Relentless Evil

Chapter 15

Draco hated the jungle. Even though the recently constructed base, like almost all the others, was below ground, it did little to reduce the oppressing humidity.

Yamato had arrived a month ago, having barely escaped from an unexpected raid by the Order of Illumination. Apparently Harry Potter had been part of the raiding party as well. The Rangers had destroyed two units of Yamato's newest invention. It was a device that effectively prevented the use of the magic wand and blocked all forms of teleportation, Portkeys included.

Three of those anti-magic cubes had been set up at various points in the base already, and they would come to life in the event of an intrusion. Then the insane Japanese necromancer and artificer had proceeded to redesign entire parts part of the base, in order to turn it into the ultimate death trap to anyone who would dare to invade. His narrow escape from the Rangers had rattled him deeply, and he was determined not to let that happen again.

Draco was a bit uneasy about the whole thing. He had a feeling that Yamato, who was always working to expand his army of zombies, would conveniently 'forget' to tell him about the placements of some of the traps. This unease only served to amplify the unease he'd already been feeling in light of his failure to break Max Wolfe.

In a desperate attempt to uncover his secrets, Draco had come up with the plan to have a magical parasitic personality possess Wolfe, and have it uncover his secrets from within. But somehow, the Ranger had managed to prevent the parasitic personalities from taking possession. The mists had just swirled around his head before dissipating, while in fact they should have entered his body through his nose. None of the experts had been able to explain how the hell this was possible.

"Malfoy!"

Draco sneered. Von Brandenburg's attempts to startle him were getting really annoying. "What?"

"I want a status report."

"Mr Yamato wasn't satisfied with the layout of the compound, and he set about redesigning the whole thing. Wolfe can't be transferred to this compound yet."

"And how is that project coming along?"

"We've taken some blood samples. Hopefully it'll give us some clues as to how he's resisting the efforts to break him. You can also tell your master that I'm going to need a rejuvenation bath."

Von Brandenburg scowled. "Our master, Malfoy. And why do you need a rejuvenation bath?"

Draco sighed exasperatedly. "He wants to keep Wolfe alive, doesn't he? Our attempts to interrogate Wolfe are taking their toll on his body."

"We don't have the resources to spare. Just have medically trained wizards patch him up when he's getting too weak."

"Ah, Wilhelm," Draco chuckled derisively. "Not being kept in the loop, are you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The report I sent to your master. I actually already tried what you suggested, and it ended up with Wolfe nearly escaping. He controls his magic to a degree few of our medically trained staff have ever witnessed. We're still not sure how he did it…"

"Did what?" Von Brandenburg demanded impatiently.

"Before healing him, he was stunned by four wizards, of course," Draco began. "That's standard—"

"I know how powerful he is! Get to the point."

"All right!" Draco smirked. "So they cast healing charms…sealed wounds, healed broken bones and all that. Then, Wolfe woke up and broke Matumbo's neck. Just broke it? Hell, he nearly twisted his head off." Draco paused, basking in Von Brandenburg's frustration. "Ah well, that crazy Zulu was getting on my nerves anyhow…"

"So? How did he wake up?"

"We think that he somehow redirected some of the healing magic to undo the stunners. That's why we need a rejuvenation bath. Then we can just have some golems dunk him in and pull him out when he's half-healed again, with no risk to our living…and undead staff. And another thing…we don't want him completely healed, and apparently it's hard to cast healing charms that only work halfway. The nature of healing charms, usually, is to heal completely. Unless of course the damage is so serious that no amount of magic can restore it."

Von Brandenburg smirked. "Yes, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Draco shook his head. "Is this all the purpose to your visit? Are you a common errand boy now?"

"Actually, no. The Mistress sent for you and Mr Yamato." The vampire brandished a Portkey. "I have to inspect the base to report the progress."

"What's the point? I already told you everything."

"And I'm going to verify your statement," Von Brandenburg said calmly. "The organisation hasn't survived this long by blindly trusting the statements of insignificant minions."

