AN- Conversations in italics are in Elvish. ":- The ones like this are mind to mind and are not spoken at all.-:"

PHOENIX and DRAGON: Through the World Gate

Chapter 22

It was a low moan that woke him. Gavin opened his eyes, trying to figure out what he'd heard, but all was silent for a long while. The moan came again, just as he was one breath from falling asleep again. Green eyes snapped open, and he rolled over in bed, pushing the blankets down as he sat up.

"Gwydion? Are you alright?"

"Mmmm…nnnn…," Gwydion murmured, twisting his head to the side as if trying to avoid a touch. "Noooo, don't…." He tried to pull his arm out from under the blankets, but it was tangled in the twisted sheet. He pulled harder, starting to fight the bedding.

"Gwydion!" Gavin called, hoping to wake his brother before the dream got worse.

"NO! Don't….NO!" Gwydion said, his voice rising as his agitation increased. "Please…."

Gavin pushed the blankets all the way off and slid off the bed, his feet hitting the cold floor with a thump as he quickly crossed the room to his brother's bed.

"Gwydion," he called softly, shaking his now moaning brother's shoulder gently. The only response was an increase in the movements Gwydion was making. He started to fight the blankets harder, as if he were struggling to get out of someone's grasp. Gavin shook his shoulder harder and tried to pull the blankets loose, starting to get frantic. It was never good when Gwydion had these dreams.

"NOOOO! PLEASE…don't…don't…," Gwydion sat up with a scream, flinging his brother away from the bed with a blast of accidental magic. Gavin hit the floor hard and stayed there for a moment, trying to get his breath back.

"Ooof…ouch," Gavin stood up, rubbing his elbow where it had hit the floor painfully. "Gwydion! Wake up!"

Things were starting to move around the room in a steadily increasing wind. Gavin batted a sock out of his face as the clothes they'd set out for the morning started flying in a circle centered around Gwydion. Soon larger things started moving.

"Oh, Goddess…no…GWYDION! Wake up!" Gavin pleaded, lifting his arm to protect his face as a picture was torn off the wall and sent crashing against one of the posts of his bed. Jagged splinters from the broken frame swirled through the air. "Wake up, its alright!"

Gavin cast a shield around himself against to protect against the flying debris and tried to get closer to his brother's bed, but the force of Gwydion's uncontrolled magic pushed him back.

"NOOOO! PLEASE…Don't hit me…I won't do it again!," Gwydion wailed, finally crawling out of his blankets. He ended up curled against the headboard of his bed, his arms over his head to protect it from invisible blows. He whimpered as a flying book hit him, and started to cry as his dream punishment was reinforced by reality. "Noooo…please…stop!."

The bedroom door swung open abruptly and Sirius stepped inside. "What's going on…," he started to say, then ducked suddenly as part of a small table hit the doorframe beside his head. A trickle of blood from a splinter dripped down his cheek as he pulled his wand and started vanishing some of the debris flying around the room.

"What's going on!" Remus yelled, peeking around the door frame, his eyes widening as the larger furniture started to shake. His eyes traveled around the nearly destroyed room and settled on Gwydion. "Gavin, what's wrong with Gwydion!?"

Gavin wiped tears off his face and turned to look at the older wizards. He'd been trying to cast calming spells on his brother, but Gwydion kept blocking them unconsciously. "He's having a nightmare, and it's caused a flashback to when he lived with his Aunt and Uncle." He sobbed as Gwydion started screaming, still pleading with someone to stop. "I can't wake him up! Get Grandfather!!"

Sirius paled, and pushed Remus aside as he left the room, running down the hallway to the room they'd given Myrddin.

Myrddin opened his eyes and sat up with a gasp as the bedroom door was flung open and a wild eyed Sirius burst in. "Gavin said to get you – Gwydion's having a flashback!"

It only took a moment for the words to sink in, then Myrddin was out of bed and moving quickly down the hall.

"How long has it been Gavin," the half-elf called as he put up his own shield and tried to approach the now whimpering boy. "What kind is it?"

"It's only been a couple minutes I think, it started pretty quickly," Gavin replied, his eyes on his brother. He tried another calming spell, with the same result at the ones before. "It's one of the bad ones. I can't get him to wake up, and he's blocking."

