madame and Monsieur Delacour you are also invited if you wish to attend.” Ivan said happily smiling at them, “I know you may be planning two weeks of leisure without your children underfoot.” He said smiling at Fleur and Gabrielle, who were smiling back at him, “But you are very welcome to attend if you wish and we will do our best to keep your children from hassling you.” He said now looking at Dave and everyone joined in giving Dave and Gabrielle some advice on what they could do to occupy their time.
For their part both Dave and Gabrielle happily smiled and even seemed to take notes at a few of the suggestions. It was lovely to see them so happy and relaxed around each other this early in their relationship.
Ivan took this opportunity to walk around with Sandra and deliver the invitations to everyone there. I thought that the girls did a masterful job of looking surprised at them. I know that they didn’t have to pretend to be pleased as we were all looking forward to the party.
Once Ivan and Sandra had delivered an invitation to myself and Arthur I got up to go and collect the deserts to bring out. I asked my boys if they could clear away the dishes on the table. There was some good natured grumbles about this until I told them it was to make room for the desert dishes.
I asked for some helpers to bring out the deserts and Ginny, Dave, Gabrielle and Hermione all offered to assist me.
We walked into the kitchen and I was just pointing in out to my helpers what dishes were to go out to what table when Dave’s mirror phone started making an odd noise. It must have meant something to him as his face lit up light I hadn’t seen before and he quickly pulled it out to see what the message was.
As he was reading the message his face was displaying an absolutely adorable goofy looking grin.
“Well, out with it.” Ginny ordered.
Still grinning like a mad man Dave replied, “I can’t tell you lot just yet. I have to tell mum first, that was part of the deal.”
“What deal? What is the message?” Ginny asked with her curiosity on display in full flower.
“Let’s just say it is ‘family news’ and I only have a small window of opportunity here to make use of it.” He replied still with this massive grin on his face. “Can I count on your support to pull this off?” He asked us.
“To pull what off?” Gabrielle asked him. She was clearly enjoying seeing Dave this happy, but she was also bursting to know what the news was that made him so happy.
“I need to spring some news on my parents, before my window of opportunity closes.” Was all that he would say.
“Is it the sort of news that will embarrass your sisters?” Ginny asked him with a sceptical look.
“You really have spent too much time around my sisters already haven’t you?” Dave said with a lopsided grin.
Ginny just continued to give Dave her sceptical look. Dave looked to Hermione for support but she was clearly on Ginny’s side of the fence. He looked to me and Gabrielle but neither of us were giving him an indication of our support or lack of it until we had more information about his scheme.
“Oh alright.” He exclaimed in defeat (to our delight), “No this news isn’t going to embarrass any of my sisters, or cousins for that matter.”
“In fact the only person likely to get in trouble from it will be me.” He said smiling.
“So why are you smiling like that then?” Ginny asked him still with her sceptical look in place.
“Somethings are worth getting in trouble for.” Was the only answer Dave would give us.
“I have 3 minutes left.” He said checking his watch, “will you help me and play along?” he asked flashing his big blue eyes at us.
“Oh alright then, if it means so much to you. I will help you get in trouble.” Ginny said with an evil grin on her face. After she agreed we all quickly added our support to his idea.
“Excellent!” he said with his own grin returning.
“Which of these deserts are for the table where mum and dad are sitting?” He asked me.
I indicated to him the deserts in question and he quickly picked up two of them and made straight for the door. We all grabbed a plate or two each as well and followed him out.
Back in the yard the tables had been cleared and Dave was making a beeline for his parents with us hurrying along trying to catch him up. As he got to the table he squeezed in between his parents.
“Here you go Grandma.” He said in that offhand voice he has, as he put one desert dish down in front of his mother. Sandra for her part had gone stock still and was staring at Dave with wide eyes.
Dave pretended not to notice and turned to his father and said, “Here you go Grandpa.” As he placed another desert dish onto the table in front of him. Ivan was now displaying a look very much like the one Sandra wore.
The rest of the table had caught Dave’s comments also and everyone had fallen silent and was staring at him. Dave must have been having fun as he was obviously aware of the attention that he was now getting from everyone. But he also wasn’t acknowledging it in anyway.
He simply walked over to me and collected the two dishes that I was carrying and then headed back to the table and placed one on the far side of his father with the comment, “In case you want something a little softer for your elder teeth Grandpa.” As he put the trifle down near his father.
At this point I was fighting a losing battle with a case of industrial sized giggles as Dave continued to taunt his parents. Heading over to the other side of his mother he remarked, “And we all know how much Grandma loves her pudding so I will just leave this here.”
“Would you prefer a spoon or a fork for your pudding Grandma?” he asked him mum with a perfectly straight face. When she didn’t immediately reply he assumed an artful expression of worry.
“I have heard that Grandparents are often hard of hearing but I didn’t think it happened THAT fast.” He remarked as he looked at his mother with a delightful smile playing about his lips.
“Aunty Molly, do you know if it is normal for newly minted Grandparents to lose their hearing quite this fast at all?” he asked me just as his parents launched themselves from their seats and grabbed him firmly around an arm each.
“What did you say?” Sandra asked.
“I was merely asking Aunty Molly if it was normal for new Grandparents to lose their hearing so quickly.” Dave replied in an innocent sounding voice.
“But we are not Grandparents.” Sandra said in an unconvinced tone just as her own Mirror phone began to ring.
Dave took that opportunity to escape from his mother’s grasp. But his father still held him firm while he intently watched his wife answer her mirror phone.
“Hello” Sandra said into her mirror phone as an image of an absolutely gorgeous little boy filled the screen.
Sandra squalled with delight as her daughters came running over to the phone to see what had caused the reaction from her. Ivan let go of Dave and went to his wife and embraced her in his arms with a truly wonderful smile on his face.
The image of the little baby boy was joined by that of a woman with hair so blond it looked almost white and a man with sandy coloured blond hair.
“Hi mum.” Said the very tired but also very proud woman who was holding the baby, “We thought we would call you to introduce you to little Jayden Clarke, who only recently just came into the world.”
Both the new parents had very tired but very content and loving smiles on their faces. Sandra and Ivan had tears of joy running down their own faces. Fireball, Shelly, Andrea and Cassy were in the same state as well.
I looked over to Dave and he had relieved Gabrielle of the dishes that she had been carrying and he was now cautiously approaching the group around his mother with Gabrielle in tow. All the while he was smiling like a man possessed. As he got close enough to the phone you could see the woman who was holding the baby recognise him and smile at him.
“I see from the smile on little Day’s face he was able to pull off his surprise for you successfully.” She said laughing.
Sandra turned and regarded Dave with a predatory look of her own that would have had any sane man running for the hills. Dave only smiled back her and shrugged.
“You… You… You knew.” She accused him, “How did you know?” she demanded.
“Would you believe that I’m an omnipresent entity that is like a God among the mortals of this world?” he asked. Rather bravely I thought.
“Not in the slightest.” Sandra said with her own evil grin coming to the fore.
“Get him girls.” She ordered.
Her daughters were very quick on their feet, I will give them that. But they were not as close to Dave as Gabrielle, Ginny and Hermione.
Dave had obviously expected his sisters and cousin to be sent after him. But he hadn’t banked on the willing assistance of the three young ladies closest to him.
As he turned to make his escape he ran full into the chocolate cake that Ginny had been holding. Only to recoil from that into the jelly that Hermione had been carrying just moments before. While he was trying to recover from that encounter Gabrielle ‘accidently’ left her foot in Dave’s way and he fell over backwards. Back into the chocolate cake that Ginny had ‘carefully’ repositioned.
He landed on the ground covered in cake and jelly but laughing his head off as his sisters and cousin caught him and began to mercilessly tickle him into insensibility. This looked like too much fun for Gabrielle, Ginny and Hermione to miss out on. So they eagerly joined in and assisted Dave’s sisters and cousin.
No one felt the need to go to Dave’s assistance as he had clearly brought this on himself. Even though I heard Ivan remark to Sandra, “Looks like ‘The Horde’ has gained three new enthusiastic members.” As he laughed at his only son’s predicament.
“Yes it does. And don’t you forget it either.” She said with her own wicked little smile.
I could see the new parents on the phone were clearly enjoying seeing Dave being ‘dealt with’ by The Horde as he put it. Eventually Sandra showed a modicum of mercy towards her only son and ordered the girls to end their attack and let poor Dave up.
I couldn’t tell if Dave was blushing or not as he had far too much cake on his face to tell. But Gabrielle clearly was blushing as she had been caught with both her hands under Dave’s shirt when an end was called to the tickling. She took this in her stride however and gave Dave a wicked little smile of her own. He happily smiled back at her. I couldn’t tell what sort of smile it was as he hadn’t done anything about the large amount of cake that was on his face at that point.
He happily wiped most of the cake off his face and banished it then pulled his wand out and cast Scourgify on himself to clean up. He then walked up to his mum and put his arms around her and gave her a squeeze. He then looked at the couple on the mirror phone and smiled.
“Was it worth it?” The woman on the mirror phone asked him still smiling.
“Absolutely.” He happily replied.
“Well I am glad you enjoyed it.” She told him, “and thank you for the new dinner table and chairs. They are most appreciated.” She said smiling at him.
“You’re very welcome.” Dave answered just as Gabrielle joined him to see the little one that was still on display.
The lady on the phone noticed Gabrielle and her eyes widened in surprise and delight, “And who might you be?” she asked delightedly.
“Gabrielle I would like to introduce you to Helen my eldest sister and her husband Colin Clarke” Dave replied with a brilliant smile upon his face. “Helen, Colin and little Jayden this is Gabrielle Delacour.” Dave said with a smile again lighting up his face as he looked at Gabrielle.
I could see from the expression on Helen’s face that she had caught the smitten look that Dave gave to Gabrielle as he introduced her.
“I’m very pleased to meet you Gabrielle.” Helen said with her own brilliant smile on display, “Thank you also for helping to keep my little brother in line earlier also.” She added with a chuckle.
“Et was a pleasure to ‘elp ‘is sisters.” Gabrielle said with a grin, “Et is also a pleasure to meet you too ‘elen.” Gabrielle replied smiling back at her. “Congratulations to you both on ze arrival of your little bundle of joy as well.”
“Thank you Gabrielle.” Helen replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Yes Thank-you also Gabrielle.” Colin replied with his own cheeky smile in place.
As Dave and Gabrielle moved away to allow others in I could see Helen turn excitedly to her mother with a look that spoke volumes. Sandra could only smile by way of reply, she quickly checked over her shoulder but Dave and Gabrielle were still too close for her to say anything. So she simply said, “I will tell you all about it later. Ok?”
“Dam right you will mum.” Helen replied with a giggle from both her and Colin.
“I do have someone that I would like to introduce you to though Helen.” Sandra said as she waved me over. As I walked over to her I could see when Helen noticed me in her own mirror phone as her eyes went as large as saucers. She quickly glanced to her mum for confirmation.
“Helen, I would like to introduce you to Molly Weasley, my little sister.” Sandra said with a brilliant smile of her own as she wrapped her arm around my waist.
“Sister?” Helen said with a mixture of surprise and delight.
“Yes, sisters. Most definitely.” Sandra told her. We were both smiling happily together, it was a wonderful feeling.
“Weasley?” Helen said, “That’s the family that Grandpa always told stories about, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yes, it is. Molly is married to Arthur Weasley. He is the son of Mr Septimus Weasley. The man who helped your Grandfather.” Sandra said still smiling.
“Now that is interesting isn’t it.” Helen said clearly delighted, “I can see that you are going to have tell me all the stories when you get home.” She exclaimed excitedly.
“We certainly will.” Sandra replied, “As Molly and her family are going to be coming to visit for two weeks on Thursday.” She said excitedly.
“That sounds very exciting.” Helen replied, “I will be out of the Hospital by then, and hopefully settled enough at home to do a few small trips or have some visitors.” She replied smiling.
“We will certainly look forward to seeing you and your little addition, whichever way suits you best.” Sandra replied.
“Thanks mum.” Helen replied.
“It was lovely to meet you dear.” I told her, “Congratulations on your little miracle as well. I hope that he doesn’t keep you up all night long.” I said with a chuckle.
Helen made a face at that thought, “Thanks Aunty Molly.” She said with a smile, “I will reserve a cuddle for you when we see you.”
“That would be lovely.” I replied with a smile at her.
“I should let your father have a word with you as well. As he seems a little excited for some reason.” Sandra said with a laugh, “Then your sister can tell you her news.”
“I can guess Shelly’s news mum. We saw and felt our Talismans respond a little while ago.” She said with a knowing smile.
“Well at least pretend to be surprised for her will you.” Sandra with a smile as she handed her phone off to Ivan.
“It certainly has been a memorable first family dinner.” I told her.
“Yes it has. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.” She replied with a brilliant smile.
Chapter 28: After Dinner Conversations
Understandably it took a while for the excitement of Helen’s news to die down. Sandra’s phone was passed around to everyone and they all passed along their congratulations to her and Colin.Helen was delighted when she found out that my Bill was the ‘Bombshell’ that she had heard about so many times over the years. To be honest I think Bill found her reaction rather hilarious, as she was rather excited to meet him. Eventually the phone was returned back to Sandra and she wished Helen a good night’s rest with her little one. We then all returned to the table to enjoy desert.
One difference I noticed with the conversation for desert was that Kingsley, Arthur, Ivan, Dave and Jean-Luc had all seated themselves at one end of the table and were intently talking amongst themselves.
I could make a guess as to the topic of the conversation by the serious expressions on their faces and the fact that Ivan handed to Jean-Luc the dossier on the unknown French assassin. Jean-Luc read over the report thoroughly with a rather concerned expression on his face. He seemed to recognise something in the report though, and when he pointed it out to the others they were all rather excited.
Kingsley in particular had a look about him, which brought to my mind an image of a predator about to bring down its meal.
Unable to contain my curiosity any longer I walked down to their end of the table to ask if anyone was interested in a cup of tea. As I approached I heard the tail end of a conversation that seemed to indicate that Jean-Luc would be heading back to Paris to chase down the information that his department had on the individual mentioned in the file. He would also be back in England on Monday with Gawain Roberts and the head Auror from the French Ministry for a formal meeting between the British and French Auror offices.
Apparently formal engagement between the two Auror offices had been rather strained over the past few years. Something that Kingsley was keen to address.
As I made it to Arthur the meeting between them came to an end. With Kingsley and Dave getting up from the table. Kingsley to go and chat to Bill and Izzy, while Dave disappeared into his tent.
I asked them all who would be interested in a cuppa and I had a few takers. Sandra and Shelly had joined me by this time and they happily agreed to help get the tea organised. We checked around with the rest of the crowd and had a few more people interested in a cuppa. So, we headed off to the kitchen so that we could have a good chat in peace and quiet.
I will have to admit that the tea did take much longer than usual to make as we were all so busy having a chat and a laugh that we frequently got distracted from what we were supposed to be doing. However, we were having so much fun I do not think we really minded that we had to put the kettle on a second time as it had gone cold from inattention.
While we were pouring out the teas for those who had requested them. Gabrielle and Ginny came into the kitchen to ask us if we had seen either Dave or Harry. As the two girls, had been unable to locate them.
“Last I saw Dave he had gone to his tent from the dinner table.” I told a disappointed Gabrielle.
“We checked ‘is tent and ee wasn’t zere.” She replied a little down cast.
“Have you checked the lounge at all or Harry’s room?” I asked them.
“No we haven’t” Ginny replied as they both raced up stairs together. It was a little odd to see them together like that but I was pleased to see that they were getting along better than before as well.
While the girls were upstairs Fireball and Cassy came into the kitchen with mysterious looks about them, “What’s on your mind girls?” Sandra asked them both.
“We have just been watching a rather interesting conversation.” Fireball replied with a little smirk about her face.
“What conversation would that be?” I asked them.
“Come and see.” Was the reply. With this they lead us outside and along the porch of the house. As we got to the end of the porch we could see Harry and Dave seated on the rock wall that ran around the yard. They were both very deep in conversation with each other. I looked over to Sandra and she had such a dazzling smile on her face at this sight.
From our vantage point we couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other. But it was clear that they both were enjoying the conversation. While we were watching them Ginny and Gabrielle re-appeared and came over to see what had captured our interest. When they noticed the two boys talking they also had smiles on their faces.
Gabrielle immediately made to go over to where the two boys were. But Sandra quickly caught her arm and almost pleaded with her, “Please let them talk.”
Gabrielle looked at Sandra and then back at the two boys. She then smiled and nodded at Sandra while she went and got herself and Ginny a chair each that she then placed on the porch so that they could watch the two boys in comfort.
The rest of us went back into the kitchen and took out the much-delayed tea, that various people had requested. After that was done we took a cup each over for Ginny and Gabrielle who were still watching the two boys.
Whatever they were discussing now seemed to involve a great deal of hand movements. It was almost like they were discussing Quidditch, but something about their expression told me it was a more serious discussion than one about sport.
Then Dave held his hand out flat and with a nod to Harry he produced a small flame above it. Just like he had this morning in his tent. He quickly put out the flame and then indicated to Harry. After a moment’s thought Harry copied Dave’s gesture and there was a spark of flame above his hand. It was only very brief but it brought great excitement to them both.
I looked over at Gabrielle and Ginny they both were completely absorbed in what the boys were doing. Their expressions were almost a mirror of each other. Looking next to me I saw that Sandra and Fireball were watching the two boys as well. Sandra had a slight smile about her face while Fireball was watching them with what could only be described as ‘professional interest’.
Turning my attention back to the boys I noticed that Harry had produced another flame and that he seemed to be holding it steady and without discomfort. Harry had on his face a grin of sheer delight, I hadn’t seen him smile like that (without Ginny in his arms) for a long time.
When Dave got Harry to pass the flame from hand to hand Fireball spoke up, “I think I know what they are doing.” She said with a smile appearing on her face.
“What do you think they are doing Jasper?” Sandra asked.
“I recognise that exercise that Dave is getting Harry to do.” She said with a little smirk about her face, “I think Dave is going to try and get Harry to consciously conjure Friendfyre.”
“He’s what?” I asked her.
“I believe he is walking Harry through the steps on how to conjure Friendfyre.” Fireball replied, “As that looks like the same exercise that Dad and Grandpa used with us.”
“It is a series of very simple exercises but when combined they cover all the basics of safely manipulating fire that you have conjured.” She answered, “If I’m correct Dave will ask Harry next to almost toss the flame from one hand to another.”
Sure enough, after a few minutes of passing the flame from one hand to another, Dave did indeed ask Harry to toss it from one hand to the other. Harry seemed to accomplish this feat very quickly and satisfactorily going from the smile on Dave’s face.
“Next will be a Fireball.” Fireball said with a smile.
She was correct, Dave did indeed get Harry to conjure a small fireball. But it was none the less a real fireball. Dave conjured a large block of Ice and had Harry throw the fireball at it. When I saw this, I looked at Fireball with my question.
“When you first learn to conjure a fireball you don’t want to cancel the flame by closing your hand. You can get burnt that way. Instead you throw the fireball at a safe target until you get a better feel for it.” She explained.
“Once you have a better feel for it you can safely cancel it by closing your hand without it collapsing back on you.”
“That makes sense I guess.” I said still a little confused.
After he had conjured about 10 small fireballs and thrown them against the block of Ice Dave got Harry to pass them from hand to hand as with the flame before. When Harry had successfully done this a few time times Harry got him to toss the Fireball from hand to hand. When this was achieved, Dave instructed Harry to close his hand and when he did so the flame went out.
The grin on Dave’s and Harry’s faces was infectious.
They then had another rather focused and intense discussion. Harry seemed to be deeply enthralled by it but he was also asking a great many questions. Instead of becoming irritated by the questions Dave seemed to almost delight in them. As each time Harry would ask one, Dave would smile and happily answer it.
Eventually Dave held up his hand in front of Harry and we watched as it caught with golden flame. He seemed to be describing something about the flames out to Harry as pointed out something about the flames to him.
Eventually Harry asked a question that gave Dave pause for a moment or two. He then nodded his head in agreement and Harry had a massive grin on his face.
Harry held up his hand as Dave had done before and concentrated on it intently.
While he was doing this Dave held his hands on either side of Harry’s. I assumed that this was to enable him to put out any flames that Harry couldn’t manage.
Dave seemed to be counting down something to Harry and then the expression on Harry’s face changed ever so slightly. At that point a small amount of golden flame erupted from Harry’s hand.
Harry seemed to be shocked by this and he lost his concentration and the flames went out. Dave gave him an encouraging smile and indicated that he should try again.
