Disclaimer: See Part One.

Author's note: I'd like to thank everyone who has been so very patient with me while I've been working on this and other stories. Thanks for putting up with me. And thanks to my muse for poking my plans for this from just getting it finished to being a full fledged series arc. ignores groans from the peanut gallery Also, some of the curses and hexes seen in this story are courtesy of Saerry Snape's "A Guide To Hexes, Curses and Spells". (All hail the Lord and Lady Hex! >:D)

Enjoy!

A Matter of Magic, Part Five
Harry just stared at Dumbledore. They never even awoke to know that something was wrong. Then... More people were dead because of him, because of who he was.

Blair took one look at Ruth's face and grabbed her before she could fall. Jim snagged a chair out of the dining room and put it under her and Blair lowered her gently into it as she began to sob, blaming herself entirely for the deaths of the Dursleys.

Then, before things could get any further out of hand Dumbledore said, "Dear me, I don't think I phrased that quite right. The Dursleys are alive, but they are severely injured. When the house fell, the walls collapsed inward, but there was a small space that was created by one wall supporting another. Ironically, this was the cupboard under the stairs, and when the upstairs bedrooms fell in, all three of them rolled into that area. They are being dug out as we speak."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but Ruth kept crying. Blair just knelt there beside her, rocking her gently as she recovered from her fright and murmuring words of comfort into her ear. Jim stood guard over them, ensuring that his Shaman and his Shaman's mate were not disturbed while they dealt with the emotional turmoil that had just been kicked up.

Blair was furious at the Headmaster, but he knew that the old man had not intended to hurt Ruth like this, so he stifled it. He could see that Jim was just as angry, but he warned the Sentinel with a look that he had better not do anything rash. Jim pretended to pout, but nodded.

Once they had settled back down, Harry made the round of introductions, making sure to give Ruth, Jim and Blair the whole story on Sirius and the fact that the warrants against him were based on false assumptions. Jim and Blair looked at each other. The warrants had even gotten to them in Cascade, but if the man was truly innocent... Jim turned to Black and said, "Tell me yourself. What happened that night?" No one could lie to a Sentinel. Even if one could fool a polygraph, Jim would know that they were lying because he didn't let them know and they didn't prepare against it.

Sirius told them the entire story, from the Potters' use of the Fidellius charm and the switch of Secret Keepers to Peter's betrayal of them all and the measures the rat had taken to ensure that he would never be caught and that all blame for the incident would be piled on Sirius's head. Then Harry started telling them about everything that had happened in his third year, with Hermione and Ron adding in their bits. Sirius asked at one point whether it would really be considered murder if he ate Pettigrew when they were both in their Animagus forms. Dumbledore looked at him sourly and Jim glared. "Okay! Just asking!" Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

Ruth had recovered as the others were talking, but she still clung to her fiancé with the strength of a drowning victim. Jim had grabbed a few more chairs out of the dining room so that more people could sit, including Blair, who just continued to hold his love and comfort her. He knew that she blamed herself for the situation with the Dursleys and things could still go badly. Blair had been part of enough rescue operations to know that the tiniest mistake could be disastrous.

The cops and Auror agreed to not make a report. Neither could actually arrest him since they were out of their jurisdictions by a few thousand miles, but they would be taken seriously if they reported his presence.

Dumbledore sat on one of the chairs during the entire conversation and watched the players with interest. Once they were all done talking, he changed the subject. "So, as a Shaman, will you be joining our fight against Voldemort?"

Jim's eyes narrowed at the old man, distrust evident in his features as he moved protectively in front of his Guide. They certainly hadn't told the old man that! But Blair put a hand on his arm, getting him to back off a bit, if not to back down. "I am untrained. And Riddle accidentally made his plans to come after me plain. He knows about the link to Harry and he bugged the scar. But he doesn't know very much about me or my partner, and he screwed up. So now we're on guard. However, there may still be no way for me to actually interfere in this fight. I just don't know yet. All I do know is that we have to be ready when he tries."

