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Bonds of Blood and Magic | ||||||
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Category: Post-HBP Characters:Harry/Ginny, Severus Snape Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Romance Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence/Physical Abuse Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 932 Summary: A few days before Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry vanished. Two weeks later, Ginny disappeared, also alone and without a trace. Someone has stepped out of the shadows for a moment, moved some pieces on the board, and changed the rules of the game. Hitcount: Story Total: 407075; Chapter Total: 12503 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: I'd like to take a moment and thank everybody who sends me PMs and emails and other forms of encouragement. Without all of you, I would not be nearly as motivated as I am. That said, this is a great hobby, but ... it's a hobby, and I have a wife and kids and a job, so you will all have to wait your turns while I take care of them first. :D Not to worry, they want me to continue the story, too. |
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“The world isn't only split up into good people and Death Eaters. There are all sorts in the middle.” Sirius Black, Order of the Phoenix *** Snape opened a heavy wooden door and lead the way into the room. Torches in sconces on the walls and the fireplace all lit as they entered. “Narcissa, you might remember this as the old Rune Master's quarters from when we were in school. I've decided to put you up in this apartment instead of in Amycus's room. It hasn't been used in some time, but it should give you a bit more privacy than just the office by the Dark Arts classrooms.” Narcissa nodded, still as silent as she'd been since being informed that she would be accompanying Snape back to Hogwarts. “Please feel free to summon one of the Hogwarts elves, or one of your own, for any needs you may have. You may bring anything you wish from your home, as well. If you need anything that one of the elves or your home does not supply, please, ask me.” Snape looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed. “With Amycus's demise, I will be needing a new Head of House for Slytherin. I would like you to take over that responsibility.” Narcissa got a panicked look on her face for a moment, her first true reaction since leaving the manor, but it quickly cleared. “I would prefer not, Severus,” she said in a low, measured voice. Snape raised an eyebrow. “I can certainly understand not wanting to listen to the whinging of the brats from another House, Narcissa, but this is our own Slytherin.” “No, thank you, Severus.” Snape breathed in slowly. “Narcissa, I understand your feelings,” he began. Narcissa cut him off immediately, however. “No, you don't. I really think you can't.” “I … suppose you are right, but I can imagine, Narcissa …” She snarled at him, the first real emotion he'd seen from her in weeks. “You couldn't possibly comprehend this, Severus. You weren't his mother.” Snape flushed, and looked away. She choked, bit her lip, and turned back to him. “I'm sorry. I'll teach the classes for you, I'll stay in the castle and help where I must. I'll do what is required as a teacher, but not this. I will not be House Mother for you. No.” Snape gave her a curt nod. “If you can't face it, then I suppose I shall have to inform Aurora that she is to continue.” Narcissa glared at him. “If Aurora Sinistra is the best threat you can come up with, Severus …” He snorted. “She's not a threat. I've had her acting as Head until I found a replacement for Amycus. I couldn't know whether that replacement would take over as Head until I asked, now, could I?” She folded her arms under her breasts, and her glare intensified. “What about Professor Slughorn?” “He doesn't want to do it, either. There is no need to be petty about this, Narcissa. You don't want to do it, and she took over when I asked.” “I can't stand her, Severus,” she said in a low voice. He shrugged. “So, don't sit near her at meals or staff meetings. You shouldn't have a need to interact with her otherwise.” She nodded, and turned to inspect the apartment before her. He turned with her, and said, “I know it's not quite the Manor, but …” Her scoffing voice cut him off. “What? My home? The Manor my husband turned over to the Dark Lord?” He looked at her quietly, his eyes glittering in the firelight. “Be very careful, Narcissa. He is not a forgiving Lord.” She cocked her head slightly, and her eyes narrowed. “Really, Severus? I had no idea.” Snape flushed again. “If you need anything else, please do let me know,” he said as he abruptly turned and left the room. *** “Remus, it's time,” said the larger of a pair of strong-looking men from the doorway. Remus turned to them from his shocked examination of Harry and Ginny, shook himself, and nodded. “Of course, gentlemen. Harry, Ginny, it seems that I have a previous engagement. Perhaps we can continue our conversation tomorrow?” he suggested. Harry looked at him, confused. “Hang on, where are you going?” Remus sighed. “It's the full-moon tonight, Harry. I'm … I'm going to a cell.” “A cell?!” Harry exploded and rounded on Duncan. “Duncan, that is absolutely...” “Necessary,” Duncan cut in. “He'll be safe there, and won't be able to hurt anyone else.” Remus nodded. “Harry, it's the kind of place where people like me go on a night like this,” he said gently. Harry grimaced and turned away from both of them. “Will we be able to talk tomorrow?” Ginny asked, as she put her hand on Harry's arm. “Of course. Once I have regained my … normal senses, that is. In the afternoon would be best, I think.” “Fine. We will be speaking tomorrow, Remus,” said Harry. Remus could only nod as he stood from the remains of his dinner and followed his escorts out of the room. A long silence followed Remus's departure from the dining room. “Well, that was awkward,” said Eirica amiably. “Ginny, isn't that what Remus called you? Not Jenny?” “Erm … right,” she said, looking between Duncan, Eirica, and Harry. Harry waved her on, so she said, “I'm … well, I was, Ginevra Molly Weasley, but everybody calls me Ginny. Jenny is just … close.” “I see,” said Duncan. “Suppose you tell us about all of this,” he suggested, gesturing to both of them. “Erm, we haven't really … explained all of this to anyone,” Harry said slowly. “But … we need to stay Harry and Jenny Jamieson, please. We've worked very hard to … make sure people outside our family know us that way.” “Right. Well, let me start, then, Harry, by explaining a few things. Your parents were James Nathaniel Potter, and Lily Maud Evans. Your paternal grandparents were Nathaniel Robert Potter, and Alesta Allanach. “Alesta was my aunt. That makes James my first cousin, even though we were generations apart in age, and you and I …” “We're cousins?” said Harry, shocked. “Yes. We are family. I've suspected so for about a week now, ever since the fight you had at Stonehaven, but until you dropped all of your disguise this evening, I wasn't certain.” “I … erm,” Harry began, paused, and cleared his throat. He got a puzzled look on his face. “Are you sure?” “Yes, absolutely. Harry James Potter is my cousin James' son. We are family. You are my cousin.” “Where the hell have you been, then?” he asked with some heat. Duncan gazed at him impassively, while Ginny took his face in her hands and turned his head towards her. He blinked rapidly, his mouth working silently. Ginny nodded, as if he'd spoken out loud. “Is there a loo, or somewhere we could go freshen up? He's … We're a bit overwhelmed, here,” she said quietly. “Of course, dear,” said Eirica as she stepped over to them. “Let me show you.” *** Ginny put her hand on Harry's face, and wiped at it with a flannel in her other. “What are you thinking, love?” He shook his head. “I don't know. I don't know what to think. I … he's my cousin? That makes Morgan … we've trained with them for … and … they're all family. That's just … so odd. I've never had family that I actually liked, until you, at least. But, don't you think … wouldn't people have known about them? Remus? Dumbledore, at least?” “Known what?” “Known that dad had all these relatives. And that's the other thing. Like I said before, shouldn't all these people, dad's family, have been interested to know what happened to me, after mum and dad died? Where have they been?” “Harry, there's no way for us to really know what happened back then. Even if … even if Duncan and the others here are willing to explain … we won't know … it will only be what they remember, and