Complications with Good News

When Albus, Harry and Ethrindell were scheduled to meet up with the others near the café almost an hour later Harry was leafing through a small book, outlining in some detail the inner workings of the purgatory charm, that Ethrindell had give him to study. It had been authored by the charm's designers, with many first-hand accounts of its use included for reference. Ethrindell had cautioned him not to begin reading it until they had returned to Hogwarts but then that he should study it every chance he got until it was a part of his very soul because it was only through the internalization of this charm that he would be able to successfully cast it.

Harry had just placed the book in the inside pocket of his jacket for safe keeping when Ginny, Mark, Joseph ad Eileen rounded the corner, Ginny smiling more brightly than Harry thought possible. "Oh, Harry!" she screamed gleefully as she ran into his arms, "this city is so wonderful! We have simply got to come back!"

Harry chuckled as he staggered under the impact of her flying embrace. "Don't worry, Ginny," he laughed, "we will."

Glancing down at Mark, Harry could see that his second cousin had thoroughly enjoyed himself as well. His eyes were dancing merrily and the genuine smile on his face was more than enough to tell him that Mark was happy. "How about you, Mark;" Harry asked, "did you have a good time?"

Mark nodded enthusiastically. "Yes I did!" he said excitedly. "They took us to a reflecting pool where I was able to watch my mum and dad and sister settle in to their new flat. They wouldn't tell me where they are because of the war, but I could watch them!" Harry glanced over at Joseph who nodded knowingly but tilted his head towards Eileen, telling Harry that this little excursion had been Eileen's idea.

Harry caught Eileen's eye and smiled, silently thanking her for giving Mark this small but emotionally significant gift. Eileen nodded her head in understanding and smiled back, thanking Harry for recognizing her contribution to Mark's mental health.

"And then one of the shop keepers gave me this book on elven magic!" Mark said, holding up a large, leather-bound book. "She said it is just a primer but that it was a good place to start learning about elven culture and traditions."

Harry smiled and knelt down in front of Mark as the excited boy showed him the book. Leafing through the table of contents Harry nodded approvingly. "This looks like an interesting book, Mark," he said. "I'd like to borrow it from you some time, after we take care of Voldemort."

The festive mood was dampened considerably at the mention of Tom Riddle's assumed name but it was not enough to totally erase the tourists' excitement over their discoveries.

After a brief lull in the conversation Albus cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I suppose we should be returning to our world. After all, we do have a few more battles to fight and a war to win."

Ethrindell nodded in agreement. "Yes," he said. "You now have the tools you will need to find and destroy Tom's treasures, Harry. I am going to get to work on that spell we discussed and will be in touch."

Harry nodded.

"Understand this, however," Ethrindell added, speaking to the entire group, "While you have only been in the elven realm for a few hours, two weeks will have passed by the time you return to Hogwarts."

A few minutes later, after bidding Ethrindell farewell, the small band of travelers left the city and began their return trip to the summit of Ben MacDui. The sense of loss was mild at first, but the closer they got to their goal, and the further they retreated from the elven realm's capitol city, the more pronounced it became. By the time they crossed the stream at the foot of Enoch's hill on the elven realm's side of the portal Ginny was in tears. Harry could feel the sense of loss as well but his time in the elven ream had pretty much dedicated to preparations for war and he had not taken in as many of the sights, sounds and wonders of this truly magical world. He could tell that Mark was struggling with his grief, wanting to cry while, at the same time, wanting to be strong, and offered to carry his book so that, in a moment of indecision, he wouldn't drop it or cast it aside as an unwanted reminder of the elven realm.

Mark hesitated at first but as the book grew heavier in his arms he handed it to Harry who packed it away inside his own daypack.

Enoch greeted them near the summit of his mount and, after exchanging pleasantries, warned them that there was currently a severe rain and hail storm blanketing the hills and valleys around Ben MacDui. His offer to help them off the hill and through the wards was accepted and, after donning their hats, gloves and winter cloaks, Enoch opened the portal and they stepped through.

