The Hogwarts Express (somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh), two hours later . . .
"Of COURSE I'll be there, Drake! You don't have to worry about that!"
Hearing that from Pansy, Draco then smiled. "I'll see you then."
With that, he walked out. As always, he was accompanied by Vincent and Gregory as he moved to return to his own compartment somewhere else on the train. As soon as he was gone and the door had closed, Achelois drew an ofuda Chikage had given her to fling against the door to magically seal it. "I don't know why you didn't ask for me to do that for you earlier, Pansy," the elder daughter of the Runcorn family then mused as she gazed on her housemate, who was seated beside Millicent opposite Achelois and Camellia. "I know how much you hate dealing with the berk."
A sigh. "Like it or not, I have to keep up appearances," Pansy noted.
"Why?" Camellia wondered as she crossed her arms. "Your family is as wealthy as Draco's. Even more so, your family - due to its dealings in the normal world - can't be assaulted financially as easily as the Malfoys and the other 'wizarding-only' rich families can be. Why worry about someone like Draco? Yes, he does seem to be showing some signs of independent thinking, but in many ways, he's still too dependent on his father's reputation and influence to really start making waves. He shouldn't be of any real concern of yours, much less Daphne's. Relax and be yourself for a change."
Pansy gazed at her, and then she smirked. "Melli, why is it your family doesn't participate in the Wizengamot? Much less yours?" she asked Achelois. "Between both your families, you control two of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses, a Most Noble House and a Noble House. That's a total of eleven seat votes in the Wizengamot . . . "
"But what does the Wizengamot do, Pansy?" Achelois asked.
Silence.
"It makes the laws . . . " Millicent began.
"Of course it does. But it doesn't answer to the WHOLE electorate," Camellia instantly cut in. "Only the Minister himself does since voting for him is the ONLY time that EVERYONE is permitted a chance to have a say in who serves."
"Not everyone, Melli," Achelois warned.
The silver-haired girl perked, and then she nodded. "Ah, yes, I forgot. Lunar therianthropes can't vote. Neither can so-called 'half-breeds' . . . "
"I didn't know that!" Millicent blurted out.
"Did you ever ask your parents if they ever voted for Fudge or Bagnold before him, Millie?" Camellia then asked. "I'll lay bets that your father and grandmother never could vote."
The stocky girl blinked as she took that in, and then she sat back in her chair. "Bugger!" she exhaled. And with good reason: her father Peter was two generations removed from giant stock through his own mother Callander, who could easily look Rubeus Hagrid right in the eye! "Why does he pay taxes to the Ministry if he can't vote?"
"He doesn't know better," Camellia answered with a shrug. "Of course, if he wishes to be free of such a burden, he could simply ask to have his family join the Loyal Magical Wicks - the magical communities - in Buckinghamshire . . . "
A knock then echoed from the door. They turned to look, and then Camellia opened it to allow Chikage inside. "Are you alright, Pansy?" the traveller asked.
Pansy blinked. As she had done on the trip to Hogwarts back in September, she had taken the compartment next to Harry's on the trip back to London . . . though on remembering that, she then recalled that Brianna Spinks had been with Achelois that day in lieu of Camellia Matthews, while Tracey Davis had accompanied Pansy. "I'm fine."
A knowing look crossed the other girl's face. "You sure?"
Millicent sighed. "Draco was by."
Chikage took that in, and then she nodded as she closed the door behind her to allow the ofuda to once again block any noise from outside. "What was he doing?"
"Parroting his father as usual," Pansy stated. "He wants to make sure that I'm there at the Yule Levée at the Doge mansion. He's probably doing the same thing with Daph and Trace right now wherever they're sitting." She nodded behind her in emphasis.
"Most likely, he's just repeating what his father wanted him to say," Achelois added. "That's to be expected in this case, Chikage."
A nod. "Walk with me, Pansy."
Pansy jolted on sensing the slight edge of command in the traveller's voice, and then she stood up to follow Chikage out of the room. The others watched them go, and then they exchanged looks. "What the hell's she gonna do?" Millicent asked.
"I can't say," Camellia answered, shrugging.
Meanwhile, Chikage and Pansy were making their way to the last compartment in their car. "Fortunately for us, since many people stay behind for the holidays, we have places to have some private discussions," she mused as she beckoned her classmate into the compartment, then closed the door behind her before affixing an ofuda there to ensure no outside noise could seep in. "Are you alright?" she asked again.
The raven-haired native of Lancaster took a moment to consider that, and then she sighed. There were times she had to play the game to protect herself and ensure she was safe, her mother had advised her. There were also times when the game wasn't necessary. Recalling that, she then realised that was what had attracted Pansy to join the "defence club" Chikage and Harry organised back in September. Yes, said club had five other Slytherin freshmen as a part of it . . . which would, under NORMAL circumstances, have made it quite tense given that it was often believed in the Serpents' Den that - to borrow a phrase from a popular wrestler - you couldn't trust ANYONE! Still, Pansy would and did trust Daphne and Tracey with her life; their shared friendship had started when they were babies and had grown to the point where they were sisters in all but name these days. Millicent was really harmless deep down despite her size and toughness; she was, at heart, a farmer's daughter who had learned things that "city" girls wouldn't know at all and, despite her desire to succeed in life, really wouldn't hurt a fly in the long term. Achelois and Camellia - thanks to their dressing down of Draco on their first night at Hogwarts - had earned a very hard reputation among both their peers and their elders as being nearly untouchable.
"Not really," she confessed as she gazed up at the traveller, and then she took a deep breath before drawing out her wand and pointing it at her face.
One "Finite Incantatem" later, Chikage's eyebrow arched. "I thought I had sensed something like that," she mused, a smile of admiration crossing her face. "I would assume it was either your father or your mother that set that up for you."
