The Rhetoric of Irony, Part I

Chapter 10

It was good to be working again. It would keep her from worrying about Harry, who had gone off on an auxiliary mission that morning, to relieve the pressure on some of the teams who had been out there for months.

After manually piecing back together the puzzle consisting of all the shards of the Mirror of Erised, Aberforth marked the area to prevent anyone from stepping on the mirror and undoing all their work. They'd had to fit all the pieces together without magic, since, according to Aberforth, any charm would disrupt the magic of the mirror. He looked at Ginny. "Now, the next step is to add a special coating of potion onto the mirror before casting the Reparo spell."

"Why not brew the potion in advance?"

"Because it has to be poured over the mirror between two and a half, and three minutes after it's completed. There was no way we could have pieced it back together that quickly without magic." The ancient wizard smiled kindly at her. "I'm glad you helped me with that. I get bored rather quickly in my old age. That's why I put those charms on the goat, you know? Pure boredom! I just did it to see how the Ministry would react. Quite a spectacle that turned out to be."

Ginny smiled shyly. Like his older brother, Aberforth also had his share of eccentricities. "Mr Dumbledore? Can I ask you a question?"

"My father was Mr Dumbledore," Aberforth said, faking annoyance. "I'm just plain old Aberforth. But yes, you may ask your question."

"Why did everyone think you were crazy? I mean, I can't imagine that you and Professor Dumbledore just started the rumour and left things to run their course. People can't be that gullible!" she said, instantly doubting her own words as she spoke them. After all, most wizards had eagerly eaten up all the dung Skeeter kept feeding them.

Aberforth gave her a rueful grin. "No, the rumour was already out there. Albus and I decided to encourage it." He briefly paused, thinking about what he was going to say next. "Ginny, didn't you ever wonder how I came by my knowledge of Dementors?"

As a matter of fact, she had. That would have been her next question. "Yes, I did."

"Nearing the end of my command, I spent more time with them than was healthy. A dark witch was hiding up in Northern Russia, where dark magical currents are strong and Dementors seem to spring out of the ground like mushrooms. She'd made a deal with the Dementors, so they left her alone while she was hiding from me. I, however, wasn't so fortunate.

"That week, I cast more Patronus Charms than I'd cast in my whole life up till then. I barely retained my sanity, and I behaved a little oddly for a while after that. That's why I had to retire from the Order as well. That's where the little insanity story comes from." He grabbed his staff, and donned his cloak. "I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone, unless they ask, of course. If that happens, tell them they should ask me themselves. If they don't have the guts to ask me this to my face, they don't deserve to know."

"Okay…" Ginny said. It was a good enough reason "So, are we going out?"

"Yes. I ordered a Dragonite stone to be delivered to Concordia, since the Order doesn't have any in stock. I just got news of its arrival."

"What do we need that for?"

"It has to be placed on the bottom of the cauldron before we brew the potion. You'll have to remind me to scoop it out when the potion starts to simmer." He handed Ginny her own cloak. "We can stop by at The Barrel, afterwards, for a drink."

Ginny raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Don't we have to finish the mirror as soon as possible?"

"All work and no play? I'm an old man, Ginny. I want to enjoy the remaining years of my life," he added jokingly. "Don't worry about the mirror. They didn't put me on a timetable. One of the perks of being a former commander."

"Yes, but I'm not a former commander."

"Take it easy. You're with me!"

Ginny was unconvinced. "Formally I'm not even a Ranger yet. I don't want to endanger that, you know."

"Don't worry about it. It'll be just this once. They never made much fuss about it in my day," Aberforth said reassuringly.

"That was then. Commander Nomvete will give me a hard time for sure," Ginny groaned. The woman was worse than McGonagall when it came to playing by the rules.

"I sincerely doubt that," Aberforth said grimly. "I had a little chat with her that changed her outlook on certain issues somewhat. I wouldn't have interfered with the Order's business like this, normally. But by Merlin, she really needed a good talking to."

Ginny smiled sadly. "I reckon she did. Too bad it was too late to make a difference… Hey, would you mind if we went back to my town house instead? I want to check on Galatea."

A look of concern appeared on Aberforth's face. "Yes, of course. Is she eating again?"

Ginny nodded. Galatea had stopped eating after Wolfe's death, but with help from all the girls in the town house, Hermione had convinced Galatea to start eating again, arguing that the baby, which was the last bit of Wolfe, would suffer if she didn't. "She's eating. We always take turns to make sure that she does, though. It isn't like we don't trust her, but grief-stricken people can do crazy things."

