Chapter 24: Flashbacks
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Office, Apr 17, 2045...
Harry sat in silent contemplation. This morning's courier bag had held a copy of the Daily Prophet. He didn't know why, but he turned to the obituaries and found that a young muggle who had expressed delight at the chance to ride a dragon was now dead. At least she had died peacefully of natural causes, but he remembered her as a bright cheerful … young … teacher who had just learned about magic and was doing her best to try to merge the muggle and magical worlds of education.
He remembered her concern, as a teacher and Headmistress, for her young charges before, during, and after the attack on her school, the Hogsmeade School for 'Gifted Children' back in 1996. He grabbed his wand and remembered …
Hogsmeade School for 'Gifted Children', Tuesday, Sept 1, 2015...
Harry had sent word before Edna Early's school started on September 1st that they were able to offer her entire school a visit to their newest Weyr. The students would need to get permission slips signed for a two-day, one-night visit, all expenses covered.
She had gotten back to him and asked how many they could accommodate. Harry decided to just visit her and personally find out how many students she wanted to send for the visit. Chekiath came to a soft landing in front of the school. It was about 10 in the morning local time, so he was sure Mrs. Early would be available. As he walked towards the school's main entrance Chekiath slowly faded from sight. Harry looked up at the school's roofline and saw the ever-present dragons watching him. He smiled and waved and they nodded their heads back at him in greeting.
He had been given a quick tour of the school almost 20 years ago. He just hoped everything was still in the same place. He walked through the main doors and entered the first room on the left. There behind a short counter, sat the school's Secretary. She looked up as he entered the room.
"Good morning, may I help you, sir?" she asked. Harry didn't recognize her, so evidently, the previous Secretary had been replaced for some reason.
"I hope so," said Harry. "My name is Harry Potter and I would like to speak with Mrs. Early about a proposed field trip we have been discussing."
"Let me check to see if she has time to see you." The Secretary pressed a switch on a box on the side of her desk and said, "A Mr. Potter to see you, Mrs. Early. Do you have time to discuss a field trip with him?"
There was a loud scream that could be heard from the intercom as well as through the wall of the office and a muggle in her mid-fifties came running out of the office, excitedly. She came to a shocked stop when she saw her visitor.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Early?" asked Harry. She looked like she had seen a ghost.
"I'm sorry, Weyrleader, theoretically, I know that magical people age much more slowly than non-magical, but most of my students graduate well before I would expect to see any physical changes in their parents, even if they are non-magical. It was just a bit of a shock to see you, apparently unchanged from when I first met you back in June of 1996!
"Please, come into my office so we can speak comfortably."
"It has been way too long since I last visited," said Harry as he sat down in a chair across the desk from where Mrs. Early seated herself. "It seems that starting up a new colony on a new planet takes considerable time. I still remembered that you expressed an interest in what we were doing, though, so thought I would offer you a chance to visit with your students."
"Yes, I know. We have been corresponding about it. Why have you come in person?"
"I need to know the number of visitors so we can make arrangements for housing while you visit and you don't seem to want to come up with a number."
"Well, we have 142 students this year, but I'm afraid that might be too many at once."
"Are they all magical?"
"Of course, but they range in ages from 5 to 10 years old. We need to know how many you are able to accommodate so we can arrange for appropriate escorts. I'm sure we could get many of the parents to come along and help supervise."
"How many teachers and staff do you have?"
"We have 15 teachers and 5 staff, why?"
"So 142 students with up to two parents each makes 426 plus 20 makes 446 at the most, right?"
"Yes," said Edna, cautiously.
"We can easily handle that number, as long as we know they are coming and if there are any special requirements for any of them. What I'm proposing is that you make it a school holiday outing and bring everyone. Are there any brothers or sisters that don't attend here that would also like to go along?"
"My goodness. I think most of my parents would jump at the chance. May I get back to you in a couple of weeks with an exact number and a few possible dates?"
"Most certainly. I want this to be memorable for everyone. I can even arrange for a new crew of dragons to watch your school while you are away so 'your' dragons can go as well."
"Oh, the children would love that!"
"Tell everyone that passports are not required, but, if they bring them, we will stamp them so they can prove their visit to another planet."
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Office, Apr 17, 2045...
Harry placed a copy of his memory into a memory vial and stoppered it. He then continued.
Hogsmeade School for 'Gifted Children', Friday, Oct 2, 2015, 0800 hours...
Harry watched as the specially modified D12P slowly settled on the other side of the Pee Wee Quidditch field from the school. He could see a large crowd of over 1,000 people, looking forward to an exciting adventure. He finally saw Edna Early and asked Cheki to land fairly close to her.
As Harry slid down Chekiath's side, Edna hurried over to greet them.
"Harry!" Edna exclaimed happily as she pulled him into a fierce hug. "We all really appreciate this chance to visit your new home. It's all we've been able to talk about since you made the offer. Thank you so much for opening up the tour to our school's alumni as well."
"Not a problem," replied Harry after he recovered his breath. "The more people who visit Pern and see how peacefully we live, the more the force for change will happen here on Earth."
"What is that huge structure on the other side of our Quidditch Pitch?"
"That is what you will all be living in for the next two days. Shall we go take a look?"
Harry led Edna over to the huge 120 ft long by 50 ft wide by 20 ft high structure. The rest of the crowd followed closely, most of them overawed at the size of the structure that had suddenly materialized on the school grounds. There was a smattering of quiet speculation from quite a few members of the crowd.
As they reached the 20 ft wide loading ramp in the center of the side, Harry cast a sonorous on himself and said, "Please keep your family members close by as you enter. We have created a unique environment inside that I hope you will find comfortable. This is where you will be living over the weekend. As you enter, you will find a reception desk off to the left of the doors. Go to the Dragonrider standing behind a placard displaying the first letter of your last name, and then one member from each family should give their name. You will be ported up to your room by a house-elf, given a handout about the facilities aboard, and an invitation to have breakfast at one of our Weyr kitchens.
"We will not leave until everyone is on board, but that shouldn't take too long."
Harry led Edna inside where he escorted her to a long desk with 26 Dragonriders behind it. He led her over to the fifth Dragonrider from the left and motioned her forward.
"Early," Edna said to the rider who was waiting patiently. He reached down to the counter, pulled out a folder with her name on it, and handed it to Harry.
"This way, Edna. Your room is the first one off the lobby."
Edna looked at the rest of the space. She had stayed in much less luxurious muggle hotels! The interior was much larger than it looked from the outside. In fact, there was even a crystal chandelier hanging from a high ceiling! As she looked around, she could see several families disappearing as they were ported to their rooms by a house-elf. On the opposite wall from the reception desk was a wide stairway that lead up to a second floor. Behind that, through an open door, she could see stairs leading up even further. Under the stairs was a wide door with a single button next to it and an empty open area off to the side.
Harry noticed where she was looking and smiled. "That is our 'elevator'. There is information in your packet about how to use it, but, unless you are visiting one of the other families, you won't need to use it."
Harry led her over to the first room to the right of the reception desk and pointed to the door.
"You even have my name on the door!"
"We have done that for everyone. The doors are keyed to whoever is staying inside. If you open the door, it will allow only yourself or a member of our staff to enter."
Edna opened the door and gasped: the interior looked like a five-star luxurious suite in an upper-class muggle hotel. Harry showed her around. There was a bedroom, bathroom with shower, and a sitting room with a small table.
"It is expected that you will prefer to take all your meals with the rest of the tour members, but, if you prefer, you may ask your assigned house-elf to bring you something. They will be able to let you know what is available."
Harry then pointed over to the far wall of the sitting room where there was what looked like a large muggle TV screen displaying the Hogsmeade School. "That," said Harry, "is linked to a camera where you can see whatever is in front of our transport. Right now it shows the School. Once everyone is inside, in their rooms, and the door closed, it will show different views depending upon our location."
'Everyone is inside now, Harry.'