Pansy nodded. "Dad did. He didn't like the idea of people like Draco or Theo - much less any of the older years that would be more inclined to support Riddle and his ilk - preying on me in hopes of getting a trophy wife and a very sizable dowry." A sigh. "That's part of the reason I started to hate going to the Yule Levées and all the other events that we're always invited to. People have been scouting me out since I was eight. It's bad enough that marrying me guarantees a good dowry for the husband-to-be to spend to his heart's content. But to add beauty atop that . . . "
"Well, if you still happen to be interested in coming with me back to Megatōkyō, you won't have to worry about monetary questions," the traveller then advised as she sat down beside her friend, gently grasping her hands. "I'm a very frugal person and I have no desire to take any dowry should a relationship develop between us, never mind the matter of the inability to permanently transport specie from one dimension to another. Still, I should advise you that the Victims Memorial Association runs totally on charitable donations, though the Gringotts branch in Yoshiwara - that's the magical district in Megatōkyō; it's in Taitō Ward - helps with investments so that we can weather the leaner times whenever public donations get a little sparse."
"'Victims Memorial Association?'"
"The Second Kantō Victims Memorial Association. In the normal world, it's the non-governmental organisation which has been fighting for the creation of a standing memorial to the earthquake five years ago in my timeline as the city and its suburbs were rebuilt." Chikage then smiled as she gave her companion a knowing look. "In reality, the memorial's already been constructed; it went hand-in-hand with the Spiral. But since magic had to be used to build it, we had to mask it from outside view."
Pansy stared at her. "You said the Spiral was HOW high?"
"Twenty-five hundred metres from ground to tip."
A whistle escaped her. "That must be some muggle-repelling charm."
"Fortunately, given how much damage occurred and how many people died in the quake and what's been happening after the quake, there's enough free mana energy around to draw on to power both the normal-repelling charms and the illusion charms meant to keep the Spiral hidden. Remember when we were in the Room of Requirement?"
"Un."
"Remember the arcology I pointed out to everyone?"
A nod. "Genom, right?"
"The largest multinational on the planet and growing quite strong," Chikage explained. "Though the top tier of leaders are quite well-intentioned people, the sheer number of people involved in making such a zaibatsu - which is what it really is - run practically guarantees that there are going to be the arrogant, the selfish, the greedy, the ill-intentioned and the plain stupid in high positions of power. That more than guarantees people at the bottom of the latter in the company and beyond the company's employ will suffer whenever someone gets it into their heads to do something foolish. Especially when it comes to combat cyberdroids Genom is making."
Pansy blinked. "So they're acting like many purebloods here act."
"In a way, with a taste of what Tom and his friends unleashed, though it's not openly-declared warfare," Chikage affirmed with a nod of her head.
A sigh. "Nice town."
"Oh, there are people who stand up against it," the traveller reported; she had read about what had happened in Tōkyō as it had transformed into Megatōkyō in a special information file Ryūji had programmed into her PADD before she had crossed into this dimension. "One of them is Professor Stingray's elder daughter, Sylia. She's in the midst of preparing a team of fighters that will be able to step in whenever the local special police unit - the Advanced Police - can't handle the situation."
"Like the Order of the Phoenix, you mean?"
The traveller looked confused. "What was that?"
"Professor Dumbledore's organisation that he formed back in 1975 to stand up to the Death Eaters," the young heiress of the Parkinsons of Carnforth answered. "It actually had a lot of good people in it. Master Auror Alastor Moody, for example."
Chikage perked. "Is he still alive? He was a year behind Grandfather back at Hogwarts. He was on his way to getting a mastery in D.A.D.A. when Grandfather left."
"Oh, he's still alive. Retired, but still available to help with Auror training whenever Susan's aunt asks for him to come by the Academy." Pansy then sighed. "But the big problem with the Order was that - save for folks like Moody - it was more of an intelligence-gathering organisation than an actual combat group. That's pretty much what made Dad finally decide he would never support Dumbledore. The few times that the Order actually scored successes against Riddle's people, the captured Death Eaters were normally broken out of prison soon afterward so they could rejoin the ranks." She shook her head. "It was a war and the 'light' side wasn't prepared to fight it AS a war. The only real success against the Death Eaters until Riddle was dropped by Aunt Lily was Romney Marsh. Now that I know about what your grandfather had made when he was at Hogwarts on the side, something tells me the Magical Sheriffs were involved there."
"Do you still want to come with me?"
Silence.
Pansy gazed at Chikage, and then she sighed. "I am considering it."
"Like I told you back on Hallowe'en, Pansy, that's an EXTREME option to take."
"Even if a Life Debt is involved?"
A sigh. "Please don't tell me . . . "
Pansy shook her head. "No, I haven't done anything like that officially. But you have to admit, Chikage, magic has a funny way of enforcing that sort of thing."
A moan. "Oh, gods . . .!" Chikage breathed out as she found herself facing the one thing she didn't want to contemplate on her Magical Quest. Especially since she had ALSO told Pansy about how she herself had acquired a brand-new, healthy body thanks to the Janus process and Yoshio Saotome's vital research in rediscovering how bioroids could be created in such a way that anyone that required a complete "body-swap" could get one with incredible ease. "Pansy, think of your parents and Michael. Think of Daphne and Tracey as well. What would THEY think if you go forward with that?"
The other girl closed her eyes. "What if I have no choice in the matter?"
"Don't think that . . . "
"Chikage . . . "
"PLEASE!" the traveller snapped as she stared at her companion. "Pansy, I don't WANT something like THAT on my conscience! You might think that coming with me to Megatōkyō might be some great adventure, but I guarantee one thing: The INSTANT you acquire a body like mine - it being GROWN in MY universe! - the only way you could ever HOPE to come back home is just to VISIT!" A sigh. "Remember what I told Miss Braithwaite when she did that article on my arrival here in the Prophet. ONLY FOR ONE SOLAR YEAR can a person stay in another dimension! Come this summer, I HAVE to go to another dimension to ensure I don't get phased somewhere I don't WANT to be!"
