The three boys had just made it down the front steps and into the street out the front of Gringotts when Bill's voice called out for them to duck. I looked at where he was pointing and saw two people drawing their wands and pointing them at the group. Ivan quickly dispatched the two with some very quick stunners of the type Dave had demonstrated previously at the Burrow.

Only one of the two was able to get a stunner off at the boys and Harry was able to quickly block it. They then began to make their way back up the steps when another two attackers appeared, one of them raised his wand and pointed it at their backs. As he did so a familiar looking brownish hex was launched from it. The moment the Hex left his wand, Dave turned to face him, and in a repeat of his duelling session with Auror Graves, he caught the spell and sent it back to his attacker.

The difference being that this time the spell that he sent back was a much darker brown and had been duplicated. As both attackers were struck by the same dark brown hex. They fell to the ground screaming and in undeniable agony. From where I was standing they looked to be getting attacked by their own bogeys, but they were much larger than the bat bogeys that I had seen Ginny produce before.

While this had been happening both Ivan and Arthur had their mirror phones out and were calling in reinforcements. Ivan was calling Dave's team while Arthur was calling in Gawain and his Aurors. Bill and Arthur were trying to direct Ginny and me away from the battle in the street. The three boys were still at the base of the steps, only now they were standing back to back and were fighting off multiple sets of attackers. Their attackers looked to be coming at them from all sides. Yet the response from the boys seemed to be very restrained and measured. The reason for this didn't become clearer until afterwards.

Dave's team along with Pepper, Percy, George and Charlie, began arriving. Most of them were appearing further out from where the boys were. This enabled them to be able to engage the bulk of the attackers from behind. Fireball and Shelly, however, appeared right next to their father. Gawain, Greg, Walt and Faye Apparated next to us at about the same time also.

Ivan exchanged a quick blank look with Fireball and Shelly. They both then grabbed Gawain and disappeared. Very shortly afterwards Gawain re-appeared with Harry and Ron in tow.

"Why did you pull us out of there?" Ron angrily demanded of Gawain.

"He did so at my request," Ivan told him in a tone that indicated that no arguments were to be entered into. "You and Harry look to be the main targets of this attack. As such we need to deny you to the enemy." He explained.

"You expect us to hide?" Harry almost snapped at Ivan.

"No, I expect you to do your job and play your part." Ivan coolly advised him.

During this exchange, Gawain had been looking around and was assessing the situation. When he turned to look over his shoulder into the street the light of comprehension dawned on him, he then displayed a vicious grin. One that put me in mind of a dragon that has just realised that it was free to pursue its prey.

"Trainee Auror Potter and Weasley." He snapped. Both Harry and Ron were caught completely off guard by this comment. They both quickly faced Gawain and gave him their full attention, however. "Haven't you realised yet what is going on here?" He asked them. Both of the boys still looked to be a little confused as to what Gawain was getting at.

"You are not being taken out of this fight." Gawain told them, "You're about to be thrown fully into it." He explained as he pointed over his shoulder into the street.

As I looked to where he was pointing, I had to do a double take to fully realise what it was that I was seeing. In the middle of the street were the three boys still fighting with the same measured response as before. But Harry and Ron were visibly standing next to us on the steps.

"What?" Harry remarked.

"Those three are out there in the street to draw the attention and fire of the enemy." Gawain explained while pointing to Dave and his sisters, "This leaves the rest of us free to HUNT THEM ALL DOWN." He instructed Harry and Ron with an iron resolve mixed with eagerness in his voice. Harry's and then Ron's expression indicated that they now understood what was going on.

"Where do we start?" Harry asked trying to hide a grin.

"Rooftops?" Gawain enquired of Ivan.

"Rooftops sounds good to me," Ivan replied calmly as he held out some earpieces. We all quickly took one and were assigned to teams of three. We then took the fight to those that were firing on the 'boys' in the street.

It was a very different approach to how I had experienced battle before. Watching Gawain and his Aurors as well as Dave's team, they did everything that they could to not engage 'head on' with their opponents. When they did so, it seemed to be only to hold them in place for others to move into position behind them.

As strange as I found it I couldn't argue with its effectiveness. In a much shorter time than what I thought possible we had neutralised and secured all of the attackers. As each attacker was taken out, they were securely bound and thoroughly searched for weapons and wands.

To Dave's and Gawain's disbelief, none of the attackers looked to have been carrying a backup wand. This led the two of them to believe that they were not 'professionals'. When they were all gathered together in the street, we realised that there was a sizeable number of them. In all 27 attackers had been captured and secured, the only exceptions were the two who were still on the ground screaming and being attacked by their own bogeys. As we got closer to them, I realised that their bogeys were roughly shaped like an eagle.

When Dave cancelled the Hex, I also noticed that unlike the Bat-Bogey Hex, this 'Eagle Bogey Hex' left the faces of the two attackers a literal bloody mess. Several of us found it difficult to look at the remains of the faces of the two in the street. Dave, however, seemed to be immune to their cries of pain.

"Who sent you?" He asked them in a calm and dispassionate tone of voice.

The two of them made sounds like they might have been attempting to speak, but the sounds were completely unintelligible. I'm still not sure if that was from the damage inflicted by their own bogeys or if it was because of their extended bout of screaming.

"Let's get them cleaned up and out of here." Gawain advised Dave, "In case there are any more around. We can question them properly back at the office." He suggested. After a quick glance at Gawain, Dave agreed. He then cleaned up the blood from the faces of the two attackers. When this had been done, we could see the damage that had been done by the Hex.

