Chapter 30

Rest and Relaxation

It was finally over. He had spent far too much time monitoring the remaining vampires and mapping out shady goings on within the magical government of the United States.

Finding the vampires had been made much easier with The Confessor's ability to sense any other vampire up to two thousand miles away. Madame Isabelle and The Confessor's three elder 'children' had also pitched in by temporarily joining up with the Rangers and circling the globe in the Cruisers until the last of the rogue vampires had been found.

The Order never did find the Auror's body, but by interrogating the vampires they had at least discovered his fate. A one-way Portkey had transported his body to shark-infested waters in the Pacific Ocean. As the Order had already suspected, he hadn't lived through the day the vampires had caught him. At least the lad's relatives finally had some closure now.

In one well co-ordinated operation, the last vampires had been caught, and Ling Woo was stunned during one of her rare ventures out of her lethal warehouse, prompted by information the Rangers had carefully leaked. A jewel-encrusted Firecrab shell had been too big of a temptation to pass up, after all.

Rachel Esklove shook her head. "No fewer than fifty-two traps spread throughout the building. But we're positive that we've found the last of them."

"Nasty old lady, wasn't she?" Sarah Esklove added with a smirk.

The two sisters had been one of the five Intelligence/Artificer couples that had been combing out Ling Woo's final hideout. It had taken three days to completely secure the old warehouse in Hong Kong, in which the teams had discovered and disarmed trap after trap. As far as Ron was concerned, she had thoroughly earned the name Vicious Ling, and not only on account of the traps. Hunting her had taken almost exactly a year, and during that time he had been forced to miss Christmas, all three of his children's birthdays, and his and Hermione's wedding anniversary. And their anniversary in particular had caused a lot of friction between Ron and Hermione, since he had spent it working on this case with Sarah in one of the Order's safe houses in the United States. Just the two of them, all alone.

Ron had believed his wife to be self-confident enough to cope with it, but in hindsight he knew he hadn't correctly estimated the impact their long separation—and some other factors—must have had on their relationship. One of the others factors was that he'd spent a great deal of the time away from his family with Sarah, and he had forged a fairly strong bond of friendship with her during that time. He had learned that the two of them had a lot in common.

Sarah was passionate about Quidditch—a trait a surprising number of witches in the Order of Illumination seemed to share—and fiercely loyal to her local team. She liked chess and other strategic games, and had a sweet tooth that easily rivalled his. Like Hermione, she was also quite argumentative, unafraid to voice her opinion on matters or situations she thought ought to be different—which was something he both loved and hated about his wife. She was obsessive about efficiency and performance and a stickler for the rules … unless they really had to be broken. Sarah was like a Hermione with some Ron-like traits, and Hermione had noticed it as well, probably much sooner than Ron had. But it shouldn't have been enough reason to let Hermione feel threatened.

'Be honest with yourself, Ronald!' his mother's voice echoed in Ron's mind. It was the voice of reason in its purest form, and it forced Ron to admit that—while he loved Hermione very much and would never ever do anything to hurt her—Hermione's insecurity wasn't completely baseless. Sarah certainly didn't turn heads wherever she went, but she was far from ugly. Coupled to the fact that their work had brought them closer together, and that they had had sex earlier—even though that had been an accident—he could understand Hermione's feelings.

Ron sighed, pulled off the fabric covered elastic band he'd used to tie his hair back, and ran his hand through his loosened hair.

"Something wrong?" Sarah's voice rang, penetrating the veil of thoughts.

As Ron met her concerned gaze, he knew that Hermione's insecurity definitely had a firm foundation. Sarah's feelings for him went beyond friendship, and if he hadn't been happily married, he probably would have reciprocated, too. The sexual tension had been almost palpable at times.

"Rachel, could you please leave us alone for a minute?"

The Artificer Esklove sister shot him a knowing look before Apparating away to a rendezvous spot and leaving him alone with Sarah.

"You know, don't you?" Sarah immediately said after her sister had left.

"You're very intelligent and talented, and you're not exactly repulsive. We have a lot in common, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel attracted to you. But I'm not in love with you. I love, and I'm in love with Hermione. I know that falling in love isn't something one has control over. I don't harbour any bad feelings towards you because of it. In fact, it's rather flattering that a great woman like you deems a bloke like me worthy of your affection. I also respect you for not making any advances towards me in the moments of tension we've experienced. Many weaker women would have tried to seduce a man in a similar situation.

"I've heard that Faust wants to partner us up on a more permanent basis because we've worked so well together," Ron continued after a few silent seconds. "I don't think it would be a good idea. I want to give you the time and space to get over me. That wouldn't work if we kept seeing a lot of each other, would it?"

Sarah gulped. "I'm sorry." Ron conjured a handkerchief and dried the tears that were rolling down her face. "You'll be all right. I'm sure a nice bloke will notice you one of these days."

"If you say so," Sarah replied sullenly. "I don't have any trouble attracting men, but none of them are any good."

