Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter Thirty Four

... b ...

Monday, 22 July

Blaise smirked to himself as Seamus groaned, and continued to press hot kisses up along his spine.

"If ye don't stop teasin' me an' actually do som'thin', I'll... I'll... Ah, fuck. I donnae. Just hurry up," Seamus groaned.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm intrigued to know what you'll do if I stop," Blaise said, sitting back on his heels and grinning over Seamus' shoulder to Neville, who had his shirt hanging off his frame loosely and was waiting for Seamus' response too.

"Ye're both righ' bastards. Teases and bastards, the both of ye," Seamus growled, getting off the bed and pulling Neville to him by the waistband of his pants.

"I can live with that," Neville said, grinning widely.

Blaise shook his head and followed Seamus off the bed, unbuttoning his own shirt in the process. He'd just gotten Seamus onto the bloody bed, and he went and got off the damn thing again!

A loud crash sounded outside of their room, and his mind still hazy from kisses, Neville pulled away from Seamus reluctantly. "What was that noise?"

"It's pr'ly just the twins. Y'know how they get aft'r a trainin' session."

"It's not even four o'clock yet. They don't finish training until nine at least," Neville replied with a frown.

Seamus muttered a few obscene words under his breath, stalking over to the door and opening it aggressively. Seeing nothing in the hallway, a frown began to form across his face. Adjusting his pants briefly, Seamus stalked out of the bedroom and followed the direction of the noise. Neville was beside him a moment later, with Blaise a few steps after them, pulling on a pair of pants that probably weren't his own and were definitely inside out.

"It's coming from the meeting room," Neville said, frowning when he saw the closed door.

He didn't know of any forest animals that could open and close a door behind them, at least, none that could do so without making noise. If Grawp had come to visit for some reason, they would have heard him long before he'd made his way into the meeting room.

Blaise opened the door with a powerful kick of his hooves, Seamus and Neville rushing in with their wands drawn.

"What on earth are ye doin' 'ere?" Seamus asked, his eyes wide on seeing the source of the noise.

Looking slightly guilty, Karma stopped playing with Lyra the miniature dragon and climbed down from the rafters. By the time she'd made it to the ground once more, Karma looked quite affronted at Seamus' question.

"I followed you," Karma replied, wondering why he was asking such a stupid question.

"Why would you do that?" Neville asked.

Behind them Blaise was glowering daggers at the young nymph.

"Because my fate is entwined with his," she replied simply, moving to the side to avoid Blaise's glare. "I'm staying and you can't make me go back!" she added adamantly.

"Terra's going to be sick with worry," Neville muttered, sighing heavily.

"I left a note," Karma said. She stated this with the conviction of one who believes that a few written words could lessen her grandmother's worry and emotional anguish on discovering her granddaughter gone again, especially so soon after getting her back from Voldemort's capture.

"You can't stay here," Neville replied.

"Yes I can, and I will! I am staying!" she said, scowling at him.

Neville sighed, shaking his head at her stubborn behaviour. "Keep her here for a moment while I contact Terra," he murmured to Seamus. "You might want to work on getting your emotions under control, Blaise," he added on seeing the fierce look on the centaur's face.

"Fine. But when I get back, she'd better not be here," Blaise growled, turning and leaving for the Forbidden Forest quickly.

Neville sighed softly, and his thumbs glowed green before he disappeared to the nymph world.

Karma moved closer to Seamus, smiling widely.

... b ...

Lettie simply stared at Miles, unable to think, to process his words, to really and truly understand what he was asking her. The feeling didn't fade, even though there was a vague realisation that he was watching her, waiting for an answer.

"I-I have to go. My Lady needs me," Lettie said, never more grateful to feel Ginevra's presence than in that moment.

A thought had her disappearing instantly, and Miles stood up slowly, his fingers curling around the small box before returning it to his pocket.

"You called me, my Lady?" Lettie asked.

It was the first time she'd seen Ginevra since the funeral, and she was surprised to discover that her Lady had even more power than before.

No, that wasn't right, Lettie corrected herself. It wasn't more power. Her power was just more controlled now. She looked as though she could make entire forests and crops wilt and die with just a thought.

"Are you all right, Lettie?" Ginevra asked. "I could feel your emotions even from here, and as far as I could tell, they weren't pleasant."

"Where is here?" Lettie asked, looking around and hoping to avoid the question.

They weren't in Muggle London, that was more than obvious by the lack of buildings. In fact, the trees surrounding them looked familiar.

"We're in the Forbidden Forest. Draco and I wanted to go out hunting. Now answer my question, Lettie. What's wrong?" Ginevra asked again, stepping forward to her.

For a moment, Lettie contemplated not telling her Lady. She had no idea what Ginevra would say, what she would do, and there was a gnawing pit in her stomach that held nothing but terror for the outcome of this conversation.

"Miles has asked for my hand in marriage," she said quietly.

"That's wonderful, Lettie!" Ginevra said, smiling brightly. Then her smile faded when Lettie didn't seem as excited as she thought she would. "Isn't it?"

Lettie opened her mouth a few times, trying to put her confused thoughts and emotions into words unsuccessfully.

"I... I don't want to leave you, my Lady. I cannot serve you if I am not here," she finally said. "And what sort of wife would I be if I were to spend all of my time here, rather than with my husband?"

Ginevra seemed surprised by her reasoning, and thought for a long while, her face creased in a frown. Lettie didn't dare to interrupt her silence.

"Do you want to be married to Miles, Lettie? Or are you just using me as an excuse to avoid marriage?"

"No, I would never do that, my Lady. I love him, I truly do," Lettie said quickly.

"But?"

Hesitating for a moment, Lettie sighed before answering, her legs feeling weak and her body trembling. "The commitment terrifies me. He proposed with a ring that belonged to his grandmother; it's a ring that's probably a thousand years old! I ... I don't want to be married while this war is going on. What if... what if I die? Worse, what if he dies? I won't be able to control myself," she said softly, her hand moving to the choker around her neck. "I love him too much to marry him just yet. If there's no commitment, then maybe it will hurt less."

"Do you truly believe that, Lettie? You think that being married to Miles will hurt you more than not being with him?"

A sob escaped Lettie then, tears trailing down her cheeks, and her legs gave up on her. She collapsed to the ground, her head in her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. Ginevra moved over to her, dropping to her knees so she could hug Lettie gently.

... b ...

Draco flew through the Forbidden Forest, his wings close to his body to avoid from snagging on tree branches. He'd felt when Lettie had arrived, feeling her confused emotions clearly. Draco had wanted to see her, but Ginevra had told him to stay away for the moment as she had to talk to Lettie privately.

Come on, Veelan. I'm going to beat you at this rate!

Draco grinned slightly at Blaise's words and shot forward, glancing to the side where the centaur was running between the trees and jumping over fallen branches. Draco had found Blaise hunting earlier, anger and jealousy clouding his mind, and Draco had challenged him to a race, hoping to give his best friend something else to focus on.

They continued through the forest, Blaise dodging trees at the last second and Draco flying every which way to avoid being hit by the large and low hanging branches. As focused as they were on their race and the trees around them, neither Blaise nor Draco noticed the centaur to the side of the path until they'd already passed her. Stopping abruptly, his wings trembling at the sudden readjustment, Draco dropped to the ground, his wings disappearing with a thought. Up ahead, Blaise had come to a sudden stop as well, his hooves making four deep grooves in the forest floor. He turned and hurried back to where Draco was waiting and they both went down the path to where the centaur was waiting patiently.

"My King, Blaise. Elin is asking after you," the female centaur said, leading them away from the path and into a nearby clearing.

Blaise paused at the edge of the clearing, unsure as to whether he would be allowed to enter, despite the fact that Bane was no longer alive nor a threat to the female centaurs.

"Come inside, Blaise," Elin called.

A feeling of relief flowed through him and Blaise stepped inside the clearing carefully. He stopped short, blinking a few times in surprise on seeing the large clearing. Tree branches had been pulled and adjusted to form tent-like areas for the women to sleep in. Most were covered with a smattering of flowers, screens obscuring him from looking inside any further, but a few were open and he spotted an array of arrows, bows and quivers.

"We had to keep our weapons handy, especially during the spring mating rituals," the female centaur spat. "Some of the more desperate centaurs didn't respect our boundaries."

Unsure how to respond, Blaise just nodded and stayed silent. Elin was sitting before a large tree, her tent adorned with the brightest flowers. She still looked tired from the ordeal Relo had put her through, but her eyes were clear and calm.

"I was planning on sending one of the centaurs to enquire after you, but you came here before I could do so. I am glad to see that you are well, Blaise," Elin said, smiling slightly. Then her smile faded, replaced with a frown. "What on earth happened to make you go crashing about the forest in the way you were?"

Blaise hesitated for a moment. His earlier possessive and jealous feelings had faded after his race with Draco, and he felt somewhat ridiculous about everything.

"A nymph has taken a liking to one of my boyfriends. She followed us here from the nymph world and refuses to leave," Blaise said reluctantly.

"That must be very frustrating," Elin said, surprising him with her sympathetic tone.

"Yes, it is. Neville is talking to the nymph's grandmother in an attempt to get her to make her see reason and leave us alone."

"Oh, I am not sure that will happen," Elin said carefully, aware of how tumultuous Blaise's feelings were at that moment. "Nymphs are known for their trickery and seductive ways. You have not left your boyfriend alone with her, have you?"

Blaise's paling face was answer enough, and with a quick goodbye over his shoulder, he ran out of the clearing and headed back towards Hogwarts.

"I am glad that you are well, Elin. I'm sorry I cannot stay longer. I think it would be best if I went after Blaise," Draco said with a quick bow.

"Of course. Look after him, Draconius. He may not seem capable of it, but Blaise might just destroy the world with his emotions," Elin said.

Draco gave a nod that, but was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to truly process her words, or hear the warning in her tone.

... b ...

"Mr. Ollivander?" Parvati said, too stunned to say anything other than his name.