Harry quickly repositioned himself and again, this time while Dave seemed to have his hands ready they were nowhere near as close as before to Harry’s hands.
This time when the golden flames appeared on Harry’s hand he was still surprised (and pleased) but he was able to maintain the flames. Harry had such a boyish grin of delight on his face at this result. You could have been forgiven to think he was celebrating his first Christmas. I happened to look over at Ginny and she had a smile on her face that was full of pride and love both of and for Harry. I’m sure that if Harry has seen it he would have been blushing to the roots of his hair.
Gabrielle seemed to also have a strange little smile on her face. But her target was Dave, she seemed to be greatly enjoying the show going on before her.
Dave got Harry to try some different exercises, than the ones before. He got Harry to close all the fingers on one hand except for one. When Harry did this the Friendfyre covered only the one finger. He got him to transfer the Friendfyre from one hand to the other by what looked like a process of wiping his hands one against the other. He then got him to hold the Friendfyre in both hands at once. Then to close first one hand and then the other.
When Harry had closed both hands the Friendfyre went out. There was a glow about Harry’s eyes after he had achieved this that warmed my heart to the core. Only Ginny and Quidditch could produce a look like that on his face. Dave seemed to have an equally excited look on his face as well. But there was still a ‘drill sergeant’ about Dave that got Harry to produce and extinguish the Friendfyre another five times before he seemed happy with the results.
At this point they both got up from the wall and warmly shook hands. They then turned to go back to the house and saw the crowd of us on the porch that had been watching them. Seeing this sight they both had a laugh and quickly made their way over to us.
Fireball joined us again (I hadn’t noticed her leave) and handed a large glass of water to each of Ginny and Gabrielle.
“Go and give that to those two. As they will have need of it. That exercise really dries you out.” She explained.
Both Ginny and Gabrielle graciously accepted the water and quickly headed over to ‘their’ boys. The boys for their part eagerly gulped down the water and appropriately thanked the one who brought it out to them.
“I take it you two had fun with your little conversation?” Sandra asked them with her face alight in a smile.
“Yes we did.” Harry exclaimed, “It was brilliant.” He said smiling. Dave also had a large smile on his face, and I’m very sure that it wasn’t entirely from having Gabrielle in his arms either.
“Was it difficult to do that?” Ginny wanted to know.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t.” Harry replied, “It just required me to look at things in a different way than before.”
“How so?” Ginny asked.
“When he teaches it to you, you will find out.” Dave answered with a smile at the look on Harry’s and Ginny’s faces.
“Don’t look so worried Harry. I’m not going to ask you to teach it to her right now. You need to get a little bit more comfortable with it before you try that.” Dave explained.
“But the best way to learn something, is to have to teach it to someone else.” He said with a smile at them both.
Harry thought about this for a while and then smiled back, “That does make sense.”
"The teacher also usually learns something from each student as well." Dave replied with a smile at Harry, "Thanks to Harry's many questions I had some new ideas on how to better explain Friendfyre. I do think it will make it a lot easier to explain to others from now on.”
“For that Harry, you have my thanks.” Dave said grinning. Harry readily returned it.
“So you didn’t have to learn anything new to do that?” Ginny asked Harry with an almost eager light in her eyes.
“No he didn’t Ginny. He just used skills and knowledge that he already had in a slightly different manner to what he had done before.” Dave answered.
“You and especially Harry with find out that a lot of what we do is not that much different to you. It’s just that we go about it in a different manner.”
“I think it has to do with, that in our role we work in so many different countries and cultures. As well as with people of such different abilities and capabilities. We have an almost formalised process to assess what we come in contact with and determine what we can take away and best use.”
“That was one of the things that I absolutely loved about our time in China.” Dave said with an eager light in his eyes, “The way they do their magic over there is so totally different to anything we or you do.”
“It is almost like it is from another planet. Some of the things that they can do are so wondrous that they almost seem like miracles.” He said with a large grin on his face, “I found it endlessly fascinating and could have easily spent years there just asking question after question about all the amazing things that they can achieve.”
“When you come across magic like that, it is almost like you are encountering Muggle style ‘superheroes’.” he said with a laugh.
Harry, Sandra, Shelly and Andrea had a good laugh at that statement as well. However Ginny, Gabrielle and I were just looking confused.
“I take it you haven’t encountered Muggle Superheroes before then?” Dave asked us.
When we shook our heads to indicate that we hadn’t he smiled and replied, “Have you heard of Muggle Movies by any chance?”
“I have.” Ginny answered eagerly. Dave had a laugh at the expression on her face. “How about you to young ladies?” He asked me and Gabrielle.
“I know about muggle plays, but I haven’t been to see one. But I must confess that I haven’t heard of Muggle Movies before.” I told him.
“Gabrielle?” he asked.
“Non, I don’t think I know about them eizer.” She replied.
“Well then. I think we need to give you all an introduction don’t we.” Dave said with a smile.
“What do you think Harry, should we introduce them to Muggle Superheros with the ‘Superman’ movie?” Dave asked, “It is an old movie I guess, but I have always enjoyed watching it. So it should be a good introduction for them.”
“I must confess, while I know of it, I have never seen it so I can’t say.” Harry replied with a sheepish grin.
“Well I guess that settles it then.” Dave remarked, “Movie night, my tent and we will see how many Superman movies we can fit in before we all fall asleep.” He said with a large grin.
“Do you have any popcorn in your tent?” Fireball asked him hopefully.
“Not much. I think you and Jono ate most of it last time.” He replied with a sly grin.
“Go and let the others know that we are having a Superman movie marathon night in my tent if they are interested and see what popcorn you can dig up. Shelly should have some in her tent if she isn’t otherwise ‘occupied’.” He said with a laugh.
Fireball and Andrea quickly took off to go and tell the others. There seemed to be a bit of excitement about the possibility of muggle style entertainment. Arthur particularly was very excited. We all followed Dave into his tent where he opened a draw that had been hidden previously. He pulled out a black object that looked to be about the size of a tissue box but thinner.
He took this back object and placed it into a different device while he pointed something called a ‘remote’ at the TV device. The TV came on and produced a picture of a small boy flipping through the pages of a book of some sort. Dave ‘paused the movie at this point while we all got ourselves sorted out. Naturally he made sure that he had a seat next to Gabrielle but he also ensured that everyone else all had comfortable seats. Fireball came in with enough buckets of muggle popcorn for everyone and then made herself comfortable on something called a ‘bean bag’.
Arthur and I were no exception we were also comfortably planted in a chair with our own popcorn as well. When everyone who wished to watch the movie was comfortable Dave went and stood at the front near the TV. He then gave us a very quick rundown on muggle movies, their purpose and roughly how they were made. He told us that no ‘magic’ as we are used to it, is involved with the creation of movies. But that muggles do use lots of special tricks that they call ‘special effects’ to achieve the result that they are after. With this he went back to his seat with Gabrielle and pressed the play button.
The movie was a very entertaining and enjoyable one. Although the idea of people coming from outer space to earth was more than a little strange to me, I didn’t mind it at all. The movie ran for about 2hrs and it was clear that by the end we had all enjoyed it immensely.
“Got any more Dave?” Harry and Ron asked at almost the same time.
Dave just grinned and said “Lots.”
“Do you think you can stay awake for another one?” He asked us all.
We indicated that we believed that we could indeed stay awake. So, Dave got up and changed over the ‘tape’ as he called it and put in the second movie in the series called ‘Superman II’.
This was also a very enjoyable movie, but by the end of it I was struggling to stay awake as I was rather tired. I did notice several of the others also having a similar battle on their hands.
As we got up from our seats we noticed that Gabrielle had fallen asleep on Dave. Dave for his part looked like he was close to falling asleep himself. But he roused himself enough to be able to pick Gabrielle up and carry her back to her tent with her parents. On the way out, we all thanked Dave for our first muggle movie night. He seemed genuinely pleased that we had all enjoyed it.
After this we all made our own way to our various beds. Bill and Fleur took up the offer of a room in the tent that had been provided as it offered them some more space. The rest of us headed over to the house while Dave’s team made for their tents. While Kingsley and Chief Williams head back to London.
Sandra, Ivan and Andrea followed us back to the house as they were going to use the door there to go back home. They did mention that they would be ‘officially’ arriving at the Australian Embassy tomorrow around mid-morning. The original idea behind this was to give them a few days to get ‘in sync’ with the local time as they put it.
They did ask if it would be possible to visit tomorrow after they had taken care of their ‘official duties’ at the embassy. We told them that this was perfectly fine. With a final round of hugs they left through our scullery door. It still took a lot of getting used to that.
Tomorrow promised to be a busy day as work would begin on making The Burrow more secure.
Chapter 29: Pranks and Assignments
16th May 1998 (Saturday)The next morning when I woke I just lay in bed for a few moments going over yesterday’s events in my mind. Since meeting my sister’s family each day has felt like a whirlwind. There was a lot to take in and process, but it was also a great deal of fun.
While I was laying there in bed I could hear voices outside, so I got up to have a look and I could see Dave’s Team emerging from their tents and getting ready to head off for their morning training. Jean-Luc looked like he was going to join them as well.
Footsteps racing down the stairs caused me to head to the door of my room to see what was up. I caught a glimpse of what I thought to be Harry and Ron racing down the stairs. I quickly went back to the window to confirm my suspicions.
They proved to be correct as Harry and Ron had indeed gone out to join up with Dave and his team. This surprised me a little but I did know that Harry wished to be an Auror, so it seemed logical for him to be there. But Ron was still on the fence of what he wanted to do. They quickly lined up with the others between Dave and Mick, then Shelly called them all to order and they started off across the yard and down the lane.
Chuckling to myself I grabbed my dressing gown and headed for the kitchen to start to get things organised for breakfast. The kettle has just boiled and I was enjoying my cuppa when I saw Bill and Fleur emerge from the tent that had been setup for the Delacour family. They saw me in the kitchen and quickly came over. I made sure that I had a cuppa ready for them when they arrived.
“How did you sleep?” I asked them after we had exchanged hugs.
“Very well actually.” Bill said with a smile, “Fireball was right, those tents are very nice. Certainly, the beds in them are very comfortable.” He said with a shy smile to Fleur who returned it.
“How about you Fleur? Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Oui, very well.” She said with a naughty smile at Bill.
“I’m very glad to hear that.” I told them, “Sandra was telling me that the tent you were in last night is their old family one that they used for family holidays.”
“Apparently, it was created so that you can easily add or remove extra rooms to it depending on your need at the time.”
“Did Gabrielle get Dave’s old room?” Fleur asked me with a sly smile.
“Yes I think she mentioned that that room did used to be Dave’s. Why do you ask?” I replied.
“It was full of Book shelves.” She said with a knowing smile, then she had a laugh.
“What’s funny about book shelves?” I asked her.
“Et, ezn’t ze shelves zat were funny.” Fleur replied, “I was just remembering Dave’s reaction to carrying a sleeping Gabrielle into a bedroom.” She giggled.
“’e was very shy and embarrassed for some reason.” She said with an amused look about her.
“Yeah he almost fled once he put her on the bed and your mum went to remove her shoes.” Bill laughed.
“True, but he did kiss her goodnight on her cheek like a proper gentleman.” Fleur said approvingly.
“He certainly seems like a lovely young man.” I said confidently, “And they do seem to be lovely together.”
“Oui. That they are.” Fleur said with a twinkle in her eye.
I got some toast underway along with some bacon and the smells of breakfast cooking quickly drew the other members of my family down to the kitchen. Where they began to attack their breakfast.
“I’m surprised Ron isn’t here already. What’s keeping him from food?” Ginny asked in between bites of her breakfast.
“I’d say about a dozen Aurors or so and 5 miles of country road.” I said with a laugh.
Everyone was looking at me with the same question on their face. So, I had to explain.
“Harry and Ron joined Dave and his team for their morning exercise session.” I told them trying not to laugh.
“Really?” Ginny exclaimed, “Ron is voluntarily doing exercise?” she asked almost in disbelief.
“Yes, I don’t know whose idea it was, but they seemed very enthusiastic about it when they joined them outside earlier.” I said trying not to smirk too much.
“I can’t wait to see what he looks like when he gets back.” Ginny said with undisguised glee. The rest of the family was also very keen to see what state the boys were going to be in when they got back. Several small wagers were placed as well.
We happily chatted around the breakfast table until we could again hear the sounds of a group of people coming along the lane. Ginny lead the way onto the porch to see what state Ron and Harry were in. But as the group arrived Ron, Harry, Dave and Mick were missing.
“Did you lose them somewhere?” Ginny asked Shelly with an evil glint in her eye.
“No we didn’t lose them, we know where they are.” Shelly replied also with a twinkle in her eye, “Our new additions had some trouble with our normal pace, so Dave and Mick dropped back and stayed with them.”
“There is no point in discouraging them so early.” Shelly said with a smile, “We have been doing daily runs for years, so we will give them some time to catch up.”
With that Shelly and the rest of the first arrivals headed for their tents to get cleaned up. It was about 15 min later when the ‘stragglers’ as they were being called arrived back. Harry and Ron looked very flustered, while Dave and Mick looked almost relaxed as though out for a walk.
“How did they go?” Ginny asked Dave with a smile.
“Not too bad actually.” Dave replied, “It was their first go at this so we didn’t want them to push too hard. Better to build up slowly rather than do an injury trying to keep up.” He replied seriously.
They helped both Harry and Ron over to us on the porch.
“Go and get cleaned up boys then have some water.” Dave said with a gentle expression, “Well done. That was a very good effort for your first attempt. Just be ready for some stiff legs for a bit.” Dave said with a smile.
With that he and Mick headed off on another run.
“Where are they going?” I asked Shelly who was now crossing the yard.
“Well as they had an easier time by running slower than the rest of us, they will need to do an extra 2 miles or they will never hear the end of it from the rest of the team.” She explained with a grin.
“It shouldn’t take them too long though.” She said as she watched the two of them disappear down the lane, “We got some fresh supplies from the village again. Would like to join us outside?” She asked with a smile.
We all got up and continued our breakfast outside while we waited for Dave and Mick to get back. While we were waiting Julian and Apolline emerged from their tent along with Gabrielle.
“Good morning to you both. How did you sleep?” I asked them.
“Extraordinaire” Julian replied with a wide smile, “Ze bed was very comfortable. More so zan I expected for a tent.” He said with a laugh.
“I should hope that they are.” Shelly said with a grin, “The Auror department has spent a lot of time and effort ensuring that the beds are indeed comfortable. As they learnt back in Grandpa’s time that if their Aurors sleep well they work well also.”
“That makes a great deal of sense.” Arthur said with a smile, “I should tell that to Kingsley as I know some of our Aurors grumble about things like that also.”
It was now that Dave and Mick came back from their extended run. They both seemed quite relaxed though they were soaked through with sweat.
“About time you joined us.” Fireball needled them both, “We were wondering if it was worth out trouble to leave you any breakfast at all.” She laughed.
“If you eat my breakfast Fireball I will have you look after our guests tomorrow.” Dave said with his own grin at her.
This seemed to do the trick as she sat back down and let the two of them get to their tents for a wash. I did notice Gabrielle follow Dave rather intently until he disappeared from view.
Harry and Ron were now gingerly making their way across the yard to us after having cleaned themselves up from their morning run.
“Did you have fun this morning?” Ginny asked Harry with an evil glint in her eyes.
“Define fun.” Harry asked as he gingerly lowered himself into a seat.
“Well for me, it was fun being snuggled up in a warm bed until I could smell breakfast cooking.” She answered him, “But your thoughts seem to be different to mine.” She added with another smirk.
“Yes, well better to start with some pain now, instead of when Auror training begins officially.” Harry replied.
“Sensible idea Harry.” Shelly answered him, “Especially if Dave or Mick have any input into the revised training program here.” She grinned.
“Yes Dave hinted yesterday the sort of things he would recommend to Kingsley, Arthur and Gawain to be added to the training program for new recruits if he was asked.” Harry answered while grabbing some of the remaining bacon sandwiches.
“I thought it was a good bet that his suggestions would be implemented, so I decided that I had better start to get used to part of it now instead of later.” He explained.
“Well I can tell you that you are indeed spot on, as Kingsley has asked to see the training schedule used by our Auror academy to see what would be useful here. And I know Dave likes to utilise the physical training parts of it.” Shelly replied.
“Especially when he is likely going to be training people in either manipulating sorcerous energy or sorcery itself.” She answered.
“Why is that?” Ron asked.
“Unlike magic, Sorcery taxes the body as much as the mind.” She explained, “So while after a hard day of using magic only you will feel drained, a hard day of using sorcery you will feel absolutely wrecked. As you will not only be mentally exhausted but physically as well.”
“The upside is that using sorcery keeps you in good shape.” She said with a grin that she shared with Ginny, Hermione and Gabrielle.
The girls all returned her smile and there was an occasional blush from them.
“So having a good base level of fitness is of great benefit if you are going to make regular use of sorcery.” She said with a serious face.
“Don’t try to frighten them away already Shelly.” Dave remarked as he came over to the table.
“They were both very brave to join in with one of your training sessions. You should be encouraging them not trying to scare them off.” He added with a wink at the boys, “Besides for their first time out they did alright.”
They seemed grateful at Dave’s evaluation of their efforts and smiled a thank you to him while attacking their breakfast.
Gabrielle also had a brilliant smile for Dave as he arrived and she happily directed him to the seat that she had kept for him next to her. She was rewarded with a special kiss from him as he sat down.
“As I mentioned to you on the run earlier, you don’t want to push yourself too hard too early with things like the physical training.”
“We are not yet conducting evaluations or testing capabilities. So the best approach is to take it slow. Push yourself certainly, but don’t overdo it. If you wreck your ankle now or blow out your knee by trying to run too fast too early it will only give you more issues later on.”
“If you have a chance I would strongly advise you to get to a good sports store, magical or muggle it doesn’t matter and get yourself some good comfortable running shoes. As I can guarantee that morning runs are going to be on the training schedule one way or another.” Dave said in his professional voice.
“Any other pearls of wisdom, Dave?” Fireball said with wide eyes and an overly innocent look about her face. Dave seemed to suspect her of something as he was giving her a very suspicious look.
“Yes actually. As I’m sure you have found out by now, don’t wear boxers for your morning run.” He said with a smile at Ron who had started to blush.
“They can be rather uncomfortable can’t they Ron.” He chuckled, “Harry lucked out in that his were a bit snugger than yours, but I‘m also willing to bet that he is also still rather tender ‘south of the border’?” He remarked with a smirk on his face.
At this Harry, had also started to blush under Ginny’s rather amusing stare that she had fixed on him.
“Get yourself some good briefs that will give you some comfortable support. It will make your training time that much more comfortable.” He advised.
“Speaking of being comfortable and ‘safe’.” George said as he got up with a large grin on his face, “We understand that you are planning on returning to the scene of your earlier ‘shopping experience’ later today.”
“In order to try and prevent a reoccurrence of the aptly named ‘Paris Incident’ that occurred back in March, the boys and I” he remarked as he indicated, Harry, Ron, Charlie and Bill” thought it might be prudent to equip you with some appropriate… let’s call it ‘protective equipment’.” He said as his grin became large enough to be in danger of splitting his head in two.
George walked over to where Dave was sitting and with a very elaborate flourish presented Dave with a package. For his part Dave had a deeply suspicious look on his face as he accepted the gift from George.
“Should I be opening this under water or inside a shielded compartment?” He asked George still with the suspicious look on his face.
“I can assure you Dave that the contents on that package will not explode or harm you in any way. Its contents is intended only to protect you and keep you safe. As well as to show you our eternal gratitude for all that you have done to entertain us so far in the short time you have been with us.” George remarked with his best ‘innocent’ expression.
“Well go on, open it.” He told Dave, who was still very suspicious of George’s motives.
Dave began to unwrap the package. What he uncovered was a packet of rather nice and plain looking briefs. He had a rather amused smile on his face as he pulled one out to examine it. As he did so Gabrielle started to laugh almost hysterically.
Very surprised by this Dave turned the briefs around to see what caused her odd reaction. When he did so he looked rather confused, but Fleur, Julian, Apolline, Shelly and Jean-Luc all began to laugh nearly as much as Gabrielle. Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ron were also laughing. But as they had been in on the planning I’m sure they did indeed know the meaning of the words. Even if they didn’t understand French.
I couldn’t see what the cause of their laughter was so I got up for a better look. What I saw was that across the bum of each pair of undies was written the following words; ‘Rien à voir ici!’
Those of us who don’t speak French were all very confused as to what it meant. Eventually Apolline regained enough control to tell us that it translated as; ‘Nothing to see here!’
