Disclaimer: More LoTR moments. ;-)

Confronted with Mortality

Chapter 13

Harry groaned and tried his best to concentrate and think of a solution to the problem.

"There has to be a mechanism somewhere on this side, Doc," Gudrun argued.

"Perhaps, but not necessarily. There are more passages into that chamber, and this strikes me as the most obvious one, one clearly meant to lead unwelcome visitors into a trap," Doc replied.

Harry wondered what Wolfe would've done at a time like this. Glancing downwards next to the stairs, he decided that he'd just have to take his chances with the pit and hope there weren't more lethal things than those spikes in it. "Doc, I'm going to—"

"Stand aside and give me some space," he heard Matt say.

"What?" Harry turned around to see what Matt was up to, but before he could completely turn around, Nathan's big hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him out of the way. He caught a brief glimpse of Matt's blurry form shooting past him, clutching his bow.

The Australian was balancing on the shield he'd taken earlier, and hit the stairs at a considerable speed. The acid trap that had destroyed Nathan's armour discharged harmlessly behind him as he drew arrow after arrow from his quiver and shot three vampire ghouls, piercing them through the heart, as he surfed down the stairs, springing the traps but moving too fast for them to harm him. As he neared the bottom, he was too close to the last ghoul to shoot it. Instead, he kicked the shield, which had a sharp upper edge, at the fourth ghoul, taking its head clean off.

All the momentum he'd gathered as he'd slid down the stairs was enough to carry him over the last few steps and land at the base of the stairs. He landed in front of the last ghoul, and stabbed it through the heart with an arrow, using it as a makeshift stake. Then he used his longbow to reach out and pull down the lever, before he activated the sharpening spell on the bowstring and cut down the closest zombie. No longer having the element of surprise, he beat a hasty retreat, putting some distance between himself and the zombies.

"He did it, the traps are deactivated," Doc said.

Doc had barely finished his sentence, when Harry bolted down the stairs, careful to avoid the puddles of acid left by the acid traps, Nathan and Farouk close on his heels. They also knew that while zombies weren't resurrected to be intelligent, it was no guarantee that they didn't have enough intelligence to reactivate the traps again.

Harry was surprised as his first swing to take off the lead zombie's head missed. Then he noticed how some of the zombies had tentacles and other limbs attached to their torsos. These weren't ordinary zombies, but enhanced ones. They weren't going to be as easy to beat as ordinary zombies or skeletons.

The zombie's counter-attack was cut short, however, as Nathan split it from head to groin with one mighty stroke of his axe. At virtually the same time, the other two zombies nearest to it were struck by hollow darts containing Erumpment Fluid. Harry and Nathan scrambled away, partly to gain a better position, and partly just to avoid being covered by decaying remains when the zombies exploded.

"Harry." Doc, who had come down the stairs last, pointed at the antechamber, which was still emitting a purple glare. "Destroy that thing so we can use our wands!"

"Be careful!" Nathan yelled after him, as he sprinted away. As he ran, he opened himself up to the energy in deep within his soul once more. It seemed to get easier and less draining every time he did it. His body was getting used to it.

The energy coursed through his body, once more taking his strength, speed, and senses a good deal beyond the human capacity. He cleaved a zombie that had been trying to block the way in half and continued on, alert for any kind of ambush that could be waiting on the other side. It was logical to assume that the beings inside had heard the sounds of battle and prepared accordingly.

He wasn't disappointed, nor, fortunately, surprised, as a wicked-looking dagger whistled through the air, coming straight at him. Jerking his head sideways was enough to avoid it, and it clattered on the stone wall behind him.

The portal, very similar to the ones in Concordia, had just finished stabilising from the looks of it, and Yamato was about to step through it. Harry growled as anger and frustration bubbled to the surface of his mind. If Doc had been right, they'd all be dead the moment Yamato stepped through that portal. The fact that his wizard henchmen practically dove into the light supported that theory. Clearly, they didn't want to be left behind.