"How did you discover his surveillance?"

Blair shook his head. "I don't even know you. I don't know that I can trust you. I'm fairly certain that you mean me no ill will, but I would be very stupid to tell someone I just met every little secret I have. Besides, not every secret I have is mine to tell."

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand. Very well. Harry, I will inform you as soon as I know anything about your relatives."

He turned to leave but before he could, Harry stopped him. "Headmaster, before you go, I have to say something. I can't go back to the Dursleys, no matter what. I'll break every law in the wizard world about underage magic before I return to their nonexistent care."

"Harry..."

Ruth broke in. "No, Headmaster. Harry's right. If I'd seen what I did in the States, I wouldn't have just gotten him out of that house. I'd have called Blair and Social Services and had the Dursleys charged with neglect and endangerment. They regularly underfed him and they had about five locks on his door and bars on the window. If there'd been a fire, Harry would have been either toast or under arrest for underage magic. You made a poor choice of guardians, sir, I will make myself and my department known in this country if you attempt to continue it."

"But there are certain factors..."

"You put up blood-keyed wards, right? Riddle knew about them and he would eventually have found a way around them. As it is, any new ones will be a lot less stable because of the way he returned to full life. He has a blood-key to anything of that nature."

Dumbledore wavered. "I'll think of something. There is time." He turned and left the house, the twinkle completely gone from his eyes.

Harry sat down and contemplated his shoes. "He's mad at me."

Remus shook his head. "No he's not, Harry. He's disappointed with himself. He truly believed that Lily's sister would love you like her own son just because you were family. He never listened to anyone that she was spiteful and jealous of her sister for having control over a power that she could never touch. To him, family is the most important thing. He can't conceive of a different point of view."

Jim snorted at that. "He ought to take a look at some of our case files. Hell, even my old man was no prize."

"It's not that he doesn't know, academically, but he won't think of it."

After a while, Blair went shopping for copper with Sarah Granger, since she knew where all the best places were. Meanwhile, Fred, George, Ron and Molly arrived, the twins and Molly wrapping the candies in the kitchen. Jim and Ruth took Harry out into the back yard, Ron, Hermione, Remus and Sirius following.

"All right, Harry," Jim began, "what we're going to be doing is showing you how to fight a wizard without using magic. I'm going to show you what I would do. Mr. Black?" Sirius came over. "Attack me."

"What?"

"You two are adult wizards; you're allowed to use your wands, and I need to demonstrate. Just use something that I'll be able to get over quickly in case I can't stop you." But Jim's face wasn't worried. In fact, he smirked as he said it, knowing that would provoke the man at least a little, though he didn't know him at all.

Sirius grinned, knowing exactly what the man was up to, but believing him to be overconfident. After all, he was a Muggle, and he most likely hadn't known about the wizard world for very long. So he drew his wand and approached Jim. But before he could open his mouth to say a word, the cop lunged at him, grabbed hold of his wand hand (right) with his own right hand, spun backwards along the wizard's arm and planted an elbow in his face. Then he spun back out, twisting the wand hand as he went so that the wand was forced up and back and the elbow was strained nearly to the snapping point. "Now at this point you have a couple of options, Harry. You should first get him to drop his wand. You don't want to take your hand away because he could get loose, but right now he can't move very well without breaking or dislocating his arm. The more you move his hand upwards, the more painful it will be, so he'll drop his weapon. Then you can either continue and break his wrist or you can kick with your right leg and smash him in the face. Either way, once you've released him, make sure you take his wand with you. That will give you the advantage."

Jim released Sirius gently, then picked up his wand and handed it back. Sirius was hurting in his wrist and along the bridge of his nose, and he had to admit that he'd underestimated the man.

