Chapter 4
Surprise
"Still, it was fortunate that Mary was with him," Ironheart said, after having explained how Mary had got pregnant, or rather why neither Mary nor Nicolai had restrained themselves, eighteen days earlier. Someone must have alerted him, because he'd arrived on site shortly after Harry's fall.
It had also happened to Ironheart when he was in his teens, which was when the Healers' community had first made a certain discovery. As it turned out, the Doxy venom antidote had a curious and little-known side-effect on wizards with incubus blood—namely, it was a powerful aphrodisiac. It had stimulated Nicolai's pheromone emission to nearly that of a full-blood incubus. It had also raised Nicolai's testosterone to demonic levels, explaining why Nicolai hadn't exercised any restraint. He simply hadn't been able to!
"What do you mean, fortunate?" Matt shouted angrily, rising from the chair he'd been slumped in.
"If Mary hadn't been there, Nicolai would have gone out in search of the next best fertile female. What if it had been a married woman, for example? A family would have been ruined. Believe me, I'm speaking from personal experience. In my case, the next best available female was the school nurse. The poor woman's husband divorced her, and her children and grandchildren refused to speak to her until her she lay on her deathbed."
"Wait a minute. Wasn't Jasmine's father your firstborn?" Hermione asked.
Ironheart sighed sadly. "Mrs Deneuve miscarried. She was in her sixties at the time, and at the end of her childbearing days, so it wasn't really surprising."
"And her family still gave her a hard time?" Jasmine asked.
Harry spat out the last bit of water he'd been gargling with into the Kelly's sink. He probed his mouth with his tongue, and was satisfied to feel that he'd finally washed away all the sand. If his self-preservation instincts hadn't kicked in at the last minute, triggering some protective charms, he'd have been lying in the Citadel's medical ward. "People are cruel."
Ironheart nodded. "That they are."
Matt groaned. "I turned thirty less than three months ago. I'm too young to be a grandfather."
"Stop worrying about yourself!" Gudrun admonished. "How is our daughter going to cope with this? What about her education? She'll lose at least a year!"
"Mary and I have decided that it would be best for her to stay here," Nicolai said quietly.
"And why the hell would we care about the opinion of two stupid kids who—" Matt started to scream again, when Ironheart cut him off briskly.
"I know this comes to you as a shock, but like I explained, it was beyond their control. They've been raised well, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have done it. In this case, it truly isn't anyone's fault."
"What about the Healers?" Matt asked, keen on laying the blame somewhere. "They should have known about the effects the antidote would have had on Nicolai."
"I set the only recorded precedent in the matter," Ironheart said. "They discovered the side-effect by studying me. But since there are so few like me and Nicolai, making the odds of a part-incubus male being bitten by a Doxy nearly impossible, you can't expect the Healers to have remembered that obscure little fact."
Matt turned to face Hermione. "I bet you knew that obscure little fact!"
Hermione blushed, opening and closing her mouth as she sought a diplomatic answer. Matt had guessed correctly, of course. "Well … yes, but only because I've done research on part-incubus males, in light of some … past events, and only in hindsight!"
Harry folded his arms and covered his mouth with his hand to hide his grin. The events Hermione had been mentioned concerned some of the entrancing effects she'd suffered in Nicolai's presence at the Weasley family outing, the day before Harry and Ginny's wedding.
"That's how I came across the effects of Doxy venom antidote on part-incubus males," Hermione continued. "But it was nothing more than a footnote, really. I only learned about it by chance."
"I've decided to stay because Nicolai said that it wouldn't be good for me and the baby to be apart in the early years," Mary said.
"I wasn't around either, but you turned out okay," Gudrun said.
"Says the mother to a daughter who got knocked up at age fifteen," Matt grumbled.
"Shut up, Matt!" his wife snapped.
"It will be for Mary's benefit as well," Nicolai said. "Helping me take care of our baby while she finishes her education will aid her in developing a sense of responsibility."
Mary gave Nicolai a scandalised look. "I do have a sense of responsibility. Unlike you, I have changed diapers!"
"That's not the same as raising a child, Mary," Nicolai countered patiently. "I know you'll be a wonderful mother, but becoming one won't be easy. I'll help you as much as I can, but I need to go to work to earn a living for us."
Harry frowned. "I thought you were going to work on some projects for the Order. New Cruisers, or something?"