"Like jumping out of the maintenance bay cruiser gate?" Aberforth suggested, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Ginny rolled her eyes. So Aberforth had heard about it too. "Oh yes, rub it in, why don't you!" she huffed, throwing her cloak over her shoulders and walking to the nearest Citadel Portal.

They swept by the shop where Aberforth had ordered the Dragonite, before going straight to the sixth level in the blue sector, where the town house was. Much to her surprise, she saw Ron and Hermione standing at the door, ringing the bell.

"Hermione, Ron…what are you doing here?"

"Ginny…Aberforth…Hi!" Hermione greeted. "Oh, I have to take Crookshanks to the vet for his shots. But I hardly ever see him anymore."

"I haven't seen him for three days now." Ginny frowned. "I thought he was with you," she added, stepping through the door that automatically opened up for her because she lived there.

"I told you not to mark the big day on our calendar," Ron said, while he followed Ginny in. "I told you often enough that he can read! I can't blame him for taking off like that."

"He gets that from you, Ron," Hermione admonished.

"How can he get that from me? It's a damned cat…you talking as if he's our child!"

"He's half-Kneazle, and yes, he gets it from you. Didn't you pay attention in Care of Magical Creatures? Kneazles copy some of their masters' behavioural characteristics, and now that we're formally engaged, he considers you his master by extension. Even since he's lived in the same house with you, he's been acting more and more like you!"

"Of course! I'm an irresistible role model!" Ron grinned obnoxiously, causing Hermione to scowl fiercely.

"Maybe he's with Annabelle," Ginny suggested, interrupting the argument that inevitably would have ensued. "Bloody hell, why don't you two just get married already. You argue as if you've been married for years."

"Too true!" Aberforth laughed.

"Ginny?" Galatea called. From the sound of it, she was in the parlour.

"What is it? Do you need anything?" Ginny answered, walking into the parlour. Galatea was reclining on one of the sofas, holding a letter in her hand, an empty box of chocolates in her lap.

"I'm fine. But shouldn't you be at the Citadel?"

"Aberforth had to leave to pick up something, and I went with him." Ginny eyed the box curiously. "Don't tell me you've eaten the whole box, Tea, you should mind what you eat!"

Galatea blushed guiltily. "My little sister sent it to me." She held up a letter. "She's coming to live in Concordia in November. She asked me to look for a place for her to live."

"Already? She just got out of school. What about the one year waiting period?" Ginny asked. After all, it was only through Commander Ironheart's intervention that Charlie had to wait six months instead of the full year to move to Concordia so he could be with Jasmine and Charlie Jr.

"She applied in advance, over a year ago," Galatea explained.

"Sensible girl," Hermione said, striding into the parlour and sitting down in an armchair next to the sofa. "What kind of job has she got lined up?"

"She's going to work at the library archives. But she really wants to be a singer!"

"Is she any good?" Ron asked bluntly. He scooped a protesting Hermione out of the armchair, and sat down again, dumping her in his lap.

Galatea smiled. "Well, I think she's very good. But as a sister, I may be biased."

"About a week ago, Padma told me she needed a roommate," Hermione said, slapping away Ron's hand, which he'd been using to twirl curls in her hair. "Not now, Ron! Maybe your sister would like to move in with her."

"How is Padma?" Galatea asked.

Ginny had heard what had happened to Padma earlier that year. She prayed that she'd never have to undergo anything like that. Malfoy had nearly done it to her, when he'd abducted her after the interrupted wedding ceremony. "I saw her yesterday. I didn't really ask how she was dealing with it, but I could tell she isn't comfortable around most men yet. I reckon it'll take a while, but she's seeing a counselor."

Galatea heaved a pained sigh. "Good. I was supposed to counsel her, but…" Her lips began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.

Hermione reached over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You've got other things on your mind right now. Padma understands."

Galatea wiped away the tears. "Thank you, Hermione. So what are you doing here? Did you come to visit me?"

"Actually, no but I would've come by later today. I'm looking for Crookshanks. Have you seen him recently?"

"I think I saw him out on Heidi's balcony this morning," Galatea said.

Hermione slid off Ron's lap. "I'll go check Heidi's room," she said, and headed towards the stairs. Ron quickly rearranged his robes to conceal the effect Hermione had had on him. Unfortunately, he failed to do so without anyone noticing, and he flushed red.

