A Late Delivery from Avalon
Chapter 33
Though the new Ranger base was no place for children, it was obvious why Mary had come along. By now Anastasiou's people must have worked out that Caer Sidi was the Ranger's new base of operations, and that it had to be under the Fidelius Charm because no one could see it anymore. Since Matt owned the island and Mary was his daughter, it was reasonable to assume that they'd try to harm her to get to Matt.
Jasmine and Charlie Jr. were also prime targets due to their gift and relation to Commander Ironheart. Charlie Sr. hadn't been too happy when he'd been asked to part from his family again mere months after he'd arrived in Concordia. He'd argued that his wife-to-be and son would be safe enough at The Burrow, but when Commander Ironheart had reminded him why Anastasiou would be after them, he'd reluctantly agreed. As it was, Hermione knew that the Weasley family had to be on the hit list again because of Ron and Ginny, and possibly Harry and herself.
However, she couldn't work out why Nicolai was there. His mother and grandmother had gone to Isola di Nethuns, an unplottable island roughly the size of the Maltese island Gozo. Along with two other wizarding islands, Isola di Bruno, and Nouvel Atlantis, which belonged to wizarding France, it lay in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of a fictitious triangle drawn between Naples, Palermo and Cagliari. Isola di Nethuns—named after the Etruscan predecessor of Neptune—according to The World's Wizarding Settlements, belonged to and was inhabited by Aria's immediate family, the Buccafuscas, though they shared it with three other families of lower social rank. Aria's mother was the matriarch of the influential and shady Buccafusca di Nethuns family, and she was nicknamed 'the godmother.' Hermione smiled inwardly. Small wonder Elena had run off with Boris Savin. Contrary to what George Ramos had speculated in The Barrel, Hermione had a feeling Elena had known exactly with whom she was getting together, though she might have been a bit naïve about the danger factor due to her relative youth at the time.
Owing to the efforts of families like the Buccafuscas, the Italian territories had remained free of Anastasiou's influence. Like their Russian counterparts, the local magical underworld in Italy had enough muscle to keep Anastasiou out. The fact that many of Anastasiou's people were defectors from such underworld organisations like the Russian and Italian ones meant, thankfully, that the Italian and Russian wizarding Mafia weren't likely to ever start co-operating with Anastasiou because they were well known for holding grudges. However, Hermione knew that it would only be a matter of time before Anastasiou grew influential enough to deal with them as well.
For the moment, however, Aria and Elena would be safe there. Their relatives would be able to protect them better than the Order could, unless they stayed at Caer Sidi itself. But putting Aria and Commander Nomvete in each other's vicinity had the potential to be disruptive, to say the least. So with great difficulty Commander Ironheart had managed to convince his wife to go to Isola di Nethuns instead, where his eldest and second eldest daughter already lived. The prospect of being surrounded by her granddaughters again finally convinced her to go.
Still, why hadn't Nicolai gone with them? He'd have been perfectly safe there. Could it be that he wouldn't be welcome because he was a scion of the Buccafuscas' Russian rivals? No, that didn't make any sense, or else Elena likely wouldn't have been welcome either.
"What is it now, Lilia?" Hermione asked, as the Filipino witch's colourful curses filled the room.
"Venting frustration," Lilia replied mournfully. "We're on our own with no nurses to help out with the trivial tasks. We won't have any free time. If I ever get that toad Yamato in my sight, I'll turn him into sushi."
"We'll be getting reinforcements from Timothy Flyte."
"He's a quill-pusher. How could he possibly help us?" Lilia asked.
Timothy Flyte was a New Zealander, or Kiwi, as they liked to be called, from the Administrative Division. It was true that he hadn't been trained in healing magic, but his records showed he'd been very good at potions in school. Hermione wasn't surprised. Like brewing potions, Flyte's previous duties required a precise and methodical disposition.
"He'll be helping us brew the potions. That will leave us free to work on other things. Speaking of potions, where do you think it's best to set up the cauldrons?"
Lilia shrugged helplessly. "Beats me. We don't have enough space in here."
Hermione bit her lip and surveyed their workspace. Back at the Citadel they'd had plenty of space. Several labs to do research in and enough beds for half the Order to occupy at a single time. Now they only had two laboratories and fifteen beds.
"I'll go get Captain Sharif to let him decide."
Hermione nodded and Lilia hurried out of the cramped laboratory in search of the captain. Moments later, Ginny and Gudrun entered—leaving a trail of dust on the floor, much to Hermione's displeasure.
"Honestly, couldn't you two have taken a shower before coming here?"
"We just set up the last of the showers, but they're not working yet," Gudrun said.
"You'd better hurry. People are getting tired of waiting to take a shower."
"Sure, keep heaping more pressure on me," Gudrun said, glowering at Hermione.
"Oooh, someone's in a bad mood today!"
"I'm not in a bad mood. I just don't need this!" Gudrun screamed. Then, to Hermione's astonishment, Gudrun sat on a stool and began bawling her lungs out.
Ginny, however seemed to know what was going on and she stepped up to Gudrun and threw her arms around her. "It'll be okay. We'll be done in time. There's nothing to worry about."
"N-no…I'm useless," Gudrun sobbed. "I can't get this done in time. I'll let everyone down and we'll lose and Anastasiou will take over. What will happen to my children?" she hiccuped. "I'm a l-lousy R-Ranger…b-bad mother. I can't have a baby. What have I gotten myself into? What will become of Maria…"
"Shhh…I'll help you. We're all here for you." Ginny patted Gudrun on the back. "We'll go back downstairs and finish installing everything. Then you'll take a warm bath and I'll have a bowl of your favourite yoghurt ready, all right?" Then she conjured a tissue and handed it to Gudrun who first dabbed away the tears and then blew her nose.