"Oh, then I wonder who'll be seeing if your story checks out," Draco retorted.

"Just find Yamato," Von Brandenburg growled as he thrust the baton-shaped Portkey at Draco. The trigger phrase is 'hair-trigger'."

Draco offered a fake smile. "Cute…very cute."

*

The Portkey took them to Anastasiou's principal lair. A dark troll had been sent to escort Draco and Yamato to the Mistress's location, since it seemed she wasn't in her quarters. It took them deeper and deeper underground, and to Draco's surprise, straight to his workplace.

She was observing the goings-on in the dungeon below, where Wolfe was being held. She stared at the Ranger with gleaming eyes, looking slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed. Her obvious fascination with the prisoner made him feel uncomfortable.

"My Lady?"

She didn't acknowledge him, and kept staring at Wolfe, seemingly enraptured. This served to increase Draco's discomfort even more. What was so captivating about Wolfe anyway? Could it be his looks? Draco doubted that, because Wolfe looked like a mess after weeks of torture.

"I've felt him. He must be one of the most powerful wizards in the world," She finally spoke. "Much more powerful than any wizard here…I wish to see him."

"It isn't safe, my Lady. He's extremely dangerous."

"I don't like it when you contradict me, Draco. Athanasios told me about your attitude. You may share my bed occasionally, but that doesn't make you my equal."

Draco's heart skipped a beat. "My Lady, I never presumed—"

"Good. That's settled." She looked at Yamato. "You know why I've summoned you?"

"Lord Anastasiou said that you wished to try the mind-reading potion." Yamato nodded.

"Do you have some with you?"

Yamato showed her a bottle with some brown liquid. "Do you intend to use it to read the Ranger?"

"Didn't he resist earlier attempts to read him?"

Draco nodded. They had attempted to read Wolfe's mind too, only to find out that Mind Readers themselves could feel it when someone tried to pry into their minds. "He did."

"Then I'll practice on weaker minds first, so I can become proficient."

"I believe I may have the solution to our dilemma," Yamato said.

Draco looked at him sceptically. "I doubt it, but please, do tell!"

"His mental resistance is the partially the result of innate ability, but mostly due to rigorous training and conditioning. In order to open up those defenses, you need to upset him."

"Easier said than done. He's unshakeable."

"Really? I believe he has a girlfriend?"

"We can't realistically threaten her. She's too well guarded in Concordia. I thought of that…even tried it. But he knew as well as we did that we were bluffing."

"Yes, but this girlfriend has relatives who aren't as well defended, yes? If they are threatened, she might leave the immediate sphere of the Order's protection to help them, and make herself vulnerable. I'm sure he'll be so upset upon hearing that. His defenses will briefly come down, and that's when you introduce the parasitic personality. I guarantee it'll penetrate his defenses."

Draco didn't bother to hide his surprise. He hadn't thought off that. But he couldn't ponder it, because sounds of alarm emanated from the dungeon below.

One of the Pain Technicians looked up. "Mr Malfoy, we must have pushed too hard. His heart has stopped!"

He couldn't let that happen. The Mistress had just made it perfectly clear that she wouldn't go out of her way to protect him from Anastasiou anymore. "Then revive him! Unshackle him!"

"I'd wait a minute if I were you!" Yamato said, peering at Wolfe's limp form.

"The longer we wait the harder it'll be to revive him."

"That's true, but if Lei Li trained him like—" Yamato didn't finish his sentence, but as the events below unfolded Draco got an idea of what he'd been about to say. Seconds after he'd been released, Wolfe came back to 'life,' snatched the wand out of the Pain Technician's hand and nailed him with a Killing Curse.

Wolfe seemed to be able to distinguish the Imperius victims from the from Anastasiou's actual minions, because the people under the Imperius Curse were stunned, while the rest were struck by the green beam of the Killing Curse. That insight had probably been granted by his Mind Reader abilities.

"Damn it, seal the dungeon!" Draco screamed. "Get a containment squad here on the double! Make that three!"

