Prophecy

by Ravenwood240

Harry killed Voldemort fifteen years ago. Now, Eight children must use their gifts to defeat an evil greater than Voldemort could ever be. Animagi, Pyromancers, a Shaman, Giant magic, a Warlock and more as a Muggle born wizard tries to conquer both worlds

30. The End of Innocence

Chapter 30

Siblings

Professor Dumbledore watched Chimera working with interest. This was the first time he'd seen them working together and the change in them was remarkable. Hangeld and Emma were brewing a potion from a formula James had gotten from April, while Adam was practicing a spell under Lisa's exacting eye. Melissa was examining May-ling with her Healing talent and Tiffany was concentrating, bringing her Pyromancy up, ready to use. The green flames flickering in her eyes were definitely unusual, at least for anyone else. Emily was in a corner, recording the entire proceeding and James and Rose were drawing designs and symbols on a sheet of paper and arguing silently over them.

James stopped and absently took three of the Snickers bars from under his robes. He tossed one at Tiffany without even looking in her direction and handed one to Rose. He opened his, and was about to take a bite when he took exception to something Rose drew. Leaving the candy bar hanging from his mouth like a giant cigar, he took the quill from Rose and drew a variation. He set the quill down, and the twins locked eyes for a minute. They finished their argument, apparently in James's favor since his drawing stayed, and kept going.

Professor Dumbledore turned as the only person that was not working on breaking May-ling's curse came up. April Erskine was an elderly Witch who specialized in links and bonds, like the Twinlink and the Soulbond. She'd been working with Manticore since Melissa admitted she didn't know enough yet, and had owled her family for help. "Absolutely fascinating, Professor. They're drawing on the link again, using facets of each other to enhance their own skills and talents, and they don't even know it."

Professor Dumbledore nodded, watching the silently working group with a quiet intensity. "What are they going to do?" He wasn't sure what they had in mind yet, but he was sure that in order to break a curse two thousand years old, it would be powerful.

April consulted the notes she'd taken during the night. "May-ling's curse is tied to May-ling through her mother, and will only stop when she achieves a particular goal, in her case, saving a set number of lives. Breaking the curse is going to require several steps. First, James is going to use the Manticore Clan leader powers to formally disown May-ling's mother. We think that might put enough of a strain on the curse that Tiffany can use her Pyromancy to weaken it. Melissa will be watching the curse with her talent, and when it's weakened enough, Adam is going to cast the strongest curse breaker spell they could find, and hold it until Melissa says stop or the curse is gone."

Professor Dumbledore thought about the plan, until he had a thought. "Wait, James hasn't accepted the Clan leader powers yet."

April looked at the Headmaster. "Yes, he has. He did it last night. He said that his fears about power would not stand in the way of helping a friend."

James and Rose finished their discussion and Rose started drawing diagrams on the floor. James came over to the Professor and April. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you if you would participate. In order to do a full Outcasting, I need a blood relative, the Clan leader, and a Clan elder." James grinned sheepishly. "Manticore doesn't have many people that qualify as elders, and you are the best choice."

Professor Dumbledore smiled faintly. "What will I need to do?"

James pointed at Rose. "Since I am going to be calling on some of the Spirits for assistance, Rose is drawing wards, designed to keep out any spirits that we don't want interfering. Inside those circles, several of us are going to have places to stand. All you have to do is stand in your place and answer all questions addressed to the Wise One." James looked at the Headmaster. "Do you need May-ling to remind you about what her mother did?"

Professor Dumbledore flashed back, hearing May-ling describe her mother's massacre of several hundred people in a single night. "No, Mr. Evans, I remember the story well enough."

He looked at James, casting the aura-reading spell with the ease of long practice. He frowned as he read James's aura. Yes, the clan leader powers were there, and sharp, bursting with more power than any one person could hold, kept in check only by the shunts and blocks James had set up. A second's thought, and James would have access to more power than forty Adams would. He wouldn't live more than a few seconds after trying to use that power, but Professor Dumbledore didn't even try to fool himself that James wouldn't use those powers under the right circumstances.

Rose finished drawing the circles on the floor, and James started preparing himself to lead the circle. Emma came over with the potion and gave it to May-ling. Professor Dumbledore turned to ask April what the potion was, but she'd anticipated his question. "May-ling has to be conscious to help Outcast her mother, but there is going to be some pain involved for her. The potion should deaden the pain to a tolerable level."

Professor Dumbledore frowned, alerted by something in April's voice. "How much pain is Miss. Sun-Tzu going to experience?"

April sighed heavily. "That's why Melissa is going to be monitoring the whole thing, and can stop the ritual at any time. The curse is tied to May-ling's soul, and something like this has never been tried. If the pain is going to cause injury to May-ling, Melissa is supposed to stop, no matter how close they are to finishing the ritual."

James finished checking the diagrams Rose had drawn and smiled at her. "Your normal perfection. Thank you." He looked around. "You all know what you're going to do. May-ling, Melissa, would you take your places, please?"

May-ling stood in the center of the smallest circle with Melissa. The second circle was in case of a power overflow. It would contain any spillage from the first circle. James directed Rose and Professor Dumbledore to share the third circle with him. Adam was in the next circle with a thin channel from him to May-ling. The fourth and last circle had a place at each of the cardinal compass points for Emma, Hangeld, Lisa, and Tiffany to stand. They would face out, warding the people inside the circles against magical intrusions.

When everyone was in place, James began closing the circles with magic, starting with the smallest and working his way out. When he was done with that, he looked around. "This is your last chance to back out." Nobody moved, and he smiled.

"We are gathered here to call the Outcasting on Mu-lei Sun-Tzu." With the formal words of the invocation, the circles began glowing softly, a light blue that would grow deeper as the ritual proceeded. James looked at May-ling. "You who are bound by blood and grievous hurt to this person; do you agree to the Outcasting?"

"The tie of blood is ended." May-ling was impassive, but two thousand years of living under this curse had left bitterness plain in her voice.

James looked at Professor Dumbledore. "Wise one, is the crime sufficient to warrant this Outcasting?"

Professor Dumbledore nodded slowly. "The person's crime is too great for redemption."

James looked back at May-ling. "As leader of this Clan, I find that this person's actions are such that no atonement is possible. I reject this person." The circles were glowing a deep blue by now, casting strange shadows across the room, and adding an eerie touch to the Outcasting. James spoke the formal final words.

"Mu-lei Sun-Tzu is not of our Clan."

The blue glow grew bright for a second, and May-ling stiffened and bit her lip. As the glow faded away entirely, Melissa was already using her talent to examine May-ling. "It was not enough. There is still nothing we can do to the curse yet."

James nodded. They had anticipated this problem last night, and James had another trick to try. He spoke in Lakota, calling on a spirit o assist him. Then he looked at May-ling. "Mu-lei's blood is now purged, in place, my own merged. As sister May-ling will be to me, her honor and mine one to be."

May-ling's circle shimmered and began glowing a rich amber color, hiding May-ling from everyone not in the circle with her. A voice spoke to her, deep in the silence of her mind. The voice was serious and somber, rich with overtones May-ling didn't understand. "Your Clan leader wished to be thy brother in Blood and Love. Do you accept this offer?"

May-ling took a second to think about that and then spoke a single word. "Yes."

"Very well," said the voice, and there were shocked looks around the circles, because four people heard it now. "Just remember that you asked for it." With that last sentence, and its touch of malicious humour, the voice and the amber glow were gone.

For just a second, nothing happened, and then James, Rose and May-ling all began glowing that amber color, the light grew, shading into white and becoming so bright that everyone else had to cover their eyes. Abruptly, the white light was gone. Before the three of them could do or say anything, Melissa was talking.

Melissa was looking at May-ling again. "That's done it. The frame of the curse is fraying away." She highlighted the curse, and in several places, the curse was unraveling. James frowned though, as he watched the fraying curse because it was knitting itself back together almost as fast as it was coming apart. It still wasn't enough. He'd been hoping to avoid this step, as it was almost certain to be painful for May-ling. "Tiffany, you're up. Take your instructions from Melissa."

Melissa had one hand just above May-ling's skin as she concentrated on her physical condition. "Start slowly, and be ready to stop if I say so." Tiffany pushed a trickle of the Pyromancy out, aiming at one of the unraveling spots in the curse. Mal-ling hissed as the green fire touched the curse and then was silent. Tiffany waited a second and began filling the area with the fire.

May-ling ground her teeth and looked at Melissa. Melissa was biting her lip, and May-ling put every hope she had of breaking the curse in a silent plea not to stop the ritual. This bit of pain was nothing compared to some of the things she'd endured over the centuries, and she would accept far more to be free. She stared at Melissa, begging with her eyes.

Tiffany was unaware of the byplay as she filled the hole and started pushing toward another. James and Rose frowned, looking at each other as they caught an echo of May-ling's pain. "It must be because we're leading the ritual, because Tiffany feels it also." James said, and Rose nodded.

"We really should try some of these spells out before we use them on other people," agreed Rose, and they went back to concentrating on the ceremony.

May-ling had her eyes closed, as the pain grew, sweeping through her system. Melissa started to say something, and then thought about May-ling's plea. She bit her lip, and touched May-ling with the Healing talent, trying to take some of the pain from her.

Tiffany continued filling the curse with her green fire, until she'd connected all the holes. May-ling had her eyes screwed shut and was biting her tongue to keep from making noise as the pain grew. Only centuries of enduring the things she couldn't stop kept her from crying out. Melissa was monitoring her, watching as the green fire filled the curse. "Now, Adam," she said, as the Pyromancy touched all the broken areas of the curse.

Adam raised his wand and waved it through the slash and circle that was the motion of this spell, saying "Exsisto Pessum Ire." A white beam flashed out of Adam's wand and struck the Pyromancy filled curse.

May-ling screamed as her body filled with pain, and James, Rose and Tiffany nearly joined her when the echo of pain became real pain. The white light fought with the dull brown of the curse as the green of Tiffany's Pyromancy swept into any space open to it. The swirling mass of colour lasted barely three seconds, and then it was gone in a blinding flash. The wards around the first circle gave out under so much magic, and the blinding light expanded to fill the second circle.

For an instant, everyone in the room had to close their eyes, and when they opened them, May-ling and Melissa were lying on the ground, and neither of them was moving.

James and Rose were taking the circles down as fast as they dared, working from the outside in, and by the time they got to Melissa and May-ling, they still hadn't moved. Chimera could feel Melissa in the link of course, but she didn't answer anyone.

Rose was the first to reach Melissa, and she cradled her head in her lap as she sent Emma for the first aid kit. James reached down and touched her on the shoulder. "Relax, flower child. I'm prepared for something happening." James made a call on his ring. "Phoenix one, bring two medics in."

He had barely finished speaking when Mercy and two of the Phoenix medics were entering the room. Mercy took a quick look and directed them to start working on Melissa and May-ling. She looked at James. "Did it work?"

James was watching as they worked on the two girls, worry plain in his face. "I don't know. I hope so, because I'm not putting May-ling through that again."

Melissa was the first to respond to the treatment, and she sat up, looking over at May-ling. "How is she?"

She stiffened suddenly, and started to smile. She turned and looked at Rose. "Do you remember how we first figured out there was something different about May-ling?"

Rose blinked at the questioned. "Of course, we couldn't touch her with our," her voice trailed away.

"I can see her in the Paths," she said.

Chimera shared a sudden exultation, and turned as May-ling stirred. James bent over, looking at May-ling, thinking something looked wrong, but he was too interested in what he had to say.

"Happy Birthday, May-ling. You've only been aging about five minutes or so, but I think you were eleven long enough."

James watched May-ling with a smile, although something kept nagging at him. May-ling blinked, and went pale as she absorbed what he meant. She looked at Melissa for confirmation, and then did the last thing James would have ever guessed. May-ling burst into tears.

James stared at Tiffany. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked in confusion.

Tiffany was wiping her eyes as well, and so was Emma and Rose. "No, you said the perfect thing. It's a girl thing."

James rolled his eyes. "I get any closer to being a girl, I'm going to start bleeding every month."

Tiffany put an arm around him as she watched Melissa and Rose hold May-ling. "Not really," she disagreed. "I'm not really a girl anymore than you are strictly a boy because of the Soulbond."

James thought about that for a minute. "We're never going to truly understand other people, are we?"