Hermione smiled. Ginny had handled that well, and Hermione suspected that it hadn't been the first time that day. Even though the worst hormonal activity inherent to the first trimester ought to have been over for Gudrun, Hermione knew it was different for every woman. Maybe Gudrun was one of those women who were more prone to mood swings. The added stress of the moment was definitely contributing to Gudrun's reaction, though. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"Something for her heartburn," Ginny said, nodding at Gudrun.
Hermione groaned. "Lilia brought those in. I have no idea where she put them. I could take a look around but it'll probably take less time if we wait for Lilia to return."
"Where'd she go?"
"We're having a bit of trouble finding a place for all our equipment. She went to find Captain Sharif so he could make the final decision."
Ginny stroked her chin pensively as she glanced around the lab. "I suppose we could make some extra dimensional storage cupboards with an automatic conjuration feature for you. That'll allow you to store away the equipment you don't use frequently so you can prioritise what gets a permanent place. Problem is, we're swamped right now."
While Hermione could magically enhance the volume of any storage space just as well as Ginny could, she knew that many charms had limited duration and would eventually wear off. It wasn't until her sixth year at Hogwarts that they'd talked about the fact that broomsticks and many magical objects that were supposed to last a lifetime had runes drawn onto or carved into them. In a way, these runes trapped the charms onto the enchanted object and prevented them from ever wearing off. "Automatic conjuration?"
Ginny nodded. "We give everything that goes into the cupboard a number and we add a key-pad with numbers to the door. When you need anything, you dial in the number and the thing you need will appear you when you open the door. Since there may be several items of a kind in the cupboard, it will prevent all of them zooming at you if you summon them. It will also keep track of the items in the cupboard. We can charm it to tell when a certain absent item was removed and by whom, if we give every one of you an access code."
"Good idea. Serafina tends to misplace things and forget where she put them."
"That's funny, because she has an excellent memory for gossip," Ginny said with a giggle. "Anyway, it was Gudrun's idea. We've already anticipated that lack of space would be a problem."
"How did you come up with this idea?" Hermione asked Gudrun.
"I was really hungry, and I had a craving for onion rings. I remembered these onion rings I bought in a vending machine once…you know, the one where you dial in what you need and it slides forward. That's where I got the idea. And by adding a few charms to allow the cupboard to list what's inside, and when things are taken out and returned, you wouldn't have to remember writing it down in the logbooks all the time."
"I suppose it would be best if we still use the logbooks as a backup," Hermione said. "Maybe it would be a good idea to update these logbooks as well. After all, why should the analysts have all the gadgets while we're still using parchment and quill?"
"A few months ago that wouldn't have been an unreasonable request," Gudrun said wryly. "But after we're done preparing the base, we're going to refurbish all the prowlers and that's going to take a lot of time. Also, since we're pretty much cut off from the rest of the world, it'll be harder getting the raw materials we work with."
"Holy onion rings, Gudrun, I think you just gave me an idea!" Ginny punched her fist into her hand.
Gudrun raised an eyebrow and smirked. "And what might that be, Robin?"
"Huh?" Ginny looked nonplussed, and Hermione grinned. She knew what Gudrun was talking about. Ginny's words and gesture had reminded her of the same thing.
"Never mind," Gudrun shook her head. "Muggle TV show based on a comic book. You were saying?"
"We've got a vault full of alchemist's stones, don't we? We can transmute all the rock debris we've got left over from hollowing out parts of the island into substances we need."
Gudrun looked impressed. "Good one. You ought to tell Captain Yee about it as soon as possible. Right now would be a good time, since we're waiting for Lilia to turn up again anyway. She should be in the gemstone tower, installing the controls for the Orbital Eyes."
"On my way." Ginny nodded, and bolted out of the laboratory, nearly knocking over Captain Sharif and Lilia, whose oaths followed Ginny out of the compact new medical wing.
"Do you think Matt will agree to our using his family jewels?" Hermione asked, knowing that he probably would, but that he shouldn't be taken for granted.
"Whoa, you've got your own man…Matt's jewels are mine," Gudrun said with a half-smile.
Hermione blushed. "Uh, that came out wrong. Well, you know what I mean, though."
Gudrun's smile broadened. "Yeah, I do. And you know he won't object. Even if he had objected, I'd have withheld his daily dose o' lovin', and he'd have caved pretty soon."
"And you complain that I always talk about sex?" Lilia quipped.
"My raging hormones are my excuse," Gudrun retorted. "What's yours?"
Captain Sharif cleared his throat. "Ladies, there is much to be done."
"The captain's right," Hermione nodded. "Actually, Gudrun and I were just talking about a solution to the space problem. Extra dimensional cabinets."
"What a coincedence. I just asked Yee about it. She said you'd be too busy for the time being."
"She's right," Gudrun said ruefully. "But once we get around to doing it, we'll make special cupboards. And instead of going into the cabinet and looking for whatever you need, we sort the contents by number and place them on their proper spot on the shelves. Then, if you need anything, you'd just dial in the number of whatever you need and it would be in front of you as you open the door."
"Why not use names, or activate the spell by voice?" Sharif frowned.
