Chapter Twelve - Seating Charts and First Aid
In the silence that followed, the couple was gone.
Nodding in unison, the patronuses faded from view. Speaking from the front of the hall, Kingsley recaptured the attention of the assembled family and friends. "The happy couple will be waiting for us at Hogwarts." Looking down at his watch, he smiled. "We should be arriving in Hogsmeade Station in three minutes; there will be carriages to transport everyone to the reception."
Kingsley's words released the moment that the crowd was under, and the sound began to reverberate around the space. As if an enchantment had been released, the crowd began to surge towards the aisle. The wedding party reentered the room from the back, as everyone began talking at once about what just happened.
Shaking his head, Ron looked around the room, trying to spot the bride's parents. Seeing the Grangers happily chatting away with Andromeda Tonks, he made his way through the crowd, acknowledging well-wishers and beaming.
"Alex, looks like we finally got them all straightened around, no?" Standing beside Hermione's father, Ron chuckled at the wistful smile on the older man's face.
"Ron, I really don't think anyone can take any credit for this, but it does appear the waiting is finally over." Nodding to his grandson Teddy who was making his way towards them, a blushing Victoire Weasley and a giggling Crystal Brown in tow, he sighed. "Though, I do suppose Teddy had a hand in all this."
Seeing the three approaching, Ron shook his head and chuckled. "Definitely a different trio than we were, back in the day." Shrugging at the look Alex gave him, Ron sighed. "Totally different dynamic there. Fleur's convinced that Teddy and Victoire have some sort of understanding on an instinctual level, she keeps telling Bill that they're too young to worry about now and when they're older, Teddy is too much Harry's son to worry about the two of them."
"And I remind my lovely wife that Victoire is definitely her daughter, so that's why I'm worried." Smiling wolfishly, Bill clapped both of them on the back as he joined them in the conversation.
Arching an eyebrow, Ron looked at the three barreling towards them. "Daddy's little girl worries you?"
Both older men burst out laughing and shaking their heads. Looking at Ron with amused sympathy, Bill nodded. "If you're ever lucky enough to have a daughter, you'll learn full well that daughters are God's revenge on fathers for having been a teenage wizard." Looking over at Alex, Bill shrugged. "Well, maybe not in your case."
"Please, I worried about my princess, probably more so since she was so quiet and determined." Giving Ron a nod, Alex chuckled. "I didn't worry so much about her doing something impulsive, except where Harry was involved, but I knew that once she had thought about it and made up her mind to do something, nothing her mother or I could say would have the slightest impact on what she thought was `right'."
"Alex, the only thing I can say is that Hermione had more sense than both of us put together. Though Harry could usually get her to go along when he started flying by the seat of his robes, it's really her doing that the three of us are still here." Smiling as he remembered the days when the `Golden Trio' was in school, Ron nodded as the three finally arrived.
Skidding to a stop, all three were laughing as they nodded to the adults. "Uncle Ron, Uncle Bill, Grandpa Alex." Crystal Brown was absolutely glowing; her blonde curls bouncing around as she nodded to all three. "Wasn't that the craziest thing you've ever seen?"
"Crystal, trust me. That's not the craziest thing those two have ever pulled off, by a long shot." Shaking his head, Ron chuckled at the look in the young witch's eyes. "Once they get back, ask them about the time in Sweden when they took down a pair of trolls at the beach with a pair of chopsticks."
"You've got to be kidding. Did you see that? Their patronuses walked down the aisle with them. That has got to be the most romantic thing ever." Shaking her head, she turned to Teddy and Vickie who were standing there with her, hand in hand. "You two will do that, I can just see it."
"Crys, you are so dead." Looking up at her father, Victoire Weasley smiled winningly at him. "Papa, you know she's just being Crystal, non?"
Looking over at Teddy, whose hair was turning a shade of electric blue that was very striking, Bill Weasley smiled wolfishly at the boy. Reaching up and casually touching his scars with one hand, he turned to his daughter and nodded. "Princess, I know Crystal's just excited about the wedding. I have every reason to believe that we have a long time to worry about your wedding with anyone."