Myrddin sighed and closed his eyes. Gwydion hadn't had one of these for several years, and they'd hoped he had put his fear and pain behind him. Occlumency helped, but on rare occasions something he saw, or even a particular smell or sound, could cause Gwydion to relive one of the terrible things that had happened to him before he had been rescued from the hell his early life had been.

Myrddin tried casting a calming spell, and then one to awaken Gwydion, but he showed no sign's of regaining consciousness. Sirius raised his wand to try, but Myrddin put his hand out, shaking his head. "Don't, his magic would consider it an attack." He tried another spell to send Gwydion deeper into sleep, where he wouldn't dream, but it had no affect. "Amddiffyn!" He yelled finally, trying to cast a wide area physical shield around the shivering boy to at least protect him from the flying debris his own wild magic had created. It worked, to some extent, since it wasn't cast directly on Gwydion, but the debris within the shield was still hitting him, causing welts and small cuts. He concentrated, trying to force the shield tighter, to dampen the force of the wind. "You'd better see if his Lord can wake him, I can't get any spells through either," Myrddin told Gavin, raising his voice to be heard over the clatter the larger furniture was making as it banged against the walls.

Gavin nodded and moved around his Grandfather, pushing past Remus and Sirius to reach the quieter hallway. They looked at him for an explanation. "I'm going to ask for help."

Gavin leaned against the wall and wiped tears off his cheeks before closing his eyes and taking a deep calming breath. ":- Bright Lady? Please, I need to speak with the Lord,-:" he whispered quietly in his mind. He felt a stirring, as if he'd drawn the attention of an infinitely powerful being.

":- What is it child?-:" A voice that sounded like the darkest forest spoke in his mind.

Gavin took another calming breath. ":- Great Lord, I thank you for answering my call. Gwydion is having a flashback and none of us can wake him. I…please…will you help?-:" He felt a wave of reassurance, and relaxed with a sigh. He opened his eyes and yelped in surprise, his head thumping the wall painfully as he flinched backwards. Both Remus and Sirius were crouching in front of him, their concerned faces no more than six inches from his, hopeful eyes locked on his face.

"Well, what did they say?" Sirius asked frantically, wincing as he heard a sudden crash from the boy's bedroom.

ooooooooooo::::ooooooooooo

Harry cringed and clenched his fists as he heard Vernon slam the front door open so hard it rattled the nearby window, then close it with a crash that resounded throughout the house. He could feel the man's anger through the door of his cupboard. Loud footsteps shook the floor as his furious uncle came closer. The cupboard door crashed open, so hard it left a dent in the wall from the knob.

"BOY! What have I told you about that freakiness!" Vernon roared, reaching in to grab Harry by the hair, dragging the petite boy out of the limited safety the dark cupboard offered and flinging him roughly against the wall. "I've warned you! I won't stand for that…that…rubbish in my house! Now you're going to see what happens when you disobey!!" His face, normally flushed anyway, was beet red, slowly darkening towards purple on the edges of his multiple chins.

"Please…."Harry whimpered, curling up to try and protect his face. "Please…don't…I didn't mean to do it…."

Vernon's face reddened further, and a look of crazed glee settled on his face as he pulled his wide leather belt off, dangling the buckle in Harry's face tauntingly before drawing his arm back for the first blow…

ooooooooooo::::ooooooooooo

"Little one…wake up. It is not real, you are safe. He can not hurt you here."

Gwydion opened his eyes and slowly unrolled from the tightly curled position he'd been laying in. All around him was mist, swirling and billowing in an unseen wind. He sat slowly up and unclenched his fists; looking down to discover blood oozing from the palms of his hand where his fingernails had cut them. A small sound brought his eyes up again as Lord Herne knelt down gracefully at his side, strong arms opened for him and a concerned expression on his face.

Gwydion flung himself into his Lord's arms, clutching at his robes as he sobbed helplessly. "When is it going to stop? Why does he keep hurting me, even after so long," he whispered. "What did I do that was so wrong?"

Herne stroked Gwydion's hair gently with one hand, the other rubbed a slow circle on his back. "You did nothing wrong. You are a powerful mage, and magic is natural to you; you were only acting as your magic demanded." He held Gwydion tighter as the boy shook his head in denial. "You did nothing to deserve the pain, child. Nothing."

"No, he hated me…he said I was a freak," the emerald eyed child whispered brokenly. "Why? Why did he have to hurt me…."