Well this caused the whole table (including Dave) to laugh uproariously. It took quite some time for us to get ourselves under control once more. Poor Gabrielle looked like she was on the verge of doing herself an injury she was laughing so hard. Every time she looked at Dave’s rather amused expression she would lose her control once more.
Eventually we got ourselves under a degree of control once more. Drying her eyes Ginny asked, “Well are you going to show us how they look on?” with an evil glint in her eyes.
Dave blushed to the roots of his hair, while Gabrielle looked rather hopeful.
“Ah… No I don’t think I will show them to you.” Dave replied with a trace of embarrassment.
“Why not?” Ginny asked, pleased with the reaction she had gotten from him, “Fireball was telling us all about your ‘speedos’ that you wear down the beach. They don’t sound much different to these.”
“Apart from the writing that is.” She said with an evil grin.
“This isn’t the beach.” Dave said still blushing.
“Why does that matter?” Ginny asked him still grinning.
“Let me put it this way, how comfortable would you be right now if you suddenly found yourself in only your bra and nickers?” he said with his own evil grin.
“You wouldn’t.” She exclaimed, with her own blush rising.
“Probably not. But isn’t that the same as wearing a bikini at the beach?” Dave replied with his own ‘innocent’ look.
“Ok I see your point.” Ginny replied a little disappointedly, then she grinned and said, “Maybe you can model them for Gabrielle and she can tell us what they looked like.”
At this both Dave and Gabrielle blushed brightly and looked at each other with shy little grins on their faces. This seemed to be what Ginny was after, as at this point she pulled her camera out and snapped several photos before Dave and Gabrielle were aware of her doing so.
She had a very smug little smile on her face after capturing that exchange between the two of them. George too looked very pleased with himself.
Dave got up from his seat and walked over to George with his hand out and a smile on his face.
“Well done mate. Well done.” He said as he shook hands with a grinning George.
The expression on Dave’s face changed ever so slightly and George exclaimed in surprise. The sound of his surprise drew the attention of the entire group. Once everyone saw the cause of George’s surprise there was a fresh outbreak of hysterical laughter.
The cause of everyone’s laughter was that George was now wearing a very elaborate Burlesque outfit. Complete with the ruffled skirt that is cut high in the front, stockings, garter, corset and a small top hat with a bright pink feather in it. What material there was in the outfit was mostly pink but was also trimmed with black. The surprise on George’s face was even funnier than what he was wearing.
Poor Ginny was laughing so hard she could barely hold her camera up. Eventually she managed to get off several sets of photos before George realised what was happening. He then made a break for the house. The high heels he was now wearing were definitely slowing him down though. They were most likely the main reason that Ginny got so many photos of him in that outfit.
She was able to take off after him and easily beat him to the house so as to get photos of him both running from the camera and towards it.
Dave then turned to shake hands with Harry still with a smile on his face. Harry quickly put his hands behind him and backed away, “No need to congratulate me Dave. It was a team effort after all.” He said trying to down play his role.
“Oh yes. I had forgotten about the others.” Dave said looking over to a now rather worried group of young men. “I will need to think of something appropriate for you all.”
Dave then displayed his own predatory grin at the boys. This made them all very concerned, but when he turned to the girls and grinned like a Cheshire cat I think they realised what sort of trouble they were about to be in.
Looking back at the boys Dave raised his hand a snapped his fingers. Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ron suddenly found themselves wearing rather revealing leather outfits.
To say that they were surprised would be an understatement. The girls were also similarly surprised, but unlike the boys they seemed to be appreciating the view before them.
Ron immediately tried to make a break for the house. Only to find that the pants that he was wearing had split down the outside leg and fallen off. Hermione gave her approval of this development with a round of laughter followed by a boisterous question, “What other parts of that costume come off like that?”
“All of it.” Dave answered.
“What!!!” Hermione exclaimed, albeit with a smile on her face. Ginny, Fleur and Cassy also seemed to be smiling wicked little smiles as well.
“Yes all of it comes off rather easily. As they are the type of costume that male strippers wear on stage.” Dave said grinning like a mad man.
When the girls heard this, they took off after ‘their’ boys to see if this was indeed the case.
The boys all took off in different directions. A few of them inadvertently leaving some items of clothing behind.
Appearing very pleased with himself Dave returned to his seat, sat down and laughed till his sides hurt as he watched the girls chasing the boys around the yard.
Gabrielle was clearly enjoying seeing Dave so happy and she moved her chair closer over to him so she could enjoy cuddling him while she finished her breakfast.
In all honesty, I couldn’t tell you how long it took for things to calm down again. I do recall that when Harry finally made it into the house Ginny seemed to be in possession of more of his clothing than he was. Ron must have been in a similar state as he was hiding behind Hermione (who was still laughing enthusiastically) as he made it to the house.
Bill tried for the tent instead of the house but Fleur was also much quicker than the other girls and clearly had him under her control. Charlie however disappeared towards Cassy’s tent, with her in very hot pursuit.
All of the boys seemed to be struggling to keep smiles off their faces when they eventually arrived back at the breakfast table. The girls too seemed to be overly smug about something as well. Even George had a smile on his face when he re-emerged from the house.
All of the boys however did keep their distance from Dave and a wary eye on him as well, until he headed off with the Delacour girls to Paris.
Dave had a smile on his face that just wouldn’t go away, especially when he looked at Gabrielle. He did however direct a questioning / challenging look at George. George for his part happily returned it, as he had to admit it was a rather unique and enjoyable response.
“Now that we have all had our entertainment.” Arthur said still wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, “what is the plan for today Dave?” he asked eager to make a start on better securing our home.
"I think the first order of business will be to get ‘The Doormat’ in place.” Dave answered, “Mick and Jono, I think you two will be the best ones to get that organised. Bill and Arthur can assist you while you get it in place. You can also show them both how it works.” Dave advised.
Mick and Jono both seemed to be happy with that suggestion.
“Once the door mat is in place, Mick and Abby can start work on setting up the different shield layers that we discussed outside the existing wards.” Dave suggested, “It would be a good idea to show Bill how you get them configured. I would also like at a minimum both Bill and Arthur to know how they work and how to reset them if needed.” He said looking to both Mick and Abby for confirmation. They both nodded in approval.
“Jono and Rowdy, I would like you two to work your usual tricks on the main apparition point as well as setting up a new one with the stunner booby trap that we discussed yesterday. Make sure that the Talismans worn by all here will ensure safe passage through it though.” Dave requested.
“Do you want some helpers for that task?” He asked them after seeing some eager faces in the crowd.
“I never turn down willing helpers.” Jono replied with a grin.
“Charlie, George and Ron would you like to assist Jono and Rowdy with that task?” Dave asked them.
“Yeah ok. It sounds like fun.” Ron replied with George and Charlie indicating their agreement as well.
“Excellent, just don’t let those two” he said indicating Jono and Rowdy, “Lead you astray.” Dave said with a chuckle.
“Would we do that?” Jono asked with a look of wide eyed innocence that fooled no one. Dave only smiled back at him by way of a reply.
“Once those two points are setup and operating I would like you to show everyone how they operate. Teach your helpers first and then get them to teach the others.” Dave suggested with a sly look at Charlie, George and Ron.
“Cassy and Goose, you two are our potions and poisons experts…” Dave began to say only to have Fireball loudly remark, “Except when you’re cooking that is.” To some good natured laughter from Dave’s team.
Dave had to fight back a blush that was trying to rise, while giving Fireball and rather strange look.
“Somezing else I should know about?” Gabrielle asked Dave with a smirk on her face.
Dave was about to reply when Shelly chimed in, “Let’s just say dancing isn’t the only civilised skill Dave has trouble with.”
By this point Dave’s family and team members were all displaying wide grins at him.
“Ok, I set the kitchen on fire one time.” Dave replied, “And you lot are never going to let me forget it are you.” He asked a little exasperated.
“Well Dave it wasn’t just the kitchen fire, there were incidents of pots exploding, a cauldron that melted, an oven fire that got way out of hand. And let’s not forget everyone’s favourite the bread that ignited when it was toasted.” Shelley informed the group with a Cheshire grin on her face.
“There’s a reason why we try to never let you cook, and when we have no other choice we make sure that you do it outside.” She said to laughter from Dave’s team.
Gabrielle was having a hard time trying not to laugh at this new information about Dave. She was happily giving him an amused little smile that seemed to only make his blush worse.
“Are there other skills he has trouble with as well?” Ginny asked with her eyes alight with mischief.
“Oh my yes…” Fireball answered, “In fact we keep a record of them on this list here, see.” She remarked as she held up a rather large looking scroll.
As Ginny made to grab it Dave quickly summoned it to himself, only to have Gabrielle quickly relieve him of it saying simply, “Merci.” With a smug little smile.
The expression of worry bordering on outright fear on Dave’s face and the one of satisfaction on Gabrielle’s caused a good deal of laughter at the table. I think Dave was just beginning to understand that Fireball had obviously hoped he would take the list off her. Knowing full well, that Gabrielle wouldn’t be able to pass up the opportunity to look over THAT sort of information.
Dave was a little unsure what to do next, he had just been very cleverly out manoeuvred by his sisters, and was not 100% sure of what was actually written on the scroll that Gabrielle now had firmly within her possession. I was very sure that she wouldn’t be giving it up willingly any time soon either.
“You need to ‘urry up if we are going to get to Paris when the stores will be opening.” Gabrielle advised Dave with a cheeky smile.
“Yes, Dave. Don’t dawdle with the team assignments, WE all have work to do today.” Shelly said needling Dave. There was a sea of smiling faces greeting this statement around the table at this statement.
Dave eventually had to admit defeat on this topic, although I’m sure he was working on a plan of some sort to stop Gabrielle looking at that scroll.
“Ok.” Dave said with a worried sigh, “Cassy and Goose, can you show Molly how to detect and neutralise the usual list of drugs and poisons commonly employed by assassins and bounty hunters.” Dave requested.
“Make sure to show her how our little trick with spiking the water supply works, in case anyone tries to pull that one on her family as well.” Dave suggested.
“Will do skipper.” Goose replied.
"Oh… Also show her how to utilise her Talisman in this as well. As she has had it on long enough now to begin to be able to make use of it.” Dave requested.
“Of course.” Goose replied with a smile.
“Shelly and Fireball will start work on getting the various cameras we discussed installed and wired in. Those of you without an assignment can split yourselves up between them and Cassy and Goose.” Dave suggested.
"Izzy, get yourself organised and ready for Kingsley when he arrives. But until he does help out where you think best.” He requested. Izzy indicated her agreement.
“Any questions?” Dave asked.
Seeing George’s hand in the air he pointed to him and indicated for him to ask his question.
“Are you going to wear your new undies on your shopping expedition?” George asked to the collective laughter of all present.
“Only after I have a curse breaker look over them.” Dave replied with a grin. Seeing Bill offering his services Dave clarified, “One who wasn’t involved with the creation of them that is.” He laughed at Bill’s only slightly disappointed expression.
“Anyone else?” Dave asked.
Getting no other questions he got up from the table, “Ok, let’s get to it. Remember if you need me, just call.” He said in his serious voice. Getting nods of agreement from his team he said, “Alright, I’m off to get changed then I’m out of here.” As he walked over to his tent.
“Good luck.” Fireball called after him with a chuckle, both from her and several of the other team members.
Chapter 30: Confrontations
In a very short amount of time Dave along with Madame Delacour, Fleur and Gabrielle had left through the door in his tent to go to Paris. The rest of us were very quickly engaged in our assigned tasks.At school potions had been far from my favourite subject. But both Goose and Cassy were magnificent with the way that they demonstrated how various poisons could affect the appearance, smell and (in the worst case) taste of different foods.
They showed me along with Ginny, Hermione and Audrey many different ways to detect a whole range of poisons. They also gave us a supply of Bezoars, both to keep at home and some to carry on us at all times.
As we gradually mastered those techniques Goose and Cassy also showed us how to heed the ‘warnings’ given by our Talismans when they encountered poisons. These warnings were usually a feeling of cold coming directly from the Talisman itself or a sense of danger. They were however rather subtle in nature.
Both Goose and Cassy assured us that the longer you wore your Talisman the more attuned to it you will become. The same held true for the Talisman as well, for over time it would get to know us better and become better at passing along it’s warnings to us.
It was now in the proceedings that Goose announced his intention to try and poison us to see if we could detect it. To do this he made several cups of tea and asked us to work out which ones were poisoned and which were safe to drink.
“But don’t you need to poison one of them first?” Ginny asked him.
“I already have.” Goose replied with a smile, “Several of them in fact.”
“How?” she asked, “I didn’t see you do anything to them.” She said confused.
“I know.” Was all that Goose would say with a mysterious smile on his face.
Seeing that more questions were forth coming he expanded on that statement, “It is something that we will be showing you all later on.” He said with a little mysterious smile.
He indicated that he wished us to try to detect the poisoned cup of tea so we turned our focus to that task. Even though I didn’t know what poison had been placed into the cups of tea in front of me I found it a very enjoyable task to try and work out which one it was.
After we had all very carefully examined the cups in front of us we each made our choices as to what we believed was the poisoned one. Oddly enough we all agreed on our selection with the exception of one cup. I was sure it was poisoned but the others didn’t agree with me.
In the end we found out that all the cups of tea had been poisoned. But the amounts of poison in them varied. The cup we all thought wasn’t poisoned had only a trace amount of poison in it. While the cup I thought was poisoned and the others didn’t had enough to make you ill, but not enough to kill you.
When a non-poisoned cup of tea was placed on table alongside the others the difference could be noticed. But it was subtle very subtle. It was a great lesson we were all a little shocked at the result but we all agreed that it was an enjoyable lesson also.
I was beginning to think about starting to get lunch organised when our fireplace flared up with green flame and Andromeda Tonks stepped out with little Teddy Lupin.
Cassy and Goose were very quick to position themselves between Andromeda and myself. This caused a moment of unease for Andromeda until I called to both Cassy and Goose and told them that our visitor was one of my oldest and dearest friends. This caused them to relax until they found out the name of my visitor. Then they were both extremely watchful. They never showed any hostility or rudeness, but they were very vigilant and very much there.
I could see very quickly that an important conversation was going to need to take place in the immediate future to explain and try to resolve this situation. In the meantime, the only thing I could do was to greet my old friend as warmly as I could while I brought her up to speed on recent happenings.
“Andromeda, how wonderful to see you.” I remarked with my biggest smile as I quickly crossed to enfold her in one of my hugs. She warmly returned my hug to me but it was very clear also that she had great many questions about my house guests.
“Molly, thank you for that very warm welcome.” Andromeda smiled at me, “I’m sorry for the unannounced visit but I found myself having a lonely and rather rough morning at home today. I found myself missing very much recently departed family members.” She said with some unshed tears in her eyes.
“There is no need for you of all people to apologise for an unannounced visit.” I told her, “You know that you are always welcome here for any reason.”
“Thank you, Molly.” She replied with genuine warmth. “You seem to have a number of rather unusual and formidable looking house guests with you.” She asked showing her trade mark curiosity.
“Yes, I do indeed.” I replied with a smile, “We have had some very exciting times here recently and some even more exciting discoveries.”
“It is a long story, which I will do my best to shorten for you. These two people here” I said indicating Cassy and Goose, “Are Aurors from the Australasian Auror Service.”
This caused Andromeda’s eyes to widen in surprise. But the spark of curiosity only got brighter.
“I would like to introduce you to Auror Ryan Colbert, commonly called Goose and Auror Cassandra Blanks, who is commonly called Cassy.”
“Cassy and Goose, I would like to introduce you to Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin.” I said with a small amount of trepidation I must admit.
To their credit neither of them reacted to Andromeda’s family name but I did notice it register in their eyes. They both politely (but correctly) greeted Andromeda.
“Could one of you please go and ask Arthur and Harry to join us? Along with Shelly and Fireball?” I asked them with my unspoken question in my eyes.
“Certainly. I’ll go.” Goose replied and quickly left the room with a glance at Cassy. With his departure, Cassy repositioned herself to become less noticeable (to Andromeda) while still being able to see all that was going on.
I called the other ladies from the kitchen over to greet my guest.
“You remember my little Ginny?” I asked Andromeda as I introduced her.
“Of course, I do. She just gets lovelier each time I see her.” Andromeda smiled as she warmly embraced Ginny.
“This lovely young lady is Hermione Granger, she is a friend of Harry’s and Ron’s girlfriend.” I explained as I introduced her.
“Yes, I remember her from the funeral for Dora and Remus.” Andromeda said with a small smile, “You were doing a wonderful job of keeping Ron from falling to bits.”
Hermione smiled her thanks at this.
“And this lovely young lady is Audrey, Percy’s Fiancée.” I said with a broad smile.
Andromeda’s face lit up at this news and she very warmly embraced Audrey, “It is lovely to meet you my dear.” She said with a lovely smile.
“When did this happen.” She asked Audrey.
“Percy proposed to me on New Years Eve, while we were in France with Dave’s team.” She said with a radiant smile.
“That sounds lovely my dear.” Andromeda said with a twinkle in her eye, “Who is this Dave?” She asked next.
“My Nephew.” I replied, partly to see the reaction from Andromeda and partly to get her full attention so I could explain the full story. It worked.
“Your nephew?” Andromeda asked, “I thought that I knew all of your family.”
“So, did I.” I answered.
“You’re carrying a story here Molly.” She chided me, “Out with it.”
This was when Arthur, Harry, Shelly and Fireball all arrived. Arthur and Harry were quickly and warmly greeted by Andromeda. After being greeted by her Harry went straight to Teddy and picked him up for a cuddle leaving Andromeda’s hands free.
When Andromeda laid eyes on Fireball though I could instantly see that she had registered the similarities with my little Ginny. The look she directed to me would have made me laugh under normal circumstances.
“Andromeda, I would like to introduce to you Auror Michelle Webb (she prefers to be called Shelly) and Auror Jasper Webb also known as Fireball. They are my nieces.” I said with a shy little smile.
Andromeda was now looking very surprised but also intrigued.
“Shelly and Fireball, I would like to introduce you to Andromeda Tonks. One of my oldest friends.” I said putting a slight stress on the last word. Both Shelly and Fireball seemed to have caught my meaning. As they politely (but also correctly) greeted Andromeda.
“Shelly, do you think you could call your parents and ask them to come over. As I would like to introduce them as well, and I think that they would greatly benefit from a chat with Andromeda also.” I requested her.
“Of cause Aunty.” Shelly replied taking out her Mirror Phone as she stepped outside to make the call.
“Which one is it?” Andromeda asked me.
“I’ll let you see if you can work it out.” I said with a smirk.
“This is all rather exciting.” Andromeda said cheerfully, “I think I need a cup of tea to calm my nerves.” She remarked as she headed for the cups that we were using earlier.
“No!!!” I called out to her, “Not those, they are poisoned.” I said a little more forcefully than I intended.
Andromeda stopped in her tracks and looked at me with a confused look and asked, “Why are they poisoned?”
“Because Cassy and Goose have been teaching us how to detect poisons that may be placed into our food and drinks. We were using those cups of tea to practice with.” I explained.
“Why would you need to know how to detect poisons in your food and drink?” she asked me.
“Because there is a price on my head.” I told her in a small voice.
“WHAT!!!” She almost exploded, “How did this happen.” She almost demanded.
“Rodolphus Lestrange! He has put out a contract worth 5 Million Galleons on me. Because I killed his wife during the Battle at Hogwarts.” I explained to her.
“I see.” She replied with an icy determination creeping into her voice. “Is that the reason for all these Aurors being here?” She asked.
“Only partly.” I answered.
Seeing the question in her eyes I launched into an explanation of what had happened over the last few days. How we had reached out to Kingsley for help in trying to locate Hermione’s parents, then meeting Chief Williams and Dave.
Learning about their activities over here during the recent war and how Percy had been involved with them and how he had met Audrey. I also explained about how we had learnt about the ambush that was setup here along with how we dealt with it. I also told her about Gabrielle getting injured and how she was able to be healed.
This led me to explain about what happened to Dave after that and how his collapse had led to the arrival of his parents and the revelation that one of his parents was my sibling.
Andromeda took all of this in very calmly. But I could see her mind working furiously behind her eyes. It was a great deal to take in. Eventually she asked, “Who are the parents of this Dave and Shelly and Fireball?”
“We are.”
Came a voice from behind us. Both of us turned around to see the new arrivals. Ivan and Sandra were standing calmly in kitchen looking with curiosity at my visitor.
Andromeda however looked anything but calm. She was staring wide eyed at Sandra as she drank in the features of her face.
“Oh…” was all Andromeda could manage while her thoughts were rampaging like a Hippogriff in heat.