Stopping Yamato from leaving was his only option. His mission was clear. He hurled his sword at the top of the portal, and it tumbled end over end, striking the arch in the middle and emitting a blinding flash of light just as Yamato stepped through. He'd done it just in time. A confused Yamato was standing at the other side of the broken portal, staring at a wall instead of what he'd expected to see at his destination.

Yamato turned around, his eyes widening with terror as he saw Harry approaching. Harry guessed that Doc's assessment about Yamato having means to counter the anti-magic field was not necessarily true, fortunately. If that had been the case he'd have drawn his wand already. However, a look of smug satisfaction and triumph replaced the look of terror, and without and conscious thought, Harry leapt forward, hearing a crash of something heavy on the stone floor right after he'd dodged. He rolled out and turned around, coming face to face with a zombie that must have slipped through, unnoticed by the other Rangers. It had four arms, each one holding a different weapon.

Okay, so maybe the others had noticed it, but had been too busy to do anything about it, because this particular zombie was huge…nearly sixteen feet tall, and two electric-blue shining circles where its eyes should be. It was some sort of a modified troll. Harry whirled around, searching for his sword, and saw it lying at the base of the portal. But Yamato was nowhere to be seen. The necromancer must have escaped through one of the passages when Harry hadn't been looking.

Harry muttered a few curses to himself as he summoned the sword back to him. He desperately wanted to catch Yamato and put him away once and for all, but he'd have to survive in order to do it.

The troll charged him, bringing back all four of its arms. The lower left arm, which was holding a whip, went first, lashing out at Harry's legs to try to trip him up. He could see the upper left arm raise as well, intending to smash Harry with a spiked club as he evaded the whip.

As the whip unfurled in front of him in slow motion, Harry had no intention of dodging. He stepped deep inside the troll's range and brought his sword down on the whip, severing it with ease. Then, he grabbed the fragment of the whip before it even touched the ground and swung it, wrapping it around the troll's legs before spinning out of the way.

The troll lost its balance and fell on its behind, giving Harry a short reprieve. The troll would free itself quickly, and Harry didn't think he could chop off its head without getting hit by the sword or the axe. But fighting it from a distance would be much easier, and the only way to do that would be to destroy the anti-magic field generator, which he could easily get to at the moment.

Without giving it a second thought, he attacked it the same way he'd attacked the other one. The sword blazed brightly as it came in contact with the cube, and the shock wave produced by this one was even more intense than the one produced earlier. Harry's shield charm just barely kept him from crashing into the wall, and the troll was hurled against the opposite wall.

Harry immediately went for his wand, and it trailed the familiar red sparks as he twirled it through the air, as if the wand too were celebrating its restoration. Then he aimed it at the troll, and unleashed a Reductor Curse, blowing the troll to bits.

He hurried out of the antechamber and saw that the Rangers had also gone for their wands. The last few zombies were now falling to powerful curses, and the skirmish was over all but over.

"Did you get Yamato?" Farouk immediately asked upon seeing Harry.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Harry exhaled slowly, releasing the power he'd been harnessing. "Is everyone still on one piece?"

"Fine. But did you get him?" Gudrun asked.

Harry shook his head. "I nearly had him, but a troll zombie showed up, and it required all my attention. Yamato slipped away when I wasn't looking."

"Oh, sorry about that," Matt said apologetically. "But we were a bit busy trying to stay in one piece. Think Yamato's still around?"

"He might still be around. After all, if this place had indeed been rigged to blow upon his departure, it would already have happened."

"We did detect Apparition wards before we came in." Gudrun said. "Those had nothing to do with the anti-magic field. Unless he had a Portkey at hand, he'll have to make his way out of here on foot. We can still catch him."

"Not a good idea." Doc shook his head. "Nathan and I came upon lots of traps. There is no telling how many there are throughout this facility. Either way, I'm not going to chase Yamato where he's got the advantage."

"I wouldn't either…" Harry paused as he remembered something." Oh, and Yamato didn't try to use his wand before that troll interrupted me. The cube was still active, so he may not have the countermeasures we thought he did. Either that or I just scared the living daylights out of him and he couldn't move. But I can't believe a fellow who works with the foulest things imaginable would be scared so easily."

