A Royal at Hogwarts

By J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.

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Previously in 'A Royal at Hogwarts':

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Evangeline informs the members of the royal family who know about magic about her impending abdication, to mixed reactions, with the Queen Mother being the most vocally opposed. Wesley also informs his family about his marriage contracts and while both Evangeline and Wesley were hoping not to have to tell her, Princess Augusta finds out that under wizarding law, she's still legally married to her first husband, Capt. Matthew Prentice, despite their divorce in the muggle world.

Neville and Grayson chat for a bit in Grayson's bedroom at Castle Windermere and are joined by Hecate, who informs them of some particulars regarding their contracts. While not appearing physically, Eros adds his two cents to the conversation at a few points.

Over breakfast at Craigowan Lodge, Charlie and Jean-Luc explain the differences between muggle and magical weddings. And the magical version of the Highlands Games put on by the Hogsmeade Royal Highlands Society are discussed. Also, the reason for galleons being worth only five pounds despite being made of gold is revealed.

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Chapter Fifteen, Part Three:

A Visit to Balmoral

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After leaving the breakfast table, Wesley had one of the servants get word to Angus, who meets Wesley, Holden, Carter, Hunter, and Harry in one of the back gardens for a bout of archery practice. Charlie and Jean-Luc join them after about half-an-hour and they all have a splendid time. Of course, Harry, Carter, Hunter, and Charlie had never shot a bow before so they weren't doing so well initially, but with pointers from Wesley, Holden, Angus, and Jean-Luc they began to improve. After about two hours of archery, it was time to head back inside for lunch, with arrangements being made for Angus to prep the clay pigeons and the thrower for a spot of shooting following lunch.

As the group entered the house, Dylan and Cedric emerged from the drawing room, having just Flooed in. Wesley smiled. "Hey Ric, glad you could make it."

"Hullo Wes," Cedric said, before saying the same to Harry, Carter, Hunter, Charlie, and Jean-Luc.

"Holden, this is Cedric Diggory," Wesley said since Cedric had never visited one of the royal properties before and thus had never met any of the royal family other than Wesley. "Cedric, this is Holden, my little brother."

"Hello," Holden said as he held out his hand to Cedric.

"Hi," Cedric said as he knelt down a bit to be more on Holden's level before he took the offered hand and said. "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Holden said with a smile. He was particularly happy that Cedric had knelt down to his level when greeting him, as very few of the adults he met did that. Cedric wasn't quite an adult yet, but he was fourteen, almost fifteen, so compared to Holden, who was nine going on ten, the age and height difference was more pronounced.

"So Dylan tells me you had your first bout of accidental magic," Cedric said, as he remained kneeling, but let go of the young prince's hand.

Holden grinned and said, "Yup, I'm a wizard." His face fell a bit then and said, "But even though I'll be eleven next year I can't start Hogwarts until the following year because my birthday isn't until Fifteen September."

Cedric smiled. "I feel your pain. My birthday is on Seventeen September, so I was in the same boat as you are."

With a nod, Charlie said, "I know what that's like too since my birthday is Twelve December. Of course, it was slightly better for me because my older brother Bill had to wait an extra year too because his birthday is Twenty-Nine November."

"Our dad, Thorne, had to wait an extra year too," Carter added, as Hunter nodded and said, "He was Ten September."

Nodding, Cedric said, "One of my best friends and roommates at Hogwarts, Jeremy, and his elder brother, Jackson, also had to wait as they were born on Ten November and Twenty-One September, respectively. But, I've always thought what would really suck is if someone had to wait a whole extra year because they were born on Second September."

"I had a roommate at Hogwarts who was in that position," Jean-Luc said. "He was born like thirty seconds after midnight on the Second, so he really felt the disappointment when his older twin brothers went off to Hogwarts and he knew he'd be three years behind them in school, despite being only two years younger in age."

"Wow, so he missed going to Hogwarts the year of his eleventh birthday by only thirty-one seconds or so?" Charlie asked and Jean-Luc nodded. "That really would suck."

Several people nodded in agreement at this, before Jean-Luc said, "Well, we should probably head into the dining room and eat lunch." Of course, he had an ulterior motive for ending the conversation here and that's because he was kind of cursing himself for even mentioning his friend Stephen… since he wasn't sure what he'd say if somebody asked to meet him, considering that he'd been dead now for over five-hundred years.

As the group entered the dining room, they found Clayton, Dawn, Evangeline and Patrick already seated at the table.

"Grandmother, grandfather, I wasn't expecting to see you," Wesley said, as he approached the table and gave his grandmother a quick kiss on the cheek, after which he shared a one-armed hug with Patrick.

"I heard you and your friends were going to do some skeet shooting after lunch," Patrick said. "So I thought I'd come down and join you."

"And my schedule was free so I figured I'd come down and keep Dawn company," Evangeline said. "Better than sitting up at the main house all alone, since we don't have any guests up there at the moment."

As Holden greeted his grandparents, Wesley turned to his friends who'd all bowed to the Queen, although Cedric was a bit stiffer because unlike the others, he'd never actually met the Queen before. He'd seen her from afar when she visited Hogwarts but had never actually spoken to her, unlike the others in the room.

Taking Cedric's arm, Wesley pulled him forward a bit and said, "Grandmother, Grandfather, Mum, Dad, this is Cedric Diggory." Turning to Cedric, he smiled and said, "Cedric, meet my parents, grandfather, and my grandmother, the Queen."

With a smile, Evangeline held out a hand to Cedric and said, "It's nice to meet you, Cedric." When after a second Cedric just stood there stiff as a board and clearly very nervous, Evangeline added, "There's no need to be so nervous, young man. I don't bite."

"Yeah, come on, Rick, its fine," Wesley said. "I know you're probably nervous meeting royalty, but it's not like you haven't already done it before. You've met me, after all."

"Wes," Dawn said in a warning tone as she raised her hand as if she was going to cuff him, although the smile on her face completely ruined the effect and made it very obvious that she was more amused than angry.

Evangeline laughed, as Patrick said, "I suggest you have a seat young man and help yourself to some of the good stuff before it's all gone."

"This isn't Buckingham Palace, Cedric," Wesley said. "We're much more laid back here. Pretty much just like any normal family.

Cedric nodded and moved to sit down, his nervousness mostly dissipated although he still thought, Yeah, any normal family… if you can call a family that's headed by the most powerful person in the country normal.

Once everyone was seated and had filled their plates, Dawn said, "The staff is moving your luggage up to your room as we speak, Cedric. Perhaps after lunch, before you all go shooting, you can show him where it is, Harry? He is rooming with you, after all."

Harry looked momentarily surprised because he hadn't known that and he knew that there was only one bed in his room, but he recovered quickly. Nodding he said, "Sure, I can do that."

"So I understand that you underwent the Rite," Patrick said, as he looked across the table to where Cedric was seated between Harry and Jean-Luc. "Did you also inherit marriage contracts as my grandson and his friends did?"

"Yes, sir," Cedric said. "Three of them… with Luka, Harry, and Carter."

