Harry Potter - After the Epilogue

by PotterFanSteve

Continuing the storyline from 'After the War', this book focuses on the Hogwarts years and beyond for Albus and Lily Potter, Rose, and Hugo Weasley, and their family and friends. I hope you will enjoy this imagining of what happens in the Harry Potter universe - After the Epilogue!

95. Awesome Not-So-Off Season

Chapter Ninety-Five – Awesome Not-So-Off Season

The first day of the Cannons' reign as defending league champions was a crazy-busy adventure for Al and Gwendolyn – starting with the round of morning show interviews that they took care of while their team mates slept in – or at least got to have a few hours of sleep. They followed that up with some fun with Jaimie and Lorie that included heading up to Camp Cannonball; where they helped out with getting ready for the luncheon and celebration for the opening of the camp that all GO MagiSports employees could attend along with some guests and a handful of VIP visitors. Only two reporters were invited – Teresa and Kylie; and they were getting the exclusive coverage to make sure that they had control over the information.

They were ready to go by the time the first guests and visitors began arriving at eleven o'clock; and then the fun kicked up a few notches as they joined in on the meet-and-greet – and took the first group out on a tour of the camp that started with the hotel, atrium, and Quidditch practice pitch that was only significantly-different than their home near Chudley because the hotel room views were either of the atrium or the hills and valley; while the practice pitch was on the other side of the atrium. The buildings were designed to fit in with the Scottish landscape and heritage too, but a lot of those little touches weren't even noticed by most of the guests. Al and Gwendolyn had nineteen people in their first tour group, but they were still able to make good time as they did a loop through the hotel; crossed the atrium, and then only looked in on the Quidditch pitch before heading outside and taking the path to the kids' camp area that was closer to the portable lake and that end of the lazy river loop than either the hotel or the cottages.

"The kids' camp is going to open next weekend for the first group of kids," Al advised their group. We have room for up to fifty-six kids or teens; and each cabin can accommodate seven campers and one counselor."

"That seems small compared to the number of guests you can have at the hotel," Toni said as Al and Gwendolyn led their group toward one of the cabins.

"We want all of the campers to get a lot of personal attention," Gwendolyn explained – "and there are limits to how many kids we can have playing Quidditch each day. Fifty-six kids is the maximum; but we'll actually try to go with forty-two when possible; since that would give us three sets of fourteen players instead of four. Al and I aren't involved to that level, and there are other magical sports that will be taught here; so the mix of campers is likely to change from week-to-week."

"What other magical sports will they teach?" Lacey Finnegan asked.

"We can teach any of them here," Al answered, "but Quidditch, Broom Racing, and Magical Hoverboarding will be the most-popular. There will be lots of other activities for everyone too – from hiking and climbing to water play at the atrium lagoon, lake, or lazy river."

There was a pause in the chat as they took a quick tour of the cabin that was set up similarly to a Hogwarts dorm room along with a washroom and a small 'common room' area that had work tables, sofas, and quite a few entertainment options for the kids and teens to enjoy at night after they returned to their cabins after they finished up with the evening activities. They headed toward the lake after that; Al and Gwendolyn took turns talking about the water activities that would include lessons for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and other activities – though there would be, by necessity, limits on how many different activities each kid could do in any one week. The cottages that were available to GO MagiSports employees were next on the tour, since some of them were located on the far-side of the lake from the kids' camp; they toured one of those cottages; and then wrapped up the tour with a hike back to the hotel that took them past the hill with the magical chair lift that they'd be able to use for a ride to the top of the hill for extreme hoverboarding in the summer and sledding or snowboarding in the winter.

By the time they got back to the hotel atrium and cafe, the lunch buffet was out; so while their group was set free to enjoy the food; Al and Gwendolyn took a second group out for a tour – the last of the two they were booked for so that they'd have time to have lunch after that – and then enjoy some family and friends play time. Their second hike around the camp and facilities took an hour; and then Al and Gwendolyn were able to sit down and take a break while having their lunch – which they got to do with their parents. They even managed to get a table inside the cafe that put them on the edges of the crowd – and out of the way of the action on the patio and in the atrium.

"So, what did you do the day after winning a league championship in your rookie season for the worst team in the history of the league?" Kirley asked Al and Gwendolyn before going on to answer his own question. "Oh, not much! We opened a hotel, resort, and kids' camp that we built in our spare time while earning an undefeated season on our way to that record-breaking championship!"

"It has been a good year," Gwendolyn teased – "and weekend. I have no idea what Al might come up with to top this if we win again next season, but it would likely be a lot of fun; so I hope that we get to find out!"

"I thought that it wasn't supposed to matter whether you win or lose," Gwenog pointed out. "That won't work very well if you only do things like this when you win."

"That's a really good point," Al told her with a grin. "It's a good thing that none of my other projects – including this one – depend on winning or losing. They will happen faster with successes that will help to pay for them, but that hasn't been a problem so far; and shouldn't be for at least another few years now."

"You're very sure of that," Gwenog decided. "Isn't it just as easy to revert to normal just as quickly as you've turned the Cannons around this year?"

Al shrugged. "I suppose – if we just sat around and let that happen. We won't. Rose has her dream, but we're still just getting started; and have some team mates that haven't gotten the chance yet to join us in the show; so that's at least two more seasons of trying our very best for them – and for everyone becoming part of our GO MagiSports family."

"I can't tell how you're feeling about all of this," Ginny told Gwenog. "Your daughter and son-in-law led the way to this championship – along with Rose, of course; so I thought that you'd be happier."

"You can't tell because I don't know how I'm feeling," Gwenog answered. "We've been staying here at your cottage, and we're part of this new life you're building through our families and friendships, but that isn't the same as it is for the rest of you; and I'm having a tough time comparing this to what we've always had with the Harpies."

"Partly because you know the Harpies' owners would never go for doing things like this – or our home community?" Ginny guessed; and Gwenog nodded.

"Yes," she agreed. "I have no idea what this place cost, but considering all of the charity plans you have for it; I doubt that it'll make a profit – and that would be the only bottom line that mattered for my team owners – even if they'd consider this sort of business investment in the first place. They definitely wouldn't believe that there was any good reason to build a holiday resort for their employees."

"I wouldn't want to bore the rest of you with the business details," Al advised her, "but this camp will be financially-successful – even if that isn't why I wanted to build it." He looked around the room and nodded while smiling happily. "Gwendolyn and I have been blessed to have such amazing families and we've always been able to go on amazing holidays and other adventures. That isn't true for the majority of the Witches and Wizards working for GO MagiSports – and that's also true for almost all of the families we help through the charity. This will just be a first step toward making life better for all of us too – or at least I really hope that it will be." He shrugged; and his smile turned rueful. "That isn't helping, and maybe things like this won't ever catch on with any of the other teams, but we still want to share all of the fun with you; and I'm sure that'll be true for the rest of Mum's Harpies family."

"You'll need a bigger cottage," Kirley joked.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Quidditch stars to help out with the kids' camps," Al advised them, "but we have more than one cottage with family links to the Harpies; so that likely wouldn't be a problem anyway."

"Maybe the Harpies could host one of the camp weeks," Ginny suggested. "We'd never want to partner with a team like the Falcons, but the Harpies or Prides could take over the camp for a week each – and that'd be great for the kids."

"If Mum or Aunt Meghan are interested in something like that; we could talk about it with Malorie – and Alexa," Gwendolyn suggested. "I like the idea – and it'd give our team a couple of weeks off during the summer too; since we will be involved in the camps every week this summer."

"Well, then that's a terrible idea for our teams," Gwenog joked. "We should want to let you get worn out from all of the extra work – and that'd keep Al too-busy to come up with all-new ways to annoy us with all of these brilliant ideas."

Al knew that she was half-serious about that, but after a few jokes about it; their conversation moved along and they enjoyed the rest of their meal together before it was time for all of them to get busy with other activities. They did still have some play time together – and with their friends, but Al and Gwendolyn also had an interview with Teresa and Kylie; some VIP entertainment duties; and then they moved on to a round of dinnertime news shows interviews at one of the mirror network studios; dinner-for-two at home; and then a visit to their favorite long-term patients at St. Mungo's before wrapping up their day with Lee's Sunday night show. Lee had their entire team on for that interview, and his monologue and top-ten list were hilarious too; so they had a fun couple of hours there by the time they were able to go home again after a long round of autograph-signing for fans that had come to the studio to either see the show or just to get a chance to meet their new Quidditch heroes.

Lily sat up in bed; not ready to sleep yet after staying up for Lee's show instead of going off to sleep. She was wandering around the wireless web while listening to music on her magical earbuds, but not really looking at anything; and dealing with the mental musings that had been with her pretty much all day. Quidditch had been the top gossip topic of the day – no surprise there; so spending so much time thinking about her own Quidditch future wasn't unexpected either. There was some jealousy and anger mixed in, since despite her claims to her friends; the Cannons' league championship really was going to be a tough act to follow, but those emotions were off-set by other, happier ones; knowing that she was going to be a part of that fun over the summer and while getting to play in the Europe Cup – if they reached the championship match!

Nobody else knew about that yet, though, since she hadn't even talked about it with Jonah; and she was looking forward to getting home and 'finding out' that her April Fools' Day 'prank' was going to backfire on her. The jumbled mess of emotions were, in part, thanks to all of the mirror network coverage of the Cannons. Al's too-nice interviews came in on the annoying side of things; the Camp Cannonball stories from Teresa and Kylie were awesome; and the rest of the stories and commentary ranged from the absurd and darkly-funny to heartwarming. It was all also very distracting for her – and for everyone at Hogwarts that wanted to keep up with all of the latest news while also needing to get focused on their exams preparations. Add in trying to help Ryan Rivers with celebrating his eighteenth birthday; and it was a wonder that they got any studying done at all!

"Would you mind turning out your light and brooding in the dark?" Denise asked and teased in a whisper; bringing Lily out of her musings – at least for a moment. "We can talk too if you'd like – at least until I fall asleep."

"What's there to talk about?" Lily asked while dousing her bedside light.

"Thanks – and probably everything for you," Denise answered. "James has a Quidditch World Cup award – sort-of; and a league championship. Now Al has an even-better, undefeated season league championship and a chance at a Europe Cup this summer. The good news for you is that you're just as amazing as the rest of your family, Lily; so I'm sure that you are going to have a brilliant future too."

Lily laughed quietly. "See? Nothing to talk about at all!"

"I doubt that," Denise disagreed, "but then I also don't think that it has to be complicated for you either. You've already picked Jonah after getting past whatever happened at Christmas. You don't have to be exactly like Al and Gwendolyn, but I hope that you'll go along with Jonah and find your own way to be as happy as they are – and not try to be even a little bit like James. That's likely an impossible line to try and walk without stepping to the wrong side now and then."

"It's fun to be a little bit bad now and then," Lily tried to joke; and could see Denise shake her head thanks to the dim illumination from her portable mirror.

"No, it isn't – though it might feel the same to most people," Denise challenged. "Do you even know what you mean by that – or what limits you'd put on being a little bit bad? Will hurting others be okay for you – as long as it's only alittle bit? How about lying, stealing, and cheating? How much of any of that is just the right amount of a bit? If you fool around on Jonah just a little bit; is that okay too? I don't think that you want to be like that at all; yet I get the feeling that you don't want to admit that to yourself."

"We all do at least some of those things," Lily suggested. "The only difference is where we each draw those personal lines between good and bad."

"Making mistakes or having something go wrong while trying to do the right thing isn't the same as intentionally doing bad things," Denise challenged. "I thought that we were doing the right thing the night we blasted James and Ollie, but while you really liked what we did to them; I felt awful about it afterwards – for a long time. Your revenge plan worked, and they pretty much left us alone after that, but in case you didn't notice; I never did anything like that again. That's not the kind of Witch I want to be."

"You're nicer than me," Lily stated. "I'm okay with that."

"I'm sure that you are," Denise agreed. "One of the questions you need to answer, though, is whether you want to just be okay; shoot for drawing that personal good-and-bad line further to the darker side of bad; or give it your very best and be as brilliantly-happy as your parents, Al, and Gwendolyn obviously are. While you're thinking about that, try to remember just how much that's changed for them over the past few years."

"What do you mean by that?" Lily asked.

"Your parents have always been amazing – or I've thought so, but they're different now; and that's been changing since they quit their last jobs. Being grandparents is only part of that. They've learned to be happy in all-new ways. Work wasn't fun for them before – not like it is now. Your Dad smiles a lot now. How often did that happen when he was Head of the Aurors and was always dealing with such serious issues? It's tough not to have that sort of thing affect the rest of your life. Then take another, closer look at James. His version of happy is really, really ugly and dark. There are lots of Witches and Wizards that like that and wish they could be like him, but he'll never be truly-happy like that; and look at all of the damage he does to himself and others along the way to his supposedly-brilliant, rich-and-famous future!"

"You sound like Al," Lily decided with a sigh – "and you're making my brain hurt."

"I don't want to lose one of my best friends," Denise told her quietly. "Stop obsessing about being different from Al and James and just be the amazing Witch you're meant to be – the good one."

"And if I don't do that?" Lily challenged.

"Then I'll be here for Jonah and try my very best to help him get over you," Denise teased. "I'll miss our friendship, but if I'm really, really lucky; Jonah will help me right back with getting over the loss!"

