The sun was just sinking below the horizon as Monarch Airways Flight 385 touched down on the runway and taxied to the terminal to allow its passengers to disembark. Dinah didn't hurry off the plane, so most of the passengers had already left by the time she gathered her belongings and moved to leave the plane. After clearing customs, she headed towards the baggage claim where she was met by Mr Pearce, the honey-haired junior field officer who had worked on the initial investigation.

"Black Canary, I hope you are well?"

"I can't complain," Dinah admitted. "And you?"

"I'm fine," replied the older man. "Miss Lang has your room set-up at their safehouse."

"Are you sure that's okay?" asked Dinah. "I can get a hotel room if it's a problem?"

"Miss Lang says that its fine…" Mr Pearce assured her. "… and I would prefer it."

"Let's go then."

Mr Pearce turned off the main road and onto a narrower, two-lane street lined with trees. After several more turns, he turned towards a wider road with a heavily wooded park on one side and a long line of majestic row houses on the other. As he turned, Dinah glimpsed the name 'Cherry Tree Lane' on a sign on one wall of the intersection, after a few seconds he pulled to a stop. "We're here."

They got out, then retrieved Dinah's bags from the trunk of the sedan and they walked up to the front door of Number Seventeen. Pearce glanced over the entry panel and stabbed a button about halfway up.

After a few seconds a slightly tinny version of a familiar voice issued from the unit. "Yes?"

"It's Harry Pearce, Miss Lang," he replied. "Black Canary is with me."

"Come on up," replied Lana.

A buzz and a mechanical clunk signalled the opening of the building's front door.

The two visitors took the hint, with Dinah in the lead and Pearce behind her. Once they were inside, the older man pushed the door lightly and allowed it to fall closed, then indicated the main stair. They climbed to the second floor and Pearce moved to a door marked '17B' and knocked on the wooden surface.

Lana opened the door almost immediately, a smile on her face. She nodded to Pearce and then motioned for them to enter. "Dinah! It's good to see you!"

"Thanks," Dinah said. "I went to come and visit before now but with classes, the League, helping Mom at the shop I've just been too busy…"

"It's okay," Lana assured her as she ushered them inside. "Dinner's almost ready if you're interested?"

Dinah nodded. "Where can I put my bags?"

"In here will be fine," said Lana, opening the second door on the right of the corridor, exposing a generously appointed guest room. "I've set up in here for you."

"Thanks," said Dinah. "I'll do that and join you…"

"We'll be in the great room," finished Lana. "It's at the end of the corridor."

"Understood," Dinah said, then after accepting her second bag from Pearce, she broke off from the group and entered the guest room and closed the door.

She emerged from the guest room a few minutes later and headed towards the big room at the end of the corridor. As soon as she entered the room, a boyish voice broke the silence. "Auntie Dee… you're here!" exclaimed young Harry, who was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen half of the room. He quickly slipped off his chair and began tottering towards her. "You came!"

Dinah crouched down towards him and swept him up in a hug. "It's good to see you too, sweetie. I'm sorry it took so long, I've been busy."

"That's okay," Harry told her. "Uncle Clark told me all about it when he came to visit. I liked my bus."

"I'm glad you liked it," Dinah told him, then lowered him back to the ground and began to guide him back to the table.

By time they had finished dinner, the toddler was starting to flag, so Lana took him off for a bath and bed, while Dinah, Mr Pearce and Harry's 'babysitter' -- eleven-year-old Sarah Brookes -- settled down in the sitting room half of the great room.

"Well, how's it going?" Dinah asked. "Are we ready for the hearing tomorrow?"

"We've had a couple of incidents," replied Sarah. "Bert scared off a tramp who was paying a bit too much attention to Harry for his liking… and the some of the Bird Woman's pigeons intercepted a 'cat' that was trying to get close to him in the playground."

"Where either of them magical?" asked Dinah, worried.

"I'm not sure about the tramp…" replied Sarah but stopped at a cough from her supervisor.

"My sources have been able to confirm that the tramp was a wizard by the name of Mundungus Fletcher," added Pearce. "He's a known petty thief and minor con artist…"

"So,he's probably not with the Ministry of Magic then?"