Herne sighed, lowering his head to rest his cheek on his young avatar's head. "He was wrong, you are not a freak. You are mine, child, and I am proud of you." He gathered Gwydion against him, slipping an arm under the boy's knees and tightening his hold on the slim shoulders as he rocked backwards on his heels, rising to his feet with the boy held against his chest. "Come, we will go speak with the Lady Donn. She is most concerned about you…."

Back in Grimmauld Place, everyone heaved a sigh of relief as Gwydion relaxed, his sobs quieting and the wind slowly dieing as his magic settled. Myrddin moved to the side of the bed, stepping carefully with his bare feet to avoid the splinters and shards of broken bits of things on the floor. He dropped his shield and cast a diagnostic spell, and then nodded to Gavin reassuringly.

"He'll be fine." Myrddin closed his eyes, and wiped a tear away. "Thank you, Lord Herne," he whispered as he carefully picked Gwydion up in his arms and walked towards the door. "Please keep him safe."

Sirius heard the barely audible plea and looked at the half-elf uncertainly. "What happened? Why did it stop?"

Gavin looked up at his brother's godfather, a sad expression on his face. "He's with his Lord and my Lady now…hopefully they will be able to comfort him." Sirius and Remus exchanged looks of confusion, but neither Myrddin nor Gavin would explain.

"Go to bed, there's nothing more we can do tonight. He should be alright in the morning," Myrddin said quietly, motioning the two wizards towards their rooms with a nod of his head. "I'm going to put the boys in the room next to mine, so Gwydion doesn't see this mess when he wakes up." He nudged Gavin with his shoulder to get him moving, and led him down the hall. He laid Gwydion down on the bed, carefully pulling the covers up over both boys, after Gavin climbed in and pulled his deeply asleep brother against him.

"Not now," Myrddin said, waving the wizards confused questions away as he pushed them out of the room. "We'll speak about this in the morning."

The next morning, Myrddin had to cast binding spells on both wizards and tie them to their chairs before he could finish explaining what had happened to Gwydion before he'd been rescued. Both were incoherent with rage and would undoubtedly have torn the Dursley's limb from limb with their bare hands if they'd been able to reach them. Remus's eyes had turned amber as the wolf rose, ready to defend his pack.

Gavin entered partway through the explanation and started making tea, preparing a tray to take back upstairs. "Gwydion's starting to wake up." He looked at both the wizards, a pleading expression on his face. "Please, don't say anything to him about his flashback. They really frighten him, and he doesn't need to be reminded about what happened last night. Knowing what happens when he has one makes him feel terrible; he'll have a hard enough time when he see's what his magic did to the room without having you bring up the things that made him have the nightmare."

"But," Sirius said stubbornly after Myrddin released the magical bindings. "He needs to talk to someone about this…."

Gavin shook his head. "He does…what do you think happened last night?" Remus raised his eyebrow questioningly and Sirius leaned forward, eager to hear the explanation for the previous night's events. "He spent the night talking with his Lord and Lady Donn. Do you think that you'd be able to help him if a god and goddess couldn't?"

"But...I want to help him, he's my godson," Sirius said back, a bewildered expression on his face.

Remus frowned slightly. "What do you mean, talking to them?"

"He…traveled to see them. I guess that's the best way to say it," Gavin said with a shrug, setting the sugar bowl on the tray and lifting it. "Mentally, I mean. We go to where they stay sometimes, and speak to them." He got a faraway look in his eyes and a small smile touched his lips. "My Lady smells like lavender under the moonlight…and her hair is soft as silver silk," he said softly, then focused his eyes back on the wizards, his expression serious once more. "Lord Herne smells like the deep forest, and like the forest, sometimes he's hard and cruel, but he care's deeply for Gwydion and will help him get through his pain." He turned and left, taking the tray upstairs before the wizards could ask another question.

Sirius and Remus turned to look at Myrddin after Gavin left. This talk of 'corporeal' Gods and Goddesses made them uneasy. Sirius cleared his throat. "How often do these flashbacks happen?"

Myrddin sighed. "Fairly often, when he was little; we had to give him sleeping potions almost every night for the first few months after he came to us, to keep him from tearing the house down with his nightmares. As far as I know he hasn't had any for the last year or so, but I think coming back to the human world is awakening bad memories again." He reached out to clasp Sirius's shoulder. "Let it lie. Gavin is right, there's nothing you or I can do, and speaking about it only makes his pain worse."

