Disclaimer + Author's note: I've borrowed a small snippet and a rather large chunk of dialogue from a series and film, respectively. Even though they were adapted to fit this universe, credit still ought to go to Straczynski and Tarantino. ;-) Oh, there was also a reference to The Matrix Reloaded, and this chapter is rated R for a reference to…well, you'll know it when you see it.

Pulp

Chapter 29

Hermione had no idea what exactly Ginny and Harry had talked about. Neither Ginny nor Harry had been willing to talk about it to anyone else. The last time they'd been together had been a little over a week ago, at the Christmas celebration. She'd practically been able to taste the tension in the air.

The celebration had been held in Matt, Mary and Gudrun's new home, Nathan and Helga's former home and right across the street from Hermione and Ron's own home. Hermione remembered Gudrun's interest in moving there due to its favourable location, and how the real-estate agents had given her a hard time. Apparently, Matt heard about it and bought the house immediately. Knowing that at the time Gudrun would never have accepted such a gift, he'd only told Ron about it, hoping that between the two of them they'd be able to come up with a good excuse to get her to accept it anyway. Even after their marriage, when Matt finally mentioned it because Gudrun brought up the issue of living arrangements, Gudrun had mixed feelings about the whole thing. Hermione knew the Icelandic witch was still a bit uneasy about the amounts of gold Matt spent on her and her daughter's behalf, even though it was less than small change in Matt's eyes. Hermione was also surprised that Ron had gone along with Matt when he'd got the idea. She knew how sensitive Ron used to be about charity from friends.

"I could try and talk to Ginny or Harry once more before I leave for England again," Lupin suggested, as he slowly stirred a bit of sugar into the cup of tea in front of him. When Ginny had decided not to take Commander Ironheart up on his offer to go home for the holidays in combination with an assignment, Ironheart had brought Lupin to Concordia. It had been his attempt to bring Harry and Ginny back together, hoping that the soft-spoken man would be able to make them see reason, but it hadn't worked. Though they interacted without any sign of hostility, it was still clear that being in each other's presence was quite a trial for both of them.

"You can try," Hermione said. "I doubt it'll be any different this time, though."

"I know, but it hurts me to see them like this." Lupin stared sadly at the logo of the Sleeping Hippogriff Inn on his teacup, and Hermione suddenly felt irritated towards Harry and Ginny's behaviour even though she knew it hadn't been their intention to cast a shadow over one of the happiest moments in Lupin's life. Only a few days ago had he witnessed the full moon as a human being again. Wolfsbane Potion enriched with Miraculum Weed—as the original potion used to be brewed before Miraculum Weed vanished from their realm—suppressed the physical transformation as well as the mental one. Lupin looked much better for it. Though it still wasn't a permanent cure, it further improved a werewolf's quality of life. There was no need to recover from the painful transformation after every full moon anymore.

Rosmerta, who had been Lupin's life-partner since about a year after the fall of Voldemort, swept into the lounge and sat on his lap. "Ready to go, my little howler?" she asked affectionately as she ran her hand through his grey-streaked hair.

Lupin blushed profusely at the nickname. "I thought we agreed not to call me that in public…"

"You shouldn't be ashamed, love. Thanks to Harry Potter, it doesn't matter anymore anyway. I'm looking forward to lots of strolls under the full moon now that you're able."

"Me too," Lupin kissed her hand. "Well, I suppose it's time to take that Portkey back home."

"I hope you've enjoyed your stay," a new arrival in the lounge said. It was Commander Ironheart. He really had a knack for turning up unexpectedly, Hermione thought.

"It was most generous of you to partly cover the costs of our visit," Rosmerta said.

"I could hardly expect you to cover it all when it was my idea for Mr Lupin to come here in the first place. Like I said before, if it had been up to me, I would have let you stay at my house. But I'm afraid my wife is rather biased against certain magical creatures. That's something I never quite understood," he added grimly. "Like me, her own father is a Greater Incubus, which makes her a half incubus, as well."

Hermione was floored. Aria was half-demon too?

"Being female, she and my daughters never manifested the powers inherent to the heritage, of course. But the fact remains that she's quite the hypocrite for discriminating against dark creatures. I was willing to force the issue of your lodgings too, but it would have been impossible to clear away all the silver in time for your arrival…my wife's rather fond of the metal."

