Chapter 14
The Deathly Hallows

Saturday, July 31st, 1993

(Harry)

Harry was about to use a Light Charm, and ask Ginny and Hermione to do the same, but soon this need became obsolete. As soon as the portrait shut behind them, a number of sconces all along the walls of the long, narrow stone corridor lit up, giving off an eerie haunting aura. At the other end of the corridor, Harry could see an arched doorway.

"There is a room down there," Harry said. "There has to be."

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Hermione said.

"We won't be in here very long," Harry said, "And if there is any sign of danger, we'll leave."

"Yeah, come on, Hermione," Ginny said, "One of your favorite paintings leads into a mysterious tunnel? Something to do with the Deathly Hallows?"

"What are the Deathly Hallows?" Hermione asked again.

Harry was about to do a quick explanation, when he saw something in the stone floor a few yards ahead of him. He walked forward, and Ginny and Hermione followed him.

"Is that one of those Rose Line markers?" Ginny asked, as she too saw the marking on the floor, "Like we saw on the way here?"

"No," Harry said, as he approached it, "But similar."

It was indeed similar to the brass disk markings of the Rose Line through the streets of Paris, but this was a golden disk. Etched into it was the sign of the Deathly Hallows.

"This definitely has something to do with the Hallows," Harry said.

"Look, there's more!" Hermione said, pointing ahead of them.

Indeed, there were at least half-a-dozen more along the stone floor of the corridor that led toward the archway. Harry hurried forward, then slowed down as he arrived at the archway. It was a wooden doorway, and at the center top of the arch, there was another carving of the mark. It seemed burnt into the wood.

Harry readied his hand to take his wand, then walked through the archway. His jaw dropped as he looked around.

They had come to a large stone room half the size of the galleries in the rest of the museum. Long tapestries, some of pure red color, some of pure black, and all had a golden Deathly Hallows symbol in the center of them, covered the walls on either side of the room. There were also several paintings and a few glass cabinets that resembled the trophy cabinets at Hogwarts. At the back of the room was a huge mural depicting three wizards on a bridge standing before a hooded skeletal figure that represented Death... the Tale of the Three Brothers. Smaller murals around the large one depicted the three fates of the brothers – murder, suicide, and natural death - and had the symbol of the Hallow they carried.

In the center of the room was three large mannequin like statutes of the three brothers. One statue held out a wand that represented the Elder Wand, one had his palm flat out, as a representation of the Ressurection Stone floated inches above it. And the the third had a stone like representation of the Invisibility Cloak draped over one shoulder.

"This is amazing!" Hermione said, as she walked over to a glass cabinet, "A book! Are those... runes?"

Harry walked over to the cabinet, and sure enough he saw a very old copy of The Tales of Beedle The Bard opened to one particular story, told in runes.

"The Tale of the Three Brothers," Harry said.

"You can read that?" Hermione asked, gaping at Harry.

"No," Harry said, "But I know the story."

"Wait," Hermione said, as her eyes traveled around the room, "'The Tale of the Three Brothers?' As in... the tale by Beedle The Bard?"

"So you have read it?" Harry asked.

"I read it after I read Bartemius F. Able's stories," Hermione said, nodding, "Just to see if other fairy tales like the Soul Bond could be real. I never would have expected -"

"- that the Tale of the Three Brothers is a true story?" Harry asked.

"It is?" Hermione asked, "But that is impossible! It talks of Death as an actual being... of a stone that can bring people back from the dead."

"It doesn't bring people back from the dead, Hermione," Harry said, "The Ressurection Stone only shows echoes of the dead – kind of like portraits – except they don't want to come back from the dead."

"H-how do you know that?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking.

Harry looked at Ginny, who nodded before she walked over to one of the paintings.

"I used it in the last timeline," Harry said, "Because I thought I was going to die."

Hermione's mouth opened slowly as she looked at Harry.

"The Ressurection Stone is part of three objects known as the Deathly Hallows," Harry said, "There is also the Cloak of Invisibility, which makes you invisible from your enemies. Nothing can penetrate the cloak. You could even hide from death, like the third brother did for a long time before he passed it onto his son and passed away. The Elder Wand is the most powerful wand in the world and can only be passed on through defeating the wizard who owned it before."

"How do you defeat an unbeatable wand?" Hermione asked.