"Really? What about the bloke that took over Concordia Elementary School three years ago—Principal Sconner. What went wrong there? He seemed like a decent enough bloke."

"Seymour?" Sarah snorted. "His mommy won't let him come out to play! Besides, he had a problem with the life I have to lead on account of being a Ranger. He said it was too dangerous."

That was a common reason why many relationships a Ranger started with a non-Ranger didn't work out, and why most of them got married only after retiring. Being married to another Ranger was also quite challenging at times, but both partners having accepted the danger into their lives made things easier.

"What about Mordecai? His wife left him because she thought the job was too dangerous, which gives you something in common. He's a Ranger, and he's Jewish too. What more could you want?"

His suggestion appeared to amuse Sarah, and she managed a smile. "Really, you're beginning to sound like my mother's friend, Yentl. She fancies herself a matchmaker. If it's human, male, Jewish, and has a steady income, she thinks it's a match."

"So what's wrong with Mordecai?"

"He's still officially married to his wife. He loves her, and he's trying to get her back. The poor man can't see that the only reason the shrew isn't asking for divorce is because his parents made her sign a type of pre-nup. They're well off, and they immediately saw her for the gold-digger she is."

Hermione had once explained that Muggle marriage was a lot less sacred than it used to be, and that people often kept what they had prior to the union separated, in case the marriage broke up later. "Isn't that a Muggle thing?"

"Caleb and Esther are both half-Muggle half-bloods, and they grew up among Muggles, so that's might be why it was done. Really, the only reason she's concerned for his well-being is because his survivor's fund goes straight to their child if something happens to him."

"You're awfully well informed," Ron remarked slyly.

Sarah had the grace to blush. "It's not like I didn't consider him. After all, he is male, Jewish—my mother would be thrilled about that—and has a steady income." She got a faraway look in her eyes. "He's also got a great set of arms and a high, tight butt."

Ron clamped his hand over his ears. "I didn't want to hear that."

Sarah pulled his hands off his ears. "Sorry. I got carried away. But it's a good sign. If I'm drooling over men, it means that I'll be okay."

"Now that I am glad to hear. Good luck," Ron said, and turned to leave.

"Ron?"

Ron stopped and turned to face her again. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me down easy."

"You're welcome."

"Now go home and show Hermione how lucky she is."

"That'll have to wait. I'll be home just in time to attend the inauguration of the monstrosity Matt's had built. If Kovalenko doesn't keep me in debriefing too long, I should be there right in time for T-bone tucker."

"Oh yes, the tree house!" Sarah giggled. "Rachel told me it's really very nice."

By now, everyone had heard the tear-jerking story of how little Xander consented to a transfusion for Rosie, thinking that it would kill him. So when the lad asked his father to build him a tree house for Christmas, Matt had readily consented, However, as wizards with far too much gold to spend tended to do, Matt got carried away. Consequently, what was supposed to have been a simple tree-house on one of the fields Matt owned outside the city had turned into a four-floor behemoth supported by eight very realistic-looking giant sequoia trees made from some kind of Mirror Realm mineral.

He had received a tour through the unfinished house while on a brief visit a few months ago, and the first thing he had noticed was the vast space the four circular floors had. Starting at a hundred and fifty feet and ending at just under two hundred, they had a diameter of one hundred and forty feet, and a combined area of over sixty-one thousand square feet. That was over ten thousand square feet for Matt, Gudrun, and the four children still living with them. Ron wondered why on earth Matt needed so much space.

"Rachel told me that Gudrun wasn't very happy about it at first," Sarah continued. "She said she didn't want to live in something that looks like a theme park attraction. Somehow, though, she changed her mind overnight. Rachel thinks Matt convinced her by providing enough material to fill a dozen Pink Kneazle booklets."

Ron believed it. Both Matt and Gudrun had often professed to solve must of their problems with a good shag. He wondered if that course of action would help him with Hermione. At the very least, he was going to have to make an effort to spend some quality time with her. He resolved to badger Irina into giving Hermione some time off.

"I intend to turn Caer Sidi back into a museum," Matt said, while he flipped an enormous T-bone steak over on a grill and applied his secret sauce. "That's why I made myself some more room here."

Ginny suppressed a grin while she exchanged glances with the other people clustered around the grill. 'Some more room' was an enormous understatement.

The tree house was such an exquisite feat of architecture and magical crafting that it made her artificer's heart beat a little faster. The eight 'trees' that supported the house were made of cirdian, which was a magical mineral that was as versatile as the metal umbranium, though it wasn't nearly as rare as umbranium. With the proper magical preparation it became virtually indestructible, which was why Nicolai had suggested its usage. The north tree and the south tree were actually hollow, each accommodating stairs and a levitation surface. Due to their hollowness, they were reinforced by enchanted steel. Matt had initially wanted umbranium, but had been dissuaded from trying to buy some by his son-in-law, on grounds of the metal's relative rarity.