"That's all right, we wouldn't have wanted to intrude," Lupin said. "One can't be blamed for things one has no control over. Being what I am, that's a rule I used to live by. But thanks to the Rangers, I may never have to transform again."

"The Order of Illumination can't take any credit. It was all Harry's doing, and he was a fine young man before we got him. I'd say you reaped the benefits of the seeds of friendship you yourself have sown. Harry told me it wouldn't even have occurred to him to bring back the weed if one of his friends hadn't been a werewolf." Ironheart shook his head. "He didn't deserve all that grief in the past, and he certainly doesn't deserve it now. I had hoped that your intervention might at least change both his and Ginny's view on things, give them a nudge in the right direction. However, in the end they will have to work things out themselves. Our interference might only make things worse."

"It's still frustrating that that I couldn't be of more help," Lupin said.

"You got them to be in the same room at Christmas," Hermione reminded him. "That's more than any of us have accomplished."

"We certainly can't forget that," Ironheart nodded. "Now, there's no reason to work ourselves into a depression. You ought to savour the knowledge that you'll never have to transform again."

Lupin managed a weak smile. "I will, don't worry about that," he said, and patted Rosmerta's knee. "Time to go. Our luggage?"

"The transport service will take it to the Transit Dome as soon as we give them the sign."

Moments later they were all in the Transit Dome. They said their goodbyes, and Hermione was glad to see Harry arrive just in time to give Lupin and Rosmerta a hug before they joined the queue that would take them to their Portkey.

"Well, if it isn't Donovan Ironheart," a voice behind them growled.

Ironheart turned around slowly. "Mr Garibaldi," he answered stiffly. "Any complaints about the Rangers I sent down to help your people out today?"

Hermione saw Ramos and Larsson working with a few City Watch Officers at a customs post not too far away. Even though it was supposed to be one of their final disciplinary duties, they seemed to be having a great time, and the female watch officer that was there seemed to be getting more and more annoyed by their antics. Hermione recognised her…it was the same woman who had taken them to see Wolfe. It seemed like they still hadn't given her a proper-sized uniform.

"No complaints from me," Garibaldi answered. "Although Heather might have some. No, I was just wondering what you've been up to lately, besides wrecking loving relationships, I mean," he added loudly enough for the people at the customs post to hear.

"Not much, really. Just saving the world and all that. Well, I have to go now." Ironheart turned to leave. "If those two jokers give you any trouble, don't hesitate to let me know…and do give my regards to your wonderful, beautiful wife."

Garibaldi simply glared at Ironheart's retreating form, and the commander suddenly stopped and half-turned.

"Anatomically impossible, Mr Garibaldi. But you're welcome to try…anytime, anywhere!" he added with an insolent grin, before he strode away.

Garibaldi lowered his hand to the wand at his side, as if he were contemplating using it. Hermione tensed, unsure as to what she had to do if he drew. But he decided not to, and relieved, Hermione hurried after Commander Ironheart.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Ironheart said after she'd caught up with him. "The man is simply too paranoid…"

Hermione knew it wasn't really any of her business, so she didn't even ask. But there was one thing that she just had to get off her chest.

Ironheart chuckled. "You were shocked to hear about Aria."

Hermione nodded. "Is that why you married her? Because she's like you?"

"She's female, so she's nothing like me. Only the male offspring of Greater Incubi can manifest their powers, like Veela only pass on their charming ability to their daughters. Well, there is something different, actually. While all Veela girls inherit their mother's power to some extent, the same isn't true for male incubi offspring. Only one-in-three incubus-sons manifest their sires' entrancing powers. Such a son, however, will pass on the entrancing power to all his sons. For that reason I thank my lucky stars that I only had Avery, and had him with Tempeste."

"Why? Would it have made any difference if you had him with Aria?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. While the female offspring of Greater Incubi don't manifest their father's power, they still carry the incubus blood inside their veins. If Aria and I had had any sons together, I suspect their effect on women wouldn't have diminished in comparison to mine, because they would have been half instead of one-quarter incubi."

"How do you know?"

"Because Elena also passed on her heritage. I've sensed the power in Nicolai, and that wouldn't have been the case if only males passed on the power. Actually, it's much more powerful in Nicolai than it was in Max."