Taking some time off during the last week of May was an option for the Cannons players – and Camp Cannonball's first GO MagiSports managers and employees' guests already included some of the players that had stayed in their cottages on Sunday night, but Malorie and Rose also started their work day out on Monday with a team meeting that was all about the plans they needed to go over and make for the Europe Cup competition. They didn't bring in the managers from all of the GO MagiSports businesses, but Malorie did have Susannah, Renee, and Kendall there too; since they'd be working on some of those plans for the team; and Renee would be the liason with the Europe Cup organizers and international media. They didn't have to deal with a training camp breakfast; so Al cooked for Gwendolyn; they cleaned up together; and then headed for the conference room in the GO MagiSports office. They were fourth and fifth to arrive; helped out with the set-up; and then sat down with drinks once everyone was there.

"We're going to deal with our plans for the Europe Cup for most of this meeting," Rose began, but before we get to that; I want to talk with you about how we're going to handle GO MagiSports bonuses. Business year-end for the Ministry of Magic is the end of each calendar year, but we don't need to do our bonuses that way; so we're going to have that calculated from June First to May Thirty-first. The only thing we're not sure of for this year is when we'll be ready to do the bonus payouts."

"I think that we can get that done by the end of June at the latest," Malorie added; "though we'd like to make that a bit sooner if we can – especially since the off-season will be the best time for a lot of our managers and employees to go on holidays."

"Once we get through this first round of bonuses, you'll have a better idea of how much time you'll need to do the Arithmancy and work out the bonuses for everyone," Al suggested. "We can set a firmer date for next year; and then anyone that needs to take that into account when making plans for the summer can do that."

"The Friday that Hogwarts gets out each year could be a good day for bonuses," Ginny suggested. "That isn't a big deal for all of your younger employees – unless they have younger siblings still at school, but it will matter in the future."

"That – or mid-June," Rose offered. "We'd like to do better for our team, since we'll need to be working at least part-time by the end of June, but that probably isn't possible."

"We don't have to worry about that one way or the other this year – and some of us hope that it won't be a problem next summer if we can get invited to play on one of the National teams for the Quidditch World Cup," Brandon pointed out. "I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm so broke that I can't afford to go on holidays for a week or two by bonus time each year after that; then I'm doing something wrong."

"You're thinking that; and I'm wondering why we want to go three or four years without any holidays," Seth told him.

"That is something you'll all want to pay attention to in the future," Ginny suggested – "though if Al has his way; you'll take turns having year-long holidays every so many years; so maybe it won't be a problem at all."

"Except for the no-pay thing for those sabbaticals," Susannah suggested. "Al likely has a plan for that too, though; so let's just move on."

"Okay," Rose agreed. "We'll keep you posted on that – and may have some preliminary numbers for you by the time we have our next meeting; though I can tell you that we are probably going to exceed our high-end projections for our first year."

"Which is great for us," Brandon added with a smile and nod. "The best news, though, is that we won the championship – and that bet with the former owners."

"A fact that some of those owners are taking better than others," Rose offered with a nod. "They can complain all they want, but they could have done more with the team and didn't; so they've no reason to feel as though they've lost on our deal – especially since we still paid more for the team than it was worth before we turned it around."

"They'll get over it," Harry predicted.

"Unless they bet against us all season too," Brandon suggested with a grin. "That might have gone badly for them."

"That's true," Ginny agreed – "and it won't hurt to keep an eye on them for a little while; since we don't want to end up with that kind of rich and powerful enemies. We should get started on the Europe Cup planning. You have the first-round match-ups and stadium locations?"

"Yes," Rose confirmed. "We'll be playing the Karasjok Kites from Norway at the Quidditch World Cup stadium in Italy."

"That was one of my favorite campgrounds during the last Quidditch World Cup," Gwendolyn told her team mates with a bright smile and nod. "It was beautiful there in that valley in the mountains."

"It is amazing there," Ginny agreed. "Do we have anything put together on the Kites yet?" she asked Rose.

"Scott and Roland are working on that for us," Rose answered. "We'll have something to start with by next week when we're ready to start out training. Renee has booked our campsites for three nights so we'll have extra time to get ready for our match on that Saturday; though we have to be there by Friday morning at the latest for some of the events that are booked along with the match on Saturday afternoon. TicketWizard already has our allotment of tickets; and they are on-sale now too. Susannah will have a group of her kids as part of our VIP section; we'll have enough spots for our parents and siblings; and might have a few seats available for some friends too depending on what you want for that – though we may need to buy extra tickets for that – or we can all just leave it up to our friends to make their own plans for each week."

"I think that we should do that – though we could hold a block of seats through TicketWizard so that we'll still have our friends in the same area of the stadium instead of spread out," Ginny suggested. "We could look into reserving some extra campsites around ours too."

"I'm already working on that," Renee assured her. "We will need some rough numbers soon, though, so you should all start checking in with your friends and extended family about that. I can help with setting up the International Portkeys too when needed."

"Let's try to have that for you by our next meeting too," Rose suggested to everyone. "We're going to start training next week, but I want to take it easy at first – either go with half-days or maybe three full days; and then get back up to speed the week after next. We need to get some rest first; and I'm also thinking about taking a week off after the Europe Cup – maybe the last week of July; since we'll be too busy for many breaks once we're into the start of next season."

"You'll need to work on that with Alexa and Susannah," Al advised her. "We'll have to help out with the camp too – and do that every week starting next week too."

Rose nodded. "Okay – and I wasn't thinking about that just now for our training either."

"That won't be a big deal," Al suggested with a shrug. "We can do some of our workouts at the camp as easily as we can have play time with the kids here. It'll also only be younger kids over the next three weeks; so they won't even have as much Quidditch training as the teens and tweens will have once they start coming to the camp after Hogwarts is out for the summer."

"I'd rather play some of those other games instead anyway," Ray told him with a grin. "Feel free to make our alternate workouts fit in with the camp schedule for the best games and things like Hoverboarding."

"We can do that too," Al assured him. "Should Susannah sign you up for helping with the nightly campfire entertainment too?"

"Not if you want me to sing," Ray answered with a laugh. "I might be willing to tell campfire stories and toast some treats for one night – every couple of weeks."

"I'll be talking about that sort of thing with all of you this week," Susannah advised them. "This is going to be extra work for you this summer, but I've already heard some good ideas for next year – like having other teams take over the camp for a week each; so we should be able to share the work next year – and we'll also have more team mates to help too by then."

"We're getting a bit off-track," Rose advised them – "though I'm glad this was brought up; since we'll need to keep the camp in mind while training for our Europe Cup matches – and then our league training camp and the first few weeks of the season too."

"Al and I can deal with that," Gwendolyn suggested. "You'll need to spend more time than we will dealing with the business side of the Europe Cup matches; and we all know that Al's best-suited to play with the kids."

"That works for me," Rose agreed with a nod. "Let's get back to our plans for the first round match; and then I'll set most of you free to go and play for the rest of the day – or week."

They did that; Al thought that it was exciting to work on their plans for the Europe Cup; and then he and Gwendolyn went on from there to have some play time with the twins and their parents at the camp. He did some work there too in the afternoon; they had dinner with their parents at the cottage; and then stayed there for a play evening and the night too. The mix of work and play continued through the rest of the week – or at least there was work involved every day for Al and Gwendolyn as they helped out with a lot of different things at Camp Cannonball or elsewhere. They didn't regret the lack of holiday time that was now obvious thanks to the Europe Cup participation that also meant doing work that they wouldn't be able to do as normal during the two or three weeks ahead of training camp. Al still 'made' some time to get some work done too – including on other projects; but didn't try to do anything that would be noticed as impossible by anyone at the camp.

While the Cannons' players and some of the GO MagiSports managers and employees were enjoying play time at the camp hotel or cottages – even if they were working too; the final school week of May was all about studying for final exams for the students at Hogwarts. Lily and Jonah had a larger study group than normal with friends and classmates looking for help at the last minute that wouldn't work out as well for them without having the walking, talking Remembrall Animorphmagus around to tutor them, but the best students in their group still tried to help as much as they could without putting their own revision plans in danger. There were no 'extra' family and friends' events during those five days; so the last Hogsmeade weekend of the school year was the only bonus activity for the students to look forward to – though that was more-true for some than others. That was also why there were several rooms booked at the Three Broomsticks for meetings with quite a few teens – including Lily, Jonah, and the rest of the Hogwarts Cannons' players that Rose was hosting with help from Al and Gwendolyn.

"Thanks for coming today," Rose told the eight youngest members of their team. "We'll keep this short, since Jaimie and Lorie want to have some play time with Lily and Jonah, but we wanted to talk with you in person about our plans for the Europe Cup so that you can spend some time over the next three weeks getting ready for it – though we don't want you to let Quidditch get in the way of your exams and studies."

"Then why am I here?" Lily asked innocently; and Rose, Al, and Gwendolyn all laughed.

"Because you signed your contracts with the Cannons; and are part of our Cannons' family now whether you like it or not."

"You did?" Jonah asked in amazement; and then laughed while hugging her until she pushed him away.

"You can't possibly have taken my April Fools' Day joke seriously," Lily protested. "I was just messing with you!"

Rose laughed again. "Well the joke is on you then, since those contracts were magically-binding; and you didn't just make up fakes or something – which we know for sure because we checked. You signed those contracts; and we're going to hold you to them!"

"I've pranked myself," Lily declared in faux disgust; and then smiled ruefully while everyone in the room laughed.

"One of us is glad that you did; since this is brilliant," Jonah told her; and she didn't resist the happy hug and kiss he shared with her.

"I'd say that we all love this," Alyssa offered. "We're going to have the two best Seekers of our generation on our team!"

"We are," Rose agreed. "I still want to keep this short; so let's get right to the parts of our Europe Cup plans that directly affect you. First-up; Stephanie is the only one of you that will be playing in the first round. We're going to have her play Chaser with Al and Gwendolyn; Uncle Harry will be at Seeker; and Brandon, Seth, and I will play in that match too. If we keep winning, Aunt Ginny will play the second-round match; Jonah will have the third; and Lily will play in the championship match. Don't talk about that with anyone outside of the team; since nobody else knows that she's signed those contracts – both for this summer and the deal that the rest of you have either already signed or plan to sign once you're seventeen."

"Then we'd better win the first three matches," Katrina suggested. "None of us want to end up as Butt-Bogeys."

"Especially when we'd be within apparating distance of the dragon reserve," Fred joked.

"Moving along," Rose said with a grin – "for round two, we want to have Ray, Cyndia, and Alyssa at Chaser; Hugo will be in goals; and Fred and Katrina will be our Beaters."

"We can train together," Alyssa suggested to Stephanie and Cyndia, "but if Stephanie is going to pretend to be Ray to get ready for our match; don't expect any mid-air snogging like Al and Gwendolyn have been doing all season."

"We can save that up for when we're home and I can get back to training with Ray," Cyndia suggested with a smile for Ray.

"Or we could work on that as soon as this meeting is over," he suggested.

"Speeding up now," Rose joked – "Keep Hugo, Fred, and Katrina for round three; and add Stephanie, Cyndia, and Alyssa at Chaser. Finally, we're going with our current team if we make it to the Championship match – except for having Lily at Seeker."

"You said that Jonah's playing in the third round," Cyndia reminded Rose. "Why wouldn't you put Gwendolyn in that match?"

"Because we want everyone – except the Seekers – to play in two matches each," Rose answered. "The final match is likely to be the toughest, and while we are going to share future championship matches with everyone; I think that we can all agree that we should go with the players that have worked together the most over the past year for this championship – and that will only be if we make it that far in the competition."

"Okay," Cyndia agreed, "but I haven't worked with Stephanie and Alyssa very much compared to Gwendolyn, so if I don't think that I'm ready; then I reserve the right to talk you into having Gwendolyn play instead – and I'll still get one match – the same as the Seekers get."

Rose shrugged. "We can at least talk about it," she conceded. "You know the match-ups we have planned now, though, and we're going to keep that quiet too for the surprise factor; so there are only two things left to cover – the first round camping; and getting your photos and models done for toys and souvenirs."

"You didn't tell me about that last part," Ray accused. "I'll lose half the day with Cyndia!"

"And now you know why we didn't tell you," Rose advised him. "You'll help with the boring supply shopping instead; and the mini-makeover that Cyndia will be getting as part of her work will be worth the lost time with her – and you can be there for the photo shoot if you hurry with the supply shopping."

"That doesn't sound like we're going to have much time to spend with the twins," Jonah pointed out.

"You'll just have to share them and take turns," Rose suggested. "Let's keep going; and we'll try to make the rest of your work quick too, but we need to get started on making those toys and souvenirs now to have them ready for the Europe Cup."

They did that; Gwendolyn went on to help out with the makeovers, photo shoot, and modeling; and Al and Ray had help with the supply shopping that the teens wouldn't really have time for – especially when they had to study for exams for the rest of the weekend once they got back to Hogwarts. Rose joined Malorie, Susannah, and Alexa Johnson for three other meetings before going on to the camp too, but while Al loved what they were doing for GO MagiSports, the camp, and other projects; he actually loved knowing about meetings that nobody else was in the loop for – because they had nothing to do with the Cannons at all! Okay, they did have something to do with GO MagiSports and new management services they were providing to one of the other league teams heading into the new season, and while their support was not going to be in direct management; Al knew that their recommendations were being followed – and would, hopefully, work out very well for both the team and the league.

