Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long but it is the longest chapter to date. Even so, I cut a bit out and postponed conversations I had planned. I hope to have the next chapter up soon but I hoped to do that for this one, too. I guess we'll have to see. Thanks for being patient.

Dad

Chapter 53 – The Party

October 4th, 1997

2:00 P.M.

If not for the presence of Penelope and, to a lesser extent, Fleur, you would have never known that anything potentially embarrassing had just happened. With a family as large as the Weasleys and a home as relatively small as the Burrow, it was only a matter of time before someone would inadvertently walk in on someone else. It was not usually a group activity, though.

After the casual greetings between the Weasleys and the Potters, the presence of the elder Sweetwaters was discovered. They, like Honey, had spent the last few decades in an exceedingly quiet and predictable household. Molly was able to shatter any semblance of that sort of atmosphere single-handedly. With almost her whole family joining her, bedlam could not be far away.

"Good afternoon," said Molly. "You must be Honey's parents." She tossed her bag next to a chair; claiming it, as any experienced Weasley knew, for her own.

"Yes, we are," said Luke, a bit rattled. "I'm Luke Sweetwater and this is my wife Nesta." He extended his hand and Molly warmly shook it and moved on to Nesta, shaking her hand in a manly, but friendly, manner.

"Arthur Weasley," said Arthur, taking his place in line. "I'm Ron's father, of course." He shook both of their hands, as his sons and daughters-in-law queued up.

After the initial flurry of introductions and handshakes, everything calmed back down a bit until Charlie noticed the pile of jewelry.

"Did you lot knock over Gringott's?" he asked, browsing through the boxes.

"We were just picking out an engagement ring for Honey," said Hermione. "Harry was involved, though, so it naturally got out of hand."

"I had to go to the shop to pick out Fleur's ring," said Bill. "Do you know a trusting jeweler, or something?" By his expression, he doubted that was the case.

"Actually, I do," said Harry. "This came from the Potter and Black vaults at Gringott's, though. Honey said she wanted something that had a bit of history to it and I remembered that..."

"You remembered?" exclaimed Hermione. "I believe that I was the one who..."

"I'm sorry," said Harry. "You're like a part of my soul and it's sometimes hard to tell where I end and you begin." He kissed her passionately and she readily reciprocated.

"You are the smoothest talking bald-faced liar I have ever met," said Fred.

"Just wait on that judgment," said George. "We still haven't had a chance to hear what our kid brother told his teacher to get her to agree to marry him."

"It was pretty clever," said Honey, coming through the bathroom door. "He said he wanted to marry me." Ron pulled in behind her.

"And you said 'yes'?" asked Charlie.

"No," said Honey, "but I thought it pretty loud." Everyone laughed.

"Maybe that's the trick," said Charlie. "The next time I see a stunningly beautiful woman, I'll just ask her to marry me before she comes to her senses. It worked for Bill and Ron; why not me?"

"Speaking of beautiful women," said Arthur, "where's our Ginny?"

"She's practicing her throws," said Hermione.

"Why?" asked Percy.

"You remember Dolores Umbridge?" asked Hermione.

"Do we ever!" exclaimed Fred and George, not bothering to divide their words.

"We have arranged for her to be in the dunk tank. A sickle a throw with the proceeds going to St. Mungo's," explained Hermione.

"Bill," said George, "We need to contact Gringott's."

"We want to convert the contents of our vault into sickles," added Fred.

"I've got twenty galleons on me," said Arthur, not bothering to hide his disgust for the subject of their gleeful wrath. It seemed that she was as loved at the Ministry as at Hogwarts."

Ron wrote, 'We'd better get going or the line will be a mile long.'

Arthur hit his forehead and said, "Just a minute, Ron." He pulled out an envelope from inside his robes. "I just finished up with this, this morning." He handed the envelope to Ron.

Ron opened it with Honey reading over his shoulder. Honey said, "That's great, Ron," just as Ron's face lit up.

Arthur said, "We need to find out where the carpet you were offered is located but it is actually quite easy to fly. I was allowed on my Uncle Balin's carpet at the age of seven and never had any problems."

"Wait a moment," said Harry. "Grampa said that it was you who outlawed them. If you were flying them since you were seven, how dangerous could they be?"

"The problem with flying carpets is they are too easy to fly," explained Arthur. "Unlike a broom, which will not work for muggles, a flying carpet just requires belief. If you believe it can fly, it will. Naturally, imaginative muggles have from time to time come across one with usually disastrous results. Not only was it extremely dangerous, it risked the exposure of our world. After the fifth muggle fell off in surprise in one year, action had to be taken."

Ron wrote, 'Enough of the history lesson. Let's get the rug!'

"It's up in McGonagall's office," said Harry. "Slider, please come here."

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Slider. "What can Slider be doing for Harry Potter?"

"Is Headmistress McGonagall still in her office?" asked Harry.

"Mistress is walking towards the main entrance of Hogwarts, Harry Potter," said Slider.

"Could you please ask her to come back to her office, Slider?" asked Harry. "Tell her I'll meet her there."

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Slider and he popped off.

"Mr. Weasley, Honey and Ron," said Harry. "Wait. I forgot. Uh, let's see... Sleepy, could you come here, please?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Sleepy. "What can Sleepy be doing for Harry Potter?"

"Please take Ron and his chair to Headmistress McGonagall's office," said Harry.

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Sleepy. She touched both Ron and his chair and they popped away.

"Now, Mr. Weasley and Honey, grab an arm, please," said Harry. "We'll see the rest of you at the party." Arthur and Honey took an arm each and, in an instant, they had rejoined Ron in Minerva's office.

"Good afternoon," said McGonagall. "I hope this won't take too long as I was planning on attending the party this afternoon."

"Your part should only take a minute," said Harry. "Grampa suggested that Ron would be able to get around Hogwarts much better on a flying carpet than a wheelchair. He also offered to let him use his, assuming that a permit would be obtained. Mr. Weasley has secured such a permit and we are here to pick up the rug, if that would be okay with you, Headmistress."

McGonagall flicked her wand and the flying carpet, already rolled up and tied with ribbon, landed in Harry's hands. At his astonished stare, she said, "I've got a painting of Albus, too, Harry." She indicated the currently empty frame over her desk. "He told me all about it and it's fine. Personally, I'm surprised that you waited until you had the permit."

"Well, we had to wait," said Harry. "Otherwise, we'd be breaking the law."

Minerva laughed. "Oh, Harry; you are such a kidder. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, picking up a bag that jingled when moved, "I have an appointment with Dolores." Chuckling still, she walked out the door.

Harry was dumbfounded for a moment before stating, "I'm afraid that I have to be going, too. I'm the idiot hosting this party, after all." He looked at his watch. "It's about two-thirty. I'm also supposed to be giving dragon rides starting at three. I'll see you at the party when you have this sorted out."

"It shouldn't take us too long," said Arthur, excitedly rolling the carpet out on the floor. "We'll be down in no time." Grinning like a schoolboy, he started to explain the operation to Honey and Ron.

Harry left them to it and popped down to the inside of his aunt's greenhouse. He was surprised to find no one around but assumed that she and Uncle Vernon had probably decided that hundreds of magical folk wandering about in such close proximity would be too much unnaturalness and had left for their flat.

The official start of the party was nearly thirty minutes away but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking. It seemed that nearly all of the students and staff of Hogwarts were already perusing the wares and offerings of the vendors. Upon further review, Harry noticed that there seemed to be more older wizards than could be accounted for by the staff and a great number of the children seemed to be under eleven. He then remembered his invitation to the aurors and their families. It would also not surprise him, nor trouble him, to find that half of the residents of Hogsmeade had also made the trip to the school for what would probably become the event of the year. It would also be safer than most places. Harry could see a few of the Hogwarts Free Elves at their posts on the edges of the field. Deep within the Fortress of Solitude, untiring eyes also monitored the Hogwarts map for Death Eaters.

Harry looked about for a moment before noticing what appeared to be a fire. Looking towards the sea of red, he found the designated area for the Weasley Family Reunion. Hermione was with them, of course, so he headed in their general direction. He had taken about thirty paces before he was confronted by Winky.

"Master," she said, reading a parchment. "Here is Master's assignments. Master is making a welcoming speech on Stage One at three o'clock. Master is being a dragon at the start of each hour for thirty minutes. Master is presenting cakes on Stage Three at four o'clock. Master and Mistress is dancing first dance on Stage One at eight o'clock. Master is announcing start of fireworks on Stage Four at ten o'clock." She thrust the list in his hands and popped off. Reading the list and looking at his watch, Harry continued on to the Weasleys.