"Oh, you're engaged to Harry?" Dawn asked. "Well, that's a bit awkward. I wouldn't have had the staff put the two of you in the same room if I'd known that. Although, I'm afraid there aren't really any other options as there are only seven bedrooms in this house and they're all in use."

"I think it'll be fine, Dawn," Dylan said, as the princess had given him, Thorne, and Alex permission to use her first name, at least while they were in private. "The bed in Harry's room is more than big enough for the both of them and there are spells that can be cast upon it to prevent them from doing anything untoward until they're married."

Harry and Cedric both blushed a deep crimson at this, as Wesley, Carter, and Hunter all laughed at their predicament. After a moment, Carter grinned, and said, "I kind of envy you, Harry, getting to sleep with Ric before the wedding." Grinning mischievously at the older Hufflepuff, he added, "Do you think we'll get to before our wedding?"

Cedric's blush deepened and Thorne said, "Carter, be nice. You're embarrassing him."

"Well, he is my future husband, so I think I'm allowed," Carter said. "But, I'll be quiet for now, as I suppose this isn't really an appropriate conversation for the lunch table."

"There's nothing wrong with some good-natured ribbing among friends, young man," Evangeline said with a smile. "And it's not like you were going into any explicit details, which then would be inappropriate."

"So all of your contracts overlap?" Patrick asked. "I take it that's why you said you might be marrying Carter, Cedric, and Charlie in the future, Wesley?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Wesley confirmed. "I'm only contractually obligated to wed Hunter, Luka, and Harry, but since we're basically all going to have husbands in common unless we start playing musical houses, I suspect that I'll probably be spending a lot of time with all of them and as a result wed them all eventually. Although, it'll be for love then, not because of a contract."

"Well, I'm glad that at least one of your marriages will be for love," Dawn said.

"It'll be fine, Mum," Wesley said after he took a bite of his sandwich and washed it down with a bit of milk. "While the whole contract thing isn't ideal, I think it's more than possible that in time I will fall in love with Hunter, Luka, and Harry. I'm already best friends with Hunter and Harry, after all. Still, I need to get to know Luka a bit better, but it's still several months until our wedding and we do have the rest of our lives after that, so it's not like there's any big rush."

Especially if I join Luke and Charlie in drinking the Elixir of Life when I'm older. Wesley added in his head.

"So are you the only ones who underwent this Rite?" Clayton asked.

Shaking his head, Harry answered, "No, there were others. Including a few of our other friends at Hogwarts. Wes's and my housemate, Neville, for example, is contractually engaged to his second cousin, Grayson Ollivander, and Jordan Miller, Wes's bodyguard."

"Jordan inherited a lordship too?" Clayton asked, clearly surprised. "What rank is he?"

Thorne nodded. "Lord-Rexarl of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw, so the equivalent of a Grand Duke. Jordan is the last living descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw, who was one of the founders of Hogwarts and the person that founded Ravenclaw House. Which is the house that Dylan, Jordan, Kyle, Matt, and I were all in when we were at Hogwarts."

"These houses," Patrick said. "They each value certain personality traits, right?"

Dylan nodded. "Yes. Courage and chivalry for Gryffindor; cunning and ambition for Slytherin; loyalty and hard work for Hufflepuff; and wit and learning for Ravenclaw. Of course, just because you were put into one house doesn't mean that you don't possess the traits valued by the other houses. Only that the Sorting Hat felt that they were your strongest traits."

"There are also times when the Hat can't make up its mind," Thorne said. "At which point it lets the student choose which house they prefer. But, regardless of house, all the students are afforded the same opportunities for learning and self-improvement."

"Well, that's good to know," Dawn said. "And can I just say that I'm glad that there isn't a contract between Wes and Jordan? He's even older than Luka isn't he?"

No, actually, he isn't. Wesley said in his head, as Dylan said, "Yes, Luka is nineteen, while Jordan is twenty-eight."

"Twenty-eight?" Patrick asked. "And he's marrying one of your housemates? Is Neville older than you?"

Shaking his head, Wesley said, "No, he's in our year, so he's only twelve like us. The contracts don't really care about age though. As long as Neville is thirteen before the cutoff, which he will be since his birthday is Thirty July, then he can legally wed Jordan. The good part though is that apparently, all the Ravenclaw contracts state that the children requirement is based on the completion of both party's educations, rather than the wedding date. So Neville and Jordan can wait to fulfill the children requirement until Neville has finished Hogwarts… potentially even longer if Neville immediately pursues a Mastery."

"Herbology is very likely," Carter added. "Neville loves plants and gets top marks in class."

Hunter nodded. "Definitely one of Professor Sprout's favorite students."

"Still the idea of a twelve-year-old marrying a twenty-eight-year-old," Dawn said. "I have to say it's quite disturbing."

"Well, it could be worse," Hunter said. "One of my housemates, Draco Malfoy, did the Rite too, along with the parents of one of our other housemates, Theo Nott. With the contracts they inherited, Draco is actually going to have to marry both of Theo's dads, so he's going to have a stepson that he's the same age as."

"And how old are they?" a wide-eyed Dawn asked.

"Tristan and Thomas Nott wed and had Theo quite young," Dylan said. "Tristan is twenty-seven and Thomas is twenty-six." He opted not to mention the fact that Tristan and Thomas were brothers in addition to being a married couple.

"Well, I do feel better now about Wesley and Luka then I did," Dawn said. "At least Luka is still a teenager, even if he will be twenty when he and Wesley get married."

"If it wasn't for the fact that Wes has to marry Hunter first and me second," Luke said, "then we could have actually had the wedding while I was still nineteen." That wasn't technically a lie because while it was true that Jean-Luc was a lot older than nineteen based on the year of his birth, thanks to the Elixir he would basically be nineteen forever. "My birthday is the Thirty-First of July and Wes turns thirteen a month and ten days earlier."

Harry grinned. "We share a birthday, Luke."

"That we do, Harry," Luke said aloud, as he thought, At least according to the Gregorian calendar anyway.

"Why exactly is there a specific order that the contracts have to be fulfilled?" Clayton asked. "I've been wondering that ever since Wes first mentioned it yesterday, but I didn't ask in the midst of all the introductions."

"It has to do with titles and prestige," Wesley answered. "For example, my contract with Hunter is between noble houses of differing ranks. The Emrys family's highest title is Varteryl, or Archduke, while the Varenus family's highest title is Teryn or Duke. So, a specific order is sometimes set for the titles because the person from the lower house can get a higher title out of the marriage. So Hunter will become Lord-Varteryl-Consort Emrys upon our marriage, which carries more prestige than Lord-Teryn Varenus, even though he technically doesn't hold the Emrys title in his own right."

"As Wesley's second husband, I'll be Lord-Rexarl-Consort Emrys," Luke added. "And Harry will be Lord-Teryn-Consort Emrys. Because each spouse after the first takes the next lowest title in order to differentiate between them, although they all have the same style as the Lord Emrys, which as a Varteryl is His or Her Serene Highness. Of course, since Wes holds multiple titles and styles, things do get a bit more complicated, although it doesn't affect the order that the contracts are fulfilled."