Dave then reassembled the bits of bloody flesh of the two who were on the ground and re-joined the pieces into a single complete nose again. Once this had been done the scars left behind were very clear to see. I looked over at Ginny and saw her go very pale at witnessing the results of this Hex that she had viewed at such close range last Thursday at the Burrow.

Gawain's Aurors along with some of Dave's team then began taking the prisoners back to the Ministry. Dave and Gawain were searching the two Dave had just healed. During this search, some familiar looking throwing knives were uncovered.

"Do you want to take these?" Dave asked Gawain.

"For the time being, until we know more about them I'm happy for you to secure them in those cases that you use," Gawain replied.

"Understood," Dave answered as he and Shelly quickly had them secured in the clear cases and secured in the box that he pulled out of his wallet.

"I will let Kingsley know what we did with those knives," Gawain told Dave. Dave nodded his agreement and with that Gawain took the two prisoners and Apparated away to the Ministry.

"Was that the Eagle Bogey Hex that you used on them?" Ginny asked Dave in a small frightened voice. She also looked very pale after witnessing the results of the Hex.

"Yes, it was," Dave answered her calmly.

"That was the same Hex that you changed my Hex into on the day we first met you?" She asked in a small voice, "It could have done that to me?"

"It was the same Hex," Dave replied calmly. Everyone looked to be a little surprised at how calmly he answered that question. "But it would not have done that to you." He explained.

"It wouldn't have?" Ginny asked confusedly. "Why?"

"Because I was a guest at your house." Dave explained, "It would have gotten VERY close to you, but it would never have touched you." He told her.

Ginny and indeed the rest of us were all looking at Dave in amazement, but we also all had questions about his response.

"While your actions on that day angered me more than you could have possibly known at the time" Dave explained, "I hadn't forgotten that I was a guest in your father's house. I certainly hadn't forgotten whose house it was, that I was a guest in also." He told her in a gentle voice. But it also perfectly conveyed his feelings on the matter.

"I understand," Ginny told him as she went and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry." She apologised to him.

"There is nothing to be sorry for Ginny." Dave told her with a smile as he returned her hug, "We were both a little blunt that day. Besides we have already taken care of it." He said with a chuckle.

"We can discuss this further back at the Burrow," Ivan suggested, and Arthur readily agreed. "We don't know if there are any more of them lurking nearby." He advised us.

We all then quickly apparated away.

Arriving at the Burrow, we were met by a clearly worried Molly who quickly located Arthur and checked to see if he was alright. Sandra likewise did the same with Ivan, Fleur with Bill. Gabrielle wasn't far behind in finding Dave and also checking that he wasn't injured. They were all a little startled by the sudden departure of Dave's team.

Once Molly has checked over Arthur she moved on to check over Ginny, me and then Ron. Then Molly and Sandra both checked Harry to make sure he was ok as well. This seemed to surprise Harry and amuse Ron and Dave.

It was only once the girls had gotten everyone back into the Burrow's kitchen and were able to assure themselves that their 'kids' were safe and sound, did the scolding actually begin. Ivan looked to be well used to this and calmly took it in his stride and started to explain what had occurred and what they did about it.

Bill and Arthur also looked to quickly follow Ivan's lead in the explanations. The snag in this plan, however, proved to be Gabrielle. She was becoming rather upset, and a little angry as the story of the attack unfolded. Partway through the story, Dave's mirror phone buzzed with a message, after reading it Dave had a smile on his face (this turned out to not be a good move on his part).

"Gawain tells us that the individuals who were behind the attack earlier, are known members of various gangs of 'snatchers' as he calls them," Dave informed us all. "The two who had their own Hex sent back at them are now singing like proverbial canaries. They are giving Gawain and his team all sorts of useful information. Gawain sends his thanks for such a lovely gift." He advised with a smile.

"All in all, a good morning's work." He stated happily. This appeared to be the wrong thing to say to an already unhappy Gabrielle.

"So you zink zat being attacked and maybe injured or worse is a good zing?" She snapped at a shocked Dave. "Why were you not taken away like 'arry and Ron?" She demanded.

"I was doing my job," Dave replied calmly. Although it was evident, he was surprised by the passion and heat in her voice.

"Ez it your job to be a target for le malfaiteur?" She demanded.

"Le malfaiteur?" Dave asked with a slightly puzzled look. I did notice the effect this look had on Gabrielle, and she had to focus for a moment to keep her anger on Dave.

"Et means criminal or bad guy." Fleur translated for Dave. She too was showing signs of being equally amused and angry with him just now. The play of emotions across her face was almost as entertaining as the ones on Gabrielle's.

"Merci," Dave replied smiling at her (and with a few chuckles from the assembled group) before he returned his attention back to Gabrielle.

"Yes. Sometimes it is." Dave explained to a very shocked Gabrielle. "During an attack or an ambush like we just experienced, it is standard procedure to get the main targets of the attack removed from the scene as quickly as possible."

"This is done to both deny the attackers a 'success' as well as frustrating them into making mistakes." He said as he held Gabrielle's eyes with his own.

"In the case of today's attack, the primary targets had a special significance, so the need to keep them out of the main 'line of fire' was much higher than usual." He explained, "As I wasn't one of the primary targets it was my job to stay behind and with some of my teammates draw the fire of the attackers to keep them pinned in place."

This statement proved to be too much for Gabrielle.

"Why do you not consider yourself to be special? Why?" She almost pleaded, "As you are VERY special to moi." She exclaimed with tears running down her cheeks, as she made to move for the door. While she was significantly closer to the door than Dave was, she never made it that far.

