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Expected Publication Dec 17. Next Chapter expected Jan 7 I will be gone for the Holidays.

Beltane was the next holiday on the Pagan Wheel. Harry had never celebrated this in any major way. It was a time for huge bonfires, and he had fuel for them. Last year he had huge piles of decommissioned broom from the first trade-in program. This year there were fewer. They had piled up for a full year in the back lot, although the oldest had been put in the museum. He had meant what he said, that dangerous brooms would not go back out. His tech teams had stripped all spell work from them, including curses (not many) and lingering illusions. The piles of dead sticks were bundled, and offered to any staff who wanted fires. He wasn't having one at the Manor, but he sent a bundle to the Burrow and another out to the farm for the blessing of the animals. He was going to the Burrow for dinner, and going home early.

Beltane at the Burrow was a quiet celebration. Everyone came for the full day and helped with planting the huge gardens Molly still tended. They would all share in the bounty in the Fall. The children planted flowerbeds of every color, and window boxes. The Ostara kits were ready to transplant. Dinner was salads, Rouladen, simple egg dishes and early fruits. Molly had made individual sponge cakes, with a sweet whipped topping, and a fruit compote was spooned over them.

The extremely dry wood lit quickly, kindling the larger logs piled on top. While all spell work was cleaned off, the dead brooms had been in a magical environment since they were made. They were soaked in ambient magic. Wild magic, old magic – some of these childrens brooms were very old indeed. Fires built with them exuded a magic aura, released what might almost be called the 'scent' of magic.

Ginny had come for dinner, but she had to leave early. The Quidditch Finals began in the morning. She had not been allowed to play in the family game – her trainers might have killed her if she was injured right before the Finals. Harpies did what they wanted to, but even they knew there were limits. You did not annoy your trainers!

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Tuesday morning after class the elves were busy transplanting into the flowerbeds. They had marked where each color, each variety of bloom was to go. Early bloomers were already in and budding, now they were adding the later varieties. The exact colors in bloom would change through the Spring, Summer, and Autumn, causing the huge picture to seem to change and glow, which would show up in magic photographs. It was a fun effect to strive for without magic.

Inside the greenhouse, Neville and Harry were putting the last miniature flowers in a whimsical Ferris wheel, the last part of their entry for this year's flower exhibit at Chelsea, which would begin on the 23rd of May and last 5 days.

"Whoopsie! Where did you come from?", asked an elf who had found a rather large adder slithering up the main path toward the house. "No problem, I'll just give you a lift across the river to the woods where there are lots of mice and frogs." Suiting action to words, the elf floated the hissing and writhing snake into the air and gently deposited it over in the woods. The snake immediately threw itself into the river and swam back to the gardens, attempting to evade the elf this time as it headed straight for the house again. Of course the elf floated it again, and the snake again hurled itself almost desperately back into the river. When the elf floated it in the air the third time, she stopped to consider the problem. "Snakey, where are you trying to go? I won't let you eat our hedgehogs and there isn't much else here you would be interested in. The snake continued to hiss as it hung there, both at the elf and, oddly enough, in the direction of the house. "Mopsy thinks I had better ask Master Harry?" She headed not for the house, despite the snake struggling, but to the greenhouse. "Master Harry, Mopsy needs to bother you for a minute. This snakey is determined to get into the house, but it has not set off any wards."

Harry washed his arms and pulled his sleeves down, turning to the odd pair, and hissing (startling Neville), "Is something the matter?"

"Speaker? Speaker! I hasss an important mess-ssage for yousss! The hot-hair needs you to help the egg-mother!"

Harry thought that over for a minute. "Neville, I think I need to go to Bulgaria. We'll have to work on this later." He turned back to the suspended snake. "Do you need to go with me? Does anyone else?"

"I belongsss here. I be happy in nice woods. Message came one to one. Hurry! Take help!"

"I will. Thanksss."

"Mopsy, take her back to the woods. She will stay now that her message is delivered. You were absolutely correct to bring her to me. If she comes back, bring her again, anytime. And, protect her from the bunny!"

Mopsy giggled, and popped away with the snake. She would place a small ward on the snake to keep the Tyranorabbit away.