"Thank you, Cheki. Let the 'Pilot' know to start the TV presentation."
Just then there sounded a dual-tone followed by the TV screen showing the image of Lee Jordan.
"If everyone would please take one of the seats facing this screen, we can get started," said Lee. He looked off to one side, checking some kind of display only he could see. Harry and Edna both sat down in two appropriately placed chairs. Shortly after, Lee started talking again.
"OK, everyone is now seated. If you would place your hands on the chair armrests, that will activate the sticking charms. You shouldn't really need it, but we have found that some passengers tend to get a bit disoriented, so better safe than sorry."
The image on the TV screen suddenly changed to a view of Earth from space with no apparent motion detectable from the passengers. Lee started talking again, "What you are seeing is what is now in front of our transport. Our first jump was to Low Earth Orbit to give you a chance to see your home planet as probably none of you have seen before. I know there was no feeling of movement, but our dragons pride themselves in their ability to move us with no apparent motion to cause undesired side-effects."
The scene again changed. This time they could see a completely different planet with a greener sun and two moons in the sky!
"What you are now looking at is the planet Pern. You are now in the enviable position of being among the few who have seen both planets from space. I wish we could allow you all to see it through a window, but, as there are so many of you, I hope our Ultra-High Resolution camera views will suffice."
The view again changed. They were now closer to the planet and they could see a mountain range extending in front of them with a tall mountain centered on the screen. Oceans and seas and lakes could be seen scattered across the view as well as various, hard to determine, land features.
"The large mountain you see in the center of the screen is Spath's Weyr. We will be landing inside it soon, but thought you might appreciate being able to see what the outside looked like first."
The scene again switched to another view. This time, the mountain took up almost the entire view.
"The observatory you can see on top of the mountain is remotely controlled. Since the top of our mountain is so high, there is no breathable atmosphere there. It is in an ideal location to monitor surrounding space for any dangerous anomalies."
Again the scene changed. Now they were close enough to see the main entrance and the mountain towering over them.
"This is the main, ground-level entrance. The Spath's Hold is actually just outside the entrance to the mountain where Spath's Weyr is located. Most of our non-Dragonrider population live either in this hold or on level 1 of the Weyr. We have another Hold where most of our centaurs live and another where most of our Mer live, but most of our intelligent species mix quite comfortably inside Spath's Weyr."
Again the scene changed. This time there was a huge digital clock that gave the date and time based on an Earth standard. Above the clock was a vivid representation of the planet Pern as seen from outer space. Slowly the image rotated so that the clock was now off to their left.
"You may have noticed we rotated to the right. This is to orient our transport so that the entrance will be midway between our gardens, on our right as you exit, and the two kitchens on either side of Spoke tunnel zero, which will be on our left."
The picture displayed changed to a scene of the ground-level area of Spath's Weyr.
"We have now landed inside Spath's Weyr. Inside your packets, you will find some red passes on lanyards which I would appreciate if everyone would put on while outside the transport. In fact, you will be unable to exit unless you are wearing one. Once you are wearing it and are outside the transport, it will not be able to be removed until you return to the transport. This is for your protection, as Pern can be very dangerous to the uninitiated. It is as safe as we can possibly make it on the inside, but there is a tracking charm on the pass that will allow us to determine where you are and if you are in distress.
"Please do not leave the Weyr interior unescorted. We will have various tours available for those interested and sign-up sheets in the transport lobby. If you want to see more, please pick a tour and a time, and add your name and number of family members who will be taking the tour. I hope you enjoy your visit!"
What Lee didn't say was that Harry had insisted on the passes as an alternative to requiring each and every passenger to take the Equality Oath. The pass acted as a protection for the one wearing it, but also would stun the wearer if they became extremely antagonistic towards anyone.
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Office, Apr 17, 2045...
Harry again placed a copy of his memory into a memory vial and stoppered it. He would let others remember the special tour, so everyone had a chance to contribute. He looked up as a sad-faced Connie Kincaid came in to collect the copies of his memories to add to their Vault of Memories. Edna Early had been a very popular educator and, even after she retired from being an active administrator, had volunteered as a mentor and homework aid for any student needing her help. Looking back on the memories he had just re-lived, Harry was actually surprised that there were so few passengers for the tour she had been on.
HMP Erlestoke, November 10, 2045...
Snape, a.k.a. Brad Harper's, life was now a lot more peaceful. Otto Monsooni had died a little over four years ago and now the only people who remembered him were those long-term prisoners who were here for life or those, like ex-con Cole Carr, for whom Snape managed Internet portfolios. There was still the odd power-hungry new convict who was sure he would take over the prison and run it from within. For some reason, they seemed to gravitate towards Snape, even though he did his best to maintain a low profile. Some of those ex-cons even did favors for him once they were released. One such favor related to how he created a new account when an old one grew too close to the size where it might be investigated. Snape now had sole, absolute, remote control over a cadre of couriers, whose only job was to pick up a package at one place, usually a bank, and deliver it where directed, usually another bank.
These packages so delivered were invariably addressed to the President or other senior bank official and contained information about what to do with the package contents. Sitting at his computer desk in his cell, Snape thought back on the first time he'd decided to open a new account using his, now well-established, courier system. He had been eavesdropping via a small video system the courier was wearing and was able to prompt his responses via an earpiece the man was wearing.
Barclays PLC, Nov 10, 2028...
The nondescript man, wearing a business suit and carrying a large leather briefcase, walked into Barclays head branch bank in London and approached the loan desk.
"I need to speak with your Bank President, please," said the courier.
"Do you have an appointment?" asked the VP in charge of New Loans, politely, eyeing the professional-looking gentleman in front of his desk.
"No, but if I don't see him, I will immediately go to your next competitor. When your President learns of the opportunity he lost, you may find yourself looking for a new position."
The VP had heard of people trying to gain undue access to top-level Bank Officers before, but had, until now, never had to suffer through the problem. Now he must determine the best course of action to take, presumably one that was safest for the bank and for him … not necessarily in that order.
"Can you give me some idea why you wish to see our President?"
Instead of saying anything, the man just lifted his large briefcase, almost a small suitcase, onto the desk between them and opened the lid barely enough so only the VP could see inside. All he could see were neatly bundled packets of 1,000-pound notes. If the case was full, it must contain easily over a million pounds! The courier closed the case, picked it back up, and waited patiently, ready to stay or leave depending on the actions of the man across the desk from him. He didn't really care, he had already been paid and paid well for his simple actions.
The VP was so stunned he had trouble finding his voice. Once he recovered, he quickly picked up his phone and dialed an interior-only extension.
"Mr. Owens, a gentleman just came in with some business that I believe only you will be able to conduct initially."
"Really, Stevens! How long have you been VP now, three years? And you cannot handle a client's business? Perhaps I need to find someone to replace you?"
"He specifically stated he would only speak with our President, Sir, and I have seen some of what his business entails and would not want to be the reason he goes to our competitors!"
"Very well, bring him back, but we may discuss this further when he leaves."
Lucas Stevens, VP of New Loans, stood from his desk, let a nearby teller know where he was going and led the courier back to the President's office. Mr. Lloyd made him stay as they counted the money. It turned out to be almost two and a quarter million pounds! The courier, they never did find out his name, simply told them he was working for an investment broker who wished for his company and all his clients to remain anonymous.
They were told that periodically couriers would arrive to deposit or withdraw money to or from specific accounts. They would be provided with the transaction details and an untraceable password that would be sent to the President by a special courier on the morning of the transaction. If the transactions are concluded successfully, a yearly "Transaction Fee" of one million pounds in cash would be sent to the bank in quarterly installments. The first installment was included in good faith with this transaction.
The very shocked and very greedy President and Vice-President couldn't believe their luck!
"Mr. Stevens will personally handle any future transactions himself," said Owen Lloyd. "He will keep you apprised of his work schedule so there will be no question when he will be available. I will ensure that if he is to be gone for an extended time, I will be able to personally handle any business you provide."