"More complicated how?" Evangeline asked.

"Well, as I said, Hunter will be Lord-Varteryl-Consort Emrys," Wesley said. "But, he'll also be Lord-Varteryl-Consort DeBois, and once I'm crowned, Emperor-Consort Pendragon. At that time my style changes from His Royal Highness to His Imperial and Royal Majesty, as does the style of all my spouses. Luka will be King-Consort Pendragon and Harry will be Prince-Consort Pendragon, in addition to the titles deriving from my other two houses. Of course, I'll also get the consort titles from their houses since they're lords in their own right."

"And for the consort titles that go to Wes, the marriage order plays a part again," Hunter said. "For me, Wesley will be my first husband as well and Jean-Luc my second. So, Wes will be Lord-Teryn-Consort Varenus and Lord-Seteryn-Consort Bellettus. While Jean-Luc will be Lord-Seteryn-Consort Varenus and Lord-Arl-Consort Bellettus. And all of their styles would be His Grace, assuming, of course, they weren't also married to Wes, but since they are, it's Wes' style that gets used because it's the higher one."

"The marriage order is the same for Wes and Hunter," Harry said. "But where it gets a bit more complicated is the fact that just as I will be Wes' third husband, he'll also be my third husband. Cedric will be my first husband, so he'll be Lord-Rexarl-Consort Gryffindor, and Lord-Teryn-Consort Potter and Peverell. Charlie will be Teryn-Consort Gryffindor and Seteryn-Consort Potter and Peverell, while Wes will be Seteryn-Consort Gryffindor and Arl-Consort Potter and Peverell."

"Wes will most likely not be using all of his consort titles, however," Luke said, as Wesley nodded his head. "At least not in everyday speech or announcement, as it would be way too much of a mouthful to say, plus he has higher titles in his own right. But, there are some cases where the titles are written out, that all of them would be included."

"So, yeah, I'm only going to say this once, and hopefully I'll never have to say it ever again," Wesley said, before taking a deep breath and saying, "So my full official titles after I'm crowned would be His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wesley of the House Pendragon, Twenty-Seventh of His Name, by the Grace of the Gods, King of Albion and Iwernia, Emperor of the Britannic Empire, Lord-Protector of the Seven Kingdoms of Brittany, France, Aquitaine, Navarra, Galicia, Castile, and Aragon, Lord-Varteryl of the Uttermost Ancient and Noble Houses of Emrys and DeBois, Lord-Teryn-Consort of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Varenus, Hogwarts, and Slytherin, Lord-Seteryn-Consort of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor, Lord-Seteryn-Consort of the Right Ancient and Noble House of Bellettus, Lord-Arl-Consort of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Peverell, Sovereign of the Most Honorable Knights of the Round Table, of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Camelot, of the Most Venerable Order of Merlin, and Lord-Defender of the Faiths."

Wesley was clearly out of breath after all that, so Hunter added, "And of course that'll get longer if he marries Cedric, Charlie, and Carter, as they all have titles in their own right that he'd be a consort for."

"Which is precisely why the entire official title is never said aloud in an announcement upon entering the room," Luka said. "The person doing the announcing would need an oxygen tank to get through all that. So, the announcement title is shortened to 'His Majesty Wesley XXVII of the House Pendragon, King of Albion and Iwernia, Emperor of the Britannic Empire, Lord-Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Lord-Varteryl Emrys and DeBois.' The rest is left off, thankfully."

"That is indeed quite the mouthful," Patrick said with a smile to Wesley. "Longer than your grandmother's official title for sure."

Evangeline smiled at that, but didn't comment as Hunter nodded and said, "Yeah, Wes, honestly how you rattled all that off in one breath, I'll never understand."

Wesley laughed. "Not sure I ever will either."

As he finished his lunch, Clayton looked around the table and saw that everyone had more or less finished eating, so with a smile, he said, "Well, shall we head outside and do some shooting?"

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After about two-and-a-half hours of shooting, everybody staying at Craigowan headed back into the house while Evangeline and Patrick got into the Range Rover and headed back up to the main castle. Clayton, Patrick, Wesley, Holden, and Jean-Luc all managed to hit most of their targets, as they'd all done it before. It was new for Charlie, Harry, Carter, Hunter, and Cedric, so they all had to get a bit of a crash course on how to even properly handle a shotgun. And Cedric was initially leery about shooting pigeons until he realized that the targets weren't actual birds, but just clay disks that were flung into the air.

Arriving in their bedroom, Harry and Cedric were initially a bit uncomfortable, knowing that there was only one bed, but finally, Harry shook his head and said, "Okay, enough of this. We're engaged to be married, so we should be able to share a bed. It's not like we're actually going to do anything other than sleep."

"True," Cedric said in a bit of a hesitant tone, as he thought back to falling asleep on the train and getting a hard-on while he'd been cuddled up to Wesley, Harry, and the twins.

"Cedric, are you okay?" Harry asked. "You seem very nervous about sharing a bed with me."

Cedric blushed at this as he took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I just remember what happened the last time we did."

Harry looked momentarily confused before he figured out what Cedric was talking about. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Oh you mean on the train when we all fell asleep in Wes' bed? We cuddled and you got hard." At Cedric's surprised look, Harry said, "Yeah, Ric, I felt it. I just chose not to comment because I didn't want to embarrass you. Of course, I also hadn't had the sex talk yet, so I wasn't entirely sure what I was feeling at the time. But I figured it out after Kyle gave me the talk a few days later."

"It was totally involuntary," Cedric said, his skin now doing a remarkable impression of a tomato. "As you get older and enter puberty, you can't really control when or where it happens."

Harry knew it was probably wrong, but he found Cedric's embarrassment both interesting and amusing. "Yeah, Kyle explained that to me. But surely somebody explained that to you too, so why are you so embarrassed about it?"

"Because, well," Cedric hedged, "I sort of felt like a pervert. I mean me at thirteen at the time, getting turned on with a bunch of eleven-year-olds. It's not really appropriate."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I can see that, but if you didn't have any control over it, it's not really your fault. And we were all fully dressed, so obviously, nothing happened." With a grin, he said, "Plus, you're now engaged to be married to two of the people who were in that bed and will probably be marrying the others at some point. So, what's the big deal?"

Cedric huffed and tried to come up with a reason why it was such a big deal, but in the end, the best he could come up with was that people would think that it was wrong. To which Harry said, "Are you going to tell them it happened? Because I'm not. So how will they even know? Just relax, Ric. In less than a year, you'll be married to Jean-Luc, Carter, and me. And what we do together in private is nobody else's business, with the possible exceptions of Hunter, Wes, and Charlie since we're all inexorably linked."

Cedric took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," Harry said with a grin. "Now that that's handled, I'll give you a quick tour and then you can use the bathroom first. I'm sure we'd both like the chance to clean up a bit after this afternoon. Just remember the others will be here in about an hour so we can talk for a bit before dinner. So, don't take so long that I can't shower."