"Please Papa." Smiling and nodding, Victoire waited until her father turned to face her Uncle Ron and then added. "Of course we're not going to wait as long as Uncle Harry and Aunt Mi did." Turning on her heel, she ignored the look on her father's face as she grabbed Teddy's hand. "Come, ma petit chiot, let's go find the twins."
Pulling Teddy away from the three adults, the pair ran off towards the front of the room where the twins were standing with their parents. Shaking her head, Crystal nodded to Alex Granger before she turned and followed her friends.
Shaking his head, Bill chuckled ruefully. "Little brother, I rest my case. If you ever have a daughter, you'll know exactly what I mean."
Muttering under his breath, Ron looked over at his wife who was beaming as she was talking to Lavender and Harland. Seeing the look on her face, he smiled and turned back to his brother and Alex. "Bill, I think I'll need to hear your wisdom on raising a daughter in March, so hold that thought for a bit."
Shaking his head, Bill rolled his eyes at the look on his brother's face. Turning to Alex, he chuckled. "It seems we have a new member of the `Father of a Daughter' club."
-----
As the wedding party and guests disembarked at Hogsmeade Station, the festive air continued. News of the wedding had begun to spread, and a few of the residents of the wizarding village had come down to the depot to join in the festivities. The fact that the bride and groom were conspicuously missing added to the fun as speculations began to run rampant regarding just where the newly wedded pair were and what they were doing.
Surprisingly, it was Ron Weasley who was trying to maintain some sort of semblance of decorum for his missing friends. Assuring everyone that the newlyweds were up at the castle, Ron kept up a running commentary on Hermione's need to `make certain everything was in order' up at the castle, he deftly deflected any and all ribald suggestions on where the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio were currently.
Alex Granger took his wife's hand as they entered the waiting carriage. The fact that both he and his wife could see the thestrals that pulled the carriages to and from the school where their only daughter had attended had, at first, disturbed him once Hermione had explained the magic surrounding the spooky equines.
Even on those occasions when they had approached the school without benefit of the rings that Hermione had gifted them with two years ago that allowed them to see past the illusions that most muggles saw if they were to approach the castle, they had been able to see the skeletal winged horses that carried people back and forth from the wizarding school.
Hermione had explained to them that the magic that veiled the thestrals from view keyed on mortality, which was the great equalizer regardless of whether one could wield magic or not. His own ticket to viewing the ill-omened equines had come early during his service as a Royal Marine, his wife's on a bleak winter morning when a patient died during surgery despite her efforts to save the young woman's life. Gazing sadly at the gaunt beasts, he squeezed his wife's hand as they settled back for their trip to the gates of the school.
"Knut for your thoughts." Dragged out of his reverie by his wife's voice, Alex shook himself and sighed. "Just thinking about how much things have changed since that owl landed in the middle of our breakfast table all those years ago."
"I'm still not certain which was more astonishing, an owl sitting in the middle of our breakfast table, or Hermione calmly saying, `I think this is for me, Mum,' as if the telephone had just rung."
"The doorbell ringing seconds later didn't help." Shaking his head, Alex Granger grinned as he remembered their first meeting with Professor Minerva McGonagall. "Honestly, if we both hadn't been so surprised by her presence at the door, the look on her face would have been comical.
"Until we turned around and saw out daughter standing in the kitchen doorway, an owl perched on her shoulder, reading a parchment as if it were the most normal thing in the world." Chuckling, Helen smiled as she remembered the day their world changed.
"I'm not certain who was more dismayed, Minerva seeing that the notification had beat her to our house, or myself seeing my baby standing there with a bird of prey perched upon her shoulder." Elbowing her laughing husband severely, Helen nodded. "And you were no help. Instead of saying something helpful, the only thing you could chime in with was `I knew we should have used `Athena' for her middle name.'."
"It was my grandmother's name," Alex reminded her. "Once we found out the Professor McGonagall's given name was `Minerva', that explained the glare she gave me when I said that."