While the tree house was covered in moss and vines on the outside, it looked like a palace on the inside. The first floor had floors and walls of marble and displayed several trinkets Matt had brought over from the Caer Sidi vault. However, that decoration could be removed and replaced by whatever was needed when Matt and Gudrun planned to entertain a large number of guests. Large windows at regular intervals offered beautiful views of the lake, fields, hills, and city, and four lavatories inconspicuously placed within four of the fake tree trunks ensured that no guest had to wait long to go to the loo, even when there were a few hundred of them.

A stairwell in the centre of the room led up to the second floor, which held the main kitchen, dining area, library, and an entertainment area for family and friends. That same stairwell continued up into the third floor where the enormous master bedroom and six smaller ones for the children and guests were located—each with their own bathing and toilet facilities. A peek into Matt and Gudrun's bathroom with gilded water taps had left Ginny really envious.

Finally there was the top floor that had a two-part roof, one half being able to slide over the other one to expose the pool and two Jacuzzis when desired. Matt's own barbecue platform and a bar were under the permanent part of the roof, and judging from Matt's current enthusiasm and his general love for barbecues, Ginny had a feeling that the grill would see a lot of use.

Then there were the myriad of complex wards protecting the tree house, including a ward that prevented magically powered flight in a radius of a thousand feet around the house. That one would be installed around the Ranger enclave in Concordia as well, though the Concordian authorities hadn't been too happy about the considerable restriction this would put on the city's air space. Of course, they became most understanding when Nicolai had voiced his disappointment about Shamballah's potential trading partners being so reluctant to provide a more secure living environment for his wife and daughter—who would soon move into Kelly's Keep.

"What I'd like to know is how much you paid the city officials to put a portal on your property," Hermione said. She looked tired, having had only a few hours of sleep after a night shift.

"Nothing at all. I've placed myself in a such position here in Concordia that the politicians can't simply ignore me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Dad was right. Being filthy rich does have some advantages. And being Nicolai's father-in-law doesn't hurt either." He glanced at the pool, where Nicolai was playing with Oopsie in the shallow end, surrounded by many of the visiting children. Aside from Ginny, Hermione, Charlie and Jasmine, and Gavin and Mayumi, the Montoyas and their four children had been invited too. If the Ramos' and the Fausts hadn't been out of town visiting relatives, it would have been even more crowded.

Heidi was present as well, sitting down in eighteen inch high water with Ron Junior, who was almost fourteen months now. Heidi looked so natural with Ron Junior in her arms that someone who didn't know any better could easily assume that she was the mother. Mary was a bit farther away, sitting in one of the Jacuzzis with Matt's cousin Wendy and her enormous mother, Betty. At six-foot-two, Matt's aunt was an inch taller that both her daughter and grandniece, and her bust-line was indeed every bit as impressive as rumoured. It was difficult to tell how impressive exactly—at least, not without a tape-measure—but it had to be forty-five plus. It was hard to believe that Betty was the small one, and that Matt's other aunt was even more generously endowed. Ginny wondered how their backs handled all that weight.

Shifting her attention back to Nicolai, Ginny was happy to see him so relaxed and carefree. Harry had told her about some of the difficult decisions Nicolai had been forced to make to keep the transformation of Astirian moving in the right direction, and the effects on Nicolai's psyche had been plain for everyone to see every time he put down the proverbial mask of leadership he was forced to wear at all times in the Mirror Realm.

Gavin sighed. "I'd better get this over with now."

"You don't have to," Mayumi said soothingly.

The small Welsh Ranger had returned from Japan to receive additional instructions regarding the Asian region, and Mayumi had decided to accompany him, brining along the children as well. They were as small as their parents, proportionally, dwarfed by other children their age, and even the children several years younger. Their eldest, Tatsuya, was a year and three months older than Richard, but Richard was quite a bit bigger.

"No, I promised your father and grandfather. I've got to at least ask."

"Promised them what?" Matt asked.

"To talk to Nicolai about an arranged marriage between Oprah and our second son, Taro," Mayumi responded for her husband. "I think it's nonsense. I want my children to be able to marry for love."

"That's very admirable," Hermione said, eagerly voicing her opinion on the matter.

"I'm going to play devil's advocate here, Mayumi. Do you really think that's a good idea?" Matt asked. "Your family's position is hereditary, so you've got to have good breeding. Now, nobody's perfect, but what if your child chooses someone who's obviously a loser, despite all your education and best efforts to prevent that from happening? Do you put your foot down and forbid it?"

"I think that's something every parent is worried about, whether they have the good of a monarchy to worry about, or not," Hermione said.

"Touché," Matt acknowledged, and Gavin and Mayumi were nodding as well. "I guess Gudrun and I are pretty lucky," Matt continued. "Mary can be very difficult, so Nicolai's a gift from heaven. I don't think there are many men out there who an handle her idiosyncrasies as well as Nicolai can. And Robert's a good kid too. I hope Ginny's vision about him and Rachel comes true."

"It seems to be on track," Jasmine remarked slyly, glancing at the second Jacuzzi.