Harry headed for the house, leaving Neville to clean up. There he floo-called Luna. "I just got a call for help brought to me by a snake. I think we need a midwife or healer for a dragon having trouble laying its eggs. Can you find me someone, quickly?"

Luna blinked. That was a unique request, even for her. "I'll come myself. Where are we going?"

"Bulgaria, to Charlie's dragon reserve. The message said the hot-hair needs help with an egg-mother. I hope we are in time! Do you want me to come for you, or meet me there?"

"Meet us there. I'll call Fleur, too. We're free this morning. Wear warm, tough clothing, but not dragon-hide. They consider that to be rude. Leather from prey-animals is fine."

Charlie was dirty, sweating, exhausted and almost crying. Norberta was in trouble. This should have been her first clutch, but she was clearly in great pain. She was keening, cramping, nuzzling him, and this had been ongoing for days! The other dragons had all gathered outside her den, humming and blinking. Yesterday the largest, the great black Hungarian Horntail, had lifted off and actually left the Reserve, which had the other handlers in a panic until she had returned at dusk. Charlie was too busy to more than notice her settle back into the group. It was now almost 24 hours later, and he was truly worried for Norberta's life.

"Charlie, ye has company!"

"Not now! I'm far too busy!"

"I think you want to see us," came a familiar voice at the edge of the den."Believe it or not, the dragons actually sent for us." The Horntail stretched out her wing and tried to sweep them in the opening. "She says for us to hurry!"

Charlie whipped his head around, never releasing his arms around Norberta's head. "Harry! Luna? And Fleur? I am so glad to see you! Can you help?"

"I think so. Move over, but keep holding her!" Charlie did, and the odd trio began the very odd task of playing midwife to a dragon. With Harry to translate there was no trouble.

Running diagnostics in large scale, while Fleur sang calming tunes, Luna found the problem. "She can't deliver the eggs because she has an obstruction, a growth. I'm going to remove that carefully, but it will hurt. This requires surgery. We'll deliver the eggs while I have her open. She's exhausted and there is no way she will have the strength to deliver them. She'll need to stay in this den to heal afterward."

Harry repeated this to the dragons. Norberta seemed a little more anxious, and the clan outside hummed louder. The Horntail hissed, and the humming stopped, then resumed again directed at Norberta, who calmed. Harry turned to the humans, "The dragons agreed. They will feed her until she recovers."

Fleur moved so she was facing Norbertas eyes. "I am putting her to sleep my way, since I have never heard of a medicine that will work on a dragon."

As the dragon sighed into sleep, Luna took over, directing the men to roll her on her side enough to open her. Dragons are not designed to lie on their backs, so they conjured soft ropes to tie two legs up. Luna went to work, spraying water and Betadine solution both on the dragon and on her own arms. Harry consulted with Charlie, and went to speak to the dragons again.

"Do you know the big stone barn where the humans keep bales of straw? The one with open sides? Please go there and bring back as many bales as will cover the floor deeply for her." The dragons nodded and took off.

Down at the Complex there was a little confusion. When they sighted the flight coming in, everyone had run for the shelters, expecting the dragons to raid the cattle pens. The cattle, seeing the flight, had almost stampeded to get into the barns. To everyone's surprise, the dragons had gone straight to the open sided straw barn and taken off with about half the straw! That had certainly never happened before! Things became clearer when they realized the flight had come from, and was returning, in the direction of the sick dragon Charlie was working with. Astonished, those not needed to calm the cattle or check the barns, followed carefully.

Harry and some of the smaller dragons stacked the bales along the wall opposite where Luna was working. She had already opened the dragon and vanished the mass blocking the uterus. She said, rather conversationally as she pulled out half a dozen rainbow colored eggs, "I think that mass was actually an egg that died, or possibly was not fertilized. It happens in humans sometimes. A fetus will die, but instead of being adsorbed or expelled, it fossilizes. It has to be removed or the woman cannot have another." She rinsed the cavity, checking to be sure she had not missed any, and pulled out one more small egg. Closing up was quick, using magical sutures that would not need to be removed. Charlie, rather white, vanished the mess on the floor and opened the first few bales to form a soft bed before lowering her legs. Harry helped him roll Norberta right side up on the clean straw, though still on one side to keep the pressure off the wound. More straw was heaped behind her to form a back rest. The clutch of eggs was placed in a stone nest near her head, away from the straw, so she could keep them warm, with the littlest one inside the pile. The watching dragons hummed louder.