Both wizards nodded reluctantly, agreeing to drop it for Gwydion's sake, even though Moony was still growling angrily in Remus's mind.

Myrddin walked slowly down the stairs to the ground floor of the house, holding onto the stair railing with a firm grip. He felt a lot better than he had two days ago, but he was still a little bit shaky so he'd spent the morning reading in front of the fire in the drawing room.

Gwydion had been quiet for most of the previous day and spent most of it reading or meditating, but he'd woken in good spirits this morning and seemed to have enough energy for two boys.

"Myrddin?" Remus called as he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the kitchen stairs. "I've just taken out a pan of oatmeal biscuits, would you like a couple?"

"I wouldn't mind one or two," Myrddin admitted as he came down the steps and took a seat at the long wooden table. "Where are the boys?" He took a couple oatmeal biscuits off the plate Remus offered him and poured a cup of tea out of the pot the werewolf set beside him.

"Sirius has them up on the third floor. I think they're trying to reclaim the library." Remus smiled slightly; he'd seen the library, and he knew it wasn't going to be an easy job. "I think they'll be down pretty soon, they've been up there for several hours and they should be ready for a break."

Both men looked up as they heard a thunder of feet on the stairs, and the exuberant voices of the boys.

"Woooo Hoo!" Gavin whooped as he straddled the stair rail and slid the last several feet down it. Gwydion jumped over the last couple steps and hit the floor the same time as his brother. They both ran down the steps into the kitchen and flopped onto chairs beside Myrddin.

"It looks like you've been crawling through dirt," Myrddin observed, reaching out to pick a thick cobweb off Gwydion's head. "Did you have much luck cleaning?"

Gavin nodded, then grabbed several warm oatmeal biscuits and got up, eating one in a couple bites as he went to the cooler for a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Gwydion got up when he saw where his brother was going and went to get several glasses from the cupboard.

"Wash your hands first!" Remus ordered, pointing them both to the sink. "Use soap too." The boys made a face at him and laughed when he made one back, but they obeyed him and soon returned to the table.

"Yes Grandfather, we got most of the dirt off the tops of things, and cleaned a nest of doxies out of the curtains. Nasty looking things, and Sirius says they're poisonous if they bite. Gwydion found some huge spiders in one of the desks, and there was a nest of something Sirius called puffskeins. Too bad they were dead." Gavin shook his head sadly.

"There's still a lot to be done, but we thought it was time to take a break," Gwydion explained. "We're going to watch Sirius get an infestation of chizpurfle's out of the Black family tapestry after dinner."

"Why after dinner?" Myrddin asked.

Gwydion finished the mouthful of oatmeal biscuit and took a drink of pumpkin juice, making a face at the taste before waving his hand over the glass to change it into apple juice. He still wasn't accustomed to the traditional wizarding drink and preferred fruit juice. "He said he had to look up the right spell to get rid of them – he didn't want to damage the tapestry." He took another bite of biscuit and chewed slowly, savoring the hint of cinnamon and the sweet taste of the raisins Remus had added. "Some of the books we found looked dangerous…Sirius says his family had a lot of dark wizards in it, and they weren't very nice…he asked us not to try to read any of the books until he could sort out the worst of them because some may have curses on them."

Gavin grimaced, thinking about some of the titles he'd seen. "I don't think I want to read some of those books anyway. There was one that Sirius said was bound in human skin…."

Myrddin frowned and turned to Remus. "What kind of family keeps books bound in human skin?"

Sirius entered the kitchen and sat down wearily beside Remus. "Dark families do, Myrddin. Mine has been mostly dark for the last several hundred years… Purebloods, and proud of it. Too bloody arrogant to associate with anyone they considered beneath them…which was most of the wizarding world." He sighed and accepted a cup of tea from Remus. "I was the first heir in six generations not to be sorted into Slytherin, and I was basically disowned for it."

"It didn't help that he was sorted into Gryffindor instead," Remus explained with a small smile. "They probably would have accepted Ravenclaw," he added as Sirius nodded agreement, "but Gryffindor was totally out of the question, and they really let him know that."