"You're meant to be dead. How are you here? And alive, at that?" Padma demanded, not quite as surprised as her twin.

"And how on earth are you still alive with Fred and George looking after you?" Parvati muttered, making Ollivander laugh.

Fred and George let out a cry of indignation, looking offended at her accusation. "We've been looking after him very well, we'll have you know!" they said, arms folded across their chests.

Ollivander chuckled again, and nodded in their defence. "They have been looking after me superbly. In fact, it feels like they haven't left me alone in weeks! They ought to have a night off," he added, giving the two men a half-hearted glare.

Parvati and Padma glanced at each other, a slight grin on the latter's lips. Her twin seemed surprised at the meaning behind her grin, but Parvati gave a brief nod in return nonetheless.

"Well, as Mr. Ollivander deserves a night off from looking after you two," Padma said. She ignored Fred and George's noises, continuing without skipping a beat, "Parvati and I will be taking you out."

"We'll make sure to have them back tomorrow morning, Mr. Ollivander," Parvati added with a smile.

"Yeah, so don't wait up," Padma said with a broad smirk.

"Yes, yes. Take them away so I can finally make a proper cup of tea," Ollivander said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You said my tea wasn't that bad!" Fred exclaimed.

"I also said that it wasn't that good," Oscar said, chuckling now. "Go on, before your lovely ladies change their minds," he said, shooing them away.

"Bye, Ollivander!" George called over his shoulder, the three echoing his farewell quickly.

"Don't see what's so wrong about putting the milk in after the tea anyway," Fred muttered to George as they let Parvati and Padma lead them outside.

"Best not to argue it, Forge. He's been making tea since before our grandparents were born," George said, patting Fred's shoulder sympathetically.

As they stepped outside and the door closed behind them, Ollivander's cottage disappeared from their fields of vision entirely. George gave a small shudder, the sensation never failing to send a shiver up his spine.

Fred sighed heavily and gave a sombre nod. Then he smiled suddenly, turning to Padma and Parvati. "So where are you taking us?" he asked curiously.

"You'll see when we get there," Padma said promptly, answering before Parvati could ruin the surprise.

"Don't like the sound of that, Gred," Fred muttered.

George just shook his head in agreement. Parvati and Padma just smiled and held out their hands for the two men to take. Gingerly, Fred and George reached forward and took their hands. A familiar pulling sensation indicated that they were Disapparating, but the familiarity did little to lessen their worry about their destination.

... b ...

"Good morning, Mademoiselle Bulstrode. You 'ave been expected. Please, go up to ze top level," the greeting witch said with a warm smile as Millicent walked inside.

Millicent thanked her, working on calming her nerves as she walked over to the elevators. The French Ministry was the second-largest Ministry in Europe, second only to the British one. There was such a competition between the two that Millicent had honestly been expecting some sort of hostility on arriving, as if the French witches and wizards were going to drive her out of the building with blazing wands. So far, everything seemed fine. Perhaps it was because she and Theodore were living on the outskirts of France now, rather than in Britain? But there was still the interview to get through, and Millicent still wasn't entirely sure what position she was interviewing for in the first place! Though she was exceptionally glad that the elevator was similar to the one in the British Ministry, Millicent's hopes were dashed when she realised that the signs were all written in French. She hadn't spoken French in years, and if she tried now, she'd probably insult someone.

"Ah, Mademoiselle Bulstrode. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I 'ave 'eard so much about you," a wizard said as she stepped out of the lift.

Just what the hell had Luna told them? Millicent wondered, forcing herself to shake the man's offered hand and smile, gods' damn it. Smile.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard a thing about you."

"Of course, of course. Mademoiselle Lovegood did mention that zis was a surprise for you. Come through, and you'll meet ze rest of ze team," the wizard said, ushering her down the hallway.

Introductions flew by at a rapid pace, and Millicent just hoped that these people wore name badges, or else she'd forget all of their names by the time her interview was over.

"Now zat you 'ave met everyone, I will show you to your desk," the wizard - who had introduced himself as Luc somewhere along the way - said, smiling brilliantly and guiding Millicent away again.

"Sorry to ask, but what exactly is the job?" Millicent asked, hoping that she hadn't already blown her interview before it had even started.

"It is a job to keep ze records clear. You will be required to go through newspapers from all around ze world and file ze information. It may sound like a ... how you say, tedious? ... oui, a tedious job to some, but from what Luna has told us of you, it would be a job zat you would enjoy. Yes?" Luc asked, sounding hopeful for a positive answer.

Millicent managed a smile and gave a quick nod, despite her reservations. She had enjoyed listening to the gossip at Hogwarts, but Pansy was the one who liked to organise things. Wouldn't she be more suited to this job?

"Now, ze records keeper is a miserable old goat, but do not let 'im bother you. If he does, then come to me, and I will sort 'im out," Luc promised.

"All right," Millicent said with a nod.

"Ah, speak of ze devil," Luc muttered, seeing someone up ahead. "Noel!" he called, hurrying after the man.

Millicent increased her pace to catch up, wondering just why Luc was almost running after a man that looked old (and slow) enough to be her long-dead great-great grandfather. Noel was walking down the corridor at a slow pace, but no matter how fast she and Luc ran, he always seemed to be a few metres ahead of them.

"Come on, Luc. You are embarrassing yourself in front of ze girl! Run faster!" Noel called, laughing wildly as he entered an elevator, the doors closing just as they reached them.

"I am so very sorry about zat. He usually lets me introduce him to people before he does zat to me," Luc said, looking to the elevator doors and swearing about Noel softly in French.

"It's all right. I'm sure I'll meet him eventually if I get the job," Millicent said with a smile.

Luc seemed confused about her statement. "What do you mean 'if you get ze job'? Did Luna not tell you?" he asked, trailing off. "You are not 'ere for interview. You already 'ave ze job," Luc informed her, smiling. "Luna recommended you very highly, and we 'ave no reason to doubt 'er."

Millicent, who had been mentally preparing herself to face a panel of interviewers, suddenly felt weak at the prospect of already having a job, let alone a job that she'd had to ask what it was for.

He chuckled at her surprised expression and indicated down the hallway. "Come, I will take you to ze DŽpartement d'enregistrements. Noel calls it the DŽpartement de vieilles choses," Luc said with an amused shake of his head.

Millicent just smiled, hoping that Theodore still remembered how to speak French. Luc realised that she didn't understand his joke and gasped slightly.

"Oh, pardon, Madamoiselle! I should 'ave done zis earlier," Luc said, pointing his wand at her.

Millicent's eyes widened in alarm, and she barely repressed the urge to knock his wand out of his hand, every fibre of her being demanding that she protect herself. Her wolf was growling at the blatant challenge before them, Millicent trying to calm both herself and the wolf down.

As Millicent was wrestling with her emotions and her wolf, Luc performed the spell, a thick grey haze covering her head.

"There, is zat not better?" Luc asked with a smile.

"Pardon?" Millicent asked in confusion.

"I am speaking French right now, and your brain - with my spell - is translating my words. It is a halted process, and some words do tend to slip, but it is better than nothing," he admitted. "Ministry meetings between different countries used to take hours at a time because no one understood what was being said. Now they take hours because everyone does understand."

Millicent chuckled, and Luc beamed, pleased that she had liked his joke. She realised that the signs on the wall were now displayed in English rather than French and breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Now, I will take you to the Department of Records. Noel calls it the Department of Old Things when he thinks no one is listening. He claims to be older than the scrolls!"

... b ...

"Karma, you can't stay here. You know what happened the last time you were in this world for too long. Do you want to be kidnapped again?"

Blaise barely kept himself in check when he came to the rooms and heard Ginevra talking to a sobbing Karma, Lettie sitting beside her Lady with slightly reddened eyes from crying. Draco was only a few seconds behind him, and stopped on hearing Ginevra's voice. Realising that Blaise wasn't going to do anything drastic, Draco sighed in relief and went to the meeting room while his friend continued down the hallway.

Blaise took it all in in a moment, but didn't care about anything other than Seamus' whereabouts. He stepped into their room, relieved when he heard the bathroom shower running. Shedding his centaur form, he knocked on the door.

"I told ye, ye little banshee, yer not gettin' in 'ere!" Seamus yelled.

"Hey, I'm not a banshee," Blaise said, grinning.

He couldn't help but feel ridiculous at the pleasure he felt about being to tease his boyfriend and not finding him wrapped up in some little nymph.

Well, a nymph who wasn't Neville, at least.

"Blaise, that really ye?"

"Of course it is. Let me in," Blaise replied impatiently, almost ready to knock the door down just to see Seamus and make sure he was all right.

"All righ', just make sure the bedroom door's locked," Seamus called.

Blaise closed and locked the door immediately, and by the time he turned around, he saw Seamus standing in the bathroom doorway, naked and dripping water everywhere.

"Thank the gods you're all right," Blaise breathed, closing the distance between them in two long strides, holding Seamus and kissing him heatedly.

"Tha's it. I'm always leavin' me towel in 'ere," Seamus said dazedly, yet still looking smug as he pulled Blaise in for another kiss.

"She didn't do anything to you, did she?" Blaise asked, stepping back and looking him over.

"Oh, she tried. She now knows how much Orion loathes the idea of bein' a female's sex toy again. He doesn't mind being ye and Neville's though," Seamus hurried to reassure him, grinning broadly.

"I've heard the tales about how Orion was treated, and I can safely say that neither I nor Neville will be doing those things," Blaise promised, moving to kiss him again.

"Love ye, Blaise, and Neville. I promise I ain't goin' ter be seduced away from either of ye."

"Good, make sure you keep that promise, Irish," he murmured, hugging Seamus tightly.

There was a shift in the room, a flash of green and a scent of flowers, and Neville appeared behind them.

"Terra's in there talking with Karma and Ginevra... You all right now, Blaise?"

Blaise both nodded and shook his head, but didn't move, not willing to let go of Seamus yet.

