Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N):


Chapter 28

After

As quickly as it had begun, the pressure was gone. One heartbeat Harry felt like his skull was going to collapse, and the next it was light as a feather. The sound, the shriek, the power was gone. The deafening noise gave way to deafening silence.

He could feel James against his chest. The boy had buried his head under his father's chin and held him tightly with both arms. Harry slowly patted him on the back trying to calm his trembling form. Gradually the boy settled down a little and took a deep breath. Harry mimicked him and forced his eyes open.

The first thing he found was Ron, hand over his eyes, unsteadily working his way back to his feet using the wall next to the hallway as a brace. The man shook his head clear and looked around. His eyes found the now clear path out of the room at the same time as Harry's before his gaze returned to the room at large. When it did he swallowed audibly and stared to where Harry knew Keystone was standing.

Focus returned for a moment and instinct allowed him to stand and find control of his voice. He pulled James to his feet and turned the boy toward the door. "James, you can open your eyes now. Don't look back." His son did so and raised a hand to wipe the dust from his brow.

"Dad?"

"I'm fine. Uncle Ron is going to take you out of here. To Mary and Gideon." Harry motioned to the hallway with a jerk of his chin. Ron nodded slowly in response.

"But…"

"I'll be along in a moment. I need you to make sure those two are all right. Okay?" The boy hesitated for a long moment. "Please James. I need you to do this." After another second's pause the boy's head nodded and he took a short step forward. Ron moved to his side, his left foot dragging a little, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on James. Your friends are waiting." Together they made their way down the hall and through the doors. Only when they were out of sight did Harry finally turn and see what remained.

The room was a ruin and would need serious repair in the coming days. It looked for a moment that more of the walls were lying in chips and shards on the floor than remained to support the ceiling. In the center of it all, in the middle of the sunken section, Keystone kneeled amidst the carnage.

His sword lay next to him as he looked down at the form of a woman even now growing paler. He had reached out and was cupping one of her cheeks in his hand with what could almost be called tenderness. Harry felt at once like he was intruding in an intensely personal moment. Before he could turn away the man spoke.

"I never wanted to do this. But you left me no choice." Harry swallowed, the only thing he could do, and said nothing. After several more seconds the man reached out and closed Siona's lifeless eyes. He then crossed her arms over her chest, reattached her hands with a binding charm and tucked the broken pieces of the staff under her wrists.

The man rose and turned revealing two extraordinary things. The front of his clothing, usually an impeccably white shirt with perfectly black slacks, had been altered by the magical discharge. The front half of both were streaked with swirls and waves of alternating light silver and black that almost seemed to form a pattern. The second thing was that his glasses were gone. Harry glanced around but could not see them among the debris and so had no choice but to look at the empty sockets in the man's head.

"You okay Potter?" Harry shook himself for a moment.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Keystone nodded.

"Enjoy that while you can." He turned once more, summoned his wand to his hand and waved it over the body. From nowhere a sheet appeared and landed lightly over Siona as her corpse rose to meet it. "I'll take care of this." Directed by his wand the body turned and floated in front of him toward the hallway. Taking careful steps through the destruction he moved toward the door. As he passed Harry put a hand out on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Keystone paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. But I'll be better. You might want to sit down." With that he headed on, his lack of vision not stopping him from navigating the floating body through the doors and out. Harry was left to contemplate what the man had said with curiosity. Sit down? He was tired and beaten but he could still stand. Sheathing his wand he took a step toward the center of the room intent on retrieving the sword of Gryffindor.

And then it hit him.

His child had almost been killed.

The absolute realness of the idea finally worked its way through the ebbing adrenaline and hit his brain full force. For the first moment since deciphering Siona's notes what felt like days ago he was forced to fully consider the idea and all of its implications.

Before Harry was even sure what had happened he was sitting against the wall, head nearly between his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. James had almost died. His first born son had almost been murdered before his eyes. For the first time in his life Harry knew, with supreme clarity, exactly what his parents had felt the night they had died. And it reduced him to a blithering wreck.

Images passed though his mind of seeing his own son murdered, what it would do to Ginny, the other children, James's friends, his relatives and most of all what it would do to Harry himself. Each flash tore at his heart and kept him pinned to the wall unable to move.