Hermione saw him coming and went to meet him. She looked a bit upset but he could tell from her expression that it wasn't his fault. He looked around and, sure enough, Fred and George were missing.

"Harry," said Hermione when they were close enough to be heard over the din of the crowd, "you need to talk to the twins."

"Why do I need to talk to the twins?" asked Harry against his better judgement.

"They're acting irresponsibly," answered Hermione.

"That's their job," said Harry.

"No, it isn't," said Hermione.

"Really?" asked Harry. "They're pretty good at it for amateurs."

Hermione just looked at him and waited.

"Okay," asked Harry, "where are they?"

"Follow me," said Hermione. She led Harry past the north end of the main pavilion and into an area apparently set aside for rides and games. They walked towards a tall, glass tower. The sides seemed to be made of frosted glass near the bottom. Harry could hear George's and Fred's voices coming from the other side, apparently conversing with an elf.

"Ah, here's Harry," said Fred as soon as they turned the corner.

"Could you please confirm to Sassy, here," said George.

"That just this morning, both you and Hermione," said Fred.

"In the presence of Ginny as well as other witnesses," said George.

"Did say that it would be okay with you," said Fred.

"To have ice in the bottom of the dunk tank," concluded George.

"I seem to remember that discussion," said Harry, nodding.

"There," said Fred to Sassy. "Harry said it was fine with him."

"Harry Potter," said Sassy. "Sassy is not being able to be following orders that is hurting Mistress Umbridge."

"A little ice in the water won't hurt her, Sassy," countered Harry. "We're not talking about large pieces, are we?"

"Harry, look at the tank," said Hermione.

Harry looked around but didn't see anything that looked like any dunk tank he had seen before. Hermione indicated the glass tower next to them and suddenly Harry understood. The glass tower was the dunk tank. High at the top he could see the seat for it's main participant. The bottom, however, wasn't frosted glass; it was a fifteen foot tall mountain of crushed ice.

Harry looked back at the twins. "Okay," he began, "I agree that the crushed ice is best so that she can't hit her head on anything that will do serious damage. I do want fourteen feet of water under it. Also, she shouldn't be falling from that high, I think. I've fallen without a broom and you pick up speed fairly quickly. Sassy, could you lower the seat to fifty feet over the water?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Sassy, obviously relieved that he had seen reason.

He then walked over to the pitching area. There was a sign that said, "Dunk Umbridge. One Sickle per Throw. Money will go to support St. Mungo's."

Harry added the words "The witch in the tank has been hired to look like Umbridge so DON'T HEX HER!"

"Who's that going to fool?" said Hermione.

"It's the truth," said Harry. "I'll pay her a knut and she does look like Umbridge."

Hermione smiled and stepped back to get a better view. Sassy had lowered the seat to the required height. Hermione cast a spell at the seat and then another. At Harry's questioning look, she said, "I put a silencing spell around the seat so we don't have to hear her whining. I also put a drying charm on the seat so she will be warm and comfortable while she's sitting on it."

"That was nice of you," said George. "Maybe some tea and biscuits, as well?"

"Actually," said Hermione, "I just wanted the water to be a shock each and every time she hits it."

"I never thought of that," said Fred, grinning. "You might work out, yet."

"We start in ten minutes," said Harry. "Sassy, could you bring up Umbridge?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," said Sassy and popped away. A moment later, she returned.

Dolores Umbridge looked around and sighed in relief. "At last," she said. "I see you've finally regained your senses, Mr. Potter. I don't think that it will save you from Azkaban, though." Would she never catch on?

"Hold still a moment," said Hermione, examining Umbridge. She waved her wand and the pattern on her robes turned to pink and green polka dots with a purple background. Another wave and the misshapen bow in her hair became four feet wide. White face makeup with pink circles on her cheeks completed the transformation.

"That's perfect," said Fred and George, together.

"What are you doing?" asked Umbridge in disbelief.

Hermione did not answer but said, "She's ready, Sassy. Send her up."

"Yes, Mistress Hermione," said Sassy and snapped her fingers. Umbridge disappeared. Everyone looked up. They could see her sitting on the seat, apparently terrified.

"Here's a sickle," said George, handing it to Sassy. "Let's try it out." Sassy took the sickle, dropped it in a basin and handed George a quaffle. The ring was ten feet up and twenty feet away.

"Never been a chaser, before," said George but he took his shot. It hit the side of the ring a bit but went through.

"Ahhhhhh!" screamed Umbridge on the way down. Her voice was silenced when she hit the water and crushed ice. They could see she came within a few feet of the bottom but didn't seem in danger of hitting it. A second later, Sassy returned her to her seat.

Harry seemed to be pleased but Hermione thought an adjustment was necessary. "You almost missed, George. Just give me a second." She enlarged the ring about fifty percent. "Your turn, Fred."

Fred dropped in a sickle and took a throw.

"Ahhhhhh!" Splash!

"That's better," said Hermione. "Sassy," she said to the elf, "make sure that the younger kids don't miss." Thinking about that, she amended, "On second thought, make sure no one misses."

The crowds were starting to form so Harry went to check in with the other Weasleys before starting his rides.

"Hello, again," said Nesta when Harry and Hermione arrived. "Have you seen Honey and Ron, yet?"

"We left them with Ron's dad in the headmistress's office," said Hermione. "Maybe it is a bit harder to fly a carpet than Mr. Weasley remembered."

"We'll know in a moment," said Harry. He pointed towards the greenhouses; Arthur was walking towards the party, quite alone.

"Where are the children?" asked Molly, looking worried. "I hope they're alright."

"I'm sure that he wouldn't be coming to the party if everything wasn't just fine, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry, smiling. "Ron's probably taking things slow until he gets the hang of it."

Just then, a crimson streak blazed around the corner of the castle and two figures, a tall redhead in front with a long-haired blond hanging on behind, barreled towards the pavilion at top speed. As they flew overhead, the crowd heard the braying of Ron's laughter interspersed with the surprisingly stereotypical cackle of witch laughter coming from Honey. Ducking to miss the hangings from the tent top, they passed through in a flash and were heading out over the forest. A sweeping curve later and they were headed back, this time a bit slower. They circled the area a bit before Honey pointed out the cluster of Weasleys. Smiling almost painfully, they came in and hovered next to their shelter. They made quite the sight.

Ron was sitting on the front edge, his long legs dangling off and swinging randomly. Honey just had her feet over the end of the carpet as she straddled Ron and clutched at his chest for support. Harry was sure that, once he properly evaluated everything, Ron would put Honey in front; strictly so that she could see better, of course.

"It is being three o'clock, Master," said Winky. "Master is to be giving his welcoming speech, now."

Harry pulled out his parchment and asked, "Where is Stage One, Winky?"

For answer, Winky held out her hand. Harry took it and they disappeared instantly. Harry was on the raised stage well before he had any idea on what to say. Winky pointed at his throat and he knew she had already amplified his voice. He decided to keep it very short and to the point.

"Welcome, everyone!" he boomed. The sound of the crowds immediately subsided. Winky apparently knew how to cast an amplification charm. "I'd like to welcome you all to our party." He thought a moment and stooped down to Winky and motioned for her to cut his mike, so to speak. After she did so, he said, "Bring Hermione, Luna, McGonagall, Ron and Honey here, please."

This was not on the schedule and Winky looked it. She was, however, bound to obey her master so off she went.

Harry cast his own sonorus charm, realizing that he had already started the speech. "There are many purposes to this party." Luna arrived, holding the hand of Dougal. "It is Luna's Birthday, so it is partly her party. Happy birthday, Luna." Luna looked moderately please and wanted to say something but Hermione arrived a moment later. "We are celebrating our marriage with all of you so it is partly our wedding reception." He stopped to kiss Hermione. During this lull, Ron and Honey appeared. "Ron and Honey have decided to make each other the happiest people on Earth and are getting married so it is partly their engagement party." This was followed by cheers. Finally, McGonagall was brought by Winky. She held a quaffle in her hand.

"Damn," said McGonagall, loud enough for many to hear. "Sorry," she said. She then turned towards the dunk tank and shouted, "It's still my turn!"