"Surprise, mostly," Ginny said, "Murdering the owner in their sleep is one of them."

Hermione visible shuddered. "All three of these objects exist? Have you ever seen all three?"

"You've seen two of them, Hermione," Harry said, smiling, "And I also own two of them."

"What?" Hermione asked, "You own two –?"

"The Ressurection Stone was part of the ring Horcrux I destroyed a few weeks ago," Harry said. "And the cloak -"

"Harry, come here!" Ginny said.

Harry took his wand in his hand and ran over to Ginny. The way she called him over, he thought she was hurt, but she looked unharmed.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, "What's wrong?"

Ginny pointed to the wall near them. Harry turned and looked. There was a large tapestry of a family tree. At the very top was Ignotus, Antioch, and Cadmus. Ginny pointed her finger down the tapestry below Ignotus' line.

"This tapestry seems to be magically updated," she said, "Just like the Hogwarts book."

Harry followed Ginny's finger down to the very bottom of the tree, where it showed James Potter with a line connected to "Lily Potter (formerly Evans)" and both connected to Harry's name. Connected to Harry's name was "Ginny Potter (formerly Weasley)". He looked up at Cadmus Peverell's line, and saw names like Salazar Slytherin connected through marriage, that led to the Gaunts and finally Tom Marvolo Riddle himself. Harry shuddered at the fact that he and Voldemort were very distantly related.

"The Peverells?" Hermione asked, "Who are they?"

"The Three Brothers," Harry said.

"Wait," Hermione gasped, "Then that means – does that mean –? H-Harry? You're related to the Three Brothers?"

"I'm the direct bloodline of Ignotus Peverell," Harry said, "who was given the Invisibility Cloak."

"Invisibility Cloak," Hermione whispered, and her face glowed in recognition.

"Yeah, Hermione," Harry said, "My Cloak is Death's Cloak of Invisibility. A Deathly Hallow."

"So... you have the Stone and the Cloak," Hermione said, "But I've never seen the stone. You said I've seen two of them."

Harry led Hermione over to the one of the statues in the center of the floor. He then pointed to the stone representation of the wand in one of the statue's hand. Hermione looked at it and her eyes widened as she looked at Harry.

"But – that," Hermione said, "that looks like Headmaster Dumbledore's wand."

"Because it is Headmaster Dumbledore's wand," Harry said. "Throughout the history of the wizarding world, duels have been won and lost because of this very wand. Gellert Grindelwald had the wand at one point."

"The Dark Wizard Dumbledore defeated?" Hermione asked.

"Correct," Harry said, "And Dumbledore won the wand from Grindelwald."

"What happens if you own all three?" Hermione asked. "Anything? You get a prize for finding all three? Trip to Paris or something?"

"You become the Master of Death," Harry said. "Remember when I said I nearly died in the old timeline?"

Hermione nodded.

"I did die," Harry said.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "But... you're here!"

"I died," Harry said, "But at that point I owned the Elder Wand, just like I owned the Stone and Cloak. Voldemort thought he owned the wand – he held it, he never owned it – and he tried to kill me with it. But because I owned the wand, I was the Master of Death. I truly believe Death exists as an entity out there somewhere. Because Death is the reason I am alive. If I did not own all three of the Hallows at that moment, I'm sure I would have died. Being the Master of Death gave me a free pass. Maybe just once... maybe it will happen again. But that is how I survived."

"And that is how he'll survive in the graveyard," Ginny said, "He just needs to get the Elder Wand."

Well, Harry said, that is the best way I'll survive. The other way is the fact that you and I have to die together to really be dead, but...

It was just a theory, Harry. We don't exactly want to test that theory out.

"So you have to ask Dumbledore to give it to you?" Hermione asked.

"Ask him?" Harry asked, "I cannot ask him for the wand. It can only be passed on through duels."

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, "You cannot kill Dumbledore!"

"I don't need to," Harry said, "I just need to disarm him."

"Oh, of course!" Hermione said, "Law of the Wand. Disarm the wand and it becomes yours if you do not give it back to the owner."

"Exactly," Harry said.

"But... how are you going to disarm him?" Hermione asked.

"Element of surprise," Harry said, "I just have to figure out how to surprise one of the greatest wizards in the world."

"Right," Hermione said. "Well... we better get going. We've been away from my parents for a good hour and a half now. They'll be expecting us in another half-hour, and there are still places we can look around."