Pansy moved to reply, and then she took a deep breath. "I like you."
Chikage closed her eyes. "I like you, too, Pansy. You're a wonderful person and a decent person deep down. You hold up to things that many other people just wouldn't bother wasting the energy to tolerate. But PLEASE . . . " She took a deep breath. "Do you think you're the only one who might want a change of scenery?"
"Eh?"
"When you go to the Sheriffs' Levée, I'll introduce you to Wilma Skegness."
Pansy blinked, and then she gaped. "You mean . . .?"
"There were a few people who had crushes on Grandfather when he was here."
Both gazed at each other, and then Pansy giggled before she found herself staring once more into Chikage's royal blue eyes. A second later, she leaned in to place a tender kiss on the traveller's lips. "I can't deny my feelings," she admitted before standing up and walking out of the compartment to rejoin her housemates.
The teenage traveller-in-a-child's body could only shake her head. "«You never told me about problems like THIS, Baka Ojii-san!»" she hissed out in Japanese . . .
London, King's Cross Station, five hours later . . .
"Why, Rose! Waiting for your brother?"
"Oh, hello, Minister," Rose said with a polite smile as she gazed on Cornelius Fudge. The Minister for Magic - along with a small entourage that included Delores Umbridge and John Dawlish as the minister's current Auror escort - had just apparated in from the Ministry complex located under Northumberland Avenue to join the small crowd of parents awaiting the arrival of the Hogwarts Express, which had just appeared in the haze up to the north. Given that it was a couple hours after sunset, Platform 9 3/4 glowed with magical gaslight. The weather was chilly, though not as cold and snowy as it was in the highlands of Scotland. "What brings you here?"
An embarrassed laugh. "Well, actually, I came here to see your brother, but since you're here as well, it's an extra bonus for me," Cornelius admitted. "Do you both realise you're the hardest pair of people to try to send an owl to?"
"Well, that is understandable, sir," Rose confessed. "Given all the mistakes people have made about what happened when the Slit-Eyed Albino came to kill my parents, my brother and I ten years ago . . . " - "Slit-Eyed Albino" was Rose's chosen nickname for Voldemort THIS month - " . . . you wouldn't BEGIN to believe what sort of fan-mail has been sent our way. Grandpapa set up mail-direction wards over our cousins' home in Little Whinging to keep the owls away. From what Harry told me, the pile of mail that finally had accumulated up in Hogwarts over ten years was as big as Grand-uncle Rubeus himself!" A shake of the head. "People sure can't get a story straight."
"What do you mean, Dame Rose?" John asked.
"It was MOM that took care of Riddle, Sergeant Dawlish." Rose then smiled at him. "By the way: Congratulations on your promotion." As the brown-haired auror with the pale blue eyes blushed at the young magical sheriff's acknowledgement of his recent promotion in the ranks of the Corps of Law Aurors, she turned back to Cornelius. "Much that I can understand why people wanted to have a hero to worship after that berk went down, they picked the wrong hero." A sigh. "At least the Queen acknowledged that."
"How so, young lady?"
Rose turned, and then she smiled as Augusta Longbottom came up to join them, accompanied by Grace. "Mom was awarded the George Cross for what she did to get rid of the creep," she explained. "It's the second-highest award for gallantry Her Majesty can bestow on any of her subjects. When you bring the Orders of Merlin together with the normal decorations, the G.C. is one step about a First Class Order of Merlin."
"Really?" John breathed out.
"That is NOT right!" Delores hissed out.
"Delores!" Cornelius snapped. "That's enough! Try to remember, our ancestors swore eternal fidelity - even for US - to the Crown when they wrote up the Separation Act. King William and Queen Mary gave it their blessings in the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1692, which means we are honour-bound to ACKNOWLEDGE that fact! If you have a problem with that, we may have to discuss certain future career opportunities."
The senior undersecretary blanched on hearing that veiled threat from the minister, and then she meekly nodded in understanding. "Well, at least Lily's work WAS properly acknowledged in the long term," Augusta stated. "But what of Sir Glaston?"
"Same thing, Grand-aunt Augusta," Rose assured her with a smile.
The matriarch of the Longbottoms of Bournemouth found herself blushing as her mind interpreted what Rose just called her. As Grace tried to fight down the urge to grin, a pop! nearby made the Magical Sheriff of Somerset turn to see her adopted mother then appear, accompanied by six other people. "Oh, there you are!" she said as she walked over to accept Petunia Dursley's embrace. "Was the traffic bad?"
"Not really, since we were driving INTO the city when everyone else was LEAVING it," Vernon assured her as he accepted his niece's embrace. "How are you, Rose?"
"I'm okay, Uncle!" Rose said before she embraced Dudley and Alfred.
Pop! "Mistress, the parents to the other normal-borns who are returning home for the holidays are still on the other side of the barrier," Tamara Simmonds stated as she bowed her head to her mistress, and then bowed again to the Dursleys. "Would you like me to have them brought here so they can greet their children?"
"Go ahead, Tamara," Rose said.
Pop! With that, Tamara was gone. "My God!" John gasped. "Was that an elf?"
"One of six Rose has," Vernon affirmed.
"Oh, my heavens . . .!"
Eyes turned to Augusta, who was staring in wide-eyed shock at Lilian Evans. The crimson-haired, green-eyed human-form elf smiled at her. "Hello, Augusta."
"Great Merlin! It's like looking at Lily Potter herself!" Cornelius gasped.