Feeling the carriage begin to slow, the Grangers waited for the thestrals conveying them to Hogwarts to come to a stop before the ornate front entrance to the school. Disembarking, they nodded pleasantly to the pair of students wearing Gryffindor House colors who were acting as greeters before walking to the front of their carriage.
Reaching into the shoulder bag that Hermione had enchanted for her, years ago, Helen reached into a concealed pocket in the bag and pulled out a pair of plastic bags. Handing one to her husband, she opened the other and removed the white lab rat from the bag and held it out to the offside thestral.
Nodding encouragingly to the serpentine equine, she repressed a bit of squeamishness as the spell faded from the rodent as the thestrals gently took the animal from her. Flipping it's skeletal head, the beast caught the squirming rodent in its teeth after a brief flip and crunched once before swallowing the snack whole.
"That's a good boy." Helen murmured encouragingly as the winged equine nodded its bony head. Shrugging at the look her husband was giving her, she nodded and reached out and took his hand in hers. "I think we've got a wedding reception to attend, no?"
"I do think you're correct." Shaking his head, Alex started climbing the steps leading up to the castle. Looking over at his wife, who was beaming and chuckling, he nodded. "Think we've got any chance of getting through the wedding reception without something happening?"
"With those two?" Shaking her head, Helen nodded as they strolled through the massive front doors and into the impressive reception hall. "Something interesting is bound to happen before the end of the evening."
As they crossed to the entrance of the Great Hall, the parents of the bride smiled at the festive air that had overtaken the usually impressive grand hall. The house tables were banished, as was the usual head table. Instead, smaller circular tables were scattered around, with a front table centered in the focal point of the area. Looking to their right, they could see a diagram of the seating area on an easel, with a discrete flashing light indicating their seats.
Making their way to the `Family of the Bride and Groom' table, Helen and Alex nodded to those guests that had made it to the Great Hall before them. Seeing that the Dursleys were there, they made their way to where Petunia was standing beside her seat.
"I'm glad to see you made it safely." Smiling and nodding, Petunia hugged first Alex and then Helen. "I'm always a bit leery of those thestrals, even though my grandchildren seem to feel that they'd make admirable pets." Shaking her head, Petunia glanced over to where Chastity was having a very serious conversation with her twins.
"They look much fiercer than they really are." Smiling, Alex nodded to a pair of house elves that were hurrying about, making last minute changes to the decorations and place settings. "Though I still don't like thinking about the children flying all the way from Scotland to London all those years ago."
"Harry and Hermione still argue which was scarier, seeing the thestrals while you were riding them, or riding an invisible steed all the way to London." Luna's voice broke into the conversation as she and her husband joined the small group.
Stepping over and kissing Luna on the cheek, Helen smiled at her. "We saw you two get a carriage well before ours. Did you two take a tour of a handy broomcloset before coming into the Great Hall?" Laughing as Ron turned a classic shade of Weasley red, Helen nodded pleasantly to the embarrassed Best Man.
"We're going to do that in a bit. I had an errand down in the dungeons, had to make certain one of Ronald's classmates was properly looked after for the next few days." Smiling mysteriously, Luna arched an eyebrow at her husband as he started coughing, trying to stifle a laugh at the memory of their trip down to the castle cesspit. "Though I was more than a bit surprised to see Oliver Wood wandering around down there. I was certain he sent regrets since Puddlemere was playing in Ireland today."
"Game probably ended early, their seeker's been red hot the last couple of months." Shaking his head in admiration, Ron chuckled. "Their game against Wigtown last month lasted fourteen seconds."
"And your vote?" Smiling at the blonde witch, Helen nodded pleasantly to Ron who was still trying not to laugh.
Rolling her eyes, Luna turned to her husband. "What do you think dear? Flying on an invisible winged horse or seeing the thestrals while you were riding them?"
Shaking his head, Ron shrugged as he smiled. "Since you continually confuse the thestrals with puppies, I suppose I'd have to say that riding an invisible flying horse is a tad scarier. Not the scariest thing I ever did, but it was scarier."