Ironheart shot his grandson an astonished look. "I haven't heard anything about that."
Nicolai blushed. "I was going to tell you, but I've been a bit preoccupied about how to deliver this news. Anyway, I wasn't going to get paid for it, so I'll to have to tell Commander Faust that I can't do it anymore. After all, I have a family to support now. I reckon I can get a job at Gringotts. The Goblins have been trying to lure me into working for them ever since I opened the doors to Aristaeus' tomb."
Harry had forgotten all about that. Nicolai had done what other wizards had tried and failed to do for two hundred years.
Aristaeus had been a Greek wizard and a mathematician endowed with extreme longevity due to ample Draconian blood in his veins, which was reputedly further extended by a mysterious self-proclaimed ability to enter into and emerge from life-extending hibernation at will. His claims were supported by the fact that he'd vanished from the public eye in the sixth century BC and reappeared approximately three hundred and forty years later, not having aged a day.
The doors to his tomb had been sealed with an alloy of previously unknown, but recently identified origin in the Mirror Realm. That was why it had been named Umbranium, and depending on its treatment in the forge, it could very strongly conduct or repel magic, and could be tougher than any other alloy that could be found on Earth. Voldemort himself had tried, and failed, to force the doors open with dark magic, hoping to find something of value in the tomb.
The secret to opening the doors had been in the Draconian runes that covered them. Nicolai was the only living wizard who knew how to translate the language properly. The other experts had proven to be far less proficient than they had claimed, as Nicolai had often professed despite being scorned by said experts. Then, in Nicolai's final year at school, he had baffled the wizarding world by translating the message and discovering that it was actually a coded instruction on how to open the doors. It had been simple matter in the boy's own humble opinion, since he had absorbed the contents of many tomes on cryptography, codes and ciphers.
Opening the tomb had led him to become the youngest wizard ever to get his face on a chocolate frog card, and it had been an enormous media spectacle. In spite of that, Harry had forgotten all about it, because it had happened around the same time as Galatea's death and Wolfe's subsequent disappearance.
"But you'll be away a lot!" Mary protested.
Nicolai shrugged helplessly. "It pays really well. They've been sending me letters all year, offering me a higher salary every time. I'll only have to do very few assignments to earn a living."
"But it's dangerous. Please, don't take that job!" Mary pleaded.
"Oh, hell, he can live here," Matt grumbled. "And it's not like I can't afford to take care of another ankle-biter."
"Or Nicolai can live with us, where he'll be right next door," Heidi, who had been silent so far, spoke up. "You have four children, and with Mary living at home full time, and the baby, you'll have six people."
"Here's fine! We'll make due with the guestroom," Mary said, shooting Heidi a venomous glare and clutching Nicolai's hand possessively. Her hostility towards Heidi came from the circulating stories about Heidi's initial reaction to Nicolai, four years ago. Since Harry's gift enabled him to see things that others couldn't, he knew that it wasn't completely due to juvenile insecurity on Mary's part. While Nicolai loved only Mary, he had always been, and still was, fascinated by Heidi's innate gracefulness. Somehow Mary could sense that.
"Perhaps you'd like to join my household," Ironheart suggested. He'd also sensed Mary's volatility, and was trying to defuse the situation. "My house is as large as yours, but I only share it with Aria and Elena, so there is plenty of room. Elena is also a qualified Charms and Transfiguration teacher, so she could be your private tutor in those subjects and get you ready for the tests. She also knows some people who are qualified to teach the other subjects. You could complete your education at home."
"That's okay. I only need to get my basic skill qualifications this year, and then I can quit school."
"No!" Matt, Gudrun, and Nicolai shouted in unison.
"Mary, you need to think about the future," Nicolai said quickly. "You won't make it as a winged horse breeder without a well-rounded education. You won't be eligible for an apprenticeship at an established breeder without advanced qualification in Care for Magical Creatures."
"I don't need an apprenticeship," Mary said snootily. "Daddy promised to buy me a ranch."
"Only if you knew what you were doing, which evidently won't be the case if you quit after your fifth year," Matt said.
Mary scowled at her father and boyfriend.
"How can you expect to raise a baby with that attitude?" Heidi asked. "If you want to be a good mother to your baby you'll have to grow up first."
"What do you know?" Mary sneered disdainfully. "You don't have any children—you don't even have a man!"
