Epilogue

Harry returned to his hotel room, feeling drained. That Gringotts would, essentially, side with a Muggle was a mystery. While the British Gringotts branch still held a grudge for the break-in he, Ron, and Hermione had committed, the Canadian branch shouldn't have had any issues with him at all. Numb, the wizard began to pack, using his hands instead of his wand for the first time in years.

"So, where are they?" Hermione asked from the doorway, her arms crossed.

Harry didn't look at her. "With their Gringotts approved guardian," he muttered.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione hike a brow in surprise. "Gringotts interfered?" she asked, incredulous.

"Pretty much, yeah. Set a test for both Parker and me to pass."

Hermione's other brow shot up, but she simply waited.

"Taming and riding a griffin," Harry explained. He couldn't help but sulk as he added, "Griffin nearly took my head off, but it let Parker ride it all around the clearing."

There was a long silence from Hermione as Harry finished packing. "Will you try again?" she asked at last.

"What else can I do, 'Mione? I can't let those kids be abused or abandoned. Two years. That's how long it took for the Wizengamot to finally let me come after them. I can't give up on them now."

"Or," Hermione said, soft and thoughtful, "You could accept that not all Muggles are like the Dursleys." As Harry turned, shocked at that idea, she added bluntly, "How many Muggles are going to come into the wizarding world and actually try to change it themselves for the better? And, by the way, it wasn't Parker who told his team about magic, it was the children. Within an hour, Parker's team had already used their brand-new knowledge to save lives."

"The wizarding world doesn't change, not as quickly as Muggles want it to," Harry argued.

Hermione shrugged, "You never know, Harry, unless you give it a try. The only other thing I'm going to say is that Locksley gave them those Auror badges for a very good reason. Take my advice, brother-in-law mine, and leave those kids with their cousin." With that, she strolled out of the room, leaving Harry behind to consider what she'd said.

It was a very good thing that Team One hadn't had any hot calls that day; they were far too busy feeling sorry for themselves and their poor Sergeant. The news that Sergeant Parker's nipotes were being taken back to England had spread like wildfire, prompting sympathy all across the station.

In the briefing room, Wordy and Ed finalized plans to keep the Sarge from being alone for the next several weeks; the last thing they wanted was for this to ruin Sarge's decade old, hard-won battle with the bottle. They didn't plan to give him an option either; they'd just show up at his place and drag him out. Shelley and Sophie were on board, as was Clark; Clark was plotting to put together a poster-board of memories for Sarge to have. The rest of Team One was planning (fantasizing) an assault on merry old Britain to get the kids back, Spike leading the charge.

"Hey Sarge," Kira said, louder than usual to alert Team One to their Sergeant's presence. She'd already been roped into several plots, one of which was to act as an early warning system for any unexpected arrivals. To her surprise, the Sarge's eyes were glinting with pure mischief, not something she expected from a man who'd just lost his kids. Before any Team One members could appear, the mischief disappeared behind Sarge's negotiator mask, though he did give her a wink.

"Boss?" Spike sounded tentative, surprised, and anxious all at once.

"Hey, Spike, how are you doing?" Sarge asked, giving Spike his negotiator smile.

Spike traded a worried look with Kira. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Boss?"

"What are you doing here?" Ed overrode the bomb tech from the door to the briefing room.

Sarge shrugged, leaning back against the counter. "Figured I'd drop by, see how you guys are holding up," he replied.

"We're okay," Wordy offered, "What about you?" The big man's concern laced every word.

Kira saw the three Team One member tense as Sarge made no reply, instead looking around. "Lou, Sam, and Jules around here?" Sarge inquired, still using his negotiator voice and behavior.

"I'll get them," Spike offered, disappearing before anyone could say yea or nay.

The worry and alarm of the remaining Team One constables practically filled the air, but none of them knew what to say. Kira noticed that Sarge was slumping ever so slightly against her desk, making her even more concerned about the man. His brand-new black uniform was dusty and his face looked a little gray. And when Ed and Wordy turned just a bit to talk to each other, Kira saw Sarge rub his hand over his face, yawning a little. He was obviously exhausted, on his feet by willpower alone.

Before Kira could figure out what to say to alert Wordy and Ed to Sarge's flagging reserves, Spike returned with the rest of Team One in tow. Sam, Jules, and Lou gave their Sergeant careful greetings, wary of bringing up the elephant in the room.

Abruptly, Parker straightened, turning so Kira could see him just as well as his team could, a fierce, triumphant grin spreading across his face. He put two fingers to his lips and blew a sharp whistle, making his team and Kira jump.

"Pizza delivery!" a boyish voice called from the door, bringing all of them around in utter shock.

"And soda for everyone!" the girl next to the boy added, her ringing tones filled with laughter.

"Sarge?" Kira managed; Team One was frozen.

Sergeant Parker's smile lit the station. "They're staying, Kira. I got them back."

Team One whooped in sheer joy, dog-piling their Sergeant and the teens; how the pizza didn't end up flying all over the walls and the floor was a mystery Kira never bothered to solve as she cheered just as loudly, shrieking with laughter at the scene.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:34 NIV

We are, we are
Not your ordinary fami-mily
But we can all agree that
We are, we are
Close as close can be

Not too close!

We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We are, family

So it don't matter what it looks like
We look perfect to me
We got every kind of love
I feel so lucky indeed
They can keep on talking
It don't matter to me cause
We are, we are family (family)
We are, we are

Ham and cheese!

No! It's "We are family!"

Nah!

OK, so the links in our chains makes us strange
But really they make us stronger
And no one would replace not a thing
Mother or father (Go Manny)
'Cause we…

'Cause we come from everywhere
Searching for ones to care
Somehow we found it here
We found us a home

We are, we are
Not your ordinary fami-mily
But we can all agree that
We are, we are
Close as close can be

Woahhoohhhh!

We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We ah-ah-ah-ah (We are)
We are, we are, (family)
Family, family

We are, we are

Ham and Cheese!
"We Are" ~ Ice Age: Continental Drift

~ Fin

Author note: And that's a wrap! I hope I've made it clear that, just like most Flashpoint stories, the "bad guy" isn't quite so bad after all, for all that Harry acted like a jerk for most of these past two stories. For now, we'll be taking this show on the road and back to the main Flashpoint archive with "A Better Plan", coming to a computer/phone/tablet screen near you this Friday, May 19th, 2017.

Thank you all for reading and I look forward to any reviews/comments/critiques on how this story and/or series is doing so far.