After a few moments, Andromeda began to look between Sandra and Me, her face full of confusion.
“Perhaps we should go into the lounge and sit down?” I suggested, trying to get Andromeda into a chair before she fell over.
“That sounds like a good idea.” Sandra answered as she and Arthur helped direct Andromeda into a suitable chair in the lounge.
Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Audrey made to follow but Arthur spoke up saying, “Harry, perhaps you and the girls can entertain Teddy outside for a time? Just while we discuss a few things in here privately?” he requested.
Looking a little disappointed at missing out on the conversation Harry replied, “Oh… Ok.” Before Ginny looped her arm through his and they headed outside followed by Hermione and Audrey.
Meanwhile Shelly, Fireball, Cassy and Goose had stationed themselves around the lounge room trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. It was a slightly unnerving experience to say the least.
“I think you lot can head back to your assigned duties as well.” Ivan advised them. When no one moved he added, “That wasn’t a request.” In a sterner tone of voice.
Shelly and Fireball moved off with a glance at Cassy and Goose that I’m sure wasn’t intended to be seen.
“Cassy, Goose, you are free to go back to your other duties as well.” Ivan told them.
“Our assigned duties were to teach Molly here all about poisons.” Cassy replied with a direct look at Ivan.
“I see. Well then you can go and assist Shelly and Fireball with the rigging of the surveillance cameras.” He countered. Again, neither of them made to move.
“That is an order Auror Blanks and Auror Colbert.” Ivan remarked in his official voice.
Both Cassy and Goose snapped to attention and responded “Minister!” as they turned on their heels and marched out of the room. Their every move speaking louder than words that they disapproved of Ivan’s decision.
“Minister?” Andromeda enquired.
“Andromeda, I would like to introduce you to my older sister, Dr Sandra Mary Webb and her husband the Australian Minister of Magic Ivan Septimus Webb.” I said with a smile.
“Sandra, Ivan I would like to introduce to you one of my oldest friends Andromeda Tonks.” I said with a small amount of trepidation.
Just like their Aurors, neither Sandra nor Ivan reacted visibly to the name of Tonks. I could only assume that Shelly had briefed them on who they were about to meet. They did however politely greet Andromeda. While it was a warmer greeting that their Aurors had delivered it certainly didn’t have the warmth I had hoped for. I consoled myself with the thought that they were merely being cautious knowing the conversation that was to come.
I think their reserved greeting was noticed by Andromeda as well. As while her curiosity was still high I could also sense a certain amount of defensiveness in her posture as well.
“I’m beginning to think that there is more to this private chat than just introducing family members.” Andromeda enquired.
“Yes. You are correct Andromeda there is.” I answered with a little concern showing.
“Has this got anything to do with Dora not showing up to a meet that was organised by Alistair?” She asked a little sternly with a direct look at Sandra and Ivan.
“It certainly revolves around a meeting organised by Alistair Moody before his death.” Ivan replied, “It specifically relates to the behaviour of Nymphadora Tonks during that meeting.”
“As her conduct during the meeting lead to its location being betrayed to a group of Death Eaters.” Ivan explained, while Andromeda was giving him a disbelieving stare.
“She would never.” Andromeda protested, before Ivan held up his hand asking for quiet so he could finish.
“We have a recording of the meeting.” Ivan informed her, “You can hear Nymphadora knock over a collection of metal pipes. Then assure our Auror that there is no one around who could have heard the noise. She distracted him so that the Death Eaters could Apparate in behind him and attack him by surprise.” Ivan said in a calm but measured voice.
“Once the Death Eaters arrive you can hear Nymphadora Apparate away as they launch their attack on our Auror. Their attack resulted in the rather brutal death of one of our finest Aurors.” Ivan explained in a voice thick with emotion.
“Was this Auror known to you?” Andromeda asked.
“He was my eldest son.” Sandra replied while staring into Andromeda’s eyes. Watching her intently.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Andromeda replied, “But my Dora would never betray and abandon someone like that. There must be some mistake.” She stated somewhat defiantly.
“Mad Eye ensured that Senior Auror Webb would be able to recognise both himself and his designated alternate contact. He was also not the sort to casually give away recognition codes either.” Ivan fired back.
“So, I find it very difficult to believe that his information would lead my son to mistake his contact for the meeting.” He stated.
The two of them locked eyes with each other and I could see that neither one of them was going to back down. I was wondering how to get them both through this impasse when Arthur spoke.
“Would it be possible to hear the recording of the meeting?” He asked rather tentatively, “Only the start of the meeting, up until the Death Eaters arrive.” He added when he saw the expressions on Ivan and Sandra.
Ivan quickly recovered from his momentary shock and brought out his Mirror Phone. Placing it on the coffee table he tapped a few of the squares that were on the screen. After a few moments, we heard the recording start to play.
A voice introduced itself as Senior Auror James Webb and stated the date and time (5pm 31st July 1998). Along with the purpose of the recording, which was to serve as a backup to his own recollection for later reports. The voice of Senior Auror James Webb then described where the meeting was to take place (an empty warehouse in London).
The voice then said that the intended contact for the meeting was one Nymphadora Tonks, who was an Auror in the employ of the British Ministry of Magic.
Looking down at the Mirror Phone on the table I could see the date and time displayed on the recording. I noticed that it seemed to jump in places. When I asked Ivan about this he advised that the recording was sound activated so it would only actively record when there was sound of some sort.
At 5:20pm by the time shown on the display Senior Auror James Webb mentions that the contact is late. The meeting was supposed to have been at 5:15pm. He also says that he is sending an update in as to the no show of the contact at the agreed upon time.
When the time on the display showed 5:30pm footsteps could be heard getting closer. The footsteps eventually stopped and then another set of footsteps could be heard. This second set must have been Senior Auror Webb stepping out from where he had concealed himself.
“That’s a rather stylish coat for a place like this.” Spoke the voice of Senior Auror Webb, “What is it?”
“It’s a Driza-Bone.” A female voice replied that I could have sworn was Tonk’s. I looked to Andromeda and I could see her face go pale as she obviously recognised the voice as well.
“Is it warm enough?” Senior Auror James Webb asked.
“Yes, it is wool lined you see.” Was the reply from Nymphadora’s voice?
Andromeda’s face was still rather pale and she seemed to have been mouthing the words of that rather odd conversation. Both Ivan and Sandra were watching her very closely so I was very sure that they would have caught this behaviour as well.
It was at this point that Ivan leaned over and paused the recording, “How did you know what they were going to say?” He asked as he stared at Andromeda with an intensity that bordered on frightening.
Andromeda looked at him a little startled, “Pardon?” She asked.
“I asked you how you knew what they were going to be saying on the recording.” He asked again, “Before you deny it, I was watching you and I can lip read very well.”
This statement caused Andromeda to go very pale, although she managed to hold Ivan’s stare, “Dora mentioned those phrases to me.” Andromeda eventually replied.
“She was saying how she could never understand how Mad Eye came up with his recognition codes. As they were usually rather odd.”
“She felt that these latest ones were some of his strangest yet.” She replied.
“So because they were odd she felt that she could just tell anyone about them?” Ivan asked with a small amount of heat coming into his voice.
“I’m not just anyone.” Andromeda retorted, “I’m her mother!”
“So?” Ivan asked a little stiffly, “Does that give you the right to classified information? Or information that could potentially compromise the safety or the life of an Auror?”
“Who did you tell about the codes?” He asked.
“I didn’t tell anyone about them.” Andromeda replied.
“So it was your daughter then on that recording who is responsible for the events that lead to the death of my son.” Ivan said with the sort of finality reserved for a judicial judgement.
“Never!” Andromeda replied heatedly, “My Dora wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“Really?” Ivan replied disbelievingly, “You have just admitted she was careless to the point of negligence with recognition codes.”
“What else was she careless with?” He asked almost insultingly.
“How dare you.” Andromeda shot back with a flush rising on her cheeks.
“How dare I?” Ivan exclaimed, “How dare I, what? Follow the evidence? Some of which you have just provided.” He replied with an almost frightening icy calm.
“From where I’m sitting the arrest warrant we have for her is perfectly justified.” Ivan replied, “With your new information I would be dragging her in for questioning myself if she wasn’t already dead.” He said with conviction.
“Arrest warrant?” Andromeda also cried, “You want to arrest my Dora?”
“We wanted to question her.” Ivan answered, “If arresting her was necessary then yes we would have done that also. Then thrown her in the deepest darkest hole we could have found if she was found guilty and convicted.”
Andromeda looked into Ivan’s eyes and could read the truth of that statement in them. She could also read his conviction to find those responsible for the death of his son. It was this I think that started to make her uncomfortable. That and the fact that all the currently available evidence pointed directly at her daughter.
I didn’t know what to do or say. I had hoped that getting her to talk to my sister and brother-in-law would have resolved or explained this situation somehow. Worry began to grip my heart.
“Is the time on that recording accurate?” Arthur asked in an almost distracted manner.
“Excuse me?” Ivan asked as he had been so focused on Andromeda he had almost forgotten about the others in the room.
“The clock that is displaying on that recording.” Arthur questioned as he pointed to the mirror phone, “How accurate is it?”
“Extremely.” Ivan replied, “It synchronises with those ‘atomic clocks’ that the muggles have. So it always reports the local time as accurately as possible.” He explained.
“I see…” Arthur replied still with a very distracted air about him.
He seemed to have caught Ivan’s attention though. As Ivan was now focused on Arthur with his own questions showing on his face.
“Why do you ask Arthur?” He enquired.
I don’t know if Arthur didn’t hear him or was deliberately ignoring him. Whatever the reason for it he was intent on following the train of thought in his head.
“Did you take note of the date mentioned Molly?” He asked me.
“Yes I did. The voice in the recording said it was the 31st of July 1997.” I said just as the significance of that date was brought to my mind, “That’s Harry’s birthday.” I exclaimed.
“His 17th Birthday.” I said with a broad smile on my face, “The PARTY!!!” I almost yelled.
“The party?” Ivan asked confused.
“Yes Harry’s 17th Birthday Party.” I told Ivan with a large smile on my face. I could see that it was confusing and slightly angering both him and Sandra but the full implications had just dawned on me.
“We had a Party for Harry on his 17th Birthday here at the Burrow.” I told them both happily, “Remus and Tonks were invited guests. They were here at the Party.” I explained.
“Here?” Ivan said with a degree of scepticism in his voice.
“Yes.” Arthur answered, “There were some of the earliest guests to arrive.” He said happily.
Then his face darkened somewhat, “But they had to leave when Minister Rufus Scrimgeour arrived.” He said a little sadly.
“Why did they have to leave?” Ivan asked, “What time did they leave?”
“They had to leave as Remus Lupin was a werewolf.” I explained, “And the ministry had recently drafted some very nasty anti werewolf legislation.”
“Tonks and Remus didn’t want to give the minister any reason to arrest him. So they left shortly before he arrived, just before dinner.”
“What time was dinner?” Sandra asked.
“I can’t remember, but it was written on the invitations we gave out.” I said distractedly, “But I know who kept a copy of the invitation.” I said very happily as I headed for the door.
“GINNY!!!” I yelled into the yard.
“Yes mum?” Came the reply a little quicker than it normally did. As Ginny stepped into the kitchen doorway.
“You were listening weren’t you?” I chided her. The unnatural blankness of her face was enough to give her away. I kept my eyes locked on her until a blush began to rise in her cheeks.
“Who else was listening with you?” Sandra asked with the faintest ghost of a knowing smirk on her face.
Guiltily Fireball and Cassy also came into view as well.
“We will talk about this later ladies.” Sandra said reprovingly.
“If you were listening, I’m sure you will know what we are looking for?” I asked Ginny.
“Yes mum.” She replied without a trace of guilt, “And yes I did keep a copy of the invitation and I know where it is.” She answered.
“Go and fetch it down for us will you.” I asked her.
“Yes mum” she answered as she headed for the stairs.
“Jasper, can you go with her please.” Sandra asked.
“Whatever for?” I asked.
“That invitation is potentially a vital piece of evidence that could either further implicate Nymphadora or potentially form the basis of a very solid alibi.” Sandra explained, “Therefore it needs to be collected correctly for it to be of any legal use.”
“I see.” I answered surprised, “Then by all means please follow Ginny my dear.” I instructed Fireball who quickly took off after Ginny.
The two girls took off up the stairs together. They were back in the lounge shortly after with the invitation. Jasper had a strange little smile about her face while Ginny had a slight blush on her cheeks.
Jasper quickly crossed the lounge and presented the invitation to Ivan and Sandra. They both glanced at the invitation and read the time listed on it for dinner.
It said Dinner 6pm, 31st July 1997 at the Burrow.
“It would seem that Nymphadora’s alibi checks out.” He said with a note of frustration in his voice, as he handed the invitation to Sandra.
“So it does.” She answered a little disappointedly as well.
“Does this mean she is no longer ‘wanted for questioning’?” Andromeda asked almost hopefully.
“If she was still alive we would most definitely still want to talk to her.” Ivan replied, “Especially about disclosing recognition codes.”
“But Nymphadora Tonks is no longer one of the prime suspects.” Ivan answered.
“Why do you insist on calling her Nymphadora?” Ginny asked.
“That’s her name isn’t it?” Ivan asked with a note of confusion.
“It’s her birth name yes. But she always hated it.” Ginny explained with a slightly guilty look at Andromeda, “She much preferred Tonks, or at the very least Dora.”
“Are you sure?” Ivan asked with the look of one back on the hunt. I got the impression that the answer was very important to him.
“Very sure.” Ginny replied, “About the only person I ever remember calling her Nymphadora was Mad Eye.” She explained.
Ivan and Sandra shared a look between them that seemed to be very significant.
“What is it?” I asked the two of them.
Instead of answering Ivan reached forward and touch his mirror phone again. The recording began to play again.
“Auror Tonks?” We heard the voice of Senior Auror Webb ask.
“Yes.” The female voice replied, “But YOU can call me Nymphadora.” It said in a tone that was meant to be suggestive but just came across as wrong.
“Nymphadora.” Senior Auror Webb replied politely.
“It’s NYMPH-A-DORA.” The female voice replied stressing the pronunciation of her hated name.
Ivan again paused the recording here, and looked up at the group of people gathered in the longe.
“There is no way that is Tonks.” Ginny said in a very firm voice, “She would never ask someone to call her by her first name like that. Not even Remus.”
“Are you sure of that?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. Very sure.” Ginny replied.
“I would agree with Ginny on that also.” Andromeda replied as well.
“Me too” Arthur said firmly.
“So would I.” I answered.
“Damit.” Ivan exclaimed a little too loudly as he caused everyone to jump, “We are back to square one on this.”
“As one of our main suspects now has a very solid alibi and there are now linguistic discrepancies as well.” He said showing his frustrations.
“Pardon me” Andromeda said almost tentatively, “Can you replay the part where she says her name again?”
“Certainly I can.” Ivan replied as he quickly got the recording back to that part and played it again. This time he was watching Andromeda’s face very closely.
“There is something about the way that she pronounced Nymphadora that is familiar to me.” Andromeda remarked, “But it escapes me just now.”
“Could you play it again please?” She asked.
Ivan quickly replayed it for her.
“It is on the tip of my tongue but I can’t place it.” She said eventually, “I’ll need to have a think on it.” She sad as the recording continued to play in the background forgotten.
Suddenly she sat upright and said, “Can you play that last part again?” with something close to recognition in her eyes.
His own eyes full of curiosity Ivan quickly replayed the last part of the recording.
“So you’re the ‘Skippy’, then are you?” The female voice could be heard to say.
“I’m Australian yes. Senior Auror James Webb.” The male voice replied.
Ivan again paused the recording here as Andromeda had gone pale and sat back in her seat.
“You recognised something didn’t you?” He asked her.
“Yes. Yes I did.” She answered.
“What was it?” He asked full of curiosity.
“That term she used.” Andromeda said thoughtfully, “I have heard it before. With almost the same level of contempt in it as well.” She said as she looked up at Ivan and Sandra with sad eyes.
“I heard it on the night Dora was talking about that particular recognition code that Mad Eye had taught her.” She said in a small voice.
“Who else was there that night?” Ivan asked with his intense expression returning.
“Muriel Prewett.” She answered.
At the mention of that name Sandra was on her feet and her eyes were full of anger. You could feel it radiating off her as she reached for her magical energies. It was a rather frightening experience.
As fast as she was though, Ivan was faster. He was also able to quickly restrain her and bring her back to him. He put his arms around her and looked directly in her eyes.
“That is not the way.” He said giving her a direct look that seemed to be conveying more meaning that his words could.
“I’m going to go and kill that sodden old cow if it is the last thing I do.” Sandra hissed full of fury, “She caused me to be thrown out of my family. She betrayed me along with my brothers to the Death Eaters.”
“And now she is the one responsible for Jimmy’s betrayal and ultimately his death.”
“She may be responsible for all of that.” Ivan said in a calm voice, “But there is one thing she isn’t and hopefully never will be responsible for.” He told her.
“What would that be?” Sandra snapped at him while still struggling to free herself.
“The woman I love, committing murder.” Ivan replied in a very tender voice.
This seemed to take a lot of the heat and anger out of Sandra. She appeared to calm down, and stopped struggling against her husband.
“What have we always taught our children?” Ivan asked her.
“Embrace your emotions, but don’t let them rule you.” She responded looking at her shoes.
With a very tender expression on his face Ivan reached out and lifted Sandra’s chin until she was looking in his eyes. He then smiled at her, “I seem to recall you teaching that lesson to all of our children. Especially the ones who became Aurors.” He said with a smile.
She smiled back at him and then drew him to her and they both embraced one another for a few moments.
“I promise you my love. If Muriel is involved in Jimmy’s death in ANY way. We will get her for it.” Ivan said with his Iron clad conviction once more on display, “But it WILL be done correctly and fully within the law.” He said very firmly.
“Do I make myself clear?” He said in a firm voice, but with a smile playing about his face.
“Yes dear.” Sandra said once more embracing her husband, “Thank you.” She said as she reached up and kissed him.
After a few moments they finished their kiss and Ivan relaxed his arms from around Sandra.
“I’m sorry about that.” Sandra replied clearly embarrassed with herself.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I told her, “I felt like doing that myself to her just now.” I remarked with a shy smile, as I gave her an embrace of my own.
“I would also like to apologise to you as well Andromeda for suspecting your daughter of being involved in Jimmy’s death.” Sandra said sincerely to Andromeda.
“We both would.” Ivan added.
“I must admit, it was a bit of a shock to me. But given the evidence you had access to I could understand your conclusions.” She replied.
“But witnessing what I just saw, I’m also very sure that if you had managed to capture her you would have done right by her.”
“For that I am grateful.” She said with genuine warmth, “I’m even more grateful that you do indeed follow the evidence. Especially when it clears my Dora.” She said with a smile.
“Indeed.” Ivan said with a small smile about his face.
“I should also apologise for the rather cool greeting we gave you earlier as well.” Ivan offered, “I was finding it difficult to keep my own emotions under control at the time.” He explained.
“I can well imagine.” Andromeda answered just as Sandra stepped forward and engulfed her in a hug that Andromeda seemed to enjoy. Ivan also quickly joined in as well.
“Who would be interested in a cup of tea and some lunch?” I asked.
“Me.” Ivan replied with a smile, “Just as long as you are not planning on serving any of those poisoned cups of tea over there.” He said giving me a cheeky smile.
“It depends on how well you are behaving dear.” Sandra replied with a wink as she followed me into the kitchen as we got things organised for lunch. After getting rid of the poisoned cups of tea that is.
Lunch itself started out a little awkward as Dave’s team had by now learnt who Andromeda was. It became more enjoyable though once we explained to Dave’s team and Shelly the discovery we made about Tonks. We showed them all the birthday invitation for Harry and told them how Remus and Tonks left just before dinner. They were also told about how Tonks hated her first name and protested each time someone used it. When added together they all seemed to agree that it removed Tonks from the group of prime suspects.
They were however extremely disappointed in Tonks for being careless with the recognition codes that were to be used for the meeting.
Likewise they were very keen to try and confirm the recent suspicions around the potential involvement of my Great Aunt Muriel. You could almost see their minds working on the problem.
Kingsley joined us part way through lunch, he was keen to start work on getting all of his ‘concerns’ listed on the law scroll. Thus he didn’t stay with us for long, for as soon as he had quickly eaten a sandwich or two he disappeared with Izzy into her tent to begin working on the scroll.
Andromeda, Sandra and I stayed at the table and enjoyed a good chat about our families while we watched the goings on around us. We were still talking when Dave and the Delacour girls returned with their own stories and a discovery from their trip to Paris.