"And lastly, it is also Minerva McGonagall's birthday so it is partly her party. Happy birthday, Minerva. In case you didn't hear, it's still her turn at the dunk tank and she'd be pretty upset if anyone butted in line. Let's see; all of you must be sure to congratulate everyone as appropriate when you see them. Also, if you see a severely overworked elf, her name is Winky and she arranged everything so be sure to say thanks. I think that's all for the moment. Now, it's time for the Dragon rides."

Harry removed the sonorus charm and asked Hermione, "So where do I go, now?"

"Remember those stairs we didn't understand?" she asked.

"Sure," said Harry. "Let me guess; one is loading and one is unloading?"

"Correct," said Hermione. There's a harness that can hold sixteen at a time. Can you carry that many?"

"How the bloody hell should I know," responded Harry. "I want an elf to ride with us in case anyone falls out or anything."

"An excellent idea, Harry," said Minerva. "Thank you, by the way. This is a very nice party."

"I hope so," said Harry. "Now, Minerva; if you don't mind missing the rest of your turn at the dunk tank, you and Luna are the birthday girls so you get the first ride."

The first set of rides was memorable in that Harry was pretty much able to keep up with demand. You would think that such a rare opportunity as getting to ride a dragon would be hard to pass up but it seemed that most of the students didn't want to risk losing their chance to dunk Umbridge, even though she was advertised as just an actress. After a while, you didn't even really hear it. "Ahhhhhh!" Splash! A short pause. "Ahhhhhh!" Splash! Another pause. On and on it went.

After his first shift was over, Harry and Hermione wandered around and tried to assess what what available for activities. They were both surprised when, passing through the picnic tables set up next to the food section, they came across the Dursleys engaged in what appeared to be a lively discussion with the elder Sweetwaters. It seemed that Honey's parents looked and acted normally enough to pass as humans to the otherwise magiphobic couple. Petunia, Nesta and Luke all had normal sized portions of lamb, beef or ham with an assortment of side dishes appropriate for a barbeque while Vernon seemed to have found a roasted leg from some sort of poultry apparently based on hippogriffs. After briefly chatting a bit, during which time Petunia asked about the safety precautions in place for the dragon rides, they moved on.

Hagrid, with Fang at his side, had established his position under an awning near Madam Rosmerta's booth. From here, he could partake of most of his favorite activities without having to move around too much. Basically, he would be well supplied with food and mead. He also had an excellent view of the dragon rides. Harry had assured him that he would provide him with a personal ride tomorrow since the harness he was wearing was designed for more normally sized people.

Remus and Tonks were sitting with the aurors, conferring seriously about the events of the past week but still enjoying the opportunities and wares of the party. Tonks had told them that she had to take Remus' money bag away to keep him from spending it all, one sickle at a time.

Scrimgeour and Greta arrived around a quarter to four. He was carrying a large bottle wrapped in foil with a bow. "Good afternoon, Harry," he said approaching them. "Nice to see you, as well, Hermione."

"I'm glad you two could make it," said Harry. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while for the next set of dragon rides, Greta."

"That's okay," said Greta. "Grampa said I could see Harry Potter first, anyway. He has the same first name as you. Do you know him?" She looked around, eagerly.

"Do you know what he looks like?" asked Hermione.

"I think he must be very big and tall," said Greta, "with a lightning bolt in each hand."

"I think you're thinking of Thor," said Hermione. "No, Harry is normal sized and the only lightning bolt he has is on his forehead."

"It's on his forehead?" asked Greta. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Sometimes," said Harry, kneeling down. "It's just a scar; see?" He pulled up his hair so she could see.

"Yes, I... You're Harry Potter!" she shouted, distracting everyone around them for a moment.

"Of course," said Harry. "I'm not big and strong or any of that other stuff. I'm just Harry."

"Although you do a pretty good 'God of Thunder' impression while you're sleeping, sometimes," said Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell me who you were when we were in Grampa's room?" asked Greta.

"I did," said Harry. "I told you I was Harry."

"I think he has you there, Greta," said Scrimgeour. "Now, if we could find the Birthday Girl, I brought her a little present." He held up the bottle.

"I'm assuming you mean Headmistress McGonagall, Minister," said Hermione. "I'd bet twenty galleons that she's not far from the dunk tank."

"The dunk tank?" asked Scrimgeour. "Why would she be there with all this going on?"

"The dunkee is Dolores Umbridge, Minister," said Harry. "Only a sickle a throw."

"I've got some change," said Scrimgeour. "That reminds me; nice article in the paper." They walked towards the recurring scream and splash.

"We thought so," said Harry. "I'm hoping it might make the homecoming of his Death Eaters a bit less encouraging if he either kills some of them in a rage or sends them off to find Wormtail. Either way, it will ruin the moment."

McGonagall was indeed waiting her turn. She saw Harry and Scrimgeour approach but didn't step out of line to greet them.

"Happy Birthday, Minerva," said Scrimgeour. He handed her the wrapped bottle and asked, "You do prefer gillywater, I believe."

"Indeed, I do, Rufus," replied McGonagall. "Hey!" she shouted to a third year. "No cutting in front." The boy returned to his place behind her. Harry noticed that hidden among the children up front was a smallish witch with thick glasses. It seemed that Professor Trelawney was also extracting her revenge.

"That crazy elf won't let me take more than ten shots in a row," grumped Minerva. "I've been through this line five times, already."

"I'm sorry about this, Minerva," said Harry, looking at his watch, "but it's time for the cakes. Since you're one of the Guests of Honor, I'm afraid that you'll have to come with us for a bit."

McGonagall looked ready to rebel but decided that she needed to find a place to put her gillywater, anyway. "Oh, alright, Potter," she said, dejectedly. "When I get back, I want twenty shots to make up for it."

They walked towards stage three, a covered area for smaller entertainment and, apparently, a place to display and serve the cakes. It currently showcased the talents of a contemporary band of younger witches singing some Scottish folk songs, mostly a cappella while dancing, but occasionally throwing in some violin or flute solos. They were taking a break so that the the cakes could be presented.

"Here is being the list of the cakes, Master," said Winky as Harry, Hermione, Scrimgeour and Greta arrived. Luna, with Dougal, of course and Ron and Honey, both sitting motionless on their carpet, were also present, as were all the other Weasleys. Harry also noticed Uncle Vernon standing near the platform with Aunt Petunia somewhat apprehensively standing nearby. He was only surprised for a moment, once he realized that there was cake to be had.

Harry read the list as the first cake was levitated out by Winky. It was a fairly smallish, considering the number of people present, four foot diameter heart-shaped masterpiece decorated in faux turnips and butterbeer corks. It said, simply, 'Happy Birthday, Mistress Luna'. Harry cast the sonorus spell and said, "The first cake we have is for our own, Luna Lovegood. If you don't know her, you are missing out on one of the hidden treats of Hogwarts. She is one of the sweetest people I know and I'm glad to have her as a friend." There was a genial round of applause. Harry had not wasted the time spent soaring around with those screaming brats on his back and was glad he was better prepared than at the opening.

Luna walked up to Harry and gave him a hug and a kiss. She said, unamplified, "I'm the lucky one, Harry. You're going to make Hermione jealous if you keep saying such nice things about me." She went over to the side where Winky had placed her cake.

The next cake was much larger. It was in the shape of Hogwarts and bore the inscription 'Happy Birthday, Headmistress Minerva'. Harry shrugged and decided that Winky was an elf, not Shakespeare. Harry said, "It is with deepest gratitude and appreciation that I now officially wish Minerva McGonagall a very happy birthday. Without her, Hogwarts would just not be the same." He then added, "There's an extra piece of cake for anyone that has the nerve to actually say, 'Happy Birthday, Minerva' to her." There was a brief spattering of laughter followed by a round of applause as McGonagall came forward to speak.

"Thank you, Harry," said the Headmistress. "Thank you all for coming, although I don't know who would be crazy enough to skip this party. I would like to point out, since no one has yet done so, that we are blessed this day with many brave aurors and their families. Please extend a round of applause for these best amongst us and welcome them to Hogwarts, properly." There was a great burst of clapping with cheers interspersed throughout the crowd. The aurors, along with their families, beamed with pride.