They used the practice pitch at the camp for the photo shoot, and had to keep the place protected to keep the guests at the hotel or cottages from wandering in and seeing things they shouldn't, but the work was fun for everyone; and it didn't even take long for some of them; since Cyndia was rushed through so that she could still spend as much time with Ray as possible; and the other teens got to have some play time while waiting their turns at each 'station' while getting hair done; having their toy models made, or doing the photo shoots for their posters. Everything was finished by late morning; the teens got to do something that none of the other Hogwarts students could do – have lunch at the Cannonball Cafe; and then everyone moved on from there to either get back to playing, enjoying time off from school in Hogsmeade, working at other jobs, or heading back to school and the exams studying waiting for them there.

None of the players on the Cannons' team were involved in the biggest non-news event of the day for their Quidditch league, but while the reporters almost-entirely ignored Miya and Roman's wedding; their families and true friends were there for them, and happy to celebrate their special day – even if they were, supposedly, unemployed and heading toward a dire, unhappy future after losing their jobs with the best team in the league! There were members of the Weasley clan at their wedding – and in their wedding party; since Louis and Deanna had become Miya's and Roman's best friends; and Molly was Miya's sister-in-law. There were also some former Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw team mates attending the wedding, but Gwendolyn had been skipped in the original invitations to avoide conflict with Catapults' team mates; and then Miya and Roman had decided not to risk any potential problems with a last-minute invitation for Al and Gwendolyn after rescinding the invitations for all of their former Catapults' team mates and managers.

The ceremony was held early in the afternoon to allow for some casual play time during the rest of the afternoon – along with the usual wedding socializing and photo shoot. They had an early dinner too; and then there was more time for fun between that meal and the dance that started with the first bride-and-groom dance as the sun was setting on their amazing, happy day. The couples dancing with them joined in slowly as they were invited to dance starting with the wedding party and then parents and grandparents before the dance area was opened to everyone. That kept the fun going and getting better; so it was an hour-past sunset by the time the couple of honor and their best friends were able to sit down and take a break.

"I am so glad that we've gone casual for the dance," Deanna told Miya as they settled onto chairs and sipped on iced drinks. "If we were still in heels; I doubt that I'd be able to walk by now."

"I love dressing up as much as the next Witch," Miya assured her, "but not when it means being horribly-uncomfortable all day and night. I don't even know how you stand dressing up every day for work."

"That is a choice," Deanna advised her – "though nobody gets very far in the Ministry of Magic without looking good – and I mean that to include being more-important than talent in too-many cases."

"You're becoming jaded," Molly interjected. "It isn't like that for most jobs in the Ministry; and there are those exceptions in any workplace." She nodded toward Miya and Roman. "They didn't lose their jobs with the Catapults because of their talent for the game."

"Well, I really hope you're not suggesting that we lost them because we're not good-looking-enough," Miya joked. "I think that Roman is very handsome."

"No – I'm suggesting that work politics had everything to do with that," Molly explained. "I really think that it's past-time for the Department of Magical Sports and Games to step in and put an end to that sort of nonsense with the league teams."

"That would be a terrible idea," Miya told her. "Roman, Louis, and I would have hated being forced to stay and work with King James and his merry band of cheating gits. If they'd tried to force us to stick to our contracts; we'd have quit after all of the awful things we had to put up with this season – and last year too, for that matter."

"The Ministry could make sure that sort of abuse didn't happen either," Molly insisted. "Everyone should have a safe and happy workplace!"

"We'd have no workplace at all within a few years if you did that to professional Quidditch," Miya suggested – "or would you also force the fans to buy tickets, watch the matches on the mirror networks, and buy all of the toys and souvenirs that pay the bills for the teams – including player salaries?" She smiled ruefully. "Let's not get into a political or business debate tonight, Molly, but I would suggest that before you try going down that rules and regulations road you're so fond of promoting that you first try to run a successful business the way you think they should be run; and work out all of the kinks in your plan first before trying to make changes like that. The unintended consequences can sometimes be worse than the cure."

"I don't see any risks with trying to make life better for every employee," Molly insisted.

"Here's one for you," Deanna offered – "business owners will not keep running those businesses without making money, and if they don't make money; they don't pay taxes to the Ministry of Magic – and then we're out of work too." She laughed; and then needed to explain the quiet little outburst. "Don't let this bug you, cousin-in-law, but would you like to take a guess about where the single biggest boost to Ministry tax revenues came from last year?" She grinned when Miya laughed too.

"I'll guess – GO MagiSports," Miya declared; and Deanna nodded while Molly shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes," Deanna confirmed – "and you can look it up on Monday if you don't believe me, Molly. We can't talk about specifics outside of the Ministry, but they're obviously doing much more than winning matches and a first championship."

"Invoke Rule Number One," Louis suggested to Molly; since she truly looked as though she was getting angry now – "and we'll stop talking about this. You also don't need to worry about us for jobs. We're glad to be done with the Catapults; and we will be okay – wether we keep working in the show or get other jobs. We do have other talents beyond quidditch."

"I hear that GO MagiSports is hiring for Camp Cannonball," Molly told him with a hint of a sneer. "Maybe you'd like to be a camp counselor – or maybe the groundskeeper."

"If that would mean getting a flat as nice as the one Teresa has – or one of those cottages at the camp that she's told us about; I'd be okay with that," Deanna told her. "In fact, I honestly don't get why you're trying to make that suggestion an insult; since everyone we know that has a job with GO MagiSports is happier than anyone we work with at the Ministry of Magic – including you and me."

"I love my job," Molly declared; though it was hard to look convincing about that when she was frowning and still looked angry.

"You've been quite-successful," Deanna countered, "and I'm sure that you are enjoying that as much as I find satisfaction in doing my job well, but I am not happy with my job – not the way Teresa is happy and excited all of the time."

"I'd rather do something important and make a difference," Molly retorted. "You used to feel the same way."

"I did," Deanna agreed, "but if we don't have that kind of joy and happiness in our own lives; then how can we expect to actually make things better for anyone else?"

"We make the sacrifices that are necessary for the greater good," Molly insisted. "If doing that was fun and easy; everyone would be able to do it." She shook her head. "You've been messed up since the Animorphloser went on that rant against you and Dad last summer; and now you sound a lot like him!"

"Why do you insist on insulting Al like that?" Deanna demanded – "and yes, I know that I used to do that even before he spent the better part of two days saving my husband from spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair or worse." She nodded toward the portable mirror that was never far from Molly's hand; since she was as obsessed about her job as her father was – even at a wedding and on a weekend when nothing ought to be happening in her department. "If you hate him so much; stop using those new portable mirrors – since he invented them. How about all of those MirrorApps? A lot of them are either his – or built on his ideas. Do you go to the VirtualMirror theaters? His too – and the list is getting quite long. You insist that we have to make sacrifices for the greater good, yet we've both hated on a Wizard that has managed to prove that you can be happy and do far-more good than either of us have done so far in our lives."

"If you believe all of the lies – which you apparently now do," Molly retorted.

"I know for certain that I convinced myself to believe the worst about Al because I was – and still am – jealous," Deanna answered seriosly. "That's likely true for all of us – and we didn't even feel that way when Al was younger. Do you remember the stories you told us about Al and Gwendolyn's problems with James and Ollie the year you were Head Girl? I remember that you were appalled by the way James and Ollie were harassing them – not to mention some of the things they said to you that time you caught them trying to get Al and Gwendolyn into trouble. I can admit that it was almost-entirely the jealousy that made it easy for me to accept the worst – despite all evidence to the contrary." She smiled at Miya and Roman. "This conversation really is way too-serious for your wedding; so here's my tie-in to it. I know that you're going to have an amazing marriage and life together because you're the two friends that we have that remind me most of Al and Gwendolyn."

"That's an awesome compliment," Miya told her sincerely. "We're not there yet; but I think we're on the right track now."

Sunday was a really good day for Al, Gwendolyn, and everyone involved with the first group of kids attending Camp Cannonball. The arrivals began at eleven o'clock; parents or grandparents stayed with their kids for a tour of the cabins and a few other camp highlights; and then they all participated in a luncheon at the cafe that included spending time with the eight members of the Cannons team. Most of the kids were left with their counselors for the week after that with a couple of exceptions that needed more time with one or both parents; and the fun kicked up a few notches with some water play time in and around the portable lake and lazy river. Playing and having fun was the name of the game for the kids on their first half-day at camp, but they also didn't do anything Quidditch-related. Many of the other activity options were demonstrated, though; and the kids got to pick the ones they were most-interested in taking lessons for during their week at camp.

Dinner was an outdoor barbeque put on by the cafe and camp staff with help from some of the Cannons' players; there were more games in the evening; and then a campfire wrap-up for the day that included music from Al and Gwendolyn; stories, and fire-toasted snacks. Al and Gwendolyn stayed with some of the kids to help the counselors out as needed to get them settled in for the night – and Al was particularly-good at knowing which kids needed the extra comfort and support the most. That was also why they stayed at their cottage overnight while Kirley and Gwenog had gone home after their week-long break, though they weren't there alone; since Harry and Ginny spent the night there too. They'd helped out in other ways after the campfire, but by the time they were all in the cottage, they were just ready to rest up and get ready for a busy work and play week.

While Lily, Jonah, and all of the students at Hogwarts began their exams on Monday, Al, Gwendolyn, and the rest of their Cannons' team began their first week of part-time training for the Europe Cup with a normal training day breakfast at their 'home' Cannonball Cafe; they followed that up with a team meeting that included a review of scouting reports for their first-round opponents; and then they went on to Camp Cannonball to start their training by doing a workout with the camp kids. Al knew most of those kids from their involvement with previous day camps and other charity events, but it felt different to work with them while staying at the camp for a week – and it was really heart-warming to see them so happy while getting to have experiences that just weren't possible in their everyday lives.

After that workout, the kids moved on to other activities with their counselors while the Cannons' team had a scrimmage until lunchtime at the camp pitch; and then Rose set them free for the rest of the day – though that didn't mean that the work was done for some of them. Whatever their plans for the rest of the day, the news that hit the mirror networks from the Ministry of Magic by lunchtime got their full attention – a fact that was true for nearly every Witch and Wizard because Kingsley Shacklebolt announced that he was stepping down as Minister of Magic at the end of the summer. Since he'd been in charge of the Ministry for twenty-seven years, he was the only Minister of Magic that most Wizards and Witches under the age of thirty had ever known; so even the students of Hogwarts that were busy with their exams took notice of the event. Al and Gwendolyn found out about it at lunchtime; and talked about it with Harry and Ginny while having that meal at their cottage.

"I am so glad that we'll be here for most of the day," Gwendolyn offered as they watched the ongoing commentary from the political reporters and noontime news show hosts. "That joke about the Cannons' first league championship in centuries being a sign that it was time to step down as Minister of Magic is sure to get some of our favorite reporter-haters going this week."

"No doubt," Ginny agreed. "It is funny, though; and I'll want to watch Lee's show tonight to see what he does with it."

"He could take that a few different ways," Harry suggested. "Kingsley's retirement could be the new number one reason to celebrate our championship – or we could get the blame if things don't go well with the next Minister of Magic."

"I hate to say it, but things won't go well if Percy gets the job," Ginny suggested. "Spending the first half of the summer playing in the Europe Cup is looking really good right now; since we don't want to be in the middle of that battle."

"Will you stay out of it if Aunt Hermione is in the running?" Al asked.

"We shouldn't take sides – at least officially," Ginny answered. "That wouldn't be good for the team; and we might do more damage than good to Hermione's campaign if she does try to get the job over Percy or anyone else – and I expect that she will do that. I'll support her, but that doesn't have to be in a big, public way."

"You can help by keeping Al away from all family events this summer," Harry joked with a grin for his son – "if there are any that we're invited to that Percy will attend too."

"I'll guess that he'll be too-busy now – and we haven't been sent invitations to Molly's wedding; so that won't be a problem either," Ginny suggested and pointed out. "We are going to be very busy this summer; so I really do think that we should stay out of it – and out of trouble."

"That's an awful lot to hope for with two of the biggest trouble magnets in history around," Gwendolyn teased. "I can agree with that – for now," she added more-seriously. "If it starts to look as though Uncle Percy is going to get the job, though, I reserve the right to help Al out with getting into trouble to try and convince everyone that Aunt Hermione would be the best choice to take over from Minister Shacklebolt."

While the news from the Ministry of Magic continued to be a huge story all day, Al and Gwendolyn had to move on after lunch – starting with an afternoon training session with a group of kids that wanted to be future Chasers. They worked with them for an hour; followed that up with a short scrimmage with a total of fourteen of the kids; and then they stayed with the kids for the water play that kept them busy for the rest of the afternoon. The counselors and other helpers took care of the dinner and evening activities, but then Al and Gwendolyn were there again for the VirtualMirror theater show that was the bedtime entertainment for the kids and then helped out again with getting the kids settled in and off to bed for the night.

