Epilogue: A Full Circle
-----------------------------------
Mist is the first thing Alex was aware of. It was there, surrounding her and creating this eerie feeling about her.
I'm dreaming, that is sure, she thought as she looked around, trying to find a bearing or something familiar.
Then she saw it, a light. It was soft and soothing and she felt compelled to go towards it without really knowing why. So she walked, letting her instinct lead her. After a minute, the mist appeared to end gradually and she became aware of her surroundings. She was in the entrance room of her home. She walked towards the small table where a basket of dried flower was standing and let her hand run on it as she reached it. It was very tangible, she could feel the softness of the waxed wood under her fingers.
And then a detail hit her, the flowers. The house did not have dried flowers on that table. As a matter of fact, there were none in the entire house. The only time there had been those was when her parents... were still alive. As she realized this, she saw the coats on hanging on the coat hanger. She knew those quite well. Her father's long black coat which he wore when he went to work was there, so was her mother's light green raincoat. She smelled it then, the smoke, one she knew only too well. Pipe tobacco smoke, the kind her dad used. Slowly she walked towards the living room, where she could hear the noise of a fire crackling in the fireplace. Tears came to her eyes when she saw.
They were there, her father on the sofa, reading a newspaper and smoking on his favourite pipe. He was dressed as he usually was at the end of the day after work, casual clothes and chartreuse slippers. Her mother was in her armchair, closer to the fireplace, reading a book and wearing her reading glasses. She felt tears running down her cheeks as her hands came to her mouth to muffle a strangled sob.
They looked up at the sound, her mother's expression filled with love as she recognized her daughter, he father smiling at her.
"There you are pumpkin," he said kindly as he put his newspaper down.
"No..." Alex whispered, "it cannot be."
Her mother saw something was wrong and stood up to come to her, taking her into a soft embrace. Alex gave in to the touch she had longed for so long, sobs overtaking her.
"There, there, Alex," her mother said soothingly, "It is alright."
Alex pulled a bit away at those words. "No..." she chocked, "it is not alright. How could it be?" she asked. Could they not see? The sickness of it all?
But her mother's puzzled expression showed they did not. "What do you mean my love?" she asked.
"Don't you see?" Alex said, "It is so unfair. After those long years I was finally happy, only to have it taken away from me again?"
"Unfair?"
"I'm dead aren't I? Alex let out that question with a sob, "That would be the only reason I can see you now," she continued, "And Yannick... and me... oh god!" she chocked as sudden grief overcame her once more and she collapsed in her mother's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably against her shoulder.
"Alex," she heard her father say next to her, "Love, look at me,"
Slowly, painfully she looked at him, his brown eyes full of love.
"You are not dead Alex," he told her.
"I'm... I'm not?" she asked with a small voice.
"No, you are not," he said, "And will not be for a long time," he added with a small smile.
"But then, how?" she asked.
"Because deep inside here," her mother said, her hand softly touching Alex's heart, "You wanted to see us, even if it were for a short time."
"You are alive Alex," her father said, "You were hurt and unconscious but you are being cared for and will recover fully, that I know for sure."
Alex looked at them, relief flooding her with those words. She felt tears running down on her cheeks once more, but they were not of grief this time, but of relief. She hugged her mother again, relishing in the smell, the touch and the comfort it gave her.
"I missed you so much," she said finally.
"We know my love," her mother said, "we saw it."
"You did?"
"Everything that went on, all what you had to go through until today, we saw," her father said, "And we are proud of you," he added, smiling at her and touching her shoulder softly.
"Very proud," her mother agreed, "You have grown into an exceptional woman and you have such a bright future ahead of you."
"Really?"
"We cannot see it for sure as it is always in movement," her father said, "But your battle today took away most of the shadow that was on it."
"Your fight against our murderer," her mother added, "You fought out of love for us, in a way avenging us."
"But not only for you," Alex said, pulling away but holding her mother's hand. Her gaze fell on her left hand and onto the ring that was on her finger there.
"Of course not," her mother agreed, "We know. Your love for him is strong. That is also what helped you in your fight."
"I came close to hating him though."
"But he won back your love," her father said, "He told you the truth."
"It was a shock," Alex said, "But it made so much sense when I thought about it after."
"We are glad he told you," her mother said, "To live with a lie is not living. Living in the truth is the only way."
"He asked me to marry him," Alex said.
"Yes," her father said, "we saw that too."
She looked at him and saw his laughing eyes and the smile. The one that made a blush creep onto her cheeks at the thought of what had gone on that wonderful day where Yannick had proposed to her, and the events right after.
"Don't worry my love," her mother said, "There is nothing to be embarrassed of. You love each other, it is normal."
Alex smiled at that. "So, you approve of him then?" she asked.