it won't be what … Dumbledore, or your parents, or … or anyone else would have remembered. Whatever anyone says. it will only be part of the story. But love, we're here now, and … if they're your father's family, like he says, then they're our family. Maybe this will be good for us. It could help, you know?” “How? What are we supposed to do here? Tell them about Voldemort and the Horcruxes? I'm not sure how they could help, or if it would be safe to let others know about it. We didn't tell your parents, and we actually know they'd help. Even if Duncan and the others here could help, who's to say that they will! I mean, here we are, hundreds of miles from your family, just trying to get me strong enough to start really working on the hunt, and suddenly … I have cousins. It seems a little too … convenient. Can we trust them? And, really, why didn't they help before?” “What do you mean?” “Why didn't they help my dad and mum?” Ginny blinked at him a few times, shrugged, and shook her head. “Maybe that's something we should ask Duncan.” “One other thing.” “What?” “They may be my relatives, but they aren't my family. Not really. You are.” Ginny's smile could have lit a thousand suns. *** Harry and Ginny returned, hand in hand, to the dining room some time later. Duncan didn't seem to have moved, and his expression hadn't changed. He just watched them re-enter the room with the same impassive gaze that had been on his face since before they left. Morgan had rejoined his mother on one side of the table near Duncan, and covered trays of food were also on that end of the long table. Harry and Ginny noted that there were no other diners present, nodded to each other, and then Harry said, “Sir, we have questions.” “I'm sure you do. Let's get started with dinner, and then perhaps we can discuss them.” “First, I have to ask one question.” “Alright.” “I'm not your heir, am I? Please tell me I'm not,” Harry said resignedly. Their three hosts looked at him in shock before they all started laughing. Duncan recovered first, and started to answer him. “Harry, direct lineage inheritance isn't the way this always goes, but … I am on my third wife, I have eleven children, over a dozen grandchildren, and two of my children are competing with my grandchildren over whether I shall become a great-grandfather before I become a grandfather again. “Morgan and Eirica are both in much more danger of being my heir than you are.” Morgan and Eirica gave almost identical shudders at that. “Okay, I just … I didn't mean to say … weird things happen to me so much … erm, do you mind if we … secure the room, before we talk about anything else?” Harry asked. Duncan's left eyebrow lifted bemusedly, but he waved at them to go on. His right eyebrow joined the first when Ginny, not Harry, drew her wand and expertly silenced, sealed, and warded the room with no more fuss than a housewife making potatoes, and much more quickly. Morgan was not nearly so stoic. “But … uh … Jenny, how did you do that?” “What do you mean? You saw me do it. Aren't you people wizards?” she asked, looking askance at their three dinner companions. “Wizards? Of course, we are. Well, erm … kind of. Mum's a witch, though. But those are some really high-level enchantments. What kind of a wand is that? I studied wands for a while. That one must be quite something. And how do you know so much? You're both so young!” “It's not her wand. We … we study. And practice. A lot. And, erm … we're kind of … powerful,” interrupted Harry. “Harry?” questioned Eirica, but Harry just shook his head and didn't answer. “He can do everything I just did, faster, without his wand,” Ginny deadpanned. “He's kind of a freak, honestly.” Harry rolled his eyes. “Tell the girl a childhood nickname just one time, and it comes back to bite you forever.” “Can you show us, Harry?” asked Morgan. Harry rolled his eyes, waved his arm and turned his wrist, and laughed quietly at Eirica's gasp as they all felt the spells and temporary wards dissipate. He flicked his fingers and hand, and the room was again sealed. “You'd better apprentice them, Duncan. I'll do it myself, if you don't have the time,” said Eirica with a wicked gleam in her eye. “I didn't call you back to the Keep for that, dear,” Duncan replied quietly, while looking only at Harry. “Chicken, Harry? Under the glass there,” he said, pointing. “Chicken? Da, we're talking about something much more important than your addiction to teriyaki sauce!” Duncan sighed. “At my age, my dear, the simpler pleasures take on so much more allure.” She scoffed, and turned her focus on Harry and Ginny once more. “Mother …” Morgan began. “No. I want them. I'll take them both, since they're married. It's been done a time or two before, and they're family anyway. I'll have to adjust …” “They don't even know what's going on here, Eirica,” said Duncan firmly. “What does that matter? I'll teach them. They'll learn,” she assured him. “Of course, they will, but that doesn't mean that you can have them all to yourself, princess. I do want you to train them, but they won't be apprenticed. Not to anyone.” “What!? They have to be. They're the most powerful children I've ever seen, and they're already over-age for starting, even if his grandfather was older. We absolutely shouldn't wait.” “Mother! We have a plan, and you are ruining it! Just wait, and let us explain,” protested Morgan. “Yes, princess, that way, all of us will understand the true import of what is going on,” said Duncan evenly. Eirica glared at him for a moment, and then nodded. “Da, are you ever going to stop calling me that?” “No, I am not.” Eirica rolled her eyes as she looked away. “Nearly a grandmother myself,” she muttered. “It's the nature of nicknames, I think,” said Harry lightly. “Better than 'freak', anyway.” She snorted. “I should rather think so.” She turned back to Duncan. “Alright, so explain to me why the two members of this family with the most potential I've ever seen or heard of aren't going to apprentice, because frankly, Da, that just sounds incredibly stupid. It's not like you at all to give up a chance like this.” Duncan sighed. “It's not. It wasn't like my grandfather, either.” Harry's brow furrowed, and Duncan sighed again. “Wouldn't anyone rather start eating before we continue discussing such … disturbing things? Please, let's take some food and drink, at least.” Ginny lifted the top from one of the dishes near her, gasped, and started scooping food onto her plate. The others followed her example, explored the dishes, and started to serve themselves. “Harry, Je — Ginny,” Duncan began after he'd had several minutes to begin his meal, “there are things about us that, like you, we hesitate to explain to others. We have a very insular community here, and trust … very rarely. “You know that you are in Mar, correct?” Harry and Ginny both nodded. “Good. We'll return to that in a moment. Harry, I should tell you about your grandfather, since he was the first member of your family to learn about us. He … was a very good friend to me. He was my primary mentor when I was an apprentice. “He came to us when he met my Aunt Alesta. She was sixteen, he was eighteen, and had just graduated from Hogwarts. He was touring, as many wealthy young men did of the time did, and came here to hike in the Highlands. Alesta was just one year into her apprenticeship. “It is usually very silly, when two people fall in love at first sight, as they say in the storybooks. But people like Aunt Alesta and Uncle Nathaniel are why those stories exist, really. They never had eyes or thoughts for anyone but each other from the moment they met until they died. People used to say it was like they'd been waiting all their lives for that moment, to find each other. “Aunt Alesta told me once that she would have abandoned her apprenticeship for him, save for the fact that he agreed to wait to marry, and then decided to take the training himself.” “You keep talking about apprenticing, and she keeps saying …” Harry slowed and stopped speaking as he saw the intense look on Eirica's face. Ginny snorted. “Eirica, calm down, or you're going to break him.” Duncan stood from the table and paced around to Eirica. He placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked across at Harry and Ginny. “Eirica became an apprentice when she was fifteen. She completed her apprenticeship when she was twenty-seven.” Ginny blinked, and then blinked again. “My brother Bill's apprenticeship was nearly three years. Everybody said how long that was,” she said. Duncan nodded, a half grin on his face. “Is he a Runes Master, or an Auror?” Ginny shook her head. “Curse breaker.” “Ah. Well, that's one of the