Smiling at her husband's answer, Luna did a double take as she glanced towards the door. Shaking her head, the smile melted from her face as she warily watched a dark-haired witch enter the Great Hall and make her way towards the sidewall. "This is so not good."
Following his wife's gaze, Ron squinted a bit as he tried to place the witch in question. "She definitely wasn't on the train. I know I know her, but I can't place her face." Seeing the anxious look on his wife's face, Ron nodded. "Do you want me to go over and see who she is?'
"She's Romilda Vane, and from what I can see, nothing good is going to come of her being here." Seeing the disbelieving look on her husband's face, she nodded. "I thought she'd gotten over her crush on Harry."
"Are you certain that's her?" Blushing a bit at the memory of his potion-induced crush on the witch in question that had indirectly led to his being poisoned during his sixth year, Ron stared at the witch as she seemed to be waiting nervously on something. Or for someone.
"She's had a bit of work done, but that's definitely her." Seeing the surprised look on everyone's face, she smirked. "You don't think that muggles have a monopoly on the concept behind plastic surgery?" Nodding towards the witch in question, she shrugged. "It's usually potions based for the simple changes, but the more drastic changes require quite extensive procedures from healers with very specialized training. From what I understand it's very painful, but since simple glamours and other spells can be dispelled at very inconvenient moments, there's a market for more `permanent' solutions to alter or `improve' someone's looks."
Looking a bit worried, Helen nodded towards the witch who was leaning against the far wall looking very ill at ease. "That still doesn't explain why she's here. Do you think she's going to try for a very last minute play for Harry's affections?" Shaking her head at the predilection of certain witches to act very outlandishly regarding Harry, she sighed. "Hermione so doesn't need this today."
Looking around the room, which had filled up considerably while they had been chatting, Luna nodded towards the entrance to the small antechamber off the Great Hall where the four TriWizard champions had been sequestered so many years ago. The door had just opened and the bride and groom, looking especially happy as they entered to a smattering of applause from their friends and family who had gathered to celebrate their wedding, started making their way towards their table. Seeing Romilda start moving towards them with a very determined look on her face, Luna started walking on an intercept course, trying to head off the very serious looking brunette before she could reach the happy couple.
Hurrying to catch up with his wife, Ron looked around and noticed Gryffindor's old quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, heading towards Harry and Hermione also. Seeing that he had his wand in hand, held close to his leg, Ron nodded. "Oliver must have noticed something's off, he's heading that way and he's ready for trouble."
Turning her head slightly, Luna stopped for a second before changing directions. "That's not Wood, he's corrie-fisted. Whoever that is, they're right-handed."
Opening his mouth to shout a warning to his friends, Ron watched in horror as the supposed Oliver Wood raised his wand and shouted "Sectumsempra". As he was doing that Romilda leaped into the air and cut off the distance between herself and the bride and groom, intercepting the gray beam as it streamed towards Hermione. Before he could react, both Harry and Hermione were moving, Harry to deal with the threat and Hermione to aid the fallen witch in front of them.
A beam of silver light shot past Ron's ear as his wife cast a curse towards the attacker. Screams and shouts began to erupt as the assembled witches and wizards realized something was occurring. Harry's wandless disarming of the attacker occurred just before over a dozen spells most of them stunners, but a couple with varying degrees of lethalness mixed in, struck home.
Held in place by the silver beam that Luna was holding with a look of grim determination, the supposed Oliver Wood was battered and bludgeoned by the incoming spells, all of which were trying to knock the would-be assassin in various directions. Letting out a high-pitched scream, the eyes of the attacker rolled back into his head as his features began to shift.
Tugging with her wand as if she were a muggle angler trying to land a particularly difficult fish, Luna watched with satisfaction as the body of the assassin landed with a sickening `thud' in front of Ron. Having removed him from the impact point of the defensive spells from the assembled guests, Luna grimaced slightly at the damage that the attacker had sustained.
"Get Poppy over to see Romilda." Looking around, Luna saw Parvati making her way towards the group clustered around Hermione. "Parv, I need you over here."