The howling wall of wind-driven rain and hail that greeted them was enough to cause all of them to begin staggering under their light burdens. It was enough, in fact, that Enoch almost immediately latched onto Mark and Albus and pulled them close for their safety. The others, however, were forced to cling to each other for warmth and support.

After almost an hour of slipping and sliding down the hill's steep slopes they reached the steam at the edge of the wards. Enoch helped them across the stream and made sure they were going to be alright before returning to his side of the stream, waving good-bye and turning back for the long, slow march back up to the portal.

The wind was still howling in their ears as they set off down the valley and the rain and hail were pelting them unmercifully. When they were fifty yards from the wards Joseph turned to Harry and, to be heard above the gale, yelled, "Harry! We are far enough away from the wards! Do you think you can do it?"

Harry looked over at him through his rain-soaked glasses then around at the others who were looking curiously between the two. Mark was already starting to sniffle and cough and Harry could tell that unless they did something soon they would all be extremely ill and Madam Pomfrey would be more than just a little upset.

Nodding his head, Harry closed his eyes and began gathering the energies he would need to teleport himself as well as five passengers and all of their gear to Hogwarts. As the others gathered around him Albus leaned close and said, "Take us to the Hog's Head Inn, Harry. The meeting room, I think. I don't want you to risk the wards with all of us."

Harry nodded his understanding and moments later all six travelers were standing in the upstairs meeting room at the Hog's Head Inn. Moments later the door burst open and Aberforth rushed in, wand drawn and an ugly curse on his lips. When he saw who it was, however, he dropped his wand and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God!" he breathed. Then, kneeling down to retrieve his wand, said, "Where have you been? Everyone's been worried sick …"

Albus was the first to react. "We were in the elven realm. Harry and I visited one of my old teachers while the others toured the city."

Aberforth nodded curtly and began casting drying and warming charms all around.

When everyone was warm and dry Aberforth invited them down to the ground floor where Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna were taking a break from the reconstruction efforts with a few of their friends. The Hog's Head had, mercifully, escaped major damage and had been one of the first structures repaired. It was being used as an unofficial town hall until the new town hall could be built.

As they made their way down the stairs Aberforth called out, "It's okay. You can relax. It's just Albus, Harry, Ginny and our missing travelers."

The sounds people relaxing, standing down from their battle stations if you will, and returning to their seats was heard as they descended the lower flight. When they entered the pub Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna were waiting for them. "What took you so long, mate?" Ron asked.

Harry smiled as he glanced around the room. After making sure he knew everyone in the room as trustworthy he said, "Time distortions, Ron. For us it has only been a few hours. According to what we were told, though, it has been a couple of weeks for you."

Ron nodded briefly, signaling his acceptance of this explanation, and then turned and led the way back to their table, a table Aberforth had just expanded to make room for the new arrivals. When everyone was seated Harry looked across at Ron, hi face hardened into a mask of indifference. "Report," he commanded. "What has been happening while we were away?"

Everyone started talking at once. When it became clear that he was not going to be able to understand anything Harry held his hands up and raised his voice. "Please," he said, "one at a time. Ron, you first."

Had this meeting taken place ten months earlier Harry knew that Ron would have been exceedingly pleased with himself for being asked to make his report first. Now, however, Ron was almost all business. He pushed his butterbeer aside and waited as Daphne Greengrass served the new arrivals a late lunch.

"There was another mass breakout from Azkaban last week. Both sides suffered major casualties. The few from our side who survived described a battle that made the carnage from last Halloween seem mild by comparison. Their memories are on file and …" he hesitated, "… they aren't pretty. It reminds me of Romania," he said, shaking his head. "Neville and I are studying them to get some idea as to the kinds of spells that are using and how their battle tactics have changed."

Harry nodded grimly. "What have you learned?"

Neville apparently took this as his cue to report. "We don't know how they are doing it but somehow they seem to be able to pump more power into their spells. Luna and Hermione's contacts in the Department of Mysteries have come up with an interesting theory. I will let them explain it to you but I will say that if their theory is correct they only way we are going to beat them is with training and skill because brute force alone won't do it."