"He's one-quarter and Max is one-eighth!"

"Ah, you understand," Ironheart said. "Hmm, I might have to send Nicolai to a boys' school to avoid any problems later on. He's got too much incubus in him for me to be comfortable with the knowledge of him having access to girls. I don't want to be a great-grandfather by him before I reach eighty-five."

Though she wasn't an expert on the subject, she'd thought that the powers first manifested themselves when a child entered adolescence "Nicolai's manifesting his powers awfully early, isn't he? Part-Veela girls start showing their powers when they hit puberty. Am I wrong to assume the same goes for part-incubus boys?"

"No, you're not. The fact of the matter is that Nicolai has recently entered puberty. About a year ago, when my daughter and I took Nicolai to an interview with The Merovingian, the headmaster of the school for the exceptionally gifted here in Concordia, he told us it might happen. Apparently prodigies can develop up to twenty percent faster, both physically and sexually, than normal children do, provided that they grow up in the right conditions with adequate nutrition and such. I suppose it's a good thing, eh? After all, they mature much faster mentally and emotionally as well."

Hermione frowned. She knew that Nicolai went to a normal primary school for wizarding children. "Hold on, Nicolai didn't get accepted into the school then?"

"In the end we decided it wouldn't be such a good idea to let him attend. Nicolai's had a troubled enough childhood as it is. I didn't want to expose his mind to that freak's ranting. Wiping his arse with silk indeed!" Ironheart muttered. "But to answer your earlier question, my marriage to Aria did have something to do with her heritage. The clans of the incubi that sired us were on the brink of war with one another, and our union was devised as a means of pacifying matters. That's why I couldn't back out even after I met Tempeste, you see. Many people think the feud was between our human families, and I'm thinking you did too?"

"I did," Hermione admitted. "But I didn't know about Aria. Anyway, why not let them wipe each other out?" she frowned. "They'd hardly be missed."

Ironheart smiled. "Tell me, what are the differences between Greater and Lesser Incubi?"

Even though it was a strange question, Hermione knew Ironheart had to be going somewhere with it. She recalled what she had learnt about these magical beings in seventh-year Defence against the Dark Arts. She briefly wondered if the staff and the school board had ultimately accepted her petition to talk about the creatures as early as fifth year. Since the likelihood of virginity decreased as a witch aged and these beings were more attracted to virgins in the first place, she'd thought it a good idea. "Lesser Incubi only operate with unconscious victims while Greater Incubi tend to seduce their prey while awake. The Lesser only feed off their prey's energy and are unable to reproduce with humans, while the Greater do reproduce with their prey under some special circumstances."

"Under special circumstances," Ironheart nodded emphatically. "So incubus offspring are rare. Aria and I are the only registered offspring in a twenty-year time-span. And female offspring like Aria are really rare. Now contemplate this for a second. What were most wizard descendants of incubi known for?"

"Oh…" Hermione suddenly understood.

"Exactly. Like Muggle and Muggle-born blood, a bit of incubus blood every now and then is good for the gene pool of the wizarding society. In fact, incubus heritage often boosts the power of its possessors. I am significantly more powerful than the average wizard is. And Merlin…well…he was something else. There are few enough Greater Incubi as it is. That war would have halved their numbers, and they may never have recovered. It would have had negative consequences for wizards as well."

*

"You mean to tell me you didn't know about the bad blood between Chief Garibaldi and Commander Ironheart?" Ramos asked incredulously after hearing Hermione's question. "Damn, I've only been here for a little while, but I already know about it."

"And you didn't tell me!" Larsson said peevishly.

"I assumed you already knew."

"From what Hermione told me, I reckon it has something to do with Garibaldi's wife," Ron said hoping to guide the conversation back on track.

Hermione nodded. "The bit about wrecking relationships suggested as much. I would have asked the commander himself, but I didn't want to be rude."

"So you decided to start asking behind his back?" Ramos smirked.

Hermione scowled. "Like you wouldn't have!"

"Touché…and your assumption was correct."

"What'd Ironheart do? Shag her?" Larsson frowned

"No no no no no no no, nothin' that bad."

"Well, what then?"

"He gave her a foot massage."

"A foot massage?"

Ramos nodded. "Yes."