A new account was quickly set up with the provided name and identifying information, complete with secure online account access. Snape smiled at this, he would be able to electronically transfer funds from one account to another himself. All he would need the couriers for would be when a new account had to be created.
As his courier left the bank, Snapes said into his earpiece, "Well done, Mr. McCarthy. I trust the amount in the envelope provided was sufficient to keep your interest and honesty?"
"Yes, Sir. If all I do for the rest of my working life is act as your courier, I will be able to retire a multi-millionaire! I understand the instructions you included, as well. Never ask any questions about you or your clients. If this much money is being made, would it be possible for me to become one of your clients?"
"That might be possible, Mr. McCarthy. All this money comes from investing in stocks and bonds. If you understand that the market fluctuates hourly, sometimes even second by second, and you could possibly lose more than you gain, I would provisionally be willing to invest up to half your courier fee each month for you. I would expect you to maintain a sensible lifestyle so you don't attract anyone's attention as well."
"Would it be alright if I get back to you in a few months? I'd like to see how things go before I take the plunge."
"It's your money," said Snape.
HMP Erlestoke, November 10, 2045...
Usually, Severus sent at least a million pounds cash in each package and gave detailed instructions about the type of account to place the money in, the name and information to open the account under, and various other specifics that guaranteed the safety of his investments. He had learned early on that if he was generous in his rewards to banks that helped him, he fared much better than if he simply tried to act as an anonymous client. Because of this, he passed himself off as an investment broker creating new accounts for his clients. When he had first started "sharing the wealth", he had sent an annual "gift" of 10% of his earnings. As his investments skyrocketed, he'd had to lower the percentage or run the risk of someone asking too many questions. Now, he was 'gifting' barely 1% of his net income and the bankers were still falling all over themselves to keep him happy.
On a side note, Mr. Leo McCarthy was the only courier to take advantage of his offer and become a client. Because of their business relationship, McCarthy came to trust Snape more and more. He never lost money with any of Severus' investments.
On the other hand, his most successful and pleasant Internet contact, Nylah Harper, now 28 and a new intern, was very grateful for everything Severus had done for her and her daughter Paige, now 14 and doing quite well in her own right, in school. Snape still didn't know how he was going to use the contact when he got out of prison, but it seemed just too useful to terminate. Besides, it almost took care of itself now. Years ago, he had set up endowments for both Nylah and Paige which would allow them to live comfortably if anything ever happened to him. They both thought the money they received each month was a government stipend and Severus was very careful so she never found out differently. He even arranged for a specific accountant to prepare their taxes every year. The accountant had a basic idea of where the money came from, but not any specifics.
He found it curious that Nylah had started opening up to him about her personal problems and trusted him enough to take his advice more often than not. He recalled a chatroom conversation he'd had with her earlier in the day …
Private, secure chatroom run on a Server owned by Snape, Ltd...
Nynah1021: You there Brad?
Brad1960: Yup, I keep a chatroom window open specially for those who may need to contact me if I'm online. What's up?
Nynah1021: My Mum called me today. She's finally left my Dad. He beat her once too often. I don't know what to do.
Brad1960: What do you want to do?
Nynah1021: Help her in some way, but I'm afraid if my Dad finds out where I am, he would ruin everything.
Brad1960: What's your Mum doing now?
Nynah1021: She's staying at a women's shelter across town.
Brad1960: I never got on with my parents, either of them, but if I remember right, you wanted your Mum to leave him a long time ago, right?
Nynah1021: Yeah, I'm happy she's free of him now, but I'm still afraid to get involved. She is really happy that things are going so well for me now.
Brad1960: Did she say anything that led you to believe she wanted to come stay with you?
Nynah1021: No, just the opposite. She said that if she doesn't know anything about where I am then Dad can't find out through her.
Brad1960: If I could arrange for you both to be safe from him, would you want her to live with you?
Nynah1021: Oh, yes! My Mum is so wonderful. I would rather her take care of Paige than the Nanny we have now.
Brad1960: Then contact your mother and have her meet you someplace you both know, far enough away from where your father hangs out that he won't know about it. I will arrange with a friend of mine to have your house watched until we are all sure she has gotten away from him clean.
Nynah1021: Thank you so much! How did I ever deserve such a friend as you!? Are you sure we aren't cousins or something?
Brad1960: Absolutely sure. When you finally told me who you were, I did some research and, if we are related, it's so far back in the dim and distant past that we probably don't even have any common hereditary traits.
Nynah1021: Talk to you later. I'm going to call my Mum.
That reminded Snape, he opened his browser, entered his private, secure server, and contacted a hitman he knew who did quality "accidents". He knew that Nylah and her family would never have to worry about her father again. He even set up a life insurance policy so that it looked like her father had taken it out on her mother but made a mistake and put the names in the wrong place. Half a million pounds ought to make up for any distress they felt when they found out he'd met his fate a little early. He could even have his hitman play the part of an insurance salesman to help set the stage. Then he would have one of his magical contacts find a real salesman to sign the papers before the unfortunate accident.
He had been fascinated to learn that his Internet investments in Power Generation that had been doing so well were all related to Harry Potter and his dragons. He had been doing his best to find out where, exactly, Potter was located, but had been unsuccessful until recently when he read about the planet Pern. He read with interest about all the new plants discovered there, but, try as he would, he could not get any samples of those plants to investigate. Even with his vast, stable power base within the prison system, there were limits to what could be delivered to prisoners.
Pern University, Office of the Headmaster, June 23, 2048...
Sir Stanley Scott was getting ready to retire, and due to the Dumbledore Plan, he was going out with style. Today he had gotten word from two important Weyr insiders who had helped him pull one over on the Scientific Community. Dan and Emma Granger were back on Earth presenting a paper on their "discovery" that a certain small bird with blue feathers speckled with light blue spots, a Jobberknoll, was central to their discovery of a new miracle drug which he had "helped" conduct clinical trials for. Of course, Hermione Potter was the mastermind behind the entire thing, but he was the "Resident Expert Scientist" they relied on to "verify" their findings.
Granger Residence, April 1, 2047...
The Granger Residence in the UK had been cleaned out and re-furnished as a makeshift research laboratory after the latest of the tenants had moved out because they wanted to purchase their own home. The living room looked like a scene from a bad mad-scientist movie. There were pots on heating elements, crucibles, retorts, piping, pipets, glass tubing, and all sorts of things normally only seen in a chemist's laboratory.
"OK, Mum and Dad, I think you have it now. Please go over it once more so Sir Scott can verify it's something he will support as "valid" research and testing," said Hermione.
"I feel like I'm a student in school again being asked to perform in front of the teacher when I don't really know what I'm doing," said a nervous Dan Granger.
"Oh, honestly, Dan," said Emma, "this will be fun! And the end result will be that eventually Hermione won't have to hide her magic."
Sir Scott just sat in his comfortable chair enjoying the entire situation. He had been brought in early and had made a special trip back to Earth ahead of the Grangers so he could rekindle his academic, scientific, and government credentials. It had been almost like a vacation for him, though he did miss his research on Pern a little. Soon he would be retiring and could spend all his time on his research. Let someone younger run the school!
Sir Scott listened as Dan and Emma presented their discovery of the special features contained in the oils within the bird's feathers. How they conducted research on three groups that had all suffered from various degrees of Alzheimer's: Group One was given a placebo, Group Two was given the new "medicine", and Group Three was given contemporary drugs supposed to give the same result. What no one said was that each and every volunteer was a muggle friend or family member of a Dragonrider or a muggle-born witch or wizard, like Hermione. They had actually conducted the tests and the results surprised even Sir Scott.
In every case, Group Two members saw an almost immediate rollback of all symptoms and suffered no ill effects. The test results were even more compelling because every test subject had years of documented problems with the disease.
As they were finishing up the presentation, Sir Scott nodded, smiled at the two nervous Dentists, and said, "What am I supposed to do now?"