Once more displaying 'enhanced movement' (as I later found out) Dave quickly positioned himself in front of an amazed Gabrielle.

"Will you give me a few moments to explain? Please?" He calmly requested of her, "It is important." He added as he briefly held her in his arms for a few moments. When he released her from his embrace, he once again looked directly into her eyes while wiping away her tears. When she gave him a brief nod, he again smiled at her and said simply, "Merci." This generated a small smile that was quickly banished from Gabrielle's face. Although Fleur and her parents had evidently seen it and shared a secret smile amongst themselves.

"This has nothing whatsoever to do with personal feelings." Dave advised her with a gentle smile, "While it means more to me than you can know, that you consider me to be special. This is bigger than that." He explained to her with another smile and a kiss. This time Gabrielle didn't banish the smile from her face.

"What those attackers were aiming for today was, trying to destroy hope." He advised her, "Far more than any physical damage or injuries that they might have inflicted on any of us. They were trying to destroy hope."

"Because if they managed to kill or injure even a single member of the 'golden trio', they would have very efficiently brought back the atmosphere of fear and worry that the Death Eaters had previously tried so hard to create." He explained to her. This comment also brought several thoughtful looks on the faces of Harry and Ron, as well as myself (as I was later told).

"By showing that Harry, Ron or Hermione could be injured or killed they would have been saying to the Wizarding population of Britain 'See what we can do to your heroes, imagine what we can do to you'."

"Whether they like it or not, Hermione, Ron and Harry are living breathing symbols of hope. As such they are potent weapons for both good as well as evil." Dave explained to Gabrielle as he looked up and took in the crowd in the Burrow's kitchen. He paid particular attention to Harry, Ron and me. He held his gaze on each of us until we acknowledged the message that he was trying to impart to us. After a few brief moments of thought, we all got 'the message'.

"Hope may not have the power of love, but it isn't far behind," Dave explained to Gabrielle and the rest of us. "For with it, people will tackle a seemingly impossible task over and over again. They may not succeed the first or even the tenth time that they try. But as long as that hope is there, they will keep on trying."

"Ultimately that's what Harry, Ron and Hermione represent," Dave told her pointing at the three of us in turn. "They represent that there can be a better tomorrow for all. It may be a bloody long, hard, frustrating and winding road to get there. But with hope in their hearts, people will be willing to try it."

"If we didn't defend it and allowed that hope to die, then all the sacrifice, pain and suffering that everyone recently went through would have been basically for naught." He explained with passion beginning to show in his voice. "Taking into consideration what just the people in this room have sacrificed, I wasn't willing to let that happen." He said with an iron resolve showing. His statement clearly showed that he listed his brother amongst those sacrifices, and I could see him not allowing Jimmy's death to be in vain.

"Does that explain to you why we all did what we did?" Dave asked her as he finished drying the tears on her cheeks.

"Oui." She answered as she burrowed her way into Dave's arms and just held him for several moments. I'm not sure who enjoyed that hug more. But it certainly did bring out several sets of smiles in the room.

"Do you know why our unit's insignia is a Lantern and a Shield?" He asked Gabrielle.

"Non." She replied as she made herself comfortable cuddling up to Dave. Dave looked up at the others in the room to see if any of us had an idea that we were willing to share.

"Is it because that one of your main tasks is to restore people's hope?" I asked before I could help myself.

Dave smiled brilliantly at me before he replied. "That's precisely it Hermione." He replied happily.

"Our unit is concerned with getting people to once again hope, to believe that things can be improved. The muggles call it the 'hearts and minds' approach." He explained, "We teach and train people who are in the area where we are operating. We teach them to believe again, in the rule of law, along with their institutions. But most importantly we get them to have hope, and we do all that we can to fan the fires of that hope."

"The shield is there because we also protect those who are working with us (as well as those who can't protect themselves) while they work on rebuilding their part of the world." He advised her.

"I'm very proud to serve in a unit that has this as its goal and reason for existence." He told Gabrielle with a smile and a kiss.

"While I will do everything in my power…" he said as we all felt (physically and magically) a tremendous surge of magical energy around us. Dave's eyes looked almost like they were glowing as he was saying this to Gabrielle, "…to live up to the promise that I made to you. I cannot and will not back away from my responsibilities to my team and my role within it." He told her with a serious note to his voice. The conviction on that statement also couldn't be ignored either.

Gabrielle looked into Dave's eyes for several moments before she seemed to find what she was looking for. She then gave Dave a very loving smile and pulled his face down for several kisses and a hug.

After Dave's explanation of his view of the world, we all had things to think over. I think this incident along with the attack brought home to me, Ron and Harry that our part in the downfall of Tom Riddle Jnr would indeed follow us around for the rest of our lives. Irrespective of if we wanted it to or not.

Molly was the first one to join Dave and Gabrielle in their embrace. She was quickly joined by Sandra, Apolline, Fleur, Ginny, me and Audrey. Even Dave's sisters and cousin joined in with a roll of their eyes and a good-natured giggle between them. Although I did notice that Cassy made sure that Charlie also came up with her so that she could cuddle him as well.

Once Charlie was up, the other boys quickly joined in as well. I think the only thing stopping the other members of Dave's team joining in was that we were so close to the kitchen door that they couldn't get in.

It was a beautiful moment. Of course, George had to ruin it by putting a charmed rubber snake down the back of Audrey's top and then trying to pin the blame on Ron. This quickly caused the 'group hug' to break up, and we all returned to our original positions. Leaving Dave in the middle of the group.

