"I cannot believe that there are only two weeks of holidays left."

"Oh, excuse me. This from the girl who has had a month and a half of solid holidaying."

"And I suppose you camped out at the train station when school started every year?" Marit said playfully.

They were on a Muggle flight from Edinburgh to Melbourne, where they would meet Kris and Natasha.

"So what are we going to do when we get to Melbourne anyway?"

"Camp." Harry said cheerfully.

Marit and Elisabeth glanced at each other and wrinkled their noses. "You and my brother, maybe, but Elisabeth, Natasha and I will find a nice hotel and do some shopping."

Harry sighed deeply. "And I suppose that you'll be using my money for this excursion."

"Sounds good." Elisabeth said brightly.

"Oh look! Here we are, Melbourne, Austraila."

"Desolation."

"Boredom."

"Plague." Elisabeth grabbed her throat and gurgled.

"Oh you two hush! You'll like it when we get there."

"Well I can promise you one thing. This is not where we will be honeymooning."

"Or getting married." Elisabeth added. "Unless you would rather I didn't come."

"If you do decide to get married here I'll skip as well."

"That sounds nice. Me, alone, in Melbourne, getting married." Harry looked wistful.

They got off the plane and walked over to Kris and Natasha.

"Oh my gosh! She is so sweet!" Elisabeth hurried forward and lifted the little girl out of Kris' arms. Marit, who had seen the baby already, held back.

Kris looked at Harry and shook his head. "You just couldn't resist having me in the family could you?"

Marit rolled her eyes. "Didn't mum and dad tell you? You were adopted."

"I love you too sis."

They dissolved quickly into the crowd of Muggles, not one person noticing them Apparate away.

Elisabeth found herself in a large hotel room.

"So, Kris. The ladies have decided that they don't want to camp."

"Let me guess, they want to shop."

"That is exactly it. So what are we going to do?"

Marit and Elisabeth looked at each other and shook their heads. "Morons." They both muttered at the same time, then burst out laughing.

"I suppose we could do some shopping and such."

"And eating out." Marit added.

"Good god." Harry said.

"And to think, you aren't even married yet."

Marit punched her brother gently in the arm.

Elisabeth took Natasha out onto the balcony of the hotel, lifting her over the bar so she could see down to the busy street below.

"A little mother." Kris said. "NOT that I'm getting ideas or anything." He added hastily, glancing at Harry.

"I hope not. By the way, do you know a certain Chase O'Reilly?"

"Harry! I certainly hope you aren't marrying me so that my brother will keep tabs on Elisabeth for you."

"Of course not. That's what work is for. Now Kris, do you know Chase O'Reilly?"

"Yeah. Fourth year, nice enough kid. Cocky as hell if you get on his bad side, but generally okay. Very good Quidditch player also, but he's more of an academic type."

"Hmmm, good, good."

Marit shook her head. "Bad form old man."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Elisabeth stood at King's Cross Station.

"I'm waiting to go back to school."

"Er-yes."

"Already."

"Ye-ess. Don't you remember last year when you couldn't wait for school to start?"

"Yes. I also remember last summer when I had no friends and no social life."

"Humph! If I had my way you still wouldn't have a soc-" Harry was cut off abruptly.

"Chase!" Elisabeth squealed. "Hi!"

Harry looked at the boy. He was of average height with short brown hair, blue eyes and dimples. He recalled one time Elisabeth saying that she would never date anyone with dimples.

"Daddy, this is Chase. Chase this is my dad."

"Mr Potter." Chase said nodding formally at him. Harry wasn't quite sure if he was being cocky or polite. Two people, who Harry assumed could only be Mr and Mrs O'Reilly, came up behind them.

"Chase, time ta be gittin on the-Well bless me soul. If it 'taint Harry Potter. Pleasure to be meetin' ye Mr Potter. Flann O'Reilly, and this'll be me wife Eileen."

""Tis a pleasure indeed to be meetin' you at last Mr Potter."

Chase shifted uncomfortably. He wished his father and Eileen would leave, instead of 'Mr Potter-ing' and 'Our pleasuring' their way to embarrassment.

"Oh dear! Elisabeth, I really must be going. Pleasure meeting you Chase, Mr and Mrs O'Reilly."

He nodded at them and kissed Elisabeth quickly before Apparating from the station.

Chase said good-bye to his father and stepmother and he and Elisabeth got on the train.

"I didn't know your father had gotten married." Elisabeth said quietly.

"Nor I." Replied Chase. "Nor, it appears, did anyone else. Except perhaps Eileen's family."

"I'm sorry."

Chase shrugged. "Why? You didn't do it. Besides, if you did do it on purpose your apology wouldn't mean a thing anyhow so it doesn't matter."

Elisabeth smiled and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Are you going to go sit with your friends?"

"Ah, trying to get rid of me already?"

"Knave! Should you so falsely accuse a lady of such promiscuity?"

"Lady! I daresay a lady would not turn her knight out at the door."