Tiffany hugged him a little closer. "No, but it doesn't matter, we have Rose and Melissa to explain anything we need to know."

Before they could continue their conversation, May-ling stood up and crossed to James. Falling back into the formal ways of her childhood, May-ling bowed to James. "This was your doing, and I am in your debt." She held the bow as she waited for James' response.

James crossed to her, raising her head with his hand and staring into her green eyes. He froze, staring at those eyes, just like the ones he saw in the mirror every morning and a pit grew in his stomach. "Rose, what colour are May-ling's eyes?"

He sent that question over the Twinbond, the link no one else could use, not even Tiffany, so it was all he could do not to scream as he got two answers back.

"My eyes are brown, why?"

She's got brown eyes, why?"

Rose blinked and paled as she heard May-ling in her head, in a place that had been only her and James until now.

May-ling realized what she'd just done, and stared at James. "What is going on?" she asked aloud, trying not to think about how she was beginning to feel the shock of the twins as they realized something big had changed.

James was going over what he'd done in the ritual and suddenly hissed. "I think I should have phrased the final vow a little differently. I asked to be your brother in Blood and Love."

Rose was following his thoughts, and she had one of her own, one that made her groan. She looked at James, and spoke slowly, as if he was a not too bright child. "James, you called on a spirit for help, didn't you?"

James looked at her. "Of course, I don't have nearly the power to sever Clan ties without help."

Rose nodded. "I thought so. Now, for the grand prize, which spirit did you call on?"

James blinked, frowning at Rose. "Coyote, of course, he's my favorite…" he trailed off as he finally realized what Rose had already figured out. "Oh shit."

May-ling was looking a bit wild as she faced James. "He's what, James? Somehow your description of this spirit is lacking."

James sighed. "Coyote is a lot like me. He's also known as the Prankster spirit. He took us literally when I asked to be your brother, and now you have the Evans eyes and our Twinbond."

May-ling thought about that for a minute. "You mean you asked the trickster god to help you break my curse?" She seemed to vibrate for a second, and then her hand lashed out in a perfect palm strike to James' solar plexus. While he tried to breathe, May-ling took half a step backwards and introduced her heel to James' cheek.

James looked up at the furious May-ling from the ground as Melissa tried to calm her. "Is that your temper, or mine?"

May-ling glared at him, only to be brought up short as Rose stood before her. James stood up, caught by the emotions Rose was feeling, and the three of them examined each other for several minutes.

Only Tiffany knew about the thoughts that made them all start smiling.

"I have a sister/Family/another sister."

Tiffany was the one with an irreverent thought this time. "James, what are your folks going to say about becoming parents again at their age?"

James and Rose were busy for the next hour or so, showing May-ling how to use the link she'd gotten so unexpectedly.

Professor Dumbledore stood off to the side, watching the three of them, forgotten by everyone he thought. At least until Emily asked him to step over to the side so she could ask him about his impressions of the ritual, and what it was like from his point of view.

The Headmaster had never been a part of one of Emily's research projects before, and he was mildly surprised to find out that Emily treated him just the same as she did anyone else that she wanted to interview.

By the time Emily was done with everyone and ready to go, it was nearly dinner, and the group went to the Great Hall, having missed four meals in the last two days. May-ling had the abstracted look of any new linked person, as she tried to talk to everyone.

"Give it up, Oldest little sister. You aren't on the right channel to speak to the rest of Chimera."

May-ling blinked as she thought about James's name for her. "Why not? You made both links from the same spell, so I should be able to use either link."

James looked at Rose, and they both looked at May-ling for a minute. "Not really. Get with us later, and we'll explain the differences."

May-ling frowned but held her peace as they entered the hall. She started toward the Ravenclaw table and turned back to James. "James?"

"Yes?"

May-ling grinned suddenly, her new eyes flashing brightly. "Do you think anyone will notice?"

After dinner, Professor Dumbledore called for James. In his office, James greeted Fawkes and sat down. He waited patiently as Professor Dumbledore sat down and chose a lemon drop.

The professor looked at James. "I have given a great deal of thought to our discussion about Manticore Hall, and those students that do qualify for Manticore, but that you can't use in the prophecy related matters. If you create another hidden area, and allow numerous others in there, sooner or later one of them is going to see you using the area, or is going to notice the missing area, as Emily is doing now."

James grinned as he thought about Emily Kitchen walking around all of Hogwarts with a tape measure trying to find the last two Founder's rooms. She hadn't figured out where they were yet, but she was determined to try. She had found Helga Hufflepuff's room, and now spent at least an hour every day wandering the halls, measuring and checking. He thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out what they were going to do about keeping Manticore's true purpose from the rest of the school. "What we really need," he said wistfully, "is a room or series of rooms that nobody knows about."

Professor Dumbledore looked at James lowered his voice. "I might have a way to help you with that. I would like for all eight of you to meet me in front of the Great Hall just after curfew."

James stared at the professor, and was about to ask what he wanted Manticore for when the Headmaster asked about the other Manticores. It wasn't until he was on his way back to Gryffindor tower that James realized his question had been rather neatly deflected.

Late that night, just before curfew, Chimera gathered in the Gryffindor common room. Prefect Logan Marchen, this year's seventh year Prefect was there studying for the OWLs. He looked up and grinned at them. "Off on a midnight raid are you? Do I dare hope it's an extravagant prank?"

Rose smiled at him. "Not this time, we've got an appointment with Professor Dumbledore." All of the Gryffindor Prefects knew about Manticore, as they were told when they became prefects. It was helpful to have the prefects covering for them while they were doing things most students shouldn't be doing.

"That's too bad," he said with a sigh. "I could use a bit of stress relief right now."

James and Tiffany looked at each other and smiled. They'd had an idea a while back, but it never seemed to be the right time for it. Tiffany grinned at the older boy. "Stress relief is it? Are you willing to lose a day of studying for your relief?"

Prefect Marchen blinked and thought about it. "Not a whole day, no. How about half a day?"

James nodded. "Done. Sometime this month. Right now, we have an appointment to keep."

Chimera went out and down to the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore was already there, and he looked at each of them for the longest time without saying a word. When he did speak, he was uncommonly serious. "Come with me."

He led them toward a little used part of the tower, speaking as he walked. "Long ago, as you know, Hogwarts was required to train a certain number of Wizards in the ways of Magical Warfare. Doing so required a place to practice spells and charms designed to level castles and do enormous damage."

The Professor stopped by a small door. Adam thought about the castle layout. "This leads to a small courtyard, but nobody has ever been able to get the door open, and the courtyard can't be found from outside the castle."

Professor Dumbledore smiled. "You cannot open, because only the current headmaster of Hogwarts can open the door." He reached out and touched the door. A blue glow started at his touch, and expanded to cover the door. After a few seconds it faded away and he opened the door.

He led them into the courtyard and they all looked around. It was about fifty meters wide, and completely bare except for a small building in the center of the cobblestones. Professor Dumbledore led them to the front of the building.

"This was where we trained the War Wizards all those centuries ago. The building is larger than it looks." He pointed at the door. "Whoever enters that door first will be the Gatekeeper of the Tower, with final say about who enters and who does not."

James stared at the building while he thought about what the Headmaster had said. "What is the hitch, Professor? It sounds perfect, but somehow, I don't think it will be that easy."

Professor Dumbledore sighed. "The Gatekeeper must pass a test, of Integrity and Honor. Whoever walks through that door does so in the full knowledge that at the end of the test, they will be the protector of the tower, or they will be dead."

Chimera turned to stare at the door again, which was suddenly looking ominous. The headmaster continued to speak. "The Gatekeeper can allow anyone to enter, but those that they allow to enter have access to everything in the tower except the Archmage's floor. The Gatekeeper must give a different permission for that. They must be absolutely unbribeable, and incorruptible. To insure that weak people didn't try to become the Gatekeeper, the test was made deadly, and everyone knew it."

James sighed. "This tower would be great, but I won't risk any of my people for it." He looked at the building again, and started to turn away. "I won't ask anyone to risk their life here."

Lisa was staring at the Tower, ignoring what they people around her was saying. Here was something she could do for Manticore. "You don't have to ask. I volunteer." Before the rest of Chimera figured out what she meant to do, Lisa stepped up to the door and reached for the handle.

As she touched it, she disappeared, and the rest of Chimera dropped where they stood. Professor Dumbledore frowned. This was not good.

Professor Dumbledore bent to check on Hagrid, who was closest to him. He breathed a sigh of relief to find him unconscious. He began checking on the other Chimeras. He was just checking on Melissa when a motion flashed in the corner of his eye. He looked up to see May-ling shooting through the door on her Starblade.

May-ling pulled up and dropped next to Rose. "What happened? Are they OK? Should I call Mercy?"

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I don't believe that will be necessary. I believe they will be fine when Lisa comes out of the Gatekeeper's test."

May-ling looked up from her place between James and Rose. "What is the Gatekeeper's test?"

"That is a long story," the Headmaster said, "and it goes like this." Professor Dumbledore told May-ling the story of the tower as they watched over Chimera.

"Professor, are you saying that Lisa could die in there?"

"That is possible, yes, but I do not think it is likely, or I would never have brought them here. I would not want one of the others to take the test, but Lisa is suited perfectly for this test."

May-ling nodded, thinking about it. "She is the Mental Wizard, with unmatched honor according to the prophecy."

Before Professor Dumbledore could answer her, the various people lying on the ground began stirring, and May-ling's attention was captured by James and Rose. "Are you OK?" she asked Rose, eliciting winces from all the Chimera that were moving.

Rose put one finger over May-ling's lips. "We will be, if you don't say anything aloud. We have headaches the size of the moon."

As the seven of them rested and Melissa began trying to soothe as much of their pain away as she could, the door to the little building opened and Lisa staggered out.

She fell to her knees and wept, her body wracked with shuddering sobs. Adam was the first one there and he wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him and looked up at him. She looked up and the anguish in her eyes struck like a blow. "I had to," she said, still lost in whatever had happened beyond the door, "I had to leave you all there."

Adam cradled her gently. "Shh," he murmured, "it's going to be fine." He looked at the Headmaster, and anger was plain in his face. "Did you know about this as well, Sir?"

Professor Dumbledore was watching Lisa. He heard the accusation in Adam's voice, but looking at Lisa who still wept and clung to Adam as if he was her only lifeline, Professor Dumbledore could understand that anger. "I did not. Remember, there has not been a Gatekeeper in centuries. All I knew of the test I told you." He looked at Lisa, still clinging to Adam. "If I had known anything else about the test, I would have warned you. I assume the applicants would be told about the test by the Archmage of the tower."

Lisa let go of Adam, and dried her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked around. "May-ling, what are you doing here?"

May-ling rolled her eyes. "Where would you expect me to be? I was peacefully sleeping, and having the strangest dream about James and Rose walking around, and then I am struck with more pain than I have ever felt." May-ling's eyes grew shadowed for a minute, but she pushed the memory away. "When I recover, I can't touch these two at all." She indicated James and Rose.

Lisa nodded, and turned to face the building. "I am the Gatekeeper, and I command you to open."

As Lisa finished speaking, the building began to glow a reddish-yellow, like hot coals. The building began to grow, expanding upward and outward as they watched it. Up it grew, until it was as tall as any other tower in Hogwarts, and out, until it nearly filled the courtyard. When it finally stopped, the tower was the same octagon shape, and forty meters across. Where the single door had been was a large metal double door. Above the door was a carved shelf, where four fierce gargoyles looked down at anyone approaching the door. Around the edge of the shelf, something was carved in Latin.

Lisa looked at it, and translated. "If peace you would have, be prepared then, for war."

James stepped closer to the door, looking at the shelf and gargoyles. As he came within three meters of the door, two of the gargoyles shifted and changed. They dropped down between James and the tower. James jumped back, and pulled his wand. The rest of Chimera spread out behind him, pulling their wands. "You may not enter here," hissed one of them, whose eyes glowed the same reddish-yellow the tower had.

James stooped, transfixed. "I need not pass. Tell me, are you truly living Gargoyles, or is this a spell, to make the stone live?"

The Gargoyles looked at him, and both of them had glowing eyes now. "Ask the Wizards that bound us here," said the one that had spoken before in a low, gravelly voice filled with bitterness. "Ask the ones that came and took us from our home these fifteen hundred years ago, binding us to keep all beings out of the Tower of War, saving only those marked by the Gatekeeper."