"Malfoy, I suggest we get ourselves as far away from his as possible. We've both seen him in action before. He could reach us by jumping. Activate the barrier."

Draco leapt toward the console and worked the appropriate controls. A crystal began to glow, and an orange light appeared in front of the glass. "That ought to hold him until—"

"He's broken through the door!" someone screamed.

"Give me your wand, Draco!" the Mistress said. "I'll stop him."

"But—" Draco sputtered.

"Have mine!" Yamato said quickly and handed her his wand.

The Mistress shot Draco a disapproving look before she swept out of the room.

"Why the hell did you give her your wand? What if Wolfe kills Her?"

"Better her than me," Yamato said as walked over to a crystal ball and waved his hand in front of it. Then he muttered an incantation. Yamato's upside down reflection faded and was replaced by a rear view of the Mistress as she resolutely moved to intercept Wolfe.

Draco nervously bit his nails while he watched the Mistress sweep through several corridors as she searched for Wolfe. He had no idea how she knew where she was going. But if she was indeed as in tune with the magic around her as she claimed to be, she could be tracking him by his magical aura.

He held his breath the Mistress caught up with Wolfe at an intersection and he entered into the ball's view, which changed from a rear view to a side view that encompassed them both. If anything were to happen to her, he'd be blamed and his life would be forfeit. He doubted he could hide both from the Order of Illumination, and Anastasiou's organisation.

Wolfe whirled around impossibly fast, preparing to cast a deadly curse…but he held back. He stared at the Mistress, the fierce look in his eyes replaced by a look of utter confusion. They just stared into each other's eyes for a while before the unimaginable happened. Wolfe slowly lowered the wand he had captured and spoke to her, holding out his hand. And the Mistress…blushed and looked at the floor.

"Can't we hear what they're saying?" Draco asked. He wanted to know what Wolfe could possibly have said to make her react like that.

"These images are being recorded. I'll show them to a lip reader later," Yamato replied.

Draco and Yamato then continued to follow the events in the ball. The Mistress met Wolfe's gaze again and shook her head apologetically. She spoke to him, and he in turn shook his head. Even though he wasn't a trained lip reader, Draco succeeded in reading Wolfe's lips as he replied. That was long ago. You're not evil. He beckoned to her again. It's okay. Come with me.

But she didn't go with him. She'd drawn her wand faster than he'd seen anyone draw his wand before, and stunned Wolfe by herself, a task that usually took three or four wizards of average power to accomplish.

The image disappeared, leaving him Draco to stare at his own confused expression. What the hell had Wolfe been getting at?

"She did it!" Yamato said delightedly. "She's magnificent, isn't she?"

Draco didn't answer.

"Malfoy?" Yamato snapped his fingers in Draco's face.

"Why didn't he try to kill her?"

"If you find me someone who'd adept at lip reading, we'll find out soon enough," Yamato answered. "I also need you to mobilise your spy network. There's something I'd like you to look out for."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

A maniacally malevolent expression stole over Yamato's face. "Oh, just the result of the going away present I gave my enemies last month."

*

"Wipe that stuff off your face." Gudrun admonished her daughter. "And are those my earrings?"

Ginny saw that the girl had indeed overdone it with the makeup, and the liberal perfume she had sprayed on made Ginny slightly nauseous. She thought she recognised one of Heidi's expensive brands. Lilia must have introduced her to the tradition of nicking Heidi's things.

Maria, or Mary, as she insisted to be called, pouted. "You've got lots of earrings you don't do anything with, so I borrowed some. You said I could!"

Gudrun had recently given up sticking her face full of metal, arguing that she couldn't look like that in front of her daughter and still be an authority figure. Now she 'only' wore three rings in each ear.

"Hey, you!" Mayumi, with Gavin in tow strolled into the parlour. "You overdid it with the makeup and perfume. Why the dress up anyway?" Mayumi had finally returned from a prolonged mission, and she and Gavin had been making up for lost time. The Welsh wizard had bags under his eyes, but looked perfectly happy.

"Oh, I thought I'd keep myself presentable."