"Well, Hermione," Ginny said, after they returned to the portrait and walked back into the main part of the museum. "You know how you said you wanted to do something not very many people have ever experienced in this world?"

"Yeah?" Hermione asked.

"How many people do you think have been in there?" Ginny asked, nodding back where they came from.

Hermione looked thoughtful then giggled. "Probably not very many."

"Well, there you go," Ginny said, as she began to laugh as well.

This only caused Harry to laugh because it was so contagious.

An hour and a half later, Harry, Ginny and the Grangers were making their way to one of the tour boats on the Seine River.

"Labeled 'the most romantic river cruise in the world', huh?" Ginny said, as she looked at a large sign near the dock that led onto one of the boats.

She looked back at Harry and grinned, and Harry felt warmth in his cheeks.

"Richard and I have been in Paris a total of six times ever since we've been married," Helen said, "We always come on these tours every visit."

"Sometimes more than once per visit," Richard said, "We love Paris. Our little Hermione was actually conceived here in Paris. Or we're almost sure she was."

"Daddy!" Hermione gasped. "They do not want to know that. And neither do I..." She shuddered. "I like to think a stork dropped me off at our doorstep."

"You're too smart to think like that, sweetheart," Helen said.

"Yeah, yeah," Hermione muttered, "If you two want to go to your usual romantic spot on these boats, I'll spend time with Harry and Ginny."

"Okay, dear," Helen said, "Have fun."

"Don't fall in the river," Richard said, "Don't want to melt!"

"Daddy!" Hermione gasped again, and glared at Harry and Ginny who were snickering.

Richard grinned and walked off with his wife to one side of the boat. Hermione groaned and led Harry and Ginny to a group of seats with an amazing view of the river.

"Your parents are so sweet, Hermione," Ginny said, as she sat down between Harry and Hermione.

"Paris always makes them so mushy," Hermione said, with a sigh.

"It is the city of love, Hermione," Harry said.

"Yeah, maybe Ron will take you here sometime," Ginny said, "Or vice-versa."

"Don't jinx it!" Hermione growled.

"And maybe you'll bring your children here and tell them that one of them was conceived here," Ginny said, grinning.

"Ginevra Molly... Weasley!" Hermione growled.

"Only when I am angry at Harry," Ginny said, snickering.

Harry grinned and looked toward the shore, as he watched the line of people coming onto the boat. Then he saw a black dog sitting near the entrance to the dock.

"Ginny?" Harry asked, turning back to Ginny, then nodded back toward the dock, "Does that dog look familiar?"

"What dog?" Ginny asked.

"There!" Harry said, then turned – the dog was gone, "I swear I saw a dog."

"What kind of dog?" Ginny asked.

"A big black dog," Harry said.

"Sirius is with Amelia, Harry," Ginny said.

"Well, if it wasn't him, it was the Grim!" Harry said.

"I'll make sure you have the best time over the next twenty-four hours then," Ginny said, grinning.

"Ha ha," Harry said. "I swear I saw a big black dog."

"And I'm telling you Sirius is with Amelia," Ginny said, "Why would he be here?"

"To spy on us?" Harry asked.

"Did you talk to him like I asked you to do?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Not exactly," Ginny said, and Harry glared at her, "He apologized, and you basically said 'Fine, I accept your apology, can me and Ginny go to Paris now?' Does that sound like a good acceptance?"

"He had to apologize to me ten minutes before we came here," Harry said, "On my birthday of all days! I'll sit down and talk to him, but I accepted his apology. I did... and he seemed okay with it. Can we just enjoy this cruise?"

"Will you talk to him in the next twenty-four hours?" Ginny asked.

"I did not see a Grim!" Harry scowled.

Ginny snickered and Hermione giggled as well.

"I didn't," Harry muttered.

"So maybe you saw a stray," Ginny said, "Padfoot isn't the only big black dog in the world."

"I suppose not," Harry said.

"So don't worry about it," Ginny said, and grinned when the boat began to move. "Can we focus on the tour? I wanted to go on this tour because it is romantic."

"Blah," Hermione groaned.

Ginny snickered again before she rested her head on Harry's shoulder, then entwined her fingers through his.

(Sirius)

Padfoot retreated into a nearly vacant public girl's restroom near the tour boats, and transformed back into Sirius. Amelia was waiting for him there.