Harry looked expectantly over at Luna and Hermione. Both seemed hesitant to speak but, with a nudge from Hermione, Luna cleared her throat. "It started out as a wild, shot-in-the-dark guess, really, but after studying the survivors' memories our contacts in the Department of Mysteries seem to think it may be what is happening. Apparently, they are able to draw energy from each other through the dark mark."

"And a few of our other contacts in the Ministry are reporting that witches and wizards are disappearing at an increasingly regular rate," Hermione added. "We can only assume that they are being involuntarily marked, to be used as an energy source, while he trains his best fighters for the final push."

A privacy charm had been cast at the outset of this meeting but with Hermione's pronouncement the entire pub seemed to fall silent.

Almost a minute later Harry looked up from his contemplative silence and turned towards Joseph. "Joseph," he asked, "Can you contact Ethrindell and tell him that I need his help with something?"

Joseph nodded. "I will do it tonight."

Turning back to those who had remained behind Harry said, "Anything else to report?"

Ron smiled this time. "Well, if you would like a little good news, Bill and Fleur have set a date. They are going to be married at the end of July and Remus … Owch! Hermione, what was that for?"

Hermione scowled at her boyfriend. "That's their news and I think they should be the ones to tell Harry," she scolded.

Ron reached down and rubbed his ankle but was grinning all the same. "Yeah, alright. I get the message. I guess you'll just have to talk to Remus tonight."

In the Great Hall that evening, as they were sitting down for dinner, Harry noticed that Remus and Tonks seemed to be quite happy about something. He watched them from his seat at the Gryffindor table throughout the main course and could not help but notice the shy, blushing glances, secret smiles and occasional brush of the hand. After the remains of the main course had vanished and the pudding selections began to appear Harry excused himself and calmly walked up the aisle towards the staff table.

When he reached the head table he turned and walked over to stand in front of Remus. Tonks, who was sitting to Remus' right noticed him first and nudged Remus' elbow, indicating Harry with her fork when he gave her his attention.

Remus looked up, smiling despite himself, and said, "Oh, hi, Harry. What can I do for you this evening?"

Harry scowled. "Alright you guys," he said, "what's up? What happened while we were away? Ron almost said something down at the Hog's Head but Hermione said that it was your news. So, what is your news?"

Remus' smile almost split his face. "Well …" Remus began, "you see, Harry …"

"We would have waited until you got back …" Tonks interrupted.

"But … well … things just kind of happened."

Harry looked between the two of them curiously, wondering what the heck they were talking about, until Tonks held up her hand, wiggling her fingers and displaying a shiny gold wedding band.

Harry's mouth fell open. "Y – you mean you – you – you got married?"

Remus and Tonks both smiled brightly. "Yep," they said in unison.

Harry stepped back, an ear-to-ear grin splitting into a full out smile. "Congratulations!" he laughed. "I can't say that I didn't see it coming," he said happily, "but why the rush?"

This time Tonks blushed a little more brightly than Remus. "How would you feel about becoming a godfather in about eight months?" Remus asked nervously.

When Harry's mouth fell open this time Remus had to reach across the table and close it for him. "I – I would be honored," he whispered.

Remus smiled happily at Harry's acceptance. "Good," he said. "Now I suggest you go back to your table and eat you pudding because it looks like Ron is eyeing your treacle tart with more than just a little interest."

Harry glance over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Ron was, indeed, making motions towards confiscating his treacle tart. "Keep your hands off my treacle tart, Weasley!" he called out good naturedly before turning back to Remus and Tonks.

Reaching across the table he gave Tonks a hug and shook Remus' hand, congratulating them on their marriage and Tonks pregnancy and promising to come visit them in their chambers later in the week, before turning back and walking quickly back to his seat to rescue his treacle tart from Ron's hollow leg.

"What's their news?" Ginny asked when he had returned to his seat beside her.

"I'll tell you later," Harry said, "when there aren't so many ears around."

Ginny nodded. "You had better," she threatened.

When Harry told Ginny the good news that night, after placing an additional silencing charm on his trunk, she screamed with happiness and wanted to go congratulate them immediately. It took some doing, but Harry finally convinced her to wait until after classes the next day, his reasoning being that they might not want everyone to know about Tonks' pregnancy.