"Which a lot of people have said about me, Minister Fudge," Lilian stated. "It seems that Magic itself wanted me to be like this when Sir Glaston liberated me from my old owners due to their abuse of me, then put me through the Elf Evolution Chikage's grandfather developed when he was at Hogwarts. While Tamara and the others are like normal elves . . . " - she looked over as Tamara teleported back in, accompanied by Hermione Granger's parents Daniel and Jean, they also accompanied by Hermione's younger sister Clytemnestra ("Nessie" as she was normally known) - " . . . when Lily used the scrying room at Sir Glaston's home to copy her memories into me, it practically broke all the genetic programming I inherited from my ancestors. Save for the fact that I still have to be magically bound to a family. Which I am to Rose and Harry."
"It still isn't right!" Delores hissed out.
"What's not right?" Rose asked.
"Making elves look like THAT!" the senior undersecretary snapped as she waved at Lilian. "It'll put all sorts of foolish ideas into them! They were created to serve us! That is IT! There should be laws against that sort of . . .!"
"DELORES!" Cornelius snapped. "I will NOT have you insult all of Ryūji's hard work just because it offends your sensibilities!" Before the senior undersecretary could respond, the minister then gazed knowingly at Rose. "I would believe, Dame Magistrate Potter, one of the Magical Royal Proclamations covers this situation."
"The Magical Royal Proclamation of the Noble Tribes, 1815, Annex B, Paragraph Six," Rose automatically answered. "It is strictly forbidden for any magical citizen of the United Kingdom to abuse house elves as they are acknowledged as a Noble Servant Tribe due to the specific nature of their magic. Along with that, it is ALSO forbidden for any magical citizen of the United Kingdom to perform any sort of harmful magic onto a house elf. However, Paragraph Seven of Annex B states that all research that could either enhance a house elf's magic or find some way to magically emancipate a house elf from his or her servant bond to a master IS permitted AND encouraged!" She shrugged. "The Elf Evolution process is considered legal and is encouraged for all people wanting to have house elves in their homes, especially for those living with the normals."
"Crikey!" Dudley breathed out. "That STILL scares me!"
"What do you mean, young man?" Augusta asked.
"The way Rose can rattle off the laws like that, ma'am," Harry's and Rose's eldest cousin then stated. "Kinda makes me wonder if that spell Chikage's grandpa made that Sir Glaston used to save Rose's life really did any good for her."
"It ultimately saved her life, Dudley," Lilian stated. "Even if Rose tends to slip into that mode of behaviour whenever something prompts it, she is trying to get better control over herself. Give her a little time, alright?"
Laughter escaped all the Dursleys, the Grangers (who had wandered over to join them on recognising Rose from Hermione's descriptions of her in her letters, not to mention the insignia of her station on the left flap of her black cape) and the Thomases (whom Tamara had just helped teleport onto the platform) just as the Express began to manoeuvre alongside Platform 9 3/4. Along with Dean Thomas' mother Danielle and his stepfather Kyle, there were his two stepbrothers Colin and Philip and his two stepsisters Wendy and Janet, the latter of which had been born right after Dean had gone to Hogwarts. As introductions were made - which made both August Longbottom and Cornelius Fudge beam on getting the chance to meet Harry's uncle Vernon Dursley, whom they both knew from his letter to the wizarding world that had been published in the Daily Prophet shortly after Harry had moved to Beckery Hill - the train crew brought the steaming GWR4900 locomotive to a stop just before the engine struck the barrier at the end of the track line right underneath the station building itself. Immediately, stairs deployed from all the passenger cars as prefects came out to help the younger students returning home from the holidays get onto the platform.
"Rose! Mama!"
Rose yelped in delight as she ran over to embrace Harry, which made all the people watching this beam in delight. "I'm home," the latter said.
"You're not home yet, big brother," the former sobbed.
They remained still a moment as the younger Potter allowed herself to cry. By then, Chikage had got off the train. After parting from Pansy and Michael - who had come over to help his sister get her trunk off the train before they would head over to join Malcolm and Grouch, who were waiting by the stairs - the traveller then walked over to join everyone now around Lilian. She was quick to spot the other people who were there. "Minister Fudge. Senior Undersecretary Umbridge. Sergeant Dawlish. Congratulations on your promotion, by the way, Sergeant," Chikage greeted them with a nod.
John perked. "How could you tell?" he demanded.
"Your ki, of course."
The wizards and witches all looked confused. "'Ki?'" Cornelius asked.
"It's the life energy in your body," Dudley then answered. "This is what folks from Japan, Korea and China call it. You folks call it your 'magical aura.'"
People then perked. "Oh, I understand," Cornelius stated. "But still . . . "
Chikage smiled. "I met Sergeant Dawlish when he was still a corporal back in September when Rose came to Hogwarts and demonstrated the Lightning Axe after that sordid incident with Mrs. Weasley. I was quick to note his body's ki aura. Looking at it now, I can tell that he feels a much greater sense of personal pride and personal responsibility, plus is very pleased about something. It practically equals what Auror Sergeant Shacklebolt - whom I also met back in September - had in his own ki aura. Put it all together and the conclusion is rather quite obvious."
"So at least you'll have something more than just mage-sight to warn you in case of a possible threat, you mean," Augusta then said, nodding in understanding.
"Indeed, Mrs. Longbottom," Chikage said on noting Neville had come up to embrace Grace; she was quick to note the family resemblance. "After all, magic - despite its remarkable utility and universal nature - is NOT the be-all and end-all when it comes to paranormal energy studies. I'll be exploring that when I go to other dimensions, including two such dimensions my grandfather visited where the number of magicals are far smaller than here and the local 'sorcerer supreme' on the Earth in those dimensions often turns out to be a normal who has to train very hard to tap into what magical powers he has deep within his spirit and body." As all the wizards and witches gaped at her, the traveller shrugged. "If you all think that is odd, you haven't seen anything yet." She then gazed on Cornelius. "So tell me, Minister: What does bring you down to the station to greet all of us? Surely not because of me, I hope."