Harry raised his head and looked at them. "Yes, she's fine now. She is NOT to fly until the wound heals, so please bring her food every day. Would one of you smaller ones help Charlie every day, to pull out and burn the used straw, and put down fresh? She needs to stay clean to heal." A red-trimmed dragon hummed louder. "Thank you – and if you need help again, call me. Sending the snake was a very good idea."

A louder hum came, silencing the others, and words formed on the wind,"Thank you, Speaker. I remembered you from before, when we had such fun flying and playing together. We like the hot one, but we needed a Speaker."

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At home, Harry took a long shower. Mitty brought him a late lunch of chunky chicken salad with sliced grapes and crushed pecans in it, on a bed of sliced tomatoes and with a small plate of butter crackers. Harry discovered he was starving and almost inhaled the plate. Mitty brought a second helping, a pot of hot tea, and a small chocolate cake, which Harry also ate. Then she insisted Harry take a nap, because he had used a lot of magic. Being threatened by your elf cook, that she was going to call your Healer if you didn't take a nap, was pretty funny! Harry obediently took his nap.

After karate with Ron, Harry met Ginny in downtown London, just another couple getting off work. They bought a slice of pizza and a fizzy drink each, in the park

"So, each of you tell me how your day went. Ginny, why don't you start? I'll be listening to decide which lessons you should practice now."

"I had a fairly easy day. No game today, but we had drills all morning, getting ready for the finish to the season. There will be tournaments coming up, on the way to the British Cup Finals. Assuming we win those, we will begin preparing for the World Cup Finals in July. After lunch I went shopping, met Harry for a quick bite in the park, and came here."

"Harry?"

"Well, Tuesday is supposed to be an easy day for me. College class, work in my gardens, karate with Ron. Some nights I have sessions with you, once a month I do a ride-along with the Aurors."

"That's not bad. But, you said 'supposed'. What happened differently?

"Today I was working in my greenhouse with Neville, on our project for the Chelsea Flower Show that is coming up. My elves were working on the main gardens. One of them found a huge adder coming up from the river. She floated it back across the river twice. It kept coming back, so she brought it to me. Turned out the adder had an urgent message for me, from that Black Hungarian Horntail I flew against in the Tri Wizard."

Healer Jones, who had not watched the Tournament but had read about it and seen pictures, was big-eyed. Ginny was turning white just thinking about it. Harry wasn't looking at them, but into his memories as he continued,

"The message was that 'the hot hair one needed help with the egg-mother.' I deciphered that to mean Charlie needed me in Bulgaria. I called Luna, she called Fleur, and we went to the Reserve. Charlie was holding Norberta's head in his arms, in a small cave, with dozens of humming dragons outside. She was unable to lay her eggs. Fleur put her to sleep, Charlie and I did grunt-work turning her over, and Luna did surgery to remove a mass and deliver the eggs Cesarean. Luna stitched her back up. I asked the dragons to bring bales of straw for clean bedding, which they did, and they promised to feed her until she was able to fly again. Then we came home.

After that it was pretty normal. I had lunch, took a nap, went to karate with Ron, and came here."

"How did you know the message was from the Horntail?" Ginny was trying hard here.

"She told me. She spoke to me at the Reserve, said she had remembered me from when we had so much fun flying and playing together. She flew to England, sent all the snakes she could find up the rivers to find me, and flew back to the Reserve in a single day. It's probably a good thing I live near London."

"How did the snake find you?"

"She simply swam upriver, asking as she went. Apparently snakes, and dragons, keep track of Speakers in case they ever need one. Snakey told me there is another Speaker but he is very old and lives very far up in the cold lands. Sounds like Wales, or even Scotland? She was glad she didn't have to go that far! Oh, and she had a special word for him, that to me translates something like 'The Dragon Lord.'"

Jones choked at that. "Do you know anything about the Arthurian legends? One of Merlin's names was 'the Dragon Lord'. Some versions say it was his father instead of him. You should ask Professor Mearle."