"Damn it!" Sirius growled as he walked out of the bathroom with Amelia.

"What's the matter?" Amelia asked.

"I think Harry saw me," Sirius said. "He was talking to Ginny and Hermione, then he turned at the right moment and I swear he saw me. He looked back at Ginny and I ran back here."

"Do you think he knows it was you?" Amelia asked.

"Either me, another loveable stray, or a Grim," Sirius said.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Amelia said, "Sirius, can't we –?"

"No," Sirius said, "Not until Harry and Ginny are on their way back to the Enchanted Cauldron."

"But we haven't even sniffed out Albus since we left the Louvre!" Amelia said, "Maybe he left Paris."

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, Sirius," Amelia said, "You're being paranoid. Albus is a good man."

"He wants something from Harry and Ginny," Sirius said. "I'm going to find out what. He is obviously here because he thinks they're up to something instead of on a nice little birthday date. I just know it. I mean – who stalks two children like that?"

"Sirius," Amelia said, "We're stalking two children like that."

"We're chaperones," Sirius said, "We're Harry's guardians. We have rights to. Albus only can stalk children from September to June."

Amelia chuckled. "He doesn't stalk students."

"Oh, and he was just passing by when we walked out of that broom closet in seventh year?" Sirius asked.

"I... completely forgot about that," Amelia said.

"Hidden motives, Amelia," Sirius said, "That man is the master at them."

"What hidden motive did he have to catch us snogging?" Amelia asked.

Sirius frowned and tried to think of an answer. Then he grinned. "The Marauders hadn't had points taken from them that week. He was probably feeling irresponsible."

Amelia snickered and put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"So... what do you want to do for the next hour and a half?" she asked.

"Find more trees to mark?" Sirius asked.

Amelia laughed out loud, and only stopped when Sirius kissed her again.

(Harry)

Harry was hoping to get a romantic moment on the tour boat with Ginny, but it was so crowded with tourists, someone probably would have seen them and thought it was strange that two kids their age were doing so. He vowed to himself that, even if he had to put privacy charms on them, he would have his romantic moment with her there in Paris.

Sunset wouldn't come until about half-past-eight. It was planned they would go to the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower at seven, which was a couple hours away after the tour was finished.

So they went to one of the Muggle shopping districts near the tower, and Ginny and Hermione found a pre-teen and teenage clothing portion in a shop. Harry bought a couple of shirts, and Ginny forced him to sit down outside the girl's changing rooms while she showed him a few outfits she tried on. She usually hated skirts and dresses, but she actually found a few she liked. Hermione convinced her parents to buy her a nice dinner party type skirt that was in her favorite color, periwinkle blue. Ginny also bought Hermione another one-piece skirt especially for her "unofficial" Hogsmeade date with Ron and assured her that Ron would love it.

Finally, it was time to make their way up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. As Harry looked around, he knew this would be a perfect view of the sunset. But first... they would have dinner. Suddenly, Hermione gasped.

"There's a new restaurant here," she said, "Mum, Daddy, look!"

Hermione was pointing at a small extravagant restaurant tucked in behind another one.

"Hermione," Ginny said, "I... don't think it is new."

"I've never seen it before," Hermione said.

"It is a wizarding restaurant," Ginny whispered.

"Oh!" Hermione said, then looked at her parents, "Can we go there?"

"It is probably a lot less expensive then Le Jules Verne Restaurant," Richard said, "Sure."

"Daddy, Harry wants to pay for us," Hermione said, "He's offered it."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Richard asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Well... okay," Richard said.

"Le Jules Verne," Ginny said, as they passed the Muggle restaurant, "Is that a historical person?"

"An author," Hermione said.

"That restaurant is quite expensive for dinner," Richard said, "Best for couples... not families."

"I'll take you there on your birthday, Ginny," Harry said.

Ginny smiled and nodded. The five headed over to the wizarding restaurant, called "Le Lisette".

"Le Lisette," Hermione said, as they walked into the restaurant, "I've heard of that name. Lisette de Lapin. She was a witch convicted of witchcraft by Muggles, and was supposed to be executed, but she vanished mysteriously the night before her execution."

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and her parents sat down at a table and an English-speaking waitress came over and they ordered their meals. The waitress said it would take half-an-hour, which was perfect to Harry since they had an hour-and-a-half until sunset.