"We always have," her mother said, "It was so clear in your eyes the day you presented him to us."
"Your gazes to each other were very eloquent I might add," her father said.
"Yannick loves you Alex," her mother said, "and we know you love him back. How could we not approve of someone our daughter has found to walk her path in life with?"
Alex smiled at that.
"Be happy, the both of you," her mother said, "It might not always be a long smooth road, but your love for each other will get you through the obstacles that will come in your way. That I am sure of."
Suddenly, the clock in the entrance hall rung the hour startling Alex from her thoughts. She could see mist starting to trickle in the room.
"It is time for you to go my love," her mother said, letting go of her hands and going to embrace her husband.
"Not yet," Alex said, "I don't want to go yet."
"But you must pumpkin," he father said kindly, "You must wake up and live on."
"Just know that we will always be looking upon you Alex," her mother said, "And that we both love you very much and are very proud of you," she added with a soft smile.
Alex smiled, looking at them with tears in her eyes as the mist engulfed her once more and everything disappeared again.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Yannick let out a sigh of relief as he saw Alex move, apparently waking from her slumber. Out of all of them who had gone to stop Andrelith, she had been the worse hit. The Dark Elf had hit her with a chain lightning spell that had sent her out of a nearby window, knocking her unconscious at the same time. Had Valerian not been near that same spot on his broom, she would have fallen to her death, seeing the window had been on the second floor of the mansion Andrelith had based his operation from.
But now that threat was gone, for good. Andrelith was dead, crushed by that same mansion when it fell down. Yannick had gotten out, relatively unscathed and had found Valerian and Laure taking care of Alex. But apart from being able to heal the small cuts she had gotten from passing through the window, they could not awaken her.
Yannick's mother had been at the manor when they apparated there, having arrived with Sean while they were gone. She had taken over Alex 's treatment while Gran took Yannick, Valerian and Laure aside to have a recount of the events at the mansion.
She had been asleep in their room when he had finally been able to go to see her and now she was awakening, her eyes slowly opening and a smile appearing on her fair face as she saw him sitting next to her on the bed and holding her hand.
"Hey you," she said as she gave his hand a soft squeeze.
"Hello my love," Yannick said, bringing her hand near his lips and kissing it lightly.
"Andrelith?" she asked, her face becoming a bit worried.
"He will not trouble us anymore," Yannick answered.
"Did you..."
"Kill him? No," he answered, "he tried to curse me as I bound him with a spell. The explosion from the curse brought the mansion down on both of us. I made it out but he did not."
"So he's really gone now?" she asked.
"Yes"
Alex grabbed the front of his collar and pulled him down for a kiss, which he gave in happily. It was over. Andrelith was gone from his life. It was such an unusual feeling that he could not help but chuckle as they parted.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"I just have a hard time believing that it is finally over," he told her, "That now, I can devote my time to you and our future together."
He saw her smile brightly when he said this. "I'll hold you to that Silverleaf," she told him as she pulled him in for another kiss. "I love you," she added as they parted lips.
"I love you too," he replied, kissing the tip of her nose and settling to sit beside her on the bed.
"So what now?"
"Well, Kingsley and Remus have both been notified of the events," Yannick said, "Sean will be able to wrap up the investigation as soon as he is declared fit by my mother."
"Is he in bad shape?" Alex asked worriedly.
"Not anymore," Yannick replied, "He was lucky that my mother was not gone when we got there. I doubt a regular healer would have been able to heal the damage caused by the spell Andrelith used. But he will be fine now," he added as he saw a cloud of worry pass in her eyes, "He should be back on his feet in a few days."
"And me?"
"Well, the spell Andrelith did on you made you unconscious," Yannick said, "Valerian caught you as you fell and Laure was able to heal your cuts and bruises, but they could not rouse you. We brought you here and mum took care of you. She said you just needed rest when she came to find me after."
"Thank god," Alex said, looking relieved, "I was afraid it was worse."
She snuggled next to him and he hugged her, relishing on the feeling this simple action gave him.
"I saw my parents while I was unconscious," she said after a moment of silence.
"You did?"
"Yeah. It was strange though," she replied, "Almost felt like a dream, like it was not real."
"I don't think it was a dream," Yannick said, "You remember my accident with the Willow?"
"Hard to forget," Alex said with a small chuckle and hugging him a bit tighter.
"Right," he answered, kissing the top of her head, "Well, I saw Gwendall when I was unconscious. She showed me the truth behind her death," he added.
"I knew something had occurred that day," Alex said, "It changed you."
"Yet you never asked me about it."
"I did not want to force you," Alex said, "I know you would have told me when you felt ready."
"Thanks," Yannick said, kissing her on the temple.
"So you think I did not dream this?"