Chapter 31: Fleur's Introduction.
Author's Notes:
I Do hope that you are all still enjoying the story, thankyou for reading.
I would like to start out by saying it is a pleasure and a real honour to help in the creation of this Journal. While I greatly enjoyed taking part in the creation of the Journals for Harry & Ginny, as well as for Ron & Hermione this Journal is special to me in a way that the others just couldn’t be.
When Molly and Sandra approached me to take part I was overjoyed to assist. When they explained to me which ‘chapters’ that they wished me to write about I couldn’t help but smile.
Paris it would seem holds a special place in Dave’s memory for many different reasons. One of them you will have already read about, if you are following this journal sequentially. One of the other reasons I will be telling you about shortly.
Recalling the telling of the original Paris incident still brings a smile to my face as well as that of my Bill. I know Gabrielle never misses a chance to hear it retold either. Although I’m sure she gets more enjoyment out of the re-enactments of the incident itself. If the family rumours are to be believed. I’m hoping that my telling of the Paris incident that I got to witness will bring about as many smiles as the original. While it was a very different type of incident it was very memorable in its own special way.
Reading over the (at the time) drafts of the earlier chapters to refresh my memory of the course of events was a very enjoyable experience. While some of the events were heart breaking at the time (and still bring a tear to my eyes even now) I can now see how they helped forge a relationship between families that we are now all thoroughly enjoying. As well as extremely grateful for in many different and unexpected ways.
It also reminded me just how quickly the initial relationship between Gabrielle and Dave grew and blossomed. Although, if she hadn’t been the one to take the first overt steps, I’m positive that Dave would still be trying to figure out if she really did indeed like him or not. While we have all grown to love him deeply over the years he truly is ‘thick as two planks’ about women (as Fireball puts it) in many ways. But that is also part of his charm.
Many people have asked me for my opinion on the beginnings of the relationship between Dave and Gabrielle, and why I seemed to be so approving of it so quickly. All I can say is that sometimes when you see something that is ‘just right’ you can recognise it as being ‘just right’ very quickly. What takes much longer is the working out of WHY it is so completely ‘just right’.
That was the case with Dave and Gabrielle, they were just so ‘right’ for one another. That isn’t to say that they didn’t have arguments and their share of ups and downs like other couples do. It’s just that their responses to those incidents was just ‘different’. Much like Dave himself.
It took a while to work out precisely why they were so right for each other. But once we had figured it out, we all whole heartedly agreed with it. As you read through this journal I’m sure you will understand the why as well.
Over the years I haven’t seen anything from either one of them to indicate that my initial feelings about them weren’t correct. It’s true that Dave did have some incidents with certain members of my family when he met them. But even those incidents only served to prove long held suspicions on the family members involved, rather than cast suspicions on Dave. Although I must say his attempt to cook a special breakfast for Gabrielle on her birthday one year, did only serve to re-enforce the family rule about not letting Dave be alone in a kitchen if he is wanting to cook something.
Sorry Dave, but that rule exists for a very valid reason. It is so very true and necessary. After seeing the kitchen at Emma’s parents place we all understood the reasoning for it. Along with the meaning of their nickname for you of ‘Shadow’.
The path to a solid long term relationship is different for us all. Ginny and Harry had a slow and bumpy road to the start of their ‘official’ relationship. While Ron and Hermione had a slow burn on their relationship for several years. Even Bill and I had an ‘odd’ start to our relationship. But however a relationship starts, and regardless of how fast or slow it grows, for it to last it takes many different things. The foremost of which are, Trust, Respect, Genuine Love and Communication. All of the long lasting relationships that I have seen firsthand have had all of those elements in equal measure. Dave and Gabrielle being no exception.
When I began to understand (and duplicate) how Dave and his sisters could ‘see’ magical energy, it also only served to re-enforce my initial belief. I will admit it is very annoying not to be able to see your own ‘bond’ with someone. But being able to see the bonds of others around me was truly magical in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
When I first looked at the bonds of my parents and of Bill’s parents I understood more clearly Dave’s stance on the power of love. When I viewed the bond between Dave and Gabrielle I could only smile and wipe away a few tears of joy. This might have been just after an extremely rough and harrowing episode in their relationship. But you would not have known it from viewing their bond. Similarly, Harry & Ginny and Ron & Hermione all have bonds between them that while they exist for very different reasons all serve as examples of what should be aimed for in a relationship. I’m told that the bond that I share with Bill is very similar as well.
While Dave’s relationship with Gabrielle was the one that my family focused on the most (for obvious reasons), it was his relationship with Harry that the greater wizarding community has had the greater interest in. In many ways those two are very much alike, but for every similarity there are also significant differences as well. Personally, I’m very sure that this is the result of their very different up bringing’s.
Harry was raised in a very isolating environment and as a result he learnt to keep his thoughts to himself and to only rely on himself. This was the case until he went to Hogwarts and met Ron and Hermione. While he eventually came to rely on them as well his first instinct is always to shoulder the burden alone.
Dave on the other hand was raised in a very large and loving family who all supported each other. True he faced (and still faces) significant hostility and opposition from those outside of his family. This hostility isn’t just from individuals, in fact a few national governments still think he should be killed on sight, or used for experiments only. But even with all of that his first instinct is to reach out to and utilise those around him before he tries to fully shoulder a burden alone.
Harry will brood on a problem alone to the exclusion of others, while Dave almost seems to revel in discussing problems with others. He gets some sort of obscure enjoyment out of ‘constructive arguments’ as he calls them. When those two began to combine their approaches, and views some real magic occurred.
I believe Dave ‘forced’ Harry to be more accepting of others that he is working with and to embrace and utilise their different viewpoints and skills. While Harry got Dave to be more accepting of his own abilities and to ‘trust himself’ more than he did previously.
The sight of those two working together always brings a smile to my face. They both have had many ‘assistants’ or ‘partners’ over the years. But I think they still prefer to argue their thoughts with each other. The only possible exception being when Ron or one of Dave’s sisters is available.
They have both pushed through ideas with Kingsley as well as the ministers of magic from other European countries, as well as a few with countries from Dave’s side of the world. On the whole these ideas have proved to be beneficial to the wizarding world at large. Their most recent collaboration has resulted in a global organisation that shows real promise and has gotten off to a flying start. But those stories are for another day.
These next few chapters are around the start of some ‘official’ relationships that had far reaching consequences. Even if they did begin humbly.
I do hope that you enjoy my telling of them as much as I enjoyed watching them unfold.
Fleur Weasley.
P.S. I don’t think I ever got around to thanking you Dave for that ‘leather outfit’ you created for my Bill. It was certainly a very enjoyable experience seeing him in it that first time. It is still an enjoyable experience as he still fits in it to this day.
Chapter 32: Rendezvous in Paris (Fleur’s P.O.V.)
After a very entertaining morning in which we got to witness George’s ‘gift’ to Dave, along with Dave’s reply we made ready to make our way to Paris. For a shopping trip that I was honestly rather looking forward to. Gabrielle for her part was almost dancing around the lounge area of Dave’s tent while we waited for him to get changed.It wasn’t a long wait for him, but it was very entertaining to watch Gabrielle. When Dave emerged in jeans, a casual white shirt and boots her eyes lit up in approval. She quickly crossed to him and gave him a full kiss and a hug. They were both smiling with genuine warmth when they broke their kiss.
“Are you all ready?” Dave asked us.
“Oui.” Was the replied from three rather excited ladies who were eager to do some shopping.
“Ok then.” Dave replied with a smile, “I’m going to open a door to an apartment that we have in leased in Paris. It is close to both the wizarding shops as well as the muggle fashion shops as well.”
“As you step into the apartment you will immediately feel the wards on it start to affect you. It will be a pressure just behind your eyes, so please don’t panic when you feel it.” He instructed in a serious voice.
“So I will need you to step through one at a time. When you step into the apartment I will offer you my hand and say ‘Welcome’, you will need to answer simply ‘Merci’. That will be enough to have you added to these wards so you will be safe in the apartment.” He said checking to see that we all understood.
Once we all indicated that we did, he opened the door to a gorgeous looking apartment that looked rather familiar. Maman was the first one through and was welcomed into it. When I stepped into the apartment I could immediately feel the effect of the wards that he mentioned. Once Dave welcomed me in though the pressure he described was gone instantly.
For her part once Gabrielle stepped into the apartment and was welcomed she immediately placed her arms around Dave’s neck and kissed him again.
“You only needed to shake ‘is ‘and.” I told her with a smirk on my face. I was rewarded with a brilliant smile that I just had to return, her smile then changed into a rather cheeky smile followed by a smug reply of “I know”.
While Dave had been greeting us Maman was walking around the apartment with a strange look on her face.
“Can you tell me ‘ow you came to lease zis apartment?” She asked Dave.
“We got it through the company that we leased the land from where we have setup our various safe houses. They own this and several other apartments both in Paris and in several other cities around France.” Dave explained.
“We use the apartments to offer a more secluded getaway for both our staff as well as ‘guests’ who either need some quiet time or just need to get away from the safe houses for one reason or another.” Dave said with a strange little smile on his face, “This one is my favourite in Paris and I have spent quite a few weekends here when I have needed some place quiet and relaxing to enable me to plough through the never-ending amounts of paperwork that this operation seems to attract”
“I see.” Maman replied with a strange little smile on her face.
“Is there something wrong?” Dave asked with a degree of concern.
“Non.” Maman replied, “I just found it amusing how small a world it apparently is.” She said now openly smiling at Dave.
“Small world?” He asked with a look of puzzlement on his face.
“This apartment belongs to my Julien’s company.” She said smiling, “We have stayed here many times over the years. When the girls were born we also had many family holidays here as well.” She said with a grin.
“I see.” Dave answered also smiling, “It is indeed a small world.”
“Your husband’s company has been a joy to work with.” Dave answered with a serious tone, “They have been very accommodating and extremely supportive of our goals here in Europe. I will need to pass my thanks along to him when we get back.” Dave said with a smile.
“Shall we begin?” Dave asked with an eager smile.
“Sûrement.” Maman replied as we all headed for the door. Dave opened the door and held it open while we all went out and then closed it behind him. I did notice that he very quickly had Gabrielle’s hand in his as we made the short trip out to the street. They were both displaying very contented smiles.
Once we were on the street Maman quickly had her bearings and was heading off towards a tailors that she had known for many years. The moment we entered the shop the owner was greeting Maman warmly.
“Ah… Madame Delacour, c'est merveilleux de vous revoir.”
“Merci, Monsieur Vaillancourt” Maman replied as she hugged him warmly and exchanged kisses. Gabrielle and I were quickly introduced also and were warmly greeted as well.
“Si cela vous plaît, pouvons-nous parler en anglais?” Maman enquired.
“Oui.” Monsieur Vaillancourt answered his eyes full of curiosity.
“Merci.” Maman answered gratefully, “Killian I would like to introduce you to Auror David Webb of the Australasian Auror Service.” Maman said as she stepped aside to allow Killian to see Dave clearly.
Killian’s eyes widened as he took in the large form that was Dave. In the short time we had known him we had all gotten used to his size rather quickly. It was (and still is) enjoyable to watch other people’s reactions to meeting him for the first time.
“Dave, I would like to introduce you to one of my oldest friends Killian Vaillancourt. He is one of the finest tailors in Paris if not the world.” Maman said with a smile.
“It is a pleasure and an honour to meet you Monsieur Vaillancourt.” Dave said with a smile as he stepped forward with his hand out to greet Killian.
“Merci Monsieur Webb, or should I say Auror Webb?” Killian replied.
“Just Dave is fine.” Dave replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Merci Dave. The honour is mine.” Killian replied taking Dave’s hand and shaking it warmly, “Any friend of Apolline’s is a friend of mine.” He said with a smile.
“Thanks.” Dave answered.
“Killian, we find ourselves in urgent need of your services.” Maman explained, “Dave is in need of a suit for his Les Grand-mères 90th Birthday party that is coming up very soon.”
“He tells us she wasn’t overly pleased with his attire last year and wished for him to have something more suitable for this years celebrations. She specifically requested him to get a suit from Paris.”
“So after his previous effort had a few ‘issues’ I offered to assist him to find something appropriate. Naturally you were our first stop.” Maman said with a smile.
“Do you think you can help us?” She asked.
“Absolument!” Killian replied enthusiastically, “I love a challenge.” He said with a grin.
“If you would please step this way Dave, I will be happy to take your measurements and then show you a selection of styles and materials and then once we have something selected I can begin to work my magic.” He said happily.
Dave moved to step onto the tailors platform but Killian quickly stepped in and stated with a smile, “I zink zat I will need zat to stand on.”
With a sheepish look Dave stepped back onto the floor and stood there a little self-consciously while Killian surveyed his ‘challenge’ and Gabrielle just enjoyed the view. When Dave noticed her rather frank gaze at him he blushed and gave her a rather shy smile that she happily returned.
Killian soon stepped in with his assistant and busied himself taking numerous measurements. After the measurements were done he dispatched his assistant and got him to bring back a selection of suits that were surprisingly in Dave’s size or close to it.
“Zese are to give you an idea of ze feel of the different styles so we can find what fits you most comfortably.” He explained to Dave, “Ze young ladies will ‘elp advise you on what looks best on you.” He said with a cheeky smile to Gabrielle.
Having 6 sisters growing up must have prepared Dave for the rigours of fashion shopping. As he endured the next two hours with more good grace than just about any other males that I have known. Gabrielle was thoroughly enjoying herself as she got to play ‘dress ups’ with Dave.
Eventually a three piece style of suit was selected, with a single breasted jacket to go with it. The choice of colour was the next stumbling block. Black being the colour that was eventually selected, it was felt that Dave’s Midnight hair would go best with that. Once the colour was selected shirts were the next to be sorted, to give Dave some options a selection of white and black shirts were selected.
Gabrielle was instrumental in selecting the ties that she felt would suit Dave best. I did notice that blue seemed to feature predominately in her choices. Next were the belts and shoes. Dave ended up being very particular about his shoes, as his favourite footwear (when he actually wears some) is his Dragon hide boots. He explained this as they offered a great place to conceal spare wands, he didn’t have to worry about shoe laces coming undone during chases or getting caught on things as well.
The special soles he had on them also gave almost the same type of cushioning and grip as trainers. Killian had in stock a few pair of boots very similar to what Dave described. These were presented to Dave and he selected a pair that he felt comfortable in and that Gabrielle approved of. Either Emma (or his sisters) had trained him well or he was a fast learner, for he seemed to truly appreciate Gabrielle’s input into his selections.
The suit that was selected was quickly taken away and had some alterations done to it. When it was brought back out Dave had to once more head into the change rooms. When he came out in the nearly finished suit I could see the appreciative look on Gabrielle’s face. Dave was paying attention to Killian and so completely missed it. Otherwise I’m sure he would have been blushing rather well.
Killian quickly pinned in a few final changes before he got Dave to turn on the spot to show off the result. We all approved of it. This time Dave did notice the looks he was getting from Gabrielle and did indeed blush, but he smiled more. As he headed back into the change room he was once more deep in discussion with Killian.
When he emerged from the change room Killian promised to have the suit ready for collection by mid-afternoon. We thanked him for his efforts and headed out into the street again. This time the mission was something ‘special’ for Gabrielle.
Like any girl Gabrielle has her preference in fashion styles, she also had her favourite shops as well. We quickly found ourselves in one of her favourite shops as Dave politely followed us around and pretended to understand what Gabrielle was describing to him about the different dresses. I did notice him look to me a few times with a very confused look on his face as he clearly had no idea what she was talking about.
When Gabrielle and Maman disappeared into one of the change rooms Dave came over and almost pleaded, “Are you able to translate that for me?” he asked hopefully.
“Didn’t Emma ever explain dresses to you?” I asked him amused at his reactions.
“She wasn’t a big one for dressing up.” Dave explained, “When the occasion required it she certainly enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a passion with her.”
“When she needed any sort of formal type outfit she would head off with her sisters and mum, usually with some of my sisters in tow as well. I was never allowed on those shopping trips.” He said with a smile, “I think it was because she liked to surprise me with what she found.”
“I see.” I answered with a grin, “Well we will need to start you off with the basics then won’t we.” I informed him while trying not to laugh.
I took Dave around the shop and explained the basics of the different styles, and types of dresses, along with some of the materials that were used. He was concentrating so hard I almost expected him to take notes on what I was telling him. Eventually Maman called me over to the change room to view what Gabrielle was wearing. Dave made to follow but was told quite firmly to stay put. This must have been rather familiar to him as he smiled at Maman’s expression and stayed where he was.
When I got to the change room and saw what Gabrielle had selected I could only approve. It was a gorgeous dress in Royal Blue, sleeveless but with a single strap over one shoulder. The shape of the dress was an A-Line but it also had layers to it of varying lengths. It was also shaped VERY well to Gabrielle’s figure.
“What do you zink” She asked me hopefully.
“I zink zat Dave will be stunned and will not be able to take his eyes off of you.” I told her with a smile.
Gabrielle smiled brilliantly at the same time she was fighting back a blush.
“Are you going to show it to ‘im?” I asked her.
“Non. I zink I want to surprise ‘im wiz it.” She replied with a sly smile.
“Well ‘e is used to zat.” I told her with a laugh.
“Pardon?” Maman asked me.
“Dave was explaining to me ‘ow Emma never allowed him on her shopping trips for formal wear as she liked to surprise him with her finds.” I explained. This brought a smile to Maman and Gabrielle.
“So I should get this one?” She asked hopefully.
“Definitely.” I replied confidently.
Gabrielle beamed at me and Maman also expressed her approval of the dress as well. I left the two of them and headed back to Dave.
“She wants to surprise me with it. Doesn’t she?” He said with a knowing smile.
“Oui.” I answered and we shared a laugh about it. I continued educating Dave about the different dresses as we waited for Gabrielle and Maman to emerge.
When they did we headed over to the counter to pay for Gabrielle’s selection.
“It has already been taken care of Mademoiselle.” The rather envious young lady at the counter told Gabrielle.
“Pardon?” She enquired of her.
“The rather tall young man behind you has already paid for it.” The lady at the counter informed her.
Gabrielle turned to Dave with a questioning look on her face, “I thought that someone who is brave enough to try and teach me to dance is deserving of some sort of reward.” Dave replied with a sheepish grin on his face.
“As well as a pair of stylish shoes with steel caps in them.” He added with a laugh.
“Merci beaucoup.” Gabrielle exclaimed as she launched herself into Dave’s arms and kissed him deeply. Maman and I could only smile approvingly at this. Fireball was right, Dave did occasionally get ‘it’ right when it came to women.
“So where do we need to head off to in order to find you a suitable pair of shoes then?” Dave asked with a smile while he still had his arms wrapped around Gabrielle.
“I know just where to go.” I told them both as I led them and Maman from the store to one of my favourite places in Paris.
It was a short walk to the shop that I had in mind. It was a muggle store but close to the wizarding shopping area of Paris. When we got inside I enjoyed watching Gabrielle trying to select some shoes for her dress while trying to keep Dave from seeing what either her dress or shoes were. Dave seemed very happy to allow her this secret.
When she appeared to have selected the shoes she wanted I noticed Dave quickly appear over at the store counter. He was talking to a very amused store owner who approved of him trying to surprise Gabrielle by paying for her shoes without her noticing. The store owner quickly requited one of her sales assistants who then confirmed that Gabrielle had indeed made her selection and reported back on the price of the shoes. Dave then happily paid the bill and kept the receipt to give to Gabrielle. He did however completely miss the very warm and appreciative looks he was getting from both the store owner and her sales assistant.
Gabrielle was once again very pleased and appreciative of Dave’s efforts and she thanked him thoroughly in the store. The owner and the sales assistant also seemed to find this amusing as well.
Once Gabrielle’s outfit was complete the next item on the agenda was to organise was lunch. I asked for suggestions and many were forth coming from both Gabrielle and Maman. Dave however was silent.
“Why so silent Dave?” I asked him.
“I can’t offer any suggestions on a good place to eat here, so I was just listening to all of yours.” He replied.
“Why don’t you ‘ave any suggestions?” Gabrielle asked him.
“When I’m here I’m using working or just passing through, so I don’t usually have a lot of time to explore.” Dave answered.
“Ah… I see.” Maman answered with a twinkle in her eye, “So you have never really seen Paris zen?” She asked.
“No. Not properly.” Was Dave’s slightly embarrassed reply.
“Well zen, we will need to fix zat won’t we girls.” Maman answered, “I know just ze place.” She said with a smile. She then quickly whispered to me what she had in mind. I approved. Maman then apparated with Gabrielle and I did the same with Dave.