It took time. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes passed before he could stop the tears and regain his personal control. He took a couple more and used several swipes of his wand to clean himself up a little bit. With a decently firm grip on his actions he collected the sword, placed it back in its scabbard and carried them both back down the hall and out the door.

Passing through the empty room between he struggled though the second set of doors and found a small group gathered there, apparently awaiting him. Mary and Gideon were gone, lead or carried away by the staff. Ron had gone with them. Keystone had also moved on with the body in tow. The first person to meet his eyes was Neville. The man looked him over quickly before offering a small grin and a nod. Harry returned it as his eyes swept to the side. McGonagall stood nearby with Drake, Montoya and Filch. At the Headmistress's direction the latter hurried off to see what damage had been done this time. Her eyes then settled on him.

"Mr. Potter. Your colleague has been good enough to fill us in on the details of this incident. Is there anything you wish to add?" Harry thought for a long moment trying to work out what he might say. Ron would have given a factual rundown from the time he appeared and really very little of substance to the Headmistress had happened before that. Finally he came to an idea that he simply had to express.

"Only that all of the students involved showed exceptional courage in the course of events and represented both their house and school well." She gave him a firm nod but he could see the corners of her moth twitching toward a smile.

"Very well. I may wish to speak to you again later but for the moment I believe I'll see what damage the latest Potter adventure has done to my school." Harry nodded somberly as she passed and disappeared through the doors. A moment later Montoya excused herself to see to Keystone's condition. As she left Drake stepped forward and offered his hand.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. Though as Defense teacher the job of dealing with this kind of thing in the school is technically my job, I don't mind the help one bit." Harry took it and shook as firmly as his battered body could manage.

"Any time Professor. If I've learned anything, it's that one person can rarely handle it all." Drake smiled as he stepped back.

"Indeed. I would have liked to see it though. I hear your skills are quite exceptional. As are Mr. Keystone's." Harry nodded at the assessment.

"Sometimes I'd give it all up for a little peace." Drake nodded once more.

"Quite. Well, I'm sure I'll have some things to tidy up and prepare for in the wake of this. So, by your leave…" He turned and headed out as well, casting the occasional glance back toward the doors. Harry could just hear him mutter as he walked away. "Oh, of all the things to miss…" Harry could only shake his head.

"So…long day?" Neville had stepped closer and cocked an eyebrow in a brazenly flippant manner. Harry almost wanted to slug him. "Here." He held out his hand and offered a small brown object that looked like nothing so much as a piece of dog kibble.

"Neville? What's that?" The man rolled it to the end of a finger and held it there with his thumb. He raised it so Harry could get a better view.

"Something I've been working on. Extract of Winterdeath mushroom, serum of Bearsoul radish, tears of a Mandrake, few other things." Harry looked at the thing with blatant suspicion. He knew almost nothing of Herbology, but none of those sounded exactly healthy.

"So…what is it?"

"Energy tablet. Give you a quick boost for a couple hours. Down side is you crash pretty hard afterward. Eat it. You look like you're about to pass out." Harry picked up the pill and was surprised that it felt like rough chocolate.

"Neville…are you making drugs?" The man raised his hands defensively.

"No. It's an experiment. I've only used it a couple times. It works but it's really hard to make. Not worth the effort really. Unless you really need it. Like you do now." Harry debated the rational for a moment and then considered arguing with Neville some more. In the end he realized he was trying to ignore that the man was right. He was about to fall over.

Taking a breath he downed the pill. A few moments later he felt a fresh surge of vigor traveling through his system. It wasn't anywhere near a high. He didn't even fell overly energetic. But he could keep going now for a while. "Thanks."

"Sure. Now, why don't you head up to the medical ward? I'll keep an eye on things here. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey wouldn't mind looking you over while you're there."

"Oh, shut up." Neville mocked a salute.

"Yes sir, Captain Sir." Harry rolled his eyes and headed toward the hallway out of there. "Oh, one more thing. Luna asked me to ask you for an interview when this was all said and done." Harry stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Did she now? Was this when you were over there…'gardening'?" Harry headed onward before the man could reply. Passing under the hastily erected banner he found a couple overly curious Slytherin students that had apparently slipped away from the curfew looking down the hall past him. Sending them away with a firm word he made his way back out of the dungeons alone.