Ginny followed her gaze and saw that it was occupied by Robert, Rachel, Rosie, and Xander. Rosie had been including Xander in her and Rachel's group for the past two years, possibly because she had noticed that he didn't really fit in with any of the younger children and took pity on him. Nathan didn't include him when playing with Henry Wolfe and Michael Faust, deeming him too young. Richard and Raina were only six and seven months older than Xander was, but they had always been a tightly knit pair, and owing to the cut-off date they were now a year ahead of Xander in school. Tony Ramos and Inigo Montoya were only five months younger than Xander, and the three would start at Concordia Elementary this year. However, Xander was a highly intelligent little fellow, and his games were a bit too sophisticated for the other two. Besides, Tony and Inigo were almost as close as Richard and Raina, and they often spoke Spanish to one another, creating additional distance between them and Xander. It wasn't that Xander didn't get along with the four children who were the closest to him in age, but he didn't fit in seamlessly.

"They look very cosy together, don't they?" Matt said.

Charlie chuckled. "Robert and Rachel, or Rosie and Xander? Honestly Matt, the lad may be big for his age, but he's only six and a few months. How early do you Kellys bloom?"

That same thought had crossed Ginny's mind. Robert and Rachel were sitting very closely together, but Rosie was sitting in Xander's lap! Her behaviour clearly flustered Xander a little bit, but he didn't seem to find it entirely unpleasant.

"He can't help being a chick magnet. He's a chip off the old block."

"I think it's sweet," Jasmine said. "Rosie may be young, but the significance of Xander's consent to give her blood when he thought it would kill him wasn't completely lost on her. After I told her, it only took a few days for her to grow a crush. Xander's had a crush on her ever since she allowed him to start tagging along."

"I do seem to remember him telling you during the transfusion that he was glad to help because Rosie's always been nice to him, Matt," Hermione said.

Matt beamed. "He did, didn't he?"

"Hey Xander! Having fun with your girlfriend?" Nathan called from the deep end of the pool.

"Shut it, Nathaniel!" Rosie shot back heatedly, as she climbed out of the Jacuzzi, The she strode over to the pool and glared at Nathan, who involuntarily drifted away from the edge of the pool to be out of range.

Rosie was very small for her age, standing exactly a half inch over four feet tall at age nine. Raina and Richard, who were nearly seven now, were already a bit taller than their older cousin. Even Xander, who was especially tall for his age—though that seemed to be the case with all the Kelly children, save Rachel, who took more after Gudrun and was just 'normally' tall for her age—was two inches taller than Rosie. She had likely inherited her small stature from Jasmine's mother, whom pictures had revealed to have been a tiny woman at a little over five feet, which was even smaller than Rosie's paternal grandmother. Like her paternal grandmother, however, Rosie showed traces of a wicked Napoleon complex, and even Robert was careful not to incur her wrath.

Nathan was a huge seven and a half year-old, but Rosie's withering glare—one that made her look remarkably like a sabre-toothed tiger—had sucked all the bravado out of him.

"Sorry Rosie," he mumbled.

"I'm not the one you owe an apology to."

"Sorry Xander."

Satisfied, Rosie returned to the Jacuzzi, settled on Xander's lap again, looped one arm around his neck, and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Don't worry, he's just jealous."

"So Matt, are you paying for the honeymoon, or should I?" Charlie asked jokingly.

Everyone laughed at that.

"Whatever gave you the idea that I call the shots around here?" Matt retorted after the laughter had died down. "Ask the boss when she gets off work."

Ginny smiled. While Matt often spoke like Gudrun was the dominant wife who ran every aspect of his life with him just being along for the ride, it was actually a very equal relationship. One could even argue that Matt was the dominant one, since he could successfully curb Gudrun's flights of fancy more often than Gudrun could curb his. He never flat out refused Gudrun anything, but he was such a manipulative sweet talker that he often got her to change her mind. For instance, a month ago Gudrun had still been opposed to living in a tree-house, but somehow Matt had changed her mind overnight. Several Rangers claimed that both Gudrun and Matt had looked especially 'exhausted in a dreamy and sated kind of way' after said night, but she hadn't seen it for herself since she had been on a mission at the time.

"When does Gudrun get off from work, Ginny?" Hermione asked. "She was already hard at work in the maintenance bay when my graveyard shift ended, so it can't be much longer."

"I'm not sure. As a lieutenant, she doesn't go on missions or work the graveyard shifts anymore unless she has no choice, but she has to put in fifty-five instead of forty hours a week over six instead of five days. If today's the ten-hour one, she should be done in an hour. If not, she'll be finishing up right about now."

"Good, because I'm almost done here," Matt said.

"Welcome back, Mr Potter. How are things in the Mirror Realm?"

Harry was a bit surprised to see his greeter at the Umbral Gate complex. One would think that the Chief of the City Watch had better things to do. "Your insignia tells me that you're still the boss, so demotion is out. Is the City Watch so shorthanded that the chief herself has been pressed into customs duty?"

Peterson smiled. "A coincidence. I'm here for a surprise inspection. It helps to keep the constables on their toes."