"Yeah," Sirius said with a shake of his head. "Howlers every day for a week, from every living relative I had left, I think. Then to add insult to injury, I became best friends with the heir to one of the most powerful light families in the wizarding world, Gwydion's father, James Potter," he stopped and gestured towards Remus. "My other best friend was outed as a werewolf right after we graduated. I'd already moved out by that point, luckily, or they might have done more than just burn my name off the family tapestry."

Remus nodded sadly. "He didn't go home again after the summer of fifth year; that summer was pretty bad, he ended up climbing out a window in the middle of the night and flying to James's house on a broomstick so old it was a miracle it stayed in the air. He stayed with the Potter's for the summers after that."

"The final straw was that I wouldn't join Voldemort, even though my younger brother Regulus joined when he turned sixteen." Sirius frowned into the bottom of his empty teacup as if reading bad news in the sodden tea leaves. "He died a couple years later…we never did find out what happened to him."

"So, you were disinherited?" Myrddin asked.

"Not officially, no…but I have no doubt they would have if they'd had anyone else. There were no other male Blacks left to inherit by the time my father died. It was me, or let the family name die out. My mother didn't have the authority to disinherit me, or she probably would have anyway." Sirius sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "There are a lot of families left in that situation, down to the last heir." He pointed at Gwydion then himself. "Potter, Black, Longbottom," he looked at Remus. "Can you think of any others?"

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "The Flint's, Warrington's, Crabbe's, and Bletchley's, they're dark families, then there's the Bradley's, and the Cornfoot's, both light families. The Lovegood's and Greengrass's only have a daughter, and the Bones family is left with only a daughter as well. Just off the top of my head, I can think of another five or six pureblood families who probably have only one child left. I'm sure there's more though. The only family I know of with more than one child are the Weasleys." He snorted as he thought about the family of redheads, the last he'd heard they had seven children, and Molly still had many years left to have more. "Voldemort is supposedly for pureblood supremacy, and yet he's done more to reduce their numbers than anything the muggle born or half-bloods have ever done. A number of pureblood and full-blood families were completely wiped out during the war with Grindlewald too."

Sirius nodded agreement. "The pureblood families tend to have fewer children to begin with, to keep the assets from being split up, and there have been more squibs born into their families than to those of mixed blood. The pureblood's aren't kind to squibs and usually throw them out as soon as they know for sure they don't have any magic. It's gotten worse over the years. We're all related to each other – our family tree's look like bramble thickets. Blacks have even married into the Potter line in the past, Gwydion, and the grandmother of the current litter of Weasley kids was a Black."

"You said the Longbottoms, Sirius," Gwydion commented. "You mean Neville is the last heir?"

"Yes, that's why it's essential he be kept safe – if Dumbledore has his way he'll never live to inherit and the name will end with him. I wish Frank and Alice were able to do something, they would set the old man on his arse for interfering with their family…." Sirius explained. He got an odd look on his face then, as if he'd had an idea.

"What is it Sirius," Remus said cautiously. He recognized that expression from their Marauder days, and it usually meant trouble for someone.

"If Frank and Alice were competent…," Sirius turned to look at the boys. "Gavin, your brother said you're good at mind healing…do you think you could help someone who was tortured with the cruciatus curse?"

"It would depend on what this cruciatus curse did to them. I'm not familiar with it…," Gavin replied cautiously. "I'd have to take a look at them."

Myrddin stirred, not really liking where the conversation was going. "I've heard of it, and from what I understand, in addition to the nerve damage caused by the curse itself, the pain drives the victim's mind deep within themselves in order to escape, and then they're trapped." He frowned at the animagus, his eyes dark with worry. "I don't know if I approve of your idea, Sirius; may I remind you the boys are only nine years old? They aren't trained as mind healers, and it's too easy for even an experienced mind healer to get caught in a patients mind and not be able to get back out."

"Grandfather," Gavin reached over his brother and put his hand on Myrddin's arm. "I would like to take a look at them and see if there is anything I could do to help…I promise I wouldn't do anything but look, and it would be up to you to decide if I should actually try to heal them." He drew his hand back with a thoughtful look on his face. "We might try nerve healing potions first though, if the wizard healers haven't used them, that is. It might help them if some of the physical damage was healed. Awel taught us a couple, and I know I saw recipe's for more powerful ones in some of your potion books?"