Chimera flinched at the anger in James. "Why were you bound?"

The Gargoyle looked at him. "The War Wizards needed guardians that didn't eat or sleep, who could not be bribed, and who would live forever. They came, those long years ago, and took us from the rocky cliffs that we called home. We were easy targets then, being a new family group, and less than sixty years old. We were brought to the original location of the Tower, bound to it, and that is how matters have stood for a millennium and a half."

"I see," James said quietly, and turned to Lisa. "Lisa, would you be kind enough to do whatever it is that you have to do, to allow me entry?"

"Yes, if you will stand still for a minute, and let me touch that link you have with all the Manticores."

James looked at her sharply. "How did you know about that?"

Professor Dumbledore was standing quietly off to the side. He had long ago learned that merely standing still and listening was a good way to be ignored or forgotten, and that you could learn the most interesting things that way. This link, he was sure, was one of those things.

Lisa sighed, and rubbed her eyes. "James," she said in the voice adults would use with not too bright children, "Emily and April have been investigating the links for nearly two years now. How long did you think you were going to keep it hidden?"

James sighed. "Longer than this, I was hoping. Who else knows about it?"

Adam answered for her. "Emily, April, all of us, and all of the team leaders, that I know of."

James dropped his head. "Wonderful. It was supposed to be a secret."

May-ling had been following the conversation. "If you are talking about that link that connects you with a dying Manticore, everyone knows about it. We just haven't said anything because you seemed to want to keep it quiet."

All of Chimera turned to look at May-ling. She shrugged, and then smiled faintly. "Emily found it, and it's something new on a project of hers."

Melissa, who worked with Emily quite often, was the first to figure out what May-ling meant. "She documented it in her notes, didn't she? And since we never told her that the Manticores couldn't read her notes," Melissa let her voice trail off, allowing the others to think about it.

James sighed, and shook his head. "There are times I could strangle that girl. Since everyone knows about the link."

"Not everyone, Mr. Evans, and would you mind filling me in on this link?" Professor Dumbledore was certain that when he joined Manticore, nothing had been said about a link to a dying Manticore, and he did not like the sound of it.

Chimera jumped, and turned to look at the Headmaster, having forgotten that he was there. James looked at him, and groaned. "This is not my night," he said quietly. "Sir, it is a long story, and since I doubt you are going to like it anymore than Tiffany or Rose did, I'd rather finish this thing we are doing now." James had a vague hope that by the time they were done, the Professor would have forgotten about it.

Professor Dumbledore hesitated, and then nodded. "I think we will be having a long talk, Mr. Evans. I know you won't lie to me, but apparently, I have not been asking the right questions either."

James winced, and turned back to Lisa. "Gatekeeper, if you would, please?"

Lisa took out her wand, and cast a variant of the aura-reading spell. James glowed, linchpin of dozens of links and oaths. To the other sight that medics used to look inside people, James was a mass of swirling color. He seemed to radiate spikes of colour, leading off in many directions. The pure white of the Soulbond, thicker than all the rest, closely followed by the Twinlink, running to Rose and May-ling, Green as spring grass and nearly as think as the Soulbond. Only slightly smaller was the burnished gold of Chimera's link. The Clan lines, and the Oaths that bound every Manticore, were thin, smaller than Lisa's little finger, but they seemed larger, with the sheer number of spikes running everywhere.

Lisa sorted them out patiently while the rest of Chimera watched. Here was the link she wanted, thin as a hair, and a disturbing dark red, like dried blood. Lisa isolated that one, and cast another spell, one none of the watchers could understand. As she did, James, the Tower and the Final Moments link all glowed that reddish-yellow for a minute, and then the effect faded.

As it faded away, the Gargoyles jumped back onto their perch. "You may pass."

James looked at them, even as they started to change. "Wait. I would know one thing before you go."

One of the Gargoyles had already faded back into the stone, but the one that had spoken earlier stopped, looking at James. "What is it? And hurry, for in the oblivion of stone I do not remember my slavery."

"How do I break that slavery?" James stared at the Gargoyle, "I do not agree with what was done to you, and I would free you to go on with your life."

The Gargoyle stared at James, and the monstrous face was too foreign for anyone there to read, but the reddish glint was back in the being's eyes. "If you are serious, climb to the top floor of the Tower. That is the Archmage's floor, and somewhere on it is his personal library. The ritual and the spells they used to bind us are there. A good mage should be able to undo those spells."

James nodded, even as the Gargoyle faded to grey stone. He studied the door as he raised the Manticore ring to call for help.

"Phoenix one, Phoenix two, this is Chimera one." He repeated the call until he got groggy responses from Mercy and Jerrick. "Good morning. I have a mission for Phoenix. We have new quarters, and I am activating the Sudden Departure."

Jerrick's voice was still sleep logged. "How do you expect us to depart Hogwarts?"

James grinned. "When you get your people to the Main Hall, May-ling will meet you and she can start explaining. Right now, you need to start waking Phoenix. I want every Prophecy specific thing out of the Hall and into the Tower by dawn."

James just grinned again and ignored Jerrick's startled "What tower?"

He looked at May-ling. "Would you mind escorting Phoenix here? After you have a couple of them to guide the rest, go get dressed, it's going to be a long night."

May-ling blinked, still not quite used to hearing voices in her head. "At least, not voices that should be there," said a whisper. She ignored the voice, as she had been doing for nearly twelve hundred years, and started toward the Main Hall.

James turned to Chimera. "OK People, here's what we're going to do. Adam, you and Lisa will stay on the ground floor. The rest of us are going to break into teams, and search this place quickly. I want to know what's in here so we can find out where to put the things we're bringing in. Adam, you and Lisa will control Phoenix until we're done. Make them stack the stuff don here, and in the meantime, I want a rough map of the tower. Each team will tell you what they are finding, and you can draw it out." James looked around. "Any questions?"

Rose sighed, and held out a hand. "We have a deal, Brother Mine. I want my overtime pay."

James stared at her. "That doesn't apply to the prophecy mission, only to personal stuff."

Rose shook her head. "Wrong. This doing it in the middle of the night, and in one night at that, is your personal paranoia speaking, and that means this is overtime."

James rolled his eyes. "Fine, you win," he said, and pulled one of the candy bars they twins seemed to have an endless supply of from his robes. "Here's one, I'll pay the rest after we're done."

Rose smiled and turned to Melissa. "Come on, we'll go to the right from the door."

Melissa didn't move, staring at James. She held out her hand. "I want overtime also."

James did a double take. "What?"

"You heard me," said Melissa calmly, "if Rose gets overtime, and I have to work just as hard with her, I want overtime."

The other members of Chimera looked at each other, and as one, they all held out their hands. James stared at them with a wounded expression. None of them moved and finally James groaned. "OK, OK, you'll all get it." Nobody put his or her hand down, although everyone could feel the amusement with the link. James sighed and passed out a bar to everyone.

When everyone had one, they started inside, only to break out laughing at Rose's comment. "Oh, James," she said over the Chimera link, so everyone could hear her. "May-ling says she'll want hers as well."

James' expression was faintly martyred as he followed the other Chimeras into their new home. "This is really not my night."

Chimera went through the Tower quickly, just seeing what was in it rather than searching it. James just wanted to be sure that there wasn't anything harmful lying around before the Manticores came in. The first two floors were classrooms of various sizes, and the third floor was classrooms for more active studies. There was a fencing salle, two dueling rooms, and two more room that could be used for nearly anything.

The fourth floor was one large room, a meeting hall it appeared. Adam was still on the first floor, and he had a request. "Someone pace off the walls. I think this Tower is larger on the inside than on the outside, but I need a pace count."

Hangeld and Emma did so, as the other two teams continued up the stairs. The fifth and sixth floors were quarters, possibly for the Wizards that had taught here. The seventh and eighth floors were ritual rooms and magical labs, with heavily warded walls and thick doors. The ninth floor was a series of storerooms, filled with boxes and crates, and other things less easy to classify.

The tenth floor was a library, and James groaned as he saw it. "Great. This time, y'all are going to take a turn making sure Emily eats once in a while." He went through the library quickly, and everyone knew that James was far more interested in the top floor.

"James, I've got Phoenix here, are you ready for them?" May-ling's mental voice was loud, as if she thought she'd have to shout to be heard over long distances.

"Yes, we are," said Rose, as James started up the stairs to the next floor. "Have them take the books to the tenth floor, and turn the first room on the fifth floor into the armory. Jerrick will know how to set the wards."

Rose and James were discussing possibilities in their own private language over their link, and it came as quite the shock when May-ling interjected a comment. James stopped on the stairs, startled. "Comprehend?" he asked May-ling.

"Shouldn't I?" responded an equally startled May-ling.

James and Rose thought about it. No one else had ever understood what they were saying but then, no one else could touch the link they shared until now. They shrugged and continued with what they were doing. Emily and April would simply add this to the data they were amassing on the links and Manticore. "May-ling, have Emily join us on the tenth floor, would you?"

May-ling agreed and Chimera soon heard feet on the tower stairs. Emily came into the library and stopped. She looked around carefully and smiled. "I am so glad Jerrick and I decided to join Manticore. I get to see so many new books with you."

James was back from the eleventh floor, and he grinned at Emily. "I have a job for you. I need you to find a book, and one spell in that book."

Emily looked around, estimating the number of books in this room. "What's the name of the book?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Emily looked at James again. "Do you know what it's about, who it's by, what color it is, anything?"

James grinned, struggling not to laugh at the expression on Emily's face. "I know two things about it. You may have noticed four gargoyles above the door to the tower. They are alive, bound there in slavery, and I am going to free them. The book you want is going to have the ritual that bound them, and how to unbind them." He raised one hand. "I can say that the book is not in this library. It's above us."

Emily looked at James, finally noticing the smile curving his lips. "You knew what I was thinking," she accused him, a charge James didn't deny. She thought about it for a minute. "So I have to search an unknown number of books for a ritual binding that I won't know is right until I read it. Is that what you're saying, Yank?"

James nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe that covers it."

Emily closed her eyes. "Give me strength," she muttered under her breath, and then looked at James again. "You are aware that I have OWLs this year, are you not?"

James tilted his head and looked surprised. "What is this? Do I hear Emily saying a simple research job is beyond her?" He sighed, and turned toward Emma, winking at her. "Emma, would you get Harry, please? I'm sure he can do this."

Emily bristled, glaring at James. "Harry? My brother has no respect for any book more than a decade old, and doesn't know how to treat them."

James interrupted her. "Then you'll do it?"

"Of course I will, and I suppose you want it done by dawn."

James shrugged. "Actually, I don't know how long it is going to take yet. Follow me and we'll find out."

James led Chimera and Emily to the eleventh floor. This floor was a short hallway with five doors leading off the hall. Each door had a symbol on it, but that was all. James looked around at the others. "Does anyone recognize any of these?"

None of the Chimeras did, and James turned to Lisa. "I don't suppose being the Gatekeeper helps you out with this, does it?" Lisa shook her head. "Wonderful," said James, but before he could say anything else, Emily spoke.

"James," she said, staring at one door, "do you mind if I get started in the library?"

James stared at her. "You can read these symbols?"

Emily shook her head. "I can only read that one, on that door. It's an older regional variant of old high Latin."

James rubbed his eyes. "How is it," he asked, "that you know that one symbol there, but none of the others?"

Emily was already moving toward the door she had indicated. "I know the word, sign, or symbol for library, book, and scroll in every language I could look up. That does not mean I can read all those languages." She opened the door and went inside, leaving Chimera staring bemusedly after her.

James shook his head. "I'm going to remind you all of this, the next time you accuse me of having a one track mind." He turned to the next door and opened it. The room beyond the door was an office, with a private bathroom and a small owlery attached to it. Emma suggested that they give this room to Jerrick, since he spent so much time reading the things owls brought him, and James agreed.

The next room was a bedroom, and since it had a connecting door to the office, James decided to make it into an office for Chimera. They went back into the hall where Hangeld reached for the last door. Before he could open it, a ghost came through the door. In life, he had been a short man with very little hair, and he was smiling at them. "Thank Merlin. It's about time someone came. Who has assumed the mantle and responsibility of Archmage of the Tower of War?"