"I suppose we can modify it to react to voices as well. But for the sake of keeping things organised, I'd advise you to stick to numbers and not names. It'll make it much easier for us to set it up. All you have to do is keep a chart of the numbers and their corresponding items. If I end up with a lot of time on my hands, I can even add a mirror screen for you that shows you a real-time projection of the relevant item before you confirm its retrieval."
"Like those computer screens that react to touch!" Hermione said excitedly.
"Something like that," Gudrun nodded. "I was also thinking about adding several codes for the likely users of the cabinets to grant them access. That way the cabinet would be able to register who took out a certain item and when."
"That would certainly keep Serafina from misplacing things," Sharif muttered. "Yes, that's a good idea. I hope you get around to doing this as soon as possible. For the time being we'll manage by shrinking certain items. To avoid losing them I want you girls to write down where you put them and copy those parchments several times in case we lose those too."
Gudrun laughed. "I thought you people were neater than this."
"We are, but you don't know Serafina. Everything she touches seems to turn invisible," Lilia said.
"But why are you here if you don't have time to install those cabinets?" Sharif asked Gudrun. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Indigestion," Gudrun answered.
"I don't know where you put the indigestion potion," Hermione said to Lilia. "Otherwise I would have given some to Gudrun already."
"Oh, damn! I had to take care of some business so I switched tasks with Serafina. I have no idea where she put the potions."
And odds were that Serafina would have forgotten by now. Of course she'd remember eventually, but by then Gudrun would have gone through a whole lot of discomfort. Everyone groaned.
*
Though Hogwarts had been better than this, it wasn't too bad. They didn't have quite as much space to themselves, with eight bunk beds crowding a forty-by-twenty-foot dormitory. But the company was good and there weren't any conflicts; at least, they'd stopped after Alain Moreau moved out and was replaced by Laughter Lota. Compared with the arrogant Frenchman who had been getting on their collective nerves, the jolly Zambian with the perpetual grin on his face was a godsend.
Harry rolled onto his side. At fifty inches wide, his bed wasn't quite a double one, but he had more than enough space. The only problem was remembering that even though it looked like he was in a four-poster, he was in the top bunk. After his first night's sleep he rolled out of bed, expecting to find the floor under his feet. Instead it was a five-foot drop with an awkward landing that sprained his ankle. On the bright side, it had given him an excuse to go see Ginny, who still spent some time in the medical section of the new base.
"Dude, is this for real?" George Ramos' unmistakable tenor said in a hushed tone, though not softly enough to prevent Harry from hearing it.
Harry peeked through the aperture in his curtains. Carlos Montalban, George Ramos and Rolf Larsson, who were also off duty like Harry, swept into the dormitory, looking excited about something.
"How did you get this milestone 1980 issue of Playwizard anyway?" Larsson asked.
"I've got an uncle who married in January, and his wife made him get rid of his Playwizard collection. It is huge! The man subscribed in '73." Montalban explained. "So imagine my surprise when the cover girl of this issue is none other than our own Captain Kovalenko"—he opened the magazine—"there has to be a foldout poster somewhere…aha!"
Much to Harry's shame, the way his roommates were goggling at the picture made him rather curious. The Rangers' tunics didn't exactly accentuate bodily contours, but he'd seen Captain Kovalenko in casual clothing once. She'd been wearing a dress that hugged her frame, and Harry could tell the good captain was well proportioned.
"Oh yeah, Irina's a babeski…definitely," Larsson squinted his eyes and began to read out loud. "This exquisite gift to wizard-kind was born to a Muggle-born witch and wizard in the Ukrainian coastal town of Vylkove near the Romanian border. She enjoys sailing and relaxing in the hot tub afterwards, with or without a bathing suit."
Montalban grinned. "Well, what a coincidence…me too!"
Harry rolled his eyes. Those blokes were all at least a year older than he was. He wondered whether he was the odd one, or whether men in their early twenties were supposed to behave like that. He smiled. They definitely wouldn't behave like this within sight of the girls. That was for sure.
"Check out that naughty look in her eyes…I've always sensed volcanic activity beneath that icy exterior. You know, she was checking me out when I was introduced to her," Larsson boasted.
"You're full of shit, Rolf," Ramos said, eyeing the Swede sceptically.
"I swear it on my mother's grave!"
"Nice try. You mother isn't dead yet."
"Yes, she is. The woman I call my mother is actually my stepmother. My real mother was eaten by a dragon in the annual broom race from Kopparberg to Arjeplog when I was one and a half."
"Oh, sorry," Ramos said bashfully.
Larsson shrugged off the faux pas. "Yes, well, it was a long time ago, and I was too young to understand anyway." He turned to Montalban. You know, you ought to walk up to the captain and let her autograph it for you."
"You're nuts!" Montalban said, shaking his head.
"I'd do it."
"You're bluffing,"
"No, he ain't." Ramos said seriously, and looked at the poster again. "Are you sure this is the same Irina Kovalenko? Her nose is different."
"Oh yeah!" Montalban nodded. "It says here that she's nineteen, and she just turned forty-two last week. This is a February issue, so the ages match. Besides, I subtly asked around. I discovered that about five years ago, she got a very ugly curse in the nose that they couldn't completely reverse. That's why the nose in the picture is prettier."
"Bull…you didn't ask around subtly. You don't have a subtle bone in your body. Who'd you ask?" Larsson inquired.
"Montoya."
"And how would he know?"