Harry nodded. "It's always good to keep the troops on their toes." In fact, it was why he had gone to the Mirror Realm in the first place. Since stability in the Mirror Realm benefited the Earth Realm as well, he had spent six months after the re-conquest of Astirian City in the Mirror Realm, with Ginny and his children spending about a week every month in the Mirror Realm. To justify Ginny's week-long absences, she had been given the task of working for the Order of Illumination in the Mirror Realm, aiding Nicolai and the retired Ranger artificers with restoring Cloud Jumper's sister ships and installing some powerful automated magical defences in Imperial Tower. Arranging something with Concordia Elementary for Richard's absences had been a bit tricky, but in the end Principal Sconner had agreed, as long as Richard received tutelage that would prevent him from falling behind. That tutelage had been provided by Quentin Hoover, an American ex-Ranger and old friend of Ironheart's who had been recruited into the Order at the same time. Officially he was one of Ironheart's administrative aides, but he had been able to spare a few hours every day for Richard. Aside from teaching Richard, he had also entertained Harry and Ginny with stories of Ironheart's younger years, and how Ironheart had left him to sort out the feud he had caused between two particular British witches who later became Harry's teachers.

While Ginny had stayed in Shamballah, Harry had spent most of his time in Astirian, helping Nicolai's magistrates to unmask those who had done the most damage during the duchess's rule, and hunting down insurgents who attacked the occupation force in an attempt to bring back the duchess's system of rule, only with themselves instead of the duchess as the ruler. The latter had been a laborious task, hermetically sealing off areas where the insurgents had to be hiding and working their way inwards, scanning the minds of every man, woman, and even child, until the insurgents were caught.

Fortunately the technique had been as effective as it had been time-consuming, actually working even better than expected, initially. In the first month after the fall of Astirian City, most of the would-be insurgents had often been amateurs who didn't know the meaning of the word decentralisation. The capture of the first group of attackers led to information that allowed Harry to arrest hundreds of other insurgents in one massive operation. The insurgents did get a little better in the second and third months after Astirian's fall, decentralising and creating cells, but since no cell ever managed to escape the forces maintaining the perimeter, they were always caught. By the sixth month, they had stopped trying to stir up trouble.

Harry knew better than to think this was because all the malcontents had been caught. They had stopped because they knew they couldn't get away with it. Some of the more bitter former resistance fighters had advocated a sweep of the city where no mind was left un-scanned, plucking out anyone who was seriously considering an insurgent attack and executing that person immediately. With a heavy heart, Nicolai had immediately made 'an example' of one of those former resistance fighters by striking him down with the Phoenix Katana. Then he had launched into an explanation, telling the others present that most of the insurgents were young people being duped by a minority of wily hate-mongers, and that the reason the insurgents heeded these hate-mongers was because they found themselves in the same boat the resistance fighters had also been in, until the recent social inversion. Nicolai—who had taken a dose of Mind Reading potion shortly before the incident—then revealed that the 'example' had been planning to go ahead with their suggestion even if he rejected it. He went on to confront another two leaders who had been planning the same thing, sparing their lives instead of making an examples out of them as well, thus turning the episode into a masterful object lesson in mercy and making the importance of offering people second chances painfully clear. The former resistance leaders certainly got the idea, realising that they would have been killed if Nicolai had done things the way they would have. As far as Harry knew, none of them had ever entertained thoughts about carrying out that harebrained plan ever again.

Still, it hardly seemed to compare favourably when he took into account the psychological stress that killing the resistance leader to make a point had caused poor Nicolai. It wasn't in the boy's nature to be brutal, and Harry certainly didn't envy his position. The idealist in him rebelled against the death of the resistance leader, but deep down he knew that it had been the only way for Nicolai to get his point across so thoroughly. It probably wouldn't have been enough to merely confront the resistance leaders about the thoughts in his head and leave it at a warning. The 'or else' factor in Nicolai's warning alone wouldn't have been able to pierce the haze of bitterness and hatred clouding their judgement. Worse, it would have made him appear weak at a critical time, which in turn could have meant the end of a unified group of resistance camps. Without that unity, occupying Astirian long enough for the re-education of its citizens to take root would have been impossible. No, Harry definitely didn't want to be in Nicolai's shoes, and he hoped that the quality time Nicolai was now spending with Mary and Oopsie took some of the stress away.

"The rebuilding of Shamballah is accelerating every day, but Nicolai's decided to halt the production of magic gems for a while—at least, for use in the construction industry. He says the building capacity can't keep growing like it has."

Peterson seemed to understand. "He wants to prevent the market from growing too large too quickly and popping like a soap bubble when there's nothing left to restore. Clever! Sudden mass unemployment resulting from market collapses have had some nasty consequences in the past."

Harry nodded. "No one can accuse Nicolai of not having foresight. Sometimes it's pretty unnerving, actually."

"That's super-human intelligence for you. Anyway, what about some juicy gossip? I heard that the Mirror Realm air is causing Donovan Ironheart to experience a second youth."