"Presentable, huh?" Gudrun smirked. "Or did you decide to make yourself pretty for Nicolai Savin?"

"Ugh, Gudrun! Nicolai is a geek!" Mary grimaced.

"Well, it was very nice of that geek to offer to help you with your Latin." Ginny frowned. "You should be a bit nicer to him." Since Latin was still the most commonly spoken language in Concordia, it was part of the educational curriculum. Mary was a very bright girl who spoke three languages, having been born and raised by Gudrun's mum in Winnipeg, but Latin wasn't one of them.

Gudrun had recently told Ginny about her half-sister, and that her mum had had a falling out with her husband, after her half-sister drowned. He had blamed Gudrun, but Gudrun's mum hadn't. Their marriage had broken up because of that, and Gudrun's mum had moved to Canada in Gudrun's final year at Aurora School of Magic. It seemed like a lot of Rangers carried some emotional baggage from their childhood around…not just Harry.

Ginny winked at the pouting girl. She knew that Mary liked Ironheart's grandson well enough. Even though the boy was the elder of the two, having turned nine in September, he already looked up to Mary, literally and figuratively speaking.

Mary was very tall and strong for her eight and a half years, whereas her school-chum was small for his age. Her relatively long limbs, and large hands and feet hinted at a future height of at least six feet. Hardly surprising, according to Gudrun, since the girl's father had been six-foot-three, and Gudrun suspected he hadn't stopped growing yet, at the time.

The reason Nicolai had latched onto Mary was because Mary had used her size and strength to beat up a bully who had picked on Nicolai on her first day of school. This had caused Gudrun quite a bit of distress, since the Headmaster had wanted to expel Mary, saying that there was no place for such badly behaved children at Concordia's most distinguished primary school. Mary was suspended for a day while the teachers discussed the possibility of Mary's continued enrolment, and surprisingly they had decided to give her another chance. In fact, the Headmaster's attitude seemed to have taken a hundred and eighty-degree turn.

Mary wasn't making it easy for her mother. She refused to call Gudrun 'mum,' which seemed to hurt Gudrun a little. And like her mother, Mary had some serious 'attitude' towards people she didn't know. When she, Matt and Ron had accompanied Gudrun to the Portal Terminal at her own request, the first thing she had noticed was the stand-offish look she knew from Gudrun.

But Matt had broken through her defences as if they'd been made of wet tissues. There had been an almost instantaneous connection between Matt and the girl, and her attitude towards him had progressed from hostility to hero-worship in less than a day. A bit of the old Matt had actually resurfaced that day, as he jokingly proclaimed that no woman could resist him, whether she be eight or eighty-eight.

Ginny giggled teasingly. "I think I know why Mary's all dressed up. Isn't Matt coming over soon?"

Mary's blush could have given Ginny's 'Weasley blush' a run for its money. Gudrun's face, on the other hand, drained of all colour. "Oh no, I completely forgot! Look at me, I'm a mess." She scowled at her daughter. "You little…you were supposed to remind me!" With that, bolted out of the parlour and up the stairs.

"Now that was an unexpected turn of events," Gavin said. He was still trying to process the fact that Gudrun's crush on Matt was as big as her daughter's was. It was so bad that she'd nearly hexed Heidi and Lilia on several occasions because she'd suspected them of poaching what she saw as 'her territory.' While her housemates had staunchly denied this, Ginny had a feeling that Gudrun's suspicions had been dead on. No longer supremely obnoxious due to Nathan's death, Matt's new, doleful demeanour attracted women to him like moths were attracted to a flame. At times, Ginny had felt like giving him a hug too, and if Harry hadn't existed, she'd have considered having a go at him herself.

The front door of the townhouse slammed shut, announcing the arrival of one of the residents. A minute later, Galatea and her sister Perse came in. The arrival of her sister had done Galatea a lot of good, as the animated French chattering Ginny frequently heard seemed to indicate.