longest ones. Aurors and Runes are about that long, Healers go quite a bit longer, and there are a few others. Unlike your Ministry and Guild certifications, our apprenticeships are not determined by time, but by goals and accomplishments. Some of us have taken as much as twenty years.” Ginny stared. “Merlin's saggy y-fronts!” Morgan tittered, and Eirica guffawed. Duncan just laughed. “I think she'll fit in just fine, Da.” Still shaking his head, Duncan continued. “Alesta Allanach set a record. Very few have ever completed an apprenticeship here in less than ten years. She did it in eight. Your grandfather bested her a few months later, when he finished in a touch over seven years. “They nearly got thrown out of the program in their last year, because they ran off and eloped while on a recuperation break after an assignment, contrary to what they'd agreed, and their orders.” “Orders?” “Yes, orders. In some ways, we are very military in our organization and discipline, you see. Apprentices aren't supposed to be, or become, married until after they finish without special permission, and when she asked, Alesta was ordered to wait until she finished her apprenticeship. My grandfather punished them when they eloped, but … though he could have, he wasn't about to throw them out. She was his daughter, after all. “They did finish, and afterward, they served on the Council for many years, and were great assets.” “Whose assets?” “Ah, well, now we get down to the crux of it. You remember Isabel, the woman in the portrait?” “Yes.” “As I said, she is an ancestor, probably the most significant of my ancestors. What do you know about this castle?” “You said this was her Keep originally.” “Oh, no, she inherited it, just as I did. The family built it a generation or three before she came along. As for Isabel, she had two husbands in her life. The first … was a weak man the family head of her time married her to for a political alliance that went nowhere. He died, leaving her childless. Then, the family head died, and she inherited all of our lands, and the responsibilities that go with them. Her second husband was Alexander Stewart, a magic user who defeated her forces and her wards. He tried to rule here, to push her into a more subservient role, and attempted to take her titles for himself. “That's when all of this,” he waved his hand in a vague circle, “really started. You see, she wasn't having any of that from him.” Harry started, and stared. He jumped to his feet, and stumbled a bit, but Ginny was right beside him and steadied him as he moved to the door. By the time the two of them walked through it, the enchantments were already dispelled. Duncan, Eirica, and Morgan all stared at each other. “That went well,” Morgan said. “What did I say?” said Duncan. Eirica shrugged, opened her mouth but said nothing, got up, too, and followed Harry and Ginny. She found them standing in front of Isabel's portrait, just staring at it. “Don't your portraits speak?” asked Ginny. Eirica shook her head. “No, we've always found that practice a bit morbid.” “That's okay. We wouldn't have been able to understand her, anyway,” said Harry in a distant voice. Eirica focused her gaze on him again. “What do you mean, Harry?” “When she spoke, it was …” he shook his head. “Not really English.” “Harry?” Harry just shook his head and left the room. Eirica and Ginny followed him back to the dining room. “Is everything all right, Harry? I … if I've said something that upset you again …” Duncan said, but Harry shook his head to him as well. “No, sir, just some things are starting to make a little bit of sense. That's all. I do still have one more question for you tonight, though.” “Yes?” “Why is Remus here? I mean, how did he get here? Why are you holding him here?” Duncan sighed. “Of the many things I am responsible for, the primary one is the safety and security of our lands and people. There are magical protections, of course, and rules that are inviolate, which are enforced by the magic that protects us. One of those is that dark creatures are only tolerated if they follow the rules that keep everyone here safe. Mr. Lupin transformed on our lands outside of a safe enclosure. He showed a lack of care for the safety of others by so doing, a lack of ability or willingness to take proper precautions. He is, therefore, confined here. He may not leave.” “Until when?” Ginny asked with some trepidation. Duncan sighed again. “He may not leave, ever. We will ensure that he is cared for, and safely confined when necessary, but he may not leave. If he attempts to do so, he will be killed.” Harry's blank stare belied his inner fury, but when glasses on the table started shattering, Ginny grabbed him in her arms, and gave him a soul-smoldering kiss. When she released him, she pushed him into his chair, and then rounded on their host. “Are you really saying that you'd kill him for trying to leave, Duncan?” she asked in a flat, deadly voice. He eyed her carefully. “No, Ginny. No one here will harm him unless he is actually a danger to others. However, the wards he tripped when he came here will. He's trapped by them, for life. He will die here.” Harry slapped the table with an open palm. The whip-crack sound shattered the remaining glasses. “He has a wife, Duncan! She's pregnant, and she doesn't even know he's alive!” protested Harry. Duncan nodded. “All that may be true, but he's stuck here. There's nothing to be done.” Ginny and Harry exchanged a look, and then turned to Duncan. Ginny glared at him. “Fine. If Remus can't leave, then we'll just bring her here.” Duncan looked reluctant, but Harry pressed him. “Duncan, he's not a bad person. He was one of my dad's best friends, and his wife was an Auror, before Voldemort took over. She is pregnant. We know where she is, and we know where he is. He can't leave, so the only right thing to do is to allow her to come here.” Duncan pursed his lips, but said nothing. Eirica, however, was having none of it. “Of course, you will bring her here. And I will go with you.” “Not tonight,” said Duncan firmly, with a bit of glare at the three of them. Morgan stared at all four, wide -eyed. “Perhaps not until after the weekend, but,” he sighed, “it does make sense. Bring her. Go see the Healers and get a portkey for her, Eirica. They've always got some ready.” She nodded. “Are you going to finish, now?” “If the audience will stop running out the door, I suppose I can try,” he replied. Harry had the good grace to blush, while Ginny giggled. “I am the Mormaor of Mar,” Duncan said bluntly. Harry's brow furrowed. “I'm not … familiar with that term. I think I read something about a Mormaor in Muriel's book, but it didn't really explain.” “Really? I don't remember reading that,” confessed Ginny. Duncan laughed gently. “I would have been surprised if either of you knew what it means. It's not a term in common use today. Basically, it is an archaic means of saying I am the true Lord of Mar, by right of blood and magic. I am the Chieftan of Clan Mar, and the Captain General of Clan Mar's War Mages and Warriors, and when we discuss apprenticing, that is what we are talking about: training War Mages, and also Warriors. Aunt Alesta was what you might have called a Princess of Mar. And, she was a War Mage, as was your grandfather.” Ginny and Harry exchanged looks again. So did Duncan, Morgan, and Eirica. Harry looked at the other three through narrow, suspicious eyes. Ginny put her hand on his arm. “What's a War Mage?” she asked. Duncan smiled slightly. “A War Mage is many, many things. You'll learn more about that tomorrow, but for now, so we can finish our story and finally finish our dinner, what is important to know is that our purpose is to protect Mar. And we're … very good at it.” “And there aren't very many of us,” added Eirica. “Which is why I want you both. You have such potential.” “How many of you are there?” asked Harry. Duncan and Eirica exchanged a look. Then Duncan said, “Few enough that I more than sympathize with Eirica, but I will not allow you to apprentice.” “Okay,” Harry said slowly, “if the War Mages are so important, why aren't there very many of them?” “Several reasons. It is difficult, the road is long, and full of sacrifices, and that leads us right into the next part of the story, Harry. Your dad and mum,” Duncan replied. “What do they have to do with this?” “Well … several things. I was apprenticed to your father's parents, but finished training decades before he was born, since they were quite a bit older than normal before they were able to have a child. “Our grandfather was the Mormaor throughout those years, and he was … a bit of a stick, to be honest. A