Winky moved McGonagall's cake next to Luna's and summoned a wedding cake. Hermione followed it out and stood next to Harry. This cake was more traditional than the one she had made for the actual wedding but it would not be the only cake served this day. There was no sentiment written on it but a small, almost perfect representation of Harry and Hermione danced on the top. Every few seconds, Hermione would hop on Harry's back and he would turn into a dragon and fly around the cake. They would then land and start to dance again. "Wow!" exclaimed Harry, examining the lifelike figures. The crowd laughed and Harry was brought to his senses. "I mean that we wish you all could have been with us when Hermione and I were married a little over a month ago. It turned out to be a pretty interesting day, all the way around." He looked back at the cake and figures and said, "You might want to save this cake for last. That is just so cool." Again, there were murmurs of agreement from those who could see clearly.

The wedding cake was levitated back to the side and an eight foot tall, three layer cake was pulled forward. Ron and Honey hovered nearby with the cake proclaiming 'Good Luck, Master Ron and His Mistress Honey' on the side. Harry thought the wording could have been better but decided that it was perfect, after all. Luke and Nesta stood nearby, along with the Weasleys. Harry said, "Could I have a show of hands of the people who didn't think they would be engaged, and soon." He looked around. Only Lavender Brown put up her hand but brought it down immediately. "I think we all wish them the best of luck." There was applause and Harry waited for the cake to be moved to the side but Winky placed it in the middle of the stage.

Winky said, "Winky is putting the girl in the cake now, Master," and waved her hand towards a nearby tent and then pointed them back towards the cake. Before Harry could ask, "Girl?", a muffled shout came from the cake.

"You crazy elf!" shouted a female voice. "The bloody cake is supposed to be hollow inside!" Harry, and probably everyone else, watched in shock and wonder as a bikini clad witch tried to push her way through the side of the huge cake. She was covered in cake and frosting but you could still get the general idea about her costume.

Harry, seized by a moment of inspired insanity, shouted, "Men of Hogwarts; that girl is in trouble! Everyone grab a fork!" With a cheer, those nearest the stage jumped up and rushed the cake.

"So tell me," asked Hermione, "exactly how did you convince Winky to turn a nice, family-oriented party into Harry and Ron's, and every other male over the age of twelve, I suspect, wildest fantasy?"

"Well," began George, "when Winky came by the shop to discuss the fireworks, she was a little fuzzy on an order she had received from Harry. She asked us what sort of a party you had before you got married."

"We didn't know it was going to be for the entire school," said Fred.

"So, assuming it was a small gathering of friends," said George.

"We explained the inner workings of a bachelor party," said Fred.

"In other words, the first type of party that came to mind that you would have before you got married," said George.

"It was a simple mistake," said Fred, hoping it would get them off the hook. In their case, of course, he was hoping to get themselves off a levicorpus.

"I see," said Hermione. "It was all a merry mix-up, was it?" Fred and George both nodded and smiled at her, encouragingly.

Hermione had good-naturedly accepted the brief participation of the buxom witch in the cake after explaining to her in no uncertain terms that the cake and frosting had better be the only things that came off of her. After that, the girl had given the requisite good luck kiss to Ron, put on a wrap and joined in the fun at the party. Honey had been okay with it, although she kept a tighter leash on Ron than normal since then. McGonagall, anxious to get back to her dunk tanking, and resigned to the fact that nothing would ever change Fred and George anyway, had also decided to let it go. Molly had started to be mad but when all of her sons and her husband came back covered in frosting, she just had to laugh.

Hermione finally said, "Oh, well. I suppose it didn't end up being too far out of line. Liberacorpus." The twins both dropped to the ground.

"But there had better not be any more surprises of that nature," warned Hermione.

"Of course not," said Fred.

"Well, not exactly the same, at least," qualified George as they scampered away.

Harry had left for his second shift of dragon rides before Hermione could comment on the rather larger than normal amount of frosting on his clothes and, even more difficult to explain, his face. He had taken Greta and the Minister with him, as well. Scrimgeour also had a bit of the incriminating confection on his clothes but he had just cause. Greta, hearing Harry's call for help, had actually rushed to aid the pretty young witch in the cake and Grampa chased after to prevent her from being trampled.

Greta had never seen an animagus transformation before and was truly dumbstruck when she watched Harry Potter, her hero and personal friend, turn into a red and gold dragon. "Oh, Grampa," she cried, climbing into her seat up front, "isn't it wonderful? I've never flown on a dragon before, have you? I hope we go way up to the top of the sky and back. Look at all the people down on the ground. Help me with this belt, Grampa. There must be a bazillion people down there. I can see the kiddie rides. Can we go there next, Grampa? Yes, it's tight, Grampa. Oh, look; we're moving. I thought we were going to fly. Aren't we... Oh, my, Grampa. Look at the size of those wings. Oh, oh, oh, I'm scared, Grampa. GRAMPA! Oh, here we go! Oh, oh, oh. Yes, Grampa. Look, we're flying! Yeah, Mr. Dragon. We're flying! Wait 'til I tell Melody about this at school. She never believes anything I tell her. Look out, Mr. Dragon! We're going to fly into that glass tower with the fat lady in it, Grampa. WE'RE GOING TO... Oh, my! That was close." Four minutes and three thousand words later, Harry and his riders came in for a landing.

At four thirty, Harry went to find Hermione, Ron and Honey. This time, Ron turned out to be the easiest to find, due mostly to the fact that they were at the Weasley family reunion and he and Honey enjoyed flying on the carpet so much. Hermione, on the other hand, could be anywhere.

"Have you two seen Hermione, lately?" asked Harry. "We were all supposed to meet with Scrimgeour to discuss this weeks attacks and our strategies for dealing with the older Death Eaters."

"I think she was over with Ginny and Neville," said Honey. "That was a bit ago, though."

Ron signaled that he and Honey would make a few passes over the crowd and try to spot her. They rose up and, to the apparent disappointment of Ron, almost immediately came back down. Hermione was now in sight and about twenty yards away and closing. She didn't look like she was going to kill him so Harry simply greeted her with a kiss. At least that was the plan.

"You can save your pucker until you clean off that frosting," she said. She might be willing to allow a little youthful indiscretion from him, to a point, but she didn't have to get it all over her jumper.

"No problem," said Harry. He began to scoop up a bit of the loose cake and frosting with his fingers and euphorically lick them clean.

"You are such a pig," said Hermione. She turned to Honey, apparently seeking some sororital commiseration. Upon viewing her reaction, however, she asked, "What?"

Honey blushed but Ron merely grinned. "Well," said Honey, currently the mandatory spokesperson for the couple, "that's almost exactly how Ron and I got cleaned up." She had, by the fact of being seated behind Ron at the time of the charge, become as covered as anyone. Now, however, she seemed to be almost completely clean.

"Almost?" asked Hermione, not really needing to be told about the difference.

"We, uh," began Honey, "well, we sort of cleaned each other up a bit."

"I see," said Hermione. Looking back at Harry, she asked, "I suppose you'd like it if I helped clean you up, as well?"

Harry stopped his eating and held out his arms to her. Hermione pulled out her wand and said, "Aquamenti." A jet of water sprayed out and hit Harry fully in the chest. As if expecting this reaction, Harry slowly turned around and began scrubbing the cake off as if he were in the shower. Hermione stopped when he was clean and compassionately dried him off.

"Thanks, I think," said Harry. "I probably couldn't have eaten it all, anyway."

"And a good thing it is that you didn't try," said Molly, coming up from behind. She hugged Harry and said, "This was such a wonderful idea, Harry. I can't remember the last time my whole family was around me." She tightened up for a second, stifling a tear or two. "I suppose you're looking for a snack or two." She led him to a table that she had stocked with her own home-cooked treats.

"I don't know why you went to all that trouble, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. "Half of the food in Hogsmeade is here."

"I just wanted to make sure, dear," said Molly. "Now, help yourself." Harry gathered up a plateful of delicious snacks and began to visit with the rest of his adopted family.

"Hello, Harry," exclaimed Charlie. "That was some flight! I've worked with dragons for years but I never met any that I'd want to sit on. Wait until I tell the blokes I work with about it."

"Did you get a picture for proof?" asked Harry.

"He certainly did," said Fred, holding up his camera.

"And he can have a print for the low, low price of only ten galleons," said George.

"Perhaps you could give your brother a better discount than that," suggested Hermione.

"I suppose that would be a possibility," said Fred.

"In theory, at least," affirmed George.

"That reminds me," said Harry. "I seem to remember seeing an interesting poster of a dragon flying around the Burrow. The funny part is, I have no memory of receiving a royalty check."