Hermione glared at him and growled, "Don't forget, another function of a slightly altered formula of this potion is as a truth drug. I'm sure we can discover that next and test it out on you!"
Everyone laughed and Sir Scott congratulated the three young people in front of him for a job well done. The Dumbledore Plan was about to reveal the Jobberknoll to the muggle world.
Pern University, Office of the Headmaster, June 23, 2048...
Today's courier had delivered a Royal Society Journal where he presented the findings of the Grangers and supported their work. Down at the bottom of the article was a note that he was especially proud of.
After this study was complete and all findings verified and recorded, Members of Groups One and Three were given the option to take the new drug. In every case, they accepted and in every case, all symptoms of Alzheimer's disappeared almost immediately. It is my professional and personal opinion that the sooner this new amazingly inexpensive drug can become readily available, the better off mankind will be. Who knew that the phrase, "A little birdie told me" would take on such important meaning. It is with extreme relief that I add that all of the birds who provided feathers for this experiment are still alive and seemingly happy.
Dragon Isle, Private Guest Quarters, Apr 3, 2050...
With a sense of Déjà Vu, Remus Lupin looked at the manuscript on the desk. He had finally finished writing his book, 'The Weyrs of Pern'. He had again asked for, and been granted, some time off to finish up the manuscript and get it ready for publishing. He was again going to have to use a magical publisher because he talked about magic in the book. There was enough mention of magic that the muggles couldn't see the book until the magical community was finally revealed to them. Until then, he was hoping he could use the same publisher as last time to have the book published and in magical book stores in time for Harry's birthday.
He looked down tiredly at the manuscript and decided to take a short break before continuing. He made a quick copy using magic, placed one copy in the safe in the suite, and placed the other in a drawer in the desk. Before he closed the drawer, he looked at the top page one more time and re-read the dedication.
This book is dedicated to my wife, Doctor Mildred O'Connor-Lupin, and the adorable daughter we adopted, Kristin. I would also like to publicly voice my appreciation for Harry Potter, his bonded dragon, Chekiath, the unbonded dragon, Cnordth, who became one of my closest friends, and the unbonded dragons Spath, Dronth, and many others, who shared their memories with me so that I could record them for the future of dragon-kind and ultimately gain the wonderful designation of Weyr Historian.
My first book, "The Weyrs of Earth", talked about the history of the dragons and Harry Potter's fight to not only set up the first Weyr on Earth but to gain a first-people status for all the dragons, and ultimately for all the intelligent species, of the world. What I am attempting to do with this book is explain what happened after that. This book will explain some of what went into creating the first monstrous Weyr on the newly (re)discovered world of Pern and some of the problems that were eventually overcome so that the dragons of Earth now had not only a safe haven from the nations of Earth but a true home of their own.
With that in mind, I begin.
He would contact his publisher soon. He really wanted to get this book published in time for Harry's 70th birthday. He looked at the dedication again and smiled at seeing his wife's name. She had literally saved his life and the lives of uncounted other werewolves who were even now coming in from the wild to receive the free treatment the Dragon Nation offered.
He remembered the misery of his wife's continued depression back in 2031 at looking like an old woman while he didn't look much older than when they had first met. Shortly after Harry returned to Earth from celebrating May's birthday, Remus remembered her looking a lot more youthful. When he questioned Harry about it, he learned something very useful …
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Office, June 12, 2031...
"Harry, do you have time to talk?" asked Remus as he walked into Harry's Office.
"Sure, Remus, what's up?"
"I noticed May when you guys got back from Earth. Did you find the Fountain of Youth?"
"No," laughed Harry, "I did something a lot simpler. I created a special potion that allows our three different apparent ages to use Hermione as a common focal point. I appear slightly older, which is extremely useful, and May appears quite a bit younger, which pleases her no end."
"Please, would it be possible for me to get some for Mildred? She's been miserable for years now. Something like that would make her feel so much better. Right now she keeps grousing that she feels like a cougar. What does feeling like a mountain lion have to do with being old?"
"I don't know about the cougar thing," said Harry, "but I've had Dobby mixing up the base ingredients ever since we got back. I'm going to be distributing it to all the "mixed" muggle/magical couples soon. How would you like to be the first?"
"I would love you forever and name my firstborn after you!"
"I might just hold you to that," laughed Harry. "Where is Mildred?"
"She's hiding in the Observatory Control Room. She says she likes it because there are no mirrors there."
"Dobby."
"Yes, Harry called?"
"Yes, Dobby. Would you please bring me two bottles of the new potion I've had you brewing?"
Dobby nodded and disappeared with a pop only to reappear holding two odd-looking bottles.
"Thank you, my friend," said Harry. "Do you want to watch to see what these do?"
"Yes, please, Dobby's been wondering."
"Remus, I will need two hairs from you and a hair from Mildred. Give me yours now and then go get one of Mildred's. Best get it fresh from her hair. I don't think either of you would like the effect if you got the wrong hair!"
Remus immediately pulled out a couple of hairs and handed them to Harry who put them into one of the jars, re-sealed it, gave the still warm brew a vigorous shake, and wrote "Remus" on the side. Remus then ran from the room and was back in five minutes dragging Mildred behind him. She was complaining the entire time about "disrespectful children!"
Once she was seated, Remus pulled one of her hairs, which caused a new series of loud complaints, and handed the hair to Harry. He repeated his previous actions with the other bottle and carefully wrote "Mildred" on the side of the bottle.
As soon as she saw what Harry was doing, Mildred went silent and just watched with a hopeful look.
"Remus, Mildred, stand and hug each other with one hand while you drink this down completely using the other hand to hold the jar."
Remus stood immediately and gently pulled Mildred up when she hesitated. "Do you trust us, Mildred?" asked Remus quietly.
"With my very life," whispered Mildred back.
With that, they did as Harry ordered and hugged and drank. It took a few seconds for the potion to start working, but when it did, there was a visible change in Mildred's appearance while Remus looked much the same. Remus looked at Mildred in awe and then, with tears in his eyes, mouthed, "Thank you!" silently at Harry.
"Well, what happened?" asked Mildred crossly. Then she stopped. Her voice didn't sound like an old woman's voice anymore! She looked at Remus, who was looking at her with a huge grin on his face. He conjured a mirror and then almost had to catch her as she stumbled after seeing her reflection. She was 83 but looked less than half that! She looked at Harry with awe and thankfulness. Then she forcefully dragged Remus out of the room towards their apartment.
Dragon Isle, Private Guest Quarters, Apr 3, 2050...
Remus looked up as his wife entered the room.
"Finished yet?" she asked suggestively.
"I am, but if I wasn't, I would still stop what I was doing to be with you," said Remus lovingly to his much happier wife. It never bothered him what she looked like, but it hurt him that she was unhappy. Now they were both happy again.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Quarters, Sunday, July 31, 2050...
Remus waited as Dan and Emma Granger hurried up and then knocked on the door leading to Harry's private quarters with a crowd of "Potter family" behind him. They had all agreed, many years ago, not to disturb the "birthday boy" until around lunchtime, so he and his wives had a chance to celebrate his birthday in private. Harry really enjoyed being surrounded by his immediate and extended family, but he was still a very private man and enjoyed the "cuddle time" with his wives just as much. He cuddled with his wives every day, as often as they had a chance, but, for some reason, it tended to become a bit extreme on one of their birthdays.
The knock wasn't really necessary, because every fire lizard belonging to anyone in the group had already ported directly into the room to greet the three giant dragons living here. May opened the door and smiled at the small crowd of people outside.
"Come on in, everyone. We were just getting set up for our surprise for Harry. Take one of these buckets," she said, pointing to large 5-gallon buckets full of ping-pong balls. "I'm sure you will figure out what to do with them at the appropriate time." She then handed Grandma Ross, Katherine, Mildred, and Dan and Emma Granger wicked-looking plastic rifles, each with a magazine full of ping-pong balls. Everyone spread out around what looked like a throne set up on a high, round pedestal in a corner of the room where the dragons could see what was going on.