Chimera stared at the ghost, and Hangeld backed up. Rose stepped forward. "I'm sorry Sir," she said politely, "but no one has assumed the position. We are merely using the tower for an educational society."

The ghost looked at her for several minutes, and then looked at each of the Chimeras in turn. "Hogwash," he said finally, "to be polite. I was there when we hid the Towers from time, and I know what conditions where set on the Tower being reopened. And yet, you are but children, despite those two's apparent age, and your size." He indicated James, Tiffany, and Hangeld. "I think we have things to talk about. Shall we adjourn to the library, where we can sit?"

They went into the library, where Emily was already hard at work. She glanced up as they came in, and went back to her books. "James," she said absently, still reading whatever she had in her hand, "can I use this as my research center? There is some fascinating material here."

The ghost looked affronted. "Miss, this is the personal library of the Archmage of the Tower, not a research center for students."

Emily didn't even look up. "As far as I know, there has not been an Archmage in this tower for over a thousand years. James is the closest thing we have to an Archmage, and if he says I can use it, nobody else is going to say I cannot."

The ghost frowned at her, but Rose intervened. "Excuse me, but who are you? I thought I knew all the ghosts in Hogwarts by sight at least."

The ghost turned back to Chimera. "I am the Archmage of the Tower of War. When you assume the position of Archmage of one of the Towers, you erase your name and all ties with the rest of the world, so that you might better serve your tower." He looked at the group. "Which of you is James?"

"I am James Evans." James introduced the group, including Emily, who didn't even notice. "You mentioned some conditions, when you said that the tower was hidden from time. What did you mean by that?"

The ghost sighed. "That is a long story. Once there were twenty-five towers, each dedicated to a different facet of magic and learning. In the days after the end of the last Goblin war, it was decided that they were no longer needed, as Wizards began to spread out and disperse into smaller communities." He scratched his head. "The Archmages of all the towers met, and we were considering abandoning the towers altogether. Before we could agree on that, one of our Archmages, the leader of the Tower of Healing had a vision. He saw that one day, some of the Towers would be needed again. We listened to him, and decided to hide the towers from time, so that they would not be affected by the passage of time."

Lisa cocked her head sideways. "How did you do that? It takes an immense amount of power just to turn back time an hour or so, and you're talking about centuries."

The ghost smiled thinly. "Two things made the great spell possible. First, the Archmage of any Tower has a great deal of power to draw on, and second, we were not changing time. We shrank the towers to the size you found it in, and." He frowned. "I don't know how to say it. We turned the towers ninety degrees from everywhere."

There was a pause as the young people tried to imagine pushing something at right angles to every direction at once. The ghost watched, amused. "Don't bother trying to imagine it, I've been trying for years, and even now all it gets me is a headache." He looked toward Emily. "Anyway, we hid twenty-two of the Towers that way, leaving only three still operating. The Tower of Healing,"

Melissa choked and coughed. Chimera looked at her, and Lisa leaned forward. "Melissa, you wouldn't know where that tower is, would you?"

Melissa smiled, and turned toward the ghost. "Which other towers did you leave in use?"

The ghost shrugged and continued. "The Tower of Learning, whose members were very much like your friend over there, and the Tower of All."

Hangeld frowned. "Mother talked about a Tower once," he said softly, "a place where anyone could come and learn, no matter what their race. Centaurs studied with House Elves, and even those of giant blood were allowed to study anything they wanted."

The ghost nodded. "That was the idea of the Tower of All, that magic and its uses were there for anyone with the skill and the desire to learn. They were in France last I knew."

James looked up, remembering something the Gargoyle had said. "Pardon me," he said, "but you seem to be implying that the Towers can move."

The ghost looked up, surprised. "Of course they can. It's a simple spell, once you learn how to do it."

He looked around at the stunned faces around him. "Has the knowledge of transporting buildings been lost then? It was not common, but you used to see a Tower or other building flying in the sky often."

James sighed, and slumped back. "Oh, that spell. No, it has not been lost, merely banned because of Muggle planes and radar. I was hoping you had something different."

The ghost looked at him, confused. "What have Muggles to do with us? If they cause problems, just erase their memories, or kill them."

Chimera stared at the ghost, appalled. He had suggested killing the Muggles in the same tome one of them would use about a fly or other pest that was annoying you.

Melissa shook her head. "You just can't go around killing Muggles like that."

"Why not? It is not as if they don't breed like rabbits. One of the Archmages even suggested that one day, they would number in the billions." He snorted. "Such foolishness. Everyone knows that the planet can't support more than a few million people, maybe three or four hundred million at most, and even that many would take serious rules about the number of children you could have, how much you could eat, and a host of other rules."

Chimera looked at each other, wondering how to tell the ghost that Muggles numbered in the billions, and that his colleague had been right, when Emily took the matter out of their hands. "Actually," she said, still leaving through a book, "that's not quite true. With Muggle technology, they are supporting billions of people now."

The ghost stared at her, and then turned back to the group. "Is that true? Are there truly billions of people on the planet?"

James nodded. "Yes, there are. I am from America, and there are two hundred and forty million people in my country alone."

The ghost frowned. "I am not familiar with 'America'. Is that in Africa?"

James and Rose stared at the ghost while the rest of Chimera choked down laughter. Rose thought about it. "When did you seal the Tower?"

"In 1489, why?"

Rose nodded. "A few years later, a man named Christopher Columbus would find a new continent, while looking for a western route to India. It is called America."

The ghost blinked, thinking about that. He finally shook his head, saying, "We can discuss the history of the world later. I have a question now. Since you were able to open the Tower, that means that all the conditions of the spell have been met. Tell me, who is the enemy that will threaten two continents within ten years? The Goblins perhaps? They have been silent for many years. Or have the Valenits finally risen?"

James looked up at the last question as his paranoia stirred. "The who? I didn't recognize that last group."

The ghost looked at him. "The Valenits are a Clan, who believe they are the direct descendents of the first people to ever do magic. They also believe that they should rule all the Wizards because of that blood. They tried to take over in 941, and were only stopped after four years of brutal fighting. Some of them got away though, more than a hundred of them. They swore they would return one day, to rule what was rightfully theirs."

"I wonder if the Patient Child is one of those people," mused James thoughtfully, "it would fit the Patient bit very well."

Rose looked at the ghost, and at James. "Do we tell him about Manticore?"

James thought about it for a minute, and told her, "no, let's leave it at the educational story for now. Somehow, I don't trust him. He was glad, too glad to see somebody, anybody show up."

Rose and Melissa stayed with the ghost to talk and use their talents on him, while the rest of Chimera left to help move the Prophecy related things into the Tower. By 0500 the next morning, everything was in the Tower, and all the Manticores were warned about the ghost.

James kept most of the Manticores away from the Archmage's floor for the next few days while they set up the Tower. Jerrick and William Moore interviewed the ghost, and came away from the interrogation with one very important fact: whoever accepted the mantle of the Archmage could not leave the tower, ever.

James grinned thinly when he heard that. "I knew he was too happy to see people." He warned everyone about the ghost, and started allowing everyone up there. The ghost tried to ask a few people if they were the new Archmage, but after James used the 'Polter-grip' prank on him, and threatened to leave him pinned to a wall for all eternity, the ghost stopped doing that.

Manticore hall was turned into a study hall, and ten days after the original Manticores moved into the Tower, James and Chimera began interviewing the people whose academic standings qualified them for Manticore, but who had not passed Rose and Melissa's tests. Some of them couldn't keep a secret, some were gentle people, and incapable of the violence that would be part of a Manticore's life, but whatever the reason, they had not been accepted for the Prophecy.

They were still good students though, and with the guidance of the theories being tested, they were about to become better. That almost all of Ravenclaw was eligible surprised no one, but that almost half of Hufflepuff was shocked many. Only about a quarter of the Gryffindors and Slytherins were eligible, a fact that had Professor Snape waxing sarcastic in his house one night. Professor McGonagall could point out that her house had a large number of Manticore in the first group, and that they were even with Hufflepuff in numbers.

One week before the end of the month, James set up a contest for Manticore. The rules were simple. Any Manticore, couple, team, or group could enter and they had to pull a prank that encompassed at least a third of the people in the school. The prank had to go off on Saturday, starting at noon, and all the effects of the pranks had to be gone by 0100 in the morning. The prank also had to be signed by the people taking credit for it.

James and Rose would judge the pranks based on originality, effort, and how funny it was. James and Rose were not eligible, nor was Chimera as a team, since James and Rose were judging the contest. They warned Professor Dumbledore, who was invited to join the fun, but the rest of the staff was left in the dark.

With his promise to the Prefect out of the way, James concentrated on setting up the new Tower. Armed with the rituals that had created the wards on the tower, which Emily had found in the Archmage's library, they removed the wards from the lowest four floors, allowing anyone to enter there.

The first floor was converted into lounging areas, with chairs and couches, and the fiction that had been collecting in Manticore's library. If anyone noticed that the areas had quite a few shadowy nooks, with large chairs, or just a single small couch, they didn't say anything.

The second floor was left alone for the most part, although each team picked a room for their own, a place they could decorate as they chose. The Manticores that were not in teams yet decorated a few of the rooms as well. James noted with a grin that the room claimed by Raven, Stephanie Spence and their friends acquired very good wards in the middle of the night, and made a note to keep an eye on that bunch. Dirk Clave had some common sense, but the rest of that group was among the more extreme Manticores.

The third floor had its wards strengthened, and was used for dueling practice and a new form of torture James brought in. The twenty-five machines he brought in from some bloody place were called "Bow-Flexes", but after James started requiring that every Manticore spend at least three sessions each week with them, many of the Manticores were convinced they were Muggle torture devices. Each session only had to be thirty minutes long, but James had gotten a list of exercises from Professor Evans, and that was, in the words of one of the younger Manticores, "Just bloody wrong."

The fourth floor was turned into the general meeting room, a new Manticore Hall. One side was Chimera's, complete with Rose's windowsill. (Professor Dumbledore had moved it for her, at Melissa's request, complete with her favorite cushions.)

All the teams had tables here, large enough for the team to plan on, and each Manticore had a chair of their own, marked with their personal symbol. James had followed through on a whimsical comment he'd made once, and had flags made for the teams. Those flags hung over each team's table and were a black field with the team's symbol in the center. The linked teams had three personal emblems to a side, while Phoenix had a row of personal symbols bordering the outside edge. Chimera's flag was the same as the linked team's, with four personal marks down each side.

At the front of the room, the Manticore flag hung over the podium. Behind the stand were maps of the world, both as Wizards knew it, and as the Muggles knew it. There were chalkboards and places to pin things for the briefings, along with all the other things the speaker would need.

There were also tables for the Manticores not in teams yet, and a new table, with the symbols of the Wolfpack trainers, as well as chairs for Professor Dumbledore and April Erskine.

The floors that had been quarters for the instructors were converted to a variety of uses, mostly rooms for the Muggle weapons and labs for experiments. Emma and Hangeld had their own private potions lab, and they threatened to use the person that had painted their door with glowing warnings signs in their next experiment, if they ever caught them.

Friday afternoon, James was sitting in Manticore Hall, working on the final changes for his prank. While he couldn't enter the contest, there was nothing to say that he couldn't have a bit of fun. He finished it and looked around the nearly empty room, idly wondering where everyone was. They were less than a dozen people on the fourth floor, and most of them were Chimeras.

He could feel Chimera and May-ling quite easily of course, and that brought to mind something that he'd noted during May-ling's classes in Tai chi. He entered the light meditation state that she had taught them. As he meditated, he could feel Chimera and May-ling strongly, like beacons in his mind. He knew where each of them were, and what they were doing. Under them, he could dimly feel another group, harder to reach. He relaxed, sinking deeper into the trance state, and he found himself opening to that group.

James was seeing only with his mind's eyes now, and he could feel very Manticore bound to him within the Clan, and with the Final Moments link. Blackness surrounded him, relieved on by the lights of the Manticores. Some of them were stronger, some were dimmer, but all of them pulsed with multi-hued lights.

"It's very pretty, James, but it is dinner time, and I'm hungry." James considered the light in front of him, the touch of Tiffany's mind. Like all of the Manticores, her light was multiple colors. The pure white that was her essence, overlaid with dozens of colors. The Soulbond was a brilliant gold, and the links were the blue of a summer sky. The emerald green must be her Pyromancy, he decided, and the pale red that washed over the whole of her being was the love they shared.