"Don't be embarrassed, son," Aberforth said airily. "When you reach my age—"

"Aberforth, I really don't want to hear it!" Ginny interrupted pleadingly.

Ron grinned. "And it isn't like I'll ever reach your age anyway. I don't have Draconian blood."

*

Draco smirked as he snoozed on his comfortable new bed, basking in the success of his recent endeavours. Life was good. So what if he was regarded as the Mistress's boy toy. The advantages of that station far outweighed the envious remarks made by the lesser wizards.

Someone rudely beat on the door of his significantly improved quarters. Having Her ear in many things had enabled him to arrange better lodgings for himself…whenever he wasn't basking in Her delightful company, of course. "Who is it?" he asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance he was feeling.

"Mind your tone, Malfoy," a contemptuous voice answered. "That is no way to answer your superior."

Draco raised an eyebrow. While everyone else referred to Von Brandenburg when Anastasiou wasn't there, technically he wasn't in charge of the wizards, just the vampires. "Last time I checked, you weren't my superior."

"Open the door or I'll have the trolls break it down."

"Don't hold your breath!" Draco chuckled. "Oops, I forgot you don't breathe! We both know the trolls are more likely to listen to me than to you, since even your boss has no authority over them."

"Our boss!"

Draco shrugged. As far as he was concerned, that was debatable. Lately, he found that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do. The Mistress saw to that. "What do you want?"

"If you'd spend less time burying your face in the Mistress's nether regions, you'd know that there is a scheduled meeting for the senior associates in the organisation," Von Brandenburg growled.

"Bloody hell!" Draco muttered. He'd forgot all about that. It wasn't as if he could be compelled to attend anyway, but this was something he needed to do in order to keep the Mistress informed. "Where?"

'The usual chamber. Be there in five minutes."

Draco shot up from his bed and threw on presentable robes, before lacing his boots up with a charm. He made it to the chambers in four minutes and sank into his usual seat, ignoring the disapproving glances he got from Paula, his immediate overseer.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr Malfoy," Anastasiou sneered. "I'm terribly sorry to have interrupted you while you were recovering from your lapdog duties…"

"One of the advantages of having a heartbeat…" Draco retorted, keeping a perfectly straight face. "Shall we get down to business, then?"

Anastasiou scowled, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he glanced at the dark haired witch sitting next to Draco. "Paula!"

"I managed to re-establish contact with Yamato, although some persuasion was needed to bring him back into the fold. I also confiscated all the research material I could find, should I ever need to carry out my threat."

"You can't kill him," Draco interrupted.

"We can, and if he ever tries to break away again, we will."

"That's insane." Draco shook his head. Were these people brainless? "Stealing and replicating some of his ideas will still be a poor replacement for his genius."

"I am well aware of that, Malfoy," Anastasiou said. "However, we have no choice. Would you rather have him turn against us at a bad time? Besides, I have taken steps to compensate for his skill in case he decides to cross me again. I've attracted the best some the best Artificers and Necromancers willing to work for us. Dividing them up into teams and encouraging competition will provide me with results nearly equal to Yamato's."

"You said it…nearly! The Mistress wouldn't—"

"Go and whine, if you want to." Anastasiou smirked. "There are some issues for which she trusts my judgement blindly…as she should. You'll just annoy her…and trust me, you don't want to lose her favour after your recent insufferable behaviour."

Draco swallowed away the apprehension he'd begun to feel. He didn't want to ponder his possible fate if he were to lose Her favour now. But he took solace in the fact that she didn't trust Anastasiou as blindly as Anastasiou thought she did. And there was still the fact that he had plenty to contribute, something that all the beings in the room also realised. "Let us just hope that Yamato took that threat of yours seriously, then," he muttered.

The vampire heard him, of course. "For his sake, I hope so too. I have no qualms about turning him into a ghoul. Now be silent."

"Our recovery of Yamato also yielded some interesting information about certain power plays in Japan. Remember how a Ranger was attacked and seriously injured by assassins a while ago?" Paula asked.

Draco nodded. He remembered having heard something along those lines.

"Why does this concern us?" A younger vampire frowned.

"Information is ammunition, you moron," Draco said exasperatedly." He looked at Anastasiou. "Where did you dig up this idiot? Did the vampire who made him suck out his brain instead of his blood?"

"Be quiet!" Paula said. "Please refrain from interrupting me, or we'll still be here tomorrow."

"What's the rush? Have you got a hot date? Is the fellow blind?" He eyed her disdainfully.