"That's all?" Larson asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"What did Garibaldi do?"

"Apparently he sent a couple of hoods over to Ironheart's place to punish him for touching his new wife. The idea was to throw him over the balcony of the top floor. He should've sent more men, 'cause the commander took care of 'em easily enough."

"Well, I have to say, play with Fire-Crabs, you get burned," Larsson said in between sips of his drink.

"What do you mean?"

"Garibaldi and his wife were recently married, right? You don't go around giving other people's new brides a foot massage."

"You don't think he overreacted?"

"Ironheart probably didn't expect Garibaldi to react like he did, but he had to expect some reaction."

Ramos shook his head. "It was a foot massage! A foot massage is nothing. I gave my mother plenty of foot massages."

Ron and Hermione looked from Larsson to Ramos, unable to get a word in edgewise.

"It's laying hands on Garibaldi's new wife in a familiar way," Larsson replied. "Is it as bad as going down on her? No, but you're in the same Quidditch pitch."

"Whoa…whoa…whoa…stop right there. Going down on a woman and giving a woman a foot massage ain't even the same damned thing."

"Not the same thing, the same Quidditch pitch."

"It ain't no Quidditch pitch either. Look, maybe your method of massage differs from mine, but touching his lady's feet and sticking your tongue in her holiest of holy places ain't the same Quidditch pitch…ain't even the same league…heck, ain't even the same damned sport. Foot massages don't mean squat."

Larsson took another sip from his drink and grinned. "George, have you ever given a good foot massage?"

"Don't be telling me about foot massages. I'm the foot master."

"Given a lot of them?"

"Hell, yeah. I've got my technique down man. I don't tickle or anything."

"Have you ever given a guy a foot massage?"

Ramos looked at his Swedish friend for a long moment as it slowly dawned on him that he'd been set up. "Damn you."

Larsson smirked. "How many?"

"Damn you!"

"Would you give me a foot massage? I'm kind of tired."

"Man, you'd best back off. I'm getting pissed."

Examining Ramos, he didn't strike Ron as anywhere near drunkenness yet. "You're still on your first drink. How can you be pissed?"

Ramos blinked. "Huh?"

"Pissed is another word for angry or irritated in American," Larsson explained.

Ramos switched back to their previous topic of foot massages. "Look, just because I wouldn't give a man a foot massage doesn't make it right for Garibaldi to try and have Ironheart thrown off a building. Damn, if it had been me, I'd have gone after that Italian—"

"I'm not saying he was right, but you're saying a foot massage doesn't mean anything, and I'm saying it does. I've given lots of ladies lots of foot massages and they all meant something. We act like they don't, but they do. That's what's so damned cool about them. This sensual thing's going on that nobody's talking about, but you know it and she knows it. Garibaldi knew it, and Ironheart should have known better, especially on account of his reputation. I mean, that was Garibaldi's wife, man. He wasn't going to have a sense of humour about that!"

"That's an interesting point," Ramos acknowledged after a while. He turned to Hermione. "What does the woman of the table think about this?"

"I'm not even touching this with a Summoning Charm," Hermione answered.

"I think I'll ask Vesta while she's giving me a refill." Larsson rose from his seat and grabbed his glass. "I think tonight's the night, so don't wait up for me."

"Five Galleons say you'll be back before I leave!" Ramos quipped.

"I'm feeling lucky. You're on!" the Swede retorted, and swaggered over to the bar

"Honestly!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Betting about things like that."

"Just having a bit of fun," Ramos said. "I always use my winnings to buy him a consolation drink anyway."

"Bloody hell, you two are crazy!" Ron laughed. "I'm not going to hang around to see how it works out. I have to get my solid eight hours for tomorrow."

"Solid eight hours? What if I had other plans?" Hermione batted her eyelashes theatrically.

Ron felt his face heat up. "Do you have to mention our love life in public? Taken a leaf out of Gudrun's book, have you?"

Ramos raised his hands. "Hey, don't mind me. I'm air!"

"And what if I have? Why does it bother you so much that Matt and Gudrun talk about it openly, anyway? Everyone knows we do what all healthy couples are supposed to do," Hermione said. She leaned over and traced small kisses along his jaw.

"True, but Matt and Gudrun are freaks," Ron countered, reluctantly pulling away from her ministrations. "Mary spends most of her time at Ironheart's because they want privacy."