He looked around at all the Manticores one more time, and began easing out of trance. "You are as beautiful here as you are in the flesh," he thought as he opened his eyes, "and since I like your flesh, I can't let you starve, now can I?"

Tiffany was sitting in his lap, and kissed him as he looked at her. "No, you can't. Come on, the rest of them are waiting for us."

The Beauxbatons Quidditch team was eating at the Gryffindor table again, as they ate with a different House each day, but Chimera hadn't paid them much attention. They had been too busy with school and the tower to worry about the visitors. They were surprised then, when Arthur Pendragon sat down across from James. James and Rose looked at him, and felt that tingling shock again. They looked at each other, and went back to eating.

Arthur Pendragon ate and studied the twins with a slight frown. Finally, when it became obvious that they would simply ignore him, he cleared his throat, and said, "Your Gryffindors have the best team in this school, supposedly. Why aren't you playing against us?" James flared at the demand, because that is what it was. Arthur's tone expressed his complete assurance that he would get an answer, and one that he liked.

James thought about what he wanted to say, and then let the flash of anger he'd felt at the aristocratic tone answer for him. "We're rather busy right now, and playing Quidditch is not in our current plans."

James continued eating, barely pausing to speak, and was aware of the quickly hidden anger in Arthur's face at his bored answer. Arthur stared steadily at him as he responded, "I think you are simply scared to beaten in front of your School."

Tiffany touched his leg under the table, stilling the automatic response James wanted to make. He allowed his anger to calm before he replied. "I think your parents forgot to teach you manners. Since when do guests insult their hosts, without cause?"

Arthur smiled suddenly, and nodded. He looked around, and lowered his voice. "That's why I don't know you, you're Americans. Which line of the Pendragon Clan are you from, anyway?"

James barely glanced at him. "We're not in the Pendragon Clan, here or America, or anywhere else."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, and then sighed. "I felt the recognition, and so did you. Don't try to lie about it."

James didn't even try to hide the anger he felt this time, as he stared at Arthur, but his voice remained low and conversational. "You call me a liar again, and I'll break your face and wand. We are not in any branch, line, or part of the Pendragon Clan."

Arthur had not flinched when James threatened him, but he was wary now. "Tell me you didn't feel the recognition," he challenged.

James sighed, and when he spoke again, he had the quiet tone that Chimera knew too well. "I am James Evans," he said, and his accent was plain to hear, "of the Evans Clan, and to the best of my knowledge, no member of my family is a member of your Clan. That appears, if you are normal for your Clan, to be a good thing, and that is the last thing I will say about it." James turned to Tiffany, and began talking about the Potions homework that Professor Snape had given them this morning.

Arthur looked at Rose, but she was talking to Melissa in low tones. In fact, all of the Manticores sitting around the bottom of the Gryffindor table were suddenly deep in conversation with someone, and Arthur was suddenly an island of silence in that talk.

James was watching him out of the corner of his eye, and recognized the flare of anger in Arthur's eyes quite easily. He'd felt it enough in himself after all. He was wondering what Arthur would do with that anger when he found out.

"I think," said Arthur, in a voice that carried to the table on each side of Gryffindor, "that you're simply cowards, scared to admit you can't beat a real team."

Silence spread through the room, as people were told what Arthur had said and they waited for James's response. James had started to flare up, but Tiffany and Rose, sitting on each side of him, had reached for him as soon as they felt his anger rise, and they calmed him enough for him to think about his response.

That response came not from James however, but Lisa, as James spoke to her over the link. She stood up in the silence that had fallen across the hall and spoke to the staff table. "Professor Potter, I believe the Quidditch Pitch is open Sunday morning, is it not?"

After a moment's thought, Harry agreed that the Pitch was open then.

Lisa nodded, and asked, "may Chimera reserve it then, along with the services of a referee?"

"I think that could be arraigned," said Harry mildly, although he had a faint smile on his face. He was proud of the domination of the Gryffindor team and had been very disappointed to find out that they would not be playing the Beauxbatons team. This would be fun to watch.

Lisa nodded and thanked him. She looked at Arthur and spoke coldly. "You, Sir, have come to this school as a guest and have been treated with nothing but respect. You have chosen to act the prat, and repay courtesy with insults. You have chosen to insult our courage and our skills. We will answer those insults on the Pitch. Sunday morning, our team will meet your team on the Pitch. If we win that match, you will apologize to our team, publicly, as you insulted us. After that, you will not speak to any of our team again."

Lacy Misthold, the captain of the Beauxbatons team stood up. Casting an annoyed glance at Arthur, she answered Lisa. "We will meet you on the Pitch, but I want you to know that the insult was his, not the team's thoughts toward you."

Lisa nodded. "So noted. Do you care if there are spectators?"

Lacy thought about it and shrugged. "We are going to watch the Hufflepuff team play, so I suppose it's only fair that they get to watch us play."

Lisa nodded again, and looked at Professor Potter again. "Would you make sure the Pitch is ready, please?"

Professor Potter nodded and bent to speak to Madame Potter, sitting next to him. She grinned at whatever he said, and looked at Tiffany, smiling. Ginny Weasley had been a fair Seeker, and a better Chaser. She was more than willing to watch her daughter play the Beauxbatons team.

Lisa was looking at Arthur before she sat down. Her voice was no longer pitched to carry around the room as she spoke to him again. "Sunday morning, you are going to learn a valuable lesson." She sat down and began to eat her dinner.

Adam took up where Lisa had left off. "You should never start a fight."

Emma was next. "Until you know what your enemy is capable of."

Hangeld didn't even look at him. "Fortunately, learning this lesson is not going to cost you much,"

Melissa chimed in, "or even hurt you much."

James and Rose looked at him. "Because we want you there to be humiliated by the Hufflepuffs." They got up and left, taking the rest of Chimera with them.

Arthur's anger had faded under the verbal assault, as he watched people he hadn't even been aware of answer his insults without speaking to each other. He watched them leave, and looked around. The Manticores were studiously ignoring him, and he finished his meal in silence.

Professor Dumbledore and Headmistress L'Amour had watched the byplay, and now Professor Dumbledore turned to her. "At least we have a good nurse. Mr. Pendragon will be able to play next week against Hufflepuff."

The Beauxbatons Headmistress looked startled. "You don't think they would try to hurt him, do you?"

Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "Not deliberately, but Mr. Evans will be hunting for Mr. Pendragon during the match. Had Mr. Pendragon only insulted James, he might have gotten away with it, but he chose to insult James, his Soulbonded, his sister, and all his friends. James Evans will be looking for him during the match."

In Gryffindor tower, James was planning that very thing. Lisa looked at him. "I thought you didn't want to take a chance at not being invited to play next year."

James smiled thinly. "I don't, which means we have the hardest game we've ever played coming up in two days. We have to win, without getting more than fifty points in front of them, and without making it obvious that we're holding back."

The others stared at him. "You do realize," Emma said, "that if their Seeker catches the Snitch, and we're holding back that much, we're going to lose?"

James was pacing back and forth as he thought about the match. "I have faith in Tiffany," he said absently, earning a smile from her, "and in our team."

Chimera went to work, planning their strategy for Sunday.

Saturday dawned bright and clear, a beautiful day for Quidditch, and the breakfast talk was all about the game being played today. The Hufflepuff team would play the thrown together team of Slytherins for the right to play Beauxbatons the following week.

Chimera and the other Quidditch players from Ravenclaw and Slytherin were confident that Hufflepuff was going to win, but most of the students were not so sure. After all, Hufflepuff was at the bottom of the standings, and that meant they couldn't be all that good, didn't it?

Sonya called James on the ring. "Chimera one, you should hear the talk at the table this morning. The Goyle brothers started it, and now everyone is telling Arthur about your fights, and the mystery of the Jerrands."

James grinned at the thought of the Jerrands. They had apparently dropped off the face of the earth after graduating. Since very few people knew what had actually happened to them, and James and Tiffany simply smiled every time the subject came up, most of the students almost believed the rumours that the Soulbonded had hunted them down over the summer and done unspeakable things to them involving spoons, then hidden the bodies.

The truth was far more prosaic than that. The Jerrands had finished school, and started looking for jobs, as most people did. They were offered a position making very good money, but shrouded in secrecy. They finally decided to take the job, and signed an oath to keep the job secret.

Only after they were bound by the oath did they find out where they were going. They had accepted a job testing the uses of magic and magical items under extreme weather conditions, and would spend the next three years doing so.

In Antarctica.

Since owls couldn't fly there, and the Floo Network didn't go there, they were effectively cut off from the rest of the world until their contract ended. It was not until the Jerrands reached Antarctica that they learned the company they had contracted with was a branch of the Cumulus Co. James smiled again at the thought of the Jerrands in temperatures that rarely rose above minus fifty-one Celsius and got up. They had somewhere to go before the match started.

Chimera and the Hufflepuff team met one more time before the Hufflepuffs went to the changing rooms. Adam was advising them, and the rest of Chimera was there simply to provide moral support. "Remember, these are not your true opponents. If a move works, keep using it until it doesn't work anymore, and then go on to another. I'll keep track of the ones you use here, and we'll change them before next week. I don't want the Beauxbatons knowing all your tactics before the match with them."

Chimera went to their seats as Denise Crosby started her pre-game announcing. "Good morning, everyone. It's a fine day for Quidditch, and we should have an interesting match today."

She looked at her notes, and murmured something to Emily Kitchen, who was sitting next to her. "Today we're going to find out who will play the Beauxbatons team next week. The Hufflepuff team is the odds on favorite to win, the first time in twenty-five years they have been favored to win a Quidditch match against Slytherin House."

That comment drew a black look from Professor Snape, who had been irritable all week. Most of that was because he'd watched both teams practice, and he was certain that his house was about to be humiliated again.

Denise hadn't even seen the look, and she continued. "They had been favored to win this match before, but the addition of the Infernos and weeks of intense coaching by the Gryffindor team have boosted those odds even higher." She paused for a second, listening to something Emily had to say, and then continued. "Normally, I would be telling you about the teams right now, but I can't tell you anything about the Slytherin team. The regular Slytherin team joined the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams in declining to play against Beauxbatons, and this Slytherin team is a hastily thrown together team with no experience on the Pitch."

"The Hufflepuff team, on the other hand, has two years of experience together, with the exception of Cary Fudge, who replaces Dan Jacks, a fifth year student more worried about OWLs than Quidditch." She took a sip of her tea, wondering why anyone would get up this early to play a game, and continued. "The Hufflepuff team has yet to win a game this year, but they did stay within fifty points of Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and they managed to score more points against Gryffindor than Slytherin did, a remarkable feat given the disadvantages they play under."

Denise grinned then. "That may change next year. Between the donation of the Infernos by an Alumni and the coaching of Adam Brooks, who creates the plays for the Gryffindor team, we may be surprised by this team next year."

She stopped, looking at the changing room, trying to see if they were ready yet. "Today, those disadvantages are gone, and the word from the Gryffindor team is that Hufflepuff is eminently capable of defending Hogwarts against Beauxbatons." She was tapped by Emily, who pointed toward the north changing rooms. "And here they are, the Hufflepuff team of Mayfair, Whittaker, Marshal, Whittaker, Lupin, Fudge, and Montgomery!"

A cheer rose from the stands as the Hufflepuff team flew once around the Pitch, and then took their places for the start of the match. "Here comes the Slytherin team of Martinova, Danders, Majors, Kittle, Crabbe, Crabbe, and Zanderson."

Professor Potter was judging this Match, and he spoke to both teams for a minute, and then released the Quaffle.

"The Quaffle is up, and Hufflepuff takes control. It's Whittaker to Marshal and Oh! A beautiful hit by Cary Fudge on Danders. Danders is out of control, no, he's got it back, but Hufflepuff has scored the first points of the game!" The Hufflepuff Chasers had taken advantage of the distraction by Cary to score, and they were euphoric.

The next two hours and nineteen minutes were an eternity for the Slytherin team. Hufflepuff had honed their skills against teams with four or more linked players, and against any normal team, they could more than hold their own. Against a pick up team like this one, they dominated the match completely.

Professor Snape left the stands when the score reached two hundred to forty. His expression did not bode well for the Slytherin team when he got his hands on them.