"Because Lilia Rosaria told me that Serafina Esposito told her that Montoya had a thing with Captain Kovalenko about ten years ago. It didn't work out, though, because the death of her former lover was still on her mind. It was a Swedish Ranger." Montalban turned to Larsson. "And you'll never guess what his name was."
"Martin Larsson."
"Yeah, how did you know?" Montalban frowned.
Ramos noticed Larsson's sad look. "A relative of yours?"
"My uncle…my father's younger brother. He was the middle child, like me." A rueful chuckle escaped from Larsson's throat. "He always tried so hard to get out of the shadow of the firstborn and the baby sister. Damn…I remember my grandmother complaining about him seeing a Russian woman. She doesn't like Russians because she's Finnish. She still harbours a grudge about the Second World War."
Ramos frowned. "Yeah, but Captain Kovalenko isn't Russian."
"Grandma makes no distinction between Russians and Ukrainians. She must've been talking about Captain Kovalenko." Larsson smiled faintly. "I suppose Captain Kovalenko wasn't checking me out after all. She must've recognised my surname and looks."
Ron came barging in. "Hello chaps! What have you got there?"
"What?" Montalban said, assuming a very unconvincing expression of innocence.
Instead of waiting for an answer, Ron drew his wand and the hastily folded up magazine shot out from Montalban's back and into his hand.
"No incantation…not bad, Weasley!" Ramos praised.
"I've been practising. Hmmm, Playwizard…my brother used to have a bunch of these."
Harry frowned. It had to be either Bill or Charlie. If it had been Fred and George, Ron would have mentioned them together, and Percy was really out of the question. Besides, since the three of them had lived under Mrs Weasley's roof until they moved out with their girlfriends, they would have been risking their mother's considerable wrath by keeping such literature in the house. Harry doubted that even Fred and George would have thought it worth the risk.
Bill and Charlie on the other hand, had been on their own for a long time. Of the two, Harry thought it likelier that Charlie would've possessed some of those magazines, based on what he'd heard about the blokes working in the dragon reservations. Of course, Curse Breakers needed some distraction too every now and then.
"Nice looking girl," Ron said. "Looks sort of familiar…"
"Give that back. You're too young to be reading that," Montalban said and made a grab for his magazine, but Ron kept it out of reach.
"That's daft. I'm of age."
"True, but only those of us who were actually born when the magazine was issued have a right to read it. If I'm not mistaken, you were born in March 1980, and this was issued in February. So hand it back."
Ron didn't pay any attention to his protests. Instead he opened the centrefold, and his ears turned red as he got an eyeful of whatever was on the page. Harry wondered how Hermione would've reacted if she'd been there.
"Bloody hell, is this Captain Kovalenko?" Ron erupted, his eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets.
Ramos laughed. "Don't leer like that, Weasley. We're single, so we're entitled to. Unlike us single boys, you, on the other hand, enjoy private quarters because you have a fiancée—"
"—who would give you the silent treatment for God knows how long if she were around to see that look on your face," Larsson finished.
Ron scowled and shoved the magazine back into Montalban's chest.
"Hey, careful! This is a milestone issue, they can't be ordered anymore."
"Sorry. Where's Harry?" Ron asked.
It was time to make his presence known. "Right here, Ron."
"We're you sleeping?"
"I was trying to catch some sleep, when those idiots barged in and began drooling over Captain Kovalenko's teenaged self. What's the matter?"
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to come up to Commander Ironheart's office. Clara and I have been trying to work out a strategy to tempt Anastasiou into making a mistake."
"And I assume you're on to something?"
"It was actually Nicolai's idea. That little bloke is getting scarier every day, mate. But Clara and I would've come up with the same idea eventually. His mind just works much faster," Ron added defensively.
Harry smiled. "I suppose that's good, since time is against us. Why would you need me there, though?"
"I already ran the plan by Commander Ironheart in brief a few hours ago, but our meeting was cut short because Commander Nomvete sent him an urgent message. He told me to hold on so he could summon the other officers so they could hear it firsthand and ask their own questions. I just got notice to go to his office and to bring you with me."
"Right," Harry frowned. "But I'm not an officer."
"I'm guessing you'll be on the front line when this plan goes down," Ramos said. It was clear that he and the others had been listening. "That's why you've got to be there."
"This is a very sound plan. It isn't going down," Ron said, looking offended.
Larsson shook his head. "No, 'going down' is American for…well, the exact meaning varies with the context, but normally it means when something is either already happening, or about to happen."
"Thank you, Professor Larsson," Ramos smirked.
Larsson smiled but remained quiet.
Harry heaved a sigh and swung his legs over the edge of the bed for a second before he hopped off. "Lead the way," he said, for he himself had no clue where the commander's new office was located.
Ron led him out of the recently dug catacombs, up into the castle proper. Commander Ironheart had chosen the library's antechamber as his office, and as he and Ron crossed the library, Harry noticed two small figures soundly asleep in the gigantic high-backed chair. Nicolai's right arm was wrapped around Mary, while his left arm clutched a thick book with golden lettering that identified it as Magical Theorems for the Prodigal and the Insane. Harry sighed. Nicolai had his love for knowledge and his love for Mary nicely balanced out. If only he were so lucky with Ginny. Their current situation was much better than their complete lack of communications a few months ago. But he still longed for the feeling of her warm lips caressing his—
"They're a pretty picture, aren't they?" a female voice whispered.
Harry glanced around, but couldn't see anyone. Only he and Ron were in the room.
"Over here mate, on the wall!" another, more familiar voice said.