"Yeah, I heard about that. But why send the kid away?" Ramos frowned. "Why not just lock the door to the master bedroom?"

"They tried that once," Hermione smiled. "After half an hour she began pounding on the door and making a nuisance of herself. Needs a lot of attention, that one. At least Nicolai keeps her entertained. He's such a sweet boy! Did you know he's teaching Mary to swim?"

"The kid's a genius, too," Ramos said. "When I went up to the townhouse to drop Lilia off after our date on the 30th, he'd just finished playing that weird strategy game Ron likes so much. He beat Clara, and it had only been their second match."

Ron couldn't believe it. He couldn't imagine anyone being that good. It had taken him four matches before he got the hang of the game enough to challenge Clara, and three more before he started winning. "Are you sure she didn't let him win?"

"Don't be jealous, Ron." Hermione patted his hand. "You heard how he talked to us back in the library at Caer Sidi. He's a prodigy. I wonder if his giftedness will also manifest itself in his magic. He could be the next Dumbledore."

"Or the next Tom Riddle," Ramos muttered darkly. "That was Voldemort's name, wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Doesn't the kid's surname ring a bell with you guys? Savin…as in Ivan 'the Impaler' Savin, the kingpin of the Eastern European wizarding underworld? Looks like Commander Ironheart's daughter liked bad boys. She married the kingpin's heir. Mind you, I don't think she realised who Boris Savin was, but she must have known he was a bit of a shady character at least. Funny, ain't it? On one side there's Commander Ironheart, the good grandfather, and on the other one of the most evil wizards ever to walk the Earth. Some say he's even worse than Voldemort was, except he's not as big of a threat because he's got no desire to rule the world."

"Everyone has the potential to do evil," Ron said. "However, it isn't completely dependent on one's heritage. Grindelwald's grandson became a Ranger…" he added. He realised that Rudolf van Ketel's situation was in fact much like Nicolai's, with one grandfather at the light side end of the spectrum, and the other at the dark end. "And even though everyone vilified Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin House at Hogwarts, because so many dark wizards—including Voldemort—were sorted there, he wasn't really evil."

Ramos raised his eyebrows sceptically. "I may joke around a lot, but I'm not as stupid as I look. I did a lot of reading on Potter's exploits. May I remind you that Slytherin's parting gift nearly ate Potter for dinner? The man left a damned basilisk at that school. I seriously doubt he left it there as a guardian. Face it, the whole 'Slytherin wasn't evil' story was a fable concocted by Dumbledore to unify the houses. Now, I'm not saying all Slytherins are therefore evil, but they're certainly more prone to it. It's in their character, which is exactly why they're sorted into that house. Yes, I'm well aware that there were Death Eaters from other houses, and I'm not saying Dumbledore was wrong either," Ramos continued, when he saw Hermione open her mouth in protest. "Making the Slytherins second class students or banishing them from Hogwarts altogether would have been a worse idea. It would have alienated those in Slytherin who weren't evil, driving them into Voldemort's camp by default. As for the Death Eater spawn like Malfoy…I suppose Dumbledore was thinking along the lines of keeping his enemy even closer. But don't try to sell the idea of Salazar Slytherin just being misunderstood to me. And—" Ramos paused and looked over Ron's shoulder. "Damn, I don't believe it! He actually got her attention…"

Ron turned around and saw Larsson talking to Vesta Gaal, the barmaid. She was smiling shyly and blushing slightly. Her shift had ended, and she was putting her cloak on. Then she hooked her arm through Larsson's and led him to the door, as he held up a hand with splayed fingers and mouthed 'five'.

"That's got to be set up. He must've told her about the bet and offered to split the money with her."

"Is it so hard to believe that she actually fell for his charms? He isn't bad looking, you know!" Hermione said.

The flash of jealousy was upon Ron before he realised it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ron, the training regimen the people from the Martial Division follow means they're well toned…except for Captain Faust…"

"That's what you think. Captain Walrus has got serious muscle under that blubber of his," Ramos said.

"But he's still got blubber, doesn't he? My point is that Rolf's in good shape. Aside from that, he's intelligent and exudes self-confidence. Women like that sort of thing. I never said he was devastatingly handsome like Matt or Max or Commander Ironheart."