The minister laughed in embarrassment. "Well, actually, it partially IS because of you that I came," he admitted as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out an envelope marked with the wax seal of the Ministry. "I have a formal invitation for you to attend the Ministry's Yule Levée on Monday afternoon at the Doge mansion over in Cirencester. Actually, I also have invitations for Harry and Rose as well." He then glanced over to the Potter siblings, who were still holding each other nearby. "But I think I'll wait until they're ready to take them," he added with a smile.
"Oh, dear. That's going to be a problem."
Eyes locked on Lilian. "Why's that?" Augusta asked.
"Because the Magistrates Magical always hold a Yule Levée of their own on Christmas Eve Day, Augusta," the crimson-haired human-form elf advised. "This year, it'll be hosted by Dame Wilma Skegness over in Lindum Colonia. It's the same day."
"And since she's one of the Magistrates Magical, Rose HAS to be in attendance," Vernon then warned after exchanging a knowing look with Petunia.
"Oh, dear! I never knew that!" Cornelius stated.
"Actually, it may not be so bad."
People gazed on Chikage. "What do you mean?" the minister asked.
"Well, the Ministry Levée is scheduled to start at two o'clock on Monday afternoon and extends until six o'clock in the evening," the traveller stated as she scanned the information on the card she had been given. "If I recall what Grandfather had written to me in my PADD concerning the Magistrates' Levée is correct, such would start at nine o'clock in the morning and go straight through to nine o'clock at night. And if I recall my British geography correctly, Cirencester is not that far from where Dame Matilda Godwine lives not far outside Gloucester. So it would be a quick Floo trip from Lincoln to Gloucester, then either portkey or elf-teleport to Cirencester."
"Good heavens!" Cornelius gasped. "A levée that goes all day?"
"You have to remember, Minister, there ARE ninety-three people like Rose based across the United Kingdom," Lilian then added. "Not to mention the Magistrates Magical for all the overseas territories like Gibraltar, the Falklands and elsewhere."
"AND the Crown Dependencies as well," Chikage added.
"What are they?" Delores asked, looking quite confused.
"The Isle of Man between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, not to mention the Channel Islands off the Normandy peninsula of France," Chikage answered. "People like Rose are addressed as 'Her Majesty's Magical Bailiffs' for Guernsey and Jersey as they are considered separated governments. For the Isle of Man, the position is addressed 'Her Majesty the Lady of Mann's Keeper of the Magical Keys.'"
The minister hummed. "Learn something new every day," he breathed out.
"Learn what?"
Everyone turned as Rose and Harry came up to join them. "We were discussing the fact that there are those like you amongst the Manxmen and the Channel Islanders, Rose," Vernon explained. "It wasn't something the good minister here knew."
"I still am a little deluged with all the laws I have to review; I haven't even got CLOSE to looking over the Magical Royal Proclamations," Cornelius added. "To be honest with you, I've never heard anything at all about wizards from the Isle of Mann, much less the Channel Islands." He then perked before he gazed at Rose's brother. "Anyhow, Harry, I trust your first term at Hogwarts went off well."
"Mostly As and EEs," Harry stated. "So what are you doing here?"
"You both been invited to the Ministry's Yule Levée," Chikage explained.
"But I didn't realise you both had invitations to the Magistrates' Levée Dame Wilma is hosting over at her home," Cornelius added as he pulled out the two other envelopes he had brought with him to Platform 9 3/4 to hand to them.
The Potter siblings took the envelopes in hand and opened them. "Oh, it'll be at Grand-uncle Elphias' home this year!" Harry then said before he took a moment to consider something. "Between two and six o'clock, eh?" he mused aloud before nodding. "Well, I can certainly come to visit; it'll be good to meet Grand-uncle Elphias at last. I'm not too sure about Rose, though." He glanced over to his sister.
A sigh. "It'll have to be very brief," Rose stated before she leaned close to Cornelius. "It's one of the things about being a Magical Magistrate I really can't stand at times," she said in a staged whisper that made all the adults smirk.
"I know, Rose. I can't stand them either," the minister whispered back.
People around them tried not to grin too much . . .
Some minutes later - after Cornelius and his party had apparated back to the Ministry offices in the City of Westminister - a considerable crowd made their way through the magical barrier between Platform 9 3/4 and the normal part of King's Cross Station. Along with the Potter/Dursley group and Chikage, the Grangers and the Thomases, there were the Perks, the Finch-Fletchleys and the Entwhistles. Fortunately for all of them, there were specially-designed notice-me-not charms around the hidden gateway to the platform for the Hogwarts Express which helped ensure those normals that did NOT have anything to do with the wizarding world would see what was going on around the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. "Thank you so much for doing that for us, Tamara," Kevin's mother Victoria said as she smiled at the raven-haired, pale-skinned human-form elf that served as Rose's social secretary/clerk. "Much that we're glad to have Kevin back with us for the holidays, the fact that we're barred off from seeing him on and off the train . . . "
"Then why don't you get an elf for yourself, Mrs. Entwhistle?" Rose asked.
The other parents gaped at them. "Is that permitted?" Danielle Thomas asked.
"Of course! There's no law that forbids normal-borns from having elves at their home even if they're attending school at Hogwarts," the Magical Sheriff of Somerset assured them as they headed to a coffee shop in the main part of the station close to Euston Road. "All of you took the Loyal Oath, right?" As Hermione, Dean, Sally-Anne, Justin and Kevin all nodded, Harry's sister then smirked. "Well, with the help of a house elf, all of you can practice your magic and don't have to worry about the Improper Use of Magic Office sending you notes." As the others gaped, she added, "Why should all the magic-borns and mudbrains get the chance to practice magic over the holidays when folks like you 'can't?'"