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An hour later, Harry and Cedric were both showered and changed into the clothes they'd be wearing up to the main house for dinner. While breakfast and lunch were eaten at Craigowan, they all headed up to Balmoral for dinner pretty much every night with the rest of the royal family. The whole point of the visit was, after all, so that the family could get to know Wesley's future husbands, so they all had to spend at least some time together for that to happen.

Harry and Cedric were sitting in the chairs by the fireplace waiting for the others. Harry left the door open so that they could just come in as they arrived.

"Hey guys," Cedric said with a smile, as Charlie and Jean-Luc entered the room a minute or two later.

"Hey," Charlie said. "I guess we're the first to arrive."

Harry nodded, although before he could say anything the twins entered the room.

As Charlie and Jean-Luc sat down on the sofa next to Cedric's chair and the twins took seats on the opposite sofa, Wesley walked in, at which point Jean-Luc waved a hand at the door and said, "Colloportus!" as the door swung shut and there was the tell-tale squelching noise as the door sealed shut. "There now we can talk in private."

Wesley looked surprised as he asked, "You can do magic without a wand?"

Jean-Luc smiled. "Yeah, I can. Most people don't take the time to master it, as it's hard, but well, as you all know, I've had a very long time to study things. Wandless magic can be a very useful skill, however, especially when combined with Non-Verbal magic. In a duel, for example, you can really throw your opponent off guard if they're concentrating on your wand and you can send a spell there way with your offhand. Of course, that trick usually doesn't work more than once."

Thinking back to Max and Tavi's duel with Professor Flitwick's simulacrum in the underground chambers that housed the defenses for the Philosopher's Stone, Harry nodded and said, "Yeah, I can see how that would be true."

"Can you teach us how to do it?"

"Maybe eventually," Jean-Luc answered Hunter. "But it'll be a few years before you're old enough to start learning it. The closer you are to having or already had your magical inheritance, the easier learning it will be. It'll still be hard at first, but now it would be next to impossible."

"And don't take that as a challenge," Charlie warned. "There's a reason why they don't even start talking about Non-Verbal spells until fifth-year and don't seriously start learning about it until sixth-year. Trying to do it now, before your cores are really strong enough, could have long-lasting negative side effects."

Carter, Hunter, Wesley, and Harry all looked disappointed at this, but they nodded and promised they wouldn't try it for now, as the last thing any of them wanted to do was harm their ability to do magic. Cedric also had a slightly disappointed look on his face, but being older and about to start his fourth year, he understood the risks a bit better.

"Well, I guess we need to get some dates squared away," Wesley said. "Well, some of you do anyway. All of my contracted weddings will be on Carter's and Hunter's birthday."

Harry nodded. "True. Well, my weddings to Cedric and Charlie can happen anytime on or after the 31st of July." Looking at Cedric and Charlie, he said, "Since we're already going to have three weddings to attend on Carter's and Hunter's birthday, I figure we should pick a different day. Or days, as I suppose we don't all have to get married on the same day."

"True, but there's not exactly a plethora of options if we keep things limited to between 31 July and 6 August," Charlie said.

"Well, I do agree that we should spread them out a little," Cedric said. "Wes is already essentially having a triple wedding, so I don't think we should try to add any more weddings on 7 August. That would just be overkill."

Charlie nodded. "Especially since both Cedric and I will also be marrying Carter on 7 August. And Hunter will be marrying Jean-Luc. So between those and Will's three that day, that'll be six weddings in one day."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about conflicting dates where Draco's weddings to Tristan and Thomas," Harry said. "I'll probably have to go since I am House Malfoy's suzerain and Lady Malfoy has already invited Wes and me to attend. It's the day after Draco's birthday, so 6 June."

"How about we plan on 1 August?" Cedric asked. "For both mine and Charlie's weddings to Harry."

"That works for me, although we'll also have to find out when Neville's weddings are," Harry said. "His birthday is 30 July, and that'll be a busy day too since you've got Neville's weddings to Grayson and Jordan, plus Grayson and Jordan's wedding."

"True, but remember that Grayson and Jordan are both of age," Jean-Luc said. "So they could get married tomorrow if they wanted to. Although they likely won't because since they're both nobles, it's a court function and thus they have to schedule it with at least a couple months advance notice, so that as much of the court, as in the other nobles, can attend. Otherwise, you risk resentments which could pose problems once Wes takes the throne and starts trying to reform the Pendragon Court."

Recognizing that fact from what training he'd already received for years due to his position as the first-born son of the Prince of Wales, Wesley nodded and said, "True. Well, one easy way to find out, I guess," as he stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "Only the drawing room fireplace is connected for Floo Travel, but the bedroom fireplaces have been hooked up to allow for Floo Calls."

"I imagine Neville should be able to answer most of these questions," Charlie said. "Grayson is his second cousin, so they've probably talked about it, especially since they're both marrying Jordan. The Longbottom's estate is Lakeview Hall, which is in England."

Wesley nodded as he reached up to a small urn on the mantle, removed the lid and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder from within. Harry had seen the urn but had thought it was just decorative and thus hadn't actually looked inside of it. Kneeling down in front of the fireplace, Wesley took a deep breath and threw the powder into the flames before saying, "Lakeview Hall, England, Albion," before sticking his face in the flames after they turned green.

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Meanwhile, over at Lakeview Hall, Dowager-Teryna Augusta Longbottom had just sat down to enjoy a cup of tea, when there was a whooshing noise from the fireplace as the Floo activated. A moment later, the head of a young boy appeared in the flames. Cocking her head, Augusta thought the boy looked familiar, but his name was escaping her. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Dowager-Teryna Longbottom, I presume?"

"Yes, young man, that's me. And you are?"

"Wesley Windsor. I'm a housemate of Neville's at Hogwarts."

Augusta's eyes widened as she realized why the boy looked familiar. She'd met him at the bank the day Neville had done the Rite of Inheritance and he'd later attended Frank and Alice's funeral. On neither occasion had they really talked much, but she still knew who he was, especially after he'd been formally announced at the funeral.

"Apologies for not recognizing you, Your Highness," Augusta said, as she stood up and curtseyed. After she was seated again since it hurt her neck to look down at the face in the fireplace from a standing position, she added, "I'm afraid Neville is out at the moment. He went shopping with his Great-Grandaunt Callidora and I don't expect them back for another hour at least, as they were going to go out to dinner afterward. I was feeling a little under the weather, so I didn't accompany them."

"I hope you feel better, ma'am," Wesley said. "Although, you might be able to help me. I'm up at my family's castle in Scotland with a few of my friends and future husbands, including Harry Potter. We were just trying to work out dates for our weddings. And I know that Neville's and Harry's birthdays are only a day apart so we wanted to check and make sure we didn't have conflicting dates."

Augusta nodded. "Thank you. I am feeling better than when they left. Anyway, Grayson and Jordan have picked 19 June for their wedding. The invitations should be going out within the next day or so. As for Neville's weddings to Grayson and Jordan, they haven't made a firm decision yet, beyond narrowing it down to the two weekends following Neville's birthday. So 31 July and 1 or 7 August, as they said they were told to avoid waiting until the last day imposed by the Rite."