"Now, I had an advantage here that Black knew nothing about. I joined the army when I was eighteen and I was a Captain before I got out. I'm also a nine-year veteran of the Cascade, Washington Police Department. I have the advantage here because I just see the wand as another weapon, at least in a close-quarters fight, and I know how to take care of an armed man when I'm not armed.

"Most armed men are going to underestimate an unarmed one, and that could easily cause them to become careless. You can take advantage of that. You also need to be prepared for the eventuality that they're smarter than that and are actually paying attention to what you're doing. Once you've committed yourself, you'll have no choice but to follow through or be killed. You need to develop a set of reflexes that will allow you to dodge what they're throwing at you until you get close enough to disarm them, and you need the skill to handle them if they've got the same idea. And once the twins have finished their candies, I'd suggest you keep a couple in your pocket. You're a falcon; it'll give you a quick escape route."

Harry nodded. "Makes sense. And most Death Eaters are so elitist that they would never learn to do something the Muggle way. It's non-magical, therefore it must be inferior to magic."

Jim nodded. "Exactly. Now, we start with the basics." He faced Harry and put his hand out, palm forward. "Let's see how you punch."

Thanks to Dudley and his gang of lackeys, Harry had learned how to handle himself somewhat, but that mostly involved the fine art of ducking. He wasn't exactly skilled. So, when Harry threw his punch, it had plenty of force behind it, the young wizard putting his entire body into the blow, but his fist was in a bad position. Jim noticed immediately and moved his hand so that Harry wouldn't break his wrist. "Don't angle your wrist. You want the fist lined up with the arm bones; otherwise the wrist will bend too far when you strike and you'll break something." They continued working until everyone had returned to the Granger house.

Sarah had found a couple of rather interesting pieces that could be used, but one in particular had struck Blair's fancy, a jolly little statue of a dragon. It was meant as a paper weight, so it was solid and heavy, perfect for it's intention. They had also found a few pieces of copper jewelry that Blair thought he might be able to use later, including a piece with a wolf on it that he planned to use later. He had an idea, but it would have to wait until his training was complete.

Ruth took the dragon out to the back and placed the Living Spirit charm on it, along with a trigger phrase, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus." It was the Hogwarts school motto, and it was just ironic enough that several people were sent rolling in the aisle.

Dinner that night was tense. Blair would have to fast during his training, and he would be hungry, thirsty and tired once he was done, so he had to deal with Molly and Sarah trying to stuff him like a Christmas turkey and drown him with the amount of water they were asking him to drink. Blair knew that Jim felt the same, which is why the Sentinel didn't try and stop the well meaning women from mothering him. If they hadn't, he would have. The kids all spent the meal trying not to laugh their heads off at the poor bloke's misfortune, Harry in particular, as he'd been on the receiving end of Molly's good intentions before.

Blair spent the night making love to his fiancé, ensuring that she knew she was loved just in the unlikely case that something should go horribly wrong. It wasn't that he thought something might, but he had no intention of leaving anything unsaid in the meanwhile. After all, his trouble magnet was well documented.

Ruth wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what he was doing. He often spent a full, precious night like this with her when he was about to get involved in a particularly dangerous case or when he'd seen too much at work. He was very careful with her emotions, and she loved him all the more for it. Some times she worried that he had some kind of premonition ability, because invariably, when he did this, something went wrong and he or Jim were severely injured. One case had left him in a coma for a week. He knew that something could happen, and so did she, so they made the most of the midnight, and dared the dawn to intrude on their happiness.

Morning saw Jim and Blair out in the back yard watching the sunrise. "Jim, this is safe. That's not what has me bothered."

Jim nodded. "Riddle."

"Yeah. He knows that I'll have to do something. It's only a matter of time before he comes here. Harry and I have been talking a lot, and there's a spell that, should he use it, he could control me completely. From the way he was talking when you overheard him, I think that once I'm trained, he won't be able to do that, but if he gets hold of me before that--"

"I won't let him!"

"Jim, stop. I need to know that you won't let me hurt anyone, no matter what that means."