"That's not right!"
Eyes locked on Hermione. "Why is it not right?" Petunia then asked.
"Don't worry about her, Mrs. Dursley," Clytemnestra said as she rolled her eyes. Two years younger than Hermione, she looked pretty much like her at nine save for having her mother's raven hair in lieu of the brown hair Hermione inherited from their father. "She's always been stuck up about the rules ever since she started school!"
"Nessie!" Hermione snapped.
Laughter filled the room, even from Janet Thomas, who was being cradled by Dean as Sally-Anne, her younger sister Kelly and Kevin's younger sister Margaret all were cooing and making all sorts of cute noises for the child. Much to the relief of Dean's mother and stepfather, Tamara Simmonds was staying very close by, keeping a sharp eye on the beautiful three-month old baby in Dean's arms. Kyle Thomas was holding the second-youngest of Dean's half-siblings, his two year-old brother Philip, in his arms. "Still, it would actually be nice to have extra help around the house," Jane Granger said as everyone walked into the café and moved to take seats as the husbands and Harry all went to get orders for coffee and tea. As people were relaxing, Chikage took out several ofuda and placed them at the various tables, creating a localised notice-me-not area so the others could talk in peace. "And given that you all believe this Riddle fellow is still around, not to mention those of his friends who avoided prison . . . "
"What would we have to do about that, Rose?" Sally-Anne asked.
"To get an elf?" Rose wondered, and then she sighed. "Well, normal elves can be obtained from a couple shops in Diagon Alley, but you need elves that have already undergone what Grand-uncle Ryūji made, so we have to go to Chatham."
"Why Chatham?" Doris Finch-Fletchley then asked.
"Oberon's Sanctuary is there," Rose explained. "It's the only place in all of England and Wales where abused house elves who were rescued by my friends are taken to recuperate before they're bonded to new owners. It's on the shores of the Medway just west of the M-2, off Wouldham Road. We could take the Floo there right from the Cauldron."
Hermione then giggled. "Is there an elf named Titania available?"
"Oh, Mione! Don't start!" Clytemnestra snapped.
Laughter filled the area as the elder Granger daughter stuck out her tongue to her sister. By then, all of the men had come back with trays of drinks. "Here we all go," Daniel Granger said as people took their seats and the drinks were distributed. "So what were you all conspiring about while we were gone?" he asked.
"There's an abused elf sanctuary in Chatham we could go to," Jane explained. "Mione was asking if there was an elf named Titania there."
More laughter. "Well, I'm not one really for Shakespeare, but even I recognised the references in your names," Vernon noted. "A pity we can't have an elf."
"Yes, it would make things easier," Petunia noted.
"Why not?" Fay Perks asked.
"Sadly, it's part and parcel of the whole 'boy-who-lived' nonsense Harry has to deal with," Petunia explained. "There's a no-magic zone set up around Little Whinging; that was put into place right after Harry moved to Somerset to be with Rose to keep all the riff-raff away from bothering us because we were his relatives. You can't believe the number of times Sir Reginald - he's the Magical Sheriff for Surrey - had to intercept hexed letters sent to us from people who sympathised with Riddle."
"It stopped eventually, but there are people who still would do us harm, so the no-magic zone stays in place," Vernon added. "By the way, Chikage, what do you think really went wrong with that fellow? Your grandfather knew him, didn't he?"
A sigh. "Ebony meson radiation poisoning. As to how much, I can't say."
"Because of what he used to create people like Thérèse, Tamsin and Tara, right?" Harry wondered, and then he jerked. "Oh, no . . .!" he moaned.
Hermione winced. Those not in the know about those people gaped. "Harry, what the heck are you saying?" Dean demanded. "You mean Thérèse and Tara are . . .?"
"Soul-clones, Dean. And since they both took the Loyal Oaths, there's no need to worry about their following their 'father's' path," Chikage immediately explained. "I hesitate to say more than that, but what I CAN tell you is this: When he was busy transforming himself from Tom Riddle into Lord Voldemort, he delved into some pretty dark magic. One of them is closely related to a concept Aesup can explain to you." A sigh before she sipped her tea. "But due to a problem that my grandfather partially instigated before he returned home in 1939, what eventually created Thérèse and Tara - and one other we know of - turned out to be much more than he originally intended to do." She smirked. "Like it or not, your Earth has non-magical metahumans living on it now, Dean. All powered by an energy source that is nearly inexhaustible, but is so powerful and so influential, it can twist people's minds around if they're not careful."
"Like the fact that the Ghost Riders smoke hashish to keep them sane, right?" Hermione then asked as some of the parents perked on hearing that name.
"Exactly. Professor Snape is the best example of how to guard oneself against the influence of ebony meson; he's a master Legilimens and Occlumens."
"Those are the mind-reading arts and mind-defence arts, right?" Kevin asked.
A nod. "Yes." Chikage then pulled out a small shard of diamond meson. "Say hello to the 'atom of the mind and the soul,' Kevin: Meson. This is the safest yet least powerful version of it: Diamond meson. Imagine this as solid pitch black and possessing the near-same density of purest neutronium. That's ebony meson. Tom was given a good-sized sample of that by mistake by Grandfather back in 1939." She sighed as she slipped that shard back into her jacket pocket. "And that - I now strongly fear - helped Tom become what he did over the years following that day."
Silence fell as people gazed on her. "Did you grandfather know?" Justin's father Dennis then asked. "About this material and what it can do?"