Tuesday was Gwendolyn's nineteenth birthday, and while they weren't taking the day off from the camp and kids; they weren't having a training day with the Cannons either. They'd been left on their own at the cottage on Monday night; Al made breakfast in bed for Gwendolyn in the morning; and then they spent a lot of the day playing with the kids – including fun with Jaimie and Lorie for about half of the morning and then the last-half of the afternoon. Al hosted a birthday dinner for Gwendolyn at the Chudley Cannonball Cafe so that they didn't get in the way of the camp dinner; and then they were back at the camp for another campfire that Kirley and Gwenog joined in on – and Kirley helped out with the music too; though it was a bit funny to have the kids only knowing him as a member of an 'old' band that their grandparents listened to instead of as one of the most-famous musicians of all time!

Wrapping up Gwendolyn's birthday with another night on their own at the cottage was brilliant – and hot, but it was time to get back to training again on Wednesday; they had half-day workouts on Wednesday and Friday; and in addition to daily work with the kids at the camp; Al worked on other projects – including finishing up with the new uniforms for the Harpies by the end of the day on Friday. That had needed to be done so that Gwenog would be able to get started soon on the souvenirs and toys that would feature those new uniforms; so Al also delivered them to her while he and Gwendolyn had dinner with them – and Harry and Ginny – at the cottage after they were all finished work or camp play time for the afternoon.

"Can we see them?" Ginny asked after Al handed the too-small box to Gwenog that had an undetectable expansion for there to be room for dozens of new uniforms.

"You haven't seent them already?" Gwenog asked in surprise. "I thought that Al would at least ask for your opinion – and Gwendolyn's."

"I've seen them," Gwendolyn advised her – "and helped out a bit even though that work is seriously-boring. I'm so glad that Al's started hiring people to take over that work. "The Harpies designed them; so we didn't think that second-opinions were required. You must've done all of that while putting them together."

"We did," Gwenog agreed while getting one of the 'good' uniforms out of the box and handing it to Ginny. "What do you think? Do you want to quit your job and come work for us instead?"

Ginny laughed as she unfolded the jacket to take a look at it. "The Harpies can't afford me anymore," she only half-joked; and Gwenog laughed and then stopped when she realized that her friend really was being more-serious than not.

"You actually believe that?"

"It's the truth – and these jackets are great! They're different than ours – and perfect for a team of Witches!" She smiled at Gwenog's focus on her financial declaration. "It isn't just about the pay, Gwenog. I'd have to sell my interest in GO MagiSports when they're really just at the beginning of their business plans. There's no way the Harpies could pay me enough to make up for that – even if you were serious about that and wanted to have me share Seeker duties with Gabrielle."

"Not to mention that if you did do that; Lily would turn both of you into butt-bogeys," Gwendolyn reminded them. "That thought alone ought to scare you off from the idea!"

"She's still not really talking to me at all," Gwenog reminded her daughter – "though I shouldn't get Ginny into trouble too even with jokes about that; since Lily is at least back together with Jonah and talking to the rest of you."

"Lily will come around eventually," Ginny predicted. "She does love you, Gwenog."

"I know, and you're likely right, Ginny, but the scary part of this for me is that she'll come around at about the same time she proves that she was right about me making the wrong choices for the Harpies; and then I might be the one who is mad at her instead."

"Wouldn't that mean you'd be mad at yourself?" Gwendolyn asked.

"Yes, but why let that get in the way of a good story?" Gwenog challenged. "Let's not keep on with that. You like the uniforms, Ginny?"

"I love them," Ginny assured her; and had already moved on to look at the shirt and pants. "You're going to sell a lot of posters and action figures." She laughed. "When Santini sees Gabrielle in this; she might have a shot a my – Harry's – record he'll be so dumbfounded!"

"She'd love that, but we probably won't even try to do that. The teams and Seekers that have tried since you got that record have looked dumb – especially when they didn't even make the catch at all. Harry took a huge risk with his attempt; since he'd have never lived it down if he'd failed too."

"Probably not," Harry agreed – "though I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I'm glad that you'll have the uniforms next season. They'll really cut down on the serious injuries – though we expect that teams like the Falcons and Catapults will try to work out different ways to attack us to adjust for that."

"You didn't mention that to us when selling your uniforms," Gwenog told Al and he shrugged.

"We don't know what those new tactics might be – though we can take some guesses. For example, the uniforms don't keep us from getting knocked to the ground or into the stands and out of the match that way even if we're not seriously-injured. That's also a tactic that is already used now and then."

"It is," Gwenog agreed thoughtfully. "I know we'll have to get used to the uniforms too, but these changes we're making are much more complicated than anything we've done in the past. I hope it won't be too-much too-quickly."

"You can always phase the changes in if needed," Ginny pointed out. "If any of your players aren't ready for the Hurricane brooms; just have them use your older brooms until they are – or just don't push the Hurricanes beyond what they can each handle. I don't know if it looks that way to anyone else, but that is what we've done with the Cannons; so it isn't just a difference because some of us are crazier than others."

"No, but that helps," Kirley teased. "The Harpies will be fine too, Gwenog," he added. "I'd say the Cannons have more to worry about; since none of us knows which team will be better this season now that you'll have the same advantages."

"We don't," Al agreed, "but it will be fun getting to find out; and I'll hope that Rose won't blast me if the Harpies win those battles."

Their chat moved on from there and included everything from the latest news from the Ministry of Magic and the battle that was brewing to select Kingsley's replacement and an update from Hogwarts that was all about exams to the camp and kids' adventures reports. They couldn't make many plans for the weekend while Harry, Ginny, Al, and Gwendolyn had responsibilities both days with the outgoing and incoming kids on Saturday and Sunday; so they had to work in family time around those responsibilities. Al and Gwendolyn moved on after dinner to eventually do the last campfire of the week with the kids; and then they had both sets of parents at the cottage because they'd stayed and played with some of the other parents hanging out at the cottages or hotel until later than planned; so they decided to spend the night too.

The first camp transition weekend ended up being a bit of a blur for Al and Gwendolyn – in part because they got a much-better idea of the work involved in getting the cabins and camp cleaned up and ready for the next group of kids with less than a day to get that work done. They didn't plan on doing that work every week – and couldn't, but it did give them the information needed to have Alexa adjust the weekend staffing needs – and add a couple of part-time jobs for a couple of interested Hogsmeade residents. The incoming group of kids on Sunday were as-excited as the first group had been, and that was a lot of fun for everyone involved, but the biggest difference for Al and Gwendolyn was that the process went more-smoothly now that they'd been through it once – even with some changes for the counselors; since not all of the adults taking those jobs had wanted to work every week – and some were taking the jobs while using vacation time from their normal jobs.

The Cannons players needed to get back to their normal jobs on Monday – with their first full week of training for the Europe Cup. They still worked with the kids every day and used those opportunities to keep their training fun and interesting. There were other family events going on during the second week of June too; though Al and Gwendolyn didn't have much involvement in Fleur's forty-eighth birthday on Monday; and couldn't do anything more than gifts and a mirror chat with Jonah for his seventeenth birthday on Wednesday. There was a dinner party for Fleur, but Bill only invited parents, siblings, children, one granddaughter and some friends to celebrate with Fleur. That worked out for Al and Gwendolyn anyway; since Monday evening was one of their play times with the kids at the camp. While they also missed out on Jonah's birthday celebration, he did at least get to have more of one than usual since starting at Hogwarts; and that was entirely because he and Lily finished their last exam on Monday and could play all day on Wednesday – even if their friends and cousins had to write exams – or study for them; and couldn't take the day off with them. Al and Gwendolyn weren't given the details of Lily's plans for Jonah's special day while having a mirror chat with him at breakfast, but they had no doubt that she would make sure that his day would be a good one!

Lily smiled as she landed near the bench that she and Jonah were using at the stadium while having their Seeker duel. She won three catches to one; and had earned some cheers for that from the handful of Witches that were watching them while studying for exams. Some of those teens had been there already by the time Lily and Jonah got there while others wandered in after seeing or hearing the Quidditch action above the pitch.

"I did warn you that I wasn't going to take it easy on you just because it's your birthday," she reminded Jonah as he landed too.

"You did," he agreed – "and I still don't have a problem with that."

"You should," she suggested. "I want to win every Seeker duel – and you should want that too."

"That's true," Jonah agreed, "but we haven't done that – and you have one of the best-ever records for that in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch; so I just don't want to stress about those inevitable losses. We had fun today, and we both keep getting better; so that's enough for me."

"It's your birthday, and I don't want to get into any serious discussions; but I don't really get that."

"You should," Jonah challenged. "Your Mum and Dad are the perfect example of what I mean. I don't know what their Seeker duel record is against each other, but does that matter when they've won all of their matches against every other Seeker in the league? I love the idea of that being the way it could be for you and me." He'd added that last part in a whisper to make sure that he wasn't overheard by anyone else in the stadium.

"You think that the Cannons could keep on having undefeated seasons for years?" Lily asked; sounding truly amused. "How do you get there from not having a problem with losing our Seeker duel today?"

"That's something you already know the answer to," Jonah assured her. "We still have time before lunch. Do you have anything else planned; or can we go for a swim and cool off before we need to be in the Great Hall and hear all about our friends' morning exams?"

Lily had already planned the swim-for-two – though they didn't end up being alone; since some other teens and the giant squid wanted to play for a while too. Lunch in the Great Hall didn't include any bonus birthday fun for Jonah, but his party started outdoors after that with any friends or cousins that were available to join in for some or all of that fun. Lily had games to play; more water fun; and then a lively scrimmage once enough friends were available to do that once the afternoon exams were done for the day. There was time for one last swim before dinner; and then Lily had an evening of hot-rated fun-for-two in the Room of Requirements planned for Jonah while most of their friends resumed their exam studies – or had to find their own entertainments if they were finished exams too.

While pretty much every aspect of their relationship had developed differently than it had for Al and Gwendolyn, the similarities that they got teased about still annoyed Lily; so it was probably for the best that she didn't know that her intimate plans for Jonah's seventeenth birthday were only different from Gwendolyn's seventeenth in that it wasn't a 'first' for Lily and Jonah. Fortunately for both of them, they had more-interesting things to do; Lily kept Jonah entertained until shortly before curfew; and then they were both ready to get some sleep after a brilliant, remember-forever kind of birthday.

There was exciting news going on with the GO MagiSports managers as they headed toward the end of the week. Al sensed what was happening, but kept it to himself so that everyone else could share in the fun and surprises when Malorie and Rose were ready to have meetings with their employees. Al, Gwendolyn, Harry, and Ginny were brought into the loop at a meeting after work on Thursday, so they all ended up on the other side of the surprise that was announced to everyone else in meetings on Friday morning. As team manager, Rose was on her own for the meetings she held with her office staff and team; and she was seriously fired-up by the time she sat down in the team training room after doing the office staff meeting first – and then sending all of them out on a paid day off and three-day weekend.

"I hope that you're going to tell us about whatever is going on with you over the past few days," Brandon told Rose. "You're likely going to burst soon if you keep trying to hold it all in."

"From the grins I see on that side of the table; I'd say that most of us already know what Rose is so excited about," Ray suggested. "It must be really good news – unless they're confunded and think that bad is good today."

"It's awesome news," Rose assured him – "and I won't keep you waiting either; since we do have a workout to get to – and play time with the kids at camp. Malorie and the other Managers have finished working out the bonuses already – and you're going to love this as much as we do." Her smile was brilliant as she began handing out the envelopes that included a report from GO MagiSports and a Gringotts letter advising each of them of the transfer of money into their vaults.

"Merlin!" Brandon exclaimed. He'd been first to get his envelope and first to open it. He laughed; stood up; and then hugged and kissed Rose fairly-enthusiastically. "If that's a mistake; don't tell anyone!"

Rose laughed. "It isn't," she assured him. "Everything was checked and triple-checked. We did better than even our best estimates; and now we know that all of the work was worth it."

"I'd say that the championship was worth it," Gwendolyn suggested – "but we'll take the big bonuses too!"

"I need to sit down," Ray offered; and he and Seth both looked stunned. "You're sure this isn't a mistake?" he asked Rose.

"Positive," she assured him with a laugh. "Have you read Malorie's report yet? The Gringotts letter is just part of the good news."

"There's more?" Ray asked. "I really need to sit down."

"You are," Seth pointed out while taking his own first look at Malorie's letter. "Maybe Rose can explain this to us; since I think my brain has shut down."

Rose laughed again. "Okay," she agreed. "Our bonuses are based on two-and-a-half percent of the Cannons' value – not all of GO MagiSports. The one-hundred and twenty-five thousand galleons is our share of the team profits. There is also our percentage of ownership – which for you and Seth is one percent because this is your second year with GO MagiSports; and a half-percent for the rest of us. I won't bore you with the calculations for the value of the Cannons, so just take my word for it that the fifteen-million galleons is actually set low; and is almost-certain to rise over the next few years if we keep doing as well as we did last season."

"So this half-percent is based on that?" Ray surmised; and Rose nodded. "Merlin!"

"What he said," Brandon agreed. "I am so glad that we didn't take those reserve squad jobs with the Arrows, Seth!"

"We were sure of that from the day Rose and Susannah got out of Hogwarts – if not sooner," Seth reminded him. "I don't even know what to do with this much money. It's not like we need to buy a house or anything big or expensive."

"That's something I want to talk about with you – though you should take time to think about that before making any decisions," Rose told him. "GO MagiSports is going to keep growing and getting into new businesses, so if you're interested; Malorie will be looking for new investors – and we'll start with the managers and employees before going outside. I can't go over all of the GO MagiSports numbers with you, but you should be able to work it out that our investors have done pretty well this year too."