"As much as I like bein' held by ye, I'm gettin' cold on the oth'r side," Seamus said reluctantly.

Neville grinned a little and moved to hug Seamus from behind, warming his body with his own.

"Ah, fine. I'll stay 'ere then," Seamus said with a grin, his arms wrapping around Blaise.

Chuckling, Neville pressed a kiss to Seamus' spine and rested his head against his back.

... b ...

Ginevra made her way back to Hogwarts with Lettie, the silent walk giving both of them a chance to compose their emotions once more. Hundreds of eyes followed their passage through the forest, but the animals seemed to realise that now wouldn't be the best time to disturb their Queen.

"You look hungry, do you need to feed, my Lady?" Lettie asked as they neared the edge of the tree line.

Ginevra's eyes were red and she was starting to feel the Thirst the closer they came to the school, but she shook her head nonetheless. "I'll be fine until I see Draco later."

"Very well, my Lady," Lettie said, hoping that Draco would be seen sooner rather than later. She could feel Ginevra's Thirst and it was doing something to the beast inside of her.

As they reached the rooms, both Ginevra and Lettie heard a string of curses coming from none other than Seamus, and female laughter in response. Unsure of what to expect (and there was a slight tendril of fear that somehow Virginia had Seamus), Ginevra ran into the rooms as fast as she could, her teeth bared and her wand drawn. Lettie was a second behind her, her fingers at the knot of her choker, ready to pull it off in a second. The scene that met them was something that neither one could have ever dreamt of. Seamus was lying on the ground, a nymph straddling him, rubbing her cheek against his and ... purring?

"Ginevra! Thank the gods' yer here. Get 'er off me 'fore I throw up!" Seamus said, attempting to push the nymph off his body unsuccessfully.

The room was covered in vines and various plants, all created in an effort to pull Karma from his body, but she had been able to knock them all back without getting a scratch.

"Get off of Seamus, right now," Ginevra said, power laced in her words to make the nymph move.

Karma was only moved up slightly, but it was enough of a distraction to get a vine around her, Lettie helping to pull the overly amorous nymph from Seamus' body. The moment he was free, he stood up, muttering under his breath as he wiped at his clothes angrily.

"But you're mine! You're meant to be with me. You belong to me!" Karma cried.

The words threw Seamus back to a different time, a time when Orion was with Eos. She was the goddess of the dawn, a brief and shining moment of the day that few saw and even fewer appreciated. The dawn that broke every morning was the culmination of her desire, a woman writhing in passion for one single climax every day for the rest of her life. Her lustful appetite never faded, and she had gone through dozens of lovers before finding Orion wandering the earth and offering him the pleasure of a never-ending lust. He was exhausted from searching for Merope's father, the king who had blinded him, and he had felt an obligating gratitude to the personification of the rising sun that had restored his sight. Orion had accepted her offer, and had been taken away to be Eos' next play thing. She had favoured him at first - lavishing him with gifts, food, and all the drink he could swallow - but then she'd put her claws in, taking and demanding his body for weeks at a time without a single substance to sustain him. Then she'd lavish and praise him once more, and the cycle would start again. It was that way for nearly seven years, his body belonging to someone other than himself, and his mind so close to breaking with Eos' constant mood swings that Orion had prayed for someone, anyone to save him. Artemis had answered his prayer, and as he'd taken her hand and offered his life to serve her, Eos had come upon them, screeching in a fit of rage that he was hers, he owed her his life, and he belonged to her.

"I BELONG TO NO ONE!"

Every syllable was filled with the anguished power of a tormented man, the plants in the room growing to a monstrous size. Terrified, Karma ran to the other side of the room, sobbing into her hands.

"Seamus," Ginevra said, getting his attention as Orion faded. "Go have a shower, clean yourself up, and then rest. You're not to do any training for the rest of the day. That's an order," she added firmly.

Feeling weary at Orion's emotional outburst and sudden departure, Seamus just nodded and went to his room. He shut the bedroom door and locked the bathroom one tightly with both the physical lock and a spell for good measure.

"Now, Karma, listen to me," Ginevra said, turning to the sobbing nymph.

She turned away, her sobs getting louder.

"Karma, you can't stay here. You know what happened the last time you were in this world for too long. Do you want to be kidnapped again?" Ginevra asked exasperatedly. "I can't protect you here, not like Terra and the other nymphs can in your world."

Draco entered the room, Blaise passing by with nothing more than a brief glance at them.

"If you stay here, then you could get kidnapped by Voldemort again. Or someone even worse," Ginevra added, her face dark. "Do you understand that, Karma?" she asked.

Karma's sobs had lessened, and she nodded, but there was a stubborn expression on her face that made Ginevra think she didn't care, even if she did understand.

"Our lives are entwined. I'm not going anywhere!"

"Char'maa!" Terra exclaimed in relief on seeing her granddaughter, moving to hug her tightly. "I was worried about you. You should not have run off like that!" she reprimanded her.

"I left a note!"

"No, what you did was leave the Healing Tree before you were well, then you followed those poor boys here, and then you tried to force yourself upon him! I cannot imagine what you were thinking, if you were at all!" Terra said, somewhere between disappointed and stern.

Karma opened her mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say in response. "I... I didn't think about it like that."

"Well, that much is obvious! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Terra demanded.

"I don't want to leave."

Terra looked at Karma for a long while, as if trying to determine her reasoning through sight alone. "I cannot begin to understand why, Char'maa. You have been hurt and tortured in this world for your power. Your power has been twisted and tainted, and you cannot even use it to defend yourself. You are no more than a mortal in this world. If you come back with me now, then you will heal and be looked after by the best healers in the nymph world. You will be safe, and you will not be hunted or tortured again."

"I know, Grandma. But I know what will happen when my power becomes pure again; I will be completely vulnerable, and as such, the nymph world will be too. I can't stay there and risk all of you like that," Char'maa said, sounding far older than she had previously. "If I stay here, then there will be enough current magic in this world to help expel the tainted magic without risking the lives of these people too. You know that our world relies on belief and the loan of magic from the gods. They have not yet forgotten us, but when the last mortal forgets the first name, then the nymphs will be the first to suffer. I will not add to that by staying there and draining our world of more magic than it has. I am staying here, and when I am pure again, then I will return."

Terra sighed softly and pressed a kiss to her granddaughter's forehead. She stood and turned to look at the three - a Queen, a King, and a beast - to ask for their permission and protection.

"Please, may Char'maa stay here and be under your protection? I am sure she will stay away from Neville, Seamus and Blaise," Terra added, glancing over her shoulder to give Char'maa a look of warning. "I understand that you are busy, but I cannot persuade her otherwise, and I could not leave without knowing that she would be protected in some way," she pleaded.

We can't take her to the vampire or Veelan residences. She wouldn't be safe there, Ginevra thought, trying to think of an alternative that would keep everyone safe and, in Blaise's case, sane.

She could stay here at Hogwarts. Maybe the training with the twins would help her? It could keep her out of Seamus and Blaise's way at the very least, Draco added.

Okay... But where do they stay then? Ginevra pointed out.

I have a solution to that, if you don't mind me interrupting, Luna said. There's a house in the Forbidden Forest that I was going to show to them later in the year, but I suppose now is a good as time as any, she added. They seem to be busy at the moment, if you don't mind postponing this for a few hours more? Terra might like to help Karma decorate her room, Luna suggested.

Thank you, Luna, Ginevra said, relieved beyond belief.

Draco detailed the rules to Karma and Terra, making it clear that Seamus was not romantically interested in Karma in the slightest, and that if she tried to do anything like she had this afternoon, she'd be sent back to the nymph world, no matter the consequences.

Karma hadn't looked overly pleased at some of the rules, but she still nodded and signed the contract that Lettie had scripted. Terra added her own signature as a witness, and then went with her granddaughter to help choose and decorate her room, to spend some time with her before Karma willingly exiled herself to the mortal world.

... b ...

"Where are we?" Fred and George asked with a frown, not recognising their surroundings.

"India," Parvati replied, grinning slightly as looks of realisation spread across their faces.

"You mean that you're..." George started to say, goosebumps covering his arms.

"Introducing us to your parents?" Fred finished, his jaw hanging open slightly.

"Not just our parents," Parvati said, her grin taking on a wicked turn.

"But also Khara, father's tiger," Padma said, a wicked smirk on her face.

"Oh gods, this is another punishment for locking you in the pixie world, isn't it?" Fred asked with a groan.

Parvati raised her eyebrow at him, not looking impressed in the slightest.

"We're taking you to meet our parents, we're not going to feed you to the tiger, Fred. Come on, or we'll be late," Padma said, holding out her hand for him.

George and Fred sighed, turning to each other and getting to work. George fixed Fred's crooked tie as Fred cleaning off George's robe before swapping. They then went on to fix each other's hair, muttering to each other about how ashamed their mother would be to see them with hair like this.

"All right, that's enough now," Parvati said, stepping between them and turning them to face the doorway.

She took George's hand, and Padma darted forward to grab Fred's hand before he could try to stall them again. With a deep breath, they walked through the large double doors to the Patil house. There was a loud growl, and two identical thuds and groans of pain.

"Khara, no! Down!" Parvati commanded.

The tiger didn't listen, and kept licking the two wizard's faces, a paw on each of their chests to hold them down.

"Khara, down. Now!" Padma said, trying to pull the obstinate tiger back from the twins.

"Come here, Khara," a soft voice commanded, and all three stopped their movement at the sound of the Patil patriarch.

Khara left Fred and George alone, bounding over to her master. Fred and George didn't dare talk in case they inhaled tiger slobber and performed silent cleaning charms on each other as quickly as possible.

"What happened to a ferocious tiger threatening that boy when you were younger?" George asked as he stood up and brushed his robes off, Fred doing the same beside him.

"We never said it was the tiger that threatened him; we said it was our father who threatened him with Khara," Parvati replied.

"Yeah, what was he going to do, lick him to death?" Fred muttered.