"Were you born an annoying little prick, Malfoy, or did you have to practise to become one?" Von Brandenburg snapped.

"Have you always been so irritable, or did you become it upon the realisation that you'd never enjoy a good shag again, being undead and all…?"

Von Brandenburg began to rise from his chair, but Anastasiou stopped him. "Relax, Wilhelm. Once the Mistress realises that not all wizards are minute-men, she will replace him soon enough."

Draco's gut went cold. How the hell… "That is none of your concern, and there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. My recent restoration left me rather sensitive!" he said quickly.

"As opposed to when?" Anastasiou grinned gleefully. "Before we decided to invite you into our midst we interviewed Miss Parkinson, without her being aware of it, of course. She's quite a gossip, let me tell you. It seems that, after every unsatisfying session with you, she had to turn to a certain Mr Goyle to satisfy her. Now shut the hell up! Paula, go on!"

With utmost difficulty, Draco managed to postpone his indignation to a later time and focus his attention on the present.

"As I was saying, before the premature ejaculation… I mean…interruption,"—Draco clenched his fists under the table, determined not to react to the jibe—"I found out which Ranger was attacked, and why.

"Previously, we assumed that the attack was orchestrated by Yamato. While Yamato was in on it, for his own reasons, he did not mastermind it. The mastermind behind it was Goro Hishida."

Draco couldn't quite place the name, but he knew he'd heard it somewhere before. It was someone very important. "The Imperial appointee to the ruling council," he remembered.

"The same." Paula nodded. "The reason is even more interesting." She looked at Anastasiou. "You remember the crisis, about thirty ago?"

"About the Imperial succession protocol?" Anastasiou asked.

"Yes. For those of us who aren't familiar with it, a dark witch appeared after the birth of the Imperial heir, casting a curse on the Emperor and his son, preventing them from siring any male offspring. The guards killed her immediately, which proved to be a fatal mistake, since her sacrifice empowered the curse beyond breaking. Neither the Emperor, nor his son, sired any more boys. His daughter's never had any either, for that matter.

"After it became clear that the curse was very real and could not be broken, the Emperor pushed for a reform in their laws, transforming their monarchy into a matriarchal one, until the curse was broken."

"So his son's daughters could hold onto power." Von Brandenburg nodded.

"This would shatter their tradition, so a high price had to be paid for the reform to be approved by the council. Inihara, the head of the most prominent family in the Thunderbird Clan, which has half of the minor clans in its pocket, forced the Emperor to agree to marry his eldest granddaughter off to his son or grandson. Not only that, but each subsequent groom was to be from his clan."

Draco smirked. "Let me guess…Inihara was behind the curse!" It was what he would have done, in such a case. A very elegant way to quietly take over power too.

"Glad to know the oxygen deprivation you suffer while err…serving…the Mistress isn't affecting your brain yet." Von Brandenburg grinned.

Draco rolled his eyes. "This is really getting old. But then again, one can hardly expect innovation from a vampire, right? The world changes, but you don't!"

"That's enough, from both of you." Anastasiou slammed him fist onto the table. "I will tolerate no more interruptions!"

"Thank you, Lord Anastasiou." Paula sighed. She looked at Draco. "Indeed, Inihara arranged for the curse to be cast. Knowing he held a lot of influence, the Emperor had no choice but to agree with the deal.

"But it seems the Emperor knows a thing or two about scheming as well as well. When it became known that his son's wife was pregnant with twins, no one save the parents, the Imperial physician and the Emperor's closest advisor, Goro Hishida, knew about it. The physician was later memory charmed into believing that there had only been one child. In the end, only Hishida, the Emperor and the children's parents knew. See, the plan was to hide the eldest daughter somewhere, while signing off the second twin to Inihara. That's what happened.

"Now here comes the tricky part. Hishida too is of the Thunderbird Clan, and he had a large hand in helping Ishida with securing the deal."

"He betrayed the Imperial secret to Inihara?" Von Brandenburg frowned.

"Oh, no. He couldn't have done that even if he'd wanted to. The Imperial family had many dark detectors specifically tuned to sniff out treachery, and apparently even being the chief advisor didn't enable Hishida to gain access to them…until a few months ago, which was why he needed Yamato's help. He is one of the few wizards alive who could sabotage those devices properly. He was planning to betray the Imperial family."

"Why didn't those devices expose him then?" Draco frowned.

"Yamato told me that the devices worked like foe glasses. The betrayal had to be more defined for them to pick it up, and he gave Hishida a Confundus Amulet before that happened. That's how he evaded detection."