"Perhaps we could do a bit better," said Fred.

"After all, what's-his-name is family," agreed George.

"So, let's see," pondered Fred, looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione. "How does free sound?"

"It sounds like you've got yourself a deal," said Charlie.

"Could you three step over here with Ron and me for a moment?" asked Honey, discreetly. She indicated Ron, sitting on his carpet which was draped loosely over the bench of a picnic table.

"Sure," said Harry and Charlie, together. Hermione didn't speak but led the way.

When they were all seated, Honey said, "Ron has a few things that he wanted to ask Charlie and Hermione." She looked at Harry and added, "You're the subject, in case you wonder why you were invited."

"Why would Ron ask Charlie and Hermione questions about me if I'm sitting right there?" asked Harry.

Ron wrote, 'Because you won't know many of the answers.' At Harry's slightly hurt look, he added, 'Reality is a harsh mistress.'

Harry laughed and said, "Okay, Ron. Let's see what the experts know about me that I don't."

It was Honey who had Ron's prepared list of questions. "First," she began, "a question for Charlie. What is the maximum speed for a dragon?"

"That depends on the dragon and it's reasons for going fast," said Charlie, unhelpfully. "On average, a well motivated dragon can usually make at least a hundred miles per hour but we only have anecdotal information about that sort of thing. As you can probably imagine, we don't usually let them loose on purpose just to do some time trials."

"There is also the fact that dragons can't fly in the usual sense of the word," added Hermione. This statement caught everyone, except Charlie, it seemed, by surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry. "Dragons fly quite well, thank you."

"She means that they don't fly using proper aerodynamics," said Charlie. "The wings would have to be much larger than they are in order to get the proper amount of lift."

"So how is it," asked Harry, "that dragons manage to achieve flight when you two don't seem to think they should be able to get off the ground?"

"Dragons fly because they are magical," stated Hermione. "You spend most of your time gliding through the air, when in reality, you should be flapping your butt off just to slow the impact before you hit the ground. You and the real dragons fly because you think you can. Naturally, you have to have the magic in place to back that belief up but that is how it works. For dragons, and you in your animagus form, flight is purely a function of your magical power."

"I guess that the best way to answer that question would be to get someone to chase after me on a broom and see how fast I can go," said Harry, logically.

"I didn't bring a broom but I'd like that job," said Charlie.

"Okay," said Hermione. "We'll do that tomorrow. Oh, your family is staying the night, aren't they?"

"I think so," said Charlie, "but I can't speak for everyone. I will, at the least. I wouldn't miss this for a thousand galleons."

"Next question," said Hermione to Honey.

"Well," started Honey, "we know that your clothes are incorporated into your animagus form when you change. Ron noticed that the frosting disappeared when you were a dragon but came back when you returned to being a man. We were wondering what would be the effect of changing while you were under your invisibility cloak."

For once, Hermione didn't know the answer. "I hate to admit it," said Hermione, "but I don't have a clue." Honey gasped and placed her hand over her mouth while Ron's head slammed into the table top, apparently unconscious, from the shock. Harry lept up and jumped back from her.

"Very funny," said Hermione. "There are millions of things I don't know."

Harry stepped forward and said, "Millions? Maybe 'dozens', I suppose, but not 'millions'."

"We can answer that question at the same time as we check your speed," said Hermione, ignoring Harry. "Next question, please."

"Is Harry able to talk to other dragons?" asked Honey. "We discussed this and the actual information we would need would be where the nearest place that Harry could try to talk to dragons might be."

"I've never tried to talk at all while I was a dragon," said Harry. "What makes you think that dragons talk to each other?"

"They can communicate," said Charlie, "at least to some degree. I'm not sure it's a language or just moods but they seem to get the drift."

"We'll just have to try it, I suppose," said Hermione. "I believe there are dragons in England."

"Of course, there are," said Charlie. "They're plenty of Hebridean Blacks on Muck."

"Where?" asked Honey, Hermione and Harry simultaneously.

"The island of Muck. It's near the south end of the Inner Hebrides. We can probably kill two birds with one stone. I'll fly there and Harry can follow as a dragon. The distance can be determined from any decent map so we can calculate his speed."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Harry. "We can loan you one of our firebolts."

"One of them?" asked Charlie, incredulously. "How many do you have?"

"Let's see," said Hermione. "I have one, as do Ron and Harry."

"Don't forget Ginny," said Harry. "She has one, too."

"That's four," said Hermione. "We just picked up twelve more so I guess we have sixteen, now."

Charlie looked stunned. "You're sure you didn't knock over Gringotts?" he asked. "Why would you possibly need sixteen firebolts?"

"We don't," said Hermione. "Voldemort keeps sending us presents like this. We picked up quite a few late model Numbus Series brooms and two invisibility cloaks from him this week, as well."

Charlie just looked at them for several seconds, unsure of whether or not they were putting him on. Finally, he said, "Whatever. Where shall we meet, tomorrow?"

"Where are you staying," countered Harry.

"No idea," replied Charlie. "Oy! Dad!" he shouted towards his father. Arthur and Molly both came over.

"This lot needs some dragon help tomorrow," said Charlie. "Where are we staying, tonight?"

"We were planning on returning to the Burrow," said Molly. "I should have a charge built up by then."

"I could pick you up there," offered Harry, "or we could put you up here. Whatever you want."

"If we're flying to Muck," reasoned Charlie, "I should probably stay here. It's only a hundred miles or so to the west from here."

"That's fine," said Hermione. "Winky."

"No!" shouted Harry, but too late.

"Mistress is needing something?" said Winky, popping next to her. She only had one clipboard left and the moneybag was much lighter than before but she looked even more agitated.

"I'm sorry, Winky," said Hermione. "We should have asked Slinky to take care of this."

Winky looked like she was going to say something to Hermione but changed her mind. Winky said, "Master is being giving rides in five minutes." With an annoyed 'pop', she was gone.

Hermione looked at Harry with an 'oops' sort of look before saying, "Slinky."

Slinky appeared a pair of seconds later. "Yes, Mistress," she said. "What is Mistress needing Slinky to be doing?"

"Slinky, this is Charlie Weasley. Slinky, could you set up a flat in the Fortress for him for tonight?"

"Slinky is being told by Aunt Winky that Slinky is not to be doing the work at the Fortress of Solitude since there is being bad wizards there, Mistress," said Slinky. "Slinky will be calling Aunt Winky for Mistress."

"Oh, no!" said Harry and Hermione as Winky popped into view. Winky looked around and sighed.

Harry spent part of the next half hour trying to decide which of his elves was, at that very moment, more upset with him. The bad part, of course, was he knew the answer. He pondered on how, in the mixed up world of house elves, he could show his appreciation for the herculean effort Winky had put into making this the Party of the Year. He realized, of course, that the one thing she needed the most would insult her if he even mentioned it. Somehow, though, he knew she could really, REALLY, use a vacation.

When Harry finished his shift, he quickly gathered his cohorts and went in search of Scrimgeour. They were supposed to talk today, after all. They checked the dunk tank first. Minerva told them that he had been there for only his ten shots. Greta had taken most of them as his granddaughter but he also wanted at least a little of the personal touch. Harry then remembered a portion of Greta's ramblings and they went to check out the kiddie area. It was at the broom rides that their search ended.

"Hello, at last," said Harry as they sat next to Scrimgeour. "You've led us on a merry chase." Greta was following a magically enforced figure eight course on a half-sized broomstick. She was starting to get at the upper end of the age where this activity was fun but had not quite reached that point yet, if her smile was any indication.

"It's easy," said the Minister. "Just follow a five year old girl. On behalf of Greta, I'd like to thank you for the twenty licorice wands she picked up at the Honeydukes display." He looked around and added, "Actually, I'd like to thank you on behalf of my aurors, as well. This was a tough week for them and their families. Something like this was just the ticket."

"I'm happy to be able to do something, Minister," said Harry, honestly. "For now, though, we have business to discuss. Just give me a moment to lessen the chances that we will be overheard." Harry cast the muffliato spell around their area. "First; did you bring the list of Death Eaters for Martha?"

"Martha?" asked Scrimgeour. "I have the list of Death Eaters you asked for but you didn't say anything about Martha needing it."

"Oh, sorry," said Harry. "She works for us. I probably shouldn't say any more than that to protect her identity."