"You've seen that Khara only follows our father's command; don't challenge that," Padma said.

"Parvati, Padma, I see you've finally brought these boys to meet us. Your mother has been asking about them since you mentioned them in a letter three month's ago. Why the delay?"

"Sorry, Father. There were some problems that needed to be dealt with before we could bring them here safely," Parvati said, bowing her head to him.

Yeah, namely getting these two here without them trying to avoid it, Padma added.

Their father made a noise that didn't convey a sympathetic image, and strode forward, Khara by his side. She snarled at Fred and George, teeth sharp and showing.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Bill Weasley, sir," George said.

"And I'm Charlie," Fred said seriously.

Oh, seriously, this is not a guy to screw with. Apologise and start again, Padma said to them urgently.

Khara growled at their lies, but a hand stilled her. Neither Fred nor George seemed inclined to change their first introduction, keeping their expressions neutral as Parvati and Padma's father stared them down.

"Siva, do stop attempting to intimidate our guests. You are even lucky that our daughters brought them home after the last boy," a feminine voice said, making all three stop their staring contest, however reluctantly.

"They were lying to me, Kali."

"If I had a tiger set on me the moment I entered this house, I would not be so prone to telling the truth either. Apologise to these young men right now, and then you two can introduce yourselves properly," Kali said, an arched brow directed at Fred and George.

"Yes, ma'am," they replied, somewhat abashed now.

"I apologise for Khara's excitement on receiving new guests," Siva said reluctantly.

"Siva, apologise properly," Kali said sternly.

"I am sorry for setting Khara on you. I will restrain myself next time."

What about the time after that? Fred thought.

Maybe he doesn't expect us to come a third time? George mused.

Or maybe Khara's going to gnaw us into little bits and use our skeletons as chew things?

Hmm, we could use something like that at the shop. Wishbone skeletons for Crups.

Two tails, two bones. Pet owners would go crazy to spoil their dogs. Need a range for cats then, Fred added.

Oh, bugger. We've got to introduce ourselves, George said, realising that they'd been talking for a little too long to be considered polite. Ah well, they'd live.

Unless Khara gets to us, Fred added with a snicker.

"I'm George, and this is Fred," George introduced, holding back a laugh at Fred's comment.

"I am Padma and Parvati's mother, Kali, and this is my husband, Siva. It is a pleasure to meet both of you," Kali said warmly, smiling at them. "Now, girls, you are not dressed correctly. Please go upstairs and change while we get to know our guests a little better," she said, guiding Padma and Parvati towards the stairs. "Gentlemen, please come with us."

Siva moved to walk beside his wife, Khara trailing behind lazily. Frowning slightly up at their girlfriends, Fred and George followed their parents before they were left behind.

... b ...

"Theo, you home?" Millicent called as she arrived back at their home later that night.

"Upstairs, Mill," he called.

Too tired to walk up the stairs, she Apparated to their room, and flopped straight onto the bed, her legs hanging off the mattress awkwardly. "I'm going to go straight to sleep. Wake me when the world stops spinning," she said, her words mumbled against her pillow.

"You can't go to sleep yet, Mill. We've got the neighbourhood barbecue tonight," Theo reminded her, rubbing her back gently.

Millicent groaned in annoyance, the event having completely slipped her mind. "Don't stop, that's nice," she said, figuring that if he helped her relax then the least she could do was go to the barbecue.

Theo chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He moved up onto the bed, straddling her legs gently and continuing to work his hands along her back, easing knots of tension and stress. By the time he finished fifteen minutes later, Millicent felt as if she could have floated off the bed.

"You sure we have to go? We still haven't tested the bath," she cajoled, grinning up at him.

"I didn't get anything out for dinner because of this barbecue, so unless you want to forgo dinner completely, yes, we have to go. We'll test the bath tomorrow," Theo promised, kissing her again.

Millicent sighed, finally giving in. "Fine, but I'm in charge of the bubbles," she muttered, getting off the bed.

"I'll call someone to renovate the bathroom for Wednesday morning then, shall I?" he asked, grinning.

"I didn't know they were expanding bubbles! I wouldn't have used the whole bottle if I did!"

"I know, love, I'm just teasing. I'll finish cleaning the kitchen while you get changed, okay?"

Nodding, Millicent waited until he'd left the room to get undressed and changed into a casual shirt and pants. Meeting Theo downstairs a few minutes later, she locked the door behind their exit and they made their way down the street. Theo was carrying a large platter of fruit, as there'd been nothing else in the kitchen to take as their contribution.

"I wish we had something more to bring than a fruit platter. Those cubs are likely to hunt me down for bringing this in," Theodore said, only half-joking.

"A bit of fruit won't kill them. Besides, it'll help balance out all of the meat they're likely to eat at the barbecue," Millicent said with a shrug. "If you're that worried, I can carry it in, or at least take the credit."

"Do you see how perfectly cut these oranges are? I'm definitely taking the credit," Theodore said, grinning at her.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you how long you spent preparing that," she muttered, glancing at the far-too-perfect orange slices.

"Healer Derwent refused to let me go back into work today, stating that I looked weaker than a soap bubble. I was kind of tired from all of that shagging we did," he said, chuckling slightly when Millicent blushed. "So, after a few extra hours of sleep, I found that I had a whole day to do nothing but perfect my orange-cutting technique."

"Well, you nailed it... You weren't using a scalpel, were you?"

"Don't worry, I sterilised it three times. Before and after cutting too; it's really difficult to get the orange scent out of things," Theodore said with a slight frown.

"Well, considering you cut up the entire bag of oranges, I'm not surprised," Millicent replied, grinning at him.

"Muuuuuummmmmmm! They're here!" one of the kids called.

"Bloody hell, still as loud as ever!" Millicent said, trying to keep her heart in her chest.

The boy just laughed and ran into the house, waving for them to follow him inside.

"Damn it, my fruit platter's ruined now," Theo muttered, looking at the mix of fruit with a frown.

"Can it pass as a fruit salad?" Millicent asked as they headed towards the house.

"Maybe if our hosts can spare a bowl, juice and sugar," he mused. "Should have spelled the platter."

"Well, now you know for next time."

"Ah, you are here. Sorry, Caleb has been going a bit stir crazy. He's finally going hunting tonight, and the boy just oozes excitement," a woman said, smiling brightly as she met them at the doorway. "I'm Selena, Caleb's mother," she introduced, almost as an afterthought.

"I'm Millicent, and this is Theodore. It's nice to meet you," she said, smiling.

"We brought fruit," Theo added.

"Oh, excellent. You have to tell the cubs that yourself," Selena said with a wicked smirk.

"Um, okay," he replied, a little surprised at her enthusiasm.

"We made a deal with them - they eat whatever you bring for the barbecue, they get to go hunting. They don't eat it, no deal."

"Do you always bribe your children?" Millicent asked, the words out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Selena just laughed. "Only when they're trying to run up the walls and drive me up it too," she said.

(They passed by a wall that had small footprints halfway up it, so neither Millicent nor Theo were sure if Selena was joking or not.)

"They're here, everyone! And they brought fruit."

A disappointed groan went through the table of children, the adults laughing to each other.

"Millicent, Theodore, this is my husband Matt. Matt, these are our new neighbours. Why don't we go put the fruit in the kitchen, Millicent? Then my husband can induct Theodore into the time honoured tradition of standing in front of a barbecue, and claiming it as cooking," Selena said, grinning at a tall and bulky man who just laughed roughly in return.

"Thanks, Selena. There's a trick to cooking a barbecue, Theo. Secret man's business, of course. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others," Matt said, clapping Theo on the back.

"Okay," Theo said, stumbling a bit.

"Grant, Jim, Mark, and Rob. This is Theo. Theo, the guys. Grant's married to Serena, who's Selena's twin sister. Jim lives with his partner Mark, and Rob is a lone wolf," Matt said, all of the men laughing uproariously.

"It's funny because he claimed to be a nomad, but hasn't even left the woods for the past ten years," Jim supplied with a grin, seeing Theo's lost look.

"So what sort of wolf are you, Theo? Thin body like that, you've got to be fast. Short hair too," Grant commented.

"Uh, I'm not..." Theo began to say.

"You of all people should know that a human body doesn't necessarily reflect the wolf. He could be bigger than Matt," Rob argued.

"What do you mean, you of all people?" Grant asked with a growl.

"Oh, please, you're almost as tall as Matt, but your wolf's a scrawny little thing. I could take it on like this!" Rob said, sneering.

"Great, those two are going to be arguing for a good ten minutes now. Meant to be making an effort for the guests," Matt said, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, you're Alpha, Matt. Just get them to stop already. I don't want to get another new wardrobe because of those two," Mark muttered.

"Please, you'd shop for a new wardrobe if someone sneezed in your general direction," Matt said, laughing.

Mark shook his head, and seeing that Matt wasn't going to do anything, he moved as far away from the two arguing men as possible.

"So what kind of work do you and Theodore do, Millicent?" Selena asked as they put the fruit platter with the various salads.

"I've just started a job in the Ministry, and Theo works at St. Mungo's as a healer."

"That's... interesting. Are St. Mungo's accepting of Theodore's unique situation?" Selena asked carefully.

"Um, what situation would that be?" Millicent asked, completely confused.

"Well, you know, that he's a werewolf. Last I heard, St. Mungo's were not accepting of having creatures for staff," she replied, a look of distaste on her face.

"That's an understatement," another woman muttered, who looked remarkably similar to Selena.

"Millicent, this is my sister Serena. She's married to Grant, who's outside with the others," Selena said.

Millicent was still reeling from them thinking that Theodore was a wolf, and interrupted to set the record straight.

"I'm a wolf, but Theodore's not. He's not even a shifter," she said quickly, suddenly unsure of what they would do to him on discovering this.

"He's not? But how... I mean... What..." Selena attempted a few words, her confusion more than evident on her face.

"Never mind that, we've got to stop Grant and Robe from whatever they're about to do. They're arguing like idiots again, and they could hurt him," Serena said, hurrying outside.

