"Now, Al, you are going to be on your best behaviour tonight, aren't you?!" Ginny enquired, as the Potters busied themselves preparing 12 Grimmauld Place for the evening's festivities.

"Yes, Mum."

"Mum?" This time it was James who spoke.

"Yes, Jamie?"

"With your birthday just before the wedding, we didn't really celebrate it properly this year. I know you've had your presents and everything, but could we make this a belated birthday party, as well as a victory celebration? We haven't really done anything to celebrate Auntie Pansy's pregnancy either."

"That's a great idea, Jamie!" Harry agreed.

"Yes, I agree too," Wednesday added. "Then, it's back to sun, sand, sea and…"

"Mom! We children are present!"

"Désolé, Jamie!"

"C'est bien, Maman. Vous n'avez pas à dire désolé pour moi." James smiled. "I asked Aunties Pansy and Fleur to teach me some French."

"Aw, sweetie," Wednesday said touched, "thank you for making the effort." She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

"Pas de problème, maman. C'était mon plaisir. Je vous remercie."

"He puts us to shame, Gin!"

"Indeed he does, Harry!"

"He's a model pupil," Pansy said. "You could both learn, you know. Neither Fleur nor I charge!"

"Thanks for the compliment, Auntie Pansy."

"It was well deserved, Jamie," Pansy said, ruffling his hair affectionately. James just grinned. Auntie Pansy's almost as cool as her wife!

"Can I learn some French, Auntie Pansy?" Lily begged.

"Of course, Lily. I can teach you some simple grammar and vocabulary."

"Oh please do, Auntie Pansy!"

"Why don't you just move into Aunties Pansy and Millie's flat and be done with it?!"

"Al! Apologise to our sister at once!"

"Jamie's right, Al," Harry agreed.

"But…"

"Albus Severus Potter!"

"Ok, Mum. I'm sorry, Lily."

"That's better! Now keep it up or else…!"

Albus gulped.

It was later that evening. Harry and Kreacher had prepared a sumptuous banquet of cream of mushroom soup with croutons, roast beef with all the trimmings and summer pudding with cream. Now Rentaghost were providing entertainment. Timothy Claypole was juggling, the McWitch was conjuring and Dobbin was appearing and disappearing all over the place. Once they had finished, the magical robot Metal Mickey played a variety of music from Strauss family waltzes through traditional folk dances to disco classics.

Harry and Ginny Potter had plenty of experience at hosting social events at 12 Grimmauld Place, whilst Wednesday had been brought up in high society back at 0001 Cemetery Lane. Millie and Pansy were raised to be the wives of wealthy purebloods, so were also at home as hostesses. Needless to say, the celebrations were being expertly stage-managed. Everywhere you turned, you seemed to find a Mrs Potter in a cocktail dress!

Millie was talking with Diana and Donna. "We should meet up for a training session, girls," Diana said.

"That should be possible, Diana," Millie agreed. "I'll be on Potter Island next week. The lovebirds are inviting us over to share the last week of their honeymoon.

"Our only task is to stop Albus from incurring Harry and Ginny's wrath!"

"That's a job for the IMF!" Donna quipped.

"How is Pansy's pregnancy going?" Diana asked.

"Very well, thank you. The child is due in mid-April, so we have time to get everything together. Gin and Harry have been through it all before, of course, and are always available for advice and support. We've decided that, since Harry is the donor, our little one shall call him Daddy and all four Mrs Potters Mummy. Lily and James are looking forward to having a new sibling. I think Al is, but it's hard to tell!"

Nicholas and Louise were going past as Millie said that. The former grinned. "I must tell Henry that there is going to be a child with double his number of Moms!"

The three dogs were sitting in the corner. "Good to catch up with you guys again," Scooby said in Dog.

"Ooh arrh!" Timmy agreed. "Lovely 'twere!"

"It was hugely enjoyable," Baskerville agreed. "We must meet up next time you are in London, Scooby, my good chap."

"Indeed."

"Always good to meet up with other detectives," Velma said. "There's a society we belong to back in Crystal Cove. We meet up to share food and details of our latest mysteries. Scooby gets to hang out with Dynomutt, Fangface, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy and the other mascots."