"Why was it a good thing for them to keep on attacking you in the street like that?" Ginny asked Dave.

"For them to attack us like that, they had to tell us where they were," Dave replied with a small smile. Seeing the look of confusion on Ginny's face, he thought for a moment.

"How about a simplified visual demonstration?" He suggested.

"Ok," Ginny replied happily. I did notice that Ron also was paying more attention with a demonstration on offer.

"Harry, you're the closest. Do you want to help me with this?" Dave asked.

"Sure, I'm game." Was Harry's reply as he extracted himself from Ginny's arms.

"Excellent." Dave replied happily, "Let's make this a fair demonstration, then shall we?" He suggested just before he altered his size and build to match that of Harry.

As he did this the room fell silent. We were all staring at the two of them in wonder. Even Harry looked to be caught off guard. Sandra was speechless as she looked at the two of them. She glanced at Ivan only to see him looking with puzzlement at Dave and Harry. He was also a little confused at the reaction of the others in the room.

Now that Dave was the same size and build as Harry they were almost indistinguishable from each other. The only differences being their eye colour, Harry's scar and glasses along with their clothes.

"Did you only change your size, Dave?" Arthur asked as he continued to look at the two boys.

"Along with build and weight to match Harry." Dave replied with a slightly worried look, "Why? Did I lose something?" He asked as he put his hands on his face and checked his nose, eyebrows, hair and ears. This caused several of us to burst into laughter at Dave's actions.

"No, you didn't forget anything," Molly told Dave while she too was looking at him in wonder while smiling at the pair of them.

"You sure?" Dave asked. "Everyone's looking at me as though there is something wrong with my appearance," Dave replied.

"Hey…" Harry began to reply before Ginny quickly stamped on his foot while trying not to laugh at the situation. But there was also a gleam showing in her eyes that indicated that she had made up her mind about something.

"Everything is fine Dave," Fleur told him with a smile on her face. "Continue on" She suggested and then once Dave's back was turned she looked to Bill with an expression on her face that clearly showed how close she was to entirely lose control of the smile that wanted to escape and take over her face.

"If you say so," Dave replied with a look of suspicion at the assembled crowd. By the time his gaze returned to Fleur, she had managed to get herself more under control, and she merely returned his look.

"Ok Harry, stand about an arm's length behind me," Dave instructed as he turned his back to Harry.

"Let's assume that Harry is out to cause me harm." Dave suggested, "I'm vaguely aware of his plans but have no proof that I can act on. I also do not know what he looks like. So even if I'm actively searching for him, I'm unsure where exactly to look for him." He explained as he reached out with his arms as though searching.

"Now, if Harry were to attack me I'd instantly have more information than I do now." He said as he turned to Harry, "Grab a fistful of my hair Harry." He instructed as he then faced away from Harry. Shrugging Harry stepped forward and reached out with his right hand and grabbed a good handful of Dave's hair on top of his head.

"Ok now that Harry has 'attacked' me, he has given me some excellent information," Dave told us with a small smile. "Who do you think has the 'upper hand' in a situation like this?" He asked Ginny.

"Harry does." She replied.

"Why?" Dave asked her.

"He can pull on your hair causing you pain, maybe even causing you to fall over." She suggested.

"Ok, some valid points there. But they can also be easily countered." Dave replied with an evil grin beginning to show. "To counter the pain that Harry may cause by grabbing my hair I can do this." He said as he reached up and placed his hands so that they covered Harry's hands on top of his head.

"By holding Harry's hand to my head, I stop him from causing me pain by pulling on my hair," Dave explained. "I've also learnt more about Harry in the process."

"What do you think I have learnt?" Dave asked Ginny.

"How soft his hands are?" She offered with a chuckle at Harry's expression. The rest of us also had a laugh at poor Harry.

"While you are indeed correct, they are very soft. Almost tender." Dave replied with his evil grin on full display. Harry looked to be about to protest, but Ginny silenced him with a look. "That isn't what I was thinking of. Any other thoughts?"

"No," Ginny replied as she was carefully watching Dave.

"Ok then, let's run through what I have learnt from Harry grabbing me like this," Dave suggested. "From placing my hands-on top of the one that Harry used to grab me, I can tell that he grabbed me with his right hand," Dave explained.

"How?" Ron asked with his curiosity in high gear.

"By the position of his thumb and his knuckles," Dave explained as he pointed out where Harry's thumb and knuckles were located. "If he had grabbed me with his left hand the thumb would be on the other side. Unless he is built very differently to everyone else that is." Dave added with a chuckle.

"I can also obviously tell that he is behind me." He said with a look like he was stating 'the bleeding obvious'. "But from the angle of his wrist and forearm I can also make a good guess as to the angle of his arm and from that, I can make a guess as to his height and thus how far behind me he is," Dave explained.

All of us in the room (the exceptions were Dave's family and team) were now starting to show 'the light of comprehension' as we later found out it was called.

"With that information, I can plan my response," Dave advised.

"What sort of response can you offer?" Ginny asked a moment before Ron did.

"Well, I can either chose to turn like this with my elbow out," Dave said as he turned to his right and placed his bent elbow on Harry's straight one. "Doing that would easily break Harry's elbow, and that would most likely cause him to let go," Dave explained to Ginny as he returned to his original position.

"Or I can turn the opposite direction and bring my hands up to Harry's face like this…" He said as he placed one hand under Harry's chin and mimed pushing upwards and back. "Or I can turn and duck like this coming to stand under Harry's armpit and then simply stand up." He suggested as he did just that and stood up slightly. This caused Harry an amount of discomfort, and he also had to change position into a distinctly uncomfortable and unbalanced stance.