When the Snitch finally made its appearance, Zanderson dove for it, even though catching it wouldn't help his team at all. At this point, all he wanted was to end the game.

Xavier Montgomery thought about letting him have it, but his competitive streak pushed him into a dive after the Snitch.

Denise saw them diving out of the high positions they had held most of the game. "There go the Seekers! They're diving at the center of the Pitch, I don't see the Snitch, no, wait, there it is! It's just above the ground, not six inches off the Pitch and Montgomery is passing Zanderson, and it's going to be a race!"

She cleared her throat, getting hoarse from the shouting, and continued. "Zanderson tries to check the smaller Montgomery, and Montgomery loses a few feet avoiding the blow, he's coming back, pushing his broomstick, and they are side by side. Oh! Zanderson tries to check Montgomery again, but Montgomery is ready for him, and a quick dip leaves Zanderson out of position. He's going to have to make up the distance he lost now."

Montgomery could see the Snitch, but he didn't dare slow down to grab it with Zanderson ready to bump him from behind. They were only a meter or so off the ground, and he'd never be able to recover before slamming into the Pitch. Since he was certain that would hurt, and he didn't want to test the theory personally, he had to catch the snitch without slowing down. He made his decision in a split second, and crossed his feet under his Broomstick, taking a firm grip with one hand.

"Montgomery has a little space, but he can't slow down. I think he's going to overshoot the Snitch! OH! Montgomery has turned over, he's reaching, and YES! Montgomery has the Snitch, making a spectacular one-handed catch from an inverted position! Hufflepuff has taken the match!"

In front of the entire school, Xavier Montgomery, the Seeker that had never caught the Snitch, made his first catch streaking along barely a meter off the ground, and doing it one-handed. That alone would have elevated him into Hufflepuff fame, but he was also flying upside-down when he did it.

Listening to the crowd cheering, Headmistress L'Amour turned to look at Professor Dumbledore. "This is your worst team? Suddenly, I am glad we are not playing the best team."

Professor Dumbledore smiled faintly. "You are playing the best team, tomorrow." He thought about the mayhem that would take place this afternoon as Manticore had their prank contest, and smiled wider. His eyes were twinkling madly as he clarified that statement. "That is, you will play them if any of them are alive tomorrow."

Sunday morning, the alarm woke James and Tiffany from a mutually agreeable dream, and they spent a minute lying in their beds, just greeting each other and being lazy. That lasted about two minutes, and then James remembered that they were playing the Beauxbatons Quidditch team this morning.

He rolled out of bed and was getting dressed even as he used the Chimera link to prod people awake. He was still trying to get into his shirt as he went to the window to check the weather. He looked at the sky and groaned. It was a dark morning, with a solid mass of clouds that had rolled in overnight, and from the looks of it, the wind would be knocking along at a good clip as well.

He was talking strategies as he got his equipment out, until, "James!" sounded over the link. He stopped, startled, and looked around. Adam and Hangeld were staring crossly at him. "James," said Adam in a very quiet voice, "I realize you want us to win, and that you are a morning person. I can deal with that. However, yours is not the first voice I want to hear in my head when I wake up. You've no doubt already said hello to your lady, so give us time to say good morning to ours, or Hangeld and I will drop you in the lake while you sleep every night until you get the idea."

James stared at Adam, while Tiffany informed him that Lisa and Emma were just as upset. James sighed in mock disappointment. "I suppose, if you really need to, even thought you just saw them last night."

Hangeld looked at James, and a slow smile crossed his face. "James, if you're going to lecture us about our relationships, you might want to wear a turtleneck sweater while you're doing it."

James blinked, wondering what that had to do… He figured it out, and spun, looking in the mirror. "Cor, that's a good un, luv. Did the vampire that bit you get away?" asked the mirror.

In separate rooms, James and Tiffany blushed a dark red as they stared at the rather large love-bite on James's neck. James turned back to his grinning roommates. "I think," he said, attempting to muster his dignity, "that a turtleneck sounds like a good idea today."

By the time they went to breakfast, it had started to drizzle, dropping just enough moisture to keep everything damp and slick, no matter how many times you dried it off.

At breakfast, Rose brought out a scroll, passing it to James. "Here's your copy of the pranks from yesterday, vamp victim."

James flushed slightly, and was about to say something when Rose distracted him. "I think the whole Sheep thing."

James interrupted her, "That was good, but the Icicle Sheets."

"Area 51 showed."

"Singing Egyptians"

They continued to argue about the pranks from the previous day until they got to the changing rooms. Chimera had a routine in the changing rooms that never changed. They changed and then everyone crowded into one room, where they would discuss who they were playing and what they planned to do that day. Along the way, they would slide into a deeper acceptance of the link, where Adam's strategy, James' stubborn will, Emma's fearlessness, all the things that made each of them who they were merged into a single gestalt.

This gestalt was the real secret to their Quidditch success, because with it, they were nearly as close as James and Rose, or James and Tiffany. Only Rose held anything back, and after the disastrous results the only time she'd used the Sight to play Quidditch, none of the other Chimeras really wanted her to try it again.

They discussed what they'd seen of the Beauxbatons, and made guesses at how they would play. The chasers were well mounted, and so was Lacy Misthold, the Seeker. In fact, she had a Starblade. James had grinned when he heard that. He'd looked at Tiffany and told her, "Now you get to see if you're really a good Seeker, or just better mounted."

(That comment had led to a pillow fight, then to a wrestling match after a pillow broke open, and then to the love-bite on James' neck. Therefore, the whole thing was his fault, which any woman could have told you anyway. Raven)

The signal to start came, and they flew around the pitch, staying as close as the links would let them. They pulled up, waiting for the Beauxbatons team, and they were not long in coming.

They lined up, and Lacy Misthold, the Beauxbatons' captain, faced off with Lisa. She grinned at Lisa. "Why couldn't we have done this yesterday?"

Lisa smiled back. "The Hufflepuffs had the Pitch yesterday morning, and playing in the afternoon might have been bad. Just imagine turning into a sheep up here."

Lacey giggled at the thought of the sheep that had been chasing people around the castle, begging to be counted. "No, that would not have been good."

Professor Flitwick was the referee, as usual when Gryffindor played. "If the captains are done chatting, can we start the Match now?"

The two girls grinned at him, wished each other good luck, and said they were ready. The Quaffle was released and the Beauxbatons started down the Pitch toward Hangeld. James arrowed toward a Bludger, and hit it at Arthur, who dodged it easily, only to have to break formation with his fellow players as Rose's Bludger nearly hit him from the other side.

Hangeld deflected the first shot, and Lisa Malfoy retrieved the Quaffle, tossing it to Melissa as the Gryffindors started back down the Pitch. James and Rose were concentrating on Arthur, knocking the Bludgers at him every time they had them, and only occasionally sending them at other people, mostly when they didn't have a shot at Arthur.

The Beauxbatons team was very good, but the Gryffindors knew within about twenty minutes that they were better. In fact, they were hard pressed to stay within fifty points of the Beauxbatons team without making it obvious that they were holding back, and even at that, some of the more avid Quidditch fans knew something was wrong. Professor Dumbledore knew it as well, and called James on the Manticore ring. "Mr. Evans, playing less than your best is a type of lie. I suggest that you stop."

James frowned, thinking about it. Finally, he sighed and looked at the rest of the team. "Change of plans, Chimera. Tiffany, try to find that Snitch quickly, please. Lisa, I think the Beauxbatons need a dilemma to solve, and Rose and I will continue. Let's play Quidditch."

Rose batted a Bludger at the Beauxbatons' Chasers only to watch Mike Apple knock it away. "James, we need to be careful with Arthur, he's not doing too well, and if we hit him again, he might just fall off his Broomstick."

James grinned mirthlessly. "Good, that's what I want. I'm staying as close as I can, I want to rescue him, just to add insult to injury, and if you could catch his broomstick, that would be just perfect."

James and Rose had already hit Arthur or his Broomstick a dozen times, and now he was just following his teammates around the Pitch, trying to stay on his Broomstick, and watching the Gryffindor Beaters. James batted another Bludger his way and Arthur was dodging it long before it got to him, only to be blindsided as Rose sent a Bludger into the twigs of his Broomstick from the side and below him.

Arthur fell off, just as Rose had predicted, but hadn't fallen twenty meters before James and Melissa were there to hold him until Rose brought his Broomstick back. They set him on it and Melissa Healed the minor injuries he'd gotten playing target for the Evans twins. Melissa and Rose left, but James paused long enough to catch Arthur's eye. "If you ever insult my friends like that again, Mr. Pendragon, I'll make the rest of your life as miserable as the last hour has been. Do we understand each other?"

Arthur looked at James, rubbing the bruises that Melissa had not healed in her quick healing and looked at James warily. "If you're not a Pendragon," he said wryly, "You should be. You've got quite the temper, and a rather fierce loyalty."

James nodded, and looked at the other end of the Pitch, where Beauxbatons had scored. "That all being said, let's go play Quidditch, shall we?"

For the rest of the game, the Gryffindors forgot grudges and insults, settling down to play Quidditch just to have fun. This was probably the least most important game they would ever play in front of other people, since James' message to Arthur had been delivered, and they began listening to Adam, trying out some of the more elaborate plays that they hadn't tried in real matches yet.

The Beauxbatons team was quite good, and they actually scored quite often, but the link made pinpoint accuracy possible, and being able to tell a person that the Quaffle was coming their way from across the pitch without yelling it out for everyone to hear was too large an advantage. Tiffany's capture of the Snitch was surprisingly anti-climatic. She'd been up high most of the game, and looking down for the Snitch, as most Seekers did. She was taking a quick look at the sky, where the clouds were beginning to break up, when she saw the Snitch, some fifteen meters above her.

With the match over, the two teams landed, Lacy found Lisa. "The next time Arthur insults one of you, just hex him, will you?" She looked around, and stepped closer. "You've played both of us, which team do you think is better?"

Lisa thought about it for a minute. "I think next week's game will come down to who catches the Snitch. Both of you are good, and it's going to be a good match."

Lacy sighed. "I was afraid of that. I'm not that good of a Seeker. The only reason I am the Seeker is because I was better than the other person that tried out, and that's not saying much." She grinned at Lisa. "The poor fellow was on a borrowed Broomstick." She rolled her eyes.

Lisa grinned and suggested they get together for lunch. She knew that this was one of the people that Rose and Melissa had passed judgment on, and she was going to see just what kind of a person Lacy was.

Lacy and Lisa started walking away, and Lacy watched James sweep Rose, May-ling and Tiffany into a hug, celebrating the victory.

"She's very good. Is she the daughter of Professor Potter?" Lacy asked.

Lisa smiled at the visitor and answered the unspoken question as well. "Yes, she is, and yes, he is that Harry Potter."

Lacy shook her head, and grinned. "Professor Wood knew him, you know. They were on the Quidditch team together, but all the Professor remembers is that he was a great Seeker."

Lisa looked at Lacy. "Professor Potter destroys the Death Eaters and Voldemort, saving the Wizard world, and all Professor Wood remembers is his Quidditch skills?"

Lacy laughed, and linked arms with Lisa. "He's a little obsessive, our Professor." She looked around, making sure no one else could hear her. "Of course, he's also cute enough to get away with it." The two girls disappeared into the castle, giggling.

At lunch, Arthur delivered his apology in a clear voice, eliciting respect from Chimera.

Monday night after classes, Jerrick came to James with the files he'd amassed on the Beauxbatons visitors, and James spent the night reading them. The next day, after the classes of the day were over, he went to see Professor Dumbledore. They discussed the information Jerrick had received from his father, and set up a meeting with the students that had passed all of the requirements. That list included Lacy Misthold, both of the Sanchez siblings, and Trea Cale. Professor Dumbledore looked at the list and then at James. "Why isn't Mr. Pendragon on this list? He seems perfect for Manticore."

James grinned, "Besides the fact that he's got a hot temper, he's too intertwined with his Clan, and wouldn't keep a secret from them. That means that we exclude him, since I don't trust the Pendragons."

Professor Dumbledore regarded James soberly for a minute. "The Pendragon Clan is too big, and too powerful to be ignored forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with them, Mr. Evans."

James nodded. "I know that, but when I do, it will be from a position of strength, where I hold all the cards, and it will be at a time of my choosing."