"Neither can I," Doc agreed. "Well, I guess that's good news, although we can't completely rule out the other possibility." The goblin grinned.

"Yeah, but the bad news is that this means that there is no way to counter the effect." Gudrun frowned. "Not that I don't have faith in my own, or the other Artificers' abilities, but Yamato is the most brilliant one alive."

"At least it means the wizards are as crippled as we are, if not more so," Matt pointed out.

"Apart from Yamato, his henchmen, and the wizards at the entrance, did you see any other wizards in this place?" Gudrun asked. "No, you didn't. I doubt they'd use these devices in a place where there are more wizards than undead."

"Bloody hell. In that case it's a real pity we couldn't capture one of those things intact," Nathan said. "I mean, we're trained to fight, but most of the bad guys are as helpless as other wizards without their wands."

"Maybe it'll help if we take the pieces back for analysis," Gudrun suggested.

"All right," Doc said, and he activated his broadcaster. "Lieutenant Gaal…Doc here."

"Go ahead Docmor," Gaal's voice came back.

"I'll tell you the whole story later, but it boils down to this. Yamato has invented an anti-magic field generator, which is why we lost contact with you earlier."

"So, Tetsuo finally did it." Gaal's voice sounded grim. "I don't suppose you managed to capture it, did you?"

"Sorry, Lieutenant. We thought it would be too risky—"

"Given Tetsuo's love for booby traps," Gaal finished. "Don't worry about it. It was a wise precaution."

"Thank you, sir. We were wondering wether it would be okay to bring the pieces of the device along for analysis."

"I suppose it's better than nothing," Gaal answered. "Sure, slap Portkeys onto the pieces. How much room will it take up?"

"Hold on, sir…" —Doc looked at Harry— "How big is that thing?"

Harry activated his own broadcaster. "It's a cube of roughly five by five by five feet, Lieutenant. It broke up in two pieces. The largest piece makes up about two-thirds of the cube."

"Not an even split this time, eh, Harry?" Doc grinned.

"There were two of them?" Gaal's voice asked anxiously.

"Uh, yes sir. Sorry, I forgot to mention that," Doc said. "There were two of them."

"Then we'll take them both. If they're both exactly the same, it might give me better insight into—" Gaal paused. "Hold on…" he added, and his voice went quiet for a minute or so, before it returned. "Ah, Delmar, Lota and Ivanova have just come aboard with three prisoners."

Doc winced. "Yamato was here too, sir, but he got away."

"You're joking! What was he doing in a place with so little protection?"

"They were getting ready to abandon this place, sir," Harry said "But the place was still pretty dangerous. We were very lucky."

"Can't we talk about this later?" Nathan complained "Come on, let's get those broken cubes out, leave this place and blow it up behind us. I want to get back to Helga as soon as possible—"

The sound of a release mechanism on the crossbow announced yet another enemy surprise. Nathan, the only Ranger who was no longer protected by armour, groaned and tried to reach a dart that was sticking halfway up his back.

Harry had his wand drawn in an instant and aimed it at where he thought the dart had come from. Then, another dart was launched from a completely different corner and struck Nathan in the neck. Harry whipped his wand around and aimed blindly at the darkened aperture from which the arrow had appeared. "Lumos Solarum."

Brilliant light burst out of the tip of his wand and illuminated the aperture, briefly revealing one of the Bloodhounds that had got away. It shielded itself with a heavy cloak to limit the damage that was being done by Harry's spell and darted away from the light.

"Nathan…Nathan!" Matt howled, dropping to his knees beside his stricken brother.

"Harry, Farouk…keep an eye on the holes in the wall. Gudrun…those darts were poisoned. I left our bottle with the tears in your pouch. Quickly."

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Gudrun drop the entire contents of her pouch onto the stone floor to avoid digging and searching, and found the bottle quickly. She rushed towards Nathan while she unscrewed the top of the bottle, jumping over the dismembered bodies of zombies to get to him as fast as possible.

Satisfied, Harry turned his attention fully to watching out for other sneak attacks. But a shriek from Gudrun seconds later whisked his attention away from his task. One of the zombies, with curse marks all over its body, had clamped its claw around Gudrun's leg, and she had lost her balance and fallen down.