"It wouldn't be Martha Murphy, would it?" asked Scrimgeour, quietly. He had a half smirk on his face suggesting that he knew quite well that he was right.

"How did you know that, Minister?" asked Hermione, just as quietly. "We are very concerned with keeping her employment quiet so as not to endanger her or her family."

"I've known Martha her whole life," said Scrimgeour. "Her dad, Minty, and I worked on more than one assignment together. Don't worry about me doing or saying anything to give her away. After you rescued her, I had to content myself with just a quick, anonymous visit with her and Merry, her brother. Like you, I didn't want to draw attention to her. Of course, she might want to stop visiting with her old friends if she was really concerned about secrecy." He indicated they should look over his left shoulder and, sure enough, about forty feet away, there was Martha, chatting away with some other auror families with Oliver sitting next to her. Wood was also doing his share of talking with some of the older boys and from his hand and body movements, Harry was sure he knew what he was talking about.

"It was probably a mistake for either of them to come to the party," said Harry. "I hope no harm comes of it."

"Harry," said Scrimgeour, "you can only take reasonable precautions to protect people, even those you care about or even love. They will still need to breathe, to visit with friends and family, to get out and about." He looked back at Martha and the young man sitting next to her. "They even need to be able to fall in love, regardless of the dangers. What you can do is not draw attention to your relationship with her. As I have said, you and I have the same problem in that regard."

"What do you mean, Minister?" asked Harry.

"We can't be too open about who we care about," replied the Minister. He indicated Ron, Honey and Hermione. "Your wife and friends are at risk, not only because they are working with you, but also because you care about them. That makes them targets; just to get at you. I'm the Minister of Magic. Before that, I was hounding Voldemort and his Death Eaters for over twenty years. During that time, I eventually became enough of a nuisance to qualify for having my wife killed. For a long time, I kept my daughter virtually locked away to keep her safe. After you defeated Voldemort as a baby, I allowed her to breathe free again, but it was too late. She hated me for protecting her. Years later, we finally made amends but when Voldemort rose again, she and her husband, a fine auror named Gary Grundle, refused to hide. I was head of the auror office at the time and an old personal foe of Voldemort. Well, you've already guessed why Greta lives with me. I won't make quite the same mistake again, though. Greta will grow up in the world, not hiding from it." He leaned back and, with a wink, added, "Of course, as Minister of Magic, I'm allowed my own security guard and I can assign them where I want. Greta is guarded very well, night and day, but the possibility exists that she, too, might be targeted. I can't help that. About all I can do is to not draw attention to her. That is what I'm trying to say, Harry."

Harry thought about what Scrimgeour had said. He looked back at Martha. He had saved her life. He felt a personal obligation to ensure that she remained safe but he realized now that that was not his responsibility. The same was true of Ron, Honey and even Hermione. "I understand, Minister," said Harry. "Soon; tomorrow, in fact; we will be confronted with just that sort of a problem. We plan on releasing our captured Death Eaters from their loyalty enchantment. At that time, we will determine who among them were innocent victims and who were willing accomplices. We have debated long and hard on what to do with those who are in our cells by no fault of their own."

"Of course," put in Hermione, "there are other things to consider besides their safety. Without going into details, if Voldemort recaptured any of them, he would probably be able to discover exactly where our fortress is located."

"That could be a problem," agreed Scrimgeour. "Which way are you leaning as to possible solutions?"

"We need to find out how many of our current prisoners are really innocent, of course," explained Hermione, "but if we get a couple dozen or so, we were thinking about asking them to join us as a separate fighting unit. That would, of course, be strictly voluntary."

"Another personal army?" asked Scrimgeour. "You're going to make me suspect that Fudge was right about you, after all."

"Well," began Harry, "they can't really go home anyway and it's not like we're holding a wand to their heads. We don't even know if anybody will be interested."

Ron held up a note that read 'Wood seemed to be okay with the idea.'

"I'm not saying that you couldn't get a few wizards to sign on," said Scrimgeour. "I'm not sure what I'm saying. I think you might be right that they won't be able to go back to their homes but it takes a long time to train enough to have a chance against a regular Death Eater. Even then..." He trailed off, the rest not needing to be said.

Ron had a thought and wrote, 'What about other things? What are fully trained aurors doing that could just as easily be done by partially trained stand-ins?'

"Oh," said Hermione. "You mean like the way we have Martha and the..., er, her team doing the maps. Oops. I shouldn't have said that, either." She turned to Harry and asked, "Can't we talk freely with the Minister, yet? He suspects most of it, anyway, and Slider was a big clue, as well."

"Let me guess," said Scrimgeour. "I think the last pieces of the puzzle just fell into place." He looked around and leaned in. Speaking softly, he said, "Martha's team is made up mostly or entirely of elves. The maps are similar to the ones you gave us but are probably better in some way. Ron's idea is to train any volunteer ex-Death Eaters to do clerical or low risk tasks so that our fully trained aurors can do their jobs."

"At least we're consistent," said Harry. "If we talk to anyone for more than five minutes, they know pretty much everything about us. So, what do you know about our fortress?" He wasn't sure what they had already mentioned about that but Scrimgeour's response might help clarify things.

"I know at least three things," said the Minister. "First; Voldemort would recognize it if he saw it in a memory. Second; it is large and secure enough to house dozens of Death Eaters, both authentic and coerced, as well as be a command center. Third; you have been trying to make it appear that it is extremely far north; perhaps as far as the North Pole, but I don't think it is there."

"What would make you think it might have been near the North Pole in the first place?" asked Hermione, trying to remember if they had mentioned that bit of information to the Minister in the past.

"We had some interesting reports from the clothing stores on Diagon Alley trickle in during the past couple of days," said Scrimgeour. "I was waiting at Azkaban with most of my aurors so we couldn't have checked on it anyway, but on the day of the attacks, some less than savory individuals were on a strange mission. Seems they were looking for heavy parkas, boots, insulated tents, that sort of thing. They were also in a hurry. Now I didn't notice any of the attackers at Azkaban wearing heavy clothing and Dawlish didn't make mention of anything along those lines in his report so I can only assume that they were for the third wave of attackers; the ones who went to your fortress. You mentioned in the paper that none of them returned so I can only assume that was some sort of a brilliant Ron Weasley trap." He looked at Hermione and amended, "Just a moment. I believe that you said it was your idea, Hermione. We were interrupted during the explanation, though."

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron for permission to proceed. She had been on the verge of telling the tale once before but it was after a major attack, Ron had just been saved and they were all dead tired. In the present, she wasn't so sure of what she could reveal.

Harry, after receiving a nod from Ron, said, "Go ahead, Hermione. I'm sure we're all on the same side."

Hermione gathered her thoughts and said, "Well, Minister; I suppose I should say that we do actually have facilities near the North Pole but they are fairly limited. We've already mentioned that we have to remove the arms with the dark marks. We keep them up there."

"So when they are tracked," said Scrimgeour, "they would be led to the far north. Ingenious."

"Thanks," said Hermione. "I don't know if Voldemort will fall for that trick again, though. Even so, his tracking methods will only point in that direction so he won't be able to find us in that manner."

"So how did all of that help you capture forty or so Death Eaters?" asked Scrimgeour, getting back to the original point of the conversation.

"While we were visiting," said Hermione, "we became aware of a portkey target charm that had recently been placed about fifty miles or so away from the ice fortress. We knew at that point that we had been more or less located but that our exact position was not yet known. As we were discussing possible moves, I thought of a little known characteristic of magical travel. As you know, when you portkey or apparate, as long as the technique is sound, you land on your feet and on the ground about where you want. Many times, you will find yourself next to someone. It is a built in feature, if you will, of magical travel that you can't end up inside a wall or furniture or another person. You also won't have your feet embedded in six inches of floor, either. All of these minor positional adjustments are automatic. At a certain point, however, the effectiveness wears off. You will always be moved away from objects or people but the landing on the ground enchantment will give up at around ten or fifteen feet. Harry uses that from time to time when he apparates into the sky. There is no ground so he just pops into thin air."

"So how was this useful, Hermione?" asked Scrimgeour.

"I had Slider enchant the portkey target to hover around forty feet in the air," answered Hermione. "It is also too late in the year for any light from the sun to reach that far north and the bitter cold and wind would also be disorienting. So basically, they would..."

"They would pop in cold, blind and falling," said Scrimgeour. "Before they could do anything, they would hit the ground." He looked at Hermione and said, "You aren't so nice after all, are you?"

