A Life Worth Living Chapter Seven
Albus had gathered Harry and his friends and they sat waiting for his family and friends plus the guest. They didn't know about Q or his elder, Aldain. They were surprised to hear that they needed to see him, and Albus was going to be in on the meeting, not knowing who the person was and what it was he wanted with Luna and Harry.
He waited for the floo to flare and then asked them to come through. When Albus saw the young boy who was supposed to be an elder, he wished he had been there when Sirius saw it and what his reaction would have been. He knew laughter was involved. But he also saw how Sirius acted around him now and his respect for the elder grew. Anyone who could keep Sirius quiet had to be special.
Aldain approached Albus and held out his hand to shake. Albus took the hand and shook it with a touch of firmness. It did nothing to change the expression on Aldain's face. He just removed his hand when the tension was released. Albus then go a hug from Lily and even one from Amelia, who he barely knew. They talked while Albus took them to the room where the students were waiting for them. They got there to see that refreshments had already been served and waiting for them on the table.
Aldain knew right away which one was Luna. He was surprised by Q's insight on her. She was indeed special, but he doubted Q really knew how much. He was also surprised how Q missed the others talents. He felt so much power sitting at the table, it gave him unbelievable ripples in his core. He never felt anything like it and it was not unpleasant. He rather liked the feeling, like he did a radiated shower back home. Refreshing is the only word that fit the feeling. He sat down and asked, "We have never met, yet I feel like I have known you for quite a long time." He turned to Luna and said, "Q said so much about you Luna, and he was not too far off from what you are."
Luna looked him in the eye and returned, "While I never met either of you, I wish to thank you for your kind words. Yes, I know you meant well of them. I could feel their intent. You have the same feeling for everyone in this room. So, I know you mean well, but I feel you have something to ask that we will not like, and therefore refuse it."
Aldain sat there perplexed. How did she know what he was going to ask? "And what do you feel I was going to ask Luna?"
Hermione jumped in at this, "I think I know what she was thinking, and I have to agree with her, we will not be going anywhere."
Aldain looked around the room and saw the same firm face on all the students. "Do you all know what I was going to ask?"
Now Fred and George got into the talk, "Luna knew before you even got here. Like she said, we never met Q, but Jon Luc has told us all about him. We knew what he was like, but we also knew he was a collector. But to hear you agree with Q, puts doubt in our minds."
"We all know Luna is special. More special than we think you believe. She is so special that there is no one else like her anywhere. Fred would never let her go with you back to your home planet." George finished for Fred.
"But Luna could help so many people by joining us. You all could for that matter. I have seen races that were powerful, but took advantage of that power to corrupt others to join them and try to take over different things. Q is like I said, a mere child in our society and is still living in grandeur. He plays with people just for the fun of it. He is never destructive, but his intervention has had its share of casualties. He will learn or he will lose everything. I was hoping Luna could be his teacher, and you all would be there to help her."
Luna stepped forward and spoke up for herself, "You have a lot of faith in me, sir, but Q is beyond anything I could teach him. He is set in his ways and does not wish to change. If he were interested, he would still be with us now. He showed how much or how little he cares about what other people think about him. Mum gave him a chance to remain with us, but he took it as an insult. She was willing to give him a chance, while I was not. I thought Captain Picard and Potter's reaction was acceptable, considering what he had put them through."
Aldain sat there and thought on the matter for a time and then he stood up and said, "You all have so much to give to others, but perhaps it is right that you stay here and learn just how much you do have. Maybe I will be back to ask once again. Maybe not, but just know that for my first trip away from my home, you have made it a memorable one, that I shall always cherish. Data, I see you having a successful attempt with your current project, but it will have it's problems. Jon Luc, Jamie, you will be here for a while yet, but do not get too comfortable. What ever it is you wish to collect to bring back, collect it now, because soon your life will get interesting. Q said someone will die, and he was not wrong, but I have made it so that none here will be affected. In fact, you may be leaving with more than you came here with. Good bye all. I have to return to talk to Q and try to get him to see reason." and he was gone before anyone could say good bye as well.
Luna just shook her head and replied, "My, they sure don't stick around when they say good bye, do they? I hope he is not too harsh with Q. He may have his problems, but I think he meant well, in a different sort of way."
Jon Luc asked, "In what way is that, Luna? Who would have died if he stayed here with us? If Aldain did not promise none here would be affected?"