"This is way-past anything I expected," Seth told her seriously. "Now you're suggesting that we could make even more?"

"Witches and Wizards can live for a very long time," Ginny reminded him. "We can't expect to play Quidditch forever; and I can assure you that most jobs after Quidditch don't pay nearly as well. You should all keep that in mind; and it's never too-early to plan for your longer-term future. If you don't want to get involved as an investor with GO MagiSports; you should still think about doing more than just having your money sit in a vault doing nothing."

"I don't want to get bogged down with a long chat about this," Rose advised them, "but I will tell you that I'll be reinvesting some of my bonus back into GO MagiSports – and that's entirely because Al's convinced me that this really is just the start of even better things to come; and I'm going to be as big a part of that as I can be – especially now that we have an idea of just how amazing that is for us already!"

"Well, you did wonder about what you could buy," Brandon told Seth. "A bigger ownership stake in GO MagiSports – and not just the team – does give us a pretty good option."

"It does," Seth agreed. "Is this something we can't talk about with anyone, Rose? Did everyone get big bonuses?"

"Bonuses were different for everyone," Rose answered first. "Susannah's in the loop as a Manager, but we can't talk about this with anyone else other than the GO MagiSports managers – and we shouldn't really do that very much either. We obviously can't do every bonus the same. As players, we bring in a lot more money than, for example, employees that make souvenirs. Their bonuses are still significant compared to their weekly or monthly pay, though; so I hope that everyone that works for GO MagiSports will be especially happy today."

Al knew that Rose was right about that – and they were all very happy as they continued their meeting with some Europe Cup business and then headed up to the camp for their morning workout with the kids that included some scrimmages with groups of them until lunchtime. Al and Gwendolyn had that meal with the kids too; had a more-serious team workout after that; and then they were free to do their own thing for dinner through until they helped out with the last campfire of the week for the camp kids. After spending the day with the kids and their team mates; Al was ready for a break; and a chance to talk with Gwendolyn and his parents while they had that evening meal at the cottage.

"Should we start with talking about the bonuses and how well our investments have done this year; or make predictions for how long it will be before Brandon, Seth, and Ray get engaged?" Ginny asked as they settled in around the dining room table after filling their plates at the counter that had been set up as a mini take-out dinner buffet.

"I'll predict sometime this summer for all of them," Gwendolyn offered first. "Weddings could be an issue next summer with the Quidditch World Cup going on."

"Maybe Brandon and Seth will suggest a dual wedding," Harry joked.

"Not if they know what's good for them," Ginny disagreed. "There are other options; though they might not be able to take much time off for a Christmas or Easter wedding; and even a late-May or early-June wedding wouldn't allow them much time off when we'll have extra work to do then – or some of us will if we get invited to play for the National team."

"I doubt that the committee selecting our National team will just select the Cannons," Harry pointed out. "We're not exactly popular with the league or Ministry officials; so that might not be a problem for any of us – especially those of us that only play part-time."

"Which will be all of us next season," Gwendolyn added with a nod. "I don't know what kind of wedding Cyndia would want to have, but Rose and Susannah would likely both need to have bigger weddings; since their mothers have important jobs at the Ministry of Magic."

"That'll be more-true if Hermione becomes the next Minister of Magic," Ginny suggested – "though I doubt that Rose would go for a wedding as big as the one Lucy had – or Molly will be having this summer."

"So having the ceremony after the next league championship would be a bad idea?" Al joked.

"Yes – and an even-worse one if we either weren't playing in that match or lost," Gwendolyn assured him. "I'm so glad that our parents didn't try to insist on a big wedding for us. I can't even imagine the stress of a big wedding along with all of our work right now."

"Yet you could both be in the wedding parties for three weddings this year," Ginny reminded her. "Maybe we should change the subject and talk about those bonuses instead. That isn't nearly as scary as all of that extra work might be for you."

"I don't know what to say about the bonuses – or how much we made on our investments already," Gwendolyn told her seriously. She smiled at Al. "This must be pushing the limits of even your imagination for the future of GO MagiSports."

Al smiled too. "It hasn't – though it will give us the opportunities to make some of my plans and ideas happen sooner than I expected."

Gwendolyn laughed. "Are you going to discuss that sort of thing with us ahead of time; or keep everything a surprise."

"We should probably talk about more of those things with the four of us – and keep the surprises for everyone else," Al suggested. "For instance; I've had my eye on an island that we can get for a deal that's even better than the farm was for this camp."

"A tropical island?" Ginny asked; and smiled too when Al nodded. "Why is it such a good deal?"

"No fresh water," Al answered. "That isn't a problem for us the way it would be for Muggles. It's also in a place where I could make it disappear from Muggles very easily. I'll show you pictures of it later, but I'm thinking about it in the same way as the hotel and cottages part of this camp. Making money won't be the goal for it; though I'm sure it will be quite valuable once I've made a few improvements."

"No doubt," Harry agreed. "Every Witch working for GO MagiSports will love that idea – and the Wizards will go along with it just for the Witches-in-swimsuits opportunities."

"Speaking of not making much money – or any; I don't think that we covered the specifics about how bonuses were worked out for Susannah and her charity staff," Gwendolyn said; temporarily changing the topic. "What did Malorie and Rose come up with – a percentage of their wages?"

"No – one percent of GO MagiSports profits," Ginny answered. "Susannah thought that was too-much, but Malorie and Rose convinced her that they should do that; and then she could always donate back to the charity or invest in GO MagiSports with some or all of her own portion of that money."

"They work as hard as anyone else – if not harder," Al offered. "It wouldn't have been right to exclude them from sharing in our successes – regardless of what they do with their money."

"We'll still need to work on how that's set up for most of the GO MagiSports businesses," Ginny reminded him. "Getting back to the island, though, I do love that idea. Are you thinking about it for vacations only or for training getaways too?"

"Both," Al answered – "though I haven't entirely worked out the Quidditch part of that; since I don't think that we'd want to waste the island space on a full-sized practice pitch."

"Unless you made it usable for other things," Gwendolyn pointed out. "It wouldn't even need to be a building when the weather would be nice most of the time. All you'd really need is sets of goals at each end of a beach or an open field or park area."

"That's true," Al said thoughtfully. "There's even a cove that might work for that if we used goals on either side of it."

"Playing above the water?" Gwendolyn stated more than asked. "That sounds awesome too!"

"It does," Ginny agreed, "but we should talk more about those ideas some other time; since there will be issues to consider – like what to do with our team and league commitments when it comes to things like reporter-access to our training. Would we want a gang of them on the island too? I'm not sure who would need to pay for the international Portkeys – not to mention getting approval for them in the first place."

"Do you think that Percy would give us a hard time for that?" Harry asked; and Ginny shrugged.

"He hasn't tried to do anything like that to us yet, but with the Minister of Magic job up for grabs; I have no idea whether we could have problems or not – whether he wins or loses that battle with Hermione and the other candidates."

"Then you should definitely not tell him about one of the other projects I'm working on," Al told her with a grin. "That one might just make his current job at the Ministry a lot less relevant."

"Should I ask?" Ginny asked; while directing that question at Harry and Gwendolyn.

"I'm just looking at a different way of traveling through Wizards' space that is something of a cross between apparating and how vanishing cabinets and Portkeys work," Al explained. "That's something I've barely-started, but have been thinking about a lot lately while we've been talking about getting to and from the Europe Cup matches with the team, our family, and the camp kids. It really is a pain having to get all of those international Portkeys approved and set up; and the Ministry of Magic makes that more-complicated than needed."

"Every Ministry of Magic wants to control the international travel of Witches and Wizards to their countries," Harry pointed out. "There have been good reasons for that in the past."

"And bad ones," Al agreed and added. "I'm thinking about all of that too; though it's easy-enough for Wizards and Witches to get around those travel rules if they really want to do that anyway. It's not as if any country could put up anti-apparition shields over their entire country; and there are also Muggle transportation options – even though they're all much-slower."

"Just be careful, Al," Ginny counseled. "You don't want to make too-many enemies at the Ministry of Magic."

"So much for my idea about throwing my name into the running for the Minister of Magic job," Al joked.

Their chat and meal moved on from there; Al and Gwendolyn decided to go for a hike to town and back after that; and then they were back at the camp in time for the sunset campfire with the kids. All four of their parents joined them for that – and to stay the night at the cottage; so they got their weekend off to a great start that included the play time with the kids; a bedtime chat with glasses of wine that helped them wind down from a busy day and work week; and then they headed for their beds by a bit after midnight.

Lily had not talked with her parents, brother, or sister-in-law since Wednesday; so she was as surprised as the other members of the Cannons' summer reserve squad when the Owl Posts arrived for them at breakfast on Saturday morning. She had multiple letters that were delivered by Winter; so she wasn't even the first to find out about the bonuses that Rose and Malorie had decided to give them for their roles in a successful first season and year for GO MagiSports and the Cannons.

"Lily!" Hugo leaned close and whispered. "I got a letter from GO MagiSports and the Cannons – and they've given me another bonus for working with them last summer and Christmas! You must've gotten one too. Merlin, Lily – they gave me ten thousand galleons!"

Lily laughed and hugged her cousin. "Congratulations," she whispered back while flipping through her letters until she found the one from GO MagiSports. "To us," she added while showing it to him and then nodding as she noticed the bright smile on Cyndia's face. "Let's talk later," she mouthed to cyndia – and whispered to Hugo. "I have a feeling that we are going to have a very good summer!"

She was even more-sure of that as she read her own letter – and had more to read because she also had a statement for her trust fund investment. The bonus for being a part-time reserve squad player had been amazing, but she'd been a bit stunned to find out that her one-hundred thousand galleon investment had essentially doubled in a year. Sure, more than half of that was tied up in GO MagiSports, but it wasn't as though she needed a lot of money while still a student at Hogwarts. That didn't keep her from having some ideas about doing some 'bonus' shopping, though; so the rest of their morning meal was very entertaining – even though she couldn't talk about their Owl Post surprises with anyone until they – the members of their 'team' got together after breakfast – and before some of them needed to get started on their studies for their last exams of the year on Monday or tuesday. That visit began with a happy round of hugs and kisses; and then they sat down around a work table after Jonah sealed the room for privacy.

"Did any of you know about this?" Alyssa asked.

"I didn't," Cyndia answered – "but I did know that Ray got his bonus yesterday. He told me about it last night. If he knew about this; he didn't tell me."

"We didn't talk with anyone in my family yesterday," Lily answered next. "Hugo must not have known either; or he'd have told you."

"I didn't – and would have," Hugo agreed. "The Cannons must have done really-well if they can give us bonuses like these – and just for training with them. I'm so glad that I've already signed up to work for them after we're done at Hogwarts!"

"Lily must be even happier about that April Fools' Day joke mess-up now," Stephanie suggested. "We'll have more fun than she'd have had with the Harpies this summer; and I doubt that any of the other league teams have bonuses as great as this one for their summer student employees."

"It's too-bad that Lily can't talk about that sort of thing with us; since I really would like to know how our jobs compared to other teams," Cyndia said. "I'm glad that we can talk about this together – even if we can't do that with anyone else."

"That would have been really weird for Lily and Jonah if they weren't able to talk about stuff like this with each other anymore if she had taken a job with the Harpies this summer instead," Hugo suggested. "Does that even work for couples with players on different teams – like Dominique and Eddie? What do they do – have two separate Gringotts vaults so that they don't know what the other one is getting paid?"

"I have no idea," Alyssa answered. "Let's just be glad that it won't be a problem for us – and that we're going to be paid the same. You might have gotten mad if they'd offered to pay me more than they'd pay you."

"I thought about that before we found out about our job offers," Hugo admitted – "and I wouldn't have had a problem with that; since I think that you'd sell more of everything than I will."

"Possibly because you'd buy extra of her posters and toys," Jonah teased; earning a round of laughs.

"Definitely," Hugo agreed – "though I'll guess that you'll do better than most of us for selling souvenirs and the rest of the gear."

"You're just saying that because most of the Witches in this room will buy Jonah's posters," Stephanie teased – "me included."

"We have so got to find you a boyfriend of your very own," Lily told her. "Let's see what we can do about that this summer. There will be lots of Wizards to meet at our Europe Cup matches."

"With the biggest problem there being the danger of long-distance relationships," Stephanie pointed out. "We can still have fun looking, though; and I do plan on having fun this summer – whether I meet any interesting Wizards or not."

"And thanks to these bonuses; we can have even more fun than some of us had expected," Cyndia added. "We should definitely talk with the other girls about a shopping trip a week from tomorrow. I've never gone shopping in Italy before."

While their siblings, cousins, and friends either studied or enjoyed the weekend off at Hogwarts; Al and Gwendolyn were busy on Saturday morning with the camp kids as they wrapped up their morning play time and then were picked up and headed home. Thanks to the new hires, they didn't need to help out with the camp clean-up and prep work for the kids that would be arriving on Sunday, but they had other work to do – including chores at home and the cottage; and helping out at her parents' estate to get ready for a family picnic on Sunday to celebrate Kirley's fifty-fourth birthday. They did that work on Saturday afternoon because they couldn't help out on Sunday morning. Harry and Ginny helped out too, but then the parents did their own thing for dinner while Al and Gwendolyn actually went out for a date night with a group of their friends that included dinner at a seaside restaurant; an evening walk on the beach; and then some pub play time that included dancing, drinking, and staying out past midnight while they had a little, unofficial celebration of their successes.