"You never ask a leading question without having an inkling of the answer, Chief Peterson. I could peek into your mind to find out, but I'll do the polite thing and ask you what you're fishing for."

"It's about his cook."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, she really is pregnant with his child."

Peterson shook her head in disbelief. "Becoming a father of an infant again at his age. Imagine that."

"It makes for a pretty complicated family tree, too," Harry muttered, more to himself than to Peterson, but she caught his words anyway.

"How so?"

"Take the Wolfe boys, for instance. Will the newborn be their first cousin, or their great-uncle or aunt? They're already interrelated with many of Weasley children through both lines, because Charlie and Jasmine are third cousins. So they're both first cousins through Wolfe and Jasmine, and fourth cousins through Wolfe and Charlie. Then there's Galatea's link to Fleur Delacour—now Fleur Weasley. Galatea was Fleur's cousin, so the Wolfe boys are second cousins to Fleur's kids. But they're also fourth cousins through Bill and Wolfe. Now, normally the closest link between blood-relations takes precedence, so they're first cousins to Charlie and Jasmine's kids, and second cousins to Bill and Fleur's kids. But, to this unborn child, they're related to fourth degree on both sides. Father—grandfather—great-grandfather, and back down to the unborn child. That's four steps. And from the mother's side—"

"I get the picture!" Peterson interrupted, smiling slightly. "Mother—grandparents—aunt, and unborn child. But are you sure you're using the degrees system properly? Because the way I heard it, it's got to do with the percentage of shared genes. Parents and full siblings are first degree relatives because they have fifty percent of their genes in common. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, half-siblings, and double cousins are all second degree relatives, because they have twenty-five percent of their genes in common. Generational jumps are irrelevant. Maybe the degrees you're talking about are used when determining who inherits when a relative dies and there isn't a will. On the other hand, maybe your way is better. It's a lot less complicated. Cousins are fourth-degree relatives whether they are normal, double, or half-cousins. But in the genetic system they'd be third, second, and fourth.

"Yeah, your way is definitely better," Peterson decided. "The genetic way doesn't cover people like the Wolfe kids. I mean, even if they're officially first cousins to Jasmine and Bill's—"

"Jasmine's married to Charlie," Harry corrected.

"—sorry, Jasmine and Charlie's children, they've got a little over fourteen percent of common genes instead of the normal twelve and a half that make first cousins."

Harry tried to work it out in his mind, but he had lost track of his thoughts when Peterson had started to include double and half-cousins into their discussion. "So does my system work better, or not?"

Peterson giggled. "I suppose we're both right. I'm not sure if there's a precedent for this. Men Ironheart's age don't usually father children anymore, and the odds of doing so with a sister of a grandson's wife … well, we're looking at a unique situation. As for how the Wolfe children will address the newborn, I think it's safe to say that they'll go with a link that doesn't transcend generations and fits better, age-wise. And if you're still worried, the genetic system can force a tie break. The Wolfe boys and the unborn child have a lot more genes in common through the maternal link than the paternal one. Or if you want to keep it simple, a great-aunt equals a first cousin twice removed, so the link between the mothers is definitely closer."

Harry realised that she was right. "That didn't occur to me."

Peterson shrugged. "I'm good with details. But now that we're on the subject, you don't strike me as someone to obsess over genealogy."

"After hearing that Thetis was pregnant, I couldn't help but to stop and think about it. Normally I'm rather indifferent about these things."

"How is Ironheart going to tell his wife?" Peterson wondered out loud.

"She already knows. I reckon she's a bit more forgiving because she knows that it's the Mirror Realm bringing out the demon inside him."

"So the lucky old bastard is getting away with it?"

"Not entirely. Now that Thetis is pregnant, Aria is determined to make sure that Donovan won't spend all his time shagging women all over the Mirror Realm after the child is born. She wants him to stay close and be a good father."

Something over Harry's shoulder drew Peterson's attention. "It looks like I'm needed elsewhere. Thanks for the gossip. Now I have something to talk about at the water cooler."

"And I'd better go tell Nicolai and Jasmine that they're getting a new aunt."

"Ah yes, the Eight Sequoias' inauguration. Mary and Gudrun invited me too, but I won't be able to make it until six. Oh, and how do you think I should dress? I heard Princess Mayumi is also there, so—"

"Honestly, Mayumi isn't the only royalty present. Matt's a sovereign prince and Nicolai is an emperor. There's no need to make a big deal out of her presence."

"Good point. I guess Mayumi's presence makes me nervous because her family's domain is in the Earth Realm, and because I don't know her. On the other hand, Nicolai's mother was a friend of mine before his imperial heritage was known. The same can be said for my relationship with Mary and Gudrun."

"Informal," Harry answered her earlier question. "It's an 'around the pool' party, so I'm going dressed for that. And Mayumi isn't here in an official capacity, so I'm sure she's letting her hair down."

"Whew, what a relief. See you later, Divinely Marked One!"