Pearce nodded. "That's my thought. I'm not certain which of the other two factions he belongs to… although as the cat appears to have been Minerva McGonagall, a registered Animagus -- cat shapeshifter to you -- employed at Hogwarts School, it's more likely that both are Dumbledore loyalists like Alastor Moody was…"

"But with two incidents in less than a week, you're worried."

It wasn't a question, but Pearce nodded anyway.

"Well, if tomorrow goes according to plan, he'll only be your problem for a few more days."

Pearce's expression made it clear that he was looking forward to it.

"Good morning, Mr Pearce," replied the pretty, blond woman about Dinah's age who answered Mr Pearce's knock at Number Seven. "You can come straight through… my father is ready for you."

Dinah couldn't be sure, but she had sneaking suspicion that while the judge was ready for them, he wasn't entirely happy about the affair.

"Good morning, Miss Morton," replied Mr Pearce. "Is Mrs Parker here yet?"

"She arrived a few moments ago, Mr Pearce," confirmed the blonde, stepping aside so that the group could file through, Pearce in the lead, then Lana with Dinah herself bringing up the rear. "She's in the sitting room putting together her notes, I'll go and get her once you're settled."

Mr Pearce nodded. "Does she need any more time to prepare her side?"

"I shouldn't think so," replied the blonde. "I believe she's just making sure everything in the right order. Follow me."

Mr Pearce complied without comment and the rest of the group of followed them down the corridor until they reached their destination.

A reply of 'come in' was issued in response to her knock and they entered the study, which was dominated by a huge oak desk which a middle-aged man sat. He gave the impression of someone who had been fairly active in his youth, but that age had somewhat taken a toll on physically though not mentally.

"Mr Pearce and party, Dad," confirmed Miss Morton. "I'll go and get Mrs Parker."

"Thank you, Joanne," replied her father, then turned to Mr Pearce. "Good morning, Mr Pearce."

"Good morning, Sir David," said Mr Pearce. "It was good of you to accommodate our request for change of venue."

"Indeed," replied the older man. "I'm entirely happy about it, rather irregular but I understand there are security concerns?"

"Yes, Sir David."

"I'll want details of that," grumbled the judge.

"We anticipated such a need, Sir David," confirmed Mr Pearce. "The concerns in question are one of the central pillars of the case."

The judge nodded.

Before he could continue, his daughter returned with Harry's social worker. "Good morning, Mrs Parker."

"Good morning, Sir David."

"Are you ready to proceed?"

"Yes, Sir David."

"In that case, if everyone can take their seats, we can get started," said Sir David. Once his daughter had taken her seat behind a stenography machine and the others were also seated, he continued. "For the record… I, Mr Justice Morton, will be presiding over this hearing; also present is Mrs Phyllis Parker of Surrey Social Services; Black Canary of the Justice League; Mr Harry Pearce, Strange Happenings Executive; and…" he paused and looked at Lana meaningfully.

"Miss Lana Elizabeth Lang," completed Lana.

"Thank you, Miss Lang," said Sir David. "Today I will be hearing submissions on the adoption of Harry James Potter by Miss Lang."

He paused for a moment, looked down and sifted through a few papers. "Black Canary, according to your written report, your involvement began on the evening of the thirty-first of October?"

Dinah nodded. "At 17:56 Eastern Standard Time or 22:56 local time, the Justice League's monitoring system picked up the explosion and Giovanni Zatara and I teleported to Godric's Hollow to investigate and assisted the responding officer…"

"That would be…" interrupted Sir David, then consulted his files, "… Special Constable Jacob Smith, collar number SC 2224, Avon & Somerset Police?"

"I believe so, Sir David," agreed Black Canary. "Giovanni was able to remove one survivor -- later identified as Harry James Potter -- from the ruins and sent the boy and myself to the hospital for further observation."

"Thank you, Black Canary," said Sir David, then turned to Mr Pearce. "At this point, you and your partner were called in?"

"Yes, Sir David," confirmed Mr Pearce. "DCI Williams mobilised a major incident team based at the police headquarters, and we joined him there after assembling what little information that we had that might relevant. By the second, we'd confirmed that there were no further survivors and that the single survivor was Harry James Potter so we started to investigate possible guardians for the boy…"

The judge nodded, then checked his notes. "Your initial options were his godfather, Sirius Black, and his maternal aunt, Petunia Dursley nee Evans, is that correct?"