"Yeah, they have it all," Ramos said gloomily. "Don't worry, Weasley. Look at me. My ears are way too big and you can see almost straight up my nostrils in almost any condition. You're not that badly off in the looks department and you've got a pretty girlfriend. Guys like me don't even have to expect pretty girlfriends. Sure, Gavin looks like a little nerd and he still got Mayumi, but he's the exception to the rule." Then his expression brightened. "Thank the heavens for women like Lilia."

"What about Lilia?" Hermione asked slyly. "I heard you spent the night in her room—"

"Watching over her," Ramos interrupted. "I didn't trust her to be alone after she'd had so much to drink. We went to a bar to drown her sorrow after her adopted team lost."

"You took her to a Quidditch game?" Ron frowned.

"I've never met a woman who was so passionate about Quidditch. She was jumping up and down in the stands, cursing at their poor play in seven languages. It was embarrassing."

"I thought you liked verbally abusive women."

"I do have my limits, Weasley. Anyway, since Detoxification Charms aren't my strong point, I decided to stay by her side until I was sure she'd be okay. I'm sure Galatea or Ginny could have done the charm easily, but neither of them was home. Only Clara and Nicolai, and Clara was about to leave for her shift and drop Nicolai off at home on the way."

"That's not what Clara told me. She said she heard Lilia make some funny sounds the morning after."

"Nothing gets rid of a hangover like a good foot massage," Ramos laughed. "Didn't I say I'm the foot master? And boy does that woman ever have sensitive feet. I made her tear her pillow apart! But unfortunately for you, I don't massage and tell…" He checked his watch. "I have to go. Have fun tonight!" he added with a wink.

Ron groaned and gave Hermione an exhasperated look. "Now look what you've done. I'll have to deal with their comments all day tomorrow. Not that it'll bother me too much, but it'll be annoying nonetheless." Ron got up and paid the dour dwarf behind the bar, leaving him a small tip.

Holly the house-elf appeared, holding his and Hermione's cloaks.

"Thank you, Holly," Hermione smiled as she relieved the elf of her burden and handed Ron his cloak.

As they walked towards the nearest portal, it suddenly occurred to Ron that he hadn't seen a certain other Holly, namely Harry's daughter, for days. He'd never seen very much of her, but previously he'd still run into her a few times at the Citadel. "Hermione, what's Holly been up to? I haven't seen her lately, have you?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I've been so busy helping Aberforth translate the scrolls that hold the information on you-know-what, I completely forgot…"

Ron nodded. Commander Nomvete had assigned Hermione to help Aberforth Dumbledore, who had been newly reinstated as a Ranger, with gaining information about the Periapt of Absolute Power. "How's the translation going?"

"We're getting better at translating the scrolls. It's still very tough, mind you. I wish we could borrow Nicolai for a week. He'd flash through the Draconian dictionary and grammar books and be fluent in days. Too bad the information we're trying to uncover is so sensitive."

"What about that Archidiaconus fellow in the portrait. The one who helped Aberforth with the ceremony?"

"The commanders specifically said that this information ought to remain inside the Citadel. We asked Magnus Ignatius if he'd be willing to move to the Citadel. He said he'd like to help, but it turns out that his portrait won't come off the wall. Doc, Bert and Wilson could probably get him off, but they're all on missions with higher priority."

If they were to believe Logos, this object was very dangerous. Finding out what it could do would be top priority. He knew Nomvete and Ironheart had based their decision on the assumption that there was a good chance that the enemy didn't even know they had the artefact, and the Rangers were spread thin enough as it was. The missions the Curse Breakers were currently on were also very important. But if it had been up to Ron, he would have given the Periapt priority status. He got a bad feeling whenever his thoughts strayed to it.

"Anyway, Holly thought it would be best to stay out of Ginny's way for a while. She's staying in the Veela palace above the lake."

"The Veela? I thought they didn't like visitors?"

"They love Holly. It seems she can charm her way into anyone's heart."

Ron smiled. She'd certainly charmed her way into his heart. She'd given Hermione a second chance at motherhood. "Hermione, I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yes?"