Reacting quickly, Harry shot a Reductor Curse at it, severing the arm holding Gudrun. She crawled away, completely unconcerned with the zombie that had made her trip. Instead, she looked at the bottle, lying a few feet away from her. The last of its contents had been spilled on the floor.

For a few terrible seconds, everybody stared at the bottle that would've saved Nathan's life easily.

Doc was the quickest to regain his wits. He grabbed Nathan's arm and activated his Portkey. "Lieutenant, Nathan's been hit by a poisonous dart. Have Esposito ready with phoenix tears," he said, as Nathan disappeared.

"I dropped the bottle," Gudrun whimpered. Then she touched her Portkey and disappeared.

"I'm going too," Matt said, and disappeared before Doc could say anything.

"Harry, Farouk, as much as I'd like to see if Nathan's all right, we've got a job to do. If we don't get those cubes, most of this will have been for nothing. We've got to hurry."

Harry just nodded dumbly, unable to say anything. For the next thirty minutes, he struggled to keep thoughts of Nathan at bay. He needed to be watchful, so no one else would get hurt. Then, after Doc had finally transported all the pieces of the generators to the Cruiser, they left for the Cruiser.

They appeared next to the broken generators, and found Evgenia Ivanova and Serafina Esposito waiting for them, their expressions gloomy.

Harry took a deep breath, swallowing away the constriction that was forming in his throat. Why were they here? Why weren't they helping Nathan? Nathan had to be okay. They must have had some phoenix tears in the infirmary. "Nathan?"

Serafina cleared her throat. "Manticore poison. We…there was nothing I could do. I…I sent all the tears along with you for the mission. I didn't have any left. Manticore poison is just too fast acting. We tried anti-venom serums while we slowed down his blood flow. It didn't help. I couldn't save him…" she sobbed, tears pouring out from under her eyelids.

Harry leaned against the hull as he struggled to keep the truth of the matter at bay. But it was no use. It glared at him, burning away his heart. Esposito had done all she could. It wasn't her fault. It was his. He'd recognised the vampire that had shot the darts at Nathan. It was the vampire he had allowed to get away, and it had returned to kill Nathan. He had failed them. They'd entrusted him with leadership over the Combat Rangers. It had been his job to keep them safe. But he'd failed them.

His legs refusing to support his weight any longer, Harry slid down along the sloping hull. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nathan was going to help him write love letters to Ginny. Nathan was going to marry Helga and live happily after.

Helga! He had failed her too. How was he going to tell her? How would he admit to her that he'd failed to protect Nathan, and ruined their prospects of happiness? And he'd failed Wolfe as well. Wolfe, who had changed time in order to save his life, who had paid the ultimate price for his actions, but who had deemed it well worth it, because he'd believed in Harry. That faith had been unfounded.

Harry drew the katana out of its sheath and gripped it tightly. The warmth that it had given him previously was gone. No doubt the spirit of the blade had seen the truth as well, and refused to serve him any longer. He choked back a sob. Wolfe would've done better by letting him die and living on himself. Wolfe would have kept everybody safe. But now he was dead, and it was all for nothing. His child would grow up without a father for nothing. Galatea would have to live without him for nothing, and it was all Harry's fault. He had utterly and completely failed.

Cold dread gripped his heart as the next thought crept into his mind. What would Ginny think? Would she still love him, even though he'd proven himself unworthy of her? Wolfe had said that he and Ginny would do great things together, but he'd messed things up before they ever got the chance.

"Harry?" Doc's long-fingered hand was prodding him. "Come on, Matt needs our support."

Harry looked at Doc in bewilderment. What could he possibly say to make that would make things better? It was his fault that Matt no longer had a brother.

The half-goblin narrowed his eyes, as if he could read Harry's mind. "These things happen. It's one of the downsides of being a Ranger. This isn't your fault."

Harry shrugged and got up. If believing that would make Doc feel better, who was he to point out Doc's error? "There's nothing I can say that'll make him feel better."

"You don't have to say anything," Farouk said. "We just have to pay our respects first, because we were with him on his final mission."