A deafening silence ensued for several very long seconds. The angry yowling of a cat outside interrupted the silence, and Harry found it an oddly appropriate sound to accompany the look Mary was giving Heidi.
A wave of emotional anguish came rolling off Heidi, who turned on her heel and fled out into the courtyard. Ironheart began to rise from his seat to follow her, but Harry, who had been standing behind him, pressed him back into his chair. Ironheart, who physically resembled the reason for Heidi's pain, was hardly the ideal candidate to comfort Heidi in her vulnerable state. He nodded to Hermione, who had already been on her way to the door with Jasmine.
Gudrun began screaming at Mary in Icelandic, and Mary cringed under her mother's verbal onslaught until Nicolai intervened, also speaking Icelandic. The surprise of hearing Nicolai addressing her in her own language took the momentum out of Gudrun's tirade.
"You really owe Heidi an apology. What you said to her was very cruel, and completely untrue," Nicolai told Mary. "Heidi is a mother to Robert and Henry, and to all the other kids who depend on her taking care of them so their parents can continue to serve in the Order of Illumination. Besides, it's the fact that she's so committed to being a second mother to your brothers and sisters that prevents her from socialising and finding a mate."
Mary, who had been staring at the floor in embarrassment, looked at the door that led to the courtyard.
"No, not now," Nicolai said in apparent answer to her thoughts. "You'd best allow Heidi some time to calm down. For your part, you should take some time to think about your outburst up in your room."
To Harry's surprise, Mary immediately complied with Nicolai's request and headed upstairs.
Nicolai sighed and looked at Gudrun and Matt. "Mary's very young and insecure, and she's nowhere near ready to raise a child. But she'll need your support and your love, so please be patient with her."
"Maybe she should move out," Gudrun said, taking care to keep her voice down. "If she stays here, there's a chance that I'll kill her before the nine months are up."
Matt fixed Nicolai with a penetrating stare. "I know my daughter, and all her less-desirable character traits. But I also know that she's pretty sensitive to things that go on around her. She wouldn't have felt threatened by Heidi for no good reason. You've spent a lot of time with Heidi over the past year."
"I don't have any romantic desires towards Heidi," Nicolai said flatly. "She's very well-educated, and she has this grace about her that I find very appealing. In fact, she reminds me of Lynette."
"And you see the same grace in Mary, don't you?" Ironheart said.
Nicolai smiled. "Yeah."
Gudrun snorted. "My daughter doesn't have a graceful bone in her body."
"When I say grace, I'm talking about charm, not refinement. Mary's like a diamond in the rough, but she's still a diamond. The refinement will come with age."
"You hope! If she's anything like her mother, we shouldn't hold our breath," Matt teased his wife.
"Any complaints?" Gudrun challenged.
"Not at all, my Lady of Caer Sidi," Matt said, before kissing his wife's hand. Then he turned to Nicolai. "I have to ask you this, kid. Do you really intend to stay with Mary for the rest of your life? I'm asking you because we have to consider the continuation ritual of the Consanguinity Charm. It isn't really an urgent matter, since Nathan and Xander both precede Mary. And when they have children—are you listening?"
Matt's sudden question had been prompted by the fact that Nicolai had been staring off into space. It broke Nicolai's reverie, and he shot to his feet and slapped his forehead. "Lady of Caer Sidi… of course. I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I see this sooner?" Then he closed his eyes and stood there, unmoving.
"What is he talking about?" Gudrun asked.
"He does this from time to time," Ironheart said casually. "He's had another epiphany. I made the mistake of trying to read him in this state once. The information overload gave me a headache that lasted for hours."
When Harry heard that, he stopped himself before he made an attempt to read Nicolai.
Nicolai's eyes snapped open. "Mr Kelly, there's a secret chamber beneath Anzu's pit. May I go to Caer Sidi to open it? You'll have to come with me to open the vault, of course. I expect to find some treasure that might be worth more that the rest of the treasure put together."
"Whoa, what are you talking about? How do you know?"
"When you said Lady of Caer Sidi, I remembered a manuscript I came across, written in Draconian. Some words were misspelled, but I've realised that the mistakes were deliberate. Together, the letters spelled the name of the witch who was the Lady of Caer Sidi at the time when the Portal to the Mirror Realm was destroyed. The name was also a simple decryption key for some hidden messages in the text."