"So, Harry," Helen said, "Have you had fun today on your birthday?"

"One of my best birthdays ever," Harry said.

"Good," Helen said, "There was... er... something I've been meaning to ask you all day."

"Mum," Hermione said, "Don't."

"You can ask me," Harry said, as he looked from Helen to Hermione, who frowned.

"You and Ginny seem quite close," Helen said, "Taking her on a holiday like this and here for Paris, and what sounds like a nice evening for her birthday...forgive me, but it is almost like you two are a couple."

"We – er – sorta are," Harry said, "Not really boyfriend and girlfriend, but we've promised ourselves to each other."

"I told you, Mum," Hermione said, "These two are meant for each other. They just know they're perfect for each other. It is hard to explain..."

"I'm only asking because we heard about arranged courtships," Helen said. "I've heard they're rather popular in the wizarding world."

"If anyone arranged our courtship, we did," Ginny said. "As Hermione said, it is rather hard to explain, but both Harry's godfather and my parents both understand it and support it. Mostly. So we do kiss occasionally... but we're mostly just... better than best friends who are growing into being a couple."

"I told them that," Hermione said.

"Well, I do think it is wonderful," Helen said, "I do hope it works out, and if it does than that is great. Just... make sure you two are happy together. Your teen years can get complicated in the romance stage."

"Believe me," Harry said, "We know. We're ready for – err – complicated."

"Yeah," Ginny muttered.

Great, Ginny said,I'm just as scared of these two finding out we're planning on getting married soon, as I am telling Mum and Dad.

Yeah... I just hope they don't think it is weird. It seems they're already jumpy about Hermione's involvement in the wizarding world. Bonds and the works would just confuse them.

The conversation turned into more innocent things. And none noticed the old wizard sitting in a hidden corner of the restaurant, nor a witch or wizard heading in his direction

(Sirius)

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and her parents may not have noticed Albus, nor Sirius or Amelia for that matter, but the Blacks did notice him. Albus didn't even notice them until they sat down at his table.

"Minister Black," Albus said, "Sirius... I am surprised to see you here."

"We're not surprised to see you here," Sirius said, "We've been following you around all day, while you have been following them -" he nodded in Harry and Ginny's direction, "- nice privacy charm around this table by the way... but it seems you've only made it affect them, and nobody else."

"I may have overlooked something, yes," Albus said.

"Exactly what are you doing here, Albus?" Amelia asked. "Sirius and I could arrest you for stalking, you know."

"I was most concerned when I heard the Potters were going to be out on their own in Paris," Albus said.

"They're with Hermione and her parents, as you can see," Sirius said.

"Hermione nor her parents could protect them if Lucius Malfoy or Peter Pettigrew confronted them," Albus said.

"Oh, you're not fooling me," Sirius said, "Malfoy and Pettigrew? They're nowhere near Paris, I'm sure! Cut the crap, Albus! Why are you stalking my godson and his mate? All three of us know what is so special about those two, so don't lie to us."

Albus sighed and looked at Sirius through his eyeglasses.

"Do you remember James Potter's Invisibility Cloak?" Albus asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, "Harry has it. You borrowed it from James, shortly before he died, and you kept it until you gave it to Harry. Surely you're not stalking my godson to take a family heirloom of his."

"Do you know exactly how far that family heirloom goes back?" Albus asked.

"No," Sirius said, "Probably not."

"You know much of Harry and Ginny's secrets," Albus said, "I know another one. I wonder if they have told you about this one. Tell me, Sirius, is there something Harry has been hiding from you."

"He promised to tell me one thing," Sirius said, "He just hasn't gotten around to it. What does this have to do with you?"

"Ask Harry about the Deathly Hallows, Sirius," Albus said, "And you'll get your answer. Good evening, Sirius, Minister. I will take my leave from the Potters."

"Just like that?" Sirius asked. "No walking up on them while invisible and demanding answers from them?"

"I already have the answer to the question I seek," Albus said, "Tell Harry I wish him luck with his quest. Tell him if he wants something from me, he needs to come speak to me."

Albus stood up from the table and walked out of the restaurant. Sirius looked at Amelia, who looked gobsmacked.

"What the bloody hell was all that about?" Sirius asked, "The Deathly Hallows? Have you ever heard of those?"

"No," Amelia said, then her eyes widened as she looked past Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius turned around and saw Harry and Ginny standing there.