Emerging once more in familiar territory he quickly crossed the castle to Madam Pomfrey's domain. Pushing through the doors he glanced around the ward. To the right Professor Montoya was helping Keystone drink down a potion. His bruises lessened noticeably as he did so. Behind them a sheet covered a body on one of the beds.

To his left Madam Pomfrey herself was leaning over Gideon's form on another bed and checking him over carefully. On the next bed Ron, Mary and James sat side by side awaiting her verdict. As Harry approached he smiled as he noticed James was fiercely clutching Mary's hand in his own. The girl appeared to be holding just as tight. Working with borrowed energy he stood near them at the end of the bed. "So…how it he?" Pomfrey looked up a moment later with an uncertain eye.

"He'll live." The others let out a breath Harry hadn't noticed they were holding. "It appears to be a simple concussion. He just needs time." Ron raised his hands to his face and drug his fingers down to his mouth as he took a long breath.

"Oh, thank you Merlin." The children looked no less relieved.

"I'll keep an eye on him until he's better." She then turned her attention to Mary and James. "As for you two…I'm also ordering bed rest and observation. You may not be as injured, but you both have more than enough nicks and bruises to warrant it." James's hear whipped around and Harry could see a defiant gleam in his eye.

"But I'm fine. Right dad?" Harry quickly raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Don't look at me. In this ward, she's in charge." The boy looked momentarily defeated. "Hey, she kept me mostly in one piece. You should listen to her." James nodded with a resigned quirk on his mouth. Ron rose as he did so.

"Well. Everything seems to be in hand here." He looked at Pomfrey. "I'll be back soon." She nodded as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. To her, it probably was. "And now…paperwork." His features gained a look of grim determination. "Shall we?"

"You're leaving?" Harry looked down to see the concern evident in James's eyes. Stepping forward he kneeled in front of his son and took his free hand.

"Yes James. I have to. This is your time at school, not mine. I have a job to do, just like you." He jerked his head to the bead where Gideon lay. "Besides. You really want your dad hanging around when the other kids show up? You can't tell them it was all you if I'm here." The boy grinned and reached out to hug his father firmly. Harry returned the gesture and considered for a moment how much he would have given for this simple act near the end of his first year. "I'll see you at the end of term. Okay?" James pulled back and Harry could see his eyes were slightly moist.

"Okay. See you then dad."

"And Miss Williams, I'll inform your mother what happened. In the broad storkes. I'll leave the details to you." She nodded uncertainly.

"Thank you."

"Of course. Now, I believe you should both be in bed. I'll just leave you to that. Farewell." They said goodbyes as Harry rose and joined Ron for the walk out. "Sure you don't want to stay?" Ron glanced over his shoulder before shaking his head.

"I know I want to stay. But…" Harry nodded as his friend struggled for words.

"It's hard to let go."

"Exactly." As they reached the door Keystone took a step closer. The man had found a length of cloth to wrap around his head and Harry could just make out the faint outline of stylized eyes enchanted on it.

"So…another battle finished. Thanks for the help." Harry and then Ron took the man's extended hand.

"Thank you. You did most of the heavy lifting."

"And you kept her busy until I could." He gestured to the sheet. "So…what do we do with her? Katherine would like to give the families a measure of peace…though I doubt she needs the body for that. Siona has no family I know of. So…?" Harry glanced to his partner then back to the bed. The Ministry could arrange a secret funeral, somewhere in a mostly muggle graveyard. A false name, simple headstone.

"We can take care of it. Bury her somewhere out of the way." Keystone nodded slowly before looking back to the pair.

"Do you actually need the body?" A look passed between the Aurors and Harry shook his head.

"Do I want to know why you ask?" The man's eyebrows moved in a way that indicated thoughtfulness.

"I'll take here back to the States. I know roughly where she was born. I can bury her there." He glanced back to the bed. "Besides, it'll be easier for you if she just disappears." Harry considered the idea for several moments before nodding.

"That's very…considerate of you." He shrugged in response.

"Last respects and all that. She wasn't always like this. Not completely anyway." With a wave of his wand the sheet pulled itself tighter and formed a bag around the body. The form then folded in half. And in half again. It repeated this process until it was small enough to fit into a small wooden box he pulled into existence. Placing the corpse within, he slipped it into his pocket. With a long deep breath he squared his shoulders and faced them.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, it was a pleasure to work with you and the Ministry. Thank you." He extended a hand which they each took in turn. "Mr. Potter, it was worth the trip to see you in action once more."