"I think Aldain was talking about the crews of the Enterprise and the Excalibur, when he talked about no one being affected.."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because of his follow up words about leaving with more than you came here with. What do you think Amelia?"
"ME? What have I go to do with anything?" Amelia was shocked by Luna's statement.
Luna just smiled her perfect smile and said nothing. Amelia may not know just yet what Luna was talking about, but they all would soon know, she was sure. Luna saw a young Lily Ginevra Potter in the future.
Things started to settle down after Q and Aldain left, and Harry's third year went by without incident. However, Luna's comment did come true in January when Amelia learned she was pregnant and Jamie and the rest of the family celebrated the announcement with a party at school, provided by Albus with a dance. The school didn't know why there would be a dance, but they accepted it with much enthusiasm, as they didn't see dances too often.
The dance went off perfectly. Harry and Ginny went as partners, as did George and Hermione and Fred and Luna. Draco went with Padma, Neville went with Hannah and Ron went with Lavender. There were no fights or arguments and they changed partners often with each other, except Ron refused to dance with his little sister, which brought out Fred and George with their taunts about his superiority. He thought it was beneath him to dance with someone a year younger than him, plus being family. Fred and George both shared dances with Ginny a couple of times and Harry danced with Luna a few times. Data danced with her five times. He also danced with Hermione, Ginny, Lily and Amelia.
With the classes being over on June fourth, Harry returned to see Amelia being ready to burst. She had trouble getting up or sitting down. She had false labor twice and now she was ready to do about anything to get it over with.
On June Eighteenth Amelia finally called out to Jamie that she was ready and this time she was sure it was the right time. It was four in the morning when she was met by Doctor Crusher who was the only one she trusted for her delivery. Beverly Crusher and Amelia had been friends for years as well as Jamie and Jon Luc and since she was there, then there was no doubt she would be the one.
Beverly watched as Amelia was throwing out curses at Jamie for getting her into this fine mess, and the next time it was his turn to carry the baby. This went on for seven hours until the time came and Lily Ginevra was finally born. With all the cussing and name calling, Amelia held her daughter in her arms and thanked the gods above for the blessing they had given her. Jamie was in the waiting room handing out big Cuban cigars to all the male adults and he even saw two of them disappear from his hands and he knew that Aldain and Q got theirs as well.
Jamie was then allowed to bring Lily around to everyone to meet her for the first time and he even gave her to Jon Luc to hold and was told the news that he was to be her godfather and Beverly would be the godmother. If Lily knew how many Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents and cousins she had, she may have wanted to crawl back to where she was safe. If they were friends or family with Harry, Ginny, Lily, James, Sirius and Remus, they were related to Lily Ginevra. Even Data claimed uncle hood and was granted it by Amelia. Albus and Minerva became conditional grand parents.
July came and with it brought the news of the World Cup being played in England and that Sirius and James got tickets for anyone wishing to go. It was Harry's birthday that they got the tickets. The game however would not be played until after Ginny's birthday. The ladies decided to forgo the game in favor of the men. That meant that several of the crew members of both ships could get to go. The girls however did not give up their tickets and would be there for the Irish team to win.
Harry planned a surprise party for Ginny aboard the Excalibur's Holodeck. Data helped set it up and once completed, he saved it as birthday bash, phase one.
Harry played it sneakily by having the floo set up to receive a transporter signal and bring the guests and Ginny right to the Holodeck for the surprise.
Harry had to be the one to bring her as he wanted to be the one holding her when she came through to the surprise. He didn't know what to expect because he left it up to Data to chose the setting.
Ginny wanted everyone to have fun on he birthday, and when she where the party was taking place, she figured it was bound to be fun. Data was there to play the program he set up for his guests and punched in the correct security code but turned to Ginny before hitting the start button, "Are you ready for this Ginny?" Ginny nodded her answer and Data gave the command to tart the program and the door opened to show everyone Earth in the year 2675.
They all stood at the door, wondering what they were supposed to do next. Ginny took a deep breath and entered the scene, with Harry right behind her, but looking back at Data with a questioning look.
Data just shooed everyone into the future.
They entered onto a sort of garden spot with all kinds of seating positioned around the grounds. Fred and George went to one of the grassy areas and tried walking on the grass, but their feet stopped just inches from the grass, and would not go forward, but they could pull it back. They did, and then tried using their hands, and they passed through OK. However, when they tried to lower their hands, they stopped a foot from the grass and it was like putting your hand on a table. They looked back to Data and he told them, "Nature is a protected element, that can only be accessed by credited botanists. There was a time in your history where it was taken advantage of. I cannot tell you when that was, though. So, Hermione, Please refrain from asking any questions."
Hermione huffed and crossed her arms on her chest. She acted like she was insulted, but she knew if data said this, then it was important for them not to know.
However, Data took them to a large building and opened the door for Ginny and Luna to enter. Once inside, they saw another grassy area and several families sitting down on the grass, enjoying a picnic, but their food didn't look right. They looked like discs and they didn't look appetizing. Data took them to a certain spot already set up and had them take a seat. There were four baskets sitting in front of them and had Ginny open them. She found food in them probably made by her mum, because it looked like their type of food.
When the food was served, the aroma coming from it gathered the interest of the people sitting around them. Soon they were surrounded by the children from the families and they were looking at the food. "What is that you are going to eat? Please tell us where you go it? Is it any good? Where can we find this food?" were the questions coming from them.
Ginny got the children to sit down and join them and filled plates for them and explained what each item was, "This is roasted chicken. This is smashed potatoes. This is mixed vegetables, and this is sauce for the potatoes. It was all made by my mum for my birthday. Would you like to try it?"
The children all looked to their parents for their consent and when they got it, they all nodded yes. Soon they were all eating and enjoying Molly's cooking, making their parents envious. But there was plenty and soon everyone around them were sampling the food and making their comments on how delicious it was.
Once the meal was finished, Ginny got to open her gifts and once again the families from the future were amazed at what she received from her friends and family. Things they only saw in the archives, like jewelry, hair pieces, a quill set and parchment, clothes, shampoo and perfumes. She thanked everyone for the gifts and put them in the baskets so they wouldn't get lost.
Data then took out a volleyball set and all the kids were now playing the game, after some instruction on how to play. For two hours they played and no one kept score as they were having too much fun just hitting it back and forth. There were all ages playing, from five to nineteen. Data decided to leave the game there for others to enjoy in the future, should he run the program again.
They were there for over five hours and soon they had to leave, but they all told Data how much fun it was, even Harry, who had his doubts at the start. Even if the people in the party were images create by the Holodeck, they were represented by real life people from the future. Their reactions to the ancient food was correct and appreciated by Molly.
With the birthday now over with, they set their sights on the Quidditch match and the parties that went along with it. Fred and George tried to get the results of the game from Jamie, but he wouldn't tell them. The truth was, Jamie didn't know, but wasn't about to tell that to the twins. Where all the others used Port Keys to travel, Harry's party used the Excalibur to do their travel. It was far more comfortable than being stretched across the country like a rubber band.
They landed right where their tents were and they set up in the tents they were assigned to, with all the girls staying in two tents and the boys in three separate tents. Harry and the other students went around looking for other students they knew. Seamus was the first, along with Dean. The Irish flag flying over their tent was their way of showing their support. They were with the twins when they found the Ministry approved wagerer. The twins took the long shot of the Irish winning, while Krum caught the Snitch to make the game close in the end. The odds were 200-1 and they bet 100 galleons they borrowed from Sirius, James and Harry. They didn't know that the Marauders made the same wager but with a larger bet. They bet 1000 Galleons. If it ended that way, then the take would be 220,000 Galleons towards the twins joke shop.
They found friends all over the tent city and made new friends as well. Then the time came for everyone to make their way to the stadium for the game. Sirius and James' seats were not the best, but as long as they could see the game, it didn't matter where they sat. They were seated high up the seating and had an excellent look at the Seekers as they flew around the pitch. It would probably be their positioning during the match, looking for the Snitch.
Then all the players left the field thirty minutes before the start, to prepare for the game. This was when Harry and Ron let for snacks and drinks. The containers they carried back looked like small boxes, until they opened the lids and the boxes grew to their real sizes. There was enough for everyone in the boxes, with a little extra. Then they all settled down to await the start of the game. Ten minutes later, the Irish entered the Pitch lead by their mascots, the Leprechauns. They threw gold coins to the crowd, who knew they would change to tin coins in an hour. They were still good as keepsakes of the game.
The Bulgarians were lead on to the Pitch by four Veela, who nearly caused accidents through out the stadium when men tried to go after them. It was the others around them that kept them from getting hurt.
The two teams met on the ground and the rules were once again explained to both teams, just like any other game, except this one was the last for the season, and the results very fruitful for one of them.
The the Referee released the Snitch and the two Seekers watched as it disappeared into the stands. There was no way they could follow it from there. Then the Quaffle was released and the game was on.
Right from the start, everyone could see that the Bulgarians were no match for the swifter and more agile Irish team. They were up by seventy before the Bulgarians scored their first point, and it was that way for the rest of the game. The Irish were relentless in their scoring, knowing their Seeker was no match for Krum. The score was 190-40 when Krum saw the Snitch and was in pursuit. Just before he caught it, the Irish scored again, making the final 200-190 in favor of the Irish. The twins had a very good start for their joke show. Jamie and Jon Luc loved what they witnessed on the field. How fast the game was played and how much a team could dominate another, yet barely win because of one player on the opposite team.
The party after the match was going full throttle yet in the potter tent, the celebration was held back as Jamie told them all what was coming. They set up a greeting for the soon to arrive visitors and when they arrived, they were surprised by what was waiting for them. Of the fifteen attackers, four managed to escape and no major damage was done to the encampment.
Jo Luc stayed with the women, because he couldn't use his weapon, where Jamie had his wand with him. Data was with the protectors as well, and used his strength by ripping up a tent post and using it as a bat to knock Death eaters out of the sky. He took out three like that. Jamie managed to capture one of the DEs, and James, Sirius, Remus and Arthur took care of the rest. Harry and his friends held he captives at bay when caught.
They had to refuse any citations because Jamie and Data didn't need the publicity. It would be hard to explain this to command when they returned. However, it did not stop them from celebrating, once the captured DEs were removed from the grounds. It lasted well into the wee hours of the morning.
After this, it was just a few days before the students had to return for their next year. It was also a time for Jamie and Jon Luc to gather them all around and tell them that time left here with them was coming to end. They would have to return to their own time and explain what happened to the original transporter and how they got it back with out giving themselves away. They also couldn't hold anything else in their ships to take back. Every little space that was empty, was filled with something. Both ships looked liked freighters by the time they finished filling them with memorabilia.
Amelia and Lily made great friends and they would miss each other. Amelia had become like a sister to Lily, and Lily wished her real sister was like Amelia. Petunia had grown cold and heartless toward Lily and refused to speak to her after their parents died. Lily was blamed for their deaths because of her freakishness.
With their time remaining being unknown exactly, many pictures were exchanged and memories made before Jamie and Jon Luc had to leave. James and Sirius found a video camera in a muggle shop and took many videos of their family from the future.
ALWL-}
Back on his planet, Q was granted visualization of what went on with Earth of the past and he saw how they all interacted, but especially between Data and Luna. He knew of Lal hidden in Data's quarters. She wasn't much to look at right now, as he hadn't much time to work on it. It would be another year before he could visit Data and see how she turned out. Q wanted so much to have Luna join his group of peers. She was so different than any he had ever met before, and was so precious to anyone she met. Even Aldain could not keep from talking about er to his fellow Elders. Of course he talked of Lily, Harry, Hermione and Ginny as well, but mostly about Luna. Of course Q may be a bit blind to the talks of the others, since he wanted Luna here with the others so much.
Aldain spent more time with Q when he returned home, to see how the Potters were doing. He even got some of the other Elders to watch as they went on with their lives back on Earth. They didn't see what Aldain and Q saw in Luna and the others. They didn't appear special like they said. Then one day while watching the students return to school, they witnessed Luna's power when she pulled Harry off to the side and told him what Jamie told them was true and Harry was going to be a part of the upcoming Tri Wizard Tournament. No matter what they would do to get out of it, it was going to happen and that it would all end, one way or the other, by the end of the school year. Either Voldemort would b defeated, or the world as they knew it would no longer exist.
Q wanted to leave his planet and return to earth and help in any way he could, but he was refused his powers and that what what ever happened, it would be that way.
Q was now kicking himself for refusing Lily's offer like he did. He now saw where his ego was bigger than his caring. He never cared for anyone until Jon Luc showed him the errors of his way. It didn't stop his Ego, though. Now he was sorry for the way he acted towards the Potters. Then he remembered what took place with Jamie and his first visit and how he saved his family from the past. If Q had not played with Potter, then he would never have met Luna or the rest. Lily and James would have died when Voldemort visited their home and Luna would not have a mother to look after her. He saw where even though he was thinking of the fun he could have, he never saw that by doing it, he created a situation that changed the future for the better for Harry, Luna and Jamie.
Now Q had to wait and see how it would all end up and had Aldain right there with him and ready to either chastise him or congratulate him, depending on the outcome.