Harry followed the sound of the voice, and his gaze settled on a large portrait. Lynette and Nathan were gazing down at him.
"Nathan!"
"Harry Potter. I'm afraid I don't remember you. The memories that formed the basis for my essence in this portrait were taken before we met. But Matt told me we were friends."
Harry nodded. "We were."
"Mum convinced us to save a few memories before we joined the Order, just in case something like this were to happen."
Harry and Ron both jumped. Neither had noticed Matt entering the room, with Gudrun on his arm. They must have used the secret passage.
"She put all the necessary materials in a vault at Gringotts. When she died, the goblins followed the instructions and sent the package to Madame Delacour. She's one of the best painters in the business," Matt explained. "She finished the portrait early in March."
"Where's your dad?" Ron asked. "Wasn't he included?"
"He was, but he's probably off sulking at my grandma's place in Never Never. That's where the other portrait was sent, Madame Delacour painted two of them. Wasn't too thrilled when he heard I sold off his business empire."
"Moron," Gudrun scoffed. "It was a good thing that Matt sold everything when he did. Another couple of months and all of it would have been worth far less."
The shrewd business people that had been Byron Kelly's former competitors had found out that Matt was in the Order of Illumination. They handily used that information to fabricate a story that buying anything from any of Kelly's businesses would help fund the Order of Illumination. They'd obviously hoped to buy all the assets in a liquidation sale, but Matt had sold everything off to smaller businesses, securing most of the value of his father's assets.
Lynette smiled down at Gudrun. "I can see why Matt couldn't forget you, even after the memory charm. I'm glad all of it sorted itself out. There wasn't a day that went by when I didn't regret allowing Matt's memory to be taken away like that."
Gudrun's arms slid around Matt's waist and she rested her head against his chest. "Don't worry about it, Ma'am. It was written in the stars."
Gudrun's answer tied Harry's intestines into knots of envy, and he clenched his fists in frustration as he saw Gudrun cuddling against Matt. He and Ginny were also meant to be! Why couldn't they have been happy like Matt and Gudrun? Why did the menace of separation have to hang over them?
That damned prophecy! He was going to fight Wolfe, and either he or Wolfe would die. For the sake of the whole world, he'd have to make sure that he wasn't the one who would die. But would he be able to live with himself if he killed Wolfe, the man who had been willing to sacrifice everything so Harry could be happy with Ginny?
"Mr Weasley!" Commander Ironheart bellowed as he swept into library. His expression was an odd mix of worry and triumph. "It would seem that we'll no longer need your plan. Our information is still a bit sketchy, but reliable nevertheless. Anastasiou's organisation is coming apart from within. We've captured one of the people close to the top. He was trying to hide in Russia. I convinced Savin not to kill him until I was done with him."
"What happened?" Ron asked.
"All I can tell you is what I've seen in our captive's mind. Yamato's weapon…Max…he destroyed Anastasiou, von Brandenburg and two or three other top vampires within Anastasiou's organisation. He decapitated the organisation, and most of the cells formerly in Anastasiou's employ have struck out on their own."
"Now that the wellspring is gone, cleaning up the puddles will be much easier."
"Which is exactly what Nehanda is telling those who co-operated with Anastasiou." Ironheart smiled grimly. "Theoretically, even with Anastasiou gone, those politicians would have been able to make things very difficult for us if they'd just stuck to their plan. Fortunately for us, Xavier, the first secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Magic, is notoriously spineless. Now that Anastasiou is gone, Nehanda broke him easily. He's already given a press conference, claiming that he was under the Imperius Curse and that the world must unite against Anastasiou's threat. The others know that the game is over, and they'll have no choice but to follow."
"Oh, damn. Does this mean I worked my butt off to get this place ready for nothing?" Gudrun muttered angrily.
Harry's spirits soared. Wolfe must have thrown off the control they'd had over him. He'd single-handedly brought down Anastasiou's organisation from within. That meant that Wolfe hadn't gone evil, he couldn't be the dark general, and Harry wouldn't have to fight him!
"I'm afraid that's not part of the good news, Mr Potter," Ironheart said slowly, as if every word was very difficult to utter. He swallowed and continued. "I have confirmed that Max is indeed being controlled by a parasitic personality, but I'm afraid I don't see any indication that he expelled the parasite. The witness's thoughts do suggest that he's managed to influence the development of the parasitic personality and turn it against Anastasiou, thus creating the current situation. The prophecy still applies. The Dark Trolls refer to Max as their general, and he did end up superseding his masters." He paused. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to read you like that, but it jumped out at me."
Harry's brief bubble of happiness burst when he heard the commander's words. He shouldn't have got his hopes up like that.
"Commander, aren't you wearing your communicator?" Matt asked. He was pressing his ear-piece a bit deeper into his ear and seemed to listen intently to whatever the person on the other side was telling him.
Ironheart frowned and patted his pockets. "Bugger, eh! I must have left it in my daughter's room. Why?"
"The control room was trying to contact you. Your daughter must be bringing it to you, because they can see it on the move."
Matt had barely finished his sentence when a tallish and plump witch entered the library clutching Ironheart's personal communicator. When she'd joined, representing Spain, she'd been the youngest witch ever to join the International Confederation of Wizards.
"Thank you, Yanamari," Ironheart smiled.
The Basque witch returned her father's smile.