He was asking Jim to stop him, permanently if need be. He didn't know if he could do that. "Blair--"

"Please, Jim. Promise me this. I need to know that they're safe from what a Shaman could do to them."

Jim looked into his Shaman's eyes, seeing the desperation within them. He sighed and nodded. "All right. But you can't expect me not to join you."

Blair nodded. "Just make sure Ruth is taken care of before you go."

"Of course." The two men embraced. "Be safe, brother."

"As I can, my brother."

Blair sat down on the grass of the lawn, placing the copper dragon and a pillar candle in front of him on the ground. Jim stayed close, but he didn't crowd in. Blair lit the candle, using it as a meditative focus. When he was ready, he first activated the dragon. Then he began the ritual to call out for his teacher, who would be Incacha. It was only fitting that the one who passed him the Way be the one to teach him how to use it. He focused inward, to his magical center and visualizing Incacha's face, as it had been when Blair had first seen him in the loft, ignoring the way he had looked as he passed away in Jim's arms. "May the winds bring forth the one I seek, the one who holds the truth I need to know. May the fire of his soul be awakened, the waters of the river of death part for a time to allow him to cross and the Earth accept his presence once again. Thrice shall the sun set and thrice shall it rise before he shall be called to return to the place from whence he came. Incacha!"

At first nothing happened, but within moments, first the Jaguar and the Wolf walked into the circle, fading into solidity as they crossed the invisible barrier emitted by the copper statue, and then came Incacha. The Chopec actually appeared a bit younger than he had in Cascade, more like he must have seemed when Jim had originally known him in Peru.

Jim inclined his head toward his old friend, glad at this chance to see him again, even if they wouldn't get the chance to talk as the Shaman would have to focus his attention on Blair. Incacha nodded in acknowledgement to the Sentinel. "It is good to see you Enquiri, but I must be alone with this one."

Jim nodded. "I understand. It is good to see you, my friend." He turned to walk away, but the Jaguar stepped up beside him first. Grinning at the cat, Jim knelt down to stroke its fur and whispered, "Let me know if I am needed. I'll be in the house." The great cat winked at his human, as if to tell him not to worry. He would be on guard.

Two days passed at the Granger house. The time passed slowly and uneventfully, the atmosphere tense with the knowledge that Voldemort could come at any moment. Jim, Ruth and Harry were constantly watching the activity in the yard, all for slightly different reasons. For Jim, it was the natural protectiveness of the Sentinel toward his Guide. For Ruth, it was the worry of a lover. For Harry, it was the knowledge that, should Voldemort seize this man through the grip of the Imperius Curse before he had the ability to fight it off, the dark wizard would be certain to send the Shaman after Harry, and he had no way to fight a Shaman. He would loose spectacularly.

Blair was fully immersed in his training. He wouldn't know you were there if you stood behind him and yelled "Boo!" or smacked him on the head. He was in and out of the spirit plane, at one point flickering alarmingly and it had taken the Jaguar and Wolf standing in his path to keep Jim from barreling in there and making certain for himself that Blair was okay.

From what Hermione had been able to glean of the resources Blair had brought home with him from the Oxford Library, she was able to tell them something of what was going on. "Right now, I believe Blair's brain is being used like the organic computer it really is, and all the information his teacher can download into him is being packed into his head. That's the only way they can get it all to him in the time allowed by the spell. Training on the living plane takes years. He's only got three days."

The Granger house was under constant guard and surveillance by the Order of the Phoenix, the organization which had opposed Voldemort during the first war and Dumbledore's "old crowd". Sirius and Remus were frequent visitors those three days, and others were introduced; Nymphadora Tonks and Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody both seemed to grate on Jim's senses in one way or another, and Severus Snape only made the mistake of insulting Blair once. Tonks' actually caused a zone when Jim watched her change her face. He could see too much detail as she shifted. Moody's eye really bugged the Sentinel, if only because it was always watching and that set off instinctive alarms.