"Now that you're completely healed, are we still in a hurry to have children? It completely slipped my mind. I was just so happy that you were healed…"

Hermione blushed. "I'm on birth control again…potion, since the charm won't stop the Weasley Legions. I reckoned we were no longer in a hurry. But if you still want to have them now—"

"We don't have to, if you don't want to. I suppose we could wait two or three years."

"I always thought twenty-five would be a nice age." Hermione smiled, and leaned in to kiss him.

*

Bracing his arms against the wall of the shower, Harry let the warm water cascade over his aching muscles. The Martial Division Lieutenants and Khan had dramatically stepped up the intensity of his training to help him compensate for the absence of his unique power, a result of Ginny's absence in his life.

Warm tears mingled with water that splashed on his face. She didn't love him anymore. His hand slid over his chest, searching for the ruined ring he'd taken to wearing on a chain. Every time he searched for it, he had the tiniest glimmer of hope that somehow the diamond had miraculously restored itself.

"Stop," he said, and the water stopped pouring out of the nozzle above him. The comparatively chilly air was a poignant mirror to the harsh reality reclaiming him as his fingers brushed the ragged remains of the diamond on the ring. In a flash of insight, he realised exactly what Lieutenant Cliff had meant when she talked about the Twin Flames' potential to hurt one another. It felt like half of him was missing.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood outside his quarters, unsure about where to go next. He didn't feel hungry and he wasn't supposed to meet his daughter for another three hours.

"Hi, Harry," Danielle Esklove, who had become his new next door neighbour after Matt had moved out, greeted him as she stepped out of her quarters.

"All right, Danielle?" he answered listlessly.

"What's up?"

He shrugged. "I realised I don't have anything to do."

"Holly?"

"I'm not supposed to meet her yet."

"Well, I'm going to help my sister Sarah. She's assisting Aberforth and Hermione. You could help out for the time being."

"I wouldn't know how. I can't read Draconian."

"You don't have to," Danielle said. "Sarah and I were going to search through the very old books, you know, the ones that haven't been added to the new data systems yet. If we're lucky, we might find a reference to the Periapt in a language other than Draconian."

"Why not," Harry sighed. The Citadel's library had translation monocles that instantly translated over three hundred languages, human and non-human, modern and extinct, to the reader's native language. However, Draconian had been extinct to all but a handful of old scholars long before the invention of these monocles, some seventy years before, and they hadn't been able to convince those scholars to lend their expertise. The scholars had thought the noble language should be reserved for those willing to put in long hours to learn the language. A pity those scholars were already dead. Otherwise Harry might have killed them for causing this problem.

So he found himself carefully flipping pages in an old lore book written in Latin, and skimming them for information. He'd just worked his way through a section that dealt with all the rare, inborn gifts wizards could possess, like Parseltongue, Mind Reading and Metamorphosing. He'd also read about a handful of powers he hadn't known about, the most spectacular and obscure being the Phoenix Fire transformation, which seemed to increase a wizard's power exponentially, turning him into a super sorcerer.

Apparently Merlin had been the last known wizard to accomplish it, and it was a very rare occurrence indeed. Another wizard named Blaise, who had been Merlin's scribe and apprentice, had witnessed one such transformation and described the physical aspects of it. The sheer power had caused Merlin's hair to stand on end for the duration of the transformation. His irises had changed to a turquoise colour and the pupils had disappeared entirely. Lastly, he'd been surrounded by a stormy golden aura that looked like a translucent flame, hence the name of the transformation. A side note revealed Merlin's hunch that sustaining the transformation for too long would kill the transformed wizard, for he'd often felt about to be consumed.

"Find anything yet?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head and flipped through the pages again, skimming for relevant passages until he reached a section about magical jewellery and gemstones. Deeming it likely that it would contain information about Bloodstones, he began reading the headings carefully. About two-thirds of the way through the section, one heading caught his eye, and he read the article.

The Amulet of Absolute Power.

This Bloodstone, imbued with powers most sinister, was discovered in a nameless wizard's tomb in Jerusalem shortly prior to the death of Herod Agrippa. Though it was unclear exactly how ancient this stone is, scholars were able to speculate based on some scrolls found in the tomb. The name Rusalimum is mentioned several times on some of the scrolls. This suggests that the stone had already existed in the nineteenth century BC, yet mention of the stone's creation by the dark Angels suggest that it is much older than that, since those dark Angels had probably been the evil Black Draconians.