Professor Dumbledore nodded again, and smiled. His eyes began to twinkle as he reached for a book on his desk. "Speaking of advantages, were you aware that there is a book," he said, holding up the book in his hand, "that records all the Clans of the Wizard world, much as the Book of Gold records the most powerful Clans in an area?"

James closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, listening to Tiffany giggle in the back of his head. "No, Professor, I was not aware of that."

The Headmaster opened the book. "There is a new clan listed here, as the Moondancer Clan. You wouldn't know anything about that Clan, would you?"

James sighed and answered without opening his eyes, but his face was turning an interesting shade of red. "That would be our Clan, yes. Apparently, assuming the Clan leader's power was enough to list the Clan in that blasted book."

"I see," said Professor Dumbledore, the twinkling in his eyes belying the gravity of his tone, "and may I inquire as to why our Clan is named Moondancer?" The Headmaster already knew some things about the Lakota language, and he knew that a Moondancer was the tribal name for a Unicorn. What he didn't know, was why James had named the Clan after one.

Rose and Tiffany were radiating laughter as they listened to the two of them talk. James frowned, and looked at the ceiling. "My tribal name is Moondancer, and names are important in Shaman Magic. I wanted to tie the Clan to me as closely as possible, so I used my name to create the foundation of the Clan."

Professor Dumbledore watched James. After four years of talking to him, the Headmaster knew when James was trying to avoid talking about something. James was dancing around something, but the Headmaster wasn't sure what yet. "I see," he said again. "If names are meaningful in your tribe, how did you get your name?"

Rose and Tiffany were laughing helplessly by now, and James made a note in the back of his head to do something to them later. He thought about what the Professor had asked, and sighed. "Sir, I'm afraid I just won't tell you."

Professor Dumbledore looked over his glasses at James. "Mr. Evans, are you telling me, how did you put it, to go to hell?"

James winced, and tried to think of a more diplomatic way to put it. Finally, he shrugged. "Yes Sir, with all due respect, I am."

The meeting between Chimera and the people James wanted from Beauxbatons took place in the Headmaster's office, as the Tower was still protected by the wards that prevented entry. James was planning to alter them so that people could enter the lowest three floors, but they hadn't had time to do the work yet.

James had given the Prophecy speech many times now, and went through it quickly. After he'd shown them everything, he stopped for questions. Trea raised her hand. "Why aren't the rest of Beauxbatons' people here?"

James sighed. "For one reason or another, they're simply not suited for this. Mike Apple is a nice guy, but he faints at the sight of blood. He's not a good choice to defend your school. Richard Lee doesn't faint at the sight of blood, but Melissa thinks he would be damaged mentally if he had to do the things we're going to be asking you to do in the defense of your school." James looked at the four Beauxbatons. "You four have the intelligence to use the skills we'll be teaching you, the courage to do so, and the mental stability to do so without going crazy."

Lacy frowned. "I don't think I could kill someone."

Lisa looked at her. Lisa had spent a bit of time with her, and liked the older girl. "Yes, you can, for the same reason I would. To defend your friends." Lacy bit her lip, thinking about it.

James began laying out his plans. He wanted Beauxbatons to create their own chapter of Manticore, and next year, when the Quidditch Matches were held at Beauxbatons, Chimera would meet the students from the other schools, and do any recruiting that seemed good for Manticore. "Don't get me wrong," said James, looking at them, "I'm not doing this because I want to. I really don't like the idea of people I can't control running around, but I simply don't have enough people to defend all the schools and carry the war to the Patient Child. This is the best way to defend the schools and the children in them."

Trea Cale was reading the Manticore charter. "Why isn't Arthur here? He doesn't seem to have any problems, like Mike and Richard."

James hesitated, thinking about his answer. "For a reason I can't tell you yet, we cannot use any Pendragon, or person closely affiliated with that Clan unless they would keep the project a secret from them. Arthur is too close to his father and his Clan to even consider keeping a secret like this from them. That may change in the future, and if it does, he would be invited to join, but right now, he's a security risk."

James went on to detail the help and assistance Manticore would give their newest chapter. Rather, the newest Prophecy chapter. He looked frustrated. "With the number of people that are in Manticore now, we really need a new name for the people that know about the Prophecy."

Lacy looked up from the papers she was reading. "That's easy. Call them by that Clan name, Moondancer, wasn't it?"

Everyone turned to stare at Rose and Tiffany, as they burst out laughing. Rose was laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath, and James was hiding his face in his hands. What the spectators could see of his face was a deep red though.

Lacy frowned at the three of them. "Would you mind letting the rest of us in on this joke? I think we could all use a good laugh."

Tiffany nodded, saying, "I would love to, it's possibly the funniest thing I ever heard, but James extracted a promise that I wouldn't tell anyone without his permission."

Rose nodded, as she recovered. "I can't say anything either, as repayment of a serious favor."

The group turned to look at James. "What would it take to get you to tell that story?"

James started to say ice water in hell, and reconsidered. Wizards might be able to pull that feat off. "The defeat of the Patient Child."

Lisa sighed. "We're not going to be hearing it anytime soon then."

Maria Sanchez looked around. "What is a Moondancer anyway? I don't recognize the term."

Tiffany grinned at her. "No reason you should, it's an American Indian tribal name for a Unicorn, and James' tribal name." Given to him after the incident with the Unicorn and the lumbermen, she didn't add.

Emma Weasley stared at James for a minute and then giggled. "Somehow, I have a hard time seeing James as a symbol of Innocence and Purity," she said, pointing at James and Tiffany, who were sharing a chair again. As usual, James' hands were running through Tiffany's hair, since he wasn't doing anything else with them. The rest of Chimera grinned at the idea of James as an innocent anything.

Tiffany blushed, but didn't move. "We really can't help it you know. It's just a side effect of the Soulbond."

Professor Dumbledore agreed with them, but reminded them of the other side of the Unicorn. "The Unicorn is also a defender of the weak and virtuous. They can be fearsome opponents to evil."

"Getting back to our discussion," James said pointedly, "your people will have to follow the basic plan, subject to changes if needed. This summer, it would only be the four of you. Next year, you collect the people you want, and some more, that meet the Charter, but that won't know about the Prophecy. When you find a person for the Prophecy Manticores, you'll send his or her name to Jerrick, and when we visit next year, Rose and Melissa will use their talents to check them out."

Lacy looked up. "So Beauxbatons will have the second oldest chapter of Manticore?"

Rose shook her head. "Third, as the North American School of Wizardry has a chapter being run by Michael Evans, a cousin of ours."

In the end, all five of the Beauxbatons were sworn into the Clan, as Headmistress L'Amour had been warned by Professor Dumbledore that the Manticores occasionally needed direct supervision.

After they were sworn in, James turned to Emma with a smirk. "You owe me."

Emma shook her head. "Yes, I know."

Rose raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at Emma. "Haven't you learned that betting with James is merely a good way to throw your money away? What did you bet with him about anyway?"

Emma waved at the newest Manticores, talking with Lisa and Tiffany. "Them. I mean, we've had years to think about this, and we all had a week to think about it before we decided to join. They walk in here, and in just a couple of hours hear about the Prophecy, Muggle weapons, Dark Wizards and all the rest. I thought for sure that at least one of them would need to think about it overnight at least."

James shook his head. "Emma, fighters of any type have to be able to react quickly to changing situations, to think on their feet. If any of them had been the type to think it over, we wouldn't have needed them."

Emma frowned at James. "You could have simply told me that, you prat."

James smiled at her. "I could have," he agreed, "but this way, you'll remember it better."

Miguel Sanchez came over then. "James," he said in the soft Spanish accent both the siblings had, "how do we qualify for a ring? Is it a graduation gift?"

James grinned, "No, it's a tool." He went on to explain, and then looked at all the Beauxbatons. "When you form your chapter, pick a group of names, and stick with them. We used Magical Beasts and the other chapter is using birds of prey, mostly Raptor types. You choose a group, like felines, and make your teams. After that, all you need is a personal symbol." He indicated the sheets that they held. "The rules are in there, and after you have a team name and a symbol, we'll make the rings for you."

After all the questions had been answered, the Beauxbatons people went to put their scrolls and books away. Chimera looked at each other, using the link to discuss the meeting they had just finished and the implications. Professor Dumbledore watched them, and acting on a hunch, he cast the aura-reading spell. He watched them for a minute, and released the spell. April Erskine had told him that as Chimera grew closer, they would be able to draw on each other's talents, and that was showing in their auras. It only happened where they were 'meshing' as the Evans twins called it, but it was plain to see then.

Everyone had two or three colors that dominated their auras, but when Chimera meshed, they were almost equally all of the colors of the group. There were a few things that didn't change, like the vivid green flickers of Tiffany's Pyromancy and the softer leaf green of Melissa's Healing, but most of their colors would bleed over into all the auras.

Thursday afternoon, Emily came to James with the binding that the Wizards had used to enslave the Gargoyles, and the ritual that would unbind them. James studied the ritual that night, and Friday after classes the gargoyles were released from fifteen hundred years of slavery.

The one that had spoken to James when they opened the tower came to him as the others prepared to leave. "My family owes you a debt we may never be able to repay. If ever you have need of us, use this, and we will come." He handed James a scale from his side, and joined his family. In seconds, they were mere specks in the sky, flying north.

James was looking at the scale curiously. "What am I supposed to do with it? Rub it, eat it, or maybe burn it?"

Changing the wards on the tower was the last step in making it the new Manticore home. Anyone could enter the tower now, but anyone without a Manticore ring could only use the first three floors.

The only thing wrong with the tower was the vault on the top floor, and until someone accepted the title of Archmage, they couldn't do anything about that. Since none of the Manticores wanted to spend the rest of their lives in the tower, the Archmage's ghost was left to wander around, occasionally asking a new face if they wanted to be the Archmage.

On the last Saturday in April, Hufflepuff met Beauxbatons in one of the longest Matches ever played at Hogwarts. The Match started at 0900, and it was finally ended just before midnight when Xavier Montgomery captured the Snitch. The final score was four hundred and forty to three hundred and fifty, making Lisa right; it had come down to the Snitch. Chimera had watched the entire thing, although many less avid fans had left before the end of the match.

They went down and congratulated the drooping Hufflepuff team, who were far more interested in finding a bed, now that the excitement was wearing off. They also congratulated the Beauxbatons on a fine match.

Lacy sighed as she looked at Lisa wearily. Melissa was Healing a few scrapes Lacy had taken during the match, and Lacy grinned wearily at Lisa. "Next year, I want to play your team again. We got beaten both times, but at least your team did it faster."

Lisa looked around and spoke softly in Lacy's ear. "Just imagine what's going to happen to the teams from other schools next year, when two of your Chasers and one of your Beaters are mounted on Starblades, and linked."

Lacy blinked, and then a smile spread across her face. "That is going to make a difference, isn't it"

The two friends grinned at each other, and then Lacy looked around. "Adam, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The last days of school passed quickly. Gryffindor had taken the House Cup again, but only barely, as the defeat of Beauxbatons had ignited a new fire of house pride among the Hufflepuffs, and they came in second, losing to Gryffindor by only twenty points.

James was hopeful that this new energy would last until next year. One of the Gryffindor Manticores asked him if he wanted Hufflepuff to win the Cup next year. James was in Manticore Tower, on the fourth floor, and there were a couple of dozen Manticores there, from every team and House.

James shrugged. "I hate to lose, everyone knows that. Hufflepuff though, deserves far more credit than most people give them." James got up from the seat he'd been sharing with Tiffany, and began to pace as he talked. "Hufflepuff is far too often ignored. They are loyal, and by now, every person sitting here should know how important that trait is. They are also there, every time you need them. When this war ends, and the last shot has been fired, our Hufflepuffs will still be there, doing their jobs. Maybe they aren't as smart as Lisa is, or as ambitious as Sonya, or as brave as Emma. So what? Neither am I, or Tiffany, or any of us." James looked around at the people watching him. "What they are, is dependable, first time, every time. That is a highly underrated quality."

He pointed at the banners over each table. "Some of the people in this tower joined us for glory, or for ambition, or just because they thought it might be fun. Only one group of people joined us because there was a job to do, and they could help, without thought of glory or profit to themselves. And for that, if for no other reason, our Hufflepuffs deserve our respect."