We arrived at the safe apparition point near the Louvre, I could immediately see that Gabrielle approved of the location. Dave seemed very interested in the location as well. Although he did seem to be getting more enjoyment from the smile that was on Gabrielle’s face than his surroundings. I found myself approving of that also.
We quickly found seats in the cafe that Maman had in mind. She and Gabrielle went off to have a look at the displays to see what was on offer and I had a quick chat with one of the waiters to ask for some water and menus. When I turned around I noticed that Dave wasn’t at our table. This concerned me for a moment, I quickly looked around to see if I could spot him.
I eventually noticed him talking to a family that were seated not far from where we were. Curious I walked over to hear what was being said. What I learnt upset me a little, as it turned out that the people that Dave was speaking to had just recently been robbed. They had lost all of their money as well as their daughter’s prized antique doll.
The look on Dave’s face clearly told me what he thought of the situation, but I could also see an intense focus in it as well.
“Can you describe them?” I heard him ask.
“No I can’t. I’m sorry it was all over so quickly.” The man replied clearly still shaken up.
“Can you show me your memory of the event?” Dave asked him.
“How?” The man asked him.
“Hold my hand, then think back on the incident. While thinking of the incident kind of push your thoughts over to me.” Dave instructed.
“I’ll… I’ll try.” The man said shakenly. He then held onto Dave’s hand and concentrated for a few moments. Dave also closed his eyes and concentrated.
When Dave eventually opened his eyes my heart almost skipped a beat. His eyes had an intense fire in them along with an equally intense resolve. I could see the young man looking almost embarrassed.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Dave answered him, “We all have different talents. This just happened to be a situation that was outside of yours.” He explained to him.
“The most important thing is that you got your family out of that situation without any serious injuries.” He said while giving the man a very direct look.
“Now, I want you to wait here and DO NOT LEAVE until I get back. Ok?” He almost ordered.
“Ok.” The man agreed with him.
“Good answer.” Dave said with a smile, “I’m sitting at that table over there.” He indicated the table where our things were.
“If you see the lovely young ladies that I was with earlier come back to that Table looking for me please tell them that I will be back very shortly.” He requested.
When the young man agreed Dave quickly headed off out of the café and towards the gardens that were nearby. After Dave left the young man and woman held each other and were obviously struggling to hold back tears, while their daughter still seemed too stunned to comprehend what had obviously happened.
I walked back to our table and sat down and looked over to where the young family was sitting. The young man saw me looking over at them and came over.
“Excusez-moi.” He said nervously, “But the rather tall gentleman who was sitting here earlier asked me to let you know that he has just stepped out for a moment and will soon be back.”
“Merci.” I answered politely, “Do you know why he has stepped out?” I asked.
At this the young man’s embarrassment became painfully obvious.
“We were just robbed.” He explained, “I brought my family in here to try and find somewhere safe for them to try and calm down. As both my wife and daughter were rather shaken by the experience.”
“When we came in your friend noticed this and introduced himself as an Auror and asked what had happened.”
“When I told him he got a little upset. He then asked us to stay here until he got back. He also wanted me to let the people that he was with know that he would be back shortly.” He said on the verge of tears as he turned to go back to his seat.
I was a little shocked and unsure as to what to say to him. As I was trying to think of a response Maman and Gabrielle returned.
“Where is Dave?” Gabrielle asked me.
“He has stepped out for a moment.” I replied still distracted in my thoughts.
“Why?” she wanted to know.
“Zat young family over there was just robbed.” I answered, “I zink Dave has gone after ze people zat did it.”
Both Gabrielle and Maman seemed a little worried by this. Before they could reply however Dave returned to the café. He was carrying a woman’s purse, a man’s wallet and carrying parts of a rather old looking doll.
The young man and his wife were very happy to have their belongings back, they were however very upset at the state of their daughter’s doll.
Dave spoke to their daughter for a few moments, he seemed to be asking her about the doll. Then when he had the answers he was looking for he began to repair it. The look on the girls face as her doll was restored before her eyes was a truly delightful sight. I got the feeling that Dave not only fixed the doll back to what it was before the incident but fully restored it as well.
The girl’s parents had looks of wonder and delight on their faces as well. But the little girl and Dave outshone them both. When he returned the doll to the little girl she flung her arms around him and was crying tears of joy. This seemed to greatly embarrass Dave but he returned the little girl’s hug. He passed her back to her very grateful parents and was rewarded with hugs and kisses from them both as well. I had to laugh at his reaction as he clearly wasn’t used to this sort of response from people he didn’t know.
I turned to back to Maman and Gabrielle and could only smile at the expression of adoration that was on Gabrielle’s face as she watched Dave. Maman had noticed it also and she was happily smiling, both at Dave and Gabrielle.
When Dave stood up to return to our table he saw the three of us smiling back at him. This seemed to stop him in his tracks for a few moments.
“You… You ah saw that. Did you?” He said nervously while blushing.
“Oui.” I answered him. While Gabrielle got up out of her seat and gave Dave a very solid set of kisses and hugs. I could see several other people in the café smile approvingly at the two of them as well. I’m guessing that they had also seen what Dave had just done for that young family as well.
Gabrielle brought Dave back to our table and happily sat down next to him. All the while beaming at him whenever he chanced a glance at her (which was rather often). Each time she smiled at him like that Dave’s cheeks and neck would blush slightly.
“What did you do to ze people zat robbed zat family?” I asked Dave.
“Nothing permanent.” Dave replied evasively, with a slightly guilty look about him.
Borrowing a tactic I noticed his mother use yesterday I kept my eyes on him and assumed a disbelieving expression. To my surprise it did seem to work rather well on him. I decided to file that bit of information away for later use.
“They have been ‘secured’ until I can work out a suitable way to dispose of them.” Dave eventually explained, “I will need to discuss a few things with Jean-Luc first though.” He added with a smirk.
“Why Jean-Luc?” I asked him.
“I have no powers of arrest over here in France.” Dave explained, “When we work in other countries we always work alongside the local law enforcement bodies.”
“The exceptions being when we have a ‘directive’ from all our member countries as was the case when we were first sent to the UK.”
“As the French Magical Parliament allowed us to stage our forward bases here, for our operation in the UK we agreed to not carry out any operations on their soil without their knowledge and support. So to do anything ‘official’ to those I dealt with earlier I will need to engage with Jean-Luc as our official liaison.” Dave said a little frustrated.
“It sounds a little complicated.” I said to him with an encouraging smile.
“True. It is.” He agreed, “But the alternative would be a bit like anarchy.” He remarked.
“What I would really like to see setup, would be something like the muggle Interpol service. A truly worldwide law enforcement body to chase scumbags where ever they run to.” He said with a light coming into his eyes.
“Criminals and Dark Wizards don’t respect International Borders, so until we can pursue them with the same level of flexibility we will always be a step behind.” He remarked.
“Zat sounds like an ambitious goal.” Maman replied thoughtfully.
“It is, and it won’t be easy to achieve. But worthwhile endeavours are never are.” He replied, “It took nearly 10 years just to get our own Australasian Auror Service started in our own region. That was back in 1911.”
“Even then it was really only us and the Kiwi’s for the first few years. Slowly the other nations of in our region saw the use of it along with the success being achieved and asked to join.”
“It is an organisation that I’m very proud to serve in.” He said with a smile.
“We are certainly very happy that you are a member of it Dave.” I told him, “And that you are over here so we could get a chance to meet you.” I said with a smile and a glance at Gabrielle.
Blushing a little Dave replied, “Thank you.”
“That is more than enough talk about both me and work for now.” Dave said with a shy smile, “Can you tell me some more about your adventures in Paris over the years?” He asked.
“Certainly.” Maman replied, “We can tell you about ze time zat Gabrielle fell into the fountains at ze Jardins du Trocadéro.” She said with a smile and a glint in her eyes.
Gabrielle had gone bright red and was trying to hide her face behind her hands. Displaying a wonderful smile Dave reached out and grabbed Gabrielle’s closest hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
“Please do.” He answered, “She has heard far more embarrassing stories about me than I have of her. So it only seems fair to me.” He said with a wonderfully warm smile for Gabrielle.
“Agreed.” Maman answered.
With that we spent lunch happily telling stories about Gabrielle as she was growing up. There were many stories about silly things she had done or had said. Stories about trials and triumphs that she had had as well.
Dave seemed to genuinely enjoy all of the stories. He would frequently allow Gabrielle to try and hide her blushing by snuggling into his shoulders. Followed by kisses of encouragement when she once again emerged. It was lovely to watch them together like this.
After one particularly amusing story about a holiday adventure Maman asked Dave if he would like to see a photo of the incident. As it showed Gabrielle not long after she had learnt to walk. Dave of course was very eager to see it, while Gabrielle was horrified. Once Dave saw the photo though, his face broke out into such a brilliant smile with such tenderness it almost caused Gabrielle to stop blushing. At least until he directed that smile at her, that is.
“Do I get to see your baby photos?” Gabrielle asked a little cheekily.
I could see a very brief shadow pass across Dave’s face at this comment and was sure that the others had noticed it as well. Gabrielle reached for Dave’s hand and gave it a squeeze of encouragement. After a moment or two Dave’s smile returned and he replied.
“I’m very sure that you will indeed get to see them. In all probability, you will see more of them than you wish to.” He said with a small chuckle, “As both Grandma Webb and Great Grandma Vogt have their favourite ones of us kids that they love to show around.”
“They keep them properly secured so that us kids can’t find them and stop others from seeing them.” He explained, “Mine especially.” He added.
Giving Dave a reassuring hug and a kiss Gabrielle asked, “Why is that?”
“I’m told it’s because I was an apparently amusing looking little baby.” He said with a crooked smile.
“Amusing in what way?” I just had to ask. Going from the look on Gabrielle’s face I had just asked the very question that she so desperately wanted to.
“IF, my family is to be believed it’s because for quite a while I apparently looked like I had a Mohawk haircut. Along with ears that stuck out like a Volkswagen Beetle with its doors open.” He said with a faraway look as though recalling an old memory.
Gabrielle however was trying very hard to contain the smile that wanted to escape onto her face. I think Dave sensed this battle and was directing his own amused look at her as he watched her efforts.
“You’re picturing it right now aren’t you?” Dave asked clearly amused.
“Non.” Gabrielle answered as she lost her battle to keep a straight face.
“Don’t worry.” Dave answered with a half smile, “Emma had a similar reaction when she first heard about them.”
“When she saw them she almost did herself an injury from laughing at them so much.” Dave said with a smile, “The funny part was, she was in most of them. So I got to see how goofy she looked at that age also.”
We all had a good laugh at this statement.
“I promise, I won’t laugh.” Gabrielle said with an unnaturally straight face.
“Don’t make promises that you know you can’t keep.” Dave said with his own laugh and a kiss for Gabrielle. “Not even mum can keep from laughing at them.” He added while smiling at Gabrielle.
Shortly after this we finished our lunch and decided to go for a walk through the Jardin des Tuileries as they were just on the other side of the road.
It was while we were walking through these wonderful gardens that we encountered a reminder of Dave’s earlier visit to Paris. This reminder came in the form of three Magical Police Women who were walking through the gardens in the opposite direction. As they got closer I noticed them paying more attention to Dave than anyone else in the gardens. Dave had also noticed their scrutiny of him. He seemed to recognise them and almost looked like he was bracing for the encounter.
Gabrielle also looked like she had picked up on the attention that these women were paying to Dave. She quickly positioned herself with her arm around Dave’s waist and gave him a good squeeze (which he returned). The look she directed to the approaching Police woman also clearly indicated her involvement with Dave.
“Monsieur Webb.” The senior Police Woman said as she tipped her hat to Dave, “Or should I say Auror Webb.” She added with a smile.
“Brigadier-chef Leblanc.” Dave said as he returned the greeting, “Either is fine with me. I’m off duty today.” He said with his crooked smile on display. I did notice its effect on the other Police Women, as did Gabrielle. Dave however didn’t. Not even slightly.
“You are a brave man, Monsieur. After your last visit here, I thought that you wouldn’t be back for quite some time.” She said with a knowing smirk on her face.
“Ah yes… Well I hadn’t planned on returning to Paris so soon.” Dave answered with a slight blush showing, “But I was graciously offered some chaperones who are much better versed in French culture than my ‘dear sister’ is.” Dave answered to some giggles from the Police Woman and smiles from all of us.
“May I introduce to you, Apolline Delacour.” Dave said warmly, “And her daughters Fleur Weasley and Gabrielle Delacour.” Dave said indicating each of us in turn.
“Ladies, may I introduce to you Brigadier-chef Yvonne Leblanc of the French Metro Magical Police and her team members Gardien de la paix Stéphanie Pierrat and Christiane D'Aboville.” He said as he indicated each of the ladies.
We greeted them warmly, except for Gabrielle who was a little cool in her greeting of them. No doubt because of the very frank looks of approval that the two younger Police Women were giving Dave.
“These ladies came to my ‘assistance’ back in March when I had my little mishap here.” Dave said ruefully.
At this comment, all three of the Police Women had to laugh, “It was certainly a memorable incident.” Brigadier-chef Leblanc remarked.
“For all the wrong reasons.” Dave said a little shame faced. I couldn’t contain a smile at the memory of hearing about the incident. Neither could Maman or Gabrielle.
“I see zat your friends know of what happened.” Brigadier-chef Leblanc said more than a little amused.
“Yes, there was a conspiracy in the French Auror Office to ensure that several of my other sisters heard about the incident. They of course ensured that my mother found out about it.” Dave remarked, “What I didn’t expect was that my mother would conduct a public ‘de-briefing’ of the event.”
At this comment, all three of us had to laugh. After a moment of shock the three Police Women joined in. Dave meanwhile was trying his best not to blush. But he was regarding us all with some resignation of his fate.
“I should tell you Auror Webb zat ze store in question would like to see you again.” Brigadier-chef Leblanc said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Why would they want to see me again after an episode like that?” Dave asked.
“Zey still have ze robes zat zey tailored for you. Apparently you had paid for zem but never collected zem when you made your escape.” She replied.
“I’m not sure I can go back there, especially if those same saleswomen are on duty.” Dave said with his ears just starting to glow a little.
“Don’t worry Dave.” Gabrielle replied with an evil looking grin on her face, “I will protect you from zose saleswomen.” She managed to get out before she began to laugh.
Dave seemed to appreciate her offer as he smiled at her and drew her in for a kiss. “Merci” he said when they separated. Gabrielle had a smug little smile after that and she directed it at the two Police Women who were still making eyes at Dave (he still hadn’t noticed either). Brigadier-chef Leblanc also had a smile on her face at the scene in front of her.
“Auror Webb, I would also like to say zat in ze course of writing up ze report on your incident, I learnt precisely what it was that you and your team have been up to while you have been here.” She said in her professional voice, “I would like to zank you personally and sincerely with all of my heart for the efforts of you and your team.” She said very warmly and with a smile on her face.
Dave was looking at her very curiously, obviously wondering what this was leading up to.
“My Parents and my Mères Parents were some of the people that your team rescued from a ‘holding facility’ that was bring run by ze Death Eaters.” She said with moist eyes.
“I had feared that they were lost to us when we lost contact with them during their holiday. But during writing the report on you I came into contact with Auror Jean-Luc Devereaux. He explained to me just what your team had been doing.”
“I told him about my missing family and he organised a search of the records and found them for me. Your team had rescued them just before you left the country chasing down a group of missing children apparently.” She said as she was now fighting back the unshed tears in her eyes.
“I thank you for your thanks, Brigadier-chef Leblanc.” Dave answered her warmly, “Some of your thanks should also go to Jean-Luc as well. For he and a few of his friends were on ‘vacation’ in the UK when that particular raid was done. We also had some vacationing Aurors from Germany, Italy and Poland with us as well.” Dave added with his half smile.
“I will ensure to pass your thanks onto them all as well.” Dave said meeting her gaze, “While we do not expect thanks for doing our job, it is always very heart-warming to hear that our efforts have helped good people.”
“I do hope that your Parents and Grand Parents are doing better now that they are away from that place. As not everyone we brought out on that raid was in good condition.” Dave replied.
“Auror Devereaux has informed me zat my Grand Parents are doing well. But zat my parents were gravely injured when found, although he did say zat zey have been very well looked after by ze medical teams at your safe houses.” She answered.
“When did you learn of this?” Dave asked looking genuinely concerned.
“Just over a week ago.” She replied.
“I see… Have you been able to see them as yet?” Dave asked.
“Non.” She replied, “There is still a great amount of secrecy around your safe houses here in France, and our Government is keeping them that way until some sort of announcement that is due to be made soon.”
“That should happen early next week.” Dave answered, “As the British Ministry will be getting the ‘official’ notification of our operation then. Once that happens the operation will be made public and we will begin officially trying to match up family members who we have rescued, to their families.”
“When you gave Jean-Luc the details of your family was it on an official form?” Dave asked her.
“Oui.” She replied.
“How did he get the information back to you?” he enquired.
“He gave me a ‘summary report’ of their condition, as well as a visitors port key form to submit when the operation is announced publicly.” She answered.
“Excellent.” Dave answered with a smile as he began digging in his pockets. He quickly brought out a Pad of paper and a pen much like Chief Williams had had at The Burrow on Thursday. He quickly scribbled a note and signed it, he then handed that note to Brigadier-chef Leblanc.
“When the operation is announced publicly, attach that note to your visitors form and take it to our Legal Attaché at the Australian Magical Embassy here. He is a very good mate of mine and he will ensure that you are with the first set of visitors to the safe house where your family is located. If they are well enough to travel he will do all that he can to assist you in getting them home to you.” Dave said smiling.
Brigadier-chef Leblanc gratefully accepted the note and very warmly embraced Dave and gave him some very enthusiastic French kisses on his cheeks. “Merci Auror Webb. Merci.” She said very warmly.
“There is no need to thank me, I’m just a humble Auror doing what I signed up for.” Dave replied with glowing cheeks, “I’m just glad that were able to help.”
I took this opportunity to look over at Gabrielle, while she seemed a little wary of the woman who had been hugging Dave, she was also clearly extremely happy and proud of what she had just witnessed and learned.
“If you have a few moments Brigadier-chef Leblanc, I’m wondering if you could do a favour for me?” Dave asked a little shyly.
“Of course.” She replied warmly, “How can we help?”
“Earlier during lunch I met a young family that had been robbed.” Dave explained, “It was a rather nasty robbery with the perpetrators making all sorts of lewd threats and suggestions against the mother and little girl.”
I could see the eyes on the three Police Women flash with anger at this statement.
“I was able to catch up with those involved and retrieve the property that they had taken. But I do not have powers of arrest here in France. So I was forced to make other arrangements.” Dave remarked with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“What sort of arrangements?” She asked.
“I incapacitated them and tied them up. Then I disillusioned them and left them where they were. I was going to notify Jean-Luc tonight so he could make arrangements for them to be properly dealt with.” Dave explained.
“If you and your team have some time to spare I will gladly show you where they are and you can take them in and gain the credit for the arrests. As I’m very sure that this isn’t their first offence.” Dave offered.
“We would be happy to ‘deal with them’ for you.” She answered Dave with a smile.
Dave returned her smile and retrieved a set of wands from his pocket along with a small device. These he handed over to Brigadier-chef Leblanc.
“These are their wands.” Dave explained as he handed them over, “And this device will lead you right to them.”
“Zere were five of zem?” She asked with an amused smile.
“Correct.” Dave answered.
“You can handle five hostile wizards at once, but not a group of saleswomen?” She asked clearly amused. I have to add that I was struggling to hide m own smile, as was Gabrielle and Maman.
“Well I have more practical experience with dealing with multiple hostile wizards. As opposed to multiple ‘helpful’ women.” Dave said rather shame faced.
This caused some raised eye brows amongst the Police Women, along with some disbelieving looks. But true to form Dave missed all of them.
“If you say so Auror Webb.” Brigadier-chef Leblanc said with a sly smile and a glance at Gabrielle.
“Well, we must be on our way as we need to finish our patrol and deal with your ‘gift’ Auror Webb. So we will say Au Revoir for now.” She said as she warmly shook hands with Dave.
“Au Revoir, and thanks.” Dave replied.
Brigadier-chef Leblanc also said farewell to me and Maman, but when she came to Gabrielle she passed on some advice as well.
“Au Revoir to you to Mademoiselle Delacour.” She said smiling, “Your le petit ami is a real catch. You’re a lucky woman. Take care of him.” She instructed her with a knowing smile.
“Merci.” Gabrielle replied blushing, “I will do my best to do so.” She answered.