On Sunday morning, Al helped Gwendolyn with some fatigue healing before breakfast; he cooked that meal for the two of them; and then they eventually headed up to the camp in time to welcome the third group of kids – this time; a group that paid for their extreme sports camp adventure. That fact didn't change the way they were treated by anyone at the camp, but it did make a difference with some of the kids that were used to getting the best of everything from their parents. Al took note of those differences in what he sensed from those kids, but that had more to do with comparing that to his own childhood; since he'd been one of those kids that got to have the best toys and go on amazing adventures. He and Gwendolyn – and Harry and Ginny – stayed with the kids as long as they could; and then left it up to others to take care of the lunchtime and afternoon entertainment while they headed for the McCormacks' estate and the start of Kirley's birthday picnic party.

"Did you move the start time up; or just give your band mates the wrong time to get them here early?" Gwendolyn asked her father while sharing a hug and kiss with him. "I expected half of them to get here after lunch."

"We had a practice this morning to get ready for next weekend," Kirley advised her. "Most of us have a lot on the go this week; so we have to practice when we can."

"Aren't the Weird Kids and Graves Robbers pretty much on their own now?" Al asked.

"We still help them out for some things," Kirley answered. "We do some work with The Healer; there's going to be another summer theatre production with Wendy, Wanda, and some of their actor-friends; and we have other projects on the go; so we'll be nearly as busy as you'll be this summer."

"Then it's a good thing that we'll have our students to help out with the reserve squad while you're busy," Gwendolyn teased. "That's likely for the best; since Mum might not like it if you trained all summer with Stephanie, Cyndia, and Alyssa."

"I'd have less to worry about with that than I will with all of those europe Cup fans," Gwenog suggested. "There are far too-many Witches out there that don't care that Kirley and his band mates are all married – or, apparently, how old they are either."

"Isn't that good news for you?" Ginny teased. "The day those fans stop thinking that your husband is hot might be the day that you agree with them."

"Scary and possibly-true," Kirley offered before Gwenog could finish laughing. "You won't have to worry about that. Harry's Animagus form will likely always be cute and adorable. Do those dogs even get gray and wrinkled when they get old?"

"They change – but that doesn't have to happen with Animagus," Al advised him.

"Is that true?" Gwendolyn asked him. "I didn't know that."

"You probably did and just don't think about it," Al disagreed. "Rita Skeeter is the best current example for that. "Ladybugs have a short lifespan. If our human age affected our animal forms; she wouldn't survive the change." He smiled at his father. "Your animal form doesn't have to be an adult dog – that's your choice."

"It is," Harry agreed – "though I don't really think about that. My animal form probably does look older now than it did back when I first became an Animagus."

"Yes, but still fairly-young," Al suggested. "You might want to work on that, though, since it might not be much fun to be an old dog in a few decades."

"Thanks for giving me some time," Harry joked. "Is there anything we can do to help while you're busy welcoming your guests?" he asked Gwenog.

"Not right now," she answered. "Get drinks and have fun for a while. We'll get around to setting up for lunch in about an hour."

Al and Gwendolyn went along to get those drinks, but then they didn't stay with his parents as they all began mingling with her family and Kirley's and Gwenog's friends. There weren't any guests their own age during that first hour or the lunch, but Gwendolyn's older cousins were all there for the meal; and Al got to spend some time playing with her youngest cousins too. That made for an entertaining social hour; and then they had lunch with some of the cousins too while Kirley was roasted by his sister and some of his friends. With a week to go until the start of the Europe Cup; Al and Gwendolyn were not surprised when that was one of the topics that their table mates wanted to discuss with them.

"You both look way too-good for not really getting any time off while getting ready for the Europe Cup," Candice told Al and Gwendolyn. "I'm a bit jealous that you're getting to play in that tournament, but I still feel tired from last season; so it's probably for the best that the Harpies didn't get invited instead."

"I'd say that's a 'for sure' instead of probably," Don told her. "You already work hard-enough during the season and playoffs. Al and Gwendolyn at least get to see each other at work. That isn't an option for us."

"There is that," Candice agreed. "I'm busy-enough with the off-season work I do have on the go; and I don't even want to think about how close we're already getting to the start of training camp." She smiled and shook her head. "I didn't want to talk about that. Is there anything you can talk about for your first-round match?" she asked Gwendolyn. "I don't really know anything about teams in other countries – and I certainly don't believe any of the nonsense being reported about the Cannons. Most of that is rubbish – just as it was all season."

"We're not really going to talk about any details for our plans against the Kites. They weren't the champions in their league this year, but while they have a really good team; we've got some advantages – including that they've never played against anyone with Hurricanes – or even against a team with a full set of Lightningstorms."

"That doesn't surprise me," Candice told her with a nod. "The reporters can keep hating on you all they want, but every player in our league should hope that you do well this summer; since it's tough to claim to have the best Quidditch league in the world if our teams and players can't best the competition from other countries."

"We do have the reigning Quidditch World Cup National team," Don reminded her. "Maybe you'll get the chance to be on the next team."

Candice laughed. "Not with players like Al and Gwendolyn to compete against," she disagreed.

"We'll just be part-time players," Al reminded her with a grin. "I doubt that we'll even rank in the top-ten for Chasers."

"You really are going ahead with that part of your plan?" Don asked. "I really thought that you'd change your minds about that after an undefeated season."

"We haven't," Gwendolyn assured him – "though some of us might want to change Al's mind if that part of his plan doesn't work out for us."

"I should likely hope that you do have problems," Candice joked – "though you might have more trouble if you are still successful. It might be impossible for the Cannons to afford all fourteen players if other teams try to offer some of your players more money to go and play for them."

"If they keep winning; I doubt that any of their players would leave," Don pointed out – "not to mention that they have more fun and have an awesome home."

"The homes and having fun are part of the plan," Gwendolyn assured him, "but Al's still also sure that what we're doing won't be for everyone – or maybe even most players. There will be other years when we'll get to play full-time while other team mates are taking time off, but only playing half the time just wouldn't work for everyone." She laughed before adding – "I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about it until we start doing that this season."

"After playing this summer; you might be okay with that – at least for a while," Candice suggested. "You could be right about your Chaser rankings in the league with playing part-time too; though the committee choosing the National team would need to have a bunch of idiots on it not to look past that; since Victoire is the only Chaser that I saw come even close to playing at your level last season. Rose will still play full-time for another season while her brother is still at Hogwarts; so she'd be in the running for Keeper against Belinda, Peter, and anyone else that steps up this season."

"Ryan will hope to be one of those best Keepers," Gwendolyn told her.

"I wasn't thinking about your cousin being done at Hogwarts this year," Candice admitted. "We haven't heard anything about him getting a job with one of the teams yet."

"Neither have we," Gwendolyn assured her – "though I'm sure that he will or already has a job and just can't talk about it."

"I get the reasons for some of the secrecy with new players, since those surprises can mean a lot of publicity and money for teams starting at training camp, but it can be annoying too; and doesn't always make any sense at all."

"Ryan has a rather famous family," Don interjected. "In this case; I'd say that keeping that secret will be one that pays off for whichever team gets him." He smiled at Gwendolyn. "Are you going to have any surprises with the Cannons at opening day of training camp again this year?"

"Yes, but we can't tell you about them; or they wouldn't be surprises anymore," she teased. "There could be a lot of that sort of thing going on around the league this year. The Catapults need three new players; I'm looking forward to finding out where Louis, Miya, and Roman will be playing next season; and Ryan isn't the only talented player graduating from Hogwarts next Friday."

"Including three players that you're getting for the Cannons," Candice added with a nod. "Do you have any other favorites from Hogwarts this year that I might not know about?"

"You know Leanne Jordan through her Mum and attending teen days with the Harpies," Gwendolyn answered. "Justine Finch-Fletchley is one of Hufflepuff's best Chasers; and Ricky Peakes was their team Captain and one-half of their Beater duo with Greta; so they have a talented graduating class – and I would expect that they'll all get job offers. Stephanie's the top Ravenclaw graduate this year – at least for Quidditch, but Patrick Thomas has done pretty well as Katrina's Beater partner, and Ravenclaw did win the senior team title this year with an undefeated season; so he's likely gotten some attention from the scouts. We're geting Fred and Cyndia for our team out of Gryffindor, but Fred's Beater partner, Orlando, wants to play in the show too, and while Kira Kirke has mostly only played on reserve squads for Gryffindor; she also wants to play in the show; and could get a chance to do that – at least with one of the league reserve squads for a start." She looked toward Al before asking – "do you know about any Slytherin graduates this season?"

"Andrea Avery, Dave Harper, and Derek Selwyn all quit early; so I think that only leaves Richard Baddock and Jonathan Wilkes for their graduating players," he answered. "I wouldn't pick either of them for any team, but they are typical Slytherin players; and might get offers too."

"Just what we need in the league – more players like that," Don said sarcastically. "Wasn't all of the horrid last season enough for the bloodthirsty fans of the game? I would really like it if I didn't have to worry so much every time Candice goes to work in matches against the teams and players that like to beat up on their opponents all the time."

"Al wants to do something about that too," Gwendolyn advised him, "but as long as some players and teams keep having success while cheating and playing like that; there will still be other teams and players trying to be like them."

"No doubt," Candice agreed. "We should move on from Quidditch. It is your Dad's birthday; so we should likely get you to tell us some stories – or maybe talk music instead."

"As long as I don't have to sing or play anything," Don told her with a laugh. "I get complaints about the music I play on my portable mirror; and nobody wants to hear me actually try and fail at making music!"

"That first part is because of your taste in music," Candice advised him – "not the quality of the singing or instruments – and he's not wrong about the rest."

Al and Gwendolyn went along with the change in subject; enjoyed their meal; and then had fun for the rest of the afternoon as they played with their family and friends for a few hours. The party ended by late-afternoon; they helped with the clean-up; and then they went back to the cottage and camp for dinner with Harry and Ginny while Kirley and Gwenog were wrapping up his birthday celebration without any help from anyone else. Their kids did not want or need the details for any of Gwenog's plans for dinner and the rest of the night; though they were sure that her parents were going to have a very different kind of fun than they had while playing with the camp kids after dinner and then helping out with their first campfire of the week. That kept them busy until nearly-midnight by the time the kids were in their beds for the night, and that was why they were also ready to just go to bed and get some sleep by the time they got back to their townhouse for the night.

"Okay, kids, we've got five days left to get ready for our first-round match on Saturday – and that's really only four training days; since we'll spend more time at Europe Cup events on Friday than we'll have for any training," Rose told her team mates as they gathered at center pitch – along with the camp kids. Those 'kids' of all ages were grinning at her instead of looking worried about what that statement might mean for their training schedule. "That means that we are going to take our fun to the next level this week; so get ready to do whatever it takes to help us get ready for the Europe Cup competition while having a best-ever-so-far kind of adventure!"

"If we're supposed to help you with that; shouldn't our parents be getting paid to send us here instead of the other way around?" one of the boys asked; earning a round of laughs from most of the other kids.

"That depends on whether you wanted to come here to learn more about Quidditch or not," Rose answered easily. "There isn't a camp that I know of for future Ministry of Magic politicians, but they do have teen days and apprenticeship programs that you might be interested in signing up for in a few years."

"Talking about politics – or money – isn't our idea of fun either," gwendolyn added. "Let's get started with some stretching warm-ups; and then we'll have some fun with basic gymnastics."

"What does a Muggle sport like that have to do with Quidditch?" the same boy demanded somewhat derisively. "I didn't come here to waste my time rolling around on the ground like a pig!"

"We have a skeptic," Gwendolyn decided; and smiled at Al. "Why don't you save us some time and show our young campers why our on-the-ground physical training is so important?"

"Yes, dear – Captain,' Al answered with a warm smile while summoning his broom. "Do you have any requests?"

"Your choices," Gwendolyn decided.

Al didn't waste time; took off; and then he had fun with a flying tricks display that left all of the kids – including their skeptic – with their mouths hanging open and awed expressions on their faces. He earned a round of laughs when he landed and shared a hug and kiss with Gwendolyn.

"You won't learn how to do tricks like that in a day or week," Gwendolyn advised the kids. "We've trained for years to learn to fly like that, but if you want to get there from where you are now; then we're here to teach you how we do our training."

"I want to learn how to do stuff like that," a shy, pretty Witch offered; and focused her attention on the boy that had been spouting off to Rose and Gwendolyn. "If you don't want to do this part of the workout; then at least let the rest of us get to it – please."

Their skeptical camper needed to play it cool, but he didn't opt out of the workout either; and Al soon made sure that everyone was having fun. Having kid-friendly exercises did not mean that the Cannons' players didn't get a good workout too – as any parent could understand even if Quidditch reporters didn't get that simple truth. That first workout of the week was just the beginning of the fun for Al and Gwendolyn – even when they were working and busy day and night. Getting ready for their Quidditch match on Saturday was at the top of their to-do list, but Al used his time-stopper to work on some of his projects; they helped out with other work that ranged from getting ready for a camping weekend in Italy to preparing for having their favorite Hogwarts students home for the summer.