Selena was behind her sister in a moment, and Millicent was only a step behind them.

Theo, get away from them now. They don't know you're not a wolf!

Millicent's warning was a second too late, and Grant and Rob burst out into wolf form, deep threatening growls in their throats as they circled each other. Matt sighed, and growled at them, a command in his Alpha voice to make them get away from his poor barbecue. They moved out from under the cover and onto the backyard. They were a metre or two away, but it wasn't far enough for Millicent, who was envisioning all sorts of horrible things happening to Theodore. She ran forward, jumping in front of Theo and bursting into her wolf at the same time, growling protectively.

Theodore was surprised at her action, despite the urgency in her warning earlier. He'd been able to feel her worry, but he didn't think she'd challenge two wolves over him, especially as she never seemed to recognise him as a wolf anyway. The wolf in front of him definitely seemed to recognise him, or at least recognise Millicent's need to protect him.

"Mill, it's all right. You don't have to do this, I'm fine," Theo said quietly, unsure of what he'd do if Millicent was hurt over him like this.

She growled at him and his words. For the first time since Millicent had changed, Theodore heard two words come through their mind link, despite the rough edges. Protect mate.

Mate? Well, that was new. Millicent had told him about wolves' mates and the bond between them. It was a bond that surpassed even their most animalistic natures, or perhaps they were a part of the primitive response to another being. But whatever it was, Theo was sure that it only happened between two wolves.

Hearing Millicent's challenge, Grant and Rob turned to her, growling and advancing on her. Matt swore under his breath, trying to command them back from his barbecue again. It didn't work as well as it had the first time, the primal need to fight surpassing even a command from the Alpha. The children, who had all gathered to watch the wolves fight, were all herded back inside quietly, their eager faces pressing against the windows.

Theodore went to move around Millicent, to get between her and the wolves and stop this nonsense, but Jim and Mark held him back, murmuring certainly that this was not something he wanted to stand between.

Rob snapped at Millicent, Grant leaping forward. A fierce pressure from her hind legs had Millicent jumping into the air, meeting Grant head on, her jaws snapping at his neck as they tumbled down to the ground again. Rob jumped into the fray, scratching at Millicent as Grant struggled to get out from under her. She howled when Rob bit her sharply, blood matting her fur.

"Matt, get in there and stop them!" Selena demanded.

"I can't. They're in the middle of a fight, they won't even listen to me right now. In fact, if I try, then they might turn on me," Matt said with a frown. "We'll just have to wait it out until they're finished."

Rob and Grant were now working together to bring Millicent down, and despite her larger size, she was still outnumbered. Her howls of pain were turning to whimpers as they bit and scratched, fiercely weakening her.

Protect mate. Something in Theodore snapped when he fought past Jim and Mark to see Millicent lying on the ground, large gouge marks in her fur and blood pooling around her.

An unnatural storm began to whip up above them, black clouds gathering and lightning flashing dangerously close to the house. Thunder rolled loudly, the sound continuing for a full thirty seconds, the children howling in fear inside the house. The wind surrounded Theodore's body and he pushed Rob and Grant further and further away from Millicent, their growls turning to weak gasps in the increasing gale. Rain began to pour heavily (Matt swore as his barbecue fizzled out completely, the string of words disappearing in the wind), the small drops of water getting larger and heavier, the atmosphere around them changing until they had become large balls of hail, the ground covered in icy white specks in moments. Rob and Grant were whimpering in fear, ears pressed back against their skulls as they tried to dodge the large balls of ice, the ongoing sound of thunder frightening them further. Millicent was protected from the storm by a large cloud, the white vapours clinging together to form a shield strong enough to endure Theodore's wrath.

"All right, that's enough now, mate. They've learned their lesson," Matt called loudly, battling the wind to make his way over to Theodore.

He lifted his hand to rest on Theodore's shoulder, hoping to jolt him out of this force of nature, but Matt was thrown back without warning, his body hitting the tiles with a crash that was as loud as the thunder overhead. Selena and Serena tried to attack him from either side, hoping to distract him, but were both thrown back by the wind, landing on Matt unceremoniously.

Under the white cloud, Millicent's wolf had faded, and she struggled to sit up, her body covered in gouges, blood and teeth marks.

Theodore, are you there? she called, unable to see him or hear him, and terrified about what might have happened while she'd been unconscious.

Millicent's words hit him like a tonne of bricks, and the white glow left Theodore's eyes abruptly, the storm disappearing in a mere second. The aftermath was still there, the floor covered in hailstones, the trees bent awkwardly with the wind, and there was smoke rising from somewhere in the forest where lightning had struck.

I'm right here, Mill. I'll take you home and get you fixed up, Theodore promised.

Relief flooded her, and Millicent shivered as her adrenaline faded abruptly, her arms covering her exposed body. The cloud around her adjusted to keep her covered modestly, and without a word, Theodore went over to her. He silently performed a spell to ease her pain, waiting until she'd gone unconscious once more before levitating Millicent gently. It was a temporary spell, and would last until he reached their home and could heal her properly.

The small crowd parted without a fuss or single word uttered, all of them staring as Theodore walked past, Millicent's limp body floating in front of him carefully.

Well, that went well, he thought sourly.

... b ...

Blinking her eyes a few times, Pansy sighed at the sight of the gold canopy above her. She turned slightly so that she leaned into Gregory's embrace, closing her eyes and hoping to fall back to sleep once more. Gregory's arms tightened about her automatically, but despite the warm embrace, Pansy couldn't fall back to sleep.

"Greg? You awake?"

"Mmm, trying not to be," he muttered.

"It's no use, I can't get back to sleep. Come on, let's train for a bit," Pansy said, sitting up and stretching.

"Breakfast first, then training," Gregory compromised.

"Fine, but I'm on defensive today," she replied, slipping out of bed and getting changed quickly.

Gregory sighed, but nodded reluctantly. Poseidon still wasn't exactly pleased with their arrangements, nor how he'd been brought to his knees by mortals, and took every moment to demonstrate how much he loathed Pansy, including using more power against her in training than Gregory would have used otherwise. It was the main reason that he hated being on the offensive against Pansy, but he did understand that she'd need to perfect her defensive strategy, even against someone who was as powerful and pissed off as Poseidon.

Amphitrite loved the challenge, whispering in Pansy's ear of a time long ago, when Poseidon still loved and wooed her, fighting against her other suitors with such grace and elegance that she could have very easily fallen for him, had it not been for his pigheaded nature. She had always longed to fight against him in this manner, to see if she could best him where no other could, and out of ten fights, she'd won seven. This only served to make Poseidon angrier and fight more aggressively, but Amphitrite was delighted at her husband's response.

Pansy and Gregory agreed that the two water-bound deities had spent too much time under the ocean, and were utterly insane.

"I'm getting sick of all of the gold around here," Pansy admitted over breakfast.

Gregory, who had a mouthful of food, nodded in agreement. Swallowing forcibly, he put his spoon aside and glanced out of the nearest window, the waves stopping their motion to provide a clearer picture.

"Do you want to go back up to troll's camp? We can leave after training and get back by dark," he offered.

Pansy spun a length of blue-green hair on her finger, looking at the colours for a long moment before responding. "Yeah, I think I'd like that. I'd like to breathe proper oxygen again and feel the sun on my face," she said with a smile.

Amphitrite shivered in delight at the prospect; a millennia had passed since she had felt real sunlight warming her body.

"Apparently lying on the sand until we're red has been deemed as necessary ," Pansy said, conveying Amphitrite's wish with a laugh.

Gregory just grinned and shook his head, returning to his breakfast. (Neither Pansy nor Greg knew what the food was, how it was made, or where it came from, but it tasted good, and they'd decided that they didn't want to know more than that.)

With their meals finished, Gregory and Pansy headed towards the training area, gold reflecting brightly off the walls surrounding them. Once they were ensconced in the room, Amphitrite and Poseidon faced each other, prepared to fight. A triton appeared in Pansy's hands, a sword with a seashell hilt appearing in Gregory's hands. The sword hit the triton, both vibrating loudly with the force, and a tendril of magic flowed up the sword's blade, wrapping around the triton firmly. Poseidon smirked, sure that he'd won this time around. Amphitrite laughed gaily, the sound making him question his victory instantly. A tendril reached up from the triton, picking up and moving Poseidon's one as easily as moving a quill. Then with that same tendril of magic, Amphitrite pushed the sword back fiercely, her husband struggling to hold the sword upright under her attack.

You've been relying on your power all this time, no wonder she's beating you, Gregory said, with all of the wisdom of a war General. Now it's my turn, he added, Poseidon fading with a glower of annoyance.

Gregory gripped the sword a bit tighter, raising it slightly so that Amphitrite had to use more force to push him back. Pulling the sword away abruptly, he moved to the side so that the triton became lodged in the ground. He raised the sword to attack Amphitrite, but she surprised him with a side kick to the jaw, making Gregory stumble back. Seeing Pansy grinning at him, Gregory grinned in response, his wand slipping into his hand. She pulled the sword out of the ground quickly, barely able to deflect the spell he sent at her. Spells flowed, his sword following the words gracefully, while Pansy gripped her own wand, a shield deflecting what she could and the triton blocking his sword quickly.

In the beginning, their training sessions had been a complete mess, swearing and curses flying faster than a Firebolt. In their minds, Pansy and Gregory were used to fighting with wands, while the deities were used to the physical action of a sword and triton. The two memories had resulted in a lot of fumbling hands, misdirected commands to the wrong weapon, and various cuts and singe marks. Gregory and Pansy had trained mercilessly until the memories merged together and they were able to fight with one or both weapons without any problems. They were able to switch between themselves and Amphitrite and Poseidon easier than some of their friends had done - Orion's immediate and emotional appearances through Seamus were not an option for Pansy and Gregory - and they switched between the two more often than they truly realised, working even as they slept.