Perse was an incredibly beautiful woman. There was no denying it. Galatea was beautiful as well, but not particularly so for quarter-Veela. Hermione had simply stopped bringing Ron over because his behaviour around Perse was, while hilarious to Ginny, infuriating to Hermione. It was as if she were a full-blooded Veela, because even Harry had trouble keeping a straight face when she unleashed her Veela charm.

Maybe her stronger Veela powers were a compensation for the fact that she was a rather weak witch. She said she'd had to work three times as hard as the others on subjects that required wand work, to achieve the same or lesser results. When it became clear that she simply wasn't powerful enough to keep up with the others, the Faculty at Southern Cross had allowed her to take several extra theoretical elective subjects. But she couldn't Apparate, and her wizarding license had some restrictions on it.

Mayumi elbowed Gavin, who'd been staring at Perse as if he'd never seen a woman before, in the ribs to snap him out of it.

"Would anyone like tea?" Perse asked kindly, as she arranged a blanket over her sister's lap to keep her warm. Pregnant part-Veela apparently had little tolerance for cold, so everyone did their best to keep Galatea warm and cosy. Gudrun had even made her stash of trophy socks available.

"Yes, please," Ginny said.

"That would be lovely," Mayumi said, smiling sweetly…too sweetly.

"I'll hel—yeeaarrgh," Gavin screamed. Mayumi was twisting his wrist.

"Oh, sorry sweetheart, was that your hand? Sit down, let me have a look at it."

"Spend some time with your girlfriend, Gavin." Ginny smirked. It was a good thing that Harry was more resistant then most when it came to entrancement magic. She didn't have to worry about Veela stealing him from her. Harry's troubles lay in a different area.

She'd followed Aberforth's advice and showered Harry with affection, yet never touching the subject of his guilt directly. He seemed to draw strength from this, to Ginny's relief, and he'd been showing signs of recovery. He no longer looked sleep-deprived, and Ginny was pretty sure that he hadn't been using sleeping draught, unless he somehow acquired it outside the Citadel. But she didn't think so, since he'd rarely been alone long enough to do that.

Galatea hadn't been biased when she said that Perse was a good singer. The younger Veela-woman was humming a happy tune in the kitchen, and Binks the House-elf was swaying to the song on his miniature stool…or maybe he was just anxious to help Perse. Even though it was the House-elf's day off, he couldn't completely suppress his nature.

It looked like Perse had sensed this as well. "Binks, I can't find the cinnamon. Could you please get some from the pantry?"

Ginny was nearly bowled over by the House-elf as he took off for the pantry in a flash, but she evaded the elf at the last moment. "Always eager to please, aren't they? Mum always wanted a House-elf helping her around the house."

"I have never even seen a House-elf before I came to Concordia," Perse said, with only the slightest trace of a French accent.

"Really? Who did the cooking and laundry at Southern Cross?"

"There is a cooking staff, about thirty golems to do the laundry and cleaning, and students have to help sometimes with spring cleaning and holiday decorations. But it is a smaller school than Hogwarts…never more than eighty girls. My sister Thetis wants to become a cook later. She liked to help the cooks just for fun."

"We only had to help when we had detention of some sort." Even though Ginny wasn't afraid of a little manual labour, she still made a face at the memory. "So, are you going to move in with Padma?"

Perse nodded. "I had to get to know her first, but I believe we will get along okay. I'll start moving tomorrow."

"Excellent! I can have my own room, then!" Mary piped, as she strode into the kitchen, dragging Nicolai behind her. "Can we have some chocolate?"

"After you're finished with your homework," Ginny said sternly. "And don't even think about copying off Nicolai. I know a spell that'll turn your ears blue if you've been cheating."

Mary stuck out her tongue. "There is no such spell."

"What spell?" a familiar yet unexpected male voice asked.

"Harry!" Ginny jumped up and threw her arms around him, giving him several quick pecks on the lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I was supposed to train Danielle Esklove, but the person who made the new schedule forgot about Shabbath. I've got the evening off, and I thought you'd like my company. Was my assumption misplaced, Miss Weasley?"

"Oh, not at all, Mr Potter," Ginny said, kissing him again.