hide-bound, hard-core traditionalist. It's really not a bad trait for the Mormaor most of the time, but it does sometimes lead to problems. He and James didn't really get on well, and … well, James was expected to start his apprenticeship when he was fifteen, same as his mother did. It would have been after he'd taken his OWLs. I was supposed to apprentice him, actually. But when the time came, he refused to do it, and your grandparents refused to force him to do it. They absolutely doted on him, you know. Denied him nothing. They'd had to wait so long to have him, you see, they just couldn't make themselves. So, grandfather was more than a bit irritated with him. Well, all three of them, really. To placate grandfather, Nathaniel suggested that perhaps James would be willing to do it after he got his NEWTs. Instead, James married your mother immediately after they graduation, and then came here and argued that the War Mages should jump into the fight with Voldemort. “Grandfather, though, failed to see Voldemort as a threat to our people, or to our land. We've always considered the British government, magical and mundane, as anathema, and he never liked Dumbledore anyway, so he refused to aid in any way in the war. Finally, after three or four arguments about it, James cursed him for a coward, and left. He never came back.” Harry took Ginny's hand. “So, basically, they had a fight, and my dad walked out on you?” “Not on me, no. In fact, I was at James and Lily's wedding, and would gladly have been at your birth, but I was sent on an assignment shortly after James's last visit here that kept me out of the country for several years. I only returned after grandfather died, and that was in 1985. That was when I took over as Mormaor.” “So, you were out of the country when …” Duncan nodded solemnly. “I … Harry, I couldn't have acted against my grandfather's wishes. There are too many oaths and such binding the War Mages for that, but I could have helped them. I would have hidden them if they'd needed it, if I'd had any idea. But I wasn't here. Your mother wasn't even pregnant when I left. I had no idea where you were, or how to find you, when I came home, and I had a number of responsibilities here that I could not avoid. It sounds rather weak, but it is what happened.” “Thank you, Duncan. Actually, that … it answers a lot. A lot of questions we had.” “Oh?” “We wanted to know why, if all of you are family to James, you didn't help them when they needed it. But it makes sense, in a way, if he was estranged from the family head,” said Ginny. “He cut himself off from whatever might have been done.” “And for you, since you weren't even here,” Harry added. “I would to all the gods that I had been, Harry.” Harry's eyes narrowed again then. “Hang on, though. If you War Mages exist to protect … Mar?” Duncan nodded. Harry nodded as well. “If that's why you exist, then why were you out of the country? Shouldn't you be here, to protect this place?” Duncan sighed. “We do leave, though. We have to. It's part of our training, and part of how we make money. Please understand, we're not all War Mages. Some of our people act as mercenaries, bodyguards, and so forth. We sell our services, our trainers, and our fighters to carefully screened people, companies, and even countries.” “That … doesn't make sense, Duncan. If you're … mercenaries … then, why wouldn't the old Mormaor fight when Harry's father asked him to, even if he didn't like Dumbledore?” Ginny objected. Duncan rubbed at his face for a moment, and then shook his head. “I honestly think it was because he was trying to get James to move up here and take his place among us just stubbornly as James was trying to get him to take the Mages to war against Voldemort. “And remember what I said about careful screening? If the Mormaor doesn't like the people who want to hire us, no one goes.” “So, it's … kind of arbitrary?” Harry said slowly. Duncan nodded. “Yes, it is.” “Sounds like … a king or something.” “Very much so, Harry. The ancient Mormaors of the Highlands were not only clan chiefs, but they acted much as kings and queens before the Britons ever unified under one king, and even after we ourselves unified under the Bruces, we had a lot more local autonomy than the southern nobles did under their kings. Well, when we in Mar … withdrew, so to speak, from the squabbles, wars, and threats of all the various overlord kings, we went back to the old way of doing things, and that made Isabel the de facto queen, and all of her successors on down to me have wielded much the same authority here, though we usually don't refer to it as such.” He snorted. “Well. Get an old man started, and see what you get!” Eirica laughed at him. “Old? Great-grandfather was nearly twice your age before he started slowing down.” “That's certainly true. I expect to be quite vigorous for some time to come, but when I claim to be old, it is only polite to allow your father to say it without contradiction. I assure you, I was not looking for counter-affirmation, princess.” “Okay, so … why can't Ginny and I apprentice? If it's so important and all,” said Harry slowly, bringing them all back on point. “Well, Harry, I should think that is obvious. I have various reasons, but ultimately, it is my judgement, as Captain of the War Mages, that you are physically unsuited to become an apprentice. Due to the demands of the training, and your disability, it is unlikelihood that you could successfully complete it. Ginny could, yes, but, young as you are, you are married. That, compounded by the demands on you as you fight against that idiot Voldemort, all make my administrative assessment clear. You may not apprentice. It is simply out of the question. “If you agree to it, we will train you both as much as we can, within the scope of your limitations and abilities. Additionally, I pledge to help you as much as we are able, in whatever other capacities we may. “So, you see, Eirica,” he said as he turned toward his daughter, “you should get to train them. Just, not in quite the way that you might have wished.” “What limitations are you referring to, Da?” she asked as she glanced at Harry out the corner of her eye. “Harry?” said Duncan. Harry sighed, and turned to Eirica. “Morgan and Duncan already know, pretty much, some of what's wrong with me, but the story they know is … well, we made it up for the Muggles. It's complete rubbish, really. I didn't fall off a cliff when I broke my leg and such, or smash my head into a rock wall. I was tortured by Voldemort's followers, and they hurt me pretty badly, but … all of that is mostly cleared up. Except, I had a … a curse injury to my head that left permanent damage. I can't always walk without support, and my balance and muscle control are crap sometimes.” “Oh, my,” said Eirica. “It's gotten much better. Physiotherapy sucks, but it does help.” “Your medical records are accurate regarding your injuries?” Duncan asked. “Of course, the therapists couldn't really help me otherwise.” Duncan nodded. “Good. Yes, you are doing better, and that is why I have proposed your new workout schedule at the therapists, to accommodate a much more intensive training regimen here.” “How intensive?” questioned Ginny. Duncan smiled, and Harry shivered at the glint in his eye. “You may not be thanking me for any of this later,” he said quietly. *** After Harry and Ginny sealed and warded their room, they sat down on the bed and looked at each other. After a few minutes of silence, Ginny asked, “Well, what do you think?” Harry shook his head. “I have no idea. “Family. It's hard to take in, and a little bit hard to really … believe, kind of.” Ginny nodded. Then, she smirked. “Who knew? Your grandmother really was a princess, like Muriel said.” “Yeah. And how did she know? Eeargh. I feel like everyone still knows more about me than I do about myself.” “What?” “Oh. My first year at Hogwarts, and even my first trip to Diagon, it seemed as though everyone I met knew me, knew my story and all about me, when I didn't really know anything at all about myself.” “Hmm. I think I can relate.” “Oh?” “Yeah, I still know more about you than you do,” she quipped. “Oh, really?” he said while rolling his eyes. “Pray tell, what do you know about me that I don't?” “Oh, well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be true anymore.” “Just means you can't prove it.” “No, it just means that you'll have to live without knowing. Blissful ignorance suits you, I think,” she countered. “If you say so, love.” *** Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump. Thabump. Thump, thump, thump. Rocking and swaying. Movement, speed. Wind, cold, with a spit of rain in