"Hold on,"—Draco summoned a parchment and a quill and began taking notes—"So it all comes down to the Emperor trying to get around his deal with Inihara. How did he plan on delivering the news without causing a riot? And how come the device didn't expose Hishida when he helped Inihara put pressure on the Emperor?"

Paula smiled. "Helping Inihara didn't qualify as betraying the Emperor. Since Hishida is supposed to be independent, there was nothing wrong with his backing a particular clan. Even the fact that it was his own clan could hardly be frowned upon, since none of the advisors had ever been really impartial, and Inihara might have pulled it off without Hishida's help anyhow.

"As for the delivery of the news, the Emperor would claim to have separated the twins in the interest of peace and security due to the fact that there is an increased chance of a power struggle between twin siblings. When the time came he would present the elder granddaughter to the world, ascribing the baby switch to a simple mistake. He'd apologise to the Thunderbird Clan, of course. But since the second granddaughter's fingerprint would already be on the marriage contract, they would lose all claim to the heir."

"And they would actually believe the apology?" Draco asked sceptically.

"Of course not. But in that society, challenging the Emperor is not done, especially since none of the other clans would back him up. They'd all be delighted that the Thunderbird Clan …more specifically…the Inihara family, had been kept from gaining any more power. They'd throw their support behind the throne, and that would be it for Inihara."

Draco nodded. So that's how things worked in Japan.

"What does this have to do with the attack on the Ranger, ordered by Hishida?" Von Brandenburg asked.

"I was just coming to that, but I had to give an explanation on Mr Malfoy's question," Paula said impatiently. "As a reward for his outstanding loyalty to the throne, and his help with keeping Inihara from power, he would get to marry the eldest granddaughter.

"This eldest granddaughter was raised by a half-blood couple of the Clabbert Clan. Her true eye colour was camouflaged to hide her true identity from everyone, her adoptive parents included. She was raised as Mayumi Sakai. She excelled at school and proved to be a powerful witch. She joined the Order of Illumination. That's where she met Gavin Carey, with whom she started a relationship. Gavin Carey is the Ranger who was attacked"—Paula paused and glanced at Anastasiou— "Mayumi has been raised with the idea that she ought to marry a Japanese wizard, since a princess could never marry a gaijin. But it turned out she was more headstrong than anyone had imagined. Her upbringing didn't condition her as well as it should have.

"Hishida found out about the relationship through the Imperial spy net. Since the new Master Spy is loyal to him, he could obtain the information without the Emperor's knowledge, and keep it from the Emperor. The spy who made the discovery, of course, knew nothing about Mayumi's true identity, and added the information about the relationship as a side note."

"So the Emperor knows that his granddaughter is a Ranger, but he doesn't know about her relationship?" Draco asked.

"No, he doesn't. And Hishida could not allow him to find out, since it would cause him to reveal the truth about Mayumi. And while he had nominally promised her to Hishida, there was no binding contract in that case, and apparently Hishida didn't think the Emperor would have forced her to marry him. It would have put everything he'd worked for on thin ice. So he ordered a hit on the Ranger, planning to persuade the Emperor about the time being right for Mayumi's return. She'd come home, heartbroken, and he'd be right there to console her."

"Another thing is still bothering me." Draco glanced down at his notes. "You never said what was in it for Yamato."

"In exchange for Yamato's help, Hishida had several of his most trusted servants kidnap Hitomi Ito and deliver her to him."

That got a response from Anastasiou, who had been relatively quiet. "The Mind Reader. Does he still have her?"

Paula shook her head. "She's dead. He dissected her in an attempt to find out how her gift worked. He extracted and analysed every last bit of her being. He did the same to the African. Fortunately, he did get results. He managed to synthesise a potion that bestows the ability to read minds onto any wizard, for a limited time. It works…I've seen a demonstration."

Draco was at a loss for words. A draught that allowed you to read someone's mind. The possibilities were infinite. If that were true, maybe his own recent success would be meaningless. All that work, for nothing. "Paula," he began after a while, "did Yamato tell you all this, about the whole Imperial intrigue?"

Paula nodded.

"How did he find out?"

"He's got an invention…a chair that puts everyone who sits on it into a trance very similar to those who've taken a dose of Veritaserum. Hishida doesn't know how much Yamato, and thus we, know."

Draco shook his head. Brilliant! And they wanted to kill this wizard…Unbelievable.