Kneeling down beside the prone wizard, Luna wasn't totally surprised when the facial features settled into those of Marcus Flint. Slytherin alum, `former' Death Eater, and reserve chaser for Ballycastle. Flint's features were barely recognizable from the damage done by the curses sent his way. Shaking her head at the unbridled stupidity of attacking a member of the Golden Trio in front of dozens of their friends and relatives, she began to cast the basic healing spells she knew to try to stabilize the groaning and whimpering wizard.
"Obviously he hasn't gotten any smarter over the years," commented Parvati as she slid to a halt on the other side of the badly injured Flint. "If you've got a blood replenishing potion in that magic bag of yours, feed it to him while I try to stop the internal bleeding." Shaking her head, she looked up for her sister. "Paddy, get your arse over here, Audrey can watch your boyfriend's cute arse while you help me keep this idiot alive."
As her sister hurried to her side, Parvati looked over to where Hermione, Chastity, and Poppy were working feverishly on the injured witch. Seeing that the situation was well in hand over there, she cast another spell to try to stabilize the battered internal organs of the wizard who was still twitching from the residual spell energy coursing through his body.
Seeing that Luna was pouring a second blood replenishing potion down his throat, with a third held between her teeth in case it was needed, Parvati smiled as she saw her husband kneel down behind her, out of the way but close enough to help if needed. "Hey there, tall, dark, and handsome."
"Anything I can do?" Looking grim, Dean Thomas glanced around as the crowd was being moved back by the Minister of Magic and a couple of off-duty aurors. Since a majority of the assembled guests were DA veterans, Order members, aurors, or a mixture of the three, there was very little panic. Seeing the husband of Hermione's long-time assistant who was an auror heading towards them, he nodded to Horace Smithers as he assumed a protective stance to his right.
"Dean, go find Petunia, Dudley and the twins, and the Grangers and make certain they're taken care of." Flashing a smile at her husband, she gave him a wink as he nodded. "Your biggest challenge will be keeping the twins occupied while all of the excitement is going on."
"I'll dragoon the new Trio into taking care of the twins." Looking around he saw that the people in question were still standing next to their table, with Teddy and company trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. "I'll get the password from one of the current Gryffindors and I'll take everyone up to Gryffindor Tower. I imagine a chance to poke around up there might keep their minds off things down here."
"I think he's alone in this." Looking up at Horace Smithers, Luna nodded seriously. "Ronald and I saw him earlier down in the dungeons, near the door to the Slytherin commons. He was alone at the time."
"I've got just the auror to take care of that." Looking around, Horace beckoned to a wizard wearing fairly conservative dress robes. Looking too young to be a graduate, much less an auror, the dark-haired wizard broke into a dogtrot and made his way to Horace's side.
"You called?"
"Irv, any chance you know the password for your old commons?" Seeing the slow nod on the younger wizard's face, Horace smiled. "Why don't you take that healer trainee you came with down to tour your old digs and see if anything's out of place down there." Nodding towards the still twitching Slytherin alum on the floor, Horace smiled. "Luna and Ron saw him down there earlier; let's make certain he's all alone in his stupidity."
"Considering Kaelli was a `Puff, I'm willing to wager she never spent very much time down there, if any." Looking around, he smiled as a short witch with turquoise hair was watching him. Nodding to her, he tilted his head towards the doors to the Great Hall and held up one finger. "She'll meet me over there in a minute. Anything I should be looking for in particular?"
"So far, everyone involved in this is tied to the Bats." Nodding at the unconscious wizard on the floor, Horace grimaced. "He's one of their reserve chasers, which is probably how he came up with something to use in the polyjuice potion to imitate Wood, they had a match with Puddlemere a few months back. I seem to remember him getting some time in the game and later being ejected for some sort of personal foul."
"He's a shite chaser, the only reason he's still on the squad is the coach is Slytherin alum, class of '71." Shaking his head, Irving Jellicoe glanced over at the bleeding witch that Poppy Pomfrey and Hermione were feverishly working on. "I don't remember seeing her play for the Bats."