Harry nodded, and he, Doc and Farouk left the mediwitches behind in the cargo deck. His resolve crumbled as Matt's anguished sobs met his ears. Gudrun was sitting at the magical monitoring station, but she wasn't working. She had taken off her armour and was looking into the infirmary with tearful eyes, unsure whether she should go in and talk to Matt.

Delmar was piloting the Cruiser, and Gaal sat at the other piloting station, grimly punching several buttons as he talked to someone on the screen in front of him.

Doc took the initiative and walked over to the infirmary, and Gudrun seemed to take courage from this as she too got up from her station and quickly joined him. Safety in numbers, Harry thought gloomily. He looked at Farouk, who nodded, and together they followed Gudrun and Doc in.

Matt was squeezing and rubbing Nathan's hand. "Why did you have to go? Who's going to keep m-me out of trouble now? You've always looked after me. Mum and Dad always had such high ho-hopes for you. Why couldn't you just f-follow your own path? You could've done anything. You didn't want to become an Auror, like me. You just did it to look after me. You didn't have to become a Ranger. Why didn't you just play Quidditch, and become a Beater for Australia, like you could have? If you'd done that, I could've told anyone that Nathan Kelly, the best Beater in the world, is my brother." He stopped as he failed to suppress a series of sobs.

Gudrun chose the moment to step up to him and laid her hand on Matt's. "Matt?"

Matt just looked at her hand as if it were some strange thing he'd never seen before. His gaze followed her arm and came to rest on her sad face. He stared at her for a few heartbeats, before his blank expression turned into one of pure rage. He whisked his hand away from hers. "Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me again. Your hands are cursed!" he screamed, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall. "Why couldn't you just hold onto the bottle, you clumsy - stupid - cow!" he said, slamming her into the wall as he said each word.

"Sorry…I'm so s-sorry!" Gudrun cried. "I wasn't looking at the zombies…I thought they were finished. I let my own sister die because I was careless, and now I'm responsible for your brother too," she howled, "I'm sorry…"

Farouk stepped forward and grabbed Matt's arms around the biceps, attempting to pull him away from the terrified Gudrun, but the Matt wouldn't budge.

Harry was about to intercede on Gudrun's behalf too. After all, it wasn't her fault. If he had done his job properly, Gudrun would never have had to touch the bottle with phoenix tears. He was the one who should be slammed against the wall. But thankfully, the madness in Matt's eyes vanished before he had to say anything.

"The zombie…" Matt locked his eyes to Gudrun's, his grip on her shoulders loosening. "It…it isn't your fault. I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Gudrun. It isn't your fault. I shouldn't have said those things to you. Nathan would've been very angry with me for doing that. He…he'd have…Forgive me!"

Gudrun just threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, and Matt soon returned the hug just as fiercely, lifting Gudrun up and keeping her feet dangling a foot off the floor. He held her aloft easily and she didn't seem to have trouble drawing breaths despite his desperate grip, so she kept on hugging him, stroking his hair every so often while his face remained buried in the crook of her neck.

Matt calmed down noticeably, and he took one last deep breath, before he gently lowered Gudrun to the floor. His cat-like yellow eyes got a glazed, faraway look in them as he held his gaze on Gudrun. "Njalsdottir? I…I…when did…?" he couldn't finish whatever he was about to say, because his face contorted in agony and he screamed. He slumped against the wall, clutching his head between his hands, as his body was briefly wracked with seizures before he lost consciousness and collapsed onto the floor.

Harry's entire being went numb, and his brain drowned out all sound. Not Matt as well. Had one of the traps hit him after all? Was this some kind of vicious delayed effect?

He felt two hands grab his face. They belonged to Farouk, who was trying to tell him something, giving him gently pats as if to emphasize his words. "….otter! Stay focussed."

"I'm here," Harry mumbled, and Farouk let go of his face. To his surprise he was no longer in the infirmary. How much time had gone by?

"Hey, you just went away. Your eyes were open, but there nobody was home. What happened? We were just about to try to enervate you," Doc said.

"What happened to Matt? He isn't…Was he hurt by one of the traps?"