"That's not all," Paula continued. "A little while ago there was an Imperial banquet, which was attended by two Rangers. Harry Potter, and Maximilian Wolfe. They were there, hoping to find out who attacked Gavin Carey, and why. The Emperor had been inquiring about that as well, so Hishida distracted him with the following ploy.

"He went to Yamato for help once more, asking for a subtle and undetectable way to put someone under the Imperius Curse. Yamato has something that looks like a small flying insect, which is actually a miniature golem that delivers curses when stinging its targets. He put the Imperius on Princess Matsu and ordered her to attack Potter. As anticipated, Potter repelled the attack and exposed her as the attacker.

"Everybody with half a brain can deduce that she wasn't acting of her own free will, but in Japan that isn't the point. An Imperial scion's inability to repel that curse is seen as disgraceful. The whole event has been covered up, and the princess has been taken to a secret prison." Paula smiled. "Of course, we know where it is."

"I want the full details of this worked out in a report," Anastasiou said. "Great work, Paula." Then he turned to Draco. "And what have you been doing these last few months?"

Draco offered him a confident smile. "If you'd care to travel to another compound, I can show you the fruit of my efforts."

"All right." Anastasiou shrugged. " Let us first discuss the remaining issues…but this had better be really good, Malfoy."

Less than an hour later, after wrapping up the meeting, Anastasiou, Von Brandenburg and Draco arrived at the compound by Portkey, and Draco was immediately approached by one of the people he had put in charge of the project. She did a double take as she noticed the vampire overlord and his second.

"How is it going?" Draco asked her.

"The Pain Technicians are despairing," the witch began. "The subject doesn't seem to feel pain. He barely reacts to the Cruciatus Curse."

"What on earth are Pain Technicians?" Anastasiou frowned.

"Oh, that's what the torturers and executioners call themselves ever since they got organised." Draco shrugged. "Apparently they thought the former titles didn't sound modern and distinguished enough." He turned to the witch. "Take us to the dungeon."

The resident minions of the small Congolese compound bowed deeply as Anastasiou swept past them. Draco led him straight to chamber next to the dungeon, where Anastasiou could look on from a safe distance.

As Anastasiou peered through a narrow aperture in the walls, Draco watched him closely to see his reaction. He wasn't disappointed. "Malfoy…how…how did you accomplish this? This is fantastic."

Draco smirked and looked into the dungeon, where heavy magical chains held the bloody and bruised body of the mighty Ranger Maximilian Wolfe to the dungeon wall.

***

Author's Note: What? I never said he was dead! If you read my answers to the reviews carefully, you'll see that I never said 'death' but 'fate' I never referred to him in the Past Tense either. And he didn't exactly pull a Harry, did he? I mean, he's a captive. ;-)

Gogirl: Well, what did you expect? For Ron to abandon Hermione? And no, Ginny doesn't know about Carey.

Ginny1946: Yes, book five is coming out, which makes this story a race against the clock. I'll have to write faster. And have indeed used the Matrix.

sherman: It was kind of funny, wasn't it?

Maab: Nah, I don't know all that much about Tarot. It was mostly research. And the action begins in chapter 11 and 12.

rowan: Do you still miss Wolfe? *evil grin*

harry/ginny4eva: No, I just looked for the cards the bore the greatest resemblance to their character. Hermione's was quite easy. Most interpretations agreed on the Queen of Swords.

spark37: Oh yeah, poor Wolfe! He'd have been better off dead. Mwahahahaha.

nycgal: I'll do my best.

The Millenium One: I know my readers aren't stupid. ;-) I withheld to disclaimer on purpose to see how many people would catch the reference. Disclaimer: As so many of you have astutely noticed, the 'breaking vase' segment was borrowed from the Matrix. So, is the plot moving quickly enough again?

Lana Riddle: It's a good thing no one was offended, accusing me of being homophobic or something. ;-)

RogueAngel: Not a fun position to be in…exactly what I was trying to convey. I'm glad it worked.

Lamina Court: And lest we forget, little Charlie Weasley is also Dumbledore's descendant.

Casual Reader: No, Ron isn't homophobic. Just a little shocked, that's all.

Petals: Finally, someone who thinks Ginny's a bit out of line with her intense dislike of Heidi. The Maker be praised.

GinnyK: Hey, the review was a courtesy, not a bargain. But I appreciate the reply anyway. And Hermione's infertility, as I had her explain, was a serious curse related injury that even magical healing couldn't fix completely.