Chapter Twenty Five: Career Choices

Robert was sitting in the common room, drinking another cup of tea, when Ernie MacMillan walked in. Robert jumped up in surprise and then noticed Owen was with him.

"I know how, but why? With this weather . . ."

"I had to see this match," Ernie told him. "We never saw the two of you play against each other, if you remember."

Owen smiled. "After Lord MontClaire told me about Quidditch, I felt I deserved a reward for protecting his secret. Fortunately, Professor Quirrell agreed." He and Robert hugged each other in greeting. "I would have preferred a different ending. I was warned about the abominations."

"They are called Dementors," Robert told him.

"They are Abominations," Owen answered firmly. "I care not what others call them."

Robert met his glare with firmness of his own. "I can not and will not fault you. I think you have chosen a more accurate term for those creatures."

After a moment of silence, Ernie spoke. "Lord Henry is fine. He was already awake when we stopped to see him. He will be ready to travel soon."

"Travel?" Robert asked.

"You are to return with us," Owen informed him. "The order has already been given. Professor Quirrell is in conference with the headmaster as we speak. Master Sorcerer Sean O'Lochlainn and Captain Grissom are with him."

Robert nodded. It was what he should have expected. This was the second time that the creatures had attacked his brother. A third attempt would not be permitted.

Robert showed Ernie and Owen the teapot and offered them something to drink. They then talked of happier things. Ernie related how he was handling his new life, and several of the Hufflepuffs in the common room gathered to listen in and ask questions. He was doing well in his classes, and had become popular on the field when they played football. Owen shared a few stories but would fall silent at certain points. Robert was finally tempted to ask the reason when Professor Quirrell appeared at the entrance, and revealed what that reason was.

"My Lords, O'Connell, I hope all of you are well."

Robert started. Owen had been called O'Connell. Only the Chief of the Clan was given that title. Until that moment, Robert had thought that to be Owen's father. Owen noticed his friend's reaction.

"Father took a fall when he was riding the hunt. He remounted. He claimed he was fine but he was not. When he fell the second time, he was already dead."

"When did you find out?" Robert asked.

"I was there," Owen answered. "As did the others, I believed him when he told me he was not hurt."

Robert hung his head. "O'Connell, the House of Somerset mourns the passing of a great man. Know also that the House of Somerset rejoices that the Red Hand still holds sway in Ulster and may it always do so."

"The Clan of O'Connell is grateful that it has such capable friends in the House of Somerset."

"Amen," echoed a handful of voices.

Professor Quirrell excused himself for making the unintentional revelation, then turned to more immediate matters. "Lieutenant Lord Robert Somerset. I am ordered by His Sovereign Majesty to direct you to prepare yourself to leave this place."

"I am ready, Grand Master, to do anything required of me."

Professor Quirrell nodded in relief. "Now that the formalities are over, I could use something hot to drink. Is there more tea?"

"Robert," one of the fourth year Hufflepuffs asked. "What was all that?"

"Yeah," Megan Jones added. "Why all the fancy language?"

Owen answered before Robert could. "I swear by all I hold, everyone here acts as though they rule in Ulster."

Ernie told him he was right, and Owen broke out in laughter while everyone stared.

"Um, Robert?" Megan asked.

Robert paused before he answered. "It is this way." He started to say 'Owen' but caught himself. "O'Connell rules in Ulster. He told me he had only recently attained his rank. I was congratulating him on achieving that rank while expressing my regret on how he obtained it. Do you see?"

Ernie smirked at Megan's blank stare, which was echoed by several others. "Robert was telling O'Connell he was sorry to hear that his father died. Because of their ranks, Robert had to do so formally."

"And the rest of it?"

Robert answered. "His Majesty did not appreciate the attack on my brother. Harry and I have to go home until the matter is settled."

"You're leaving? For how long?"

Robert shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest, after what happened today, we may never return."


It was late when Harry and Robert arrived at the house of their brother, the Marquis of London. Despite his protests, Harry was immediately put to bed. As he sat there, the housekeeper, Charity, placed a tray on his night table. It had several pieces of chocolate on it as well as a steaming cup.

"You are to eat all of this, My Lord. And if you are thirsty, there is hot chocolate to drink. Everyone wishes you to be in the best of health."

"Charity?"

"We know, My Lord. Until today we were not to let you know, least you relax your vigilance. Lord Bontriomphe has told the staff about what happened."

"Lord London, does he know?"

Charity laughed lightly. "He was not to know but he had already found out." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I should warn you, My Lord, he has more of his father in him than yourself and Lord Robert together."