it. Damp. Dark. Constant rhythm of thumps. Smell. Large animal, sweat, wet hair. Wet leather. Thumps becoming background noise, along with the motion. Where … What … Gray sky. Dim light. Mist. Fog. Wet hair dangling down … our … face, chilling and numbed skin in the cold. Horse, still moving strongly beneath … Us. Her. Us. Browned grass in rolling waves, disappearing in the mist. Two twisted, gnarled trees. We pass them steadily, rocking back and forth in the wet leather of our saddle. The horse's mane flicks and snaps in the wind of his passage, not quite hitting our face with its length. Breasts moved up and down in time with the movement of the horse. That got Harry's attention, and his shock at the revelation of what that unusual amount of flesh moving on his chest in that way felt like, combined with the realization that he had never actually ridden a horse, finally allowed his mind to partially break free of the strange synchronistic union with the woman, whomever she was. He could not look around and try to discover where he was. He was simply a passenger, a voyeur looking through another person's eyes, feeling through her skin, muscle, and bone. A woman. He winced mentally as the most obvious evidence of her sex jostled even more as the horse stumbled, and tried to remove himself from the vision, or dream, but could not separate himself further than acknowledging his own existence, and the fact that he was riding another's life. Her life, not just her horse. They seemed to ride on for hours, and the physical differences between them shortly faded to background noise, much as the horse's movement and sound had. They climbed through fog and heather, up a rocky, slippery trail. The horse stumbled more and more the longer they rode, but continued stubbornly up what seemed to be a mountain. The wind got stronger, and colder, as they reached the crest of the pass. Her skin started to go completely numb, Harry noticed. First her face, then her hands, since they were exposed, and then her feet and legs. The rain in the wind turned to ice, and lashed at her, pricking the numbed, exposed skin with icepick points of pain. The colder she got, the more Harry became concerned about the woman's safety. He entirely forgot about the odd sensations he felt sharing her body, and started fighting for control, to be able to turn her aside from her mad flight up the mountain, to find shelter, to help her. Nothing he tried seemed to deter her from her grimly held purpose, and though the horse slowed and struggled, she urged him onward desperately. Some time later, it started snowing in earnest as they exited the pass the mountain trail went through. The entire trail and landscape ahead of her turned white, and she was finally forced to stop in the shelter of some boulders and a small clump of trees. The woman nearly fell as she struggled down off the horse, and then her legs went out from under her as soon as she hit the ground. She landed on all fours, and stayed there panting for several moments before she started to struggle to her feet. The horse stood where she'd left it, his breath showing in huge gouts of steam from his nostrils as he blew, his head hanging down and muscles visibly quivering in the cold. Though the shelter of the trees and rocks cut the buffeting of the wind considerably, she still struggled against it and the driving snow to return to the horse's side. She pulled a thick, heavy stick of about two-and-a-half feet in length from the horse's saddle, and, taking it in both hands, pointed it at a space near the largest stone. She breathed deeply, and as she exhaled, a small fire ignited into eerie blue life. She then waved the stick in a circle around her feet. All the snow within ten feet of her blew out and away, and the buffeting and sound of the wind faded as she waved the stick in another circle above her head. The horse shook himself, and a great cloud of steam began to rise off his body. She waved her stick at him, and all of his tack unbuckled itself and landed on the ground between him and the fire in a neat pile. She stumbled over to the pile of leather and sank to the ground next to it. She seemed to collapse on herself at that point, and leaned back against the damp side of the saddle. She forced her head and one arm up, and pointed the stick in four directions, one after the other, muttering softly as she did so, before allowing herself to collapse again against the saddle. The horse joined her, laying down on the ground near the pile. The woman seemed to fall asleep, but Harry didn't pass out of the dream, or vision, or whatever it was. He seemed trapped, stuck until whatever had hold of him in his new reality released him back to his own life. He was, however, able to see what was going on around him, rather than being forced to see and feel only what the woman did. What he saw dismayed him. Though the sounds were deadened greatly by whatever spells the woman had placed around herself, the ground still shook as a group of grim-faced men on odd horses, with five large, wild-looking hounds, rode up the trail and into view. The hounds stopped running, and paced about, looking confused. They started snapping at each other, and two started to fight. One of the men dismounted his horse and cuffed the fighting hounds with a short whip. They snarled at him, but slunk away and curled up on the ground. Several of the men got down and conferred while the first paced around the area, examining the ground. One of the group walked over to the tracker after a few minutes and spoke to him. He shook his head, and gestured about insistently for a moment. He got a fist shaken in his face for his efforts. The tracker turned his head, spat into the snow, and whistled to the hounds as he turned abruptly back to his steaming, fey horse. He sprang into the saddle and kicked it into a trot as he and the hounds left, back the way they'd come. The remaining men stood around in the wind and snow, looking at each other, and apparently cursing. They remained for some time, arguing and cursing at the weather, until finally one of them got on his horse and headed after the tracker. That started a tickle, and then a flood as first one and then two more of the remaining dozen men finally got on their mounts and rode slowly out of Harry's view. That was when Harry finally woke up with a gasp, and found himself suddenly sitting up, blinking. “That was so weird,” he breathed. “What, love?” Ginny murmured from the pillow. She reached for him, but, because he was sitting up, had to swing her arm around until she connected with his back. Having found him, she curled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Nothing, just a dream. I think.” “Another one?” “Yeah.” “What was it this time?” “Erm … it was really … odd.” “Why?” He shook his head, though she couldn't see it. “Erm … Her, erm, chest was … and … horses with fangs, and demonic hounds. Bigger than Padfoot.” She sat up. “Whose chest?” “Erm, the woman, in my dream.” Ginny raised her eyebrows. “Who was she?” Harry shook his head again. “Dunno. Like I said, it was odd.” “What was it about her chest?” “It … was bouncing.” “Bouncing.” “Yeah.” “Get a good look, then?” “Erm, not really. Just … bouncing.” “Well, they do that.” “Yeah. Especially when she's on a horse.” “A horse?” “Yeah. They go up and down, you know.” “Erm, yeah. I knew that,” she said as she vaguely gestured toward her chest. “I meant horses.” “Oh, right. Yeah. Of course. Have you ever ridden one?” “No. Never had a girl's chest before, either.” “What?” she said, looking confused. “I wasn't ogling her, Gin, I was … it was like I was her, like we were … the same. Riding the horse, she … bounced. I felt it like, like it was my chest. I felt everything she felt — wind, cold, snow, everything. It was like we were the same person. Really weird.” Ginny looked stunned. “Yeah, weird.” “Have you ever even heard of something like that?” She smirked, and started to laugh. “Harry, when has anyone heard of most of the things that happen to you?” “Right.” “Merlin. You just dreamed that you were a girl?” He snorted. “Well, yeah, I guess.” “So who was she?” “Dunno. She had a lot of hair, though. Someone was chasing her. Hunting her, really.” They talked about it for a while, but could not come up with any ideas for the woman's identity. “One thing's for sure, it's not Isabelle.” “What makes you say so?” “Hair's the wrong shade of red. More like yours, than Isabelle's.” “Huh. Must have been a long time ago, though, with all those horses. Can you imagine?” “What, traveling that way? Not really. I'd have to be up on a horse. Wouldn't think that's a great idea. Wonder why