"Yes, Sir David," confirmed Mr Pearce. "They were only individuals with any legal claim for the boy's guardianship."

The judge turned to the social worker. "Mrs Parker?"

"Yes, Sir David?"

"I believe you were included at this point?"

"Yes, Sir David."

"And you agreed with their conclusions?"

"Yes, Sir David," she confirmed. "Perhaps unfortunately neither of them proved suitable."

"Indeed, that would have been simpler," mused the judge. "Mr Black was jailed on murder and terrorism charges?"

"Yes, Sir David," interjected Mr Pearce. "Our information is incomplete, but my organisation's analysts were able to source CCTV to support the former."

"And Mrs Dursley…?"

"I have had no direct contact, Sir David," Mr Pearce admitted. "But I understand from WDS Wooster and Mrs Parker that she was quite definite not want anything do with the boy."

The judge nodded. "Mrs Parker?"

"That's true, Sir David," confirmed the older woman. "Her exact words were: 'You can send him to Timbuktu for all I care, but I want nothing to do with the freak!'."

"That's… definite… indeed," agreed the judge.

"Yes, Sir David," she said, evenly. "To be honest, her reaction concerned me so much that I made a few inquiries about her treatment of her own child…"

"Really?" said the judge, interested.

"Nothing actionable as yet, Sir David," she admitted. "But my team and I will be keeping a general watch on the situation."

The judge nodded; his curiosity apparently sated for now. He turned to look at Dinah. "It was around this time that the kidnapping attempt occurred?"

"Yes, Sir David," she replied, speaking for the first time in a couple of minutes. "A man called Alastor Moody teleported into the ward that Harry was sleeping in, drugged him and the other three infants, and we believe was about to remove when I arrived and stopped him."

"Were any of the children harmed?"

"No, Sir David. He must have used very small doses. According to the ward staff their vitals remained within normal limits, and by the time most of the results of the samples were back they'd already awoken." Dinah paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "However, this did mean that DCI Williams and Mr Pearce were eager to move him out of the hospital and into a more secure location, which meant finding another guardian. My team-mate, Giovanni Zatara, had suggested casting a spell to help with that the day before, but he'd been called back to the States on personal business, so Mr Pearce provided an alternative."

"John Constantine, Sir David," supplied the officer in response to an inquiring glance from the judge. "According to my notes, the spell specifically asked: 'show me the best guardian to protect the child… Harry Potter!' A number of options were considered, but the spell evidentially settled on Miss Lang."

The judge turned to face the red-headed woman. "And you agreed to this, Miss Lang?"

"Yes, Sir David. He was a little stressed at first, but we're getting on pretty well now, I think he's looking forward to the move to be honest."

The judge nodded. "You're currently employed as a reporter for the Daily Planet? Temporarily based at the London office?"

"Yes, Sir David," Lana confirmed. "The initial plan is to say with my old classmate Clark Kent in Metropolis while I finish up a couple of assignments for the paper. Then I'll be contacting the manager of the local bank in my home-town who gave me a standing offer of a loan officer job a while ago and taking that up instead. Clark's parents and my aunt have agreed to help out with babysitting if I need it."

The judge nodded to himself and turned to Mrs Parker. "Do you approve of this arrangement?"

The matronly woman sighed. "It wouldn't have been my first choice, Sir David. However, the boy appears to be happy in Miss Lang's care and I agree that he's excited about the move, so given the ongoing security concerns I agree that it's probably the best option."

"I'll need your full written report."

"I have it here, Sir David," Mrs Parker extracted a slim cardboard folder from her stack and offered it to the judge.

He accepted the folder, opened it and scanned it briefly. "Thank you." He turned to Mr Pearce. "Can you elaborate on the 'ongoing security concerns', Mr Pearce?"

"Yes, Sir David," confirmed the officer. "Moving out of the hospital gave us some breathing space, but there were two attempts in the last week to approach the boy for unknown purposes. Both were foiled with local assistance, but I fear that will not last…"

"Understood," said the judge, then checked his bundle and extracted a single sheet. "I have an application here for a change of identity for the boy?"

"Yes, Sir David," Mr Pearce confirmed. "At least two of the parties involved have government contacts in America, changing Mr Potters identity here and sealing the records will make it harder for them to track him down."

"Mrs Parker?"

"I have no objection."