Harry smiled his thanks and Charity left him. After the door closed behind him, he took a piece of chocolate and began to eat it. Despite all that he had been given, it still made him feel better. He smiled, and looked toward his closet.

"You can come out, Roger."

The door opened, and the eight-year-old sheepishly stepped into the bedroom proper. He was wearing his nightshirt and robe, but his feet were bare so that he could walk quietly. "How did you know I was there."

"I heard the creak when you opened the door to the secret passage."

Roger frowned. "It should not have been that loud." He sat down on the bed. "Is that really your medicine?"

Harry kept himself from laughing. "It is. And I need to eat all of it."

"Is your illness contagious?" Roger looked hopefully at the tray.

"I do not think it is," Harry said, grinning as Roger frowned again. "But perhaps it would be best to be safe. You should take a piece, just in case."

Roger happily grabbed some chocolate from the tray. "Will you be staying?"

"Robert and I have duties. I do not know."

There was a knock, then Charity opened the door. "Lord London, it is time for you to be in bed, as you well know."

Roger slumped off the bed and walked toward her. He knew she would not let him sneak out of his room a second time.


"May I ask why we are going to Naval Intelligence?" Robert asked as he refilled his glass with juice.

Lord Bontriomphe looked up from his breakfast. "To continue your classes. I thought that was obvious. You should find this course of study interesting. You will learn how to analyze information and then how best to act upon it. It might please you to know that both of you will continue to live here until the end of the course, although it will only be for six weeks. Could you survive that?"

"Easily," Robert said cheerfully.

"Good. Then you get to tell Lord Henry. Charity has agreed to let him out of bed once he is done eating."

Robert finished his breakfast quickly. He and Harry would have little time once classes began, and there were so many things he wanted to show his brother. As he excused himself he was told to wait.

"We need to talk. Master Sean O'Lochlainn has seen to it that your wands have been brought here. There are other lessons you are to take as well. Your teacher will be coming from the Hogwarts school on a regular basis, and directly to this house."

"Uncle Remus? Sorry, My Lord. Do you mean Remus Lupin?"

Lord Bontriomphe smiled. "I see Master Sean has discussed the matter with you. I would encourage you and your brother to learn your lessons with expediency. Everyone wants you proficient in the defensive spell for when you return to Hogwarts."

"We are returning? When?"

"After the new year. We dare not risk having you away for too long."

"My Lord Bontriomphe. That was a most unusual statement. May I ask why there is a risk?"

"How much do you know about Prophecy, in the other world?"

Robert grinned. "We have a teacher, Professor Trelawney, who teaches Divination. I must tell you that she is not highly thought of."

"But she does have the gift, although it comes rarely." Lord Bontriomphe was not smiling. "She spoke a prophecy concerning Lord Henry and his adversary, the false lord Voldemort. They are destined to fight each other. We have to keep your brother in contact with the other world or risk Voldemort learning how to move between the planes."

Robert nodded, then saw the puzzle. "If I may ask, My Lord, if you know it is dangerous for my brother to be in this world, then why was he brought here, and why is he staying?"

Lord Bontriomphe took a deep breath. "First you must understand, Lord Robert, you are forbidden to mention any of what I tell you to anyone, especially to Lord Henry. Do you understand?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Then know this. There are reasons why contact with this world is important to the Empire. They concern our means of travel between worlds. At this point, we can not risk permanent separation. Because we must be there, His Majesty has agreed to let us take steps to keep your brother with us. If conditions permit, it will be permanent. This you must know and accept. If we have the opportunity to sever our ties with the other world, and we have not resolved this prophecy, then Lord Henry will be left behind."

Robert nodded. "How much time do we have?"

"As of now, it is open-ended. There are questions our researchers must first find the answers to. And some of these answers the wizards do not even know."

"I will stay with him, if it comes to that," Robert said firmly.

"And leave Lord London all alone?" Lord Bontriomphe saw Robert waver. "You know you will stay here. Your duty is here." Robert nodded. "And that is the only reason I have informed certain people of Hermione Granger. I will force the issue in your favour if that will convince you that you must stay."

"I understand, My Lord. That will not be necessary. I will do what I must." And Robert would. He and Harry were only a small part in the machinations of the Empire. If what was best for the Empire was that they be separated, it would be done. All that had happened so far was done because it helped the Empire. Harry was a useful tool, and if he could be rewarded for this it was all well and good. But Robert was forced to agree. The survival of the Anglo-French Empire must always be considered first.