Dave then allowed Harry to move back to a more comfortable stance. He then stood back after making sure that he was okay (which he was).

"Each time an opponent launches an attack on you, it creates a situation that is a mixture of both danger and opportunity," Dave explained. "The danger is there because there is an element of risk in any type of attack. But the opportunity is there because you have the chance to learn more about your opponent, or opponents as the case may be."

"Those people today presented an opportunity that we didn't want to pass up," Dave advised. "I certainly didn't want to waste it by letting them get away." He added with a certain hungry gleam in his eye.

"So, we used the opportunity that presented itself. After first ensuring the safety of the primary targets that is." He said with a smile at Harry and Ron.

"That opportunity was to further draw them out, so we could gather up as many as possible of them." He explained. "That's why it was a 'good' thing for them to attack us in the street like that." He added with a smile at Ginny.

"Mind you, having said that I wouldn't have objected if they had just shown up and turned themselves in. But alas that doesn't seem to happen much these days." He chuckled.

"It is important to remember, that unless they are over very quickly, Ambushes can work 'both ways'." He instructed us, as he did so Dave looked to both Harry and Ron for confirmation that they understood what it was that he was trying to say.

"Those attackers thought that they had their targets pinned down in the street." He explained, "But because we were able to set up a solid and measured defence very quickly, we were able to turn the tables on them and effectively pin them in place."

"That then gave us a chance to call in re-enforcements and go after them." He added with a grin.

"Here endeth the lesson," Ivan said with a chuckle as everyone turned to look at him.

"Sorry." Ivan said with a grin, "It was starting to sound too much like a lecture from the academy." He added as Sandra indicated with her agreement.

"We don't want to put everyone through an academy type lecture on Ambushes now do we?" Sandra asked Dave with an enquiring look.

"Sorry about that." Dave apologised, "I get carried away sometimes." He said sheepishly.

"It's ok, it was actually quite interesting." Harry replied as he got in one last look at Dave before he returned to his 'normal' size.

"Thank you, Harry," Dave replied with a smile that Harry happily returned. He then focused his attention on Gabrielle. "I'm sorry that I made you upset earlier." He told her with a tender expression on his face.

"I just wanted you to know, that what we all did wasn't the result of some rash decision and that there were solid reasons for it." He explained.

"Merci," Gabrielle replied as she took in Dave's face. "It does mean a lot to moi zat you took ze time to explain it." She told him.

"Merci," Dave replied, and they both had a laugh and a cuddle. "I think maybe you might want to go and wash your face now." He suggested as Gabrielle looked for a mirror or similar to check herself.

"As you look a bit of a fright," Dave told her with a VERY cheeky grin. Gabrielle and Fleur both looked shocked for a moment until they registered the grin on Dave's face. Gabrielle then kissed Dave on the cheek, and I heard her say to him, "I'll get you for zat." As she was displaying her own cheeky grin on her face.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't at least try." Was Dave's very cheeky reply. This seemed to delight Gabrielle as she left the room with a satisfied little smile on her face. Fleur and Apolline had both caught this exchange as well, and they were also showing their amusement at it.

We all then began to discuss our finds from the visit to Gringotts. Dave once more extracted his laptop and recorded the new and confirmed findings. When he opened it I could see a brief look of concern cross Sandra's face until she realised that she had closed the folder of Emma's favourite photos. Dave didn't seem to pick up on this as he opened up the family history application that he used. While he was doing this us girls shared a few secret smiles amongst us. Even Harry and Ron shared some chuckles.

While Dave was entering the new data into his laptop and cross-referencing it with existing information (and repeating the process for the newly confirmed information), the subject of gold came up. As Molly asked Arthur how the goblins had valued the gold that Arthur had deposited.

"They valued the gold at 2.52 million Galleons," Arthur reported very calmly as he watched Molly for her reaction. We all turned our attention to Molly to see what she would do. But she just sat there with a stunned look on her face. Even Dave momentarily took his focus away from his laptop to watch Molly with a 'professional eye'.

Eventually, she got herself under control and was looking at Arthur with a delighted smile on her face. Bill then spoke up and with a devilish grin on his face remarked, "Tell her what they offered you to buy the raw nuggets for dad."

Molly looked at Bill curiously and then returned her attention back to Arthur who was by now grinning openly at his wife. "They offered me 3 million Galleons." He told her happily.

"Offered?" Molly asked with a disbelieving look at Arthur. "You didn't turn them down did you?" She enquired.

"Quite the reverse," Ivan reported while chuckling at a blushing Arthur. "He jumped to his feet and exclaimed '3 million Galleons!' at the top of his lungs." He said as we all had a laugh at the thought.

"The goblins then thought that Arthur had seen through their attempt to get the raw gold for cheaper than it was worth and upped their offer to 3.2 million Galleons," Ivan told us while smiling brilliantly.

When Molly heard this, she did fall off her chair, and Arthur then rushed over to help her up. She quickly embraced Arthur in a fierce hug and then proceeded to hug all of her children, she included Harry and me in that category also. Molly then turned her sights on Dave who had gone back to typing on his laptop with a contented little smile on his face.

Molly pulled Dave out of his chair and gave him a firm squeeze also. Dave happily returned it. "Thank you." She told him simply. "You are very welcome Aunty," Dave replied with a brilliant smile.

When Molly and then Arthur had finished with him, they allowed Dave to get back to his laptop. The lull in the conversation gave me a chance to ask Bill something that had caught my attention at Gringotts.