she didn't just apparate?” “That's why I say it was a long time ago. Professor Snape told me that apparition has been the preferred method of wizarding travel, for those powerful and skilled enough to use it, since the late eighteenth century, but before that, it was really, really risky, and almost no one used it before the seventeenth.” He nodded. “Still is kind of risky. One witch in my class had to get un-splinched three times. She left after that, said it hurt too much, and she'd just take portkeys, or fly wherever she needs to go.” “Ergh! Can't blame her. Splinching's just nasty. Charlie did it once, coming home one night after he got really drunk at a party.” Ginny shuddered. “Dad had to go collect what he left behind. So gross.” “But he got put back together, right?” “Oh, yeah, not a big deal to put somebody back together after splinching. As long as you get all their pieces back.” “So, do I want to know what he left behind?” Harry asked with a bit of a smirk. She shuddered again, and shook her head. “Dad wasn't very happy about it. He wouldn't let Charlie apparate on his own again until he re-took the whole class. Since he'd already had the class at school, and it was summer, he had to go to the ministry every day for two weeks, and had to pay for the classes himself.” “Bet that was embarrassing.” “Yeah, the only other people who were there had failed the test when they took it at school.” “Wish I'd gotten to take the test,” he muttered. “Why? Doesn't mean a thing, really,” she said flippantly. “I'm not even old enough to take it yet, and I've never splinched myself,” she added, and grinned mischievously. “Ron did.” “What did he leave?” “Eyebrows.” She snorted. “Really? Any skin?” “Not much, just the hair and what was right under it.” “That's a lot funnier than Charlie's.” “So …” She sighed. “It was his left hand. See, he was so drunk, he didn't realize he still had a bottle in his hand, and when he apparated, he didn't try to take the bottle, or what was attached to it. He screamed fit to wake the devil when he got to the Burrow.” “Oh. Ick. Remind me not to do that.” “Yeah.” *** Harry stepped out of the nearly silent main building and looked around at the morning. A low mist drifted slowly across the ground and through the open drawbridge, and he could see it swirling in the fields outside the wall. He walked slowly, cane in hand, across the slightly uneven ground to the bridge to watch the rising sun clear the nearby hills. He was still standing there, with one hand on the wall, when a little girl of about five or six years slipped out one of the nearby doors. She stopped short when she saw him, but since his back was to her, he didn't notice her. She tried to sneak across the bridge, but jumped when Harry spoke. “Hey, there, where are you going?” he asked. “Erm, out ter play,” she said quietly as she turned to face him. His brow furrowed a bit. “Bit early, isn't it? And cold?” “Well, yeah,” she said slowly as she turned around and slumped her way back to the door she'd come out of. “But mum won't let me go if I want ter later.” “Maybe your mum will let you later, but it's too cold out now.” Her flushed skin bore mute testimony to the fact that she was dressed only in a light jumper and jeans, in spite of the frosty temperature. Harry grinned a bit, and waved his hand at her. She jumped again when she felt the warming charm flow over her. She grinned back at him, and skipped her way back across the ground to the door she'd come out of. She stopped there and looked at him for a moment, and then disappeared inside. “Pleased with yourself?” he heard a voice near his ear ask. “Oh, she's too cute,” Harry said as he turned and gave Ginny a quick kiss. “Hmm. Bit young for you, isn't she?” Ginny quipped. “Oh, I don't know. I always thought of getting one younger than that.” Ginny's brow furrowed. “Oh, really, Potter. And just what do you intend to do with one younger than that?” He shrugged. “Figured you'd probably have more to say about that than I would, at least at first. Figured I get to change nappies, mostly. Watch you suckle him, too.” She smirked, and struggled not to smile. “I rather imagine that you'll deal with some nappies someday. It's not like that's hard. You just vanish the mess, like anything else.” “Really?” “Yeah.” “Huh. Duncan made it sound like he had to do it the normal way when he was talking about my dad.” “That is the normal way, Harry.” He laughed. “I meant by removing the nappy, wiping the bum, and putting on a clean nappy.” Her clear laugh was like the peals of a bell. “You are such a Muggle sometimes.” He grinned, and shrugged. “I've never seen a witch or wizard change a baby.” She arched an eyebrow. “Well, stick around. Maybe I'll show you someday.” “I'm counting on that, you know.” “I know.” Harry grinned and gathered her in his arms. “Good,” he said as he leaned into her lips. “Then we're on the same page.” She giggled, and pressed herself against him. “So,” he said as his lips nibbled at her neck, “where do you suppose they're keeping Remus?” She shook her head slightly. “No idea. Think we'd better get that out of the way first?” “I guess not. He's always a bit too worn down to be good for much after transforming. Probably won't do any good to talk to him before this afternoon. Tomorrow might even be better.” “Well, Duncan said he had a lot of things he wants us to look at, and you can find out more about your grandparents, at least.” He grimaced. “I've been trying to not think about that too much. Kind of … freaking me out, really.” “I know. But … we'll deal with it,” she said firmly. “Right. Maybe we can talk about Tonks, too. Be a nice thing for Remus to see her when he's done with getting over the change.” *** Harry and Ginny walked back into the main building hand-in-hand. They wandered around in the art room for a while, taking a closer look at some of the pieces, and the instruments. “Do you want to try doing any of this?” Harry asked. Ginny looked at him, startled. “Erm, maybe after a while. I think we ought to focus on other things for now, though.” “Right. Nice to look at, though.” He stopped in front of the portrait of Isabel again. “What do you think of her?” he asked. Ginny smirked. “Oh, was it her?” He rolled his eyes and snorted. “I don't know! I didn't exactly see her face! I saw more of the stinking horse.” Ginny turned to the painting herself. “Well, if she did what Duncan says, she was pretty powerful. Tough. It would have been pretty difficult to take all these people, all this land, and just … hide it. Hide from her husband, from the king, from their armies.” “Yes, it was,” said Duncan as he came into the room. They turned toward him. “I kind of thought so. How did she really do it?” asked Harry. “It was a quite complicated. You have to understand that, in spite of the military nature our little community has developed since then, she did all of this to avoid a costly, futile war. The first thing she actually did about it was, she faked her own death. That made it so her husband left her alone because, well, as far as he knew, she was dead. Her reasoning was that by opting out of competing for British royal recognition of things that people who weren't of her blood couldn't claim anyway, she ended the need to have our people fight and die against the English forces and occupation, which is the same path we have followed ever since. Then, she moved to the old Keep with those loyal to her, and, between herself and a few others … there's a complicated web of enchantments out there now, working to keep the secrets they created. There were loyal villagers and farmers, in addition to her warriors, wizards, and a few trusted family members. Some moved to the Keep, or to lands that were part of the secret, or that could easily be added to the secret because of their location. Others stayed where they were, and became part of a network that interfaced those staying in the Keep with the outside world. “My studio in Aberdeen does something like that.” “I have to tell you, it was a real shock to see you like that, last weekend. I almost thought …” Harry trailed off and looked away. “What?” “It's embarrassing, because, well … Erm. Until I realized what you'd done to that Death Eater, I was thinking that we were going to have to fight you to get away, that you were with them and it was a trap.” Duncan looked at him for a long moment. “It's not paranoia if they're really after you, Harry. Don't be embarrassed by that.” Harry gave a nervous laugh. “Look, you were in a fight, people were trying to kill you, and suddenly, someone you didn't expect to see showed up with a weapon. It's only natural to have a … reaction.” Ginny took Harry's hand and smiled up at Duncan. “So. What are we doing today?” “First, I think we should all have breakfast, unless you managed to scare up something to eat already?” “No, that sounds lovely,” said Ginny. “Let's head down, then, unless you wanted to continue discussing Isabel?” “I think I would, but we don't have to do it right now.” Duncan lead them to the same, somewhat stiffly formal dining room they'd eaten in the night before. Harry looked around as they sat, and asked, “Do you always eat in here?” Duncan looked at him quizzically. “Why not? It's the dining room.” Harry shrugged. “Just seems a bit much for just three or four family members.” “Oh,” Duncan laughed shortly, “when the rest of the family is here, we do fill it, or nearly so. But, if I just want to grab something, I can always go to the kitchen. This is more private for the kind of conversation I'm assuming you want to have, though.” “Who runs the kitchen?” Ginny asked. “House elves, of course,” he said. “We do have a few humans that work there, but mostly, it's the house elves. Why? Don't you have elves?” “Neither of us did growing up, no, but Harry has a couple.” “We mostly don't use them, though. Been taking care of things ourselves, in all the Muggle areas we've been hiding out in.” Harry added, “It's kind of how I grew up, really, just cleaning and cooking myself.” Duncan gave them a long, measuring look. “You shouldn't deny your elves the right to take care of you. It's not healthy for them. Serving is what gives their magic its strength. It's a symbiotic relationship. They're very good at not being noticed, you know. That's a part of their magic, as well.” Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, before they nodded to Duncan. “Alright, we'll have to consider using them more,” Harry said. “Please feel free to bring them here, if you wish.” Harry nodded again. “We'll talk to them, and probably bring at least one of them.” “Good enough. What will you have for breakfast?” “What do you usually eat? We could just all have the same,” suggested Harry. “Usually, when I bring people here for the first time, I have haggis, but honestly, that's just to take the mickey when I tell them what's in the stuff. It's not my favorite, really. We have a lot of oatmeal, mash, rashers, bangers, fruits, juices. Really, whatever you'd like. The elves will even make you chocolate and strawberry smiley-face pancakes, if that's what you're in the mood for.” “Almost like the Leaky,” Ginny said. “Yeah, really,” added Harry. “Or Hogwarts.” “When did you get smiley-face pancakes at school?” said Ginny as she slapped his shoulder. Harry shrugged. “After second year. Dobby makes anything you want, if you go down to the kitchens.” “You never told me!” she accused. “Sorry?” he said. “I made pancakes for you, though.” “Not at school,” she pointed out archly. “Well, no,” he admitted. “But we were only going out for,” he started, but she cut him off. “Don't even start, that is no excuse,” she said airily. “You could still have told me, or made me breakfast.” “Fine. The next time we're at Hogwarts, I'll make you breakfast. Again.” “Good,” she said, smiling up at him. They shortly had stacks of pancakes on their plates. Ginny's did have chocolate chips. “There's a number of things I would like to give you the opportunity to do today. We have some of the finest instructors of physical fitness in the world here, not to mention ward crafters, combat medics, weapons masters, and combat veterans of wars around the globe. I would like you to see them, see what they can do, and for them to speak to you both, and watch you doing various things, to give them an opportunity to assess your abilities and knowledge,” declared Duncan. “Duncan, the first thing we need to do is to go get Remus's wife,” Harry said slowly. Duncan nodded. “I can see why you would want to do that, but ...” “They've been apart long enough, and I know that if I were forcibly separated from my wife for months on end, I wouldn't be very understanding of anything that continued that separation. They're our friends, and that is reason enough. Eirica will come along, you said, and that will make it so that if there are any issues, you will have a representative with us to take care of it.” Duncan pursed his lips, and nodded. “Don't take too long. We have a lot of things to go over today.” “And this is, to me, the most important.” “Didn't you say that you wanted Eirica to work with us today, anyway? We can talk with her while we deal with this,” Ginny added. “True.” He sighed. “Go and see the Healers. They'll give you portkey that is safe to use with pregnant women. If she is as pregnant as you say, then she cannae apparate, unless it is an emergency. Eirica can take ye to the Healers after breakfast.” “So, Duncan, I have another question,” said Harry. “Alright.” “Did you really change my dad's nappies?” Duncan laughed. “Oh. Erm, yes, I really did. I had several children by then. Alesta and Nathaniel only ever had James, so I was the much more experienced parent. They'd been around other children, of course, but … there's nothing that replaces that day-to-day experience.” Harry glanced at Ginny, and grinned. “So, since I was Muggle-raised, tell me — how does a wizard in Mar change nappies?” Duncan laughed. “Don't tell me, you've never seen a baby changed?” “Sure. In Surrey, before I got told about being a wizard. But never how wizards and witches do it. Really haven't been many chances for me to see that. Been at school with a bunch of other teenagers, you know.” “Well, you two managed to get married. There might have been a couple more who managed to figure out the birds and the bees and make a bairn,” said Duncan drily. Harry blushed. “Erm, not so much, no. I mean, maybe someone did, erm, figure … that …. out. Probably, anyway, I guess, but nobody talked about it. Or had a baby. Not at school, anyway.” Duncan smirked at his discomfiture, but Ginny had a different reaction. “Harry, don't you remember Janice Pierson?” asked Ginny. “Erm, no?” “Oh. Well, she was a Hufflepuff. Got pregnant when we were … well, I was a second year, so you would have been a third. She must have been a sixth or seventh year.” “How do you know she got pregnant?” “Hogwarts rumor mill, you know. Anyway, she left school after fall term, and didn't come back. I saw her in Diagon, working at her family's shop, last summer. Toddler was running around calling her mum.” “So, who was the father?” Harry asked. “No idea.” “The boy didn't marry her?” asked Duncan, an incredulous look on his face. “No. Nobody really said who the father was supposed to be, but no, whoever it was, he didn't marry her.” “Disgraceful,” grumbled Duncan. “Well, that just proves what I said, anyway,” said Harry. “Nobody had babies at school, and nobody I was around with had children that young. Maybe we should go track down Janice, and ask her to change her baby for us.” Ginny giggled. “He was too old to need nappies last summer, Harry. Probably would kick your shin good if you asked him to wear one again now.” Duncan laughed. “You said Mr. Lupin is going to be a father soon, Harry. You'll probably get a chance to take care of the bairn when the parents need a break. Most do, sooner or later.” “Well, we'll have to get Tonks up here, or none of us is going to get much of a chance to see that baby,” said Harry. “Right. Eirica is somewhere around here. You can go ahead and get her this morning. I've got some things for Morgan to do before he shows you around the area today, but by this afternoon, I'll want you sitting in on some training. Some of the instructors will need to assess you, as I said before, so dress to move about, but you don't need to wear a class uniform.” “Oh. Well, we brought them, just in case,” said Ginny. “No need for it. That's just for the school.” “Alright,” said Harry. Eirica finally joined them in the dining room while they were lingering over fresh coffee, and, when Harry asked if she would go with them, looked at him strangely as she set down her fork and poured herself some some juice. “Of course, I will. I told you last night that I would.” Breakfast finished, Eirica lead the Potters to the Healers' office in the Keep, which turned out to be a separate, but small, building inside the outer wall. The healers knew exactly what they needed when they told them that they were transporting a pregnant woman to the Keep, and quickly provided them with a portkey. “Make sure she comes to see us, if she's going to be staying here, just so we can know how she's doing and when the bairn is due.” “We'll be sure to let her know,” Ginny assured them. Eirica lead them back to her