Despite having spent more than a week in the same building, Harry had never seen her until now. The only time he'd seen her was in the meeting in the amphitheatre, before the Rangers moved away from the Citadel. Her looks had taken him by surprise. Like his granddaughter Jasmine, all the commander's daughters—at least, the ones Harry had seen—were more attractive than the average woman. That wasn't the case with Yanamari, though. He wouldn't go as far as to say that she'd fallen from the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down, but she certainly wasn't much to look at.
Ironheart's expression darkened as he listened to the news and passed the information on to the others. "It's America…Lake Superior. Agua Caliente in the south has already been hit. About a dozen deaths, mostly the Aurors and law enforcement wizards who tried to stop them, and a whole lot of injured. Now they're attacking Laketown."
Agua Caliente and Laketown were wizarding settlements. The former was a wizarding village that surrounded the well-known healing pool, and the latter was a village divided over two unplottable islands in Lake Superior. According to a book on wizarding settlements—Hermione had forced him to read it a while ago—Agua Caliente was briefly mentioned in Native American Mythology, but no Muggle had set foot there for at least six hundred years. Laketown, on the other hand, had actually been discovered by Muggles about halfway through the eighteenth century because no one had bothered to make the islands unplottable before then. As a result, the two islands showed up on every Muggle map of the age under the names of Phillipeaux and Pontchartrain, inspired by the government minister who had funded that exploration of Lake Superior. When the Muggles set the border between the Unites States and Canada in 1783, it was decided that those islands would be part of the U.S. However, when Wisconsin was being settled early in the nineteenth century and the U.S. government sent out surveyors to map out the area more completely, they couldn't find the islands because they'd been made unplottable. Much to the amusement of the wizarding world, the Muggles then simply assumed that the explorers who had discovered the islands had invented their existence and named them after their financial backer in order to be able to present some preliminary findings to justify getting more money for further explorations. The story had stuck in Harry's memory because it had been just another example of how far the Muggles' tendency to overlook the existence of magic.
"When they're done with done with Laketown they'll probably head for Salem," Ron said anxiously.
"We have to stop them at Lake Superior, then," Harry said. Unlike Agua Caliente and Laketown, which were purely wizarding settlements, Salem was packed with Muggles. If they got to Salem, the secret of the wizarding world would be revealed, and given the rate at which the Muggle media was able to spread the news these days, that breach might not be contained.
"He's calling us out," Ironheart said wearily. "Sound the alarm. I hadn't expected this to happen so soon, but we have no choice."
*
"Ready!" Aberforth shouted over the howling alarms, as the last cable that held Anzu secure on the Zephyrus' back was fastened into place. The old wizard would be staying behind, as would Galatea and a handful of Rangers who would remain in the gemstone tower, where the control room was located.
Matt and Gudrun shared a hug with their daughter. Matt had wanted Gudrun to stay behind too, but she had flat out refused. Captain Yee had settled the matter by putting Gudrun at the controls of the Hurricane, where she'd be marginally safer.
Farther away, Commander Ironheart kissed his daughter and granddaughter goodbye. Captain Yee, who was trying to clear the underground cavern to allow the cruisers to take off, forcibly broke up the moment.
Lieutenant Li, who would also be staying behind, dropped all pretence of being hard to get and kissed Ranger Wong with what seemed like years of pent-up passion.
Ron and Hermione parted with a hug and a kiss. Hermione would be on the Typhoon, while Ron would co-ordinate the battle from the Eurus, which would be taking off a little later because a special weapon had to be loaded on board, in case there would be Dementors participating in the fight.
But Harry was nowhere to be seen. She had to see him before they took off, because Ginny had an awful feeling that today would be the day the prophecy would unfold. The wail of the alarm didn't help Ginny concentrate any better either. She keyed her communicator to the control room.
"Sanzotti here!" the person at the other end answered.
Ginny frowned. Captain Sanzotti wasn't from Intel. What was she doing taking calls in the control room? "Uh, yeah, Ginny Weasley here. Captain? What—"
"I'd be in the way on the battlefield," Sanzotti answered quickly. "This way I can still contribute something. That was what you were going ask, right?"
"Yes."
"Well then, now that we've cleared that up, we can move on to the purpose of your call."
Ginny cut straight to the chase. "Right, shut off the bloody alarm. We can't hear ourselves thinking and we all know it's the end of the world already."
The alarm mercifully fell silent a few seconds later, though none of the Rangers in the cavern ceased their frantic preparations.
"There you go," Sanzotti said. "And good luck." The connection broke before Ginny could answer.
When she resumed scanning the cavern for Harry, Ginny's gaze met Gudrun's, who was still hugging Mary tightly. Gudrun looked down at Mary and then back at Ginny, giving her a meaningful look. She wanted Ginny to remember the promise she had made earlier that day, while devouring some of Gudrun's favourite yoghurt.
If they lost, the promise wouldn't matter much anymore. The whole world would descend into terrible darkness. But in the event that they won, yet neither Matt and Gudrun came out of the conflict alive, Gudrun had asked Ginny to look after Mary, assuming that Ginny would live to see the end of it. If that weren't the case, Ginny was sure that at the very least, Mary would end up being adopted by Aria Ironheart, who had grown very fond of her.
A wrinkly old hand landed heavily on Ginny's shoulder. "Looking for Harry?"
Afraid she might miss Harry if she gave Aberforth her full attention, Ginny acknowledged him with a quick sideways glance. "Yes."
"Afraid the prophecy will come into being?"
Though Aberforth had uncannily voiced her thoughts yet again, Ginny couldn't be too surprised anymore. She just nodded.