"I knew I saw you," Harry said, "What are you two doing here?"

"We should have warned you about something earlier, Harry," Sirius said, "Sit down while you wait for your meal. You're not going to like this."

Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at Ginny. After a moment, Harry sighed and sat down at the table. Ginny sat down with him.

"All day today," Sirius said, "You have had somebody following you."

"Yeah, you," Harry said.

"No," Sirius said. "Professor Dumbledore followed you. We followed him. He was sitting here, but he just left before you walked over. He was under a privacy spell. We finally caught up to him here and demanded he tell us what he wanted with you."

"Did you get an answer?" Ginny asked.

"Albus," Sirius said, "He said it had something to do with something called the Deathly Hallows."

Harry's eyes widened and he covered his face with his hands.

"And he said if you wanted something from him," Sirius said, "You needed to talk to him."

"Damn it," Harry swore, then lowered his hands and looked at Ginny.

"I don't know how, Harry," Ginny said, "If he was following us, he must have seen us -"

"Damn it!" Harry swore again, "That meddling – what am I going to do now?"

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Amelia asked, "What are the Deathly Hallows?"

Harry frowned and he looked back at Sirius and Amelia, then began to tell them everything.

(Harry)

An hour later, as the sun began its descent below the horizon, Harry and Ginny stood near a fenced edge of the Eiffel tower, with Sirius, Amelia, Hermione and her parents. Harry's arms were wrapped around Ginny, and she had her back to his chest, and her head tucked into his neck.

So... Sirius and Amelia know now, Ginny said.

Yep.

They know you need to Dumbledore's wand before you can face Voldemort.

Yep. Unite the Deathly Hallows and hope I get another free pass from Death.

And Dumbledore knows you want it.

Yep.

Harry? How are you going to get the Elder Wand now?

I'm going to defeat Albus Dumbledore... when he least suspects it.

When is that, Harry?

I have absolutely no idea.

Harry sighed as he kissed Ginny's hair and looked over at Sirius, who was holding Amelia.

"Sirius?" he said.

"Yeah, kid?" Sirius replied.

"I didn't really forgive you this morning," Harry said, "I was in a rush, and I wanted to get out of there. I really didn't care about what you had to say. You now understand what I am working against. Malfoy is out, and I have to hope he doesn't do anything to mess up Pettigrew's mission. And now I have to figure out how to deal with Dumbledore. Everything is working against me right now. Please don't make my life any more difficult than it already is. I just want to get through now until I have to go into that graveyard without unpredictability. One wrong thing and everything is going to blow up for me and Ginny's plans. Two things are already not in my favor. I need to get them back in my favor. I'm going to need your help with that."

"I think I can do that," Sirius said. "I promise not to make it any more harder than it already is."

"Good," Harry said. "Then now I can honestly forgive you."

Sirius smiled. Harry buried his face into Ginny's hair.

That was very nice of you, Harry.

I don't need to worry about that anymore. I have many other things to worry about now.

Yeah. Harry? I love you.

I love you too, Ginny. Thank you for making this one of my best birthdays ever.

Ginny smiled and turned her head to him. Harry kissed her softly as the sunset disappeared under the horizon.

Well... there you go! The visit to Paris is over. Harry and Ginny's visit might not be more than a paragraph or two... or perhaps only a dinner scene at the restaurant. We'll see.

I almost had Dumbledore confront Harry and Ginny in the "Room of the Three Brothers", as I like to call it, but I wanted a confrontation between Sirius and Albus.

I'm sure there are some readers who believe I am making Dumbledore out as the bad guy. He is not the bad guy. He is just not going to give up the Elder Wand easily. Remember... not everyone is either a good person, or a bad person... almost everyone except for truly evil people, are either good people with bad qualities, or bad people with some possibly redeeming qualities. Dumbledore is that first category. When is that confrontation going to come? Some time between now and the graveyard scene. – blows raspberry –

If Hermione's parents discussion with Harry and Ginny about them being a couple seemed awkward... good... because I felt awkward writing it. I was cringing for Harry and Ginny.

Hope you liked this chapter!

Next chapter... Will most likely be a transition chapter. Holiday and honeymoon ends in a time-skip (really... nothing BIG happens until they get back home)... Unless I change my mind, there are two more chapters until the summer is over and third year officially begins!