"We went to an Earth Carnival recently," explained May, "and saw something like this there. Hermione and I realized we needed to do this for Harry, so, with a little help from Hermione's magic, we got it set up. Today will be the first time that Harry will have seen anything like this."
Just then, Hermione led a blindfolded Harry into the room. She carefully settled him into the seat of the throne before taking his blindfold off. Harry noted what he was sitting on and the small crowd in front of him. He had a feeling this wasn't all going to be exactly what it looked like, so decided to play along.
"Ah, my minions have finally arrived to worship their glorious leader!" exclaimed Harry as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down and grinned demonically.
Hermione and May moved over to the crowd that included Andrea Ross, Tegan, Dan and Emma Granger, Sirius and Katherine Black, Remus and Mildred Lupin, and all four of Harry's children. As Harry finished his little speech, Hermione waved her wand and the Pedestal became transparent, showing it was a large dunking tank, full of water. Large targets appeared on each side and in front of the throne.
Andrea, Katherine, Mildred, and Dan and Emma all grinned wickedly as they immediately started firing ping-pong balls at the targets. Sirius and Remus, a little confused about what was happening, nevertheless started throwing their balls as best they could at the targets. Tegan wasn't that far behind the other adults.
Harry was confused until one of Andrea's ping-pong balls hit a target and one of the supports under the throne disappeared, causing the "throne" to shift. Harry looked down and could now see the large tank of water. His eyes got really wide as he started hamming it up even more. "What are you doing!? I am your illustrious leader. Why are you doing this to me? STOP! You can't do this!"
Every time a ping-pong ball hit a target, the throne lost more and more of its support. Meanwhile, Harry had switched to taunts. "You guys couldn't hit the broad side of a dragon at two paces!" "My fire lizard could throw better than that!"
The final taunt from Harry, "You throw like a girl!" proved too much for Sirius. He carefully took aim and banished a ping-pong ball at high speed right into the center of the smallest target. This caused all the remaining supports to disappear and the seat of the throne flopped down on hinges, dunking Harry into the tank.
Everyone started laughing until Hermione happened to see Harry standing in the tank, concentrating. She started to warn the others, but it was too late. The tank exploded water everywhere, getting all the participants soaked and causing steam to rise from the dragon beds. Suddenly it was a free-for-all. Ping-pong balls and water were going everywhere. The fire lizards quickly took shelter behind the three dragons who were rumbling, amused at the entire display. Everyone else got thoroughly soaked in warm water.
The action finally wound down to a stop because everyone was laughing so hysterically they couldn't coordinate throwing any more ping-pong balls. Hermione and May looked around at the ruined rugs and furniture. Fortunately, they'd had enough foresight to remove anything that could be damaged by water, like books before their guests arrived. Now they wondered if perhaps they'd allowed things to go a little too far.
Harry saw their beginning looks of concern and cast a silent spell. Suddenly the water was all gone and everything was dry and tidy again. He cast another spell and all the ping-pong balls were returned to the buckets, with the extras that had been in the gun magazines collected together into a handy bowl Harry conjured.
Just then a ping-pong ball hit him in the forehead. Everyone looked at Tegan, who had thrown the ball, realizing this was going to cause a whole new level of retaliation. They waited to see what Harry would do. Harry immediately started chasing Tegan around the apartment to tickle her as she ran screaming from him. Andrea shot a few more ping-pong balls at Harry to help distract him from Tegan, but the rest gratefully decided to sit this portion of the battle out.
Finally, Harry caught Tegan and threw her, as if she were still five years old, at Hermione. This time, Hermione just watched as Tegan seemingly took flight. Even the fire lizards got in on the act and were chased or chased after Tegan. Some of them just perched on her arms and went along for the ride.
Finally, Harry and Tegan had enough and Tegan alighted near Harry. She promptly grabbed him into a hug and said into his ear, "I love you, Dad!"
Harry smiled back and replied, "I love you too, Tegan. Thank you for allowing us to be your family."
They were soon joined in their hug by Andrea who added her tearful thanks to Harry for all he and his wives had done for her and Tegan all those years ago and ever since.
When they broke apart and went over to where the rest of the family was seated, Remus stood and handed Harry a gift-wrapped package. "Happy Birthday, Harry. I hope you like it."
Harry unwrapped the package to find a fairly thick book with an image of Pern on the cover, the title, "The Weyr's of Pern".
"So, you've finally finished it," said Harry.
"I have … so far. I will keep updating the book as we continue to grow, but the base book, edition one, is now out there. The best part is that the publisher has figured out how to release the book to both magical and non-magical communities at the same time."
"How did they do that?" Harry asked curiously.
"They placed mild muggle repelling charms on those areas of the book that mention magic. When magic is finally announced to the Earth, the charms will all be disabled and muggles will find they have a slightly longer book that contains more information than they'd previously realized."
Harry quickly leafed through the book. "Come back in a few days so I have a chance to read it. Then it can be placed in the Archives along with all our other first copies. It looks like it has a lot more pictures than the last one, and a lot of those are magical."
"Yes," agreed Remus, "muggles will see still images until after magic is revealed."
"Congratulations," said Harry, smiling. "I know this has been quite an undertaking. You should be proud. As our first Weyr Historian, you have done a phenomenal job."
"Thanks, Harry. Coming from you that means a lot. I just hope I did justice to all those dragons who have given me input."
As their conversation wound down, Harry turned to Andrea Ross. "You were very handy with that gun. Were you in the military at one time?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Never in the military," said the 92-year-old Weyr Fostering Mistress, "but I've fought off many a sticky-handed suitor!"
"As long as you're happy," said Harry, "that's all that matters here. You've had enough trouble and unhappiness to want any more now."
Andrea patted Harry's cheek and said, "You're such a wonderful boy. I wish I were a few years younger, I would give those girls of yours a run for their money!"
"I'm sure you would," replied Harry affectionately. Andrea had become as much a grandmother to him as she was to Tegan and Harry was nothing if not family-oriented. "How are things going for you, otherwise?"
"Your first Weyr Fostering Mistress is going to be retiring soon, but I've been training up Tegan to take my place. I just hope she settles down and adds a few of her own to the batch before I'm too old to enjoy them! You're The Weyrleader, surely you can help her find someone suitable?"
"I may be Weyrleader," said Harry with an embarrassed smile, "but I wouldn't want to even attempt to tell Tegan whom she should fall in love with. I will help her if she asks though."
"You make sure you do," said Andrea, mock fiercely. Harry turned to his adopted daughter Tegan. "Still wearing that disreputable leather coat and when are you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?"
"This coat is, as you well know, magical and still performs its intended function admirably. Just because I've had it for over 20 years doesn't mean that I have to get something new. Grandma and Grandpa Granger chose a most useful garment. As for Lawrence Everett, he isn't family yet, and may never be, so I didn't feel it appropriate to bring him along."
"Just because you're our 'baby' daughter, doesn't mean you can get away with anything you want," said Harry with a mock frown.
"Dad! I'm NOT a baby anymore, and you and my Mums have taught me to be strong and independent. If I thought you really meant what you were implying, you probably wouldn't see me again until I was an old married woman!"
"You may not be a baby, but you will always be 'our baby' … at least until my wives give me more," Harry said with a wink.
As Tegan gave a good-natured "huff" at his comment and everyone else laughed, Harry turned to his next guest.
"You're looking well, Mildred. Has Remus been giving you any trouble?"
Mildred drew Harry into an intense hug as she replied tearfully, "Oh, Harry. I wish there was some way I could adequately thank you for that wonderful age matching potion you made for Remus and me. Intellectually, I know I'm 90, but I look and feel only about 45. I actually had one of my older students flirt with me the other day!"
Remus looked up at that, causing Harry to respond jokingly, "Remus not enough for you anymore?"
"Remus is the love of my life and I could never imagine being with anyone else, now or ever," she said as she turned from Harry and hugged her husband.