The fight was over with Amphitrite as the winner, but the battle had raged for long enough to make the victory one that was well earned. Pansy and Gregory grinned at each other, their breathing heavy with the exertion; the former with Amphitrite's distinguishable hair colour, and the latter with tattooed wisps of blue wrapped around his body. (Up on Mount Olympus, Zeus' body was wrapped in gold. He'd claim it as nothing but the result of a drunken night with his brothers, but there was a deeper meaning to the tattoos than even Zeus himself would admit.)

Once they had regained their breath and were cleaned after their fighting session, Pansy and Gregory dressed warmly for their journey back up to the mortal world. Pansy was relieved when her familiar tail appeared with little more than a thought, a secret fear that somehow Amphitrite's power might have changed her mermaid form. Taking her hand in his own, Gregory began to swim up to the rock portal with Pansy by his side.

When they reached the surface - after lying in the sand for some time - Pansy and Gregory planned to organise transport back to Britain and the troll's camp. He still had yet to discover who had tried to poison him, and then there was the war to continue to prepare for.

... b ...

What's taking you two so long? Your mother's asking about baby names, Fred said in horror.

Tell her that you want something really English. She'll start ranting and you can tune out for about five minutes, Padma said helpfully.

"We were thinking of names that sounds a bit more ... well, English, ma'am," George said with a slight smile.

"Of course you were," Siva muttered.

Kali raised her eyebrow at her husband. "You can't talk, Siva Patil! Mr. I want to name my daughters the most obnoxious names on earth."

"What obnoxious names?" Fred asked curiously, sitting up a bit straighter and looking between them with a broad grin.

"Never mind," Siva said darkly. "So which one of you is dating which of my daughters?"

"Uh, well..."

George stopped mid-sentence, nudging Fred and nodding to the doorway. He turned to see Padma and Parvati standing there, dressed in traditional Indian outfits. Padma was in a green choli shirt, the shell garment tight-fitting and exposing her midriff and lower back, and a green lehenga skirt, the long length of silk flowing around her legs comfortably, while a silver sari was draped over her shoulder. Parvati was wearing an identical outfit, but the choli and lehenga were red, finished with a gold sari on her shoulder.

Stop staring already, Padma muttered, rolling her eyes at them.

"Come in, girls. We were just asking Fred and George who is dating who," Kali said with a smile, motioning for them to come in and sit down. "You've never been very clear about it in your owls home."

Padma and Parvati sat on either side of Fred and George, both suddenly wishing that they hadn't been quite so enthusiastic about getting their boyfriends to meet their parents.

... b ...

Ginevra ducked the oncoming fist, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the hex that accompanied it. Her legs shaking with the JellyLegs hex, she fell to the ground, rolling to avoid the sword that was swung down at her. Her concentration shaken, Ginevra had to repeat the JellyLegs counter curse twice before it worked and she could stand, fighting her way to her feet. She hexed the closest person, a pulse of vampire-powered lightning exploding from her free hand, and moved in the next motion to kick the legs out from underneath someone else.

From where those two had fallen, more replaced them instantly. People with swords, daggers, wands, and all manner of offensive weapons tried to hurt and overwhelm her. Ginevra fought the best she could, using whatever magic or defensive manoeuvre she could, the moves all instinct rather than thought.

Almost overwhelmed by the large onslaught of bodies that were so focused on her and her alone, Ginevra was close to admitting defeat when she saw a bright white light flash to the side. As one, the people surrounding her stopped fighting and turned to look at the entrancing light that was shining just for them. With everyone so preoccupied, Ginevra made her way out of the crowd, taking long deep breaths to try and calm herself. Lettie, unaffected by the light too, came to stand beside her, both of their arms littered in blood and bruises.

"Are you all right, my Lady? Is there anything I can get for you?" Lettie offered.

"I'm fine for the moment, Lettie. I'll be better when Draco stops using his Veelan power on everyone," Ginevra muttered, glancing up to where her fiancŽ was flying above the crowd.

At her words, the glow left his body abruptly, and the crowd looked around in confusion, wondering what had just happened. A few flaps of his wings had Draco making his way to where Ginevra and Lettie where, and he dropped in front of them easily.

"They almost got you in there, didn't they?" Draco asked, his fingers touching to one of the larger gouges on Ginevra's arm.

"Came very close to it. They're good in a crowd, I'll admit that. But they won't have that luxury in a war, so I want to see how they go individually," Ginevra said.

"My Lady? Perhaps you should spend some time with my Lord first?" Lettie suggested weakly. She could feel Ginevra's Thirst getting greater as the minutes passed, and they'd been training with the Hogwarts students for nearly half the day without Ginevra having a single drink.

"Come on, love. They can fight each other for a bit. Not all of the Death Eaters are beings, after all," Draco added, taking her hand.

Ginevra nodded briefly, slipping away with Draco, her eyes red and fangs already protruding from her between her lips. Lettie ran a hand over her hair, pulling out the tie and redoing the plait firmly. It might have looked brilliant loose, her hair flying out around her as she fought and trained, but it could get her killed if it blocked her line of vision, and Lettie refused to die over something as simple as her hair. (Oh, gods, just imagine if Lavender from last year could hear her now!) The echo of need from Ginevra lessened, and Lettie sighed in relief when it disappeared entirely, licking her lips at the phantom taste that she could never quite reach.

When Ginevra and Draco returned, both had blood stained lips and the red in Ginevra's eyes was lessening every passing second. Lettie smiled at them, falling into step beside her Lady and Lord as they returned to the training field.

"All right, we're changing this up a bit! Three lines, single file, all of you!" Ginevra called out, her voice projected so that everyone could hear her clearly.

No one questioned her, they all simply lowered their weapons and hurried to do as instructed. When the lines were formed, Lettie, Ginevra, and Draco stood at the head of each line respectively.

"You're to fight each of us. If you don't defeat Lettie, then you continue onto my line, then onto Draco's if you don't beat me either. If you do win, then you have earned a night of rest. You can choose to continue fighting if you'd prefer not to rest just yet. This is the last lesson for the night, and then you can all go off for dinner," Ginevra added.

"It's still early though, why do we have to leave so early?" Sally Ann asked, her sword resting against her shoulder.

"You need to balance work and play while you still can play," Draco said, smirking. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Perks."

She grinned and nodded in reply, taking a hold of her sword properly.

Lettie, if you think you can handle it, I'd like you to take off your choker, Ginevra said quietly.

A shiver of fear ran through Lettie at the very prospect, and she shook her head minutely. I do not think I can do that, my Lady. Not with so many students present. I may practice on my own in the vampire mansion, with your permission? It is more secure, and I would feel safer there than here, she added, trying to calm her wild emotions.

Of course you have my permission, Lettie. You are free to practice wherever suits you, she replied immediately.

Thank you, my Lady.

Ginevra nodded briefly, and they all focused on their first opponents. The first were beaten without much effort, and the three students moved to the end of the next line to continue fighting. By the time they were each fighting their fifteenth opponent, the lines had spread until the students were gathered in semi-circles around the fighting pairs. They were calling out to each other, encouragement and ideas mostly, the noise distracting more than helpful. Some of the students came close to defeating Lettie, and she clenched her fists around her sword tighter, determined not to lose yet. She had trained with Miles, and he was much faster and stronger than any of the students, she reminded herself sternly.

He might have been stronger and faster, but the students were far more desperate, intent on showing their progress and prowess with weapons and wand. Lettie was starting to tire by the time the line returned her first opponent again, and she struggled to block each blow. Lettie left herself open, a foolish mistake, but one she didn't notice until it was too late, and there was a sword at her throat.

"Good session, Sally Ann. Are you going for a break?" Lettie asked, standing when the sword was removed from her exposed throat carefully.

"Not yet, I want to see if I can beat Ginevra and Draco now," Sally Ann said, grinning brightly, endorphins and the rush of victory flooding her.

Lettie gave her a nod of respect and turned to her next opponent as Sally Ann went over to Ginevra's line and waited for her next turn.

As they were waiting, students began to start their own one-on-one battles with each other, slower movements copying the faster ones of the three in front of them, working through them faster until they could perfect the moves. A few people were hurt this way, but they were healed and picked up their weapon to continue practicing. They'd become hardened to these sorts of basic injuries, their skins thicker now that they'd hurt themselves with more than a sharp quill during class.

The fighting continued up until seven o'clock when the bell struck loudly, the sound seeming to echo through the quiet castle. Sally Ann had begged them to train with them again the next day, as she had yet to defeat Ginevra and Draco and desperately wanted another try. The other students echoed her sentiment quickly, begging Lettie to come back as well.

"You're meant to be training with the Professors tomorrow," Ginevra reminded them. "Professor Flitwick is going to be teaching you defensive spells, while Madam Hooch goes through evasive manoeuvres on brooms. Don't you want to do that?"

"Well, yes. But you can come in the afternoon. It's really helpful doing this with people who have more power and strength than us. Even Parvati and Padma have admitted that we need more experience," Sally Ann said quickly.

"It's true, they have said that," Dennis quipped, nodding.

"All right, we'll come by in the afternoon," Ginevra said, unable to stop from smiling when they cheered and thanked them profusely.

The students began to disperse, heading up to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hey, Dennis. Have you heard from Colin lately?" Draco asked him curiously before the boy could leave.

"Yeah, he sent an owl from Romania a couple of days ago. Says he's fine and the dragon training is pretty intensive, but he's worked out how use the wind to fly even faster. Did you know there's a difference between hot and cold winds when you're flying?" Dennis asked, still as enthusiastic as ever. "Oh, well, I suppose you do," he added sheepishly when he realised that Draco was a winged Veelan.

"Yeah, I do," Draco said, chuckling. "Are you planning on going up to Romania anytime soon then?"

"No, I don't think so. I didn't get the dragon gene. Firstborns only. But I can make my eyes glow if I think about it really hard," Dennis said, grinning brightly. "I've got to look after Dad, anyway. Colin would hate it if anything happened to him, and I'm not going to leave Dad alone and unprotected if I can help it. I already set wards up around the house, and on his regular milk run," he added proudly.