"What are they?" Matt asked eagerly.
"Well, I don't know yet. I could concentrate and decrypt the manuscript while visualising it in my mind, but it would save a lot of time and energy if I had the manuscript in front of me."
"This could be an awesome find," Harry said. "Do you want me to call the Citadel and ask for volunteers among the off-duty Rangers?"
"I don't need any help, just a way to get to Caer Sidi, and a way to open the vault. But if anyone wants to watch, they'd be more than welcome to."
"Maybe you ought to wait until tomorrow," Gudrun said. "A lot of people were going to attend Heidi's party this afternoon."
Matt frowned. "Are you sure she's still in the mood, after what happened?"
"Good question. Let me go check," Gudrun said, and walked out the door that lead to the courtyard and The Wolfes' Den.
"We can wait another day. The treasure isn't going anywhere," Nicolai said. "We can't cancel Heidi's surprise birthday party to go treasure hunting. The whole point of it was to show her how much we appreciate her."
Harry wondered whether the party was still on.
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"You're not ugly, Heidi," Jasmine said exasperatedly, reacting to Heidi's wails about Mary being right. "You're twenty-nine. You've got plenty of time to meet a good man. You say that men don't flirt with you anymore when you go out, but honestly, when was the last time that you went out without Henry and Robert? Of course men won't approach you with two little boys holding your hands, because it suggests that you're not unattached."
"B-But I can't go out on d-dates," Heidi sniffed. "Who would look after the children?"
"I would."
"What if…?" Heidi hesitated, unwilling to finish the sentence.
Jasmine's eyes narrowed. "That's the problem, isn't it? You're worried about the longer term. Well, you'll have to risk it. A decent man who truly cares about you will respect your decision to take care of Robert and Henry. And no, I wouldn't mind if he moved in with you, as long as he doesn't treat my nephews badly and provided that he earns his own living," she added, answering the question that must have been lurking in Heidi's mind.
"But what if Max—"
"If he ever comes back, his custody of the children won't be a given," Jasmine sharply retorted. "He chose to play avenger instead of assuming his responsibility, and he'd have no right to make a fuss if he found you living with another man, even if it is his house. He never told you that you couldn't move on. Neither did Galatea. Sure, you might have to forfeit part of the allowance you receive from the children's trust fund, but he can't deprive his kids of a stable living environment by kicking you out."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know. I was getting to that … your feelings for Max. It's about time that you got over him. He chose an empty life without a future instead of you."
"It's not empty. He did it to protect us," Heidi said. "He's protecting your children, too!"
"He hasn't had any more success tracking Yamato down than the Rangers have—isn't that right, Hermione?"
Hermione realised that her hope not to be involved had been in vain. Worse, her answer to Jasmine's question wasn't what Jasmine wanted to hear. While the hunt for Yamato might have been going better for the Order, had Max co-operated with them, by himself he'd actually been more effective than the Order. It was time for one of her increasingly famous diplomatic answers.
"Max didn't have to leave to hunt Yamato on his own, Heidi. You know that Galatea's death made everyone understand that an active search for Yamato was in everyone's best interests. He may mean well, but that's no excuse to perform terrible Dark magic, even if the targets are bad people."
"Medea Aconit deserved what she got," Heidi said bitterly. "She killed my mother too, remember?"
"Yes, she deserved it. But that doesn't mean that Max has the right to be judge, jury and executioner."
"And Medea Aconit did have the right to kill Galatea, my stepfather, and my mother?"
"Heidi," Hermione began, trying a different tactic. "Max is letting the ends justify the means. Yes, he uses his power for what is basically a good thing. But will he remember that if the circumstances change enough to put some unexpected obstacles in his way? What if Yamato is within his reach, but he's opposed by a bunch of hit-wizards who don't know about Yamato, and who try to stop Max because of all the damage he's causing while trying to get to Yamato? Suppose that's the case and the only way to prevent Yamato's escape would require fast action, but non-lethal alternatives would take too much time? Could their fates possibly be justified? Would you rationalise that it was okay because Yamato would have killed the same number of people, if not many more, in the future?"
"Max would never do that!"
"I never thought he'd invent a terrible torture curse either. But he did."
"We don't know if he invented it."