"Funnily enough," Dan noted, "Baskerville seems to like playing with Timmy, Mackie, Brock, Scamper and Buster when us former young detectives get together. Add Jigger's monkey Ranji and Jack Trent's parrot Kiki to the dogs and we have quite a menagerie.

"It is always fun to swap accounts of our exploits."

"Indeed," Daphne came up, "I've just been talking to Lois, Clark, Liz, Kara, Rex and Richard about the art of journalism."

"And," Velma mused, "you could discuss with Lois how to be a perennial damsel in distress…"

"Wednesday was telling me that you were having trouble with a particularly persistent bug, Ginny my dear," Gomez Addams said to his daughter-in-law.

"That's true, Go… Sorry, Dad."

"Oh don't worry, my dear. As for your insect problem, I'll have something ready for your return from honeymoon."

"Thank you Dad. What do you have…"

"I don't want to spoil the surprise, but," Gomez smiled thinly, "I don't think Ms Skeeter will trouble you in the future."

"The dancing is about to resume, Gin. Would you like to join Weds and me in the Dashing White Sergeant?"

"A traditional Scots-Irish dance in which each man has two female partners? Perfect!"

"Oui, c'est absolument idéal!" Wednesday added.

"Then," Harry concluded, offering a hand to each of his wives, "may I have the pleasure of this dance?"

"Isn't it cute to see our parents dancing together, Al?"

"No!"

"Don't goad him, Lily!" James chided. "All the same, Al, this is a party. Everyone else, including Lils, Rosie, Hugo and me are having fun! Why don't you try it for a change?!"

"Fun?! This is just a bunch of boring old grownups making fools of themselves! There is nothing fun about it!

"Look, Jamie, I know you are a tell-tale twit at the best of times…"

"I'm not a grass! I don't need to be when you yell at full volume in a crowded room!"

"Jamie's right, Al!" Harry agreed, coming over. The dance had stopped at Albus' interruption. "You, young man, are in big trouble yet again!

"Weds, Pansy, Millie, please continue as hostesses. Ginny, let's take him to my study for yet another discussion about his behaviour."

"Everyone, I'm sorry…"

"Albus Severus Potter! I am going to spank you so hard that you shall still be feeling it on the Hogwarts Express in a couple of weekends time!"

Albus gulped yet again. Mum's really mad at me now!

"Wow, Lily Potter really lives up to that comment about redheads being fiery!" Fenella commented.

"Indeed," Jon agreed, "as does Newpenny here. Don't you, darling?"

Penny Warrender grinned back at her husband. The bright red hair that had caused Jon to "rename" her after the copper new penny coin was as vibrant as ever and she did have a quick temper. It must be said, however, that she was generally friendly, with a warm smile and sparkling wide grey eyes. "I wouldn't call either Jigger or Jenny fiery. Daphne isn't really quick to anger, either." Jenny Ingles nee Harman was a fellow Lone Piner and another redhead. She was the romantic dreamer of the club.

"True," Richard agreed. "Jenny's more of a sparkler than a firework!"

"Do you think there will be more food, Fred?"

"After that meal? Shaggy, you are a bottomless pit!"

"I must take you to see my mother, Shaggy," Jeff told him. "She is forever baking cakes and buns for her family."

"Jeff, his dad and his two brothers exploit her terribly, the male chauvinist pigs," Liz teased.

"You eat them too, Little Miss Militant!"

"After all these years," Dan sighed to Mickey, "they are still arguing about her women's lib!"

"Not arguing, Uncle Dan," Louise told him. "It's their mutual seduction technique…"

"Is Al alright?" James asked.

"Sore!" his Dad replied. "Your Mum spanked him again and sent him to bed. He will be lying on his front tonight, I fancy!

"That was a bit extreme, love!"

"Perhaps, but Harry, grounding him isn't working. You keep relenting to some degree anyway. I'm at the end of my tether!"

"Yes, but trust me, acting like my uncle isn't going to work either.

"If Hermione's right, this is some sort of phase. He'll grow out of it. I hope!"

As usual at events at which people who were unaware of their civilian identities, the Bats were wearing smart jackets over their costumes.

"Wouldn't it be easier to trust them to keep our secrets?" Batgirl grumbled. "Diana, Clark, Donna, Roy and Kara do."

"This is as much…" Batman began.