"Ah! Foolery beseech you, for you make such assumptions as to say you are my own knight when I haven't even a stable to keep your horse, and indeed, you haven't a horse."

Chase couldn't keep it up any longer and he started laughing.

"Uh-oh. What have we interrupted?"

"Oh you shut up Will. You aren't interrupting anything."

"Then why, praytell, are both of you lying on the floor?"

"Because we fell. Why do you always jump to such obstinate conclusions?"

"Why do you always use such big words?"

"Because she's trying to fake you out." Chase said, helping Elisabeth to her feet. "Now my dear, the time has come for me to leave this place."

"Ah! Monsieur! You leave so soon?"

"You'll be forgetting you tried to kick me out a moment ago."

Elisabeth rolled her eyes, kissed him self-consciously and watched him leave the compartment.

"Oh, how sweet!"

"Shut up Anna. Where's the trolley woman?"

"Trolley man, now."

"Are you serious? That's bizarre."

"Speak of the devil." Daniel said as the trolley man came banging on the door.

"We'll take the lot." Will said, grinning.

"You mean everything?" The man asked with a thick American accent.

"Yes, that would be what the lot is." Daniel said dryly.

Elisabeth and Anna burst out laughing, burying their faces into the cushions.

Moira sighed. "Yes, it means everything sir, I'm sorry for the rude behaviour of my friends."

As soon as the trolley man backed out of the compartment everyone turned to Moira.

"Oh yes trolley man, sir. We certainly do mean everything." Daniel shook his head. "Instilling dignity into the trolley man. Shame, shame."

Moira shook her head and left the compartment.

"Should I follow her?" Elisabeth asked, rising tentatively.

Anna shook her head. "Give her a bit, run off some steam. She has a burn-out every eighteen months. Nothing to get worked up about."

Elisabeth looked surprised and Daniel laughed. "Every eighteen months, without fail she gets in a huff. She just needs some space. She did it in a packed train once, and dad was at work and mum was pregnant. Big curfluffle, but really, nothing to worry about."

"Okay."

"Now. We have a trolley full of candy to eat, I suggest we get started. Caroline! What a surprise to see you. Chocolate frog?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "So Elisabeth, you never bothered to tell me how Australia went."

"Red rum." She said.

"You killed him?"

"No, no. the bean is red rum flavoured. Australia was rather uneventful actually. Draco showed up half way through the week and took me to a football game so the "adults" could "bond." The baby was cute though."

"So nothing with the wonder-boy?" Caroline asked, opening a blood lolly. (after three hundred thousand letters from Will and Caro alone Honeydukes had re-introduced the candy into their line)

"No, nothing with the wonder-boy. First, Chase is my boyfriend and second, Kris will be legally considered my uncle at Christmastime."

"They decided on a Christmas wedding?"

"Yeah, they said it was because Christmas coincided with my first meeting with Marit, but in reality it's just their final blow to the Christmas spirit, which my grandparents firmly turned their noses against."

"Uh-oh, attack of the former in-laws."

"I know. Dad told them they didn't have to come and then Hannah threw a tantrum at my dad and he threw a tantrum at her. Then Marit whirled in and placated the whole thing and everyone is happy."

"No wonder your dad isn't marrying Hannah. You should have seen them at our cottage when you and Marit went out. Dad and I didn't know whether we should try and get between them or whether we should leave before they blew the place up."

"What were they fighting about?" Anna asked, pulling the head off a Snaping Snake.

"Elisabeth mostly, the war a little bit. Dad says they just fight for the sake of fighting."

"Are we there yet?"

"No, we are here."

"Shut up Will."

"You shut up."

"Noooo, you shut up." Anna said as the train stopped suddenly.

Moira came bursting into the compartment. "Lock the door, lock the door, lock the door. Come on you guys, lock the door!"

"Mo? What's up?"

Moira slammed the door shut and then moved on to the window, locking it as well.

"Moira?"

She sank to the floor. "The Ministry was wrong when they said the Dark Army was hiding in the Forbbiden Forest."

"What do you mean?" Elisabeth asked, suddenly scared. She glanced up and saw Chase and Kris at the door. She slid it open and let them in, sinking into Chase's lap.

"They've been living underground." Chase said, Moira let out a little sob.

"And now they are on the train."

"What!?" Anna screamed and jumped up.

"No!"

"Anna, you must stay down. They're confined to two cars right now. All we know is that there are many more of them that aren't on the train."

"You're joking aren't you?" Will said calmly, popping a fizzing whizbee into his mouth.

"No William, we're not."

Will blanched. Someone Elisabeth didn't recognise knocked on the compartment door.

"Let him in." Chase said to Moira. "It's alright."

Elisabeth looked at the young man and he looked back at her, raising one eyebrow.

"Liam O'Brenian, my cousin." Chase explained. "What's going on?"

"Ministry cleared 'em out. But it 'taint the last of 'em."

"What about the people in the two cars they were in?"

Liam shook his head sadly.