"No. The truth about meson wasn't discovered - revealed, not to mince any words about it - until the early 1980s in my dimension. And since Grandfather had - I suspect - pretty much forgotten what he had done for Tom that day here at the station, I don't think he ever considered coming back here to see what happened."
"So what can you do to help Riddle?" Kevin asked.
"I am investigating that during my time off from classes and studies, but it is hard," the traveller admitted. "My primary concern is the Kokujun network; that's the ward-stone network Grandfather constructed for the Magical Sheriffs like Rose to use." As the others nodded, she added, "I suspect that it's because of the influence of the Kokujun that people like the Ghost Riders began to appear in Britain."
"Who are the Ghost Riders?" Sally-Anne wondered.
"They're an all-girl motorcycle gang based down in Hampshire, Sally," Vernon explained. "You hear odd reports about them on the telly every once in a while. I used to think they were hooligans, but they don't break any laws like those maniacs in the colonies do." As the others nodded, he shook his head. "You have to help them?"
"And all the others like them," Chikage lamented.
"Do you need help?" Kevin asked.
The traveller stared at him, as did the others. "Kevin . . . "
"I researched that giri thing you talked about when you found the Diadem," he admitted. "Much that you might feel responsible for what your grandfather accidentally did, you can't tackle this all alone, Chikage. I can see that."
"Agreed," Justin added, nodding.
"Well, if you wish to help, I need you all to do something first."
"What?" Dean asked.
"Learn Occlumency. Tara and Thérèse could teach it to you, as could Professor Snape if he can spare the time," Chikage stated. "We believe - thought we're not sure - Tom might be out there somewhere. With Harry now at Hogwarts, he automatically becomes a target. All of you are targets because you're all normal-borns. And using Legilimency to probe people's minds for their secrets is a tactic Tom will use."
The others nodded. "Well, Harry, you said it best," Dean mused.
Harry perked. "What do you mean?"
"Why you've been training yourself for so long," the dark-skinned native of the London borough of Harrow mused. "'Learn everything you can,' right?"
"Yeah."
"What about protecting our homes?" Kyle asked.
"Well, we can go to Gringotts."
Eyes locked on Rose. "Would they be open this late?" Petunia asked.
"They're open all day, Auntie! Profits don't wait for the lazy, you know!"
Laughter filled the room . . .
Gringotts, an hour later . . .
"Welcome! Welcome, all of you!" Erlking said as he beckoned everyone into his private office. Much to the surprise of all of the parents who had accompanied their children and relatives to the goblin-run institution at the very heart of Diagon, the lights were burning bright in all the offices here even if the front teller stations were only partially manned given the lateness of the day. Most of the shops in Diagon and even the part of Knockturn which was visible from the steps of the bank were dark, even Cructan's Café. "I somehow sense some profit to be made this evening."
"Indeed you do, Director," Chikage stated. "Given the fact that Thomas Riddle, who styles himself 'Lord Voldemort,' is still alive though currently deprived of a physical body thanks to the late Marchioness Potter's actions ten years ago, the chances are there that normal-borns across the United Kingdom are under threat should he somehow restore himself to corporeal existence and launch another rebellion against Her Majesty. My honoured classmates' parents have been wondering if it was possible to properly ward and protect their homes from potential attack by the Death Eaters or their supporters. By doing this, it will not only frustrate Tom's supporters that they might choose to levy future attacks on magical targets, it would also give Her Majesty's Magical Sheriffs and the combined Most Loyal Volunteer Magical Constabularies of the Realm a chance to respond and retaliate should such become necessary. After all, given the staggering number of casualties in the previous rebellion, I strongly doubt that the next one, when it happens, will be ignored so easily by the Crown."
Erlking nodded. "You are quite correct, Lady Hirosaki. As you might probably know, Her Majesty has often met with the Chief Director to discuss relations between our peoples here in Britain. And we are quite aware of how many of Her Majesty's Magical Sheriffs such as the Lady Dame Sheriff Potter here would gladly be allowed - and, in a way, are already prompted by the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1972 - to tear into Riddle's maniacs should they ever go crazy like they did a decade ago." He then smiled as he gazed on Hermione, Justin, Dean, Kevin and Sally-Anne. "Fortunately for all of you, your distant relationships to somewhat wealthy families whose holdings here at Gringotts were frozen when those families started producing what is known in the local parlance as 'squibs' will certainly give you all the chance to put wards over your homes at the same strength level as what currently stands around Hogwarts."
"All of us?" Dean asked.
A nod. "Indeed so, Master Dean. You, yourself, through your late father Hubert Mason, are the direct inheritor of the Noble Magical House of Mason of Aelius Bridge. In effect, you are at the same rank as Mistress Hermione is; by the ancient laws of the Wizengamot, both of you are the equivalents of barons in the normal system." As Dean's jaw dropped in shock, Erlking's dark eyes then fixed on Kevin. "Not to mention yourself, Master Kevin. In your case, you're six generations removed from the last living lord of the Noble Magical House of Battersby of Accrington."
"Wait a minute!" Hermione then cut in. "Director Erlking, what was the blood-status of Dean's father? Could he actually take his seat in the Wizengamot?"
A sigh. "At this time, Mistress Hermione, it would be almost impossible."
"Why not, Uncle?" Harry instantly asked. "In effect, he's as much a magical orphan as me even if his mother is still alive and she remarried."
"Because his mother is a normal even if his father was 'pure,' Harry," Erlking answered. "In effect - and I mean this not as an insult, Master Dean - he was born out of wedlock. Sadly, the late Lord Mason never wrote a will, so in effect, the House of Mason is considered by the Wizengamot as a defunct house like the Houses of Carter and Battersby."
"Damn! That's bad luck, Dean!" Justin noted.
"Is there any way to challenge such a ruling, sir?" Dean's mother asked.
