Chapter 37
Jerry didn't have any quandaries anymore about Hermione and Harry staying in Alex's room while they spent the next few days recuperating. Alex was in good hands. She had found some people who would love her and support her as much Jerry and Teresa, and Alex's two brothers did.
Justin and the engineering wizards had encased the Stone of Dreams in a new core container and rebuilt the computer controls and the connections to the grid. He was finally able to shut down the wormhole which had been siphoning off plasma from the Indian Point power station's nuclear core.
Now all he had to deal with were the people calling for Professor Crumbs', and Chancellor Tootietootie's heads because they were the only ones left in charge. Justin understood the anger. But Crumbs and the Chancellor hadn't set the system up; it had been in place since the mid-19th century.
And they had done the best they could given that the Wizard Council had put a gag-order on them-a spell which literally gagged them if they had tried to tell the truth. It was a spell the Council had used on everyone with access to the top secret magical power plant-it had only broken when the Council members who had cast it on people were killed in the explosion.
People could call for their heads all they wanted. Justin was more or less in charge right now. Wizard World wasn't really a democracy, and Justin felt that he could do a lot to change that-after he had pardoned the Professor and the Chancellor and returned them to their previous high status within the Wizard World government. For now, the Wizard Council would consist of the Chancellor, Crumbs, Helen, and Mr Stuffleby-with Justin running the show.
Teresa was just glad that everything was over, and that she had been right. Harry and Hermione were good for Alex.
Max and Ginny meanwhile were off by themselves pranking unsuspecting New Yorkers-but mostly just jerks and criminals. Ginny had decided that she was never letting Max go. He was as much of an idiot as Fred and George had both been put together, but he was so mellow and innately kind that he grounded Ginny in a way that Harry hadn't.
George had got bored of tagging along and had returned to Britain. He was dying to tell Ron what happened, but he thought it should be a surprise. So he decided to bunk at Bill and Fleur's until Harry returned.
Ginny didn't return to Britain when Harry and Hermione did a few days later. She figured Mum could just have Percy and Ron to boss around for now. That was enough kids for her to keep under her thumb. Ginny wasn't coming back until it was time to go to Hogwarts for her 7th year-and she was bringing Max with her. She had forgotten entirely that she had wanted to be there to see Ron's face when Harry showed up at the Weasley's with both Alex and Hermione in tow.
But George hadn't forgotten and he waited patiently for almost a week.