"That's true, we were told that," Wesley confirmed. "Well, Harry has tentatively scheduled his weddings to Cedric Diggory and Charlie Weasley for 1 August. And I would suggest that Neville eliminate 7 August from his thoughts because that's Carter and Hunter Wells' thirteenth birthday, so there's already going to be six weddings that day. My contracts stipulate that Hunter has to be my first husband so my other two can't happen until after I marry him. And other than his wedding to me, Hunter has one other wedding that day, plus Carter has two."

"Yes that would make it a very busy day indeed," Augusta said. "Well, then it sounds like perhaps 31 July would be the best bet for Neville's weddings, in order to spread things out a little. It would be much easier if we could schedule it for during the week, but that would cause issues with the various lords who work during the week. It's enough time that they could get time off, but some would resent having to use one of their vacation days that they could otherwise use to take their family on holiday. So it's sort of an unwritten rule that weddings and other court functions are scheduled to occur only on weekends."

Wesley nodded. "Yes, I've been told that. Anyway, I'd better get back to my friends and let you get back to your tea. Thank you, Lady Longbottom, you've been most helpful."

"It was my pleasure, Your Highness," Augusta said, before the pair exchanged goodbyes, after which Wesley pulled his head out of the flames and closed the connection.

-o-0-o-

Relaying what he'd got from Augusta, Wesley then Floo Called Cormac over at the McLaggen family's ancestral home—Kinloch Hold—from whom he found out that Cormac and Seamus planned to wed the weekend following Seamus's birthday, placing their wedding on 15 May.

With the calls he needed to make complete, Wesley returned the lid to the urn and then made his way back to the sofa next to the twins. As he was sitting down, Cedric said, "While you were making those calls, Luke and I picked 4 July for our wedding."

Jean-Luc nodded. "Yes, so now that we have the dates, we can get them to the printers and they can get invitations made and sent out. And we can also let the wedding planners have at it."

Carter grinned. "Well, now that that's taken care of, how about we talk about something more fun? Like, say honeymoons?"

Hunter nodded in agreement with his twin, as Charlie smiled and said, "While I agree that is a more fun topic, I'm not sure there's going to be a whole lot of time after some of the weddings for a proper trip. What with the new school year at Hogwarts starting in less than a month."

"Hmm, given that so many of us are going to be married to each other anyway," Cedric said, "maybe we should all just go on one group trip together."

Jean-Luc looked thoughtful for a moment as he said, "Perhaps we could spend a few days at my townhouse in Paris. And then take a longer and more exotic trip later."

"What did you have in mind, Luke?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was going to keep this a secret," Jean-Luc answered, "as a surprise for Charlie, but I don't think he'd mind if you all came with us."

"Came with us where babe?" Charlie asked as he raised an eyebrow at Jean-Luc. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Jean-Luc grinned as he leaned over and kissed Charlie on the lips, before he said, "Well, I was talking with my travel agent yesterday and I was thinking of booking us a trip aboard the wizarding version of the Orient Express. It sets out from Platform Seven-and-a-Half at King's Cross Station and visits all of the wizarding districts of various cities on the continent. There are a few different routes to choose from, depending on what cities you want to visit but they all end up in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire." Looking over at Wesley and Harry, he added, "Or in the muggle world, Istanbul in modern-day Turkey."

"That does sound pretty cool," Wesley said, as several others nodded.

"I didn't even know there was a Platform Seven-and-a-Half at King's Cross," Harry commented.

"There are several magical platforms," Charlie said. "Although a lot of them are only available during special events, such as Celestina Warbeck concerts, which draw a lot of people from the continent. Although Albion is hosting the Quidditch World Cup in the summer of 1994, so that'll be another event that opens up several of the extra platforms, as lots of people from all over the globe will be coming in to see it."

"So which cities does this train actually visit?" Harry asked. Until last year when he started at Hogwarts, Harry had never left England and this trip to Balmoral was the first time he'd vacationed outside of England. So a trip to continental Europe did sound quite appealing.

"Well, as I said it does depend on which route you choose," Jean-Luc said. He fell silent for a moment, before he said, "Why don't I just get my travel agent on the Floo? She can probably explain things better than I can."

Everyone else nodded before Jean-Luc stood up and got some Floo powder from the urn. After a brief conversation, Jean-Luc pulled his head out of the flames but didn't close the connection as he returned to his seat. As he was sitting down a female head appeared in the flames.

"Hello Giselle," Jean-Luc said, before proceeding to introduce Giselle Charpentier, the granddaughter of Jean-Claude Charpentier, a famed wandmaker who was essentially Garrick Ollivander's French counterpart. Jean-Claude ran the flagship store of Charpentier's Instruments of Magic—crafters of superior wands since 387 BC—in Le Vieux Marché, which was the Parisian equivalent of Diagon Alley. Instead of following her father into her grandfather's business, however, she opted to follow her mother into the travel business. Giselle was also one of the few people who knew that Luka da Vinci and Jean-Luc Flamel were one and the same, as the Flamels had counted the Charpentier family among their closest friends and allies for over two-hundred years.

Once the formal introductions were made, Jean-Luc said, "Anyway, I know when we last talked that I was interested in the Orient Express trip as a surprise for Charlie. However, since then as you've probably read in the papers, I underwent the Rite of Inheritance. What wasn't included in the papers is that I inherited three marriage contracts."

After giving Giselle a rundown on the contracts, she grinned and said, "Let me get this straight, Luke. You're saying that you're going to be King-Consort of Albion and Iwernia, as the second husband of the restored Pendragon monarchy?"

"Yeah, I am," Jean-Luc answered. "Although it's highly unlikely that Hunter's or my children with Wesley will ever inherit the throne."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because my contract with Wesley is between the Houses of Varenus and Emrys," Hunter answered. "And stipulates that our children bear the Emrys surname. Similarly, Will's contract with Luke is between the Houses of DeBois and Hogwarts, with the children bearing the DeBois surname."

Grinning at Harry, Charlie said, "Your contract, on the other hand, is between the Houses of Pendragon and Gryffindor, with the children bearing the Pendragon name… so it'll be your children with Wes that are first in line to the throne, even if Hunter or Luke end up having children with him first."

Harry looked a bit gobsmacked at that, as he tried to wrap his head around the idea that he was going to be the parent of royalty. That was definitely one of the last things he expected to hear.

"Anyway, Giselle, with all the weddings happening," Jean-Luc said, "we're obviously going to need to plan a grand honeymoon trip and that made me think about our conversation about the Orient Express."

"That would be a good honeymoon trip," Giselle said. "Do you have an idea of when you want to go on this trip?"

"Well, I imagine things will be a little too busy immediately after the weddings," Jean-Luc said. "So perhaps over the Hogwarts Winter Break next year? I figured we could ride the Hogwarts Express down to King's Cross and go immediately over to Platform 7 ½ and get on the train to Calais."