"Bill, why were you so nervous to tell The Head Goblin about the gold that Dave clearly knew about?" I asked him.

"The tunnels under Gringotts have been thoroughly searched by some of the goblins most celebrated 'diviners' over the centuries." He told us, "To suggest that there might be undiscovered gold in or close by those tunnels is like questioning their abilities." He explained.

"That is never good for your health or employment prospects." He cautioned.

"I see." I replied, "So if Dave had been wrong, we could have all been in quite a bit of bother then?" I asked.

"That would be an understatement," Bill replied with a nervous chuckle.

"How sure were you about the gold being there Dave?" I enquired.

"Very sure." He replied in a distracted manner as he was still focused on his laptop. "That particular vein had been annoying me ever since we arrived at Harry's family vault." He said as though it explained everything (in his view anyway).

"What do you mean it was 'annoying' you?" Ginny asked before I could.

"Large deposits of certain types of metals and occasionally gemstones, set up either vibrations or echoes which can be felt. Even without the use of any spells." He explained, "The closer you get the stronger they get. It can be bloody annoying at times. A bit like a buzzing in your ears or the pressure in your head from a headache." He said in an offhanded manner that left us all stunned.

"Why wasn't the gold in Harry's family vault annoying you then?" Ginny asked.

"It was, just not as much as the gold across the tunnel." Dave replied without looking up, "Natural, unprocessed gold always gives off a much stronger vibration. All the metals and gem deposits are like that. He explained to looks of disbelief.

"What sort of magic enables you to do that?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Mostly the energies commonly associated with Goblins." He replied, "Although sorcery and even 'traditional' magic can be used to replicate the effect as well."

"So, what was it that you did when The Head Goblin asked for a demonstration?" Bill asked Dave full of curiosity.

"I cast a charm to better lock in the closest point that the vein of gold came to, compared to where we were standing." He replied.

"Is that the same charm that the goblins themselves use?" Bill enquired.

"Similar." Dave replied, "I don't speak Gobbledegook, so it can't be the same one." He chuckled. "But I do have one advantage over the goblins," Dave told us.

"What is that?" Bill asked.

"There is more of me than a typical goblin." Dave said with a laugh, "So when the echo comes back I have a much bigger body area to detect it with. That gives me a much better idea of where the gold is. I can also detect gold further away for the same reason."

"Well, at least there is some good out of you being such a lump." Fireball remarked as we all had a laugh at Dave.

Dave very maturely stuck his tongue out at his sister and returned to his laptop.

"So what is 'the usual' bonus for finding gold like that?" I asked Bill. After a moment's thought, he replied, "10% of the value of the raw gold."

"How much gold do you think would be in that vein, Dave?" Bill asked.

Dave closed his eyes briefly and then casually replied, "A little over two tonnes."

This caused Bill to nearly choke on his cup of tea while Fleur fell off her chair. Ron and Harry quickly went to help Bill out, while Ginny and Fireball helped Fleur up. After they both got themselves sorted, they went over to Dave and yanked him out of his chair. This time Bill hugged the stuffing out of an amazed but amused Dave.

When he had finished, he handed him over to Fleur. While Fleur was doing her best to hug the stuffing out of Dave, Gabrielle entered the room. Clearing her throat, she asked with a mischievous smile, "What ez ze meaning of zis?"

When she said that Dave almost leapt out of Fleur's arms, to her great amusement and turned to face Gabrielle. None of us helped Dave's case at all as we were too busy laughing at him.

"Why 'as my loving sœur suddenly decided to attack my le petit ami?" She asked with a playful smile. Fleur then told Gabrielle exactly why she and Bill had both been attacking Dave. This brought a brilliant smile to Gabrielle's face, and she then decided to 'attack' Dave herself.

In his defence, Dave did seem to enjoy Gabrielle's attack more than the others. She was undoubtedly the only one that he returned the kisses too (which was a good thing for him).

Kingsley chose this moment to arrive at the burrow and was showing his amusement with the scene that he was presented with. "I heard that there was some action out the front of Gringotts today." He remarked as Dave and Gabrielle were startled apart. "But I was under the impression that it was 'action' of a different sort." He added with a grin at Dave.

"I mean I could have been misinformed, and you two are simply demonstrating what really happened?" He suggested with a wicked little smile at the two of them. We all had a laugh at the looks on their faces.

Arthur and Ivan then quickly filled in Kingsley on what had been learnt at Gringotts and what happened in the street also.

"I thank you for the 'agreement' that you were able to engineer Dave." Kingsley replied sincerely, "Are there any chances of other finds that could also be used to further improve our ties with the goblins?" He asked.

"Yes, there are indeed," Dave replied.

"Oh? How many?" Kingsley asked with an eager expression.

"On the way to Harry's vault, I felt 3 definite solid echoes." Dave explained, "I'd also be willing to bet that there were another 2 a little further on as well."

"There could well be more as there are a good many of faint echoes and vibrations also. But I would have to get closer to them to be sure." He offered. "The ones I just mentioned would be close in size to the one we uncovered today." He advised.

"That is fantastic news." Kingsley replied, "At least 5 more 'peace offerings' that we can use to secure better relations with the goblins." He said as his thoughts began to distract him.

"Bill might need a bigger vault, by the sounds of it." Ivan chuckled to Bill who had gone slightly pale once he had recognised the implications of what Dave had just suggested. Fleur also looked to be a little shocked, but she quickly recovered and smiled a thank you at Dave before returning her attention to Bill.