house, outside the Keep's walls. “We'll apparate from out here, if you don't mind.” “Not at all,” Harry replied. “Is it possible to apparate from inside the Keep?” Ginny wanted to know. “Not usually,” Eirica said. “Duncan can allow the warding to relax a few levels, but it's a bit complicated to do. The normal state is a high-level preventative warding to keep those who should not be in our area as far away as possible.” “Well,” said Harry, “we are told that Mrs. Lupin is visiting Ginny's brother and his family at … ah, merde … at their … where they are staying.” “It's under a Fidelius,” Ginny said with a grin at Harry, “and I doubt even Harry's going to be able to tell you where it is, so would you mind side-along apparating with me?” “Of course not, but, how will I get inside once we are there?” “Oh, I'm sure Bill will have something figured out,” said Ginny. “He's rather clever with wards, after all.” “Alright, then, love, I'll see you there,” said Harry with a quick kiss to her cheek, and then he was gone. Eirica blinked. “Rather quick, isn't he?” “Yep,” said Ginny. “Ready?” Eirica nodded, and took Ginny's arm. Just as quickly as Harry, they disappeared. *** A long, dark cloud moved slowly toward the shoreline of the bay. It seemed suspended on a column of grey from its center. A hissing sound grew in volume the closer it came to the house that nestled against the cliff's face of the hill. The woman in the porch swing watched and listened as raindrops began beating against the rocks and sand as they crept toward her. It was a peaceful, almost idyllic scene, but the woman's drawn face, pale complexion, and hands folded over the small bump of her belly bore mute testimony to the fact that she barely saw it. She was shortly joined by an equally pale, but somewhat happier-looking, Fleur Delacour-Weasley. “Are you feeling better, cherie?” the pale blonde asked. Tonks shrugged, and shook her head. “Do you know when Bill's coming home?” “Non. He had several things to do, but I 'ope 'e is 'ere before lunch.” Fleur's expression changed as she spoke, almost imperceptibly, but, due to long experience observing the nuances of the people around her in order to better imitate them, Tonks easily saw the difference. “What is it?” she asked. “Someone eez coming,” replied Fleur, as she turned toward the side of the house. “Who?” “I do not know.” Tonks lurched to her feet and drew her wand. Fleur joined her as they retreated toward the door. “It's not Moody or Beel. They 'ave not been 'ere before. There are three …” Tonks cursed under her breath and sealed the door. That action sealed the entire house, and activated an automatic alarm that alerted several leading Order members, including Moody, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Bill Weasley. “They'll be on the way now, don't worry, Fleur,” said Tonks in a voice she hoped didn't sound too strained. Fleur just nodded. Her strained face was offset by her now fully-opened and glowing eyes. A feather floated past Tonks, and she spun quickly and grabbed Fleur's arm. “Fleur, listen to me, luv, it doesn't matter who they are, if you change now, you can't change back until the baby is born. Do you hear me?” Fleur blinked, and her eyes dimmed a bit. “Oui, but if zey come to fight, I weel keel zem. Beel weel have to learn to sleep wiz ze feathers.” Tonks struggled not to laugh, but couldn't contain her snort. “Of course, he will. Do you have a better read on who it is?” “Non. None of zem 'ave been 'ere since I was connected to zeze wards.” Tonks moved around to the windows on the bottom floor of the house, hoping for a glimpse of whomever was outside, but the rain had arrived, reducing visibility to almost nothing. *** “Oh, lovely,” said Ginny when she and Eirica arrived on the hill above Shell Cottage. “Rain. We never get enough rain.” “Shush. That's a lovely image. I wish I had my camera,” replied Eirica. “Just look at all the varying shadows, the highlights barely showing on the water, and how the water and rain meet.” Harry stalked up to them, frowning. “The house is there,” he said, pointing, “but I'm not sure how we should approach it, since Eirica doesn't know the secret. I've never tried to take someone to a Fidelius'd property who didn't know the secret beforehand.” “Well, basically, you'll both have to just lead me over there, or else one will have to go in without me and come back with the secret keeper.” Harry and Ginny exchanged a brief look. “I think we should definitely stick together,” said Harry. They all started toward the cottage, but as they drew closer, Harry suddenly shouted, “Stop!” as he threw his arm in front of Eirica, who was forced to stop to avoid catching his swinging arm on her chest. Ginny stopped immediately as well, since she was clinging to his other arm. “What is it?” Eirica asked. “Harry,” said Ginny, her face pale. “It's not quite … it's locked down. No, don't!” he said as Ginny reached out her free hand. She stopped. “It's hard to see in all this, but it doesn't recognize us, and we shouldn't touch it.” “It's a ward line. They're nested, this isn't the first one. We tripped another one back there, coming down the hill, but I didn't think it would react this way, since we already know the secret. They're nested,” he continued to himself, “and blood-based, to boot.” “Yeah? I should be able …” Ginny began. “Uh-uh,” said Harry firmly. “Who knows what else he's tied into it, or how many layers deep it goes. The one up the hill was just a trip-wire. This is only a bit more, but … we've still got over two hundred meters to go to the house. There,” he pointed, and Ginny nodded, “that one's a shield, a repeller. And there's more …” “So, this … Bill. He's a warding expert?” “Oh, no, he was a curse-breaker in Egypt. Worked for Gringotts there for years,” said Ginny as she pulled her wand and cut her finger. She dipped the tip of her wand in the drop of blood, and traced a rune in the air. Several spots near them lit up with complex rune clusters. “Oh, he's brilliant!” Harry exclaimed as he examined the cluster nearest to him. “Yeah, but I don't see how we're meant to get through all of that,” said Ginny. “We didn't come here to tear down Bill's defensive net.” “Right, so he's a warding expert who trained in ancient Egyptian tombs.” She pointed at one of the rune clusters. “That's fantastic. Right there, that's a ward that hasn't been seen in Europe, ever, to my knowledge. Do you think maybe we should have called first?” said Eirica. “Maybe so,” replied Harry as he carefully stepped back from the still mostly invisible ward line. Eirica and Ginny both followed him. “Don't think they have a telephone or mobile, though.” “Well, they don't seem ready to receive visitors. Should we leave, and try again later?” “I wanted to get this done this morning,” complained Harry. “And I want to see Tonks and Fleur,” added Ginny. “Maybe we should try a Patronus.” “A Patronus? What good will that do?” asked Eirica. “Modified as a message spell,” Harry explained. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Have any of them ever seen your Patronus?” he asked Ginny. She rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. Never exactly had a chance to show it to them.” “Well, I don't think they've seen mine, either. But, Tonks, at least, should recognize it, so … I guess I should do it.” “Hang on, are you having me on? You can both cast a Patronus?” asked Eirica incredulously. “Corporeal, yeah,” said Harry as he drew his wand. Eirica huffed. “I didn't get more than a mist until after I was twenty-five. And Duncan won't let me apprentice you.” She shook her head and looked away just as Harry began his incantation. “Expecto Patronum Nunci,” said Harry confidently as he stabbed his wand forward. Prongs appeared immediately, like a spotlight in the gloom of the approaching storm, and stepped up to Harry, who put his hand on the Patronus' muzzle for a moment before saying, “Go.” At his word, the brightly glowing stag trotted proudly off and out of sight. Ginny smirked at Eirica's gobsmacked face. “Mine's not so impressive, but I can do it silently, and I don't have to add an extra word to get it to carry a message, either.” “Hey, I'm working on it, and who taught you how to get a Patronus, anyway?” Ginny just smiled and took Harry's hand. *** Tonks' jaw dropped when the shining Patronus flashed through the wall and stepped up to her. “Tonks, Ginny and I are outside the wards with a friend. Could you let Bill and Fleur, or whoever is locking up the wards, know that we need to come inside? It's kind of wet out here,” said the stag in Harry's voice. |
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