Chuckling, Horace smiled at the young auror and shook his head. "I can see that young Kaelli has you well trained. She's one of the Batgirls, the cheer squad for Ballycastle."
"Curious." Shaking his head, Irving turned to his left and saw that his date was standing by the entrance to the Great Hall. "Well, I suppose I should head on down to the dungeons to see what my old housemates are up to this time." Looking down at the injured would-be assassin who had finally lapsed into unconsciousness, he grimaced. "How long are we going to have to live with the idiocy of our past?"
Sliding the sleeve of his robes back, exposing the faded remains of the incriminating skull and serpent tattoo, Luna sighed. "Hopefully people will focus on the fact he's a `former' Death Eater and not his house affiliations." Looking up from where she was working to stabilize the now unconscious Flint, Luna smiled reassuringly. "I think there will be enough prominent Slytherins that will publicly condemn what happened that people will have a chance to see that this was an individual, not a group thing." Glancing over at where Romilda was being worked on, she shook her head. "Goodness knows I was guilty of jumping to a conclusion based on a prior incident."
"Hopefully." Nodding briefly to Horace, Irving quickly made his way to the double doors and the waiting Healer trainee. Watching him go, Horace smiled.
"Hopefully the fact he's the first muggle-born Slytherin in four centuries will give him a bit of credibility as he moves up the ranks." Looking around and locating the Minister, Horace exchanged a look with Kingsley. Looking back to Padma, he smirked. "I'm going to brief the Minister. Anything I should tell him?"
"Hush. I'll let him know how this rotter's going to be just as soon as Luna and I get done putting him back together." Smirking at the indignant snort from her sister as she was casting spells to immobilize the fractured ribs and broken limbs Flint has suffered, Padma rolled her eyes. "Little sis, you're a part of this also. Never fear."
"Less than two minutes, but you do look good for an older witch." Shrugging as the unconscious Flint flinched as she tightened the splint she was conjuring for the broken upper leg she was working on, Parvati chuckled. "Don't worry, dear. Kingsley will probably make an honest witch out of you, someday."
"Ladies." Without looking up, Luna shook her head. "Do I have to find another idiot for one of you to work on?" Casting a silent spell, a silver nimbus settled around the injured wizard's head. Peering closely at the blue runes that were flashing on the surface of the glowing sphere, she tucked her wand behind her ear and sat back on her heels. "Paddy, what do you make of this?"
"Horace, hold a tic." Shaking her head, Padma stared at the runes that were slowly streaming past. Looking up, she frowned. "Parv, is this mark what I think it is?"
Shifting her position so she could see the injured wizard's head clearly, Parvati glanced at the display and began swearing in Hindi. Looking up at her sister, she nodded slowly. "It is."
Looking up at Horace, she frowned. "Call off your baby auror you just sent downstairs to the dungeons. He might be walking into a basilisk's nest." Seeing the look on the big auror's face, she added softly, "Order of the Path."
"Just bleeding lovely." Turning, Horace called his patronus, and began to speak tersely to the silver mastiff. "Irving, hold and observe. I'm sending reinforcements. Send your healer friend back up here to relieve Parvati; she should be heading your way momentarily."
Gathering herself together, Parvati stood up and looked around. "Think I can pry Harry away from his blushing bride?" Chuckling at the looks everyone gave her, she winked at Luna. "Just thought I'd ask. I'm going to `borrow' Won-won for some muscle."
Without breaking stride, Luna smiled. "Just remember where you found him." Looking over at her husband, Luna smiled. "Carefully, dear. Make certain everything's what it seems to be."
"Oi, I have done this a couple of times." Leaning over, his kissed his wife quickly before straightening up and glaring at Parvati. "Can't we let a few things rest, Parv?"
Taking his arm, the pair headed towards the exit. "What fun would that be?" Smirking as Lavender joined them, taking his other arm, she giggled at the look on his face. "Don't worry, Won-won. I promised your wife we'd bring you back just like we found you."