The original plan had been to move everyone to Sirius Black's house, which was being used as the Order's headquarters, but with such competent protectors already in place, they kept Harry there. Harry didn't complain, though it irked him that Dumbledore wouldn't tell him anything. He didn't complain because he just knew that Voldemort was going to strike here, and he needed to be where he could protect his friends.

It was strange knowing that he wasn't Voldemort's primary target, at least for the moment. On the one hand, Blair was both more vulnerable while he was in a spiritual trance, and more capable of dealing with bad guys in general because of his age and experience. On the other, Harry felt like the monster was his responsibility, not Blair's, and he was uncomfortable with the thought of anyone else fighting his battles.

Time ran out as the sun set for the third time. Harry's scar flared to life just moments before there was a crash at the front of the house and the front door was knocked in. Voldemort was here!

Ruth had done the practical thing two nights before and gone back to the loft in Cascade to retrieve Jim's weapon and a couple of extra clips. He was very glad that she had as the comforting weight of the Sig Saur pistol filled his right hand following the loud crashing noises of the front door.

There were Death Eaters everywhere. The occupants of the house were severely outnumbered, but they also had certain advantages. First, Jim had a weapon that the Death Eaters had no experience with and which could fire much more quickly than they could fire off a spell. Second, Fred and George had been plotting in the eventuality of just such an emergency and had modified several of their existing pranks into more dangerous forms which could be used as weapons. And third, Ruth, Remus and Sirius were all inside the house and ready to fight.

Jim used a whole clip before someone had the brains to disarm him. "Expelliarmus!" He was thrown backward, his weapon flying from his hand. The Death Eater moved forward, intent on finishing off this troublesome Muggle. Jim had no intention of giving up without a fight and got to his feet quickly.

From the banister George shouted, "Ellison! Drink this!" And he threw something at the cop's head. Jim caught the vial with ease and popped the cork, downing the contents in one gulp. He knew enough about the twins to trust them in a fight. He felt himself changing immediately and grinned. The jaguar let out a roar of challenge and leapt at the Death Eater, flattening the masked man and knocking the wind out of him. He grasped the wand out of the suddenly limp fingers and snapped it between his jaws. Then he looked around to see where he was most needed and leapt to assist young Ginny where the curses of a third year student were not proving to be enough.

The twins started making the rounds with their burdens of potion, getting to everyone they could and hexing Death Eaters along the way. Ginny was the first they got to after Jim and the little ocelot was tearing into her attackers. Sarah and Jeremy used their forms to flee, knowing they were out of their league in this fight. Molly remained human, far more effective that way, as did Arthur, Ron and Bill. Charlie was too big as a dragon to contribute so he remained human as well. Ruth's pit bull self had currently locked her jaws around a Death Eater's leg, pulling at him in order to trip him. Hermione was in the air, wand in claw, casting hexes and curses the angle of her flight pattern. She was deadly accurate, and several Death Eaters were incarcerated by her "Obvolvo" curse. Others had been wounded severely by the curse "Mordeo", which was a cutting curse.

Meanwhile, Harry was fighting back to back with Ruth and Sirius. Imposter or not, Harry had learned a lot from Barty Crouch Jr. and was putting it to good use. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use the Unforgivables, but there were some other things he could do that were standing him in good stead, such as "Caecus", which caused temporary blindness, "Speculum", which caused spells to be reflected away from their target, and "Alter Casus" which caused someone's legs to collapse. He spotted a Death Eater pointing his wand at Jim, who was looking the other way at a different threat. He cast "Commoveo!" and the man was thrown backwards into a wall. He slid down it, unconscious. Having dealt with his other opponent, Jim turned and nodded at Harry in acknowledgement, then jumped back into the fray.