If they'd spent any time thinking about it; that was very different from a year ago when they'd been able to play during their last week of school before graduating – just as Lily, Jonah, and most of their friends at school were getting to play and wind down from their exams too.

"Good morning, Lily," Melissa offered cheerfully as Lily returned to their dorm room from having her morning shower and getting ready for the day. "Are you getting bored with all of the time off you've had since finishing exams? I thought that you'd look happier to be getting started on our last day here before heading home tomorrow."

"I'm happy," Lily assured her – "though if it wasn't for the banquet tonight; I'd have rather been allowed to go home last week and get an early start on those summer holidays."

"From what I've heard about everything going on at home this week; I'm glad that we're here and getting to play – even if that hasn't been every day for me," Melissa advised her. Even my parents are busy getting ready for the trip to Italy this weekend to see Ray play on Saturday, and if you were home; your Mum and Dad likely would have had you working all of the time too."

"As if that'd be tough," Kathryn offered. "They play at Quidditch all day; hang out at that camp a lot; and are probably having more fun than we are – even when we're just hanging out and playing around here. At least they can go anywhere they want. I'm tired of being cooped up here – even if I probably won't be getting to go to Italy this weekend too."

"Maybe your parents are just keeping it as a surprise," Lily suggested.

"Maybe – or they're just too busy," Kathryn countered. "Dad, Belinda, and Olivia are sounding a bit obsessed about getting United back to a league championship. They're not even taking much time off – or at least they're still doing extra training while away from the office and practice pitch."

"I don't know why they're acting like that," Melissa told her with a grin. "From what I hear, those Cannons players will all be part-timers next season; and the experts all predict that they'll be right back to their normal losing ways by August."

Kathryn snorted. "You don't believe that anymore than I do – though if I'm being honest; I'm glad that I'm not going to be one of those part-time players."

"Why not?" Lily asked. "You usually joke about wanting one of those jobs from the other girls."

"I'd love the work," Kathryn assured her, "but I'd hate to be one of the players responsible for blowing that undefeated streak this season. That could be something that would stick with you for the rest of your career."

"That wouldn't be fun, but it also isn't that big of a deal," Lily disagreed. "The Harpies had an undefeated season and then some before losing again; and nobody remembers that loss. They do remember the league and Quidditch World Cup championships, though; and the Cannons will lose eventually."

"A truth that none of us would have ever stated a year ago," Melissa joked. "Instead of going there, though, when will you be starting your summer job that you can't talk about, Lily? Will you get to go to all of the Europe Cup matches – assuming the Cannons keep winning?"

"I can't talk about that at all – and I'll be able to go to those matches. Neither of you have been talking about summer jobs either – though now that I think of it, Kathryn, I could likely get you to Italy this weekend if Uncle George and Uncle Ron still need help with their wheezes booths. I haven't even thought about them – or maybe I've just avoided that to make sure that they don't try to draft me for one of those jobs."

"Thanks, but I do not want to work at camp or stadium booths either," Kathryn assured her. "I'd rather stay at home than go away only to work day and night."

"I haven't heard Roxanne mention anything about that either," Melissa pointed out. "Fred can't possibly be doing that too now that he'll be done school and he has a job with the Cannons – or that would be weird if he did both."

"Uncle Ron liked to work at the stores when he was an Auror," Lily advised her friends with a grin. "I think that'd be a brilliant strategy for the Cannons too. The reporters would have a blast with the story if the Cannons got all of their players to work at the wheezes booths when they weren't playing in those matches!"

"That would be funny," Kathryn admitted – "though I'll take a guess that the Cannons are doing pretty well and the players don't need those part-time jobs."

"With everything they're already doing; they wouldn't have time for more anyway," Melissa offered – "at least from what Ray and Mum tell me. I wouldn't want to be drafted for those jobs working the camp or stadium booths either – especially if that would also mean missing the matches."

"Which brings us back around to the start of this chat – with some of us being glad that we're not at home this week," Kathryn agreed with a nod. "Even if Mum and Dad don't have holiday plans for me starting this weekend; I'm sure that Mum would have chores for me at home. That's the one bad thing about being the last kid still living at home. There are still the same chores; and less help around to get them done."

"We can use magic this summer," Melissa reminded her. "I'm not worried about that at all."

"I wasn't thinking about that," Kathryn admitted. "Maybe those chores really won't be so bad anymore."

"And we can get around on our own now too," Melissa added with a nod. "If your parents don't have any surprise plans for you; they might be okay with you coming up with your own vacation plans."

"Now that sounds like a fun chat to have," Lily told them. "Where would you want to go on that holiday – and would you take any Wizards along – or just hope to find some new ones to play with while you were away?"

Lily's questions led to a conversation that kept them entertained for a while as they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, but then she also spent time thinking about how she was feeling too; since Melissa hadn't actually been wrong about thinking that Lily wasn't as happy as she probably should be for their last day of school. She should be very happy. They'd had a lot of fun all week – for the past week and a half since she'd taken her last exams. Starting their summer holidays out with a trip to Italy was going to be awesome – and even better than most of her friends knew; since her 'secret' job news would be out by Monday at the latest – once the reporters found out that she was going to train with the Cannons again instead of the Harpies. The awards ceremony and feast ought to be exciting too; yet even with so much going on for her that was – or could be – brilliant; reality still wasn't matching up to where she expected her dreams to be – and that truth had an undeniable impact on her.

That didn't keep her from having fun at breakfast and as they really got started on their final play day of the school year, but she began taking note of how those feelings were affecting all of the little cameo moments that she and Jonah moved through with various groups of their friends. It was easy to blame her mental distractions on losing her morning Seeker duel to Jonah during a scrimmage that 'the Witches' still won by twenty points. There was no doubt that her 'dreams-not-happening' musings affected how she felt about Leanne during a chat after that scrimmage that was about hopes and dreams for the friends that were now finished at Hogwarts and about to go out and play in the 'real' world for the rest of their lives. It didn't matter to Lily that her own reality had a very good chance of being better than the one Leanne was going to be starting with the Harpies, but that didn't keep her from being mad about the perceived injustice of the situation; or hating on Leanne just a bit – even though her friend wasn't at all responsible for her own problems with the Harpies.

There were other moments throughout the afternoon that could set off the bad feelings for Lily, but the games, swimming, and more Quidditch did keep her entertained and busy until it was time to get ready for the feast and awards ceremony. She had all of her Gryffindor girlfriends with her for that as they all got dressed up and put extra effort into their hair and clothes before putting on their best dress robes and then heading for the Great Hall. Jonah met her outside of Gryffindor tower for that walk; they stayed together until it was nearly-time for the awards ceremony to begin; and then Lily had too-much time on her hands to think as Professor McGonagall welcomed them and then got the academic awards started with the Astronomy awards.

"In case I forget later – thanks for dropping so many classes so that I have more chances to win these awards," Denise teased with a smile for Lily as she sat down again after receiving her award for top Astronomy student in their year.

"As if that was a problem for you in Astronomy," Lily countered. "You're mixing me up with Al again."

"That'd be impossible to do," Denise disagreed – "and I'm not just saying that because I think he's hot in a way that I appreciate in a much different way than I feel about how beautiful you are. That's more of a 'wish-I-was-you' sort of thing."

"You don't really mean that – except maybe for the dating Jonah part of my life," Lily suggested; and Denise laughed.

"I might like Quidditch more – if I had your talent for the game," she offered, "but yeah, I might agree that Jonah could be the best part of being you – even if you wouldn't agree."

"That wouldn't say much about me if I did agree," Lily pointed out, "and if that actually was true; then what would Jonah see in me in the first place?"

"That's very deep," Denise told her half-seriously. "I'm so glad that we're about to start summer holidays so that I don't have to bother trying to bend my brain around that. We should just enjoy ourselves – and then start resting up for September."

"You'll need to do that," Lily suggested. "Thankfully for me; I don't want to be the next Head Girl."

Denise grinned at her. "I know – and I'll take very good care of Jonah if he's Head Boy while you're busy with Quidditch."

"You'll have lots of time to rest up this summer – as a butt-bogey," Lily warned.

That moment wrapped up as Denise had to stand for another award soon-after; but Lily ended up talking with Denise a fair bit as the academic awards rolled along – especially when Lily began winning some of those awards too. Denise still won the most awards for their year, but Lily and Jonah each won three – including a runner-up award to each other; so they won most of the awards for four-out-of-five of their classes. That wasn't quite as good as Al and Gwendolyn, but it was better than Lily had expected; so she was feeling pretty good by the time the academic awards were handed out and it was finally time for the all-important Quidditch awards.

There weren't really many surprises from Mr. Peakes as he began with the junior team awards. Knowing that Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup was something that Lily was proud of, but she had mixed feelings about quite a few of the individual awards as they were announced and handed out. For the junior team awards, it was strange to have more Hufflepuffs win individual awards despite the fact that Gryffindor won the junior team title. Gryffindor wasn't shut out, since Elle Kirke won for best Keeper, but the rest of their awards were for second-place to either Hufflepuffs or Slytherins. Lily could commiserate with Cameron Lynch for being runner-up Seeker, but didn't really feel sorr for her; since Cameron had at least won all three of her matches; and allowed Christy Jones to win their Seeker duel for the loss. Having Gryffindor win the junior team title for their House was both good and bad for Lily; since their undefeated season had everything to do with why their House won the Quidditch Cup despite the fact that the senior team lost a match. Having Hufflepuff as the junior team runner-up worked for Lily – if for no other reason than it looked good for the younger Hufflepuff players; and not so hot for Leanne and her team.

Some mental pettiness was involved with Lily's thoughts as Mr. Peakes moved on to the senior team awards. She was definitely not as happy for Jonah as she should be when he won for top Seeker and scorer and she was runner-up for both. Having Hugo win for Keeper over Ryan was a bit of petty revenge, but then Katrina and Patrick got the nod for best Beaters over Fred and Orlando. Stephanie and Alyssa won top two awards in that order for both Chasers and assists; so there was more pettiness on Lily's part to have Hufflepuff and Slytherin both shut out of those awards – and that was especially-true for Leanne; since Lily felt pretty good about knowing that the Harpies had hired the third-best Keeper at Hogwarts – or worse; since she'd rank some of the junior team and reserve squad Keepers higher than Leanne – including Meg Rivers and Elle Kirke. The lack of happiness for Jonah continued when Ravenclaw won the senior team award and she had to settle for another runner-up prize; and then the Quidditch Cup announcement felt like a bit of a let-down – and there was a tinge or two of guilt to go along with the award when she knew that Jonah was genuinely-happy for her in a way that she hadn't been for his successes.

All that was left to find out before the feast was the House Cup. Lily honestly didn't really care about that award – possibly because Gryffindor had been behind in that race pretty much all year. Rule Number One applied; and Lily was sure that Al's absence had everything to do with why their House wasn't earning as many points as they had over six of the past seven years – not including the year that James and Ollie helped Gryffindor to get disqualified. That didn't keep her from enjoying Slytherin's fourth-place finish with one of the lowest points total since Gryffindor's big fat zero. Those good-bad feelings didn't last for long when Gryffindor came in at third – though they did at least do that by a wide margin with three-hundred and ten points more than Slytherin earned. Professor McGonagall only dragged out the winner announcement for a few moments while congratulating the top-two Houses; and then Lily got to feel a bit guilty again when Hufflepuff won while Ravenclaw was runner-up – and that was entirely because she hadn't wanted to feel happy for Jonah for yet another award.

She definitely wasn't feeling anything like she knew Al would have been to have the awards so 'fairly' spread out among at least three of the Houses, but then she was ready to just not think about any of that at all once the food hit the tables and she could enjoy the feast instead. That didn't keep her from joining in on the conversation that kicked up a few notches as they filled plates and began to eat, but she kept her darker musings to herself – even when some of her friends voiced their own annoyances at being shut-out from some of the individual awards. Kathryn had been most-vocal about the lack of Chaser awards for Gryffindor; and she and Melissa decided that it was something they were going to need to do something about in their NEWT year so that they'd be able to impress the league scouts more than they already had with two wins and a brilliant match against Ravenclaw despite the loss.

It was more than an hour later by the time Lily finished dessert, and by then; she was ready to get out of the Great Hall and spend a little time with Jonah before he'd need to be busy with Prefect duties for the rest of the night. She ended up meeting with him at the Ravenclaw table instead of waiting for him, and while she hadn't been sure about how easy it would be to play nice with their Ravenclaw friends; that didn't end up being a problem because they didn't really talk about the awards at all beyond a few jokes. They were all more-interested in moving on to either hang out with friends or finish getting packed to head home for the summer – or forever. Lily and Jonah opted for a walk around the castle. There were other teens and tweens wandering around too, but it was a big castle; and easy-enough to avoid most of the traffic – especially when most of those inter-House couples were looking for places to hide for a final snogging session before they'd be split up for some or all of the summer break.

"One more night in our dorm rooms; and then we'll get to have sleepovers every night all summer," Jonah offered with a warm smile; hoping that his comment might bring Lily out of the strange mood she seemed to be in.

"I would have been okay with having sleepovers here," she reminded him. "You're the one that has a problem with that – and being good didn't end up making a difference for the House Cup race for either of our Houses."

"I'd say that our collective lack of being good affected that – even if we didn't personally get into any trouble," Jonah countered. "You don't really care about that, though, so would you like to talk about what is bugging you tonight?"