"No. He's fine, physically. He's asleep in the cargo bay. Serafina and Evgenia said it was caused by stress, and it wouldn't be good for him to wake up with Nathan's body so near." Doc sighed.

Harry nodded. While it made more sense to move Nathan's body to the cargo bay now that he was dead, like Muggles sent their dead to the morgue as soon as possible, it would be extremely disrespectful to Matt. The notion that his brother was little more than cargo would do him unnecessary harm.

"Bloody hell," Doc continued, "Nathan's dead, and three Rangers are out of commission for who knows how long, because of it. I don't think Matt will return to duty anytime soon. Neither will Helga, and Gudrun's pretty torn up about it. She thinks it's her fault."

Harry bit back the reply he'd been about to give. Doc and Farouk would only try to convince him that it wasn't his fault. "I'll be in the cargo bay," he said, as he got up and walked towards the levitation circle.

Down in the cargo bay, he saw Matt lying on a stretcher, covered by a blanket. Gudrun sat beside him, gently stroking his pale cheeks. Harry could see her frown as her index finger traced the line of his jaw. Had she been aware of his presence, Harry was sure she wouldn't have done what she did next.

She bent over Matt, placing a kiss, first on his left cheek, then his right, and finally his forehead. Her face lingered above his for a while, before she lowered her face to his again, kissing him lightly on the lips.

Involuntarily, Harry cleared his throat, causing Gudrun to jerk away from him. He cursed himself for interrupting them, and intruding on Gudrun's privacy like that. "Err, how is he?"

"How much did you see?" Gudrun asked, wringing a corner of Matt's blanket nervously.

Harry shook his head. "I won't judge what you just did. I know how seeing a hurt man causes women to behave sometimes." He bit his lip as he remembered his own experiences. Ironically, it had been his messed up state that had always attracted women to him…Ginny, then Heidi and Carey.

He shook his head. Ginny was different. That was genuine love, as undeserving as he was of it.

"I…I don't know why I did it. I know all about the so-called female urges, but I don't have any maternal instincts, Harry. My whole life I've run away from responsibility."

"That's not true. You've taken Ginny under your wing."

Gudrun shook her head. "That's not the same. Ginny's a grown woman. She has her insecurities, but she can take care of herself…and others," she added, looking intently at Harry, who felt himself blush under her stare. "Harry, apart from the senior officers, you're the first one I'm going to tell this. There is something about me that no one knows, save my mother, the commanders, and Captain Yee. Lilia and Ginny don't know either."

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable telling me," Harry said quickly, but it was more for his own benefit than Gudrun's. For some reason, he didn't want Gudrun opening up to him like this. He didn't want to know her deepest, darkest secrets. It would only hurt more if she died an untimely death.

"Harry, I've got an eight-year-old daughter."

He blinked and opened and closed his mouth as he though of, and rejected several things that crossed his mind. Finally he settled on a reply. "You're a m-mother?"

"I don't deserve the honour to be called that," Gudrun said sadly. "God, I have no idea why the Order of Illumination accepted me in the first place. I've proven that I have no sense of responsibility. I just dumped my baby at my mother's. I didn't even stick around for her first birthday. I haven't seen her at all in the war…I'm a stranger to my own daughter, Harry."

"But your mum, is she good with kids?" Harry asked, swallowing to make his voice less raspy. "Does she treat your daughter all right?"

"She raised me by herself. My dad is an oceanographer, and a drifter at heart. I didn't see much of him. He recognised me, and sent money and all that, but I know him about as well as my daughter knows me." Gudrun chuckled harshly to herself. "I guess that's where I get that character trait."

"That's not true," Harry said, although he had no idea how to defend that statement if she asked him to. Fortunately, she didn't.

"But it seems fate has got something else planned for me. My mother has leukaemia, and she's not going to live long. She certainly can't take care of Maria anymore. My daughter first showed signs of magic when she was four, so I know she's a witch. The Ministry will send her to Concordia next week."

"Didn't the father want her?" Harry asked.