Harry looked over at Katherine Black and said, "How about you? Is my Godfather treating you right? If not, I expect to see the Healer report ..."
Katherine, like Mildred, pulled Harry into an intense hug and said lovingly, "I won't repeat what Mildred said, though I feel the same. I will warn you, though. I didn't teach you everything I know about hand-to-hand combat. If you ever start getting uppity, I will still be here to put you in your place!" She reached up and kissed him on his cheek and stepped back into her husband's arms.
He then turned to Dan and Emma Granger, both now 91 and showing it, with a questioning look on his face. Emma replied to that look by smiling and saying, "We have loved almost every minute of our adventure together since we first met you, Harry. We refused the potion you offered because someone has to look old enough to be your parents and that job fell to Andrea, Dan, and me. We had our concerns at first, but we are so glad Hermione finally got her act together and managed to get together with you and May. We find that semi-retirement is quite pleasant. We supervise during hatchings and help Andrea out at the Foster Barracks, but we are spending more and more time relaxing on the beach at Sakushima Hold. It's really useful when you have friends who can fly!"
Harry looked at his wives. Hermione and May were both 71 and thanks to the potion Neville had helped Harry develop, they both looked to be about 35, as did he. Daniel and Mary were 44 and looked like they were in their mid-teens, while Albus and Lily were 37. Lily looked to be in her early teens, but Albus, with his smaller core, looked about 6 years older. Sometimes he saw Tegan looking at her older brothers and sisters with a slightly confused look as if just realizing that these 'children' were older than she was. Perhaps he should offer the five of them their own potion that would normalize all their ages around Tegan's age.
Daniel seemed to be taking over all the duties of The Weyrleader and none of the dragons ever questioned his orders. Mary was teaching at Hogwarts and was the Ravenclaw Head of House. Her sister Lily also taught there and was the Hufflepuff Head of House, while Albus had become an Auror and had recently started working closely with the muggle London Metropolitan Police.
Harry thought back to the first birthday when someone cared for him. Hagrid had brought him a cake that Dudley had eaten. What a difference a few years and a lot of friends made! All in all, Harry finally felt content. His dragons were safe, he had a large family, and, so far, everyone seemed happy and content. What more could a person wish for?
HMP Erlestoke, Erlestoke, November 10, 2050...
Only ten years to go on his sentence and he could get out of prison and decide what he was going to do with the rest of his life … and about all those he knew from his before prison life. He knew it was earlier than normal, but he had started a "short-timer's calendar" indicating how many years, months, days, and hours he had left in prison. He even tied it into a journal he was keeping detailing most things that happened to him each day. He basically restricted it to interactions with others in his environment, keeping his Internet transactions within his own mind. He had found one of the guards thumbing through its pages early in his sentence, so kept only the bare-bones accounts on the pages. It was enough that it would remind him of exactly what had happened on any day he wished to recall.
Nylah had recently turned 33, so, if he decided to meet her, he would appear to be only slightly older than she was when he got out. Her daughter had also just turned 19 and, from the pictures he'd been able to find, was quite a looker. He still didn't know what he was going to do about them when he got out but was going to keep all his options open. He thought back to his teaching days and decided that Paige was every bit as pretty as any of the Slytherin girls he had taught.
He thought back to his time with the Slytherin girls and wondered if the old urges would kick in when he found himself face-to-face with young girls again. Was it a sex thing or a power thing?
Buckingham Palace, London, Sept 22, 2053...
Ginny was not only the primary Healer attached to the Royal Family, but she was a registered Kneazle breeder and now she had accomplished the near impossible. At her father's prompting, she had gotten a full-blooded, female Kneazle to bond with a muggle, Duchess Catherine, Royal Consort to King William V. The Duchess treated the Kneazle like royalty and in return, the Kneazle acted, not like a typical cat, but more like a small guard, armed with razor-sharp claws. They were hoping to persuade a male Kneazle to bond with King William later, so the Duchess could breed pure blood Kneazles.
She remembered what it had been like on the first day when she had shown up to work with what turned out to be the Duchess's Kneazle …
Buckingham Palace, London, Apr 28, 2051...
Ginny walked into the examining room for the Duchess's 40 year physical. The most recent graduate of her training program for Kneazles walked in behind her, a female named Princess. The Duchess looked at her askance.
"I wasn't aware that animals were allowed in the Palace," Catherine said coolly.
"This isn't an animal, your Royal Highness, she's a Kneazle," explained Ginny, "and I'm hoping that I can get her to bond to you for our next magical world reveal according to the Dumbledore Plan. She is not a cat, so much as a small, very intelligent bodyguard with very sharp claws."
The Duchess looked at the small-spotted cat-like creature with what almost looked like a lion's tail. Were it not for the tail and the small size, it would have looked like a cheetah. The creature stared back at her as if she were something of a curiosity to be studied. The Duchess looked at the beautiful creature and wondered just how intelligent a cat could be.
Suddenly, the Kneazle jumped down from the chair she had perched on, reared up, and placed her front paws on Ginny's leg as she was finishing drawing blood from the Duchess. Ginny looked down at the Kneazle and said, very plainly, "I will be finished here in just a second. Please try to wait for just a bit longer."
When she had finished drawing the blood, she walked over to the door to the small bathroom attached to the small infirmary and opened the door. The Kneazle walked in, very aloofly, and actually pulled the door partially shut behind her! A few minutes later, the Duchess heard the toilet flush.
"She didn't just …," Catherine started to say, with her eyes wide.
"Yes, Your Majesty, she just went to the toilet and flushed after herself."
"That is definitely not like any cat I've ever known!" exclaimed the Duchess.
"As I said," retorted Ginny, "she is not a cat."
"What does she like to eat?"
Buckingham Palace, London, Sept 22, 2053...
It wouldn't take long before Kneazles were known throughout the muggle world.
Spath's Weyr, the Hog's Head Restaurant, July 1, 2054...
Harry gathered with the rest of those close to Aberforth Dumbledore after his funeral to commiserate over their common loss and remember the man who had touched so many of their lives. Unlike his brother, Albus, Aberforth was not interested in politics or manipulating people or events. He loved his flock of goats and loved to mingle with his guests, both at the Hog's Head Inn on Earth and, later, here in the Hog's Head Restaurant. Harry remembered the first day he had seen the establishment ...
Spath's Weyr, Dec 1, 2030...
Harry, Hermione, and May walked into the new Restaurant, midway between Spoke tunnel 1 and 2. He had expressed doubt when Aberforth had approached him about the advisability of opening another place to eat. After all, they already had 32 Kitchens spread around the Weyr's circumference. Why would anyone wish to go to pay for something they could get for free?
As they entered the door, Harry was amazed at the size of the interior. He knew all about space-enhancing charms but had never seen it used to this extent before. The entryway was almost double the size of a normal dragon apartment. To the left, as they entered, he could see a large fenced-in area containing short, very green grass and several of Aberforth's goats. He had asked the man about them once and was told they were almost like children to him rather than pets. Here, in this setting, it was apparent that some of his clients enjoyed them almost as much as the man himself did. There were tables set up against the fence so that anyone sitting there could easily see and interact with the goats. In fact, several families were seated there already. Invariably, the children were closest to the fence and reaching through to pet and feed the small, clean, fleecy animals.
As soon as Aberforth saw them, he hurried over. "I've got just the table for you, Weyrleader. If you would sign our guest log and then follow me, please."
Harry signed the first page of the ornate guest log and then they followed Aberforth up a flight of stairs to the third floor leading to a balcony overlooking the 'goat yard' and giving a good view of the rest of the restaurant.
"How far does this go?" asked Harry, gesturing to the back of the establishment.
"I created four floors. Each has a balcony overlooking the floors below with private rooms further back. The tables next to the railing have a good view of everything below them towards the entrance. The tables back from the edge are more private, while the rooms behind there are all soundproofed and appropriate for parties of different sizes."
"I really like the decor," said May appreciatively. "I have seen exclusive restaurants back on Earth that don't look as nice."