"I see," Aberforth said kindly, taking Ginny's hand. He pressed something into it and closed her fingers around it. "When he turns up, give him this."
Ginny opened her hand. The remaining half of the tear-shaped medallion shimmered in her palm.
"Have you worked out what it does? Will it protect him?"
"I found that it and its twin were created in Avalon in the Mirror Realm. It does have some protective qualities, though I don't know exactly what they are. We couldn't work out how to activate it."
"Then what good would it do?" Ginny asked exasperatedly, turning to face Aberforth.
"What matters most isn't the gift itself, but where and from whom the gift came," Aberforth said, smiling sagely. "It certainly won't hurt him."
"I suppose not," Ginny conceded with a sigh.
Aberforth nodded. "I knew you'd agree. You know, I wish I could come with you all."
Ginny narrowed her eyes. Commander Ironheart was going with them, even though he'd be up in the Eurus, formalising Ron's recommendations into actual orders. He probably wouldn't be at ground zero, but he was still leaving the safety of Caer Sidi. That meant that he wasn't the Fidelius Charm's secret keeper. Commander Nomvete was already away, dismantling the conspiracy against the Rangers, so she couldn't be it either.
"Aberforth, are you our secret keeper?"
Aberforth raised his eyebrows. "Now what makes you think that?"
"You said you wished you'd be able to come with us. Does that mean you can't leave Caer Sidi for some reason? You haven't left for as long as we've been here."
Aberforth shrugged. "I haven't, have I. Oh, it looks like Harry is here."
Indeed, Harry had just emerged from the tunnel that led to the rest of the makeshift base. He was headed towards the Notus, along with Captain Faust, Lieutenant Poliakoff and all the Fourth Class Rangers from the Martial Division. She noticed that all of them were armed with magical weapons out of the vault. Faust had a jewel-encrusted helm under his arm, each gemstone storing a powerful spell that went beyond what a normal wizard could do with a wand. Harry was carrying the Japanese sword that Wolfe had bequeathed to him.
He caught her staring, and Ginny swallowed and gathered her courage. The time had come, yet she had no idea what she'd tell him. She hesitantly beckoned him over, and he approached her just as tentatively.
She opened and closed her mouth, searching for the right words. Finally, she decided to give him the pendant first. It would give her time to work out what to say next. She opened her hand and showed him the pendant. "I, uh—I'd like you to wear this. It was made in Avalon, and it has some protective qualities."
Harry looked surprised. "Really? What does it do?"
Ginny blushed. "Aberforth hasn't worked that out yet. But it won't hurt you to wear it, right?"
"I guess not," Harry said.
Ginny opened the clasp at the back of the chain and reached up to fasten it around Harry's neck. He bent down a little to make the task easier for her, and shivered slightly as her fingers brushed the back of his neck. She could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and the goosebumps on his skin. The mere thought that she could do that to him made her feel warm and tingly all over.
After a moment of awkward fumbling, the chain was fastened around Harry's neck and Ginny tugged at the collar of Harry's shirt to slide the pendant under it, so he'd be able to feel its presence against his skin. When she drew back, she noticed he had a blush that mirrored her own. Unfortunately, the time it had taken to put on the necklace hadn't given her any ideas on how to express her thoughts.
"Harry, there's something I…I just don't know how—"
"Tell me what's on your mind, and I'll try to make sense of it, okay?"
Ginny drew a deep breath. "You know that I love you, right? I…I'm afraid that today's the day you'll have to face the dark general, and I wanted to tie up loose ends, you know? I don't know…part of me really wants things to go back to the way they were and give in to my desires."
Harry's emerald eyes shone with understanding, making Ginny's heart pound even faster.
"But you're afraid."
Ginny nodded miserably. "I heard how you can't call on that power inside you anymore, and that it's because of me. I'd really like to undo that. Yet, I sense that if I make that concession now, it would mean disaster for us later. I already told you how I feel about allowing that to happen. But on the other hand, if I hold back, I'll deprive you of your power and you might lose and if you lose it would be disastrous for"— Ginny had to stop to swallow away the lump in her throat —"for everybody."
Harry wiped her tears away with his thumb. "I'd never want to do anything that would upset you, even if it is for the greater good," he said softly.
Ginny looked at him through her tearful eyes. It was hard to discern his face through the blur, caused by both the tears and her sorrow. "You'd risk the whole world for me?"
"It wouldn't matter anyway, because your heart wouldn't be in it. I know that you love me. That's more than I ever could have hoped for."
"Harry…" she sobbed, throwing her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in a tight hug, her Graphorn armour smacking against his. "Why didn't you fall in love with someone else? Why didn't you fall in love with someone who's really worthy of your love?"
"Because I love you. No one else is you. And I wouldn't have it any other way," he mumbled into her neck.
She pulled back slightly when felt his warm tears moistening her neck. "Even though I've caused you all that grief?"
"I know that knife cut both ways. Try to forget about it, all right?"
"All right," Ginny sniffed. She saw Khan over Harry's shoulder. The Pakistani Ranger didn't look impatient, though there was an air of urgency about him. They'd probably be waiting for her too, at the Zephyrus. "We have to go."
***
D.Torres: The Matrix is okay. I like Agent Smith, particularly for this quote. Even though he's an evil S.O.B. he's still got a sense of humour.
Jona: From a technical point of view I'm joking around too much. I completely ruined the suspense with that quote. ;-)
Jake: Actually, I considered that but rejected it because it would have been too cliché. Wait and see what I have in mind.