James looked at the people watching him and grinned sheepishly. "Enough with the soapbox. You might want to think about it though." He turned to Tiffany. "My Lady, I feel like flying, and there is about an hour of daylight left. Would you care to dance?"

Tiffany was already on her feet and moving toward the door.

The last Monday of the school year, they had a visitor. When James and Rose got out of their last class, they found Mary Evans in the lounge on the first floor of the tower. Within minutes, all of Chimera was there. Mary Evans had started mothering Hangeld and Lisa, both of whom had no mothers. Lisa had one, but the woman was not the best mother. Mary, who's mother had been the same kind of person, concerning only with social standing and wealth, had taken both of them under her wing. That hadn't lasted long, and now Mary mothered all the Chimeras and a few of the younger Manticores equally.

James and Rose took her on a tour of the tower, since she had a Manticore ring. She raised an eyebrow to see the winged flame on a single large chair. "I see James is as forward as ever," she said to Rose, while James blushed, "That's a pity, I was hoping Tiffany would teach him discretion."

The three of them settled into one of the smaller rooms for a chat, and Mary told them why she was here. She was supposed to evaluate May-ling, and see if she should be given the Ice-Binding, so she could be told about the Draconian Codex.

James and Rose looked at each other. Mary smiled to herself. "I have heard about what happened, and that I apparently have a new daughter. She looked at both of them. "After I am through with May-ling, we are going to have a talk about hedging things like this with your parents."

James squirmed. "Mom, how do you come right out and say, 'by the way, your twins are now triplets, and one of them is a two thousand year old Asian girl'?"

Mary thought about that, and then grinned at James. "You just did, or you could simply say, 'Mom, I have a minor problem I need some help with.'"

Rose choked, and James glared at her, even as he blushed. "I did not say that very often."

Mary was laughing quietly. "No, just with the Unicorn, the Naga, and the Mountain Pixies, all of whom caused some severe damage before you told us about your 'little problem'." She looked around. "Where is May-ling?"

Rose closed her eyes. "She's in the Ravenclaw room, would you like her to join us?"

Mary was watching Rose. She'd been watching the twins use their bond since birth, and she recognized the signs better than anyone did. "Please, ask her to join us. I take it, from what I'm seeing, that she is linked, like your twinbond?"

James nodded. "Exactly like that, and Coyote changed her eyes as well. She's got the Evans eyes."

Mary cocked her head, and half smiled. "I believe I recall someone warning you about using Coyote as your Spirit Guide, especially during important rituals."

James merely blushed and squirmed. Mary grinned at him, and then frowned. "So you two got another sister because James likes to use the Trickster Spirit. How does May-ling feel about it?"

"It was quite a shock at first," came a new voice from behind Mary, "but I think I like it." May-ling came and sat down in a chair near Rose. "I never had a sister, and it has been more than two thousand years since I had a family at all. I am finding that the informality of an American family is helpful in forgetting some of the events of the past." May-ling's eyes were dark and shadowed for a minute. She shook off whatever memory she was thinking about with an effort, and smiled at Mary. "James is very different from my brothers, except in his teasing."

Mary smiled at May-ling. "All brothers tease, it's a universal law." She examined May-ling for a minute, and then rose. "Would you come with me, please?" she requested.

May-ling stared at her, then looked at James and Rose. They were quiet, but Rose smiled at her, and nodded. May-ling got up and followed Mary into a small classroom.

James and Rose waited, knowing that their mother was evaluating May-ling, and would give them her decision when she came out. Nearly two hours later, the two of them came out, and Mary looked at James. "She has been bound, and you may tell her everything."

James nodded, and sighed. "If y'all would wait for a few minutes, I may need you." He took May-ling off to a corner and cast a silencing spell around them. Mary frowned at the two. "We all know what he's talking about, why didn't he just do it here?"

Tiffany, who had come in while the twins waited blushed. "The spell he used is not a normal silencing spell. This spell actually puts up two silencing spells, and if someone casts a 'Finite Incanteum', it drops the first one, and warns the people inside the second." She blushed again. "The only problem with it is that we can only get it to cover two people at a time."

Mary looked at her, noting the blush. On a hunch she asked, "Have you actually tried, or has James already recorded it in the Evans spellbook?"

Tiffany blushed harder. "He's already recorded it," she admitted.

Mary kept a straight face, although her eyes were dancing with laughter. "What name did he record it under?"

Tiffany was examining her hands intently. "Lover's Quiet Privacy," she muttered.

James and May-ling finished their talk before Mary could pursue that line of questioning, and James was smiling. "She doesn't want to see it."

May-ling shook her head. "The destruction of Atlantis was barely a thousand years before my time, and the legends were still commonplace then. How he can sleep with that thing in his room is beyond me."

James smiled at May-ling as he and Tiffany started to leave. "Fair warning, oldest little sister, I'm going to inspect the Unicorn team's weapons and gear right now, and then I'm going to start on the unassigned Manticores. Aren't you one of them?"

May-ling rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sir, Captain Brother, Sir," she said as she thumbed her nose at him. He grinned and tousled her hair on the way out. Mary and Rose spent the rest of the day instructing May-ling in various things that she would have to know as an Evans, and as the fourth person in direct line of inheritance of Cumulus. She had blinked to hear that. "I don't know anything about running a business," she protested.

Mary shrugged. "Neither did I, when I married Robert, but I learned, and so will you." She looked at May-ling, and a shadow ran across her face. "I would suggest that you learn quickly, too. With the Prophecy, you could be running Cumulus in no time at all."

At the Feast on the last day of school, Gryffindor received the House Cup, and Hufflepuff received another trophy, this one yet unnamed. They also received a plaque, which would stay in Hogwarts. The Trophy would go to the tournament each year, and be taken home by the winning Quidditch team.

The Beauxbatons team didn't have assigned seats for this meal, and Lacy had chosen to sit with Lisa and Adam. She warned James and Rose that Arthur had become obsessed with finding out what branch of the Pendragons they were, especially since he'd seen Mary. He had already sent off owls, with descriptions of the three of them, asking his family about them.

James and Rose looked at each other and decided to tell their mother, who had been hiding from Pendragons and the press quite well for nearly twenty years.

As the students left the next day, Manticore gathered in the Tower, separating into the groups. With the exception of May-ling, who was under the same constraints as any other linked person, the unassigned Manticores were going to America for training as usual. They would be joined in a few days by the Beauxbatons people, and they would train as normal for the summer.

The linked teams and Phoenix left to join the Rangers that would be their escort into the Giantlands after seeing the unassigned Manticores off. The Manticores going into the Giantlands spent the next two weeks learning Ranger tricks for movement in hostile areas and other methods of cover and concealment.

They went over the route they would take again, this time with the Rangers that had been on the borders recently, who made one small change in their plan. One of the valleys that Manticore had planned to use was being occupied, and the Giants were building a small village there. Moving the route took less than fours hours, and then they went over it again, double-checking everything.

Four days before they had to be in the Valley of the Union, as the Giants called it, Manticore assembled their gear, and for the first time, other than for target practice, they received live ammunition.

For this mission, since they had t defend and hold a place for an extended period, each team was carrying an M-240B machine gun. Capable of hitting a Giant sized target at eighteen hundred meters, it could also send rounds downrange at an incredible nine hundred rounds per minute, and came with a spare barrel, in case the first one got too hot.

On the magical side, they all had a pouch full of little disks, which were made on the same lines as the pranks, but were far more useful. They had spells for invisibility, silence, camouflage, and securing prisoners. Some of them would make people glow in the dark, and some even exploded. Those had been one of the rare pranks that went completely wrong. When activated, they were supposed to become a Galleon, and stick to the fingers of anyone that touched them. They became Galleons, but when touched, they exploded forcefully, a fact that had caused James to spend a couple of days in a hospital when he was ten.

James had demonstrated the power of those disks, and warned people about being careless with them, not that he needed to after they saw one of the disks blow a hole through a five-centimeter thick oak slab.

James was very careful about anything that could be deadly, and was made with magic. The Wizard world had very strict laws about what constituted Dark Wizardry, and James did not intend to spend a few years in prison for making anything that could be classified as Dark Magic.

The day of the start of the mission, they Portkeyed to Drakknair, the last human town before the borders. Alexander and Martin had to go into the Ranger station there to make sure that the section of the border that they wanted would not be watched as they took the Manticores across the border.

James and Tiffany went in also, to send off a few last minute owls and see if they could order a few Magicrystals cheaper here. After they were done with that, they walked down the street, waiting for Alexander and Martin to finish in the Ranger station. Tiffany stopped in front of a small second hand store that had a number of books in the window. "James, isn't this that book Emily wanted?"

James looked at the book. "A History of the Borders and the People that Guard Them," he read, and nodded. "I think so. Let's go see what they want for it."

They went inside, and James saw the bins of stuff in the back. He grinned and started looking through them as Tiffany went and leafed through the book. She picked it up and looked at James, smiling at her thoughts as he sorted thingies and do-hickeys. "Teddy-bear, we are on a time limit here," she reminded him.

James sighed, and joined her at the counter, noticing the person behind it for the first time. "Nice hair," he said, "but way too tall."

The tall blonde woman behind the counter looked up from her book and smiled at them. She studied them for a minute and frowned slightly. "I know you two, by description at least."

James and Tiffany were used to this. As the only Soulbonded couple in two hundred years, the gossip papers were always trying to print something about them, and they'd gotten a few pictures from students at Hogwarts before James had made it plain that he would be… 'annoyed' with the next person that sent the papers a picture. Since most people believed that annoying James would mean him and Tiffany doing things to you involving spoons and immense pain, the students had quit sending the papers pictures.

There had still been enough pictures though, that most people were vaguely familiar with the Soulbonded's faces. James sighed. "You might have seen us in the paper. I'm James Evans, and this is Tiffany Potter."

The girl behind the counter smiled. "You're the two Soulbonded people. Mr. Derring is going to be sorry he missed you." She smiled at their blank looks. "My name is Alexandra Tremaine, and I'm just watching the store for the owner, Mr. Derring." She smiled again. "I get to read all the books this way."

Tiffany handed her the book they wanted, and smiled. "You would get along with Emily quite well."

Alexandra looked at the book, and a gleam entered her eye. "That will be fourteen Sickles," she said.

James looked at her, and at the book. He started to say something, but then he saw Alexander and Martin emerge from a building and start down the street. "I would love to argue that with you," he said regretfully, "but our friends are coming, and I don't have time."

Alexandra looked over her shoulder and turned around with a sigh. "I love a good bargaining session, but since you're in a hurry, that will be ten Sickles."

Tiffany thanked her and paid for the book. They stepped outside and joined Alexander and Martin. "James, did you notice how she checked your story first, and then gave us a fair price? I like her."

James nodded. "So do I. We should come back here after the mission. We'll have some free time, and I wouldn't mind looking through the stuff in the shop anyway."

Tiffany nodded, and looked around. "You know, we should think about recruiting around here. The Borderers would make good Manticores, if Sonya and Mary Gebbs are any indication."

Back with the Manticores, Alexander informed them that the window into the Giantlands would open at 1000 and stay open for forty-five minutes. That was plenty of time to cross the two-kilometer distance, except that only the Rangers would not be watching it. They would have to watch out for Giants on the other side, and that would take a little longer.

They mounted their Broomsticks, and made their final preparations, as the time approached. At ten, the first wave of Manticores, covered with invisibility spells started across, carefully checking everything out. They found a concealed rally point across the border and set up security, sending a message back to the rest of Manticore.

By 1035, everyone was at the rally point, and James set the travel order. He looked around, and keyed his ring. "All units, this is Chimera one. Lock and load your weapons, but remember the rules of engagement. We want to sneak through, not plow through. This is what we've trained for, my friends, so let's do it right. Chimera one out."

James fed a clip into his M-4 carbine and checked the safety again. He loosened his wand and looked up. Unicorn would be taking point for the first leg of their journey, and he gave permission to proceed.

Unicorn lifted off, staying barely four meters off the ground, and Dragon and Hydra took the flank positions as the Manticores lifted off, heading deeper into the Giantlands. Sphinx was the last team to lift off, as they had the tail gunner position for today.

Manticore crossed a small ridge and disappeared into the Giantlands, completely unaware of the leather-clad figure that watched the entire thing through a spotting scope from a hilltop nearly a mile away.