"And you Alex."

"Take care Mr. Keystone."

"Gentlemen, until we meet again." With a last nod Keystone turned and stepped lightly out through the ward doors with all the surety and deadly grace he had always displayed. The Aurors watched him go, turned a short glance to their children and followed.

Even in the few seconds that took the man had disappeared down the halls. They headed toward the main gates at a slow stumbling walk, each trying to ignore the toll that had been extracted from their own bodies for the benefit of the other. Harry left one hand resting on the hilt of the sword he had buckled around his waist for no other reason than he couldn't lift it off easily. Madam Pomfrey had done a little work on each of them as they had sorted out the details for McGonagall but they would mostly just need rest. And food.

As they neared the doors and the sunlight Harry managed a weak chuckle before the pain stopped him. Ron glanced to the side and cocked an eyebrow at him. Harry noticed the look a moment later. "I was just thinking. The easy part is over. Now comes the real challenge."

"What's that?"

"Explaining this to our wives."


Harry appeared in the entryway to his home a few minutes later and glanced around. "Harry?" The question, in a voice he recognized instantly as his wife's, came from the front living room. Following it he found her sitting on one of the couches, slightly laying back, in a pose the later months of a pregnancy always enforced on her.

"Yes. It's me." Worry filled her eyes as they flicked over his torn clothes, battered appearance and the sword strapped to his waist. He saw her draw a conclusion in a heartbeat as the pieces slid into place in her mind.

"I…I saw your clock hand…and James's slide to 'Mortal Peril' a little while ago. I tried to get a hold of you…or Ron…or the office. No one knew anything." He nodded somberly at the assessment and carefully sat down next to her. He grasped one of her hands in both of his and took a deep breath.

"We're both fine. Now. Let me tell you what happened…" She fixed him with a level look and waited.

"WHAT?" Ginny's eyes widened as she finally exploded. Harry had made her promise not to yell at him until he had finished. And then he had made the mistake of doing so. Her mouth worked silently for several moments trying to find something to follow it up with. In the end all she found was, "WHAT?"

Her eyes then looked around uncertainly as she considered everything. "Oh, Merlin! James! He almost… you almost… Oh…" Harry sat patiently and waited for her to process it all. It had taken him quite a while to work through the fear and thought of what had almost happened to his son. She was doing it in a much shorter span of time.

At last, after several minutes she took a deep breath and refocused on him. "It's over? He's safe?" Harry nodded slowly and leaned in to hug her. She returned it as firmly as she could. He could just make out her whispering the words 'thank you' over and over as he did so. He knew it wasn't for him. "I should see him. I'm his mother and he almost got killed. I should be there right now." Separating herself she started to rise.

"Sure. If…" Harry was cut off as she let out a gasp and dropped back onto the cushion. He found her eyes a moment later as she winced in pain. "What?" She took another long breath.

"I…I think…" She said nothing for nearly a minute when the wince came again. "Yeah…"

"What?" The pattern seemed familiar but Harry couldn't immediately place it.

"I'm…going into labor." Harry's jaw dropped and he found difficulty in lifting it. He suddenly felt significantly wearier than he had a moment ago. A glance at the clock confirmed his suspicions. The tablet Neville had given him was running out.

"You're sure?" She winced once more before nodding.

"I have some experience with this." Harry struggled to his feet and bit back a curse on the universe's timing. Quickly unstrapping the sword he tossed it aside as he grabbed a folded letter and pinch of floo powder from the mantle. Throwing the powder into the fireplace he tapped the letter and watched as the note to St. Mungo's staff folded itself up into an airplane and shot out into the floo network.

"Dobby!" The elf appeared before him with a crack.

"Sir." He gestured to his wife who had risen and summoned a suitcase from her room upstairs.

"It's time." The elf nodded gravely. The first time he had panicked and nearly exploded in a fit. This time he took it in stride and headed off to take care of things. Harry almost envied him. His own night had just begun.


(A/N): If you feel it is warranted go ahead and review. I welcome any and all opinions.