Myrddin thought about it for moment. "Yes, there are several potions that might help, ones I don't think the wizarding world has any longer, if they ever had them." He looked at Remus. "I'd need a number of potion ingredients, some that might be a bit hard to find. Since Sirius and I can't go out in public safely, it'll have to be you."

Gwydion looked up suddenly with an expression of concentration on his face. He held his hand up to quiet everyone . "My target stone's been triggered, Remus, the one we gave to Madam Longbottom." He looked at his grandfather for a moment. "Are you strong enough to come with us Grandfather? I think it might help."

Remus nodded his head slowly. "She knows I'm a werewolf, which is a point against us. You'll be an unknown to her, but she'll likely listen to you, if only out of curiosity. I don't know what she'd do if she saw Sirius…," he looked at his friend apologetically. "It might be better if you don't come Sirius."

Gavin cleared his throat. "What if you went first and explained about him and proved his innocence, and then I follow in a little while with Sirius?" He got up suddenly, and headed up the stairs. "I'll be right back."

"We all need to clean up a bit, before we do anything," Remus called after Gavin, looking closer at the dust smeared clothes Sirius and Gwydion were wearing. Gwydion looked at his godfather and stifled a laugh. There was a dark streak of dust across his cheek, he'd torn the collar of his robes somehow, and he had doxycide dribbled down one sleeve.

"I get first shower," Gwydion said suddenly and jumped up. Sirius grabbed at him but he danced out of the way with a laugh and took off for the bathroom.

"We need to add another bathroom, maybe two," Sirius muttered as he looked at the dirt under his fingernails. "Would you like to borrow a robe, Myrddin? It doesn't look like I'll get a chance at the bathroom for awhile, so we might as well get you something so you can change." He looked at Remus's worn robe. "You too wolf. You'll hardly impress her with what you're wearing."

"Well, I tapped the stone, Neville," Augusta Longbottom stated, straightening up and taking several steps backwards, away from the small stone. She'd placed it in the center of the family crest set into the marble tiles of the front foyer of the family manor. "Now we wait." She looked down at her grandson and sighed sadly. He was nothing like his father; quiet, almost timid, a little shorter than normal for his age and a little bit heavier than he should be, and, she thought, just barely stronger than a squib magically. "Go to your room until I call you," she instructed firmly. "Lock your door and keep your emergency portkey close to you. Use it if something goes wrong, and tell your Uncle Algie to send help."

She called one of the house elves to watch the stone after a few minutes, when it was evident her mystery guests were not going to arrive immediately, and the small creature took a position crouching nervously beside one of the tables holding an ornate flower arrangement.

A half hour later, the house elf jumped up with a shriek of surprise as two men, and a boy who appeared to be the same age as her young master, appeared suddenly out of a cloud of mist. "Missy is sorry for making the noise," she whispered apologetically as she bowed so low her nose nearly touched the floor. "Masters is to please be coming with me, I's will take you to the Mistress now."

A short walk down a wide hallway brought them to what appeared to be a formal drawing room. Two antique settee's were flanked by wingback chairs covered in a maroon plush, forming a three sided square facing a white marble fireplace holding the embers of a fire. Delicate tables were set between the chairs; numerous family portraits stirred curiously and peered down at the guests as they entered.

Remus took the initiative and greeted the matron as she rose to her feet, taking her hand and brushing a light kiss across the back of it as he bowed. "Madam Longbottom, thank you for agreeing to speak with us. I would like to introduce you to Myrddin Rhys ab Emrys, Lord of Oakwood, and his grandson, Gwydion Aneirin Crochenydd ab Emrys."

Myrddin and Gwydion bowed gracefully to the older woman, both their eyes bright with curiosity.

"Myrddin, Gwydion, I would like to introduce you to Madam Augusta Eglantine Longbottom, current Regent of the Ancient and Honorable House of Longbottom." Remus bowed to Augusta again.

"Sit, all of you," Augusta ordered curtly, taking her seat again and adjusting the folds of her green robes. She called Missy in and ordered tea from the nervous house elf. "Now," she said, not waiting until the pleasantries of tea were out of the way to get to the point, "I want an explanation, Remus. What makes you think I would give my grandson to you? Why shouldn't I call the auror's about this?"