"Very few wizards have the power to perform that spell, and it must have been invented by someone with enough power. If Voldemort or Grindelwald had invented it, they would have used it, but there was no record of the curse until now. There's no reason to worry yet, though," Hermione said soothingly, sensing Heidi's distress over the possibility of Max having turned to evil completely. "Max went out of his way to protect the Muggles in Brazil, even though he'd still have had a slim chance of catching Yamato if he hadn't done so."
Jasmine conjured a handkerchief for Heidi to wipe her tears with. "Tears won't make Max see his folly."
"Girls? Where are you?" Gudrun called from downstairs.
"The master bedroom," Hermione called back.
"Are we still having tea at Jasmine's?"
"I can't possibly go to your house like this," Heidi said while she dabbed her eyes.
"We can't just let you sulk in here," Hermione said firmly. "Your sons will be expecting you—that's right, I said your sons. There is more to being a mother than giving birth. You're a very good mother, Heidi. Robert and Henry love you, and Raina prefers to spend her time here even when Ron and I are home." She drew her wand, and with a few quick flicks the puffiness in Heidi's eyes vanished and her nose returned to its normal colour. Then, Hermione grabbed one of Heidi's arms while Jasmine grabbed the other, and they hauled her off the bed and to her feet. "Come on!"
"Yes, Gudrun, we're still having tea at my place," Jasmine called to Gudrun. "Go on ahead."
"I can't go with these rags on," Heidi said adamantly, and pointed downwards. "Look, the hem is all tattered. I only wear this around the house when I'm playing with the kids."
Jasmine smiled. "A girl has the right to look good on her birthday. Who knows, maybe we'll run into that handsome milkman on the way to my house."
Heidi scrunched her nose. "Really, Jasmine. He's married, and a sleaze-ball. Didn't you know he's doing Mrs Boxhorn?"
"My next door neighbour?" Jasmine frowned. "'Doing'?"
"Slipping her the salami." Heidi nodded morosely. "Even old Mrs Boxhorn is getting some loving on the side, and I've got nothing."
"How do you know?"
"Mrs Lescoriere told me," Heidi said, as she stepped into her closet and began looking for some appropriate clothes.
Hermione snorted. Marguerite Lescoriere was her next door neighbour, a nosy witch with nothing better to do than hoard gossip. Harry had once mentioned that the woman strongly reminded him of his Aunt Petunia, with regards to her nosiness. "Why talk to that woman? How come you even know her?"
"She's into charity, and helps out down in Red One from time to time, mainly for everyone to see how charitable she is. Lately she's been trying hard to become my new best friend." Heidi strolled into the bathroom with her selection of clothing and left the door slightly open to continue the conversation. "She keeps coming over to the courtyard to chat. I can't think of a way to get rid of her. Any ideas?"
"What about the truth?"
"Tempting, but I don't want an enemy either."
"Condition Caesar to attack her," Jasmine suggested.
"Even more tempting, but Robert would be inconsolable if animal control took his Crup away."
Jasmine snapped her fingers. "Wait, I have a brilliant idea. Flirt with her husband. After that, she'll give you the cold shoulder for sure."
"That'll make me her enemy too, and it'll sour her marriage. Besides, her husband might leave her to start pursuing me. Ugh!"
Jasmine laughed. "It would solve your man problem."
"I'd rather be celibate for the rest of my life," Heidi's muffled voice came back.
Hermione shuddered. She had to agree with Heidi there. There was something creepy about Antoine Lescoriere. On the surface, one wouldn't think anything was wrong with him, save for his pale and slightly unwholesome appearance. However, when Ron and Hermione had gone over to introduce themselves, Hermione had noticed the extreme neatness of their home. Even the living-room's decoration had been perfectly symmetrical, and the teacups they had been using were rinsed out after every serving. Signs of diseased minds.
"Honestly, Jasmine. How could you even suggest such a thing? The man isn't completely sane. He threw a fit when he found out that Ron hadn't put towels in their bathroom back exactly the way he'd found them, after washing his hands. And everything in their house is either blue or white."
"You and Ron visited them?" Jasmine asked incredulously.
"They invited us over shortly after we moved in. You mean they didn't invite you and Charlie?"
Jasmine shook her head.
"Charlie and Jasmine are too chaotic," Heidi said. "The Lescorieres probably noticed immediately."
"What do you mean, chaotic?" Jasmine asked, looking affronted.