"Matt was coming over too, but he got held up by Commander Nomvete," Harry added. "I reckon he'll be here shortly."

"Harry, is it true that there's a spell that'll turn your ears blue if you're lying?" Mary asked

Harry glanced at Ginny, who gave him a mischievous smile. From the glint in his eyes, she could tell that he'd caught on, and was going to play along. "Why? Were you planning on having Nicolai do your homework again?"

"No," Mary said with a perfectly straight face, although Ginny and Harry knew that had been exactly what she'd been planning to do. "I was just curious."

"I know what you're thinking," Harry began, "does such a spell exist or not? Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure…there are so many spells to remember." Harry drew his wand. "But being as this is my eleven-inch holly and phoenix feather wand, believed by some to be the most powerful wand in the world, and would turn your ears blue for weeks, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'" He paused to let his words sink in. "Well, do you?" Harry glanced down at Mary menacingly.

"I'm going to do my homework now," Mary said in a subdued voice, and left the kitchen dragging her silent companion along.

Ginny shook her head. "Dirty…Harry. That was cruel. She's just a child. I bet you scared her to death."

"Not just any child…Gudrun's child." Harry grinned. "She's a little intimidated at most…and did she use Heidi's perfume?"

Ginny giggled. "Yep."

"You really should leave her stuff alone, you know. She thinks you girls make fun of her behind her back."

"She's right! So?"

"It's making her feel insecure. She's trying hard to fit in, but Galatea's the only one who is nice to her."

Ginny frowned suspiciously. "Why did she go cry to you about this? She could've just confronted us."

"She told me she tried to a few times. You mean she didn't?"

Blushing guiltily, Ginny looked away. Heidi had tried to talk to her housemates about it, more than a few times. While Ginny still didn't like the fact that Heidi had gone to Harry, of all people, with her problems, she knew Harry wasn't defending Heidi because he still had feelings for her. Harry was just being Harry…yes, that had to be it!

"I know you're just having a bit of fun, but don't have it at her expense. I know what it's like not to fit in." Perse added.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "All right. I won't borrow any of her things, and I'll talk to the others about it."

Harry expressed his gratitude by flashing her that grin that never failed to sap the strength right out of her legs. "I knew you'd understand." Then he turned to Perse, "How did it go with Padma?"

"It went well, thank you. I am moving tomorrow. Tea?" Perse asked, as Binks returned with the cinnamon and handed it to her.

"I could use a cuppa," Harry said.

Unable to restrain himself, Binks jumped in and began helping Perse, and soon, Harry and Ginny had a few mugs of steaming tea in front of them. Perse and Binks left with not only tea, but also a whole assortment of cookies and small pastries that Binks had scrounged from throughout the kitchen, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

Harry summoned a chair over and sat down, pulling Ginny onto his lap and brushed a fringe of hair out of her eyes as he gazed into them adoringly. "You're being so patient with me. It means a lot to me, you know?"

"I know," Ginny said softly. "You don't have to excuse yourself. I'm not you. I can't imagine how it feels—" She was silenced by Harry's finger on her lip.

"I'm very lucky to have someone like you" —he reached into his pocket, took out a tiny box and opened it— "and I hope you never leave me."

Ginny's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was knocking her ribs loose. It was simple yet beautiful, a gold ring with a diamond that seemed to sparkle with its own light. The sparkle grew in intensity as he slid it over her finger.

"Doc helped me pick it out. He accompanied me to make sure that the jeweller wouldn't swindle me. The jeweller said the diamond would sparkle brightly as long as you love me."

"H-Harry? Are you…was that…are you asking me to…?"

"Uh…well, I guess I am." Harry blushed. "Ginny…Believe me when I tell you I don't love anyone else like I love you. We've been putting things off for so long…waiting for better times. But Nathan and Helga wanted to wait for better times, and Wolfe and Galatea."

Ginny's feelings cooled a little. "Are you just doing it because you're scared?"