"Now what's the fun in that?" Laughing, Lavender nodded to Luna and turned to look at Horace. "The Path?"
"Looks that way." Shaking his head, he glanced over to where Romilda was being worked on. Seeing that the three witches working on her had stopped looking quite as grim, he began to relax a bit. "Padma, how soon will you be able to transport this one to the secure ward at St. Mungo's?"
"Give me six minutes for these potions to kick in, and I'll be able to give you a better answer." Shaking her head, she grimaced. "My usual practice isn't trauma, but I do keep my hand in with the Order, so I'd say that as soon as we get another blood replenisher down him, the two potions I just gave him should make him stable enough to transport and keep him under until we can get him into a warded facility."
"Think they can deactivate that little deathtrap in his skull in time?" Turning a bit green, Padma shook her head at the fanaticism of the Order of the Path members.
While admiring the utility of the Dark Marks that the followers of Voldemort had carried, the mysterious leader of the Path realized the limitations of an external mark that could be discovered easily. Whoever the witch was behind the Path, she had devised a truly diabolical substitute for the dreaded Dark Marks.
During an arcane ritual, which one in twenty failed to survive, the skull of each initiate of the Path was opened, the bone removed, and a magical `dark mark' was placed on the inside surface before it was replaced. This allowed them to `activate' the mark by thought and allowed for mental communications between the various members who were within visual contact of each other.
It also served as a rather dramatic failsafe since the mark could be detonated with rather spectacular and gruesome results, either by the bearer or remotely by the mysterious leader of the Path. Known, rather ironically, as "The Shepherdess", she preached that the avowed purpose of the Path was to `shepherd' the wizarding world to `an enlightened state without the limitations imposed by the muggleborn'. Of course, since their means of choice for this is to murder the muggleborn whenever they could, it made them a terrorist group that was almost universally condemned in the modern wizarding world.
"Thanks to his almost target, Marcus here should survive long enough to answer some questions and stand trial." Smiling grimly, Luna looked over at Hermione as she was finishing up with Romilda. "She was the one that translated those old Inca Empire scrolls that Professor Slughorn had `collected' years ago and realized that their fascination with trepanation could actually have a modern application."
"Please, Horace Slughorn had one of his Slug Club devotees `liberate' those scrolls seventy years ago from the University at Paititi." Shaking her head at the strangeness that marked the career of their former Potions professor, Padma shrugged as she cast a final spell. "What made you cast that particular spell on Flint's battered brain box?"
"Just a hunch, really." Seeing the disbelieving look on Padma's face, Luna smiled mysteriously. "Ronald has mentioned that the aurors have been quietly looking into the activities of Flint. Nothing directly pertaining to him, but someone noticed that several muggleborn who had come into contact with Flint either disappeared or turned up as victims of Path killings. Marcus always was very publicly somewhere else when the unfortunate witch or wizard disappeared, but he seemed to be one reoccurring factor in the background of all the victims."
"And you just happen to have a flask of Kuka's Tears in your bag on the off chance you run into a Path fanatic?" Kneeling down beside Luna, Hermione nodded seriously as she observed the silver nimbus that encircled Flint's head while noting the peculiar rune covered flask in Luna's hand.
"You're hardly one to talk, Miss `I just happen to have a wyvern's eyelash in my purse'." Shaking her head, Luna smirked. "I'm sorry, that's Mrs. "I just happen to have a wyvern's eyelash in my purse'."
"They were on sale." Shaking her head, Hermione looked at both the witches with her. "You two are just going to drop him off and then head back, right?"
"The show must go on, eh?" Shaking her head, Padma's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I thought you and Harry would use this as an excuse to skip the party and head out on your honeymoon."
"Not on your life, Padma. Your sister made me promise earlier that nothing would interrupt the reception." Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Hermione snickered. "Your sister wants to make certain that you get your shot at catching the bouquet." Seeing the mortified blush on Padma's face, Hermione shrugged. "What can I say, she thinks you need all the help you can get landing Coronet."
-->