"I've heard," said Hermione, coldly. "It worked, though. We left the portkey target just in case Voldemort wants to try it again but I don't think he'll make the same mistake twice."

"Probably not," agreed Scrimgeour. "Still, you never know. After that article has some time to work on him, he might send a few men to check it out."

Ron wrote, 'It might be in our best interest to put it back on the ground, then. Let it be useful for a small group or two and then put it back in the air.'

"The trick with that is knowing when to put it back," said Harry. "He might surprise us and come in with a huge force too soon."

'That would not be all bad,' wrote Ron. 'Imagine you were a Death Eater and you came to rescue your mates. After fighting through the cold, dark, snow and ice, you finally enter the fortress north and all you find are the arms of Death Eaters. It might be a bit unnerving.'

Just then, Winky popped over. "It is being time for Master to be giving rides, Master," she said. She waited impatiently for Harry to make some signs of rising.

Harry got the hint and said, "You may all continue to discuss this while I'm busy." He rose and left for his fourth shift of dragon rides.

The unusual part of this particular set of rides was who was first in line. Harry suspected that the gap between the couple at the top of the stairs and the line forming a few steps below was due to the uncertainty of those witches and wizards on what the structural and magical weight limitations of the steps actually were. Harry resisted the urge to let his knees buckle while they took their seats. It was, he knew, a major step for his relatives in their advancement towards accepting their adopted world. Even so, and with the normal full load of fourteen other passengers plus the safety elf, the presence of Uncle Vernon did make it a bit harder to pull out of the dives.

When Harry completed his shift and made his final landing shortly after six-thirty, he placed his wand to his throat and said, "Sonorus. May I have your attention, please. At seven o'clock, the last series of dragon rides will commence. If you wish to participate, that will be your final chance for the day. Thank you." He then ended the spell and went to look for everyone.

Not having much hope for success, he started back where he had left everyone; at the kiddie rides. He was surprised to find everyone was still sitting at the parent's tables. Greta was now happily playing the simple, muggle game of tag with a large group of children. They appeared, to Harry at least, as if they were emulating a school of fish. The child currently designated 'It' would chase after the others, hoping to tag them. They all were trying to put this off, of course, and would retreat. Those behind would flow forwards to get a glimpse of the actual tag. When the transfer of 'itdom' was made, they would change direction and the process would start over.

"Greta seems to be having a good day," said Harry, taking a seat next to Hermione. She was working on a grilled steak dinner and was currently enjoying her baked potato.

"I'd have to say that is true for everyone," said McGonagall. Harry had not noticed her, sitting as she was on the far side of Scrimgeour.

"Hello, Minerva," said Harry, in greeting. "Have you satisfied your thirst for vengeance against Umbridge?"

Minerva said, "I've made a good start, Harry. I've decided to work on another kind of thirst for awhile." She held up a glass of gillywater. "My arm was starting to get sore, anyway." She went back to eating her fried chicken.

"It seems that I missed the official start of the feeding frenzy," said Harry, noting that he was, in fact, the only one without a plate of food in front of him.

"We wanted to wait until you returned," said Honey, "but then we changed our minds and tucked in." Ron nodded in agreement between bites. Honey's parents had also found their daughter but were, as yet, inexperienced in the younger set's banter so remained observers.

"I suppose I'd better gather up a few crumbs, then," said Harry, rising.

"Or you could thank your lucky stars that you have such a wonderful wife," said Hermione. She pulled out a fully loaded plate from under a napkin. The food was steaming since she had thoughtfully placed a heating charm on it.

"I hereby thank my lucky stars that I have such a wonderful wife," said Harry. He sat back down and seemed hesitant to start without a quick inventory.

"And for dessert," said Hermione, pulling out a veritable mountain of treacle tart and placing it in front of him.

Harry looked at the tart and then his wife. He sang, "Hermione's the lass who's won my heart; the love of my life, we'll never part. She loads up my plate with treacle tart; it looks like a lot but it's just a start."

"Must you demonstrate abilities that you didn't acquire from Fawkes in public?" asked Hermione, covering her ears.

"You like my singing when we take our bath," countered Harry.

"I tolerate your singing when we take our bath," corrected Hermione.

"Who dropped a house on you?" asked Scrimgeour. At everyone's startled looks he said, "I think Harry has a fine singing voice."

"Thank you, Rufus," said Harry. "Perhaps we'll do some duets later."

"Perhaps," said the Minister, tipping back his glass. "It depends on how far Minerva and I get on this bottle." The gillywater was mostly gone, due to the fact that two experienced drinkers were working on it.

"I've got more, Rufus," said McGonagall.

After a pause, Honey suggested, "Perhaps we should fill Harry in on what was discussed while he was flying around." She then looked at her parents and said, "I'm sorry, but as you've probably gathered, we're up to our necks in secret things. Could you please excuse us without hating me?" She looked like she was actually worried that they might do just that.

Oh, don't be silly," said Nesta. "Luke and I will visit with your new in-laws until you're done." They both rose and walked off towards the Weasley gathering.

"Well," began Hermione, "Martha and Oliver had wandered near so we brought up the possibility of people like Wood filling support roles to help out the fully trained aurors. I don't think Oliver liked the idea all that much but Martha thought it was worth offering. I think that people like Oliver would naturally tend to want to directly participate in a fight, mainly due to his missing out on quidditch. Other people, however, might prefer to offer indirect assistance as long as they weren't put in immediate danger."

"Sort of like we're doing with the elves," said Harry. "Some are helping with the maps while others are on strike teams."

"Exactly," agreed Scrimgeour. "I also know of someone who would be able to assist Sergeant Tonks with the in-depth training for helping out with the paperwork or lower risk security details."

"You do?" asked Harry. "Who?"

"Hammer," said Scrimgeour. "He retired for the same reasons as a lot of the older aurors. He was frustrated with the Ministry and the Wizengamot. Fudge cut the Corps to about half the size it needs to be. Those who were left had to deal with a Wizengamot that seemed to be more interested in finding a clerical error in an arrest report than putting evil witches and wizards in Azkaban. An organization such as yours which is, shall we say, more flexible in dealing with Death Eaters might appeal to him."

"That's an interesting comment for the Minister of Magic to make," said Harry.

"Isn't it," agreed Scrimgeour. "I'll try to have a word with him in a bit. Maybe set up a meeting for tomorrow. I believe you said that you would be able to separate the wheat from the chaff by then?"

"I'll check with Madam Pomfrey but that was the original schedule," confirmed Hermione.

Ron wrote, 'We won't really be able to know the size and composition of the ex-Death Eaters until then. Perhaps we should discuss our various strategies with dealing with Voldemort at that time.'

"I agree," said Scrimgeour. "I'm getting a bit well oiled, anyway. Perhaps I should just have a quick word with Hammer; Harry can finish his last set of rides and we can all enjoy the rest of the evening."

"That's an excellent idea," said Minerva. "I'd like to take one more ride, anyway. Would you and your granddaughter care to join me?"

"I think if I twist her arm, Greta might agree," laughed Scrimgeour. He looked at his watch and said, "I'll tell you what, Minerva; you gather up Greta and meet me at the steps a bit before six o'clock. I'll go have my chat with Hammer." With Minerva's agreement, he walked off; his limp seemingly shifting from leg to leg as he moved.

"When did Rufus become such a nice guy?" asked Harry. He remembered the icy, early days of their relationship quite clearly.

"How did he become 'Rufus'?" asked Hermione. She thought a moment and said, "I think it was because he was not much of a politician before becoming Minister of Magic. He probably thought Fudge was right, at times, and that having you on his side would help calm down a panicky public. He just wanted you on his terms. Now, he sees you as more of an ally instead of an asset. You are starting to see him the same way. In the end, you both have the same goal; bringing down Voldemort."

"I think you're on to something, dear," said Harry. He then grinned and asked, "Are you going to go on a dragon ride?"

"If you promise to take it easy. Greta's just about out of steam. She must be running purely on adrenaline by now."

Harry said, "I promise. This was supposed to be your day, too. I'll be good, just this once."

Harry was good; to a point. That point was crossed, however, after he heard Greta calling out, "Faster, Mr. Dragon. You went much faster last time. Are you tired, Mr. Dragon? You didn't look that old, to me." Harry decided that since he had a safety elf and an automatic scary detector, he would ramp things up a bit for this last ride. He flapped his wings a bit and rose about two thousand more feet before...