Giselle nodded, as she thought for a moment, before she grinned and said, "Luke, I think I can safely say that if you so desire, you don't actually have to come down to King's Cross to board, as a train can be diverted up to Hogsmeade to pick you up if you want. My husband, in case you forgot, sits on the Board of Directors for the Compagnie Internationale des Sorcier Wagons-Lits, the owners of the Wizarding Orient Express. So, for such distinguished clientele as yourselves, they'd likely be willing to construct a custom, private train for your exclusive use, at which point you can do practically any itinerary that you want."

Wesley grinned. "As much as I'm still a bit leery about being King, I've gotta admit that there are some definite perks to being rich and well-connected." Several of the others nodded.

"You really think that Jean-Mark would be willing to do that?" Jean-Luc asked. Jean-Mark Mergeron was Giselle's husband, but she chose not to take his name when they got married, as she'd always had a bit of a feminist streak.

Giselle nodded. "Even if it was just you asking, Luke, he'd be willing. But for you, several members of Albion's highest nobility and the future Pendragon monarch? I guarantee you that Jean-Mark will have no trouble convincing the rest of the board… they'll be bending over backward to do everything they can to make such distinguished patrons as happy as possible. Because when it gets out that the Crown Prince Pendragon is traveling with them, their ticket sales will increase ten-fold and more than make up for the cost of a private train."

"While I appreciate the gesture," Wesley said, "I'd rather not owe the company a debt of gratitude for my honeymoon. So, I'll at least want to pay for operating costs for the train while we're using it."

"Of course, Your Highness," Giselle said. "I'm sure they'll have no problems with that. In fact, they'd probably even let you buy the train if you really wanted to. It would be a totally customized model, after all, exclusively for your use and nobody else's. But whether you own it or they do, they'll be more than happy to continue managing its operation for you and making sure that it gets the necessary maintenance."

"So, with the use of a private train, I guess we have more options then if we were just passengers on the normal Orient Express?" Carter asked. Giselle nodded. "Do you have any suggestions?"

With a smile, Giselle said, "Well, one of our most popular packages at the moment is for a whirlwind tour of Europe, which would basically have you visiting a different European city every day. It's particularly popular among our less-traveled clients who want to see their options in person. They will often then book future vacations for longer periods in the cities they particularly enjoyed so that they can spend more time there. Normally, I'd be arranging for Portkeys and hotel accommodations, but with the private train, you could easily travel from city to city while you sleep on the train and then spend the majority of the day in whatever city."

"Well, that would certainly save us from the monotony of packing and unpacking at each destination," Hunter said with a grin. "As we'd basically have a hotel on wheels."

"Precisely," Giselle agreed. "Anyway, as I said, the train could be diverted up to Hogsmeade to pick you up. So, it would arrive say an hour or two after the Hogwarts Express leaves to take the rest of the students back to King's Cross. You'd then travel south, pass through London and Calais… I'd suggest Brussels, Belgium as a first destination. From there you could go up to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and then on to Berlin, Germany, before heading for Strasbourg, France and on to Zurich, Switzerland."

"That sounds good," Jean-Luc said. "I think a few stops in Italy would be nice too, but I suppose we do have time to work this out, as this trip isn't happening for over a year."

"Yes, I'll put a few ideas together," Giselle said. "And I'll talk to Jean-Mark and get the arrangements made for the train. If there's going to be more than just the seven of you on this trip—as I'm sure Wesley at least will have security traveling with him—start thinking about how many rooms you'll need so that Jean-Mark and the board know how many sleeping cars will need to be constructed to accommodate your party."

Nodding, Jean-Luc said, "Will do, thank you, Giselle."

"You're welcome, Luke," Giselle said. "You know I'm always happy to help you. For now, enjoy the rest of your evening." The connection closed soon afterward.

Looking over at the clock on the mantle, Wesley said, "Well, it looks like it's time for dinner. So we should probably get downstairs before somebody comes looking for us."

Harry grinned. "Yes, I can only imagine what your Mum would think if she found no sign of you or the others in your bedrooms and the door to Cedric's and my room is magically locked."

"Mum is already leery enough about the weddings," Wesley said, with a slight shudder. "So I'd rather she not think we're having an orgy or something."

"How do you even know that word at your age?" Charlie asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out after Luke and I are married," Wesley said with a grin, before he stood up, pulled out his wand, unlocked the door, and left the room.

"We're definitely going to have our hands full with that one," Charlie said.

"In more ways than one," Hunter agreed. "I'm still processing the whole Emperor-Consort thing."

"Yes, Wes won't be the first royal I've been with," Jean-Luc said, "but I've never been married to a royal and ended up with a significant title because of it. Anyway, we should go."

-o-0-o-

The next morning, Wesley and his friends came down to breakfast to find the table a lot fuller than normal.

"Good morning," Wesley said. "Um, how are we explaining to the muggle staff that the table and room are bigger than they were yesterday?"

"We're not," Evangeline said. "They were all sent up to the main house to work on tomorrow night's dinner. So Dylan lent us his house-elves to cook and serve today."

As if on cue, Mopsy chose that moment to appear and spotting Wesley and his friends she smiled and said, "Good morning. Please have a seat." And then to Carter and Hunter, she added, "Mopsy will be bringing out your favorites soon, Masters Carter and Hunter."

Carter grinned at his twin as they took a seat.

"Special treatment, huh?" Wesley asked them as he sat down next to Hunter.

"Well, Mopsy has been serving our family since before we were born," Hunter said.

Carter nodded. "Yes, she's always been very fond of us… although she's the most loyal to great-gran."

"Mopsy has been with the family since before my father was born," Dylan said. "So that's going on seventy years now."

"I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I first saw her," Dawn said. "Quite a bit different from the kind of household staff that I'm used to."

"Why do you use those creatures?" Clayton asked. "Why not use human staff members?"

"Because most witches and wizards wouldn't be willing to take on domestic work in somebody else's home as a job," Thorne explained. "And human staff tend to prefer to have a specific job rather than doing everything the way house-elves do."

"Human staff would also have to be paid money," Dylan added. "House-elves are paid with room and board and nothing else. I must stress, however, that they don't want money as they have no use for it in their everyday lives and would be insulted if it was offered."

"That almost sounds like slavery," Everett said.

"I can see how it might sound like that," Jean-Luc said. "However, house-elves also get other benefits from bonding with a family, such as more powerful magic, longer lives, and a general increase in their health and well-being. Un-bonded house-elves usually have weaker magic, myriad health problems, and tend to die young."

"That's awful," Dawn said.

"Yes, it is," Dylan agreed. "A few people have tried to figure out a way to fix those issues without the bonding, but they've never gotten very far because it's so ingrained in house-elf culture that they're supposed to serve wizarding families that almost none of them are willing to participate in any study that would free them from their service. As the vast majority of them view being free as the worst insult you could possibly inflict upon them."

"Of course, considering that you may well be sentencing them to ill health and an early grave," Thorne said, "it's quite a bit more than just an insult."

"Bound, house-elves can easily live to be over a hundred years old," Jean-Luc explained. "There are even documented cases of elves that lived for over twice that long. Unbound, however, they're very unlikely to live past their thirtieth year."

"Well, that's certainly a marked difference," Augusta said. "Given that, I suppose I can see why they would prefer to keep their symbiotic relationship with wizardkind going."