"I've been corresponding with Mearle about Merlin, actually, but I don't remember this. If it's Merlin, he is very, very old! Perhaps there is a descendant? Considering wizards lives are so long, it could be a great-grandchild? I did read Mearle's book on Arthur, but I didn't remember that bit. In fact, I don't remember much about Merlin in there at all. I guess he couldn't find much fact behind the legends. He suggested a couple of other books but I haven't had time to read them. Perhaps I should ask the dragons?"

Harry brought his focus back into the room. "What I have been realizing, been thinking about it for a while, is that though I am very busy and do enjoy my life, I am lonely. I have many true friends and I enjoy the activities with them, but friends do not share every part of my life. Although I have been solitary in one way or another most of my life due to circumstances, I am not solitary by nature. I crave companionship, friendship, sharing of goals.

Ginny, I think a good part of our problems start with the idea that we do not share our life as a husband and wife should. You have your life and I have mine, but very little of it is together. Parties and Balls and social life ought to be the frosting on the cake, not the only interaction we have. We have a son. Can we try to build a life based on common interests, be a family actively working together?"

"I do not want to give up the Harpies! If working together means giving up only MY activities, I am not interested."

"No, that was not my idea at all. We should have our own interests, but we should have areas we share, and where family comes first. I am already cutting back so that I am home on weekends to spend time with our son. I think I will be cutting back to one college class at a time. It will take longer to finish an MBA, but I will spend less time doing homework and less time reading. I also think I need to do more of my work at the corporate office, and less at home. Home is for family, a shelter from outside. If Defense wasn't so terribly important I would drop the Auxiliary, as you did, but I feel I have to stay sharp. Small problems need to be caught before they become large ones.

I do not want you to drop the Harpies. You love flying, and being a Harpy. What I would like is to set off regular, scheduled times for our family, such as weekends. I want to take James to the park, together. It is a lovely Spring out there. Summer is coming, and I would like to spend time together at our beach house or at the farm. I will come to your games, and I want to bring James as I already bring Teddy. I want you to come to the flower show, take at least some interest in the beautiful gardens the Manor is famous for. We can have some garden parties, or attend some, but I don't want it to be every time we aren't committed to something else. I don't like going out every night of the week, and I don't think it will be good for James to grow up that way. If we become more exclusive, won't that make us more the sought-after guests you like being?"

Healer Jones was listening. This was what he had hoped for, the beginning of a healthy family life. Harry, at least, was looking to a future, even planning for one. This was a great step forward from the child who had never expected to grow up. He had been talking to Harry for months, but this was really the first time Harry had shown he expected to have a future. Harry had always lived as though he expected it all to vanish. He had been almost resigned about Ginny's behavior.

Ginny, too, was thoughtful. "We can try. I don't have to attend every social or publicity event the Harpies arrange. The rest of the team takes them in turns. I have always signed up for everything because I am the newest player and needed the exposure. My place is secure, so I can simply take my proper turns. I can choose my own social events, too. I think you are right about becoming more popular just by being more exclusive in what we accept. Accepting last-minute invitations all the time makes us seem a bit desperate. They can invite us when they invite everyone else, or we don't need to go! That should smooth out our social life quite a bit! We can still be impulsive, but let's make that part of our life the family part?"

They never did get around to the lesson in formal manners, but Healer Jones thought there had been great progress made anyhow.

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Of course, after that, life became more frantic than ever as events already in motion caught up with them. Harry and Neville were preparing for Chelsea, with a whimsical childrens carnival of flowers built around a small pond of water flowers. Harry had commissioned Dean Thomas to provide his delightful carved animals to fill the seats of the rides and wander the pathways. That show started the 23rd of May and would be five days long. Harry would need to stay out there, or at least put in a lengthy appearance every day and stay until late in the evening. Hermione would cover his Wizengamot meeting, and he had cleared his schedule otherwise, but he would have to go to his class on the 24th, and take his laptop to Chelsea for the Wed evening class. It was too close to Finals to be absent. Neville promised to be there to watch the display on the Tuesday morning.