Ginny1946: Commander Ironheart seems to think that Wolfe is the DG. Of course, he doesn't know about Malfoy either. You'll have to wait two more chapters to find out exactly what happens. And why describe the fight between Wolfe/Maximus and the baddies, when your imagination will do so much better a job.
Gogirl: Yeah, that gut was Agent Smith. I know I really should quit with the movie references, but you haven't seen that last of Agent Malfoy yet. I stopped taking this story too seriously about eight chapters ago. Don't worry, though. I won't turn it into a spoof.
Lady Reaper of the Shadows: Nah, I'm not claiming the quote is mine. I know I didn't disclaim this quote specifically, but I did say that I'd be borrowing quotes left and right. And like you said, anyone who's seen the flick knows that quote. :-) Oh, and is the screaming sister the same one who suggested your name?
Stefanie: Sorry to disappoint you. I must have left you under the impression that this chapter was going to be the long one, but it'll be chapter 34. Glad I could help out with the explanation of A/U. I myself don't know half of all the fanfiction terminology.
Anon: Yes, Harry knows that Ginny still loves him, but she is still holding back and having doubts. In other words, deep down Harry fears that it won't work out after all, ergo he can't tap into his power. And in case you hadn't noticed, Wolfe turned out to be more powerful than anyone had previously imagined. He'd just been holding back for fear of losing control. :-)
bane: Slash? I'm not sure what slash is. Some people say it is all fanfiction based NC-17 stories, while other say it's just the homosexuality that makes it slash. If you could clarify that for me in the next review, I appreciate it. Anyway, I'll still try to answer your question. Fundamentally I don't have a problem with adult content/slash in fanfiction, be it hetero or gay. After all, once the characters are grown up they do grown-up things. My problem is that I personally like to adhere to canon whenever possible. I'm pretty sure Harry and Ron are not gay, as I am sure that Hermione and Ginny aren't gay either. Canon is pretty clear about that. We also know that Snape had mixed feelings about Lilly (If I remember my OoTP correctly he was doodling her initials on a piece of paper. Or maybe it was James…I'm having trouble remembering that one. I loaned my copy to someone so I can't look it up…damn) Anyway, assuming that I'm right, Snape isn't gay. If I'm wrong, he could go either way. (Hey, that rhymed) Draco Malfoy is a typical closet case, no doubt about it. If someone wants to write slash about him, they have my blessing. ;-) Seriously, from what we can tell from canon, he's interested in women too. But I'm bothering you with trivialities, aren't I? You must be wondering about Sirius and Remus. A slash advocate once tried to sell me the idea that they had to be gay because they didn't have a female partner. That's bullshit. One of them was in jail for the better part of his adult life, and we know that being a werewolf doesn't exactly help one's social life in the wizarding world, so there is no evidence whatsoever that they're gay. However, as far as I can tell there was no evidence to contradict it either, so Remus/Sirius slash would be feasible. (Not that I'd read it. It doesn't do anything for me. Neither does femslash for that matter.) Hetero pairings like Draco/Hermione are also a no go in my book, unless it's rape, but then the story would be far too disturbing for me to read it. *Shudders* To sum it all up, if canon doesn't contradict it, it is possible. Like I said before, I don't mind stories with adult content. Still, whoever posts them online—in my opinion—has to take more precautions than only a popup screen asking if the reader is old enough. It ought to be a passworded site at least. But I'm straying from the topic here. Slash isn't my thing…that's what it comes down to.
Does that answer your question?
Theauthorthatwrites: I dunno. What?
Fogish: Long time no hear. Glad to have you back again.
CatatonicReaction: Interesting quote.
LadySiri: Yup, you're really getting to know me. I'll have to get more unpredictable.
Angel of the Flames: Aw, shucks. I actually was going to let Harry stop killing curses in mid air. Now I'll have to write something else. :o)
Jane Grey: Interesting theory, but incorrect. I do appreciate the effort, though.
SaBoTaGe3p3: Interesting theories too, both of them. However, neither is right. I am really sorry to disappoint you, but the prophecy is literal in the sense that only one will emerge. That means only one man, not only one personality. And since Harry can't die because it's all about him…God, I can't say it…
Casual Reader: I knew you'd get a kick out of it.
Judi: I must be out of my mind to criticise a brand new reviewer like this, but if you actually read the combined 300,000+ words that quickly, you might have missed some of the subtleties in the story. Unless you're a genius, of course, in which case I stand corrected. Thanks for the compliment, and I hope to see you in the column again.
Dara finVidya: Ain't it?
Thoroughbred: Gee, I'm blushing.
Julephenia: It hurts to see you here. I'm glad you are, but it still hurts.
kay: I'm just having a bit of fun with the movie quotes. This story has dragged on for way longer than I had planned, so I have to bleed off the tension some way.
Petals1: Like I said, only one person will walk away from the battle. Not one personality.
Amarantha: Wow, you guys sure love Wolfe.
Susan: What do you mean? The canon characters or the OC's. If it's the canon characters, of course I will. I'm not sure about the OC's. I might several ficlets from their POV in which Harry and co are secondary characters, but only if you guys want to read it.
whitetiger: I like the movies, but they're not an obsession.
Foxfur: Happy Birthday.
Bluemoon2: If neither of them gets killed.
weirdo_without_a_clue: Noooo, she really does love him. How could you think that of out ickle Ginny?
Yak-Cool: Imagine how weird it must have been for Londoners to read the canon books. :-)