"As I said at St. Mungo's, Dumbledore is determined to get control of Neville. As you no doubt know, there was a vote in the Wizengamot yesterday, and Dumbledore only lacks three votes to pass his bill. The minute he does, the auror's will be knocking on your door and it's unlikely you'll ever see Neville again," Remus stated somberly. "I heard he released the first part of the prophecy, in order to explain why he wanted Neville."

Madam Longbottom nodded slowly. She had been there, and had voted against the bill, but it looked like the old man was gaining support, especially since the Daily Prophet had reported several recent attacks by 'wizards in black cloaks and masks.' People were starting to get frightened as they remembered what had happened before Voldemort had disappeared. If they thought the Death Eaters were back, they'd likely panic. "That is true," she admitted. "The question is, why should I even consider giving Neville to you?"

"Before I explain further, Remus has something he needs to speak about." Myrddin fingered Gavin's target stone in his pocket as he nodded at the wizard to proceed. He would trigger it as soon as they were sure it was safe to do so, and Gavin would drift in with Sirius.

Remus cleared his throat nervously then took his wand out. Augusta tensed slightly, not sure what he intended to do.

"I, Remus John Lupin swear on my life and magic that what I am about to tell you is the truth, verified by magical oath from the person this involves." His wand glowed, sealing the oath. "I ask that you hear me out, and don't react until you know the full truth."

Augusta nodded cautiously. The oath Remus had sworn prevented him from knowingly telling a lie, so she was willing to wait to pass judgment.

"I know where Sirius Black is. I've spoken with him and I am satisfied that he is completely innocent of what he was accused of doing. James was like a brother to him, and he is Harry's godfather. He did NOT betray the Potters, and he was NOT the one who blew up the street and killed the muggles. Peter Pettigrew did. He is still alive, and he was the Potter's Secret Keeper, they switched at the last moment and didn't tell anyone. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial, and had no chance to defend himself." Remus waited for a moment for the look of shock on her face to ease, and then lifted his wand. "Lumos," he said quietly, smiling as his wand lit up with a soft glow, proving that he had told the truth and still retained his magic.

"I'd like to have Sirius here for this discussion," Myrddin said quietly, holding up the rune stone. "Do I have your permission to bring him here?"

Augusta nodded slowly, watching as he handed the stone to his grandson. Gwydion stood and moved to a clear area of the floor and set the small stone, similar to the one she'd set in the foyer, down on the Aubusson rug. He reached out and tapped it with his finger, then moved quickly back.

Almost immediately, a mist appeared and solidified into a gaunt faced man with shadowed blue eyes and black hair, with a child nearly identical to Gwydion holding onto his arm.

Remus stood once more. "Madam Longbottom, I would like to introduce to you Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and Gavin Deoladwyth ab Emrys, Gwydion's twin." He turned to Sirius and Gavin and introduced Madam Longbottom.

"I am pleased to meet you again Sirius, I never did believe you'd done what they accused you of doing." Augusta waited a moment until the newcomers were seated. "Having you involved complicates this whole situation, though. Why do you want Neville?"

"We can keep Neville safe, and provide training for him unlike any he could receive anywhere else," Myrddin explained softly. "We don't want Dumbledore to use him."

"I can afford to hire tutor's, he won't lack for training if he stays with me," she retorted with a raised eyebrow. "And he'd be safe if he stayed behind the manor's wards. What could you teach him that they couldn't?"

Remus looked at Myrddin and nodded slightly. They had hoped to hold off on revealing their "elfyness" as Sirius put it, but it appeared Madam Longbottom had already decided she wasn't interested in letting her grandson out of her sight, even if it meant living trapped in the manor like prisoners to do it.

Myrddin looked down at Gwydion and Gavin. "Should we show her or try to convince her without revealing what we are? This affects you as much as it does me, so its your choice."

Gwydion looked over at the grey haired woman and studied her for a moment, noting the intense look she was giving them both. He tried to gauge what she was thinking, but her expression was difficult to read and she seemed to have solid occlumency shields. It would take a direct legilimency probe to read her, and she was sure to detect it. "We tell her, I don't think she is going to be convinced any other way." Gavin nodded his agreement.

"Dirymuswyn" Myrddin gestured with his hand, passing it quickly over Gwydion's head, then Gavin's and his own. Gwydion and Gavin turned back to face Augusta and she gasped in surprise. The boy's braided hair clearly revealed their pointed ears, as did Myrddin's loosely tied ponytail. All three of them had runes on their temples and part way down their high cheekbones. They were clearly not human.