Lily sighed. "Not really – and I'm not even sure that I know; since everything just seems jumbled up. My team won the Quidditch Cup, but that just doesn't feel right when your team beat ours – and you won the individual awards. Pretty much everything about the awards ceremony had me annoyed with Al because he still managed to do better than me over his last two years here. We could be in for a best-ever summer; yet that isn't what it was supposed to be for me either; and there are quite a few people I'm mad at for that – regardless of what happens for us with the Cannons." She sighed again. "It doesn't make any sense at all, does it?"

"No," Jonah agreed; and then smiled ruefully as she laughed without any sense of true amusement.

"Thanks – that was so not-helpful!" she advised him.

"I don't think that I can help – other than to do my best to help you have fun this summer," he told her more-seriously. "You could always stay a bit mad about what happened with Mum and the Harpies – even if you eventually get over it. We have had an awesome school year, so if something still seems to be missing for you; maybe it's time to at least admit that we're happier when we're working and playing with your parents, Al, Gwendolyn, and the rest of our friends on the Cannons team – and in our community."

"I don't want to admit that," Lily told him flatly.

"I know," he agreed, "but would you really have been happier this summer if you'd been working for the Harpies instead – especially while the rest of us will be busy with the Europe Cup? Be honest about that, Lily. You know that if Mum and Glynnis had picked you over Gabrielle that you would have had problems and hard feelings to deal with – especially if she stayed and still played most of next season while we finish our last year here. I'd guess that you'd feel about the same as you did last Christmas – or worse."

"You're not suggesting anything new," she pointed out – "and we've already agreed that it doesn't make sense. Maybe it's just impossible for me to be as happy as the rest of you."

"That isn't true," Jonah assured her – "and you know that too because you have way too many happy memories to believe otherwise. We're getting to play in Italy this weekend – and that was one of our favorite campgrounds of the entire Quidditch World Cup three summers ago; so let's just have fun for a few days and be happy to be home with our families again. I know you're looking forward to spending lots of time with Jaimie and Lorie."

"Yes – and then I also have no idea how I'm going to manage to spend time around your Mum and Dad – and they'll be there too."

"I have no idea how we'll work that out either," Jonah admitted. "Let's just take that a day at a time." He smiled at her. "Maybe you could set some goals to help with that."

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Well, I was thinking about a certain number of championships – or maybe a combination of that and fun, happy days," he explained. "You could start with a Europe Cup championship – unless you'd like to include the Quidditch Cup you just won tonight."

"That's funny, but if I did that; your Mum would likely just get mad at me if we went on and won all of those awards," Lily pointed out.

"Actually, I'll guess that she'd be mad at herself," Jonah disagreed. "You know that she's doubting herself about you – and Gwendolyn. When have you ever known my Mum to second-guess herself? She's made mistakes and lived with the consequences, but this has been weird for her too; and I've never seen her like this before. I'm pretty sure that Rule Number One applies for that too; and she sometimes gets as annoyed with Al as you do."

"If I took a poll of everyone that knows Al; they'd likely all say the same," Lily pointed out; and Jonah laughed.

"That's true," Jonah agreed, "but he's not the only over-achieving member of our families – you inlcuded."

"Are you annoyed with me?" Lily teased; and then laughed when Jonah nodded.

"Yes, but only a little," he agreed. "You have helped your House to win the last three Quidditch Cups – and it isn't going to be any easier for my House to try and win it next season. I'm glad that we'll be on the same team this summer; since I actually have a pretty good record against every other Seeker."

"You're still happier about how things worked out this season than I am – and that's exactly the way that Al feels about sharing successes."

"I'm not exactly like Al – or I wouldn't have been in the Great Hall tonight," Jonah pointed out. "We won't be the same as Al when we're playing for the Cannons this summer either, Lily – and that's okay too. Nobody else on the team is exactly like Al – or either of us; and we can choose what we want to be like."

"Except that it seems as though we don't actually get that choice," Lily challenged.

"Every league team has rules," he reminded her. "Is what the Cannons have set up really any different than what the Harpies have? If anything; I'd say it's easier and more-flexible. We're overage now; so this summer could include partying that we couldn't do before; and some of the other couples do like to party more than Al and Gwendolyn – or your parents – do. I like playing with the kids nearly as much as Al does, but hanging out with other teens and having that kind of fun will be great too. That isn't even something you'd be likely to do with the Harpies; since Victoire is their youngest player – and seven or eight years older than us." He laughed; and she smiled at him. "Sorry, but I was just thinking that she's even more-likely to have milk-and-cookies parties now that Dora is toddling around. Teddy and Victoire don't likely get out and party very often at all anymore."

"That's actually a really good point," Lily conceded; though he didn't know about Leanne's job with the Harpies yet; and she could picture a future where they did party with their friends and Harpies' team mates. "We'll see whether that actually can be something we can do this summer – starting this weekend."

"We can do that," Jonah agreed. "I'd like to spend some time at the cottage next week too if we can swing that. We're not going to be having any vacations again this summer; so the weekend trips and spending time at the cottage will have to be enough to make up for that."

"We really have missed out on holidays lately," Lily half-mused. "I should probably blame Al for that one too."

Jonah shrugged. "You can do that; but it isn't all his fault. We didn't have to take summer jobs this year – or over the past two summers. I'd still rather go with what we do have planned, but if you'd really rather go on holidays instead; we could likely work something out with our parents and do that instead."

Lily laughed. "Why didn't you suggest that before it was too-late – and we really can't do that now."

"Actually, we probably could – at least for some of the summer," Jonah disagreed – "and I didn't suggest it sooner because I didn't know about one of your April Fools' Day pranks."

"Well, it's still a fun idea – even if it wouldn't really work out for us. We have other things to consider – like our senior team workouts. Taking even parts of the summer off won't really work for us."

"Maybe not," Jonah conceded, "but we do still have those weekend trips, the cottage, and our townhouse to have fun with instead."

"Our townhouse?" Lily asked; and Jonah grinned.

"Well, we can make it yours and I can get one of the flats – if there are any still available," he offered, "but I don't have a problem with having a roommate – and I did mention that we don't need to be exactly like Al and Gwendolyn – or any of the other couples that I'll guess are mostly just pretending to have two places while having a lot of sleepovers."

"You're not going to ask me to marry you the day we get out of Hogwarts?" Lily asked; and Jonah grinned at her.

"I'd marry you tomorrow if you'd like to elope," he advised her, "but if you'd like to make a deal on that, I'd be okay with sharing our townhouse; and leave it up to you to decide when we get bonded-for-life."

"You want me to ask you?" Lily asked in amusement.

"Well, I'd still want to get you a ring," Jonah hedged, "but sure – why not? Having the Wizard do the asking is just tradition; not the law."

"Then deal," Lily told him; stopping to share an enthusiastic hug and kiss with him. "Let's not tell anyone else. I don't want anyone else stealing that great idea from you the way Al and Gwendolyn stole my idea for only taking five classes for sixth-year."

"We can do that – or not," Jonah agreed. "Now we'll just have to hope that our parents won't freak out about the sharing the townhouse thing. We might want to ease them into that one – or at least wait to spring it on them until next week."

They talked about that for a while longer; Lily truly was much happier by the time Jonah walked her 'home't to Gryffindor tower; and then she went on to finish packing for the trip home; had a brilliant bedtime girl chat with her roommates; and then, eventually, went to sleep for the handful of hours she could do that for ahead of the usual early, travel-day wake-up call.

Al and Gwendolyn wrapped up the 'home' part of their work week with a team meeting in the training room that included going over their three-day travel itinerary with Rose, Malorie, and Renee. That kept them busy until a bit later than usual, so they ordered take-out food; and then they hosted dinner with their parents so that they could talk about their trip plans – and the plans for Lily, Jonah, and some of the other Hogwarts students that would be with them for the weekend in Italy. Al and Harry took care of getting the food picked up; they set up the patio table in the atrium; and filled plates in the kitchen before taking their food and drinks out and sitting down to enjoy the meal.

"You must love this," Harry told Al as he sat down between Ginny and Kirley – and across the small table from Al and Gwendolyn. "If you were at Hogwarts tonight; you'd be skipping the feast and having snacks for dinner."

"This is a lot better," Al agreed. "I'm also glad that we're going to be busy tomorrow night; since Lily is probably annoyed with me tonight."

"Gryffindor still won the Quidditch Cup," Gwendolyn reminded him – "and yes, I know that facts aren't required when invoking Rule Number One. Lily seriously needs to get over her problem with losing – even when she still wins."

"Maybe if Al would lose now and then; she would," Gwenog suggested. "You've nothing to worry about tomorrow, Al. Lily will be too-busy being mad at me – which is why this is the first time that I haven't been looking forward to the start of summer holidays since you and Gwendolyn started." She waved a hand toward Jonah's townhouse. "I expect that Jonah will be staying here this summer instead of at home with us; since there's no way that Lily will want to stay at our house anymore."

"Well, that's still better than it might have been if they hadn't gotten back together again," Kirley suggested. "We'll just come and visit here more-often."

"We're going to spend a fair bit of time at the cottage this summer too," Ginny advised them. "If we all stay there together; that'll be a way to start working things out with Lily – along with these weekend trips for the Europe Cup. I wish that we could be at King's Cross tomorrow; and we won't even be able to see them at all until sometime tomorrow evening. We'll already be busy with the VIP dinner by the time you get there with them from here."

Gwenog shook her head. "I'll likely wish that I had a dinner to be at instead, but let's move along; and go over your plans for tomorrow. I have to work, but Kirley can help out with the camp set up while he's there getting things set up for the Friday night concert."

"I'm just supervising," Kirley added. "The Weird Sisters are playing in Italy on Saturday night after your first-round match. The Graves Robbers are in Italy for the show tomorrow night. Between the four bands; we'll do one set at each of the eight campgrounds this weekend – two sets each night per group."

"So we won't have the Weird Kids or Weird Witches in Italy?" Gwendolyn surmised.

"Not this week," Kirley agreed. "We'll all play once at each of the four matches next weekend, though; and will do sets during the final two weekends."

"I'd suggest that you'll be working harder than we will, but I guess that will depend on how long each of our matches are – and whether we keep winning or not," Gwendolyn offered next while nodding her understanding. "We're heading over there early in the morning for the camp set-up. The time change isn't helping us for that – even if it will be nice for enjoying the concerts and our first-round match."

"That won't work out if we're too-tired to start with," Kirley pointed out, "but I suppose that I can have an afternoon nap before going to King's Cross tomorrow afternoon. When do your team events begin tomorrow?"

"There's a lunchion at noon," Ginny answered. "The rest of the day is booked until after dinner; and each team will make an appearance at the concert tomorrow night too. What time do you need to be at your concert?" She laughed; and shook her head. "That doesn't really matter. Our babies are seventeen now; and can take care of themselves."

"That's a scary thought for some of us," Gwenog told her seriously – "and I'm not just saying that because your daughter might decide to try and blast me first and not talk later."

"Lily is not going to do anything like that – if she knows what's good for her," Ginny promised. "You don't really have anything to worry about – at least when it comes to that sort of thing."

"What should I be afraid of then?" Gwenog asked; and Ginny laughed.

"Lily having a brilliantly-successful Quidditch career?"

"Okay – that is one that's kept me awake at night," Gwenog admitted; and then frowned as she looked at Ginny speculatively. "You know what she's going to do," she declared.

"Yes, but can't talk about it yet," Ginny admitted. "There seems to be a lot of that going on around the league this off-season – and more of it than normal."

"Rule Number One applies for that," Gwenog suggested. "Most of the other teams are scrambling to try and counter what you're doing with the Cannons. There may still be some teams and players willing to believe the nonsense from the experts, but most of them won't anymore; so your competition is going to get tougher next season – especially if you do well in the Europe Cup."

"As long as 'tougher' doesn't mean having more teams like the Falcons and Catapults; that would be a good thing," Gwendolyn offered. "You can't want that either after all of the injuries you had last season."

"We don't – but might have to deal with more of those problems anyway," Gwenog answered. "It's a safe bet that the Catapults will not add three nicer players to their team; and they're not the only team looking to get tougher in that sort of way."

"That isn't going to work for those teams," Al predicted quietly – "though it may take a few more seasons to prove that to them."

"That's optimistic; so we should probably be afraid – considering your record of achieving the impossible," Gwenog told him. "We should get back to going over your schedule for the weekend. I could end up with a lot of free time on my hands if you're all busy and Lily doesn't want to be anywhere near me."

Ginny and Gwendolyn led the way for that chat; that kept them busy until they were finished eating; and then they cleaned up before splitting up because Al and Gwendolyn needed to be at the camp for their last chance to be there for the kids before heading for Italy. Harry and Ginny eventually joined them for the campfire part of the night, but they also couldn't stay late when they needed to get up early and head for Italy before dawn. Al and Gwendolyn were back in their townhouse by eleven o'clock; in bed; and ready to cuddle close and get some sleep. They wound down with a bedtime chat, but while they had some small worries; they were also both very sure that their summer was going to be a best-ever-so-far; and Al was feeling pretty good about how things were going to work out with Lily too.

All that was left to do before getting started on their Europe Cup and summer adventures was to get through one last good night's sleep – so they closed their eyes and were soon happily doing just that!