"Thank you," said Aberforth. "I wanted to create an atmosphere that would help relax my patrons, yet allow them to enjoy themselves in a more private setting than sitting out in the middle of the open Weyr. I'm hoping that this will become the place to come to for special occasions, or just because you want something different."
"Don't you serve the same food as the Kitchens though?" asked Hermione, curiously. "Why would someone come in here to pay for what they can get in one of the Kitchens for free?"
"Mostly because I try to stock a few specialty items the Kitchens do not normally carry and I offer a completely different atmosphere here than the Kitchens do."
Spath's Weyr, the Hog's Head Restaurant, July 1, 2054...
As Harry listened to the stories around him, he realized that Aberforth had tapped into a need that no one else seemed to understand. He offered a touch of Earth, privacy, and elegance. He hired house-elves as wait staff but trained them in specific ways to act towards their guests. He also provided them with costumes that they were required to wear while working.
"I wonder what will become of this place, now that Aberforth is no longer here to provide guidance?" asked May, sadly.
"Jojo," called Harry.
A small house-elf, dressed in a very fashionable tuxedo, appeared. "Master Harry called?"
"Yes, Jojo. Do you know what is to happen to the Restaurant, now that Aberforth is no longer able to help you?"
"Master Aberforth gives us this paper some time ago," said the elf handing Harry a small sheaf of papers. "He said to show this to Mistress Hermione if anything happened to him."
Harry handed the papers to Hermione who carefully studied them. As she read, her eyes got bigger and brighter as they slowly filled with unshed tears. Finally, a tear escaped as she looked up at Harry.
"Aberforth has left all that belongs to him to Jojo and his wife Kaldy," said Hermione, "as long as they wish to continue running the Restaurant as he trained them to do. I have never before heard of any wizard leaving anything to his house-elf. He must have come to think of them as his children as well. Oh, Harry, I'm going to miss that old man, probably more than I miss Albus!"
Harry looked down at Jojo and his wife, who had appeared shortly after Hermione started reading Aberforth Dumbledore's Last Will and Testament. "Congratulations, Jojo and Kaldy. Apparently, you are now the new owners of this restaurant. If you decide to keep it open, I'm sure you will have many loyal customers, including us, who would be very grateful."
"We owns this place now?" asked Kaldy, incredulously.
"Yes, Kaldy," said Hermione, fiercely. "I will use this as a precedent to help give house-elves even more equality than they've enjoyed before. We love you all and want you to enjoy your lives as free and equal partners in all you do."
Suddenly they were surrounded by all the house-elf employees of the Hog's Head Restaurant, excitedly talking amongst themselves as they tried to understand this new great thing that had happened to them.
South Park, Galway, Ireland, Jan 28, 2055...
Fred and George Weasley were deep in discussion with a Leprechaun in a secluded part of South Park in Galway, Ireland. The same Leprechaun in fact, that had supplied the gold that Ludo Bagman had paid their Quidditch World Cup winnings. He owed them and they had finally gotten him to understand what they wanted. This would be the biggest joke on the muggles ever!
Fred held up a sickle he had enchanted to be a permanent portkey. "Now this," said Fred, "will bring you and anyone touching it back here, as many times as you want. It will only work for you, but you don't need to be touching it. Just say the word, 'Fred' and hit it with some leprechaun magic, and the coin, you, and whoever you are touching will be brought back here. This is so you feel safe at all times. Muggles can be scary for me, I can just imagine how you feel when you're only six inches high!"
Fred held out the coin and the Leprechaun took it solemnly. "Now, for the agreement. I want to go over it one more time, so there is no question what we want, what you must do, and what you will get when you complete your task."
Now the Leprechaun looked slightly worried. It had never in its life made a promise that it had intended to keep. It always had some way out of it. These wizards had told him about magically binding oaths and all three of them were going to take one after they had agreed to the terms. It really sounded like a lot of fun though and he loved hearing the twins talk as if they only had one brain between them.
"We are going to bring a mark here …," started Fred.
"... and introduce you to them. It might be a boy or a girl," said George.
"we don't know yet. Whomever we choose …," said Fred.
"... we will do our best to make sure it will be someone …," said George.
"... you will be comfortable spending some time with," said Fred.
"If you don't like them …," said George.
"... then stay hidden. Otherwise, show yourself …,"
"... where they can see you. Become their 'friend' …,"
"... long enough so that muggle …,"
"... scientists get a chance to …,"
"... verify you are real. Don't let them do ..."
"... anything that will hurt you. That's why ..."
"... we gave you the magical portkey. Once they ..."
"... have documented your existence, you ..."
"... are free to do anything else you ..."
"... want. In payment, we will teach ..."
"... you how to create several of ..."
"... your favorite prank products ..."
"... that you have already picked out."
"Do you agree?" asked George.
The little Leprechaun's eyes gleamed with suppressed mirth as he jumped up and down and yelled 'YES!' at the top of his voice. Both Fred and George made a tiny cut on the tips of their fingers and pressed them together, while the Leprechaun did the same with his finger. Together, the three of them made the magically binding oath and were surrounded by a faint red glow indicating the oath had been successful.
Later...
George entered the clearing where the Leprechaun was waiting with a young girl and her father. Fred was disillusioned, as he wasn't needed for this part of their plan but he didn't want to scare anyone off either by appearing to be ganging up on the muggles.
As George, Eamon Mac Muireadhaigh, and his ten-year-old daughter Aislinn came into the clearing, Fred saw the Leprechaun appear but hide behind a tree limb until he knew which of the two muggles he was supposed to 'befriend'.
George pointed up to the low branch where he had glimpsed the Leprechaun hiding and said, "There be he, Aislinn, just like I told ye."
Aislinn moved closer to the branch and finally spied the tiny figure who looked back at her with interest. She looked at the tiny man with wide eyes which seemed to get even wider, if possible, when she saw a tiny female Leprechaun and two tiny children hanging on to her legs as if their lives depended on it. She offered a tentative smile to the tiny beings and slowly moved towards them while her father stood, dumbfounded at what he was seeing.
"Hello, would you like to be my friend?" Aislinn almost whispered. She pointed to a wicker basket she had been told to bring that was lined with a thick bundle of very soft cloth. "If you like, you could come home with me and live in my room. I have a dollhouse that would be perfect for you to live in if you want!"
The Leprechaun looked tentatively over at George, who nodded his head and held up a sickle for the Leprechaun to see, reminding him of the portkey Fred had made for him. The Leprechaun relaxed, this child could easily become a true friend and, if not, he had a ready means of escape.
HMP Erlestoke, November 10, 2055...
Severus was quietly reading a book after he finished lunch. He sat as he usually did now, with his back to the wall, equidistant from the gate leading out and the gate leading in, so he could see anything that happened before it happened to him. He didn't bother to look up when the gate slid back. He would eventually meet whoever was being incarcerated. Right now he was more interested in his book.
His interest quickly changed, when he heard shouting. He calmly marked his place in the book, placed it down on the table, and looked up. What he saw caused him to stand and quickly and quietly move to the side, so he was not blocked in. A truly monster of a man had just been shoved through the door and was making his displeasure known to anyone who got in his way. He topped Severus by at least a good six inches and appeared to outweigh him as well and he didn't look fat.
Snape watched as one of the stupider inmates pulled a shiv and tried to stand up for his right to be just as much of an ass as the new inmate. That didn't go down very well … for the established inmate. The hand holding the shiv was grasped in a vise-like grip and he screamed as the bones in his hand shattered. The shiv almost dropped to the floor, but the new man grabbed it just before it hit the floor. He backhanded his opponent who flew across the room and bonelessly slid to the floor out for the count.
The new man paused and looked around, finally looking right at Snape with an ultimatum in his eyes. Severus just shrugged his shoulders, he had really been enjoying his book and would much rather go back to reading than fighting. He didn't take his eyes off the newcomer though, and that must have been enough defiance, because suddenly he was screaming in anger and plowing through the tables and prisoners between them. Snape prepared himself to meet this new confrontation.