Ginny was in daily practices for the England Cup, from which the best players from all the English teams would be recruited to form the England Team for the World Cup. These games were vital to their team standings. Ginny didn't expect to be on that team, but there was hope for some of her teammates. She did stop signing up for every publicity event, and found it gave her more free time than she had thought it would.

They continued with their planned date that week, going on a picnic and punting. Ginny read aloud as they glided down the peaceful river. The river was full of such couples. The rental place held the boats spaced well apart, giving the illusion of privacy. You could punt yourself, or hire staff to manage the boat while you enjoyed the trip. You were assigned a picnic spot along the bank, each separated by trees and bends in the river. It was quite lovely. When finished, you left your punt at the lower landing. Harry had Dobby pick them up in a rented car, just as he had dropped them off earlier. Dobby was, of course, wearing his 'old Welsh gardener' illusion. Harry wasn't sure, since he had never measured any of his elves, but he thought Dobby might be getting taller.

Ginny's final games were the 23rd, 25th, and 27th of May. She promised Harry that she would come to Chelsea early in the morning of the 24th, before her practice. It would not matter (much) whether they won or lost the first two games, but the 27th was the play-off for the Championship on Saturday.

Harry was glad to finish May. There was a dinner at the Weasley Burrow on the last Sunday, the 29th, as there was almost every month. The Harpies had lost the Championship game on Saturday, so Ginny was almost free. There would be short practices every morning all Summer, but even they were almost optional. As long as you didn't miss too many, you didn't have to be there every day. Everyone was planning vacations. Serious practices would begin again in August.

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It was lovely weather, a lovely time of year, with the apple trees still in bloom and the gardens swelling in bright greens. Beds of tulips and daffodils everywhere thrilled the children who were allowed to pick them, filling fat vases the elves brought for the tables.

Baby James was not only standing, but pulling himself along the picnic benches at high speed. He was still careful to hold on tightly with one hand, but was willing to reach for your finger and take a wobbly step. He laughed when he fell, often, but was cheery as he pulled himself back up to try again. It was clear he would be running loose very soon! Ginny and Harry, seated at opposite ends of a long bench, passed him back and forth between them, one laughing step at a time. Puff, now her full size of 5K but sturdier than she looked, ran back and forth with him, yapping with excitement. He fell on her once, laughing, and she licked every part of him she could reach.

Percy and Aubrey held their newborn Molly as tiny Lucy picked tulips. Molly had a tuft of red hair protruding from her blanket.

After dinner, as the larger children streamed out to play, Ron rose and stopped the adults. "A moment, please, before we go out? I have a bit of an announcement." Everyone looked at him in curiosity. "Yesterday I asked Hermione to become my wife, and Hermione has accepted. We plan to elope to Gretna Green this week, to be followed by a very small family reception here in a few weeks, and a formal church wedding in her parent's church chapel as soon as it is available. Apparently there is a waiting list there. It is a famous old church, and very popular for weddings."

Everyone was thrilled, and swarmed around them. Charlie swooped Hermione up into the air in his long, strong arms, making her look tiny in comparison, and claimed the first kiss, before depositing her with her parents and clapping Ron on the shoulders, knocking the breath out of him. Ron was a little taller, but Charlie was equally broad and strong. Ginny was quite surprised that Charlie had taken the announcement so well. She had been convinced he wanted Hermione for himself. The idea that Ron was going to marry at all would take some getting used to. She needed to call Esther!

Hermione's parents were pelted with questions about weddings in churches, and why there would be any delay. Molly and Emma Jean were soon in deep consultation on the deck, holding babies so the parents could play Quidditch, while Dan supervised the radio car races, keeping the cars supplied with fresh batteries. He was impressed with the fine courses Arthur had laid out! The children could only manage the first tracks. Teddy, Victoire, and Roxanne, now 8, insisted on trying the third section. Even going slowly they could not keep their cars from crashing on the hairpin turns, or navigate the twisted gates, and the speed-bump straight-away was completely hopeless. It was hilarious! The three were laughing so hard that their laughter itself became an extra obstacle!

End Ch 25 Expected Posting Dec 17 Next Chapter expected Jan 7, 2021. Merry Christmas! I will be gone for the Holidays.