"No, of course not! I'm doing it because I love you. I'm going to do everything in my power to come back to you after each mission. But I know there are no guarantees. If you don't want to marry me now, that's okay. But please promise me that we'll always be together."

His eyes shone desperately, revealing how badly he wanted her, needed her to make that promise. She knew he'd always blame himself for other people's deaths to some extent. Everybody did that. But it was time to show him that she'd be there for him in any case. "Whatever evil may come our way, it'll never tear me away from you." She lowered her face to his and they shared their unique, soul-merging kiss. She poured everything she had into it, and when they broke apart, they crashed onto the chair they'd been sitting on, cracking one of its legs.

She got off his lap and took his hand, guiding him out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into her room. She locked the door behind her and cast a Silencing Charm around her room. Then she dimmed the lights with a flick of her wand, and lit some scented candles with the next flick.

Ginny had always thought it was going to be planned weeks in advance and take a lot of preparation. But now she realised that, like everything else in life, the moment could just creep up on you. It felt right! She saw the light of love shine in his eyes, and saw her own eyes reflected in his.

"Ginny?" Harry croaked. His face betrayed his longing, and how hard he was trying to remain rational. It was as if she could read his mind. She knew what he'd been about to ask.

"I'm ready," she whispered, pulling him to the bed. "Everything is fine. Everything will be fine. I love you, Harry!"

"I love you, Ginny."

***

Author's Note: Several people asked me what the title of chapter 14 meant. In the old days, purple dye used to be rare and expensive, and very little cloth was dyed purple for that reason. The colour was reserved for royalty and nobility in many countries. The title refers to Matt. He is 'born to the purple'.

On another note, I'm going on a two-week holiday this Friday. I'll take a diskette with me, and I'll try to update on April 5th. But don't count on it. Expect the next update to be April 14th, and be pleasantly surprised if I update sooner.

Gogirl: A belated happy birthday :-p And don't worry, I'll begin tormenting others pretty soon.

Lioness-07863: This chappie had some Wolfe. Satisfied? ;-)

The Millenium One: You'll have to wait a while longer.

rowan: I just feel old.

Zaz: Interesting poem.

BigDaddy753: Harry was too busy guilt-tripping to explode on anybody.

Beth Weasley: Harry will never get over the responsibility complex completely.

Sherman: Well, you can't really have action sequences in every chapter. In fact, it's chapter like these that you ought to read more carefully, since they often contain the hints to the future plot twist.

Ginny1946: Well, Byron Kelly and Matt are very much alike. But there are other reasons. You'll have to wait and see.

Petals: Actually, at that point, a few weeks had gone by, so Hermione and Ron have been trying a bit longer. Oh, and as you can se, Harry and Ginny made up. :-)

caroline: See author's note for the answer to your question. Thanks for the review.

Lamina Court: Not much screen time for Galatea, for the time being.

Maab: I know, but like you pointed out, most people don't. Hence the deliberate mistake.

nycgal: Sarah Esklove will make an appearance in chapter 16

the.grey.lady: Where I nicked the quotes from? ;-) Oh, you know, here and there. And I repeat, NONE of my OC's is sacred.

Nosgoroth: The grief has yet to begin, in this story.

Fin-Phoenix: Sorry for the long wait. I know I don't update as quickly as most. But between having a life and not wanting to rush my writing to prevent turning out crappy material, it takes a while. Thanks for the review. Hopefully your name will pop up every so often.

Lana Riddle: What does Kudos mean, and where did the expression originate?

amy: Harry's 5th Class, Martial Division. Hermione's 7th Class in both Intel Analyses and Medical. Ron doesn't formally hold a rank yet. He's still in training, like Ginny, though at a more advanced stage. Ron is an Intel Field Operative, and Ginny divides her time between the Medical Division, and the Artificing Division, although she spend more time with the Artificers since she needs more training in that field. I think Padma may make an appearance, but not for a while.

Casual Reader: That's the question, isn't it?

SiriDragon: Whatever you say, asexual chicken girl. ;-)

karthik: Yeah, I feel philosophical every now and then.