Gudrun smiled sadly. "I never told him. I met him while some friends and I vacationed on Oahu, in the summer of '92. He took me to the Banzai Pipeline and tried to teach me how to surf… emphasis on tried. I liked Sunset Beach better, because the water was calmer there. It was easier to do other stuff. He also took me sailing, and he knew the places where the food was good, but not too pricey." She heaved a sigh. "He made me feel like the most beautiful woman on Earth, Harry. He was so sweet…"

Harry nodded, and when she didn't continue, Harry decided to risk a question. "So, err, why didn't you tell him? I mean, I assume he was a Muggle, right? You didn't tell him because he was a Muggle?"

Gudrun shook her head. "He was a few years shy of his driver's license. He said he was eighteen, but I know he was sixteen, at most. I bet those condoms had been in his wallet since he was twelve, or something, when he bought them to show 'em off to his friends. Oh, I should have known better. I'm so stupid!"

"Um, did you consider, well, you know…" Harry hesitated, not knowing how to put it.

Gudrun caught on, and shook her head vehemently. "No! I never considered taking it away. I had a decent job at the Canadian Ministry, with Magical Transportation. And I can't be sure if his condoms had indeed been past the expiration date. I guess the fact that she was born in spite of the precautions, convinced me that she was meant to be born. Either way, I wouldn't have killed my own baby."

"But, weren't you using Contraceptive Charms or Potions?"

"I was using the charm, but you've got to reinforce that every week. I was having so much fun, I lost track of the days, really, and I wasn't really planning to let the kid into my panties anyway." she chuckled ruefully, "I was immediately punished for my lack of discipline. I'd had a little too much mixed drink when the moment arose, so my judgement wasn't what it should have been. That's why I forgot to check the raincoats for leaks…Well, it doesn't matter anymore."

Anyway, I could hardly show up on her father's doorstep, saying, 'I gave birth to your daughter, oh, and I'm a witch and she'll probably be one too, isn't that lovely?' Then there's the fact that my daughter's living proof of the fact that I broke the law. He was just a kid…I couldn't do that to him."

Harry nodded. He could imagine how Gudrun felt, and this had given him a lot to think about. "Well, I'm glad you told me. I'd have been shocked if you'd just stepped up and introduced me to your daughter right out of the blue."

Gudrun exhaled with relief. "Thanks for listening, Harry."

"No problem." Harry said, and they sat together, watching over Matt in silence, until they reached the Citadel.

*

Ron looked on nervously as the Cruiser touched down in the Maintenance bay. Ginny had already been there, going about her regular business while Captain Yee supervised her, and the other apprentice, Rachel Esklove. But they, like everyone else, looked sad. Another Ranger had fallen.

He'd promised Hermione to let her know as soon as possible how Harry was handling things. He was worried, because he knew his best friend all too well. Harry would find some way to shift all the blame onto himself. Glancing at Ginny and seeing her worried expression, he knew that she was also expecting it.

He eyed the girl standing next to him…Danielle, Rachel's sister. She'd trained with Nathan a lot, and his death had come as a bit of a shock to her. No wonder, since the powerful Australian had seemed invincible at times. Like his brother Matt, he had shown great promise.

Helga wasn't there, though. Her reaction to the news had hardly been surprising. She'd been crushed, and she had gone to her family's home for comfort. She'd return a bit later to see Nathan's body, when she was ready to.

The humming sound announced the arrival of the Cruiser, and soon it dropped its invisibility charm and landed in a designated area. Ginny had stopped her activities and was now right beside him, ready to give Harry all the support he needed. Aberforth Dumbledore wasn't too far away either. He too was watching the Cruiser intently.

After the power-down, the loading ramp came down. Gaal came out first. The body was lying on a levitating surface and Matt walked beside the head. Gudrun was right beside him, holding his hand tightly, and Ivanova and Esposito walked on either side of the surface, at the feet. Then followed Doc and the other Intel Ranger, Delmar. Finally, Farouk, Lota and Harry came out of the cruiser.

The downcast look on Harry's face said it all. The light that often shone in his friend's green eyes was missing. But Ron knew that missing didn't mean gone.