“See that you do.” She said with a final wink to Gabrielle, “Au Revoir.” She said as she turned to walk away.
“Au Revoir.” Gabrielle replied then turned back to Dave.
“le petit ami?” Dave asked, “I haven’t heard that term before, what does it mean?”
Gabrielle blushed and both Maman and I fixed both Gabrielle and Dave with disbelieving looks.
“What?” Dave asked a little nervously when he noticed the looks directed at both him and Gabrielle.
“le petit ami, means Boyfriend.” Maman told Dave while fixing him with a very direct look. Dave immediately blushed bright red upon learning this.
“Are we to deduce from your reaction Dave, zat you have not ‘officially’ asked Gabrielle out as yet?” Maman asked him being equally surprised and amused at his reaction.
“I have asked her out.” Dave replied, “I asked her if she would like to accompany me to Grandma’s 90th Birthday.” He said a little confused. Even more so when our looks of disbelief registered. Gabrielle for her part was equally shy and amused at this response from Dave.
“You haven’t discussed your ‘official status’ with each other?” Maman almost demanded of Dave and Gabrielle. They both had the good grace to blush at this statement, while at the same time giving each other shy looks.
“I’m guessing not Maman.” I replied struggling not to smile at their predicament, “What I’m dying to know, is why not?”
“Wouldn’t that have been to forward?” Dave asked sincerely.
“Sacré bleu.” Maman exclaimed while I tried very hard not to laugh at the situation. Gabrielle was losing her own battle to hold back her own smile at this omission.
“Zat is one of the most ridiculous things I ‘ave ever ‘eard.” Maman replied looking at Dave in disbelief.
“I was hoping very much that Gabrielle was ‘interested in the job’.” Dave said a little defensively, “But I also wanted to make sure she felt she had enough information about me to make an informed decision.” Dave said glowing bright red. Gabrielle was similarly coloured.
“What else does Gabrielle need to do to let you know what her feelings are towards you?” Maman demanded in exasperation.
“Gabrielle, is zere anything else zat you zink you need to know about Dave to make zat decision?” Maman asked her.
“Non.” Gabrielle answered with a shy smile at Dave while she blushed some more. Dave for his part had gone white.
“Excellent.” Maman replied then turned to face Dave with a raised eyebrow, which on its own was almost an order to him.
With an excruciatingly enforced casualness Dave walked over to Gabrielle and asked, “Could I talk to you privately for a moment or two?”
“Oui.” Gabrielle answered with a shy smile as she took Dave’s hand and the two of them wandered over to one of the benches near the Café in the gardens.
“Are all Australien men as dense as Dave about women?” Maman asked me.
“I zink zat he and his family might be a special case.” I replied finally letting my laugh escape.
“For the safe of the Australien women I hope so.” Maman replied before she too had to give in to her own laughter.
I looked over to where Dave and Gabrielle were seated on the bench and deep in conversation. Gabrielle had a brilliant smile on her face, while Dave looked utterly terrified. Eventually Gabrielle threw herself into Dave’s arms and kissed him deeply and passionately. I could see tears of joy on her cheeks as she was kissing Dave. When they separated, I could also see tears on Dave’s cheeks. It was clear that this was a special moment for the two of them.
Dave reached up with his right hand and wiped away the tears on Gabrielle’s cheeks. He seemed to be doing the same on his own cheeks with his left hand. He next appeared to place the tears from his left hand into his right. It was then that I realised he wasn’t wiping away their tears, he had been collecting them.
Gabrielle noticed this also and she was watching with rapped attention at what was happening in the palm of Dave’s hand. She nodded in agreement to something that Dave had asked of her, he smiled by way of reply and then his face set into a look of intense concentration for several moments. He then held something up to show Gabrielle.
Whatever it was, it brought a truly beautiful smile to Gabrielle’s face that was a sight to see. She looked back over to Dave displaying that smile and then kissed him again. After this she dug out her Talisman chain and Dave attached something to it for her. The two of them then got up off the bench embraced and kissed again then walked hand in hand back over to where we were.
As they got closer I could see what it was that Dave had attached to her Talisman. It was an absolutely gorgeous pendant, not overly large but not small either. It was heart shaped and surrounded by diamonds. But the central stone was a brilliant sapphire that actually looked like it was two different shades of blue which were swirling around one another. It took me a moment to realise that those two different shades of blue matched the different shades of blue in each of their eyes.
Needless to say, Gabrielle was smiling with a VERY contented smile on her face. Dave also had a smile on his face that just wouldn’t go away.
“Well?” Maman asked them both with an enquiring look.
“It’s all sorted now.” Dave answered before Gabrielle elbowed him in the ribs. She then smiled at him and kissed him by way of an apology.
“I should ‘ope so.” Maman replied with a smile of her own, “Just to make sure, ‘e did ask you to be ‘is petite amie didn’t ‘e?” She asked Gabrielle.
“Oui.” Gabrielle answered still smiling.
“And?” I had to almost demand.
“I said oui.” Gabrielle said with a smug little smile.
“I guessed zat from your new addition.” I replied indicating her pendant, “What I was wanting to know is what ‘e said.” I asked her.
“Non.” She answered blushing.
“Nous lui demanderons plus tard.” Maman told me while fixing Gabrielle with a determined look. Dave for his part I’m sure had his suspicions but he wasn’t about to give voice to them here.
I next asked Gabrielle to have a look at the pendant Dave had obviously just made for her. She was only too happy to show it to me and Maman. My first thoughts were that my initial reaction was correct, it was truly a gorgeous piece of jewellery. Almost a work of art in its own right.
“How did you learn to do this?” I asked Dave.
“It was an exercise that was given to me by one of my tutors, which my parents had needed to bring in to try and help me control my abilities when I was very young.” He answered, “The purpose being to give a non-destructive outlet for my magical energies. My parents also told me that a useful ‘side effect’ of this exercise, was that when I was younger it took a great deal of effort to successfully complete. So, once I had made a gem stone I had drained my magical energies to the point that I didn’t usually cause any more mischief for the rest of the day.” He chuckled.
“I see. How old were you when you learnt zat?” I asked next.
“I was five years old.” Was his reply.
“Five?” We all said almost at the same time.
“Correct.” He answered almost ashamedly, “One side effect of my ‘condition’ is that things happen differently too me. One example is that powers and abilities that don’t usually show till much later occurred in me very early on.”
“I had no choice but to learn early and very quickly how to control my abilities so that I wouldn’t hurt myself or those around me.” He said with a faraway look on his face.
“At the age of five?” I asked still shocked.
“Actually at the age of four.” He said uncomfortably, “As that was when I first started performing ‘House Elf’ style magic. As that type of magic is closely tied to emotions and mine at that time were a rather large mess.” He explained.
“I’m sure zat presented some challenges for your parents.” Maman replied with genuine concern in her eyes.
“It did. But thankfully they had some help.” He explained, “Grandma and Grandpa had been through this already with Dad and were able to offer some advice. Their experience with Jimmy also helped, although he wasn’t as badly affected as I was. He was still a handful from all reports.”
“I’m told that I drove my Parents and Grandparents to distraction.” Dave said with a crooked smile that had all of us smiling also.
“Somethings that I did they were very grateful for. Things like changing my own nappies.” He added seeing our questioning looks. I had to laugh at this image.
“Other things they were not so grateful for.” He explained, “Like when I summoned all the chocolate in the house and sat down with Sam, Jimmy, Shelly and Fireball and gorged ourselves on it.” He said with a laugh. We all had to laugh at that as well.
“Of course my parents were never happy with me when I used to turn my dinner into dessert either.” He said with a rueful smile.
“Sometimes I wonder how my parents put up with my antics. As I’m sure that there are many more stories that I haven’t yet heard.” Dave remarked.
“Well I for one are very glad that they did.” Gabrielle said with a brilliant smile as she took Dave’s hand in her own.
“Merci.” Dave answered and this had us all laughing.
After this we got up and went back to see Killian to collect Dave’s finished suit. He tried it on and modelled it for us and Gabrielle judged it very satisfactory indeed. Dave and Killian seemed to be very pleased with her response.
We left Killian with our thanks and headed over to the store that Dave had first visited back in March. When we entered, Dave was immediately recognised by some of the sales women on duty and they quickly came over to greet him. Gabrielle just as quickly put a dampener on their day by making it very clear that Dave was there with her. I think even Dave noticed this from her, as he gave her a very grateful look.
He was able to quickly collect the robes that he had apparently already paid for. Once again Gabrielle requested that Dave model them for her. These too she gave her stamp of approval to. Dave then gratefully packed them away and we began to make our way back to the apartment where we began our trip earlier that day.
On the way back to the apartment Dave asked for our advice on where to purchase some very good wine. This was a request that surprised me. As I knew he was too young to drink it himself and he had never shown any interest in the wine that was often served at the Weasley’s with Dinner.
“It would help to know what the wine is for.” I asked him very interested in his answer.
“Makes sense.” He replied, “The wine is to be for Healers Jones and Grant.” He stated.
“As I would like to give them something special to thank them for their efforts in healing me. Apparently I took some significant effort to put back together correctly.” Dave explained a little embarrassed.
“A wonderful thought.” Maman replied while regarding Dave with an approving smile, ”I know just ze place.”
Maman quickly escorted us all to a wonderful wizarding establishment. Where the owner helped Dave select two suitable bottles for each of the Healers. Maman also selected some wine as well as her and Papa’s own personal thank-you to the two talented healers.
It was a short walk to get back to the apartment from there. From the apartment, it was a simple matter of opening a door back to Dave’s tent. Once we were there Dave quickly put away his purchases in his tent. We then went to our tent where Gabrielle did the same.
Next we walked over to tables where there seemed to be a group of slightly apprehensive people had congregated.
Chapter 33: Professional Challenges
As we were walking over to the tables I could see the girls who were gathered there notice the new pendant that Gabrielle was wearing. Several of them (Dave’s sisters foremost amongst them) clearly had questions on their faces about it. Gabrielle for her part was smiling radiantly while she walked next to Dave. Dave however was focused on his father and the apprehensive expression that he was wearing.As we got to the table Dave was whisked away by Arthur, Ivan and Harry. We were later told that the reason was to explain to him the new discovery that had been made in relation to Tonks now not being one of the prime suspects in the murder of Dave’s brother.
Once the boys were out of earshot Sandra spoke up (although I think she only just beat Molly to it).
“So, how was Paris?” She asked with a knowing smile on her face.
“Romantic.” Was the reply from Maman. Both Gabrielle and I had to laugh at this statement.
“Really?” Sandra replied, “How so?” She asked making eyes at Gabrielle’s pendant.
“We discovered that Dave and Gabrielle hadn’t as yet gotten around to discussing their ‘official status’ with each other.” Maman explained.
“What?” They all replied at the same time with disbelieving looks on their faces.
“So what were you two actually discussing during all your ‘private conversations’ then?” Ginny enquired.
“Many different zings.” Was Gabrielle’s evasive answer, while she fought a rising blush on her cheeks.
“Apparently, Dave was concerned about being too forward in case Gabrielle wasn’t interested.” Maman explained to a group of disbelieving women.
“Oh Merlin.” Sandra exclaimed, “I know that my boys can be a little dense about women…”
“Only a little?” Fireball remarked with a glint in her eyes. Sandra and all the other girls had smiles on their faces at this.
“But that has to be a new level of denseness. Not even Jimmy was THAT thick.” She said with a smirk at Gabrielle.
“Jimmy may not have been quite that thick mum, but he wouldn’t have been far off it.” Fireball recalled with a giggle.
“Denseness?” Shelly enquired, “Is that even a word?” She asked.
“If it isn’t it should be.” Cassy replied to several sets of laughter.
“I’m getting the feeling that Dave may require quite a few new words to try and describe him.” Ginny said with a cheeky twinkle in her eyes.
All of the ladies present had to agree and laugh at that comment.
“I sincerely hope that the situation has now been rectified?” Sandra asked almost eagerly.
“Oui. It has.” I answered, “Maman gave Dave some rather direct hints which thankfully he followed.” I said as I unsuccessfully tried to hide my smile.
“Thank Merlin.” Sandra replied, to more feminine laughter.
“Told you we should have lent Gabrielle Dave’s surf board.” Fireball remarked to her mother with an evil grin on her face.
It took a moment for Fireball’s earlier remarks (about Emma needing to hit Dave over his head with his own surf board to get her point across to him) to come back to us. Then we all had a good laugh at the statement. After this all the girls wanted to see the pendant that Dave had made for Gabrielle. They all agreed that it was a beautiful piece of work.
Gabrielle then described the suit that Dave had ended up getting as well as the dress and shoes that she had selected but not yet shown to Dave. Sandra, along with Shelly, Fireball and Cassy had smiles on their faces at this as they told us Emma also used to love to surprise Dave with similar purchases.
We then went on to describe the meeting with the French Police Women, and Dave’s sisters and cousin seemed to agree with Dave’s response in that case. We also told them about Dave’s return visit to the store he was at in March. Fireball was particularly amused by the reaction of the saleswomen but also fully supported Gabrielle’s response as well.
It was just as this was being finished up that Ivan and Arthur returned.
“Jasper, we need you to get in touch with ‘Q’ and explain to him that we need him in his lab urgently to run something that Dave called a ‘voice print analyses. Can you arrange that?” Ivan asked her.
“Certainly I can.” She replied, “But Dave can get it organised quicker. Where is he?” She asked.
“Dave, Harry, George and Rowdy have gone off to see Lee Jordan about an unaired tape from the Potter Watch radio show” Arthur explained, “George seems to think that there is a recording of Tonk’s voice on it.”
“How will that help?” Ginny asked.
“Dave was saying that he would like some ‘objective’ evidence to back up what we have learned about Tonks movements and preferences. When I asked, what sort he mentioned that a voice recording would be a good place to start.” Ivan explained, “At that comment George remembered that unaired recording from the Potter watch radio show and offered it as a potential recording of Tonks voice.”
“Dave then explained to us that while Polyjuice Potion doesn’t completely transforms the vocal cords of the person who drinks it. It only alters them enough so that they will sound like the person that they are changing into. At least to biological ears. As the persons vocal cords are not fully transformed their fundamental voice pattern won’t change. When that is analysed appropriately the differences between them can be detected.” Ivan explained.
“Apparently, this is something that Dave and ‘Q’ have been working on for some time. Ever since they got their hands on some articles from ‘The Practical Potioneer’ talking about Polyjuice potion and its effects, along with a muggle forensic magazine that talked about voice ‘fingerprinting’.”
“It hasn’t yet been through ‘peer review’ or been accepted in the courts as yet. But it is showing great promise and they are hoping to have voice analysis available as an extra layer of security for certain secure facilities if it gets approved.” He said with some pride showing in his voice.
“Ok Dad, let me get a hold of ‘Q’ and we can get things setup in Dave’s tent.” She said as she pulled out her Mirror Phone and began tapping away. She was quickly able to locate this ‘Q’ and was soon talking to him.
“He is getting dressed now and is heading straight to his lab. He mentioned that he will have everything setup and ready to go in 10 minutes.” Fireball reported back.
“Thank you.” Ivan responded, “Do you have the number for his lab? That way we can call him direct from Dave’s Tent.” Ivan asked.
“Yes I do.” She replied as she headed off to Dave’s tent. We all quickly followed after.
While Fireball was getting what she called a ‘video call’ out through to this ‘Q’, Dave, Harry, George and Rowdy arrived back with the recording. Dave was a little surprised to see the crowd that had gathered in the tent, but he quickly shrugged it off.
Very soon afterwards the ‘TV’ as Dave called it came to life and displayed a young man with light brown hair, eyes almost the same colour as Dave’s. He also seemed to have a look of permanent inquisitiveness etched onto his face. He was dressed in a polo shirt that looked a little rumpled and he also appeared to be wearing suspenders.
“G’day Syd.” He remarked with a friendly smile, “Your sister told me that you have something ‘hot’ for me to work on that is connected to Jimmy’s death?”
“G’day Q. Yes, you are correct mate. We have gained some more information on Nymphadora Tonks and it is now looking extremely unlikely that she was involved in Jimmy’s death.” Dave said. His frustration was clear to all, but his desire to find the correct facts was even more on display.
“We now believe that it is likely someone was using Polyjuice potion to impersonate her at the meet.” Dave explained, “To confirm or discount this idea I want to get an analysis done of a known sample of Nymphadora’s voice against the recording from Jimmy’s phone.”
“Can you put Jimmy’s phone in my tray so I can send this sample to you using it? That way it will contain the same ‘recording signature’ as the original.” Dave requested.
“Already done mate. When I got your sisters message I figured that’s what you were going to try and do.” Q replied.
“You’re a legend as always mate.” Dave replied while he extracted his wallet and pulled out a mirror phone that was rather damaged and mostly covered with blood. It made my blood run cold to look at it.
While Dave was getting the Mirror Phone hooked up to the recording device that they had brought back from Lee’s place I noticed this Q looking around the room.
“Who are your friends Syd?” He asked his eyes showing an intense interest. Ivan stepped forward to answer.
“G’day Q.” Ivan began, “I would like to introduce the Weasley family to you.” He said with a smile.
“Weasley?” He said in surprise, “THE Weasley family?”
“Correct.” Ivan replied grinning from ear to ear. He then went on to introduce the crowd of us that were in Dave’s tent.
“Weasley Family I would like to introduce you to Quentin Aloysius Thompson.” Ivan said with an evil grin as the figure on the screen winced at his name.
“As you can see he isn’t overly fond of the name his parents gave him.” Ivan said still smiling, “Because he is so dearly loved by all who work with him and also because of his love of the muggle James Bond movies he has been rechristened as simply Q.” Ivan said as the figure on the screen smiled broadly.
We all greeted Q warmly and he returned our greetings in the same manner. Then Ginny moved across to Sandra and asked her, “Thompson? Is he Emma’s brother?”
“I most certainly am.” Q replied proudly, albeit with a touch of sadness as he took notice of Ginny for the first time.
“Bloody Hell!” He remarked, “The poor girl is a dead ringer for Fireball. What’s the world coming too? One of her was bad enough but now it looks like there is two of them.” He said with a grin.
“I heard that Q.” Fireball replied in a slightly testy voice. But the smile on her face gave her away.
“Hey Q.” Dave called out, “Quit picking on my cousin mate. I’m sure if she had a say in the matter she would have chosen to look like anyone else but her.” He replied before he was knocked to the floor by Fireball and Shelly.
“Cousin?” Q asked, “Mate you are holding back stories and you better come clean with them ASAP.”
“Right after we get this recording analysed.” Dave shot back bringing the conversation back on track, “We are ready here. Are you?”
“Always.” Was the reply from Q.
“Ok then, I’m going to call the ‘usual number’ for your machine and play the recording from over Jimmy’s mirror phone. While that is going on I’m going to mute mine and ask everyone here to keep quiet.” Dave explained, “Once you have a good sample of it George here will point out to you which voice is Nymphadora’s.”
“No worries mate. Ready when you are.” Q replied.
“Ok everyone, please be quiet.” Dave requested as he indicated to George to play the recording.
George pressed play and we all listed to a conversation between Tonks, Remus, George, Fred and Lee. They were discussing the plan of the next show and what they were going to cover. Tonks gave a short presentation on what she thought would be a good segment and then Lee began to talk again. At that point George stopped the play back.
Dave took his mirror phone off mute, “How was that Q?” He asked.
“It looks like a good copy mate.” He replied, “Give me a moment.”
“Can you ask George to say a few words over Jimmy’s mirror phone so I can establish a baseline for that recording?” He requested.
“The usual ones?” Dave asked.
“Yeah they will do.” Was the reply.
Dave quickly grabbed a book off his shelf and gave it to George, “Can you read this paragraph to Q?” He asked.
“Yeah, sure.” George answered. Dave quickly muted his own mirror phone and signalled to Q. When he got a thumb up back he indicated to George to read the passage. Once George was done he again muted Jimmy’s phone and unmuted his own one.
“Will that do?” He asked.
“Just about perfect.” Q replied, “Let me run the quick sampler over these and get you an early feel for a match.” He answered.
It took a few minutes for Q to deliver some results.
“Ok we are looking at an error range here of +/- just under 10%. Because of transmission over the phone and because we are doing a quick analysis.” He replied, “George comes back as a 96% match to the voice on the recording.” Q informed us.
“Ok that looks like it should work then.” Dave replied, “What about Nymphadora’s voice on the tape?” Dave asked.
“That came back as a match of 12%.” Q answered, “So I’m guessing that it is extremely unlikely that the person on Jimmy’s recording is the same as the one on that tape mate.”
Dave’s face was a mixture of disappointment but also resolve. It was interesting to watch.