It was supposed to be time for his Naval class, and Colin Creevey walked down to the frigate on the shore of the lake. The gangplank had been withdrawn, and the ship was empty. Captain Grissom would not be returning. It was a foolish idea, Colin thought as he stood there. He was still a child in everyone's eyes. Soon someone would see him and tell him to put his uniform away, that playtime was over. He had thought, for a moment, that he had found something he could hold on to, but it was only a fantasy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the shilling coin. He looked at it once more and then threw it so it landed on the deck of the ship. They could take the coin back when they came for the frigate. He turned around and walked back to the school.

As he passed through the main doors, Father Maurice was standing there.

"All dressed up and no place to go. Is that the phrase?" Father Maurice's voice showed sympathy, and not ridicule.

"They went away and forgot about me," Colin said with little hope.

"It has only been two days."

"Everyone left. They forgot about . . . " Colin's voice trailed off.

"I did not leave. Master Sean did not leave." Father Maurice paused, then dropped to one knee. "What did they forget about?"

"Me." The word was barely a whisper.

"Really?" Father Maurice's voice held a firmness to it. "Perhaps you should have reminded them. What were they supposed to remember?"

"Nothing." Colin walked past the priest and returned to Gryffindor Tower. He put his uniform away with regret and changed back into his school robes.


Captain Grissom stood before the Lord High Admiral. "I make this request as a matter of duty."

"You have been relieved of your charges, Captain, and you are free to return to your command."

"I still have four charges, Sir. My duties overlap. I owe them something."

The Lord High Admiral frowned. "And what of the dangers?"

"There are always dangers," Grissom answered. "Even when I take the Hermes out without an escort ship. It is a fact that Lord Henry Somerset still does not know about."

"There is a great deal that Lieutenant Somerset does not know." The Admiral frowned. Captain Grissom was presenting him with a dilemma. How does the Navy honour a commitment when it is forbidden to do so? By his own order the classes were not to continue unless and until the two charges were returned. "These four students. How would you rate them?"

Grissom frowned in thought. "The two girls, I am told, accept what happened. The older boy, I could not be sure how he reacted to the news of no more classes. He is more concerned with his friend then with any school work."

"The Weasley boy. I was told about him. He is close to Lord Henry. And the younger boy?"

"Father Maurice Pannier noticed him in uniform standing before the ship. He saw the boy throw something and went to investigate. He found this on the deck." Grissom showed the Admiral the coin.

The Lord High Admiral nodded. "It is curious. The boy clearly feels betrayed."

"His life has never been easy," Grissom explained. "He was always the odd one. Even at the school he never found his place. Unwittingly, we gave him a hand hold, and now we have let him go."

"You are making this a personal issue, Peter," the Lord High Admiral contended.

"I am, Val," Captain Grissom admitted. "I feel that I am the one who betrayed him. I know what that feeling is like, even when it is not justified."

"And it is not, in either case, as you clearly understand." The Admiral sighed. "Damn you, Peter. You would not let it be. Now I have that feeling as well." He pulled out a piece of paper and began writing. "You will have to do this according to their rules. Both parents must agree, the boy must agree and, before you do anything, the headmaster, Dumbledore, must agree. If he does not support this then I trust his judgement that it would be best not to pursue the matter."

Peter de Valera ap Smith, Lord High Admiral, put his seal and signature to the parchment and handed it to Captain Grissom. The Captain saluted. He knew his timetable and his next stop would be London House, where a private tutor would be arriving. The tutor would have company when he returned.


Professor McGonagall dismissed the students from the Gryffindor common room. She now had the list of everyone in her house who would be staying for the holidays. As the students left, she called out to a sullen blond haired boy, a second year.

"Mister Creevey, I must insist that you wait here."

Colin sat back down, and was gratified that Ron Weasley waited with him. They made a pair of unlikely friends, but they were friends. Both stared in surprise when Captain Grissom walked through the entrance way.

"You are out of uniform." Grissom's voice was neither commanding nor consoling.

"The class was cancelled," Colin pointed out, letting his resentment show.

"It was necessary." It was a simple statement. The Captain walked up to the table where the boy was sitting. "I was ordered to leave."

Ron sensed his friend's mood and asked the question for him. "Then why did you come back?"

Grissom arched an eyebrow. "I thought that was obvious. I returned because I was ordered to." He grinned when Ron and Colin frowned at his facetious answer. "Mister Weasley, I am required to ask your friend two questions." He paused. "Perhaps I should ask you as well."

Both boys were looking at the Captain with interest.

"The first question is this. Do either or both of you wish to continue with your education? The classes will resume when the Somerset twins return."