The true powers of the stone were discovered much later when a Norman Mind Reader by the name of Zerbino happened across it. It is unclear whether the wizard himself had been evil, or whether the stone corrupted him. Yet the gift of the Mind Reader allowed him to unravel the secrets of the stone's morbid powers. It allows its master to assimilate other wizards and turn them into extensions of himself, adding their strength and skill, indeed their very life, to his own and shape their appearance in his image.

Zerbino shielded himself with the lives of those he had assimilated when an alliance of wizards and witches, the great Merlin among them, brought him down. The death toll was catastrophic. After the discovery that it seemed impossible to destroy the stone, it was released into Merlin's custody, who vowed to take it beyond anyone's reach. Where exactly he hid the stone is not known.

Periapt was another word for amulet, and it was a bloodstone. "Hermione, I think I found something."

***

Author's Note: To the people who asked if I wrote the description of Gudrun's dress: You're very perceptive. I tried to write it but in the end Christine, my beautiful and talented beta re-wrote ninety percent of it.

jadesfire: You get the first answer because I didn't reply your review of chapter 27. Hem, hem: Yeah Ironheart's been around. As for Nicolai, I've explained that that he knows how Mary feels about him, intellectually. :-) And though he is maturing faster than regular children, but nine years is too early for any boy. Don't worry about the future story. I've recovered from my indignation.

CatatonicReaction: If you magnify things enough, I suppose nothing would be a perfect sphere.

Jake: You're right about preconceived notions and Ginny. Did you know some people are calling Ginny a Mary Sue i.e. too perfect all of the sudden? No, not in my review thread, I'm talking about Rowling's Ginny. How can a canon character possibly be a Mary Sue?

SiriKat: Ah, thank you. That was just the reaction I was aiming for.

Stefanie: Ah, so you realise the importance of reading the stories carefully. Take this chapter, for example. The whole foot-massage bit (aside from being an ode to Pulp Fiction) may seem totally pointless, but it will have a tie in with a subplot the third story.

link76: Agreed, it would have been a good show. But I can accomplish the same thing off screen, which is why it wasn't a priority.

SaBoTaGe3p3: Wow, I'd completely forgotten about the Riddle effect. But now that you mention it, it's a great point. Canon seems to contradict it in OoTP, though. Ginny seems well adjusted enough there. But you're right about JKR not telling us. Who knows, maybe Ginny just hides it really well and it will become an issue later.

Jane Grey: :-) *points to author's note* As for the Mistress's dream, I didn't show all of it on screen. And she doesn't hate the man who taught her magic, she hates the people who killed him. (How exactly that happened will be revealed later on) She avenged him. She didn't exact revenge upon him. I'm glad you can understand Ginny now.

Gogirl: That's okay. I'm actually quite flattered that my story made you react like that in the first place. At least you understand Ginny's action's a bit better now.

nycgal: *sings* Where were you when the lights went out, in New York City…

bane: Actually, you can take the prophecy at face value. Oh, did you find a beta yet?

Jake: Be nice, she's seen the error of her ways.

Foxfur: Hmmm…lasagne. Yeah, human-type mouths, I suppose that covers it. Galatea will make a few brief appearances in the next few chapters. Yes, Mary's surname had changed.

Joyce2: Well, the story is set in the Harry Potter universe. But I really embellished upon it a lot with artefacts that can block magic and such.

Lord Dreadnault: I don't want reviews for the sake of having reviews. I want them for the contents.

Lioness-07863: Not to worry, I'm already over that.

LadySiri: We both know that Harry can't be the one who dies.

Angel of the Flames: Hmmm, that would make you Angel of the Praises, then, not Angel of the Flames. ;-)

theef: Update more often? I have a life, you know? It's hard enough to update this frequently. 'girl in the tower' you said? I'll give it a read. You're right, I can definitely improve with regards to the romance.

Ginny1946: The pace will drastically quicken from now on. (Though there won't be any action yet.)

Haley: Ginny's the only fish for Harry.

Petals: I think I.Q. measurement systems vary, but for the ones I know about genius comes at 180. You're considered gifted at 140, but that's not the same as genius or prodigy.

jona: Hermlets and Ronlets…LOL.

Casual Reader: It's good to be evil. ;-)