"…For their safety as ours! We know, darling!" Catwoman purred. "Don't be such a grouch!"

"I AM NOT A GROUCH!"

"If you say so, darling…"

The Doctor approached them. "Is everything alright?"

"Batman's denying he's a grouch, whilst acting as if he is," Nightwing answered.

"I see. Are you all enjoying your evening otherwise?"

"Yes, it was good food, fine entertainment and the dancing were fun," Batgirl said.

"Well, that's good.

"Batman, I believe Jason Blood's a friend of yours?"

"Blood? Yes, Jason's my usual source of information on mysticism and sorcery. I tend to use Zee for magical combat, as his magic is more suited for protection and defence."

"True, unless as Bruce Banner would say, the other guy is required! The Merddyn that bound Blood to Etrigan was a numpty. It wasn't me and it wasn't Will's old mentor Merriman Lyon either."

"That's good to know," Will said, returning from the dance floor with Susan. "I've never encountered Etrigan or Jason Blood, but binding humans to dark forces was not the act of an Old One of the Light.

"Why are you asking about him anyway, Doctor?"

"Whilst I've never encountered Neron before, Will, he doesn't seem the sort to take a defeat lightly. I doubt he would take a direct vengeance, for fear of Aslan or me if nothing else. He does, however, seem likely to try to manufacture a situation where one or more enemies of one or more of us shall make a deal with him to our detriment.

"If I am right, both Jason Blood and Etrigan may be useful. It takes a thief and all that."

"You are indeed right, Lord of Time," the familiar voice sounded. Aslan had appeared. "The Son of Adam should contact the accursed knight.

"Even now, Neron is plotting in the darkness. Night will fall over Magical Albion. There are those here who will need to flee quickly once the prisoners vanish. Once fled, you will need the help of your fellows in order to restore the wizards of Albion."

"For once, would it kill you to speak plainly?!" Susan grumbled. "All the same, Aslan… Aslan?!

"He's vanished again! Typical!"

"Thank you for the music, Mickey," Harry thanked the robot.

"No problem, mush. Clever Clogs here was happy to help. For me, it is good to be out of the Science Museum. Boogie! Boogie!"

"You are looking younger, Ken," the Doctor noted to the robot's creator.

"Well, Doctor, once Captain Jack Harkness recommended to the relevant authorities that they co-opt Mickey to investigate magical problems in muggle areas, they gave me, my siblings and our family a supply of that Royal Jelly honey, to enable us to act as his handlers. It's nice to be thirty-odd years younger again!"

"Stringbean is as pretty as she was when I was built. Possibly she could do with feeding up a bit.

"Clever Clogs allows me to boogie and feeds me plenty of Atomic Thunderbusters, unlike the naughty curators. Boogie! Boogie!"

"Master Milligan, it was kind of you to ask us to provide the entertainment."

"Aye, Mister Claypole, it was kind of the dear laddie."

"No problem. It was good to see you perform again."

"My father once hired you all by mistake for my fifth birthday party," Hermione commented. "He was after a stage magician. You were better!"

"Really, ye wee young lassie? And a witch too? Hogwarts?"

"Yes. I was a Gryffindor. You?"

"Hufflepuff, dearie! Some centuries ago, now." The McWitch produced a motorcycle helmet and a high-visibility jacket, put them on and then mounted a broom she had apparently kept under her black witch's robes. "I feel like a weep nip o' fresh air, Mr Claypole. Fare ye well, all of ye!" With that cheery farewell, the spectral witch took to the skies.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Rex commented. "The only mage I have ever met who seems concerned about health and safety has been a ghost for centuries!"

"As you would say, Rex," Luna Lovegood agreed, "fossilised fishhooks!"

"Well, time to return to our vacation, guys," Fred announced. "Another mystery has been solved."

"About time too, Fred!" Shaggy agreed. "No more demons or crooked realtors to unmask.

"Right, Scoob?!"

"Right, Raggy! Scooby-Dooby-Dooooo…"

Rex smiled. As Scooby's howl faded away, he could swear he could hear Timothy Claypole sing an old Rentaghost advertising jingle from afar…

"At your party/Be a smarty/And hire Rentaghost/If you want a fright/Climb the spooky heights/With Rentaghost…"