Chief Peterson strode away before Harry could reply, so he settled for ruefully shaking his head. He had thought that word of his nicknames hadn't crossed into the Earth Realm, but evidently he needed to think again. Shunting that particular mystery to the back of his mind, he made his way to a portal that would take him to the Citadel, where he needed to drop off the scroll he was carrying for Ironheart. He briefly thought about creating his own doorway, but decided that it was better to keep that ability under wraps as much as possible. He decided to create a doorway to Captain Kovalenko's after the portal took him to the Citadel's entrance hall.

Hermione was fascinated by the sight of Matt's aunt wolfing down her second helping, interrupted only by the occasional swig of beer straight from the bottle. One would think that the first generous helping would have filled her up, especially since she had eaten two whole trays of hors d'oeuvres by herself while she'd been lounging in the Jacuzzi. She did look like she could be a serious contender at any eating contest, however, and if one split her blonde hair into two plaits, added a Viking helmet, a forbidding breastplate with enough volume to encase her, and the rest of the battle attire, Betty Kelly could easily play the part of the big-boned Valkyrie Brunhilde in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

"Mum loves a good barbecue," Wendy's voice came suddenly.

Hermione tore her eyes away from the large woman. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare like that."

"As long no one gets between her and her tucker and longnecks, she's oblivious to the outside world when she's eating."

"I reckon her appetite is justified," Hermione said carefully. "She isn't a small woman."

Wendy sniggered. "That's an understatement. We have giant blood, Hermione. Everyone knows about my great-great-great grandfather, Liam Kelly, the best giant-slayer of his time. What they don't know is that he was half-giant himself. He hid it by drinking potions that shrank him. That's my family's shameful little secret. I found out about it after digging through the family archives."

"Giant blood, eh? I thought Matt was tall because both his parents were tall."

"Kellys did often choose tall mates out of convenience, so there was no reason for anyone to suspect giant blood. But my father is five-foot-five, and Mum's mum was short too. That's what made me look at my family tree a bit more closely. I knew it was very unlikely that the Kelly height survived two 'shortness assaults' unscathed without there being a magical reason. It's nearly impossible for a gene to be that dominant."

Hermione frowned. Something Wendy had said conflicted with her memories. "I could be wrong, but your grandmother doesn't look that small on the portrait that used to hang at Kellys' Keep."

"That's not my grandmother. That was my grandpa's first wife. She disappeared on an Acromantula expedition to Borneo. Grandpa Newton eventually remarried my grandmother, and they had my mum. Uncle Byron and Aunt Zelda are from the first marriage."

"So you're—I'm not sure the term exists—Matt's half-cousin."

"Yep." A wistful smile appeared on Wendy's face. "And that difference nearly made me his wife."

"Oh?" Hermione put her plate on a little table next to her poolside recliner and settled in to listen, her tiredness immediately forgotten.

"Uncle Byron attended the wedding of a Pakistani business associate's son, which is where he got the idea. He wanted to keep the family fortune as intact as possible, and a marriage between Matt and me was one step in the right direction. We were already fooling around, so I guess he thought he might as well try to make it official. My mum was initially against it, though, because she believes that first cousins are an instant recipe for six-fingered children. See, Grandma's a Seppo, and—"

"I'm sorry, a Seppo?"

"Yank? American?"

"Oh, right."

"So she's American, and she's from one of those states where first cousin marriages are banned. She passed some of that prejudice on to Mum."

Hermione knew that was silly. People always said that chance of children born to first cousins having birth defects was twice as large as those born to unrelated parents—which was true. But they conveniently forgot to mention the percentages, which were four to six instead of the two to three percent chance unrelated couples had. Moreover, first-cousin couples appeared to be twice as fertile as unrelated ones and had fewer miscarriages, though both the Muggle and wizarding jury were still out on the exact cause of this.

"Byron convinced your mum by telling her that half-cousins didn't have that problem, didn't he?"

"Right in one."

"So what went wrong?"

"Matt ran into his summer fling—who we now know was Gudrun—a month later, spoiling Byron's plans. When that happened, Matt and I had already been fooling around off and on for two years—since he was twelve and I was thirteen. We both snogged other people from time to time, but I thought we'd really get together when we were older. I was thrilled with Uncle Byron's plan, and I was crushed when I realised just how hard Matt had fallen for Gudrun over the summer."

"So Byron had Matt's memories of Gudrun removed, thinking that it would fix the problem," Hermione said, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Well, I didn't know that Matt had been Memory Charmed to forget about Gudrun—I thought Byron had talked him out of it somehow—but yeah, that's what happened. Anyway, Matt and I did get something going again after his memory was altered, and it lasted through school and his Auror training—right up until he joined the Order of Illumination. But during that time—every time there was a Muggle or Muggle-born girl who looked or acted like Gudrun—it became obvious that the Memory Charm hadn't erased everything. He broke it off with me lots of times, only to come back disappointed, time after time. It must have been him subconsciously realising that the girls weren't Gudrun."

Hermione reached over and patted Wendy's knee sympathetically. "Him breaking up with you every time must have hurt, right?"