As his huge opponent swung his massive fist at him, Severus quickly and almost negligently moved to one side as the fist, meant for his face, cracked the cinder block wall behind him. Now his opponent was really mad, which was one of the things Snape was counting on.
What he didn't count on was that the man-monster facing him went icy cold and logical and started fighting even better. His offhand, which had hit the wall had to be hurting, it wouldn't surprise Severus if it was broken, but his opponent never even flinched. Now though, he brought his other hand into play. Unfortunately for Severus, that was the hand that negligently held the shiv, almost as if he had forgotten he held it.
Snape started to feel real fear for the first time since his first fight with Otto. He started being more careful and moved as fast as he could. He managed to even get a few good, strong blows in, but it was like hitting a punching bag leaning up against a wall. The impacts didn't hurt him all that much, the trouble was his opponent didn't seem to feel them either.
They were quickly trashing the mess hall, all the prisoners had quickly been moved to safety behind the gate leading to the cells and the prison guards were on the balcony trying to line up a shot that wouldn't hit Severus. The two combatants were just moving too quickly, Snape was all alone, truly alone, and in an intolerably dangerous situation for the first time in his life.
Suddenly Snape almost tripped on a piece of broken table and it distracted him for a fraction of a second, just long enough for the new convict to land a strong, glancing blow to his head. Dazed, Snape pulled both arms up in a typical defensive position and moved backward even more just as his opponent took a wild swing with his shiv. Snape was almost out of reach, but the blade of the shiv got caught under the magic suppressing band on Snape's arm. For an intolerable moment, Severus thought they would be glued together and he would be quickly finished off. What actually happened was actually worse and at the same time better … the band snapped apart and Severus went dizzy as magic rushed back in to fill his weakened core. He almost passed out but had to somehow keep his wits about him, because he was facing death if he didn't.
As he rapidly backpedaled, he slowly regained not only his senses but his magical ability. He had a few offensive and defensive spells he could cast without a wand and he started using them surreptitiously. The first one he cast was a simple flipendo while he was swinging to connect a blow to his opponent's jaw. His fist connected solidly and the flipendo caused his opponent to fly halfway across the room.
They were back together again almost immediately, but now Severus was on the attack. He just had to manage to defeat this monstrous man while keeping his use of magic hidden. The next spell he cast was a confundo as he smashed a powerful blow to the side of the convict's head. Now that he was confused, his moves were not near as sure anymore and Severus could take his time and totally destroy this animal at his leisure.
His next spell, as he pummeled his victim, was a legilimens spell. He wanted to know why this man was attacking everyone with such abandon. He hit the man with a sectumsempra in the arm holding the shiv, causing him to drop it. As he concentrated on continuing to almost leisurely now, punish his opponent, Severus found the memory he wanted. The man he'd been fighting was named Preston Chaney. He had a similar story to Otto Monsooni, except that he was a career criminal. He had typically been used as 'muscle' until he had made a mistake and killed his own family. He had gone insane and killed the entire gang he worked for and killed two policemen and seriously wounded five others before he was subdued. Satisfied, Snape now knew he didn't have to hold back. He didn't realize it, but most of the police on the balcony were simply watching to see how this turned out. Chaney had killed two of their own, so they wouldn't be too worried if something happened to him. The biggest reason they had been trying to stop the fight earlier was because Snape had seemed to be in trouble. Now that he had the upper hand, they just stood there and watched.
Now Snape unleashed his fury on Chaney. As he threw punch after punch he cast a couple of two mild crucio's to help even the odds even more, and then a series of five Intratundo spells as he hit him in the stomach. Soon Chaney was staggering from pain and confusion. He had no idea what was happening to him. Severus cast a final stupefy as he landed a powerful blow to Chaney's head which caused it to bounce against the concrete floor of the mess hall when he fell.
Snape stood quietly, breathing slightly harder than normal, as he calmly looked down at his latest opponent. He then stood up slowly, walked over to where his book had fallen, picked it up, and went to the gate leading to the cells so he could go back to his cell and finish reading his book. The gate quickly opened and he calmly walked through as if nothing had happened.
About an hour later, a guard came to escort Snape to the prison infirmary. The prison doctor stood there and looked at him curiously.
"How do you feel? Any cuts, scrapes, or broken bones I need to tend to?"
"No, doctor, I'm fine. Why, should I need your services?"
"After Chaney went for you, I would have thought you would at least have a bruised rib or two. What you did to him was beyond brutal. Aside from the deep cut on his right arm, there is severe bruising all over his stomach and head. There is a concussion from where you pounded his head on the floor, and he seems to be shy a few teeth."
Snape looked dispassionately at the man tied down to a hospital gurney. "What's wrong, afraid he would break a bed?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we were, but he still hasn't regained consciousness and I'm not sure he will."
"Sorry if it bothers you, doctor, but I just wanted to read my book. When he came at me, I had to make sure he wouldn't come back or, if he did, he would remember this time and have second thoughts. I'm a bit surprised the guards didn't stop us."
"They almost did, at the beginning of the fight. For some reason, they respect you and didn't want you getting hurt. Once they saw you were holding your own and then gained the upper hand, they just waited for the finish."
Snape knew exactly why that was, but had to ask anyway. After all, he wasn't supposed to even know the man's name. "So, why didn't they stop him?"
"He killed two policemen and severely injured five others when he was taken into custody. I think they were feeling a bit put out with our new prisoner."
"I guess so," said Snape. "He doesn't look too good, does he?"
"No, he doesn't, but he's feeling no pain right now, I have him doped up enough so he should sleep soundly until morning … I hope.
"Now, let's get you in front of the x-ray machine so I can determine if anything is broken."
Preston Chaney never did regain consciousness. The spells that Snape had used were specifically designed to cause maximum internal damage and lead to a long agonizing death unless the patient was treated magically immediately. Since no one else here knew about magic, Chaney's fate was sealed. It took him three days, but he finally died, still strapped to the same table he'd been lying on when Snape saw him.
After that particular episode, Snape became a legend in the prison system, not only because he killed a man in what appeared to be a fistfight, but because he continued to be unfailingly polite and helpful to everyone, guards and prisoners.
Every chance he had, Snape started practicing his wandless magic, so he would never feel so helpless again. He also started going to the woodworking shop where he made a crude wand. He was able to smuggle it back to his cell where he was forced to use some of his own hair for a core since he had nothing else. The wand looked like a slightly larger than normal thick and blunt pencil. He even added a graphite core so he could write with it if he had to. After that, things went a lot easier for Snape. He now had definite control over the guards and the prisoners, he was even able to disillusion the wand so no one ever saw it clearly and he learned how to use more spells wandlessly.
One of the things he did, almost as a new hobby, was to delve through the minds of the prisoners and the guards. He didn't care that much about the guards. He didn't have enough time left to think it worthwhile to try to blackmail any of them. The prisoners, however, proved a wealth of useful information.
In particular, he found one man, convicted of killing his own wife. Dr. Leo Spencer had come home to find his wife bleeding out. He tried to stop the bleeding but wasn't able to do so. When the police showed up, he was covered in his wife's blood and they arrested him. His conviction was based mainly on that fact. Snape knew the man wasn't guilty and immediately let him know he had an ally in the prison. Snape milked his new friendship for all he could as he 'arranged' for an outside private detective to find new evidence that finally convicted the real murderer and got Dr. Spencer released. Until his release, Snape made sure that everyone knew the good doctor was under his protection. After Chaney, no one wanted to cross him, so the doctor immediately noticed a marked decrease in any hostility toward him.
Now Snape had someone who had a clean record who would be in a position to do him some good when he got out. The doctor was 45 and had been in prison for five years. He decided he would move to a new area and start afresh. Snape made some suggestions and quietly arranged to help the doctor once he left the prison. This was added insurance for Snape when he finally got out.
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