The fight had gone on for half an hour before Voldemort finally got through to the back door and went out on the lawn. There was the Shaman! An insane grin split his reptilian face. He was so deep in his trance that he looked to be completely unaware of anything that was going on around him. Perfect! The Dark Lord aimed his wand at the burgeoning Shaman, intent on casting "Imperio".

But he was caught by surprise as Blair Sandburg suddenly rose up out of his seated position. The Shaman turned around to face the evil being who wanted to take him away from his Sentinel. His voice was strangely distant as he addressed the dark one. "You cannot succeed. My power is not my own, to do with as you wish. If you controlled me, you would not control my power, for it belongs to the Spirits, and they would kill me before allowing it. However, they would never need to, for they have given me more than enough to defeat you. Now, leave this place. I may not be your enemy; it is forbidden. The battle of the wizards is not the battle of a foreign Shaman. But I may defend those within my tribe and those in my vicinity."

Voldemort smirked. "We shall see. Imperio!"

The results were spectacular. Blair just held up a hand, and a tremendous blast of energy surged along the path of the curse, knocking Voldemort into unaided flight. Jim had finally made it outside as this occurred and watched the evil creature's trajectory. Wow! I think he landed in the English Channel!

Blair looked at Jim sheepishly. "Oops. I really didn't mean to hit him that hard. Looks like I'm going to have to practice with this thing."

The jaguar just grinned at him.

Just then, the Spirits who had come to Blair's call all showed themselves. Incacha grinned at the sight of Enquiri wearing the form of his Spirit Guide to do battle. Wolf laughed in his doggy way and Jaguar just snorted. The older Shaman said, "It is time for me to leave you, Enquiri. I must give you one thing to remember. One of your tribe will become the mate of the savior these magicians. Both are too young yet for their destinies, but the time will soon come when they will have to stand against this enemy to save their world. You must remember this when the mate chooses him. They will need your support against the adversity of others."

Jim nodded. He would remember. So would Blair.

It took a few hours to get those Death Eaters who hadn't escaped trussed up and the Ministry called to come and deal with them. At first, Minister Fudge and a woman named Dolores Umbridge, tried to expel all four underage students for their use of magic, but there were too many witnesses. If the word of a werewolf wasn't acceptable, then the word of an Auror and two Muggle cops had better be. Besides, if they tried it, Jim told them that they'd better be prepared to punish him as well for shooting to defend himself from the attackers. Umbridge said, "Well of course, we wouldn't charge you with anything! You not only are trained and licensed, but you are a Muggle and beyond our power to punish."

"So, I'm out of your jurisdiction. Doesn't change the fact that these kids only did what they had to do to survive. I'd imagine that wizard newspapers all over the globe might like to hear about it if you tried to prosecute them for it."

The Minister puffed up. "Are you threatening us, sir?"

"Absolutely, and don't think I won't go through with it. I know just how powerful a weapon public opinion can be against jumped up officials."

Bair was right behind him, his eyes flat with anger. "One would think that the Minister of Magic would be more concerned with the fact that one of the greatest terrorists his nation has ever produced is back in action, and with protecting his people from a madman like Tom Riddle."

"Just because some of his old cronies are still active, it doesn't mean that the man himself is back from the dead. No, there is no reason for me to believe that You-Know-Who is anything but dead. The matter is closed!"

Dumbledore stepped up into the conversation. "You will regret not listening to me, Cornelius. There is more at stake in this than you know."

"Pish. You need to stay out of the Muggle sweets. You're getting strange ideas from them. Now, I must be going. Good bye, Headmaster."

Jim came out from where he was listening. "What is that guy's problem? How much evidence does he need?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He does not want to believe, and so he refuses to. His hiding from the facts is sure to endanger a great many people."

Jim shook his head. "I won't ask how he got into office. Heaven knows our own politicians are just as bad." He looked up. "This is going to make things difficult, isn't it."

"I dare say it will."