"Your bedroom's curtains are a different colour than the ones in your kitchen. The polka dots probably offend them too. Anyway, I guess they must've invited Hermione and Ron over because they thought Hermione was a kindred spirit."
"I—I am most certainly not!" Hermione sputtered.
"You're not crazy, but you do like your things neat and organised," Heidi said.
"I've always wondered how you can co-exist with a Weasley, Hermione," Jasmine said. "They're chaos incarnate."
Hermione smiled. "Ron's not as bad as he used to be. It's Raina I'm more worried about these days. The day before yesterday, she managed to get herself completely dirty again exactly forty-five seconds after I'd finished bathing her."
"For me, it's a daily struggle to get my daughter to take a bath, let alone keeping her from getting dirty again."
Hermione turned to the bathroom. "How do you do it, Heidi? Whenever Raina sleeps over, she's squeaky clean when I pick her up."
"Easy. I play her off against the other children," Heidi replied.
"The gold star system," Jasmine explained. "The children can earn gold stars with good behaviour, and a number of gold stars entitles them to a special treat."
"You know, you can wait for me downstairs. I'll be while," Heidi said.
"How would you possibly take so long?" Hermione asked.
"Wrestling Matt this morning made me all sweaty. I need another shower."
Jasmine shook her head. "Just hurry up, all right?"
After Heidi's affirmative reply, Hermione and Jasmine headed downstairs and helped themselves to some juice. Then they headed to the sofa to sit down, where Hermione noticed a folded piece of cloth. She picked it up and placed it on the coffee table to unfold it. It was an descendant-centred family tree. It began with Heidi at the bottom and grew to reveal sixty-four ancestors, six generations into the past. There was a note in German, which told Hermione that it was probably a present for Heidi from her family.
Hermione was pleased to see that Heidi still had all her grandparents, and seven out of eight great-grandparents. The maiden name of one of Heidi's great-grandmothers—the mother of Heidi's von Nettesheim grandmother—was Boehme, and Hermione wondered how closely related Heidi was to Helena Boehme, a German witch who had joined the Order in the summer of 2002. More surprisingly, it seemed like Heidi had some relatives in Britain too. One of her great-grandmothers—her father's maternal grandmother—was Cornelia Blue, daughter of Connor Blue and Sophie Schepp. The wizarding Blues were a nearly extinct Sept of the wizarding Macmillans, because only a few women remained with that name. The name had become extinct because the last Blue sired only daughters.
The tree told Hermione that Sophie Schepp had died relatively early, widowing Connor. And though this tree didn't show it, Hermione also knew that Connor Blue had moved back to Britain, remarried, and sired Clementina Blue, who later became Clementina Weasley, Ron's grandmother. She and her sister Cornelia had both been at the wedding. Heidi was Ron and Ginny's second cousin once removed.
Hermione chuckled. She hadn't seen Heidi interact with Cornelia, so she assumed that Heidi hadn't even realised who the old lady was. "Jasmine, Heidi's more closely related to Ron and Ginny than you are."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope, it's right here. Connor Blue remarried their great-grandmother after Heidi's great-great grandmother died."
"How do you know it's the same Connor Blue?"
"Because Cornelia Blue was also at my wedding."
They continued to examine the cloth and came across several other familiar names like Karakoff and Delacour, but those were at the very top of the tree, six generations into the past. They also noticed that a pair of ancestors, Adalric von Nettesheim and Claudia Pichler, who appeared twice on the tree. Heidi's parents were third cousins, like Charlie and Jasmine. Hermione imagined that the same phenomenon would be present in Goyle's or Crabbe's family trees, though probably alarmingly frequent and much closer together, generation-wise.
Finally, Heidi came downstairs. The most striking feature about her dress was a long plaid skirt. It had a background layered with a pattern of bars in several shades of blue, and single white lines and triple red lines criss-crossing the Tartan's base pattern. It was usually accompanied by a broad shawl draped over a wide-sleeved Highland blouse, but Heidi's attire clearly had Victorian English and Austrian influence. She wore a white blouse with snugly fitting long sleeves and a square neckline, under a cornflower-blue bodice. Being Heidi, she had accessorised nicely with flat-soled shoes that matched her bodice, and small white-gold earrings. She'd also braided a matching cornflower-blue ribbon into her hair.
"Bloody hell, Heidi, we're just having tea."