"Harry! Don't you dare do a power dive! Oh, Oh, Oh! OH! HARREEEEEEEEEEE!!" The detector had gone off. Harry dove at about an eighty degree angle until he was five hundred feet over the crowd; the children on his back, and some adults, screaming in delight (save one). He then pulled out and, for reasons known only to him, continued pulling out until he had finished his loop. His only hope, of course, was that she would calm down in the next half hour.

"Potter!" whispered Hermione, gently. "Just what in the bloody.."

"Didn't you see that baby duck that flew right in front of us?" asked Harry, inventing wildly. "I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to miss it." He tried to look shocked and relieved.

"You had a bloody half hour to come up with something and that's it? What's your emergency backup lie?" asked Hermione, unmoved.

Harry knew that if she could joke about it, she wasn't going to kill him. "Well, I'm trying to save that one for a greater need."

"I see," said Hermione. She walked up and kissed him. "The dance starts in a half hour. Do you need to take a break before we lead that off?"

"No, I'm fine," said Harry. He sighed. Looking around, he said, "This has turned out to be a lot bigger than I ever imagined. Do you have any ideas on how we can properly let Win..., I mean, a certain female elf that we own, know how much we appreciate her hard work?"

"It'll be tricky," said Hermione. "Did you notice how close she is to snapping?"

"How could I miss it?" asked Harry. "She needs a vacation. I'm pretty sure that she won't want one, though."

"No doubt," agreed Hermione. "Perhaps we can come up with an assignment for her that will be relaxing."

"Something like, 'Please go to the beach and read these forty books.' or 'Pet this cat for two hours a day for a week.' That sort of thing?" asked Harry.

"That might be what it takes," agreed Hermione. They had walked randomly until they found themselves next to the dunk tank.

"Hello, Sassy," said Harry. "How was business, today?" He looked in the basin and noted that it was on the verge of overflowing with sickles.

"It is being very good, Harry Potter," said Sassy. "We isn't stopping all day." She continued to take the sickles and hand out the quaffle while she talked. The cries of Umbridge had dulled to bare minimum. She was exhausted and, presumably hungry.

"That's fine," said Harry. "You can close this down at eight o'clock. Then put her back in her cell and see she has a good meal." He was on the verge of leading Hermione away when they noticed that Dougal was in line. Despite the fact that he was on the Inquisitorial Squad, it seemed that Dougal didn't have a problem with dropping their former headmistress fifty feet into a tank of freezing water. The unusual part was that Luna was not with him.

"Hello, Dougal," said Hermione as they approached. "Going to try your luck?"

"I don't think that luck has much to do with it," said Dougal. "I was watching some pretty poor shots earlier that still managed to get through the hoop. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." They all laughed.

"Where's your better half?" asked Harry. He looked around; it being so unusual for the two of them to be separated this long while not in class.

"She said she wanted to change for the dance," said Dougal. "Probably trading her turnip earrings for radishes or something."

"Well, be sure she's out on the floor for the first dance," said Hermione. "She's one of the Guests of Honor, after all."

"We'll be there," said Dougal.

"I'm jealous," said Hermione as they walked away.

"About what?" asked Harry.

"Luna's dress," replied Hermione. "This is the perfect occasion and she will be the star of the dance."

"She deserves it," said Harry. "She's been ridiculed for five years. It's about time everyone sees what a special and wonderful person she is."

"Now I'm really jealous, Mr. Sweet Talker," said Hermione. "Do you suppose Dougal's right?"

"About what?" asked Harry.

"That she'll have turnip earrings to go with her ten-thousand galleon dress?" replied Hermione.

"It didn't cost that much," said Harry. "Of course Chroma Crystals aren't exactly cheap, either."

"No, they aren't," agreed Hermione. "Harry; there was a pair of yellow sapphire earrings that weren't part of a set in with our jewelry. We haven't given Luna a present yet, unless you count the party. I was wondering if we might go back to Honey's place and pick them up, just in case."

Harry kissed her. "I love you, Hermione," he said. "Of course." He offered her his hand and they popped back to retrieve the earrings.

Hermione quickly located them and took Harry's hand again, preparing to return to the party. Before he could do so, she let go and went and retrieved a shimmering pearl necklace. "If we're going to help her with a makeover," explained Hermione, "we might as well do it right." She took his hand again and they were off.

Harry and Hermione had only waited on the castle side of the party for five minutes before they saw the shimmering image of Luna approaching out of the twilight. Her jeweled dress caught the torchlight surrounding the pavilion completely and she seemed to glow with an inner fire.

"Hello, Luna," said Harry, approaching her. "You look beautiful." He reached out and kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you very much, Harry," said Luna. "This has been a wonderful day."

"We have a couple of presents for you," said Hermione. She had noted that Luna was, indeed, wearing her butterbeer cork necklace along with her radish earrings. "We thought that you might want to accent your dress with something a bit more, ah, sparkly." She didn't want to say 'better' so as not to offend her friend. She held out the sapphire earrings and pearl necklace.

"I think the yellow sapphires go perfectly with your hair," said Hermione. "The necklace is just a bit more traditional than your buttebeer corks."

Luna said, "Thank you, again." She remained silent as she changed her earrings. When it came time for he necklace, however, she hesitated.

"You don't have to use the necklace, if you don't want to," said Hermione. "We just thought you might want to 'dress up' tonight."

"I appreciate it," said Luna. "I'm just a bit sad."

"Sad?" asked Harry. "Why would you be sad, Luna? This is a happy day."

"Today was wonderful," said Luna. "I will wear the necklace." She reverently removed her necklace from around her neck and, after a moments contemplation, offered it to Harry. "Could you hold this for me, Harry? I don't have a pocket."

"Sure," said Harry, placing the corks and string in his inside robe pocket.

"Thanks," said Luna, as Hermione helped her fix the pearls. "I made that with my mother on the morning before she had her accident. I guess it always comforted me to know that I had something from the two of us with me."

Harry remained silent. He knew that if he spoke, he would be overcome with emotion. He had lost his mother, too, of course, but had nothing of hers. He would trade the contents of Honey's dining room table for a trinket like Luna's. He knew, of course, that Luna held her old necklace in just as high a regard.

"Well," said Luna, forcing a smile to her lips, "I have to grow up, sometime. I have Dougal to comfort me, now. I hope he likes how I look."

"He's not a fool," said Harry. "Just keep that smile coming. It doubles your beauty."

Luna beamed at them both. She turned and went off in search of Dougal.

"Welcome, friends," said Harry. It was eight o'clock and time for the dance to start. "It has been a wonderful day and I thank you all very much for sharing it with us." A round of applause followed, letting Harry know that the efforts were appreciated.

"Without further ado," said Harry, "I will introduce the Guests of Honor, one last time so that we may lead off the dance. Our first dance duo is Luna Lovegood and Dougal Weasley." Luna and Dougal walked out to join Harry and Hermione. There were gasps as those who hadn't yet seen her, saw Luna in her dress. Her smile was a radiant as ever. Dougal seemed to be a bit odd, though. Harry had no time to dwell on that, however.

"The other birthday girl is Minerva McGonagall and her dance partner, Rufus Scrimgeour." Minerva and Scrimgeour approached the other couples in slightly less than a straight line but made it in one piece.

"I now give you the future Ron and Honey Weasley." Laughter and applause accompanied them as Ron and Honey glided in on the carpet. For the dance, at least, they had situated themselves facing each other; Honey sitting in Ron's lap with her legs wrapped around him and his arms supporting her.

"Don't they look cozy," observed Harry. Again, more laughter and more than a few suggestive comments.

"Lastly, I will join with my wife, Hermione. Thanks for coming and let the music begin."

The band, a twenty piece big band, started up with 'Stardust'. It was, thankfully, slow enough for everyone, including the eldest principal dancers. Harry noticed that Minerva and Scrimgeour seemed to be making a team effort at holding each other up. They were, fortunately, evenly matched in height so that it was working out for them. After a few measures, the other couples who were so inclined, joined them on the dance floor and the evening melted into a slow and comfortable winding down that left everyone feeling relaxed and at peace. The fireworks at the end, although spectacular, of course, was as nothing compared to the sparkle Harry saw in his wife's eyes as they embraced, reclining against a pillar as the world spun, for tonight, at least, without them.