The judge paused. "I had… concerns… when I was first approached about the case. We have specific procedures in this country for adoptions and any deviation from that raises serious issues. However, after reading the reports and hearing testimony I agree that the proposed option is best one available under the circumstances, so I am prepared to issue an interim order authorising his removal to the United under the proposed alias and the guardianship of Miss Lang. Mrs Parker, you will liaise with Mr Pearce's organisation to produce a dossier to be forwarded to the relevant authorities in the United States who will be responsible for the final determination."

"Yes, Sir David," chorused Mrs Parker and Mr Pearce.

"Joanna, do you have everything?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Then we're adjourned," declared the judge.

"Xièxiè, dàshū," said Dinah, then closed the channel and headed for the door.

"Did you have any luck?" asked Lana, as she exited the guest room. "Or are we going to have to chance Heathrow?"

Dinah smiled. "Uncle Wu has some contacts that specialise in covert general aviation, they're going to meet us at Biggin Hill at 12:45 and fly us from there."

Lana returned her smile, pleased at this information. "It'll be good to get home."

"That's the last bag," declared Mr Pearce and slammed the trunk of his car closed, and he and Dinah returned to the apartment where they found the two Langs still caught up saying goodbye to Sarah. "We need to get going, ma'am."

"I know," sighed Lana. "Time to go, Hank."

"Okay," agreed the young boy tearfully. "Bye bye, Sarah!"

"Bye, kid," replied the young girl, then she broke away from the little boy and stood up again. "I'll finish tiding up here and then head back to the Shaw Building."

Mr Pearce nodded. "We'll debrief tomorrow at 09:00."

"Understood, sir."

Mr Pearce nodded again and turned to leave again. Lana picked up Hank and followed the officer out of the apartment and down to the street with Dinah herself following behind. Once at the car, Mr Pearce hurried to get behind the wheel. Dinah opened her own door but stayed outside to keep watch on the street as Lana buckled Hank in his child seat and then joined him in the back.

Once the Langs were settled, Dinah slid into her own seat and slammed the door behind her. "Let's get out of here!"

Mister Pearce had already started the engine and the wipers were furiously trying to keep the windscreen clear as he eased the car away from the side-walk and into the sparse lunchtime traffic.

Mr Pearce's credentials and the paperwork from the judge allowed the group to pass smoothly through the terminal. There were several planes out on the tarmac, but it even with the light rain and cloud, it didn't take them long to find the sleek blue Wayne Aviation Slipstream that was their target.

A woman that – save for her flight jacket and curlier hair - could have passed for Lana's twin stood at the top of the stairs waiting for them and descended help them unpack the car.

"Is everything ready to go?" asked Black Canary. "The weather won't be a problem.

The woman gave her a look. "Our scheduled take-off isn't for another ten minutes, but we're prepped and ready to go before that, if necessary," she paused. "Even a regular plane wouldn't have problems with this weather and Slipstreams can fly through hurricanes… Everything's fine."

"Let's hope so," growled Mr Pearce.

The woman shrugged. "It's been pretty quiet lately; I could do with some excitement."

Lana frowned and Dinah felt a slight tinge of dread at that moment and looked up, scanned the flight line and terminal and then -- satisfied that there was no immediate danger -- returned to her task.

Despite Dinah's momentary paranoia, everything went according to plan, and they took off ten minutes later.

Exactly on schedule.

Lana beamed and jogged over to him, then he folded both her and Hank into a three-way hug which he held for several moments.

Once the two adults separated -- Hank continued to hang on and Clark indulged him -- Dinah joined him.

"Everything was okay?" Clark asked.

Dinah nodded. "I think Harry Pearce was glad to see the back of us."

Clark looked a little surprised for a moment, then nodded. "Do you have to be anywhere?"

"Not really," Dinah admitted. "Not unless there's an emergency."

"Then let's head back to my apartment first," Clark suggested. "I think that this little man needs a nap and some food. Possibly in that order."

"Food sounds good to me," agreed Dinah. "I had a couple of snacks on the plane but…"

"I've got a hotpot, so there should be plenty."

"Ma's?" asked Lana, hopefully.

"I'm getting close..."

"If you say so, Clark," teased Lana, then shuddered a little. "Well, I suppose it can't be much worse than some of your early attempts twenty-five years ago."

"That was twenty-five years ago!"

"That's my point."