Harry came to a halt. He looked at Ron warily. "I can't do this, Ron. Every time someone dies, it's like part of me dies with them."

"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories Mum used to tell when I was a kid, Harry. The ones that really mattered. They were full of darkness and danger. And sometimes I didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?"

Ron smiled gently. It was the story of their lives. "But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. And that tomorrow is a new day, one that can bring happiness instead of sorrow. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Harry, I do understand. I know now. People in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. Because they were holding on to something."
Harry looked at him, uncertainty radiating out of his eyes. "What are we holding on to, Ron?"
"That there's some good in this world, Harry. And it's worth fighting for."
"No matter what the cost," Aberforth, who'd come closer, added gravely.

Harry looked at Ron oddly.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard you say anything so… wise… before." A glint suddenly flashed in Harry's eyes. "Did you get all that out of a book?"

Ron scratched his head. "I don't think so. Hermione says I've been saying profound things ever since I tried some of that Longbottom Leaf pipe-weed, but with all of the books she's got crammed into the house, who can tell anymore? You'd think that now we're out of school and all, she'd ease off on that, but noooo…"

A small smile, not one of sadness, but one of relief, came over Harry's face. "Thanks for reminding me…Thanks for reminding me why you're my best friend."

Ron stepped forward and engulfed him in a hug, and he felt Ginny join in too. Harry would be okay, as long as he had his family with him.

***

nycgal: I don't know if they're going to get together, at least, the road won't b e easy and fluffy.

Gogirl: Hmmm, did he? LOL, no, I can safely say that he didn't see Max. Besides, everyone except Hermione and Galatea call him Wolfe. Nice theory though.

Maab: Your blessing seems to be working. I'm pretty inspired. Thanks for the review. :-)

Philip: Actually, I'm going to introduce a few new things before this story is done.

Lord Tiger VII: I updated, although it's a day later than the agreed date. I couldn't help it. Xing saw fit to do a Gateway Timeout yesterday.

psychochick: Well, it seems I'll have to do even better to keep you procrastinating. ;-)

sherman: The way things are now, I estimated that Wolfe will return in chapter 15, though I won't be writing from his POV.

The Millennium One: If chapter 12 merited a Holy Shit, I wonder what you're going to say about this one.

Lamina Court: You know, after reading the book I imagined the 'fair' elf Legolas to be a fancy-boy skipping around in tights. But I must say Orlando Bloom and the people who devised the action scenes completely redeemed the character in my eyes.

Lana Riddle: I've got nothing to say but: Thanks!

Maverick Davis: Dramatic enough for you yet? *evil cackle*

harry/ginny4eva: Soon? Wouldn't you rather see Wolfe get tortured? ;-)

Zaz: I told you guys Mind War was going to be darker and more intense than EaL. So, do you think I'm delivering so far?

SiriDragon: Ah, welcome back, Siri. You're right about the ego thing. I can't really complain, can I? But I can't help it. I've got a fragile self-esteem…kidding. Thanks for the review.

pamela-potter-24: Check out the Author's Note below for the next update.

the.grey.lady: Evil? Moi? You ain't seen nothin' yet!

A-Potter-Person: It isn't like I wanted to copy the eulogy. I tried looking for samples on the Internet to give me an idea how they are written, but I couldn't find any. On another note, I can't say I've seen too many 'come back to life' stories of this kind. Only ones that shatter JK's 'people can't be brought back to life by magic' rule.

Casual Reader: In extreme circumstances there is bound to be some chemistry between Rangers.

Nosgoroth: Not so much a surname as a translation of his elvish name, actually. How did you like the LoTR references in this chappie? You do realise that it's all your fault, right? Including LoTR references seems to be contagious. :-)

caroline: I don't think I've seen you before. In any case, welcome aboard. I'll do my best to make the story as enjoyable as possible.

Rowan: You know, when I conceived the character Wolfe, I never thought he'd be such a big hit. I thought he'd be accused of being a Mary Sue instead.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the support you've shown once again, oh noble readers. The next update will happen on March 16th, my B-day…damn, I'm getting old. Anyway, that's nine days instead of ten, to make up for the extra day's wait due to the gateway timeout.