“If only we had a recording of bloody Great Aunt Muriel.” Sandra remarked to herself.
“Pardon?” Dave asked his mum.
“I said I wish that we had a recording of ‘Great’ Aunt Muriel to compare with.” She told him, “But all I have are old angry memories.” She said.
At this comment Harry’s eyes lit up and he shot to his feet, “Does anyone here have any recent memories of Muriel at all? Preferably of her and Tonks talking together?”
“What are you thinking Harry?” Dave asked.
“If we can get a memory of them talking it can be played back in a Pensive for everyone to hear.” He said grinning happily, “Then you should be able to record it with your brother’s Mirror Phone.” He explained.
“Q, does that sound like a workable option to you?” Dave asked hopefully.
“If you have access to a good enough memory I know of no technical reason why it can’t be done.” He answered, “Provided you have access to a pensive that is.” He added.
“I have a pensive.” Dave replied, “But I have to admit I’m not that familiar with its use as I haven’t really sat down and learnt to use it properly as yet.” He offered.
“I can help with that.” Harry offered, “I have used them quite often with Professor Dumbledore and I believe that I could get a memory to replay in the manner that is needed.” Harry said confidently.
Dave’s face clearly conveyed his gratitude to Harry for his offer. Harry was warmly smiling back at Dave in acknowledgement.
“It looks like all we need now is a memory.” Dave commented.
“I have a memory of Muriel and Dora talking together.” Andromeda offered as she stood up.
As soon as she stood I could see Dave lock onto her face, I could see him trying to work out who this person was and what they were doing in his tent. Then Molly stepped forward.
“Dave, I would like to introduce you to one of my oldest friends, Andromeda Tonks. She is the mother of Nymphadora.” Molly said slightly nervously, “Andromeda I would like to introduce you to my nephew Auror David Webb.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you Mrs Tonks.” Dave said with a half-smile as he rose to greet Andromeda with his hand out to her, “I’m even more pleased to learn that your daughter wasn’t directly involved with my brother’s death.” He added.
“I’m pleased to meet you also.” Andromeda replied to Dave as she warmly shook his hand, “Would you really have arrested my Dora if you had caught her?” She asked Dave searching his face.
“Yes.” Was Dave’s direct answer. This caused a rather odd smile from Andromeda and a few nervous chuckles from those gathered. It also confirmed Sandra’s earlier comments about Dave giving honest answers before he really thought about them. I found myself fighting back a smile at his comment.
“If you had caught her what would have done with her?” Andromeda asked still searching Dave’s face.
“I would have questioned her or had her questioned by our interrogation team to establish what exactly happened and WHY. Then if there was sufficient evidence to confirm her guilt (if any) I would have pushed as hard as I could for a full trial to have her convicted and locked up for her role in my brother’s death.” Dave replied in a coolly professional voice.
Andromeda continued to stare at Dave’s face for a few moments before she answered, “I thank you for your honest and forth right answer Auror Webb.” She replied.
“Now how can I help?” She asked with a smile. Dave replied with a brilliant smile of his own.
“You mentioned that you have a memory of Muriel and Tonks talking together?” Dave asked her.
“I do indeed.” She replied.
“If I go and collect my pensive would you place your memory in it and allow it to be played for all to hear?” He asked a little nervously.
“I would, yes.” She replied.
“Thank you.” Dave answered, “Please take a seat at the table with Harry while I collect the Pensive.” He said a little excitedly as he headed into his bedroom.
When he returned, he was carrying a wide metal bowl. It was intricately decorated with strange symbols and pictures. There were also numerous gems studded into the edge of it as well. As Dave placed it on the table it seemed to float just off the surface of the table.
“Where did you get this?” Harry asked Dave, his eyes were wide with wonder at what he was seeing.
“It belonged to my Grandfather.” Dave answered, “He left it to Jimmy as he was the one gifted in memory charms and related magic. When Jimmy was killed, he left it to me. Although I don’t know why as I’m not much chop when it comes to memory charms.” Dave explained.
“Do you know where your Grandfather got it?” Harry asked.
“He got it when he was India. The same place where he got mum’s and Aunty Cynthia’s Pensives.” Dave replied.
“I see… Do you know where in India it was that he got it?” Harry asked eagerly.
“Not off the top of my head no. But I can find out.” Dave replied.
“Please, if you can it would be greatly appreciated.” Harry requested.
“I will find out for you.” Dave answered sincerely, “You will need to be the one to advise Andromeda on what to do Harry. As while I’m aware of the theory involved I have never done it in actual practise and now isn’t the time for experimenting.” He added with a rueful grin.
“Understood.” Harry replied with a smile of his own. He then proceeded to instruct Andromeda in what she needed to do for Harry to extract the memory from her. After a moment to recall the memory in question Andromeda indicated to Harry that she was ready. Harry then put his wand to her temple and collected the memory and placed it in the Pensive.
Once the memory was in the Pensive Harry focused intently on it until three figures began to rise up out of the swirling mass that it contained. Harry was clearly pleased with himself that he was able to control the memory as he promised. Dave was quickly getting the Mirror Phones ready to record the conversation for Q. He looked over to Q on the screen to confirm that he was indeed ready and got a thumb up in reply just before the three figures began to speak.
While Harry had been getting the memory ready, Dave asked Andromeda to read the same passage that George had read earlier. This was to try and establish a baseline for the memory that was about to be played.
As we all listened to the conversation I could clearly see the disappointment in Dave’s eyes at Tonks comments on the recognition codes for the upcoming meeting with his brother. But I also noticed him staring VERY intently at the figure of Muriel in the Pensive. He seemed to be concentrating on her to the exclusion of all else. Harry ended up having to grab Dave’s shoulder and shake him to get his attention again.
“Pardon?” Dave asked once Harry had succeeded in getting his attention again.
“Nice to have you back with us Syd.” Q said with a smile, “I was trying to tell you I have run the quick analysis of the voices in that memory.”
“Excellent. What did you find?” Dave asked.
“The voice of Tonks in that memory is a 95% match to the voice from the earlier recording. But only a 14% match to the original recording.” Q explained.
“I was expecting that.” Dave answered, “How about Muriel’s voice?” He asked.
“She was a 12% match to the voice on Jimmy’s recording.” Q answered sadly.
“I understand.” Dave replied a little dejectedly as he sat down more than a little disappointed.
“But the voice of Andromeda scored a 35% match.” Q offered, seeing several startled looks around the room he explained, “Please keep in mind that this part is very much ‘bleeding edge’ research currently. But I’m willing to bet that the voice on the original recording is a blood relative to Andromeda Tonks.” He said confidently.
“Can you explain that remark Q?” Ivan asked.
“Yes Minister I believe I can.” He answered, “Much like with a blood test or a DNA test that can be used to establish family connections, a voice can as well. But only for close family like siblings or children and only for those of the same gender.”
“The exact mechanics are still being debated as to the how and whys. But with the recordings I now have of Tonks and her mother I can confirm the family link between them. When I run that same algorithm on the voice from Jimmy’s recording I get a reasonably strong hit against Andromeda’s voice. But not against Nymphadora.”
“That’s what leads me to guess that the probability is very high that a sister of Andromeda’s should be considered worthy of a proper investigation.” He said with conviction.
This statement caused a real commotion amongst those of us in the tent. Ivan looked over to Andromeda and saw that she was trying to speak. He quickly (and very effectively) called for quiet.
“I have a memory of my sister Narcissa that I would be willing to share.” She offered, “But I do not have any recent memories of Bellatrix, as I haven’t seen her since my family cast me out for marrying a muggle.” She explained.
Dave’s eye softened greatly at hearing this, as did the eyes of Sandra and Ivan. Indeed, all the members of Dave’s family showed understanding of what it is like to be cast out of your family.
“Thank you again.” Dave said warmly to Andromeda.
“It is I who is thankful.” Andromeda replied, “As you have enabled me to prove my daughter’s innocence.” She said thankfully to Dave. Dave acknowledged her comment with a grateful smile and a hug for Andromeda that she was a little surprised by but was happy to accept it and return it as well.
"Bellatrix!" Andromeda suddenly called out to the surprise of a few people. Seeing several confused looks directed at her she explained.
“I just remembered where I heard someone making fun of the way Dora’s name is pronounced. Very much like what was on the recording that we listed to before.” She said with her eyes showing a sudden excitement.
“It was not long after Dora was born and I had bumped into Narcissa in Diagon Alley. I showed her baby Dora and she politely commented on her.” She explained, “As she was walking away Bellatrix joined her and asked what she had been looking at with me. When she told her about baby Dora, Bellatrix sneered and carried on about the pronunciation of Nymphadora’s name.”
“She is the only one I can recall ever doing so in that way.” Andromeda informed us.
“Thank you for that piece of information.” Ivan told Andromeda warmly, “I can understand how a memory that old could take a while to recall.” He added with a smile for her.
He then indicated to Harry and Dave that they should continue on with their work.
“Do we need to remove the memory that is already in there to examine this new one?” Dave asked Harry, “As I would like to come back to this memory if I can to more closely examine something that caught my attention earlier.” He requested.
“Both memories can safely remain in there together.” Harry answered Dave confidently.
“Excellent. Then please proceed.” Dave requested.
Once more Harry collected the memory from Andromeda and placed it into the Pensive. The three figures that were present before sunk back into the Pensive to be replaced with two new ones. These being Andromeda and Narcissa. The conversation looks to have taken place during the funeral for Tonks and Remus. As Narcissa seemed to be offering an olive branch to Andromeda in an attempt to heal their broken relationship. Andromeda wasn’t sure if she wanted or indeed could re-connect with her sister. But she didn’t say no to her at that time.
When the memory finished playing, we all turned to Q to see what he had to say.
“The voice of Narcissa comes back with a 33% match.” He reported.
“The hunt continues.” Dave remarked to Harry with a shy smile which Harry returned.
“Does anyone here have a memory of Bellatrix that could be shared?” Dave asked hopefully.
I saw a few sets of eyes look to Hermione and knowing what her memory of Bellatrix was likely to be I was hoping against hope that someone else would have a memory that they could share.
Eventually my fears were proved correct as Hermione stepped forward to say that she did indeed have a memory of Bellatrix but it was one of her being tortured by her and that while she didn’t want to share it she would if no one else had a better one.
“I have a memory of Bellatrix.” Molly declared as she stepped up to the table where Harry and Andromeda were seated.
“Are you sure?” Harry asked her knowing full well which memory she was going to be sharing.
“Yes Harry I am.” Molly replied, “Collect the memory Harry.” She ordered him with her face set.
With this Harry collected the memory from Molly while Dave got the Mirror Phones switched around. When Q indicated, he was ready Harry played the memory in the Pensive. As I expected the memory was of Molly’s duel with Bellatrix. As the memory was playing I found myself looking around at the faces in the tent.
All of Molly’s family were watching with intense interest as the memory played out. While Dave, his family and his team were watching with what I can only describe as Professional Interest. Sandra was extremely happy to see that her little sister had defeated Bellatrix and was unhurt. The rest of Dave’s family had more sombre looks on their faces. Dave in particular looked very troubled.
Before I could question Dave about his mood though Q spoke up on the video link.
“Syd. I think you have a winner here mate.” He replied. Dave turned his gaze to the screen where Q was struggling to contain a smile.
“The voice of Bellatrix from that Memory returned a match probability of 89% with the aforementioned +/- 10% error. If you can arrange to have that memory sent to me I can get a more detailed analysis done in it.” He explained.
“Excellent work Q.” Dave said with a slightly forced smile, “Thanks for your efforts I will ask Aunty Molly if we can keep a copy of that memory and if she agrees I will get it sent to you straight away. Once again many thanks mate.” Dave said with a slightly more convincing smile this time.
“Always happy to help mate. Will keep a look out for that memory in my tray.” Q answered as he seemed to pick up on Dave’s troubled mood, “I will talk to you soon mate. Try to take it ‘easy’ over there, won’t you?” He said with a cheeky smile to Syd as he signed off.
Dave turned from the large screen and just stared at the Pensive watching the two figures repeat their battle over and over again. Harry had somehow turned off the sound but left the figures being displayed.
“What eez ze matter Dave?” I asked him when I noticed his still troubled expression, “I zought zat you would have been ‘appy to confirm ze identity of ze person who led to your frères betrayal.”
He looked up at me and I could see some sort of conflict raging in his eyes. He was clearly being troubled by something. The eyes of everyone in the tent looked to be on him as well.
“I’m not supposed to be happy about a suspect being killed, as we are supposed to catch them not kill them.” He said in a troubled voice, “But I can’t stop myself from feeling happy that she is dead. Based on all I have learnt about her; the world is truly better off without her in it.” He said looking at his feet and clearly ashamed of himself.
No one knew what to say to this. I could see that many of Dave’s team also had similar troubled looks on their faces as well. It spoke a great deal about their values and the way that they viewed their job, that they viewed the death of someone as evil as Bellatrix as some sort of failure. It was very clear that Dave’s preference and that of his team would have been to capture her alive.
I could see from the look on Andromeda’s face that she understood the conflict raging inside Dave tight now. She put a comforting arm around his shoulders and looked him in the eye.
“It takes a special type of strength to be troubled by the death of someone who is clearly so evil.” She said with a gentle and heartfelt smile at him.
“Agreed.” Molly replied coming to sit next to Dave and giving him a very solid hug which he returned.
“I’m sure that Jimmy would be happy knowing that he was avenged on Bellatrix by family.” Dave replied giving Molly a shy little smile, “But I can’t shake the feeling that he would be disappointed in me for being happy that she is dead.” He added.
“It speaks to your good and kind heart Dave as well as to your dedication to your job.” Molly told him, “That all of you have to your job.” She added standing up and looking around at the rest of Dave’s team.
“You all work so very hard to track and catch some of the worst of the worst. Yet you all can be troubled by your reaction to the death of someone who so clearly delighted in killing and inflicting pain on others.” She said giving everyone from Dave’s team a very loving smile.
“That is only possible in those who are truly kind and generous of heart.” She explained, “I think that all of us here would agree to that.” Molly said confidently.
“Agreed Mum.” George replied with some emotion in his voice. He was quickly joined by a chorus of voices calling out, “Agreed” as the rest of the family (me included) stated their approval of Molly’s view of the incident.
Dave looked around at the sea of faces around him, he then got up and enfolded Molly in one of his hugs. I could see that she was enjoying it, “Thank you Aunty Molly.” He said as he fought back his own tears.
“I’m glad it was you who got her.” Dave said smiling at Molly, “And that you didn’t get hurt in the process.” He added with a smile at her as well.
“Thank you dear.” Molly replied returning his smile.
After this each member of Dave’s team came over and enfolded Molly in their arms as well. I think she was in some form of heaven with all these hugs from everyone. Eventually Sandra and Ivan came to her and gave her a hug, their faces clearly saying what their words could not.
Eventually things calmed down again and Ivan looked over to Dave, “It might be one down two to go. But we still don’t know how she got the recognition codes. Or a sample of hair from Tonks.” She said with a quick glance at Ginny who smiled in acknowledgement of his use of Tonks preferred name.
“Actually, I have an idea on that.” Dave replied. With that some of his fire had returned to his eyes.
“Really?” Ivan enquired, “I’d like to hear it.”
“Harry can we switch back to the memory of Andromeda, Tonks and Muriel talking?” Dave requested.
“Certainly.” Harry answered as he operated the Pensive to bring up the required memory.
“Can you move through the memory to the part when both Tonks and Andromeda have their back to Muriel when they are looking at your birthday invitation?” He asked.
“Ok, give me a moment.” He said while he concentrated on the Pensive.
“When this part of the memory plays dad, watch Muriel’s mouth and her arm.” Dave instructed, “See if you can identify the charms she casts.”
“Charm?” Andromeda said rather surprised, “I don’t recall her casting any charms in that encounter.” He said firmly.
“I think that’s because she altered your memory of it Andromeda.” Dave replied to the surprise of all in the room.
When Harry played that segment of the memory all the eyes in the tent were focused on Muriel. After it had played the first time there were a few requests to replay it. Most notably from Kingsley.
After the second play through Hermione spoke up, “She performed the Confundus Charm on Tonks.” She said very confidently, “I recognise that wand movement.”
“I think she also cast a memory charm on Andromeda probably a very minor Obliviate.” She added.
“I do believe I would agree with you Hermione.” Ivan said with a smile to her.
“And I as well.” Kingsley also added. “Harry can you let the memory play for a few moments more after where you froze it last time.” He requested.
This time when the memory played Muriel could be seen to make an odd grabbing gesture at Tonks who was standing with an odd confused expression on her face for a few moments.
“What is she doing there?” Kingsley asked.
“I know what she is doing.” Dave said in an eerily calm voice.
“Well?” Kingsley asked slightly frustrated.
“She is plucking hairs from Tonks.” Dave replied looking directly into Kingsley’s eyes.
“How.” Kingsley answered, “That isn’t how summoning charms work in Magic.”
“Correct.” Dave answered, “But it IS how they work on Sorcery.” He explained.
“Sorcery?” Kingsley exclaimed, “Are you sure.”
“Extremely sure.” Dave answered, “The only question being, is she not very good at sorcery or is she just very lazy with it. As that movement is what is used when you first learn how to grab something and bring it to yourself.”
“With more training you gradually move away from that gesture and make things more subtle like this.” He said as he held his hand out flat and had Kingsley’s wand appear in it.
The expression on Kingsley face was priceless, as he stared at his wand in Dave’s hand. “You didn’t put it in your holster did you?” Dave asked him with an evil smirk on his face.
“Or were you just trying to cheer me up?” He asked Kingsley.
“No comment.” Kingsley replied trying to hide his own smile as he returned his wand to its holster.
Meanwhile Andromeda looked like she was about ready to explode.
“You mean to tell me that while Muriel was a guest in my house she confounded my daughter, performed a memory charm on me and then STOLE hair from my daughter as well?” She almost shrieked.
“Ivan you won’t have to worry about your wife murdering that wrinkled old cow. Because I’m bloody well going to do it.” She said as she made for the door of the tent.
Molly was able to get in front of her and grab her by the shoulders, “No Andromeda. As Ivan said earlier we don’t want her to be the cause of the ones we love committing murder.” She said as she gave Andromeda a very direct look.
“Well said Aunty Molly.” Dave remarked, “Besides, according to current English Wizarding Law, Muriel has already signed her own death warrant.” Dave said is a cold dispassionate voice that gave everyone pause.
“She performed Sorcery.” Kingsley explained to all in attendance.
“Exactly.” Dave answered, “She has also given us enough evidence to be seriously considered to be a member of a conspiracy to carry out the murder of Senior Auror James Webb.” He said with a determined glint in his eye.
“Which means that there is no longer any need for this.” He said as he pulled the International Arrest Warrant for Tonks out of his wallet and ignited it turning it to ash.
“The only question left is who gets to arrest her?” Dave said as he displayed a thoroughly evil grin, “Us or the Poms?” He asked his father and Kingsley.
The two Ministers just stared at each other with a kind of amused look until they burst out laughing.
“I have an idea that could greatly simplify matters dad.” Dave said with his crooked smile in place.
“What’s that son?” Ivan asked.
“Kingsley and I could duel to see who gets her?” He said hopefully grinning at Kingsley.
Kingsley looked a little worried at the offer from Dave, but at the same time there was an eager glint in his eye also.
“Don’t tell me that reading my file has put you off wanting to duel me?” Dave said as he continued to needle Kingsley.
Before Kingsley could reply Ivan spoke up, “Dave you know the rules.” He said in a serious tone of voice, “Especially since your incident in Iran.” He said looking his son directly in the eye.
“I was only making a friendly offer dad.” Dave replied with an air of innocence that fooled no one.
Ivan gave him a disbelieving look and replied, “We will discuss it and let you know what we decide. If you behave yourself you might even get to carry out the arrest.”
“Unless we get her.” Kingsley added with a chuckle while everyone else had a laugh as well.
With this we all began to head out of the tent. Dave quickly spoke with Molly and Andromeda and asked if he could keep a copy of their memories to send to Q for more detailed analysis.
They both agreed that he could. So, Dave and Harry started work on getting the memories copied and stored in a manner that aligned with the evidence procedures for Dave’s Team. Looking at the pile of forms that Dave was getting out, it was clearly going to take some time.
I could see the disappointment on Gabrielle’s face as she had been clearly hoping to spend some ‘private time’ with Dave. Understanding Dave’s need to capture the evidence correctly she joined the crowd that was heading out of the tent.
The girls were waiting outside to hear more of Gabrielle’s adventures in Paris today. This returned her smile to her face and she agreed to accompany them to the table so that the conversation could begin.