Wendy nodded emphatically. "Bloody oath! But it wasn't all bad. During the break-up before the final one, when I was being taught business and management and Matt was in Auror training, a female friend comforted me and I discovered that I fancied women almost as much as men. And in spite of all the break-ups, Matt was wonderful to me when we were together." She leaned in closer and added whispering, "Also, I have yet to find a better lover than he. Male or female."

"Oh, my!" Hermione took a large gulp of lemonade. She had heard Gudrun's stories and read her booklets, but up she had always assumed that Gudrun exaggerated her husband's skill a little.

Wendy smiled salaciously. "Yes, indeed!"

"Talking about blokes, I bet!" Ron's voice sounded from behind them.

"Ron!" Hermione rolled off her recliner and launched herself at him. His arms slid around her waist and pinned her against his chest as their lips met in a passionate kiss. To her relief, Ron's fervour easily equalled hers, putting to rest certain doubts she had harboured these last few months.

"Guess what?" Ron said after they broke apart to breathe. "I've talked Captain Kovalenko into giving you the next three days off. It was tricky, but when she called Montoya to see if there was any way to get you some time off, he said he'd give the two new Medical Division recruits their first taste of the graveyard shift a week early. I know three days isn't much, but your expertise is considered a precious commodity. In exchange for getting you three days off now, I had to give up three of my own for later."

Hermione's chest cavity filled with warmth. "Oh Ron, you didn't have to."

"What's the point of having those days if I can't spend them with you?" Ron asked, and Hermione answered by kissing him again.

"Hey Ron, if you want food, you'd better break it up before my mum goes back to the buffet for a third helping," Wendy said softly.

Hermione released Ron and allowed him to hurry to the buffet, where Harry and Gudrun were already heaping food onto their plates. A minute later, he returned with what she would have considered an obscene amount of food, before she had seen Betty Kelly indulging herself. Harry was right behind him, carrying a more modestly loaded plate.

"One of you can have my seat," Wendy offered. "I'm going to take a dip."

"You might get a cramp," Hermione warned.

Wendy heaved an exasperated sigh as she slid in the water. "I'll stay in the shallows, Mum."

Harry sat down on the newly vacated chair while Ron sat on the end of Hermione's chair after she had pulled her legs back to make some space.

"How are things in the Mirror Realm, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Ron shook his head. "Hermione, the man is hungry. Can't you let him eat first?"

Harry acknowledged Ron's protest with a grateful nod, but answered the question anyway. "Training of the first elements of Shamballah's future miniature army has started. It won't be very big, but most of the Mirror Realm is so sparsely populated that it doesn't have to be. I doubt that there are any kingdoms who will be able to raise an army large enough to be a threat to it."

"Did you remember to pop over to the Immortals' Circle and see who is living in Merlin's old house?"

"Actually, I did. It's Pecos Bill and Mayumi's sister."

Ron choked on his food as he heard it.

"Not as a couple, Weasley. She's changed her name to Azumi, by the way. And they've adopted a boy of some type of Jinn subspecies. Pecos Bill called it a Soya-Jinn. He looks a lot like we do, but he's got a monkey tail. I think his race used to dwell in the Far East."

"And how's the situation in Astirian?"

"Steadily improving. It might take several generations for the wounds to heal completely, but at least they're not killing each other."

He paused as Ginny and his three towel-wrapped children—plus Sissi—appeared around his chair and greeting him with hugs. Danny wouldn't let go of Sissi's hand to hug his father, so Harry simply pulled both children in for a hug and kiss. Then he locked his eyes on a chair on the other side of the pool and levitated it over to their side, and the four children immediately climbed on top after it set down.

Ginny sat down next Harry and handed the plate she had taken to allow him to hug the children back to him.

"Hello, honey. Did I miss anything while I was away?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Ginny answered, resting her head on his shoulder. "But I'm glad you're home."

Harry looked from Ginny to his children, and back. "Me too."

FIN

torifire Yes, it was on purpose.

Sheila I've said before that I respect J.KRowling's edict that people can't come back to life in Harry Potter. So no, Wolfe won't come back to life.

Lady of Masbolle Think again. Yamato is dead. I've gota new villian for the next and final fic.

DADAGinny I hope I tied up all the loose ends.

hootild I'm afraid that's it. It was between Harry and Yamato.

Gogirl I used to watch it too. I was fun at first, but later on it became more of the same. I'm afervent Ash/Misty shipper. I don't like the girl she was replaced with.

Nya I'm glad you like it.

Lyambren Better a short one than no review at all.

Jake Thatis one uncertainty you will have to live with.

Elric Magus Read my typing, Yamato is dead.

Lipton I was afraid that it would fall flat, but everyone seems to like it.

Saint Mike (points to someearlier review answers)

Athena McGonagall Don't worry about it. Lately I've found out how hard real life can intrude.

Fragarach That means a lot to me.

I'd like to thank everone who has reviewed. To those of you who waited until the story was done, now is the time.

Peace