"I did," Colin answered sullenly.

"It was fun," Ron said.

Grissom nodded. "Then I shall ask my second question. Are either or both of you willing to make the commitment required?"

"Commitment?" Ron asked.

"To make this a career."

Ron snorted. "You're joking."

"You will eventually have to make a choice, whether or not to give up the practice of magic. To answer your question directly, I am not joking."

"Sorry, Captain," Ron told him. "I'm not giving up magic just to sail a ship."

"I understand, Weasley. If I had any talent, I would be severely tempted to give up the sea. Creevey, do you agree with your friend?"

Colin looked up in surprise. "Could I ask a question? What did you mean by eventually?"

Grissom glanced at McGonagall then turned back to the two boys. "This is not to be repeated. Do you understand?" Both boys nodded. "There will come a time when we will break contact with your world. When that happens, assuming that you make the commitment, you will have to decide which world you will live in. Weasley, you have already said that you will not give up magic. Your answer is obvious. Creevey, you have not said."

Silence filled the room. Colin was filled with surprise. Grissom was not being nice, not that he wasn't doing a favor for a small boy. Colin was being told he needed to make a choice. He frowned when he realized it was an odd choice. He was only being asked to consider giving up magic.

For Colin Creevey, magic was not the wonder it seemed to most muggle born children. On the other hand, most muggle born children did not discover a strange boy, near death, during their first week at school. Nor did most of them become petrified for six months. On the one hand, Magic was now a fearsome thing, not to be taken lightly.

When he first learned that he was a wizard, Colin was ecstatic. It explained so many of the confusing things that had happened to him. It also showed him that he was not alone. That was what made magic wonderful. He would be going to a school where he would be considered normal. He finally had a chance to make real friends. And he made his first friend, not out of shared interest but of shared tragedy. A box in a trunk in the second year dorm still held a roll of film which would never be developed because of one picture that it held. Then Colin met the basilisk, and his life was altered. He was different once again. He did not really fit in, again.

Now, he was given another chance. He would stand out. He would still be different. But this time it would be because of a reason, a choice to be different. And he would be different as part of a group that chose to be different. In the midst of all of this, he was also being given a favor. If it turned out that this choice was wrong, all he had to do was admit it. To Colin this was a precious gift: to choose to belong.

Colin spoke slowly, trying to make the words come out correctly. "I would be willing to consider giving up magic."

Captain Grissom smiled. "If that is the case, I need to tell you this. You are out of uniform."

Colin returned the smile. "I'm sorry, Sir. I'll correct that immediately."

"Excuse me," Professor McGonagall said casually, as though this moment was not planned. "Colin, I believe you dropped this." She held out the shilling coin that the boy had thrown away.

"Thank you, Professor." Colin took the coin and held it firmly in his hand.

Grissom cleared his throat. He was holding out a parchment. "These are your orders, Sub-Lieutenant Creevey. Arrangements will be made for your transportation to the training ship."

"What?" Ron asked in surprise. "What training ship?"

Grissom gave a surprised look. "I thought Harry told you about his training." He then added in a prompting tone, "When we were declared lost at sea?"

"Yeah, but . . ."

"I thought Colin would accept a three day cruise as compensation for the classes he missed. He will have to wear his uniform from now on, but there are compensations."


"What compensations?" Ginny asked, after the two boys told her what happened.

Colin flipped the shilling coin in the air and caught it, then said in a cavalier voice, "For one, I'm now being paid."


Captain Peter Grissom sat back in his chair and relaxed. It was a long trip, but he was happy to be home. Seaman Davers had given him the log so that he could read what he had missed but that could wait. He gave himself the luxury of a glass of scotch, and sipped it gingerly as he looked out over the Channel at the night sky. He had done something good for a young boy, and he felt good about it.

Suddenly, a memory returned and the years seemed to slip away. He remembered the day clearly. He was sixteen years old, newly ranked, and he had been transferred to his first dreadnaught. Young Peter Grissom was anxious that day and he reported for duty two hours before he was scheduled. The Captain was impressed by his eagerness and called him aboard. As a result, he was the first of the new officers to report and he became Sixth Lieutenant instead of Eighth Lieutenant. It was a small thing and made no difference as to his duties, but Peter was proud of that minor feat.

The Captain, Lord James Cavanaugh, saw his reaction and told him, "Peter, don't ever grow up. The first thing you lose is your immortality. In exchange you get the knowledge that nothing lasts forever."

The next day, the HRMS Bristol would leave port to spend four months patrolling the Baltic.