The table was silent for the next several minutes, as the assembled people ate their breakfasts. When he was finished, Wesley asked, "So are you all coming to the games today?"

Clayton nodded. "Yes. I had nothing on my schedule and I thought it would be interesting to see the differences between the games in the muggle and magical worlds."

Dawn, Augusta, Everett, and the Queen Mother all indicated they had similar reasons for deciding to attend. Patrick was going in order to be by his wife's side, and Evangeline felt somewhat remiss in not attending many wizarding events during her tenure on the throne. So now that her time would be ending in a few years, she decided she wanted to change that while she still could.

Andrew had an event to attend for one of the charities he sponsored so he wouldn't be coming, and Sheryl was staying home with Beverly and Emily, who were too young to appreciate the games anyway. Parker and Zelda were accompanying their mother, however, as they'd been super excited the moment they found out about them and the fact that they'd be allowed to go. Thus, the people of Hogsmeade were no doubt in for quite a surprise when after over a century of having none of the royal family turn up, almost the entire house was going to be there now.

Seeing that everyone seemed to be finished eating, Dylan stood up and said, "Right, well, I guess we should get going. Before we do, however, Thorne and I will have to cast the necessary spells on those of you who aren't magical so that you'll actually be able to see Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. As I think you'll all agree that going to an event at which you can't see anything would be quite pointless."

-o-0-o-

Twenty minutes later, all of the royals who were attending were properly bespelled and they'd all gathered outside of Craigowan Lodge. "Brace yourselves," Dylan said, more or less for the Queen Mother's benefit, as he raised his wand and summoned the Knight Bus. A moment later there was a loud bang, followed by a horn and the hiss of air brakes as the large, triple-decker bus appeared out of nowhere and came to a stop a couple feet away from the group.

Dylan, Thorne, Wesley, Evangeline, Clayton, Dawn, Charlie, and Jean-Luc had all seen the bus before and thus didn't react much to its sudden appearance. The same could not be said, however, for the Queen Mother, Patrick, Everett, Augusta, Parker, Zelda, Holden, Harry, Cedric, Carter, and Hunter who had never seen it before. While the latter three had grown up in the magical world, thus far, they'd never needed to use the Knight Bus, as they'd always had other means of transport at their disposal.

As the bus came to a stop, Sam Shunpike appeared at the entrance to the bus with a pimply-faced young man who didn't look much older than about seventeen or eighteen. Recognizing the group, Sam elbowed the young man, who clearly wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, in the ribs and mouthed, "Stan, pay attention," before turning to the group and smiling as he said, "Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. I'm your conductor, Sam Shunpike, and this is my grandson, conductor-in-training, Stan Shunpike."

"Hello Sam, Stan," Dylan said. "We need transport up to Hogsmeade for the Highland Games."

Sam nodded. "I figured. Today is one of those rare days that the upper levels actually get used." Turning to Stan, he said, "Stan, make yourself useful and go divert the passengers on the first level up to the second and third. We're about to have royalty on the bus."

"Right," Stan said as he disappeared into the interior of the bus, and Sam smiled as he bowed and said, "Well, it's a pleasure to see you again, Your Majesty."

"You've traveled on this… thing… before?" the Queen Mother asked.

With a nod, Evangeline said, "Yes, Mother. Dawn rode it with Wesley when he went school shopping before his first year. And Clayton, Dawn, and I all took it up to Hogsmeade when we met with the Headmaster following Wesley's detention last year."

"I assure you that it's perfectly safe, Ma'am," Dylan said. "It's the best way to transport non-magical people up to Hogsmeade. As none of the other methods we normally use will work for them."

"Well, I suppose the Hogwarts Express would work," Thorne said, "but we'd have to go down to King's Cross to board it. Not that the Express will be there at this point, as it would have left a few hours ago to bring people up for the games."

"Yes, that is one advantage for the Knight Bus," Jean-Luc said. "It's much faster than the Express."

"How can a bus be faster than a train?" Parker asked.

"Well, it helps that Hogsmeade is in Scotland and we're already in Scotland," Dylan said. "Also you have to take into consideration that the Hogwarts Express is pulled by a Hall class GWR steam locomotive acquired by the Ministry for Magic to serve primarily as the school train in 1835. However, unlike the train, the Knight Bus has been painstakingly charmed so that it can travel at speeds of over about fifty kilometers a second."

"Some people have suggested over the years that the Express be sped up so that it could leave King's Cross at 11 AM and arrive in Hogsmeade in less than an hour," Thorne added. "But the idea is always shot down, as it's believed that it's a good idea to give the students some time to settle down from their summer vacation and catch up with their friends."

"And for the more unscrupulous, the longer they're on the train," Jean-Luc said, "the more likely they are to buy stuff from the Honeydukes Express," at the questioning looks, he added, "the snack trolley."

"Well, everybody aboard," Dylan said. "The Highland Games await. The fare still free of charge, Sam?"

Sam nodded. "For members of the royal family and their escorts? Yes, the fare is free. Two sickles per person for hot chocolate and/or hot water bottles and a toothbrush in the color of your choice."

"I think we can all skip the hot water bottles and toothbrushes, Sam," Evangeline said as she boarded the bus first. Over her shoulder, she said, "I do suggest that everyone get a cup of hot chocolate, however. It's delicious and will help calm your nerves."

-o-0-o-

It took about twenty minutes for the Knight Bus to arrive in Hogsmeade, but the bus traveled in alphabetical order and it was on its regularly scheduled stops starting with the letter J when the royals boarded. Still, they all had to admit that it was definitely very fast, seeing as how it could literally travel anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland within seconds.

Dylan disembarked first and turned, offering his hand to Evangeline and helped her off the bus, followed by the Queen Mother, Augusta, Dawn, and Zelda. As the men and boys were getting off the bus, Dylan smiled and said, "Welcome to the Village of Hogsmeade."

Colorful bunting in several different colors, including a few tartans, were strung up from building to building all down the main street. As the Knight Bus disappeared, a large cloth sign came into view which said, "The Hogsmeade Royal Highland Society welcomes you to the 3,987th Annual Highland Games!"

"3,987 years?" Everett asked, clearly shocked.

Wesley just grinned. "Well, uncle, I did say that the Pendragons had a claim on the throne of Albion and Iwernia that dated back more than five thousand years before the Norman Conquest."

"Yes, you did," Everett admitted. "I guess I just wasn't expecting the evidence of that to be so prominently displayed."

"If these games have been running every year for nearly 4,000 years," Augusta said, "they must be the oldest highland games in the country."

"They are," Jean-Luc confirmed. "The first muggle highland games weren't held until 1314 when Robert the Bruce granted a charter for them in recognition of the villager's support in the Battle of Bannockburn. What muggle history doesn't mention, however, is that one of Robert's grandchildren was muggleborn and it was from their stories of Hogwarts and the magical version of the Highland Games that Robert got the idea."

"I thought it was illegal to talk about the magical world to non-magical people?" Zelda asked.

"It is now," Charlie said. "But the Statute of Secrecy is a seventeenth-century law that simply didn't exist in the fourteenth."