"Good thinking. All right, enjoy your dinner, Dennis. See you tomorrow," Draco said with a nod, watching as the young boy ran to catch up with the others.

Are you all right, Draco? Ginevra asked with a slight frown.

Fine. Just wanted to know if he knew what was happening with Colin. Everything's happening so quickly, so I'm glad that they're making time to talk to each other. It's so weird to think that Dennis is fifteen already, he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

You're acting as if you're fifty years old, Draco. You're seventeen, remember? Ginevra said, grinning at him.

Draco rolled his eyes and nodded. I know that. But sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

Yeah, I know what you mean, Ginevra admitted, her grin slipping. She moved to stand by his side, taking his hand in her own.

"I will take my leave of you now, my Lady, unless there is anything you require?" Lettie asked, sheathing her sword.

"No, there isn't, Lettie. Go and have a night off. Maybe talk to Miles; he'll probably be worried sick about you. He hasn't seen you since this morning, after all," Ginevra added.

Flushing guiltily, Lettie nodded in reply. "Yes, I should talk with him sooner rather than later. I will see you tomorrow afternoon. Have a good night, my Lady, my Lord," she said, curtsying to both before touching the band on her wrist and disappearing.

Pressing a kiss to Ginevra's neck, Draco smirked against her. "Let's go finish what we started earlier, love," he murmured, teeth nipping at her flesh as he wrapped his arms around her.

She grinned, turning in his embrace to kiss him heatedly. "Sounds like a plan to me. But first we have to do something," Ginevra added.

"Hmm, what would that be?"

"I want to show you something. Hades, you should have something to show them too, if you're not too busy," Persephone said.

Hades smirked, his tongue flicking against a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. She shivered in delight, but didn't falter from her resolve. He sighed in defeat and stepped away.

"Fine, but after this, I'm going to fuck you against the closest surface," Hades muttered.

"Being outside does things to you, doesn't it?" Persephone asked, grinning at him.

"I'd prefer to be doing things to you," he replied with a smirk.

"Oh, Hades, you didn't just say that," she groaned in disbelief.

"I'm blaming all of this fresh air. It's unnatural," Hades replied.

"Right, come on. Let's get this done before you think of any more cheesy pick up lines. Your mouth could be doing much better things."

"And that wasn't cheesy?" he muttered, smirking.

"Ever so sorry to interrupt, but if you two really are planning on shagging, can we actually get going? What's this thing you want to show us anyway?" Draco asked.

"You'll see," Persephone replied, heading into the Forbidden Forest with Hades beside her.

... b ...

Blaise held onto Seamus and Neville a little tighter as he drifted off to sleep, certain that that awful nymph would steal into their room somehow and take them away from him. He'd not let go of them for the day, calling for a house elf to bring them food, and all but refusing them to leave the room. Neville had seen his desire to keep them close as something more than just a lingering possessiveness from the nymph world, and when Seamus was sleeping off their latest shag ("really, Blaise, if yer plannin' on lockin' me up all day, the least ye could do is shag me silly," he'd quipped, far too happy about the prospect and who was Blaise to deny him?), Neville had taken Blaise aside to ask him about it. He'd drawn a bath for Blaise, waiting until Blaise had sunk down into the warm water with a contented sigh before moving to sit behind him, his legs on either side of Blaise's body. Neville rubbed his shoulders, working on releasing the knots of tension that had formed.

"You need to talk to me, Blaise. This isn't just to do with the nymph world, is it?" Neville asked pointedly.

Blaise stayed silent for some time, not wanting to ruin the moment, but then he sighed and started talking.

"Ever since I was born, I've been alone. My mother spent a lot of time out of the country looking for her next husband, and for most of my childhood, I was all but raised by house elves. I distinctly remember asking the head elf who the woman was, why she was staying with us, and how she knew my name. I was two years old, and I didn't even recognise my own mother," he said with a hollow laugh. "It continued that way until I reached the age of four and mother's latest husband realised that he could get more political votes if he went with the family routine. So I was dolled up, taught how to behave, and taken out to every single function that the Ministry held that year.

"Shortly before the election, he died - it was put down to his opposition ordering a hit, but it was never proven - and mother realised that she garnered more sympathy with a grieving son by her side. She taught me about politics, how to cry on command, and how to get what I wanted no matter what it was or who I had to use to get it. The next year was spent at every function in the wizarding world, even if the Ministry didn't host it, and mother watched me to ensure that I was putting her lessons into practice. It was the most attention she'd paid to me since my birth six years before.

"I met Draco at one of the functions, and mother used our acquaintance as a way to get close to the Malfoy family. He was the first friend I had, even if we didn't like each other at the beginning. I thought he was a prat, and he saw through my lies, but we were both taught about the value of the other's family, so we kept on pretending to be friends until we really did become friends.

"Mother married again, but since that husband had no use for me, and loathed the fact that I wasn't his child, I was ignored again. The Malfoy's were used as a free babysitting service, and my mother was in turn used whenever Lucius and Narcissa needed a night to themselves, though my mother just left Draco and I to the care of the house elves.

"I was raised to believe that people are only there to be used, and that unless they're fulfilling a need, then there's no use in them. I wasn't raised learning things about love and emotions, only how to fake them to get what I wanted, and I definitely wasn't raised in a way that made me think those emotions were even real in the first place. People just pretended to have them to get further in society, to have sex with whoever caught their fancy at the time, or to marry whomever had the most money..." Blaise trailed off here, his mind caught in a memory that he couldn't escape.

Neville stayed silent, his hands moving from Blaise's shoulders to run his fingers through Blaise's hair gently, fingertips working at his scalp.

"When I came here to Hogwarts, and was sorted into Slytherin, I found out that some people claimed to have these emotions that the adults had all lied about. They weren't using people for status, sex, or money. As purebloods, they already had their own status and money, and apart from one or two who got into relationships for the presents and the idea of being someone's girlfriend or boyfriend, most actually meant what they felt. Gods, the very idea of really loving someone shocked the hell out of me, and I just kept to myself, watching this opera of emotions going through everyone else. Even Draco, when he was being a prat and taunting the Trio, I could see that there was something else beneath the surface because he was always so damn quiet when Ginevra went by, and he went out of his way to make sure that no one else teased her. Can't even remember what he said now, but it left an impression on the others," Blaise said with a chuckle.

"While I was watching all of them declare love and whatever, I stood back, and I waited to feel something, to feel something like what they claimed to feel. I didn't know what love felt like, as I'd never loved anything or anyone before. I tolerated my mother, and either loathed or was indifferent to my various stepfathers, and I suppose I was fond of the house elves, but apart from that, there was nothing.

"I clung to my friendship with Draco, and gradually became friends with the others too. They took some time to warm up to me and understand my sense of humour, but we all banded together and became steadfast friends, despite what it looked like to others outside of Slytherin. I thought that would be all there was, that my emotions only extended enough to be friends with a select few. I had sex a couple of times but it wasn't anything special, and didn't awaken any deep-rooted emotions in me. There was nothing, and I secretly believed that love - or the very idea of love, at least - was nothing but a lie, a sweet little fantasy that people let themselves believe because they didn't want to admit that they didn't really feel a thing."

Blaise's words were still flowing out of him, and Neville continued to massage his head, neck and shoulders slowly as he revealed so much more than he ever had before. In the bedroom, Seamus had woken up on hearing Blaise's first words echoing off the bathroom tiles, and was sitting on the edge of the bed listening intently.

"I found out I had a lineage that led back to the centaurs and discovered what I could become, and there was a sense of freedom there that I'd never felt before. I was able to do something that my mother or her husband of the year didn't have a hand in, and it was something that I belonged to. I didn't agree with Bane most of the time, and soon found myself an outsider in the herd, which just left me feeling so bitter. Here I was, finally finding something I was meant to do, something that I could open myself up to, only to have it thrown back at me and stomped into my face for good measure.

"Then, you came along..." Blaise's voice broke a little, but he composed himself and continued talking. "You were so gorgeous, even though you never seemed to know it, and there was just something about you that always drew my attention. I watched you for years, and then when you stood up to Rion... I never wanted you more than I did in that moment," he admitted, looking up at him with a quick grin. "Then everything started happening with Ginevra, and she told me that I should tell you how I felt. I was shocked, not that she'd noticed, but that I wasn't surprised that I did feel something other than friendship for someone. I was so happy that I'd actually felt something that I had to test it as soon as possible. I purposely bumped into you, just to see if I could feel something, and then you ran away when I sat in front of you in Charms, and I just had to go after you to make you understand."

Neville blushed slightly, remembering his embarrassment at Blaise sitting so close to him all too well.

"And after everything that happened with Dean and Seamus, and you going off to the nymph world, only to return to tell me that Seamus would be with us... I got worried. I was so worried that I wasn't enough for you, that somehow I was the problem, and maybe it would be my fault that Seamus would be with us too. I resisted it for so long, even when I knew that it wasn't my fault or a shortcoming, but then after Ginevra erased everyone's memories and brought them back, and we woke up with Seamus between us, it just felt right. You'd said as much, and I hadn't believed you until that moment, and I finally stopped resisting because I wanted him to be with us as much as I wanted you with me. I'd been selfish, trying to keep you all to myself," Blaise murmured.

"And now?" Neville asked, his words almost catching in his throat.

"Now, I love you both so much that I know I can't lose you. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I lost either of you, and my heart hurts so much at the thought that I just don't want to let you or Seamus out of my sight. I'm being selfish again, but I've finally discovered that love is a real thing, and I don't want to lose it again."

There was a small sob from the doorway, and they looked over to Seamus standing there, tears in his eyes and a slight smile.

"I'm goin' ter kiss ye both now, and I can say fer sure tha' I'm nay goin' anywhere," he added certainly, climbing into the bath to kiss Blaise eagerly, his arms wrapped around him tightly.