"No. I think that deep down here," Yannick said, touching her chest softly, "You wanted to see them, even for just one more time. And this was granted to you. What?" he asked, as he felt Alex chuckled lightly.
"My mother told me the same thing, almost word for word," she said, looking at him with bright eyes and smiling.
"I'm glad then," Yannick said, kissing her forehead.
"They approve of you, you know?"
"They do?"
"Aye, very much so," Alex replied, "They are happy that I found you to share my life with."
"So they approve of the fact that we plan to get married too," Yannick asked.
"I would think it would come as granted with the first approval, love," Alex said, smiling.
"Right," Yannick replied, smiling back, "This time nothing is stopping it," he added, winking and making her chuckle.
"When should we do it?" she asked.
"Whenever you are ready," Yannick answered, "But I do not want to rush you either," he replied to that, looking a bit more serious.
"You are not, Nick, I really want this," Alex said, "I've had a while to think about it already. I just don't want to waste any more time. We already lost five years together when you were gone," she added, without any reproach in her voice.
"I know," Yannick told her, "we can do it as soon as everything has calmed down a bit. Sean needs to recover and then we need to wrap up the case. That will give us enough time to plan out exactly how we want to do it, who we invite and all the rest. I want it to be perfect for you."
"I know it will be," Alex replied, "Think Gran will help?"
"You would have to be removed from reality if you thought for one instant she would not," Yannick said, "You can also expect most of the ladies of the family to pitch in as well," he added.
"It is soon June now, a summer wedding would make it so everyone can attend," Alex said, "Alwena will be out of school then."
"Yes," Yannick replied, smiling at her now calculating expression, "She'll be thrilled if you ask her to help out."
"I know," Alex replied.
"A summer wedding it is then," he told her, "And I'll do everything I can to make it perfect. I know it will make you happy and I love making you happy."
"I'm already happy, Nick," Alex said, turning a bit to face him, "Getting married to you is just the icing on the cake," she added with an impish smile before to kiss him.
They were still kissing when they heard a soft knock at the door, making them part regretfully.
"Come in," Yannick said, as Alex readjusted herself in the bed.
The door opened to let through Gran, followed by his mother. Both smiled when they saw Alex fully awake.
"It is pleasure to see you well, Alexandra," Gran said, coming next to the English witch and kissing her on the forehead.
"Thank you Mrs Silverleaf," Alex said, "I'm glad I was not hit too seriously. Thank you for your healing Mrs Silverleaf," she added to Yannick's mother.
"It was all natural my dear," she replied, "and please, it is Izabelle," she added with a smile.
"I know, I'm just having a hard time on that point," Alex said sheepishly.
They all laughed at that.
"Now, I know it might be the last thing you want to do right now," Gran said, a bit more seriously, "but I would like you to recount the events of today, while they are still fresh. I already got Yannick's, Valerian's and Laure's point of views but a fourth one is never too much in order to get a good insight on events that went on."
Yannick saw Alex nod at that. She thought for a moment and started to recount the events, from their departure from Silverleaf manor to the moment she got knocked unconscious by Andrelith's spell. She was very thorough in her recollection, amazing Yannick by the amount of details she had noticed during their ordeal, details he sometimes had missed himself.
"I'm wondering something though," Alex said at one point, "when we reached the mansion and tried to enter, only Yannick and I were able to. Valerian and Laure were prevented from entering by a spell that had been placed there."
"I did not think much about it myself until Laure told me she had analysed the spell after we left, to find a way to dispel it," Yannick added, "she told me the spell had been linked to me or my name, so only I could enter, no one else."
"So how could I enter then?" Alex asked, "I'm not Yannick."
Gran had a knowing smile and looked at Izabelle before speaking.
"There is a very simple explanation to this my dear," she said, "the spell let you through because you in a way registered as Yannick, even though you are not him. Now, why would that happen?"
Alex thought for a moment before answering.
"A polyjuice potion might have done the trick," she said, "it would have made the spell think I was Yannick."
"Very good," Gran said, "and why that?"
"Well, I take Yannick's appearance and in a way the hair I used in the potion gives me some of his magical signature. But I did not drink any potion of the sort so I could not have had a part of Yannick in..."
She stopped short and Yannick saw her eyes widen in a realization and her hand cover he mouth that hung in sudden surprise.
"Oh... oh Merlin...," she said softly, "I'm pregnant?" she asked, looking at Gran and Izabelle.
Yannick felt his eyes widen in surprise at the question and a quick look at Gran and his mother's smiling faces told him Alex was right.
"Yes you are my dear," Izabelle said, "I discovered the fact when I was healing you and felt it in you."
"But the spell Andrelith hit me with," Alex said, looking a bit panicked and her hands dropping to feel her belly, "it hit me in the midsