DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns most of the characters and settings here—I own the rest.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is the final one in the story arc that contains "Dark Redemption" and "Date with an Executioner." And this is the final chapter.

SPELL-LESS IN SEATTLE
Chapter 13 – The Last Meeting of the Knights of Walpurgis

Salem Witches' Institute, Salem, Massachusetts, March 2001

The students sat in neat rows in front of me, looking rather eager to start the spring semester. I was glad to see such enthusiasm. Honestly, my notoriety, much as I did not particularly enjoy it, had caused a surge in interest in my usually rather ignored subject. I saw several new students; I'd expected them, as I'd made sure to state what would be covered very clearly in the course catalog.

I did not want these young folks condemned to repeat any of my mistakes. Through regular readings of the Daily Prophet, I'd discovered there was a brand-new textbook written by a consortium of witches and wizards, in consultation with the British Department of MLE and the Auror Department, which contained details of Grindelwald's defeat and of Voldemort's two defeats. Without consulting Rhiannon, I'd assigned it, and had used my own funds to have the required amount of books sent to Inanna's store directly from Flourish and Blotts on Diagon Alley.

The information in the book was extremely accurate and was presented in a gripping, fast-paced way. Unfortunately, though, the publishers had wanted to go for a grand effect, I suppose; thus, the book was entitled INSIDE THE DARK ARTS (in overly-ornamented Gothic lettering), and the cover featured an embossed Dark Mark that reminded me an awful lot of the one that had hung on the wall in the dungeon at Malfoy Manor during the Dark Revels.

Knowing Lucius' penchant for splashy public gestures of apology, I wondered if he hadn't had something to do with the book.

During all that time, I was regularly corresponding with Walden; each owl that I sent contained both news from me and a letter written by Evan; but we kept to relatively tame subjects (other than his constant expressions of love, which I returned in kind), so I chose not to inquire if he knew about the book. He was very much enjoying his time working behind the counter at his pub, the Happy Hippogriff, and currently, we were discussing the possibility of Evan spending a month at the castle with his grandparents over the summer, but we'd not managed to narrow down the exact dates.

And so it was that, beginning on that bright spring morning and for several progressively brighter and warmer mornings, every Tuesday and Thursday, I walked up and down the rows of desks lecturing about Grindelwald's origins, ascendency, and eventual defeat by Dumbledore, and as I did, I was treated to the sight of that skull-and-snake emblem staring up at me from every desk. I was rather annoyed that the publishers hadn't considered using the Deathly Hallows instead.

I couldn't even escape the book outside school hours; it seemed my students were everywhere in town reading the damn thing, in fact. Everyone was making excellent grades on the quizzes. According to Inanna, Institute students who weren't even taking History of Magic had stopped in at the Flying Witch to get a copy, and she'd had to re-order it twice.

"Do you think it's…you know, cursed or something?" she whispered to me one afternoon. We were behind the counter having a cup of tea, and three more witches had just walked out with copies of the book while I was in there.

"No. I asked Erik about it and he said it was a good choice. He says they use it in New York; apparently there are a few hate groups cropping up here and there, using, you know, the Mark, as their signs…" and as I said that, I inadvertently glanced down at my left arm. Inanna noticed.

"It's not still there, is it?"

"You can see it if you're looking specifically for it," I said. "I haven't had to glamour it for a while." I paused. "We're just about at…er, that part in the course…in fact, next Tuesday is the day. I've considered enhancing it a little so I can show it to the class," I said.

"Well, that'd be a bold move," Inanna said.

"I've also considered going to a Muggle tattoo parlor and getting a cover-up."

"What would you get?"

"Oh, I don't know…bunnies, butterflies, flowers, possibly a Teddy bear…basically anything that isn't skull- or snake-related."

Inanna laughed. "Tell you what. Why don't you wait until the semester's over? Have your little show-and-tell session…that ought to end your class with a bang! And then you just say the word and I'll go with you to Boston and we'll get matching art."

"That's a deal!" We bumped fists.

That Tuesday, it was rainy and a little gloomy, very much like Scotland, in fact. I tried not to think about that as I sat in the staff lounge drinking coffee and looking over my notes. I had considered adding some alcohol for a bit of faux courage, but had rejected the idea.

Finally, I just set my cup down, marched into the classroom, rearranged the seating a bit, and then tapped the blackboard with my wand. A short paragraph with the title "Knights of Walpurgis" appeared on the board. Students began trickling in right after I'd done that; they figured out the new seating arrangements fairly quickly, and there was a lot of murmuring once they noticed what was written on the board. Once everyone had sat down, I tapped the board again and the Dark Mark appeared, to even more murmuring. I felt a little dirty after doing that, but at least I hadn't had to intone "Morsmordre."

"OK, folks," I began. "I'm fairly sure that a lot of you…possibly most of you…signed up for this class specifically for this part of the curriculum."

There was a bit of nervous laughter.

"That's fine. I'll try my very best not to bore you."

There was a little more laughter.

"First of all, I hope you've already read chapter 16, because otherwise, what I've written up there is going to make no sense to you whatsoever." I paused for dramatic effect, and then I tapped my robe and Transfigured it into a facsimile of an original Death Eater's robe, although I left off the pointy hood.

"Now, in order to really get a feel for this material, you'll note that I've rearranged the classroom a bit, to simulate what a typical meeting of this organization might have been like." I had removed the desks and put the chairs in a circle. I sat where I recalled the Dark Lord had sat at the last couple of Revels. I then flicked my wand and lowered the blinds and turned off all the lights. The effect would have been more dramatic without the intrusive presence of the doggone emergency lighting required by Massachusetts state law (yes, even we were subject to it), but I figured the students would get the general idea.

I then began my lecture by explaining about Tom Riddle's birth and origins, and years at Hogwarts, a story that had been augmented, in the new book, by Harry Potter, with assistance from Headmaster Dumbledore's Pensieve. I then recounted the early days of the Knights. In the text, this particular story had been given by an 'expert witness,' and after reading through it several times, I concluded that it had to have been Lucius…so I decided to go ahead and tell the class that.

The students had been very quiet through the lecture. I heard some commotion out in the hallway and the door opened a slight bit. Figuring that I might get interrupted soon, I decided to take a short break, after which I invited students to ask questions. As the students shifted in their seats, I discreetly rolled up the left sleeve of my robe and tapped my wand over the Dark Mark to augment it. I'd tested this process the previous evening—I'd rather expected something sinister to happen, but it did not. I waved my wand to turn up the lights a bit, and opened the floor to questions. A student immediately raised her hand, and I acknowledged her. "Ms. Hawthorne, I've read the entire book, three times, and that expert witness gives a lot of testimony throughout…but he's never specifically named. How do you know who he is?"

I stood up and began pacing around the circle. After I'd gone a few steps I realized to my chagrin that I was heading counterclockwise. "As many of you likely already know, I was formerly associated with several of the personages named in this book. Mr. Malfoy is rather wealthy and socially prominent in England, and I suspect he may have had something to do with this book's publication. I also know him quite well, so I'm very familiar with the way he sounds," I said. An understatement, but I wasn't prepared to have that sort of 'show and tell' session….plus, the witness had referred to Voldemort as 'the pretender', just as Lucius had done in his letter.

The door to my classroom opened fully at that point, and Walden walked in, dressed in a kilt and a hunting shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He held a rather large bouquet of flowers in his hand. I did my level best not to sigh. I saw his eyes flick quickly over the room setup, the blackboard, and finally me, in the faux-robe with my left arm sleeve rolled up, pacing around the circle just as his former Lord used to do. He'd never seen me teach before, and for him to show up just at that moment was a little awkward.

"Er, have I come at a bad time, lass?" he asked. He had a very odd expression on his face. I just looked at him and shook my head slightly.

Every student continued to stare at him, except for the overachieving one who'd just asked the question about Lucius…who, after peering at him very closely, starting paging through her book rapidly, running her fingers up and down the pages as if she meant business. Her jaw dropped as she found what she was looking for, and then she raised her hand again.

I acknowledged her, but she turned toward Walden. "Excuse me, sir," she said, holding her book up and open to a picture that I knew was an official one that had been taken of him at Azkaban, in which he sported an eye patch. "But is this a picture of you?"

He sat the flowers down on my desk and walked to an empty seat in the circle. Oddly, the only space left open was the same as that which Voldemort had always allocated him. I did not think this was a coincidence. He sat down. "Aye, that's me; never liked that picture much."

Fifteen students raised their hands at once. "One at a time, please," I said. "I'll make sure we get to all your questions."

Walden leaned back in his chair, stretched, and sat down his empty glass. "I never knew how difficult yer job really was," he finally said.

"Sort of gives you a whole new respect for Slughorn…and Severus, doesn't it?"

"Aye," he said, as he looked around for the waitress. "This pub's nae as nice as the Hippogriff, but it'll do for now," he added, with a smile. Cerridwen approached the table with wary eyes. We'd gotten our drinks straight from the bartender and sat down, so she hadn't checked on us yet.

"Hey, Rowan," she said, nodding to me. "Uh, aren't you…" she looked at Walden and her voice trailed off. "Uh….well….you know." She looked down at my stack of books on the table; INSIDE THE DARK ARTS was on the top, and she gestured in its general direction, nervously. Had everyone in town read the darn thing?

"Seems I've been answering the same question all day. Aye, I am. But I did me time in prison, and under house arrest, and I run a pub now. And I do a little consultin' on the side," he added.

"Oh. Well. Uh, anyway, would you like to see some menus?" she said. "Or hear about today's specials?"

"Menus, I think," I said.

"If ye still have the lobster, I'll be wantin' that," Walden interjected. "Two of 'em." Some things had apparently not changed.

After she bustled away, I turned to Walden.

"You seemed as if you had something you wanted to ask me back there. And I'm sorry I left the flowers you brought back in my classroom."

"We can go get 'em later, lass," he said. "Or I'll get ye more, as many as ye want…as many as it takes to convince ye to come home with me."

"I thought…well, I was going to bring Evan when he came for his visit, you know."

"I didna know…why not just come and stay, then?" He looked at me and took my hand.

I smiled at him, and he smiled back and leaned closer, and said "I got a room at the place next door…would ye like to go there after we eat? I do have somethin' I want ta ask ye rather urgently."

"Why don't we go now, and get our food sent up?" I said, and blushed.

"Och, I like the way ye think, lass, I'll get some drinks, too…it'll be like old times, aye?" He kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'll pound ye into the mattress," he added, with a wink.

"Oh, yes, that sounds…."

At that moment, three of my students came rushing up to me and Walden pulled away, surprised. "Oh my Goddess, Miz Hawthorne," one of them blurted. "Like, that was the best History class ever! So interesting!" "Totally!" "Way cool!" They were all trying to chatter at once, but one of them, the extremely studious one, was looking very pointedly at the table, where Walden had not let go of my hand. Eventually, the other two started staring in the same direction.

"Miz Hawthorne, do you need some assistance?" the studious one, whose name was Janet, finally asked, after several very odd minutes during which all of us stared at each other.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because, he's…well, he just kissed you, and he's holding your hand! And I noticed he brought you flowers before!" She glared, as if the kisses and the flowers had been some sort of Sinister Dark Plot.

Walden looked up at her. "Young lassie, ye asked me all those questions back there at school, and ye can still talk directly ta me if ye like, I'm nae turned deaf in the last hour. I'm kissin' her and holdin' her hand because we're married, and I brought flowers ta her because I love her, and I havena seen her for a while," he said.

"But…you can't be married to him!" shrieked Janet. "He's a Death Eater! Did he use that curse on you to get you to marry him? You know?" She lowered her voice. "The Imperius?"

"As a matter of fact, he did not," Lucius said, as he walked up to our table. "Having been at their wedding ceremony, I can personally assure you of that." He was wearing what appeared to be a linen suit, very well tailored (of course). Accompanying him was not his wife, as I expected, but a rather tall, dark-haired witch who looked slightly familiar.

Cerridwen came back to the table. "I'll, er, get some more chairs. And some menus," she said, and rushed away.

"But…how do you know he didn't just do a silent spell…" began Janet. "Wait. You're him! From the book!"

Oh, crap, I thought. I must have somehow summoned him by mentioning his name; hadn't there been some sort of curse like that during the War? "I beg your pardon?" Lucius asked.

"Lucius," Walden let go of my hand and I stood up to greet him. "I thought you, er, no longer had your Connecticut house?" He lifted up my hand, bowed, and kissed it, and said, "It's under new management, my dear, but I do still have occasion to visit the States from time to time. Business, you know."

Meanwhile, Walden had also stood up and was bowing and kissing the hand of the mystery witch, murmuring, "Lucinda, it's a pleasure ta see ye again."

"Mrs., er, Avery?" I said, turning toward the witch. She smiled and said, "Lucinda Wilkes; I took back my maiden name." We shook hands.

"HOLY SHIT!" Janet shrieked. I had nearly forgotten about her. Her two friends stood beside her, looking rather confused. "Lucius Malfoy? Avery? Wilkes? And Macnair? What's going on here? Are you having a meeting? I thought you said the Death Eaters didn't exist anymore, Miz Hawthorne?! Should I call the Aurors?" Annoyed as I was by the entire situation, I realized I'd likely have to give Janet an A plus in History, although she would have likely failed a Defense class.

I saw a familiar face approaching and said, "You won't need to do that, Janet, one of them is already here. Hello, Erik," and I waved at him.

"My dear Rowan," Lucius drawled, "Would you mind letting me know precisely who these young witches are, and why we aren't all sitting down getting ready to enjoy some drinks and food as of yet? It's been a rather long day, you see."

Erik stood right between Walden and Lucius and managed to glare at both of them, but did give me a short little nod.

"Lucius, these are some of my students from the Institute," I said. "Um, girls, I'd like you all to please meet Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and his friend Ms. Wilkes,…and, er, Auror Erik Gundarsson from the New York Auror Force."

One of my students actually said, to Lucius, "Wow, yeah, I remember you from the book! You're that handsome one, with the hair!" He gave a little bow and smirked at that. I heard not-very-quiet snorts from both Erik and Walden, which was pretty funny, considering.

"Mrs. Macnair?" Lucinda Wilkes tapped me on the shoulder. "Is this the only wizarding restaurant in town?"

"I'm afraid it is," I said. "Well, there is a bed-and-breakfast next door, but I don't believe their kitchen is open all day."

"Haven't you gotten divorced yet, Rowan?" Erik blurted. "I thought we talked about that!"

"We did, Erik; and I don't think right now is the time or place for us to talk further about that," I said. My three students looked at me as if they thought right now was a perfect time and place for such a talk. Lucius smirked again. Walden took my hand and pulled me close to him, and whispered in my ear, "I'll talk to him for ye in a minute, lassie."

Cerridwen approached with a large stack of menus. "Er, would you all like to be seated in our private function room?" she asked, in nobody's general direction, just as Rhiannon, Inanna, and Moonwillow walked up behind her. Rhiannon held her hands up, a questioning look on her face.

"Certainly, Madam," and Lucius took her by the arm and walked with her. Walden picked up my books from the table, took my arm, and led me along beside him. Everyone else followed.

Before we arranged ourselves around the table, Walden walked over to Eric. I saw Eric bristle, but Walden extended his hand, and they shook, and then stepped over into the corner and began speaking to each other. Walden looked rather serious—he bit his lip several times—and Eric was gesturing a lot. I kept watching until Lucius came up behind me and pulled out my chair and urged me to sit. He then sat next to me and put his hand on my shoulder and spoke softly.

"Rowan, I think you can safely leave them alone for now. He'd mentioned that he wanted to speak with that Auror. He asked me to write a letter to him, you see." I looked at Lucius quizzically, and he put his lips close to my ear and whispered, "I've not removed my memories yet. And I went to Auror Headquarters in New York and was questioned in detail by that Auror and a curse breaker about, er, that night. I believe you know the night that I mean."

I nodded.

"Walden never revealed where you'd gone and taken Evan to anyone except me, because I helped him to break your Memory Charm. He put me under the Fidelius Charm, and an Unbreakable Vow, which I believe was rather excessive, but we do have a bit of history, as you know." He added the last with an extremely slight smirk.

"So he's said," I replied.

"At any rate, I know Walden has something important to say to you today, and I do hope you'll give him a chance." Lucius finished.

"I plan to. And…I do appreciate what you did. It means a lot. If there's anything I can ever do for you…" I began, and then realized, slightly too late, exactly what I'd said. Oh well, I thought, I'll deal with paying my debt to Lucius when he hands me an itemized bill.

"I rather hoped you'd say something like that, my dear Rowan," Lucius drawled, and he kissed my hand and nodded, and then turned to the former Mrs. Avery, who appeared to have been chatting politely with Inanna and…of all people…Moonwillow.

I looked over at Walden and Eric, who appeared to be wrapping things up. They actually shook hands a second time, and then Eric looked right at Walden and pointed a finger at him (this time, it was his index finger, thankfully) and Walden nodded.

He walked back over to the table then, and he didn't sit in his chair; instead, he stood in front of me, and took my hands. Lucius stood up and intoned, "Would everyone please bring their attention this way?"

Walden knelt in front of me. "I wanted to ask ye this while we were alone, lass, but it seems that's nae happening any time soon today. We've nae been together for a few years, and I know we didna, er, we didna divorce. I'll never be perfect—I canna change me past. I made many mistakes, as ye know, and I've done me best to try and fix all of them, at least the ones I could, and I really want to make things up to ye. So, will ye, er…will ye marry me again, and bring Evan, and come home?" He produced a beautiful ring and held it up. "It's from me mum," he added, quietly. I looked at him, and then I glanced over his right shoulder.

Erik looked at me, his arms crossed, and he gave me a very slight nod, which I figured was as much approval as I'd get from him publicly.

"Yes," I said. The table erupted in applause. My students came up and hugged me, but Janet did make sure to whisper in my ear, "If you ever need help, just let me know!" The lunch turned into a full-blown party. The food and drinks flowed, and people just kept arriving, including a couple more of the Institute teachers, Inanna's girlfriend, Rudi, and even one of Moonwillow's animal rights activist friends, who shook my hand and wished me congratulations…but still gave Walden a wide berth.

Rhiannon and Lucius quietly approached Walden and me as the party continued into its second hour.

"Mr. Malfoy, here, has graciously agreed to foot the bill for this shindig, and I'm going to head over to the kindergarten, pick Evan up, and bring him over to my place for movie and pizza night. I'd suggest that you two get out of here right now, bubbeleh—I'll meet you at the Crystal Annex tomorrow morning," she said, winking at me.

"I can help you there, just a second," Lucius said, and he flicked his wand ever-so-slightly in our direction. We walked through the portal he'd created directly into Walden's room and warded the door behind us.

THE END