Harry had been looking at Kingsley with concern showing on his face since Ivan and Arthur had informed him of just what Harry had told the Goblins. Eventually, his discomfort reached a point where he had to do something about it.

"Excuse me, Minister." Harry said as both Ivan and Kingsley turned to look at him, "You're not angry with me for telling the goblins what I did? About what we took and why?" He asked.

Kingsley smiled at Harry before replying. "No Harry I'm not." He said looking at Harry with approval, "I had fully expected you to tell the goblins of what you took from Gringotts, sooner or later." He explained to Harry's surprise.

"By giving you the opportunity to personally tell the goblins what it was that you took from them and more importantly the why of it, it gave you a chance to begin to rebuild trust with them."

"When Hermione showed the goblins proof of what you had done with Hufflepuffs cup it would have confirmed your story also. As I'm very positive that the goblins would have been able to feel the traces that the Horcrux had left behind."

"I think I understand sir," Harry replied in a thoughtful voice.

"You can ask Bill if you don't believe me." Kingsley suggested, "But from the way that Arthur and Ivan explained the encounter I would hazard a guess that the goblins are significantly more relaxed about all three of you visiting Gringotts from now on."

Harry looked at Bill (as did Ron and I) to see what his view of the situation was.

"I do believe that Kingsley is correct here Harry." He replied, "I could see the tension and suspicion leave The Head Goblin when you mentioned that you were placing a great deal of trust in him. Especially by telling him a secret that the Ministry hadn't shared with them." He explained.

This statement made me feel much better about venturing into Gringotts again. I was later to find out that both Ron and Harry had very similar feelings of relief.

Our conversation continued until Luna, and her father Xenophilius arrived to carry out the interview of Ivan while I was to get a chance to interview Kingsley.

Xenophilius looked to be overjoyed at the chance to be part of the interview of a Minister of Magic for the Quibbler. Ivan for his part seemed happy to be the subject of the interview, and he also expressed his sincere thanks to Xenophilius for supporting Kingsley in getting the information on the missing family members out to the wizarding public.

Xenophilius became even more delighted and was nearly overcome with joy when Ivan signed up the Australian Magical Embassy to a subscription of the Quibbler. While the paperwork was being filled out (Xenophilius always seemed to have subscription forms on him), Luna came across to be formally introduced to Dave and his team. I do have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing how these two unique individuals would get along.

As she was shaking hands with Dave, Luna casually remarked, "You're wearing your correct face today." With a smile on her face as she was intently studying Dave's, "I must say it suits you much better than that other one."

"That other one was just so boring." She told him as Dave's sisters and Cassy were struggling to contain themselves.

"Thank you," Dave replied a little puzzled, as Luna comment had caught him off guard. "It was a face and form created to be so unremarkable that people wouldn't notice me. Or if they did, they would forget me very quickly." He explained.

"How could they forget you?" Luna asked with her own puzzled expression, "Your glow is a hard thing to forget."

"Glow?" Dave and his sisters asked at the same time.

"Yes, your glow." Luna replied, "It surrounds you." She said as she regarded Dave quite openly for several long moments. Dave was intrigued by Luna's comments, as were Dave's sisters. But Gabrielle was beginning to show signs of annoyance at the attention Luna was giving Dave. Ginny and I both quickly assured Gabrielle that she had no cause to be worried about Luna.

"Although much like Harry & Ginny, and Ron & Hermione, it does seem to be strongest when you're standing next to your life partner." She explained very calmly as she indicated a bright red Gabrielle who was managing to look happy, smug and embarrassed all at the same time.

With that simple statement Luna had managed to cause Harry, Ginny, Ron, me and Dave to all display significant blushes as well. Although the look than Ron gave me on hearing this did make my knees go a little weak and cause my heart to flutter quite a bit. Ginny later confessed to me, at having almost exactly the same feelings (about Harry, not Ron). Molly looked to be over the moon with this discovery. Sandra and Apolline also both seemed to be pleased with it as well. Fleur was displaying a mysterious little smile as she looked at Dave and Gabrielle, but when she looked to Dave's sisters, it changed to a slightly evil grin (which they returned).

Luna, however, was oblivious to the embarrassment that she had just caused. "Oh good, I can see you are all practising your blushing." She exclaimed happily, "Blushing is very good for keeping Wrackspurts away." She told us.

"Wrack…" Dave began to ask before Ginny stepped on his foot and told him to be quiet. Showing a small amount of good sense Dave dropped his question and turned back to Luna only to find her once more intently looking at him.

"You're not really all here yet, are you?" She asked Dave with a concerned look on her face. "Just like that other one who is in there with you. You both seem to be missing something." She advised with her eyes focused intently on Dave's.

Sandra, Molly, Apolline and Fleur looked to have been quite shocked by this statement. However, Dave's sisters and cousin all looked like someone had released a tickling Hex on them.

"Oh, I think I'm going to love her," Fireball exclaimed (while trying to get her breath back). She was also smiling broadly at Luna. Luna returned Fireball's smile and then continued her conversation with Dave.

"Do not worry yourself so much about what it is that you are missing." Luna advised Dave, "Concentrate instead on what it is that you DO have instead." She told him in an authoritative voice.

"We are not defined by what we are missing. We are defined by how we use what we DO have." She instructed him. As always Luna's comments gave everyone pause to think. Dave especially seemed to have been handed a great deal to think about.

Eventually, he smiled warmly at Luna and thanked her for her advice, and he promised to carefully think about it. Luna looked to be very pleased with this. She was then introduced to the rest of Dave's family and team. They were all delighted to be properly presented to her.