Nobody else said anything for a while, as they were all too distracted looking at the various sights that could be seen up and down the streets of the village. It was a lot busier than the last time that Clayton, Dawn, and Evangeline had visited. As they hadn't yet started their second years, Harry, Wesley, and the twins didn't have Hogsmeade privileges yet, so they hadn't really been to the village much, but it was still busier than they'd ever seen it as they were arriving on or boarding the Hogwarts Express.

One section of the street seemed to be dedicated to a variety of food vendors selling a wide array of various food, drinks, snacks, and decadent baked goods. One vendor even had a cake displayed in a glass case that was a perfect replica of Hogwarts Castle and its grounds, complete with the Quidditch Pitch—which had little, animated players zooming around above it—and the Black Lake, from which the tentacles of the giant squid came up out of the water at random intervals.

A bit further down, there was a wide array of stalls selling various craft and specialty products from all over the islands, many of which were not things that were normally found in stores. A large white tent was set up on the green next to Hogsmeade Station, a large charmed board next to it which displayed the day's events and what time they'd be held. Tapping any of the events on the board with one's wand made a 3D map appear in mid-air next to the board giving directions.

Guiding the royal family towards the large tent and the table in front of it, Dylan said, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Lord Wells," the witch behind it said. "Did you want access to the VIP tent? The Minister and his entourage arrived not long ago."

"Yes, I suppose we should drop in for a few minutes, at least," Dylan said, as he leaned down and signed the book that visitors to the VIP tent were required to sign. "I'm escorting several members of the royal family today including Her Majesty the Queen."

"The Queen? Here?" the witch asked, clearly shocked, as a few other nearby people looked up, equally shocked. It had been over a hundred years since the monarch had attended the Highland Games, as the last one to attend had been Queen Victoria the year before she stepped back from governing the magical world personally.

Before Dylan could say anything, a new voice said, "Well, let's not stand around, shall we? Let's get them into the tent. I can't wait to see the look on old Fudge's face when he realizes that he's not going to be the center of attention today."

Smiling, Dylan said, "Morning, Bruce," as he turned to face the smiling face of Lord Bruce McLaggen, who often served as the Master of Ceremonies for the games since they were held on his lands. Motioning towards Evangeline, he said, "Bruce, allow me to introduce you to Her Majesty Queen Evangeline and some of her family. Your Majesty, this is Lord-Teryn Bruce McLaggen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," Bruce said, with a bow. Motioning towards the two women and the teenage boy standing just behind him, he said, "May I present my wives, Caroline and Victoria McLaggen, and Caroline's and my son, Cormac."

"Hey Cormac," Wesley said with a smile to his friend and housemate. With a cheeky grin, he added, "Nice legs," since Cormac, like his father, were both wearing kilts.

Cormac grinned and said, "Hey Wes, Harry, Carter, Hunter. Good to see you."

Once each member of the family and their guests had paused to sign the book, everyone followed Bruce into the VIP tent. Bruce smirked when he saw Cornelius Fudge holding court in the center of the tent. Many of the royals, meanwhile, were shocked to see that the interior of the tent looked more like a high-end luxury hotel lounge than a tent.

"We certainly don't get this standard of accommodation at the Braemar Gathering," Clayton whispered to his father, who nodded in agreement.

"Or even at the garden parties at Buckingham Palace," Everett added softly, as he looked around in awe at the fact that despite knowing he was in a tent because he'd seen the outside of it, there wasn't a single thing in sight on the inside which said tent.

Where one might expect to find the floor to be grass, instead it was made of highly polished black and white marble with golden inlay between the square tiles. There were several seating groups situated around the tent, consisting of plush red velvet sofas and chairs resting atop rugs of the finest handwoven and knotted silk. The closest rug had a massive black dragon embroidered on it and several of the non-magical people were surprised to see that they could actually see the dragon's chest expanding as it breathed, a moment before some of them jumped slightly when animated flames shot out of the dragon's mouth.

Golden chandeliers covered in the finest crystal hung from the ceiling, as a pair of house-elves popped about the room with trays of drinks, a third manning a full bar off to one side. Stepping over to the trumpeters near the door, Bruce whispered something to one of them, whose eyes widened slightly before he nodded and directed his fellows to raise the trumpets to their lips.

A moment later, the trumpeters played a fanfare, causing all eyes to move towards the doors… and that is what they were as there was no sign of a tent flap. Many of them confused because usually the only person who got a trumpet fanfare upon entering the tent was Minister Fudge and he'd arrived about twenty minutes ago. The Minister did not look exactly happy to see somebody else getting the treatment that was usually reserved for him, but before he could say a word in complaint, Bruce smiled and said, "Presenting Her Majesty Evangeline I of the House of Windsor, Queen of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, and Empress of India."

Evangeline stepped forward and nodded slightly to the astonished faces, as several people throughout the room bowed and curtsied, as Bruce continued, "Accompanied by Her Majesty Evangeline of the House of Windsor, Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, and Their Royal Highnesses Prince Patrick, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Clayton, the Prince of Wales, Princess Dawn, the Princess of Wales, and their son Prince Holden, the Prince Everett, Princess Augusta, the Princess Royal, and her children, Parker and Zelda Prentice."

Wesley looked slightly surprised when Bruce didn't mention his name along with Holden's but this omission was explained when Bruce added, "Also accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Wesley of the Foremost Ancient and Royal House of Pendragon, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia, the Britannic Empire, and the Seven Kingdoms, Lord-Varteryl of the Uttermost Ancient and Noble Houses of DeBois and Emrys."

Several jaws were on the ground after that announcement and nobody said anything for several minutes before finally Cornelius Fudge gathered himself and stepped forward, removing his lime green bowler hat from his head with a ridiculous flourish, and bowed low, before he said, "Your Majesty, what an unexpected pleasure."

"Minister Fudge," Evangeline said. "How nice to see you again." If that came out a little strained, nobody dared comment on it.

Patrick couldn't help but grin slightly at his wife's back, as he could tell just by her mannerisms and tone that she didn't like Fudge and had enjoyed taking him down a peg or three. Not that she would ever admit to that aloud, of course.

At this point, the large group of royals split up and began mingling, as the adults each took a glass of champagne from the house-elves trays. After a sip, Clayton asked what vintage it was, at which point the house-elf answered, "Chateaux de Lavoisier, 1641."

Clayton looked shocked at that, as he would have expected champagne that old to taste like vinegar, but Jean-Luc who was standing nearby said, "Lavoisier Vineyards in Versailles, France is one of the wizarding world's premier vineyards. As for the year, Preservation Charms are a wonderful thing."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Part 3 of Chapter 15. I was originally going to include the games themselves in this chapter and not just the royals arriving at them, but I think I'll need at least a few thousand words to do them justice and this chapter is already approaching 12,000. I know I've written longer ones in the past, but I'm trying to limit the length these days, to make the chapters more manageable.

So next chapter will be Chapter 16 and the actual games, the dinner with the Dursleys, and the pre-second-year Diagon Alley shopping trip will be in it, with Second Year officially starting in Chapter 17.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at .