A shake of the head. "Not at this time, Mrs. Thomas. Theoretically, it is conceivable that Master Dean could claim his father's seat in the Wizengamot on the defence of unintentional child abandonment due to the late Lord Mason's death at the hands of Riddle's people. But there are two objections that many of the currently-serving members of the Wizengamot will automatically raise. One: Master Dean is normal-raised even if he is a 'half-blood' by their way of looking at things. He has not been 'properly' indoctrinated in wizarding society and traditions. And two: His current magical guardian, the Lady Dame Sheriff Kaylan Elthorne, is forbidden by law to stand in his place in the Wizengamot given her nominal duties for the Crown as detailed in both the Separation Act of 1692 and the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1692." A sigh. "The only way I could see this actually work is that Master Dean would have to wait until his seventeenth birthday - when he is seen as a magical adult - to claim the seat."
"Was there a magical household the late Lord Mason lived in?" Chikage asked.
A nod. "Yes, I believe there was, but I don't know what the current status of the house actually might be, Lady Hirosaki. It was located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, near the location of the old Roman fort in the city; as you'll all probably know, the city is sighted at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. Back in those days, a village was located there when everything south of that wall was part of the Empire." Erlking hummed. "Will you be attending the Sheriffs' Levée at Lindum Colonia on Monday, Master Dean?"
Dean grinned. "You bet. Unlike the Ministry's open house, this is something normal people can be invited to. My parents want to see what the magical world's - and I don't mean Nerio, of course!" he immediately objected as Erlking laughed and the others in the room grinned, and then he shrugged. "Well, it gives them all a chance to actually get a look at what life across the secrecy divide's all about."
"Then speak to the Lady Dame Sheriff Josephine Swinburne. She is Her Majesty's Magical Sheriff for Northumberland, so she could assist you there."
Dean nodded. "Definitely!"
"What about our son, much less David's and Fay's daughter, Director?" Dennis Finch-Fletchley then asked. "Do they have links to the Wizengamot?"
"No, they do not, Senior Manager Finch-Fletchley," Erlking said with a look of professional respect to Justin's father, who himself was a bank manager and a minor shareholder in Barclays, having inherited shares in the international bank from his parents. "However, your delightful wife is descent from the Loyal House of Durnac, which was one of the more wealthy wizarding families in England from the days of the Norman Conquest, though magical members of the family had not appeared for over a couple of centuries. As you'll probably realise - just like the name of the town in Dorset that your birth family name matches, Mrs. Finch-Fletchley - the name 'Durnac' was eventually changed to 'Dorchester.' The vault for which is actually within the top ten floors of this very institution." As people gaped at him, the goblin smirked. "They were quite wise investors even if they never earned the favour of the Crown to win a noble title to let them be part of the modern Wizengamot. I'm glad to see that Master Justin will inherit such a wealthy vault and be able to put the money back into circulation again."
"And me?" Sally-Anne wondered.
A sigh. "We're still having problems tracing any true magical ancestry in your background, Mistress Sarah. However, thanks to your actions of last autumn when you stumbled on the heiress of the Most Noble Magical House of Meretrice of Wye and her sisters in the Forest of Dean, you saw to it the wealth of several other vaults - on, I will admit, virtually the same scale as Master Justin's family - were able to be put back into circulation again." He waved to Dennis. "As the Senior Manager could explain to you, money that circulates enriches our bank thanks to transaction fees, interest charges and the like. Because the various family lines were declared 'defunct' by the Wizengamot, we were forced by treaty to put a freeze on transactions on those vaults."
"You weren't making money off them," Vernon concluded.
"Exactly, Manager Dursley. But now that confirmed magical heirs have been found for those vaults, we are able to earn money again while those heirs are able to reclaim their wealth and strive to restore themselves to their families' proper places in wizarding society, which is even more important in the case of Mistress Sarah's would-be paramour, the Lady Viscountess Libera." As Sally-Anne blushed and her parents gaped at her, Erlking looked apologetic. "I am sorry about that, Mistress Sarah!"
"She wants to be your LOVER?" Fay Perks eeped.
"MOM!" Sally-Anne moaned.
David groaned. "Be assured, Lieutenant, Libera's intentions towards Sarah are quite honourable," Chikage then said in her housemate's defence.
Justin fought hard to hide a smirk on hearing that. "I hope so!" Fay moaned.
"MOM!"
Rueful chuckles. "To that end - given the scale of such wealth that was freed - the Chief Director was pleased to declare your daughter a 'True Goblin Friend' for allowing us to earn such profits, Lieutenant Perks, Captain Perks," Erlking finished. "Especially since the Lady Libera and her friends took the excellent advice of the Lady Dame Sheriff Matilda Godwine and asked us to invest as much as possible in profitable companies, magical and mundane, in Britain and beyond the shores of these islands." A toothy grin crossed his face. "We have set up a personal vault for your daughter's use, which can be merged with any defunct family vaults we find in the future."
"That's good," Sally-Anne said. "We were going to head over to Chatham to find some house elves to work as housekeepers in our family homes, so we need the money."
"Oh! Oberon's Sanctuary, you mean!" As the others nodded, Erlking smiled. "You won't have to worry about spending too much, Mistress Sarah. Since those poor unfortunates are seized property, they don't cost as much as a mature 'normal' elf in the shops here in Diagon would. Still, since they will be closed at this time, I would recommend you get lodgings at the Leaky Cauldron or one of the hotels nearby before heading over to Chatham tomorrow. If you wish, once you're done there, come back here so we can make the necessary arrangements to have the wards put up in your homes. And give the Chief Director the chance to meet you and introduce you properly to the senior board here at Gringotts."
"I would be more than honoured, Director," Sally-Anne stated.
Everyone nodded . . .
To be continued . . .