Now that the introductions had been completed we all got ourselves seated at the tables. I was able to explain my plan to Luna and Xenophilius. Unsurprisingly they were very supportive of it and happily offered several excellent suggestions to improve it. Their recommendations were immediately taken on board and incorporated into the plan.

With the plan now agreed upon we moved onto the interviews. Both Kingsley and Ivan looked to be enjoying these interviews far more than they had expected. They were also some of the strangest interviews that I have ever witnessed.

Officially Luna and Xenophilius were interviewing Ivan, while I was interviewing Kingsley. Unofficially Ginny was assisting me with my interview, and we were both swapping questions with Luna and Xenophilius. The resulting articles were viewed favourably by all involved as they enabled us to get the message out about the activities of the previous administrations at the Ministry. They also gave a great deal more information about the rescue efforts that had been carried out and why they were done the way that they were. Kingsley was also able to explain the actions of the 'Order of the Pheonix' and what they had been doing to resist the efforts of Tom Riddle Jnr and his Death Eaters. The interviews also gave the readers an excellent 'portrait' of the two Ministers regarding both their goals and ambitions but also their personalities as well.

No one seemed surprised when Luna and Xenophilius were later awarded the 'Best interview of the year' award by the Magical Reporters Association. My interview with Kingsley was also mentioned as an excellent piece of reporting, but as I was not a 'carded' reporter I couldn't be considered for the awards. Luna and her father, however, made me an award of their own design to 'make up' for that fact.

It is a beautiful creation, and it still hangs proudly on the wall in my office. It is frequently commented upon by visitors to my office and has initiated many very productive conversations over the years.

After the interviews, Bill gave Dave back his copy of the report that he was requested to read. He pronounced it correct in all the details of what was done and why. He also advised Dave that he had no issues with it, Dave was happy to hear this.

Julian next gave Dave the copy of his report that he had been requested to read. On it, he had marked a few items that he wished to ask Dave about. Dave was very willing to answer Julian's questions, and once he had the answers he was after, Julian was content with what was written in those locations.

Julian did have two minor edits that he requested. After reading them, Dave was only too happy to make the required changes. It was when he went to make those changes on the report that I felt my blood pressure begin to rise.

Dave pulled out his 'master copy' of the report and quickly edited it to make the requested changes. The text just seemed to re-arrange itself on the page to accommodate the changes. Once he had done this he looked up from his report to see me, Ron, Harry and Ginny staring at him with murder clearly written in our eyes.

"What have I done now?" He asked with some worry showing in his voice.

"How in the name of Merlin's saggy Y-fronts did you do that?" Ginny snapped at him before I could. Dave's parents looked to have amused expressions on their faces.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Those changes to your report," Ginny demanded.

"Ah… That." Dave replied.

"Yes." Ginny snapped, "THAT!"

"In traditional magic, it is called the editing charm," Dave replied rather calmly. "It's quite handy for documents that you have written."

"I can see that." Ginny replied with heavy sarcasm, "It could be REALLY useful at school don't you think?" She asked Dave with a dangerous look that he picked up on.

"It certainly was for me." He replied with a slight smile at Ginny as he caught on, "The incantation for it is 'Recensere Notitia' and before you ask it will only work on things that you have written yourself. Either manually or magically." He added as he saw Ginny's internal temperature begin to rise. I think my own must have been on the rise also as I noticed Ron watching me with a careful eye.

"What do you use for documents that you haven't written?" Harry asked Dave with an eager look in his eyes.

"Izzy," Dave replied with a smile at his specialist forger. Izzy smiled brilliantly back at him, and we all had a laugh at this exchange between them. "In all seriousness, once your own document has been 'locked' it can't be easily edited even by you. Editing someone else's document without the edits being visible, that is a highly specialised area of magic. That is only one of many reasons why we are so blessed to have Izzy on our team."

"To lock your document to stop editing the incantation is 'Certa Notitia'," Dave advised as he cast the spell in question on his report. It seemed to shimmer slightly for a moment. "Once that is done the report is able to be submitted." He advised as he got up from his seat and began to head off to his tent.

"Where are you going?" Gabrielle asked.

"Just to my tent to notify Drunkmouse that I'm submitting a formal report." Dave advised, "You can come along if you wish." He added with a little smile. Gabrielle quickly took up Dave's offer, and they headed off to his tent together.

"Why do you two look as though you're about to explode?" Molly asked Sandra and Ivan with her own amusement clear to see. As they both looked as though they were about to suffer an injury from the struggle of trying not to laugh.

"Our children are an endless source of entertainment," Sandra remarked with a wide smile on her face. Seeing the looks of confusion on the faces of the crowd she explained further, "Dave didn't need to get Julian's and Apolline's approval for his report." She said as looks of understanding dawned on the Delacour's along with some knowing smiles.

"He is required to give them a copy of the section of it that covered the events that related to Gabrielle, but he doesn't need to get their feedback," Sandra explained as her laughter got the better of her.

"I think that he is trying to make a 'good impression' as they say." Ivan chuckled, and there were several other sets of laughter around the table.

"You mean he zinks zat saving my Gabrielle's life, and fixing her heart isn't enough to make a good impression?" Julian asked clearly very amused.

"Maybe you just make 'im nervous Papa," Fleur suggested with a naughty sounding laugh.

When Apolline saw the mischievous smile that lit up her husband's face she smiled in return, "Be nice to him Mon Cher." She chided him gently, "Despite all that he has done and achieved he is still only a young man."

"As you wish, Mon Cher," Julian replied as he shared a wink with Ivan and Sandra. They all then had a good laugh at the situation.