Blair's training had been completely successful. He sat for three hours with Jim and Ruth in a room she'd spelled sound-proof, telling them about it. And it came down to just a few things. His power did NOT belong to him. Like his weapon had been issued by the Cascade Police Department, his abilities, while a part of him, were on loan from the Spirit world, and he was accountable to them for how he used them.

There were rules. His jurisdiction included his family, his mate and her family, his Sentinel and his family and Cascade, just as Jim's did. That meant that, while Hermione could be under his protection, Harry could not, nor could the wizarding community at large. He could not use his power to kill, no matter the circumstances, and he could never be cruel. If the Spirit world decided that he was abusing his power in any way, he could be stripped of that power. It ensured that no Shaman could become dark as a wizard could. It was the trade off that the first wizards had made. They had less power than a Shaman, but they could do whatever they wanted with it. But a Shaman was never alone. The Spirits were always behind their chosen ones. And Blair was something else besides. He was also a Guide.

The bond between Sentinel and Guide was so strong that the Sentinel could tap into the Shaman Guide's power if it was needed. A Guide was an enhanced Shaman, just as a Sentinel was an enhanced Muggle. Blair explained it. "Remember the vision at the fountain? That's what happened. You tapped into my abilities to stop me from crossing over."

Jim blinked. Then... "Is that what happened in the Temple? You were there the whole time. Even though every vision was dark, you were there through the whole thing, supporting me."

Blair nodded. "And all I could think about was getting to you. Incacha actually apologized for telling you to go without me, but he needed for me to keep Megan out of harm's way."

"So what kind of powers are we talking about here?"

Blair grinned and turned to his fiancé. Singing the theme to Green Acres, he said, "Anything you can do I can do better." She smirked and swatted his arm. "Seriously, though, it all depends on the situation. With the average perp on the street, I won't have to use it much. With the psychos, I'll be able to calm them down a lot easier. I'll have less chance of ending up in the situation I had with Lash, and I can do that for anyone around me, as well. I'll be able to deal with the odd magical creature I might come in contact with, which in our area is going to be things like migrating thunderbirds and rock dragons, and I'll have a connection with other animals as well. Parceltongue is a rare gift among wizards, but a Shaman can speak to snakes and any other reasonably intelligent creature, pretty much anything smarter than fish and frogs.

"I'll also be able to tell the emotional state of any person I come in contact with. I've already been doing that some, but it's been a little unreliable. I'll do a lot better now with that, and it should come in very handy. And I can always ask for help if we need it, direct from the Spirit Guides. Oh, and as soon as Ruth and I are back from our honey moon, I'm under orders to tell Simon and the Commissioner about my abilities and new responsibilities. It's up to Warren as to whether or not I have a conflict of interest. Incacha just can't figure out our legal system. Too convoluted."

"So he's leaving that decision up to Warren. Damn. Well, Warren already knows about me, and he knows we're a package deal. It shouldn't be a problem."

Blair shrugged. "Maybe. He's going to have to deal with the fact that my responsibility is to the people first and the law second. That sounds like a conflict to me, but if he can handle it, I'll be happy to stay with the P.D. If not--"

Jim nodded. He sat back to think, but it didn't take too long. "Well, according to Incacha, your spiritual jurisdiction and mine are the same. Only makes sense that if he makes you leave, I will, too. We're partners. Period."

Blair grinned. "Good." He turned to Ruth. "Now, some things, like Muggle baiting and such, I'll make sure and call you in for. That's still your job. The Spirits aren't too fond of wizards at large, because the first ones abandoned the Spirits for their own power. Doesn't make any difference on an individual level, but I'll be less obligated to deal with the wizarding community because they're more able to defend themselves."

Ruth nodded. "Makes sense. Is it all right for me to tell Swackey about you two, or would you rather I not?"

Jim and Blair looked at each other. Blair shook his head. "Let's deal with one set of bosses at a time, see what happens with Commissioner Warren before we make any decisions."

"Okay."

That's it for Part Five. The epilogue should be done pretty quick, so don't go any where. Reviews please!