"We're not going anywhere, love," Neville added, sliding down into the bath fully clothed to kiss Blaise and Seamus too.

His heart overflowing with love, Blaise kissed Neville and Seamus back just as passionately, knowing that he'd never stop loving them.

... b ...

"Should we tell them that their thoughts are so loud we can hear them here?" Colin asked Luna, grinning slightly.

"No, we definitely should not. They need this time to themselves," she replied firmly. "But we'll have to say our goodbyes here soon. We need to be at Hogwarts by tomorrow night to help with the hunting party," Luna said, frowning.

"Hunting party? What on earth for?" he queried in confusion.

"I'm... I'm not sure what for," she replied uncertainly. "I just know that it's going to happen, but I can't See why. Something's blocking my sight," Luna murmured in frustration.

"But you're sure the hunting party's at Hogwarts? Can you tell who's there?" Colin asked, wondering if a more roundabout way of viewing the scene would help Luna as it had done before.

"I'm sure it's there," she replied with an adamant nod. "You're there with me... Gregory and Pansy will be in the troll camp, Theodore and Millicent will be working... I can't See anyone else, anyone who'll be directly involved. I can't even tell if the Hogwarts Professors' will be there," Luna said.

Colin sighed and drew her into a hug, rubbing her back gently. "If you can't See anything about it, then you can't See anything. You won't be able to do anything about whatever it is from here, so let's just do what we can do, and start heading back to Hogwarts. If we leave now, we'll make it there by tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting."

Luna nodded reluctantly, sighing briefly. "Sorry, Colin, but I hate when I know that something important is going to happen, but I can't do anything about it, and I can't even See what it is!"

"Well, I can't See anything at any time of the day, so you're one up on me there," he joked, grinning.

Shaking her head at his joke, Luna told herself that he was right. The only thing they could do now was what they could control, and that was leave for Hogwarts.

"I'll go say goodbye to your mother while you start packing," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Bexley moved to reside inside of Luna as she exited the room, not wanting to miss out on whatever the next day would bring.

... b ...

"Ready?" Persephone asked Hades with a wicked smile.

He nodded in response and held up his hands, palms facing the sky. Two balls of black fire burst out of Hades' palms, hovering above his hands easily before shooting into the air, doing a series of spiralling moves around each other. Before Ginevra or Draco could say something, he sent the black balls at a nearby tree. On hitting the tree, the two balls seemed to stick to the bark, and before their eyes, the evergreen began to lose its colour. The bark faded to a sickly shade of grey, the leaves fading from green to a rotting brown in a matter of seconds, and the trunk itself shrinking until the tree looked like nothing more than a shrivelled mess of dead branches and rotting roots.

Persephone held her hands out, two gold balls appearing above her palms as the black ones had for her husband. She decided to skip the aeronautical display, instead sending the balls straight to the tree. They covered the black balls easily, and the tree started to gain life and colour once more. The bark strengthened, the trunk expanded to its original size, the leaves returned to their green colouring, the branches firm once more. In the same time it took for the tree to die, it was brought back to life.

"This is one of your powers as the King and Queen of the Underworld," Ginevra stated, making her way over to the tree, pressing her hand to the trunk. "You can give or take life?"

"Not exactly, the Fates are still the ones that decide on who shall live and die," Persephone replied. "The power we just demonstrated was done with a soul. The Fates decide who lives and dies, but after they've died, Hades and I have their souls. We're the ones who decide where the souls should be placed in the Underworld."

"The souls have power, and some of the souls that are taken still have some life remaining inside of them. I can gather that remaining life and use it more productively," Hades said, nodding to the tree. "Seph's power as goddess of the harvest made her more inclined to use the soul's power to bring life back into something, whereas mine was more suited to taking life. The spheres attach to the being and drain them of their remaining life. It does not kill them though. As Seph said, that decision is still reserved to the Fates alone, but there have been times when some people have been less accepting of their fate than others. Their scissors are blunt and they unable to cut the thread, so the sisters ask a favour of me. Sometimes they will feel sorry for one soul or another, and then the favour is asked of Seph. But that is rare. In fact, it is more often that I am begged to save someone," Hades admitted, glancing to his wife. "She is far too loving, even when some do not deserve such a love."

"Can the Fates' scissors really get blunt?" Ginevra asked.

Hades just smirked in return and didn't reply.

"I didn't dare show you this skill of ours in the open. There are too many eyes watching these days, and it does us well to be paranoid," Persephone admitted.

"If that's all we needed to see, can we get back to our rooms now?" Ginevra asked.

Draco started walking back along the forest path, and she hurried to catch up, rightly assuming that her question had been answered.

... b ...

Lettie appeared in the vampire mansion, and in a matter of seconds, Miles was standing before her. He looked like an absolute wreck, but didn't say a word as he stepped forward to gather her in an enveloping hug.

"I have been so worried about you, beloved Lettie," Miles said, his words muffled against her.

"Sorry for worrying you, Miles. I just needed some time to think about everything," Lettie admitted.

"I have been thinking too, and I am sorry for rushing into..."

She put a finger to his lips, stopping anything else that he might say to her.

"Miles Torleni, I would love nothing more than to marry you," Lettie said, smiling at him brightly and pressing a kiss to his lips.

He seemed stunned at her answer; obviously he'd been expecting a negative answer from her need to think about it all day.

"Are... are you certain, Lettie?" Miles asked, loathing to ask but needing to know the answer.

"Yes, I am now. I was terrified this morning when you asked me, because I couldn't handle the idea of losing you in this war, and thought that if I said no, it would hurt me less. But then I realised that even if we weren't married, I would still hurt the same if I lost you in the war, and I can't bear to think of that. I know I'm probably not making much sense right now, and I swear it sounded much better in my head... I've thought about this all day, Miles, and I am absolutely certain that I want nothing more than to be married to you," Lettie said.

A sigh of relief escaped him and he caught her up in another hug, lifting his fiancŽe off her feet to kiss her passionately.

"I love you, Miles," Lettie said, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling at him brightly.

"I love you, my beloved Lettie."

... b ...

Tuesday 23 July. Early morning.

Virginia sighed, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the man before her. Pettigrew squeaked in alarm when she stood up abruptly, scrambling back to get as far away from her as possible. A whisper of words had him going still immediately, his hands and feet bound.

"You are to take me to your Master, little rat man, and if you do not, then I will kill you. Is that understood?"

Pettigrew nodded enthusiastically, beady eyes darting about to try and find an escape. He should have known that it was too good to be true when someone of Virginia's beauty came to him in a bar.

Virginia lifted the man to a standing position by his coat lapels and linked her arm through his, waiting impatiently for him to Apparate. Pettigrew, resigned to the fact that he would not be escaping any time soon, reluctantly Apparated to where Voldemort was hiding out this month. With Virginia holding onto his arm that had his Dark Mark, Pettigrew was able to Side Apparate her without a problem. The only problem would be when they arrived before Voldemort...

"Ah, Pettigrew, my loyal servant. You have brought her to me," Voldemort said silkily, stunning Pettigrew beyond belief.

"Of course, my Dark Lord. I am always loyal to you, my Dark Lord," Pettigrew said quickly, not one to turn down an opportunity for praise.

Voldemort had already left with Virginia by his side, ignoring everyone else immediately.

Letting out a breath of relief, Pettigrew hurried to his small room, feeling that he'd dodged an Avada Kedavra with the woman's presence, though he wasn't entirely sure how or why.

Voldemort guided Virginia to a seat, apologising for the state of his surroundings, adding that his usual dwellings were overrun with Aurors at present.

"Ah, of course. That is more than understandable, then, my dear Dark Lord," Virginia replied, flashing a bright smile.

"How may I do your bidding, Lady Virginia?"

She smiled cruelly and began to detail her plan to her rapt listener.

"Tomorrow, some very annoying and, unfortunately, lucky children will be organising a search party for my son. He is in hiding for a crime that I am sure he did not commit, and as his mother, I have a duty to ensure that he is not found."

"Of course, Lady Virginia," Voldemort replied, waiting for her to continue.

"In order to keep my son safe, I need you to kidnap one of the children so that they will all search for the missing one instead of my poor Ric."

"An ingenious plan, Lady Virginia. Are the children in Hogwarts?" he asked hesitantly, licking his lips. "We have yet to get past the spells protecting the school," Voldemort snarled.

"Oh, my dear Dark Lord, do not worry yourself about those things. The one I want you to kidnap does not reside on Hogwarts grounds. In fact, I know exactly where she is, and can take you there myself," Virginia added helpfully.

"Of course, Lady Virginia. I am at your service," he replied, bowing his head slightly.

"Good."

Touching his hand, Virginia and Voldemort disappeared instantly.

On hearing a loud noise nearby, Lettie woke up blearily. The noise had come from Ginevra's room, and she got out of bed slowly, wondering why her Lady had returned so early in the morning.

My Lady? Are you all right? Lettie asked, trying not to yawn even in her mind.

She opened the adjoining door between their rooms and stepped inside Ginevra's room. It took Lettie a full second to realise that the scene before her was not one she expected in the slightest, and that the red-headed woman before her was definitely not her Lady. Virginia just sneered at her, and the man beside her stepped forward, Voldemort's wand raised and his hand outstretched. Touching the band on her wrist, Lettie's fatigue disappeared instantly when she realised that it wasn't working. Something was stopping her from disappearing out of the room. Lettie had left her wand by her bed, not thinking that she'd need it. Then she discovered that she couldn't even move her feet to run away. She was stuck to the spot with no way of escaping, and Voldemort was almost in front of her.

Ginevra! Help!

Lettie's scream of terror woke Ginevra with a jolt, and Draco sat up beside her too, the shout not limited only to Ginevra's mind link.

"What's happened?" Draco asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes quickly.

"It's Lettie," Ginevra said slowly, her mind still trying to comprehend what had happened through her fatigue. "She's been kidnapped."

... b ...

End of the thirty-fourth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it.