Heidi grinned. "Save it. Rosie overheard the planning and told Rachel. Rachel told Robert and Henry, and Henry can't keep secrets."
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Author's Note: Wow, thanks for the many reactions. There will be plenty to comment on in later chapters, so please, don't be a stranger. Like I said, even pointing out the same things another reviewer has already pointed out has its value.
On another note, I am toying with the idea of re-writing the previous stories to fit canon better, as soon as I have time. I would post them separately, with 'canonised' written behind the titles. I kept info on the years at Hogwarts deliberately vague, so it won't be too difficult …I hope. Of course, the stories would still be a bit A/U, since it's highly unlikely that JK Rowling will ever approach magic in a 'technological' way, like it have. But I digress… What do you say, oh noble readers? Should I do it?
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Darcy101: Thanks, that's very flattering. As for how many stories I'll write, I really can't tell you that right now.
amy: Change the stories to original characters? You mean take out the Harry Potter elements and write an original novel?
Bluerain22: Princess Bride is supposed to be a bit of a cheesy and cliché adventure/romance/comedy. :-) And the name of Wolfe's son is Westley … you know, like the male lead id The Princess Bride.
KEDme: There will be more glimpses.
jedizelot: You and lots of other reviewers, apparently. See the value of reviewing? Now I know that it was probably a good move, and I can keep it in mind for any possible original fics I might write in the future.
mrsean: The reason the Order is trying to stop him will be discussed in a later chapter. I think you'll understand the reason then. And who said that Yamato has done anything to Westley? Okay, odds are that he did, but you can't know that for sure. ;-) Also, you did indeed miss the mention of elapsed time between chapters 2 and 3. But I mentioned it very explicitly, so if you really want to know you'll have to scan the chapter more thoroughly, for, like I said before, I encourage thorough reading.
Numba1: Let's see, Mary's 15 and a few months, and Nicolai is a few months away from 16. As for your second question, Nicolai's father was a wizard named Boris Savin, who was the son of the still living criminal wizarding kingpin Ivan 'The Impaler' Savin.
StarWest45:See answer to previous reviewer. And unlike you, I didn't have a catholic education, so I had to do research on the subject.
Athena McGonagall: I think you'll find the explanation I've given for Mary's pregnancy and Nicolai's lack of restraint satisfactory, am I right?
squirtiert: Thanks…and don't be afraid to review, either positive or negative. (In either case, take the time to explain why.)
ObsessedwithSnuffles: Mary's age is mentioned four reviewers above. Concerning the timeline, it's essential for writing a good story. Otherwise you'll get nitpicking readers who'll create a Nearly Headless Nick timeline debacle.
blah29: I'll indulge you and answer your question … a little over 20 for the first fic, a little over 24 for the second one, and nearly nineteen for the third. So now you guys must be thinking, what's this dude bitching about? That's more reviews than most people get. Well, it isn't about average review count, or absolute review count. It's more about the contents of the reviews. Even your one-liner is valuable to me, for it tells me that you like the way the story is unfolding itself.
RobBonner22: Was my typo-laden review useful? ;-)
fire-bebe: Hmm, you didn't have to make your review sound so … mandatory. :-(
NCDSbookworm: Glad you got your laughs. I don't want the overall fic to become too gloomy.
Glitter8262: That's all right. I'm glad you took the time to grace me with a review now.
Gogirl: There will be plenty of Ginny.
Stefanie: Charlie Jr is 11.
Angie: Wow, you people sure are obsessed with Mary and Nicolai's age. ;-)
aznanarchy: The explanation of Wolfe's apparent clarity of mind will come back in a later chapter. And no, I'm not planning to name the new 'Unforgivable'. As for the wards, they've been attuned to Harry's signature.
ItachiKun: Ages? Come now, I'm a fairy regular updater!
Fragarach: Thank you. I'm glad my research paid off.
OrionHiddenRing: To the pain, eh? :-)
Kristus Veranus: I'm glad you could appreciate it.
Velocity: Radically Light? Interesting way to see things.
pudadingding: T'was a typo.
Tosca: Why would the kid have any strange powers?
He Who Reads: Even though my 'originality' puts my fics light-years away from JF Rowling's style?
Nya: I'll add a chapter with all the info once all the children who are to be born have been born.
Beak: Thank you. Good to see that you and the other reviewers didn't experience this bit of comedy as a disruption to the dark beginning of the fic.