"What, who are you…," she asked, rising to stand in front of Gwydion and motioning for him to stand. She reached out to stroke her finger across his ear, and then cupped his chin, turning his face to the side to look at the runes. "Explain," she said finally, retaking her seat.

"We are elves, madam," Myrddin explained, leaning forward quickly to catch the tea tray Missy had brought as she dropped it in shock at seeing their true appearances. "True Elves, in no way related to the poor creatures you call House Elves. My father was human, mostly. A powerful wizard who was allowed to accompany the elven clans when they withdrew from the human world."

"So," Augusta said finally. "Which one of you is Harry Potter," she asked, looking searchingly at the two boys. "And how did this occur?" She gestured to show she meant the fact that there were two of them.

"I was born Harry Potter," Gwydion answered quietly. "I changed my name after I was magically adopted, although I still have Potter as part of my name. Crochenydd means Potter."

"So, you've been hidden all these years? Where?" The Longbottom matron frowned, feeling that they were hiding something from her. She vowed she'd get to the bottom of it though, before she agreed to anything. "Why haven't you come back before this?" She snorted, amused by her own question. "No, never mind. I know why you didn't come back... Dumbledore." Everyone nodded agreement.

The discussion went on for nearly two hours. Augusta eventually agreed that it would be safest for Neville to join Gavin and Gwydion in training, but she wasn't pleased by the thought of not seeing him for at least a couple years. Myrddin brought up the possibility of using elven potions to help Frank and Alice. More tea was poured and the discussion began again, to the boy's dismay.

Finally, Gwydion and Gavin couldn't sit still any longer. They'd each had two cups of tea, in addition to what they'd had to drink before they left Grimmauld Place. They were bored by all the talk, and in dire need of the loo.

"Excuse me, Madam Longbottom," Gavin interrupted hesitantly. "May we please use the…," he stopped, wanting to be polite, but not sure of the word to use. "Um…the bathroom?"

"Of course, young man," Augusta said with a tight lipped smile. She'd warmed considerably to her guests, the two boys especially, and was content with her decision to let Neville go with them. They still needed to work out the details, and she knew the boys were bored and their presence was no longer needed. "Missy?" The awestruck house elf popped in, nearly prostrating itself in front of the twins. "Would you please show the young gentlemen to the guest bathroom? When they are done, show them the Library, they may wait for us there," she said.

The boys looked at Myrddin for permission, then bowed politely and followed the house elf.

Several minutes later, their business done, the boys stepped out of the bathroom and looked both ways down the hallway for the house elf who was supposed to guide them. They both turned quickly when they heard a thump and the sound of something falling to the floor from a short way down the hall. Curious, they moved that direction.

"He…He…Hello?" Neville stuttered nervously, gazing up at the two elflings in awe from his awkward position on the floor beside a small table. He had apparently run into it and knocked a vase over as he tried to hide from them, as evidenced by the large splash of water down the front of his dark blue robes and the rather crushed flowers now resting in a puddle of water on the floor beside a large urn. "Who, who are you?" He reached hesitantly for the hand Gavin held out to him and stood with that help, trying in vain to brush the water stain off his crumpled robes.

"I'm Gavin ab Emrys, and this is my brother Gwydion," Gavin introduced himself, pulling Neville's eyes off their ears and tattoo's. The other boy bowed awkwardly.

"I'm p…pleased to m…meet you," Neville replied. "I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom." Both elves bowed politely to the puzzled boy.

"Would you like me to fix that for you?" Gwydion offered gently, as if he were dealing with a shy fawn or a child much younger than the boy appeared to be.

"Ye…yes, thank you," Neville nodded his head, and watched with wide eyes as Gwydion waved his hand at Neville's robe. "Sychu."

"H…How did you d…do that?" Neville looked down at his now clean and dry robe, running his hand down it in amazement. "You don't have a wand, was that wandless?" He managed, without stuttering. "Are you…elves?"

Gwydion glanced down the hallway towards the drawing room where the adults were still negotiating the terms for Neville's change of custody. "Can we go to the Library and talk? There's a lot you don't know, and I think you deserve an explanation."

AN- I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A lot of things happened this time, and events are going to start moving now that all (but one) of the major players have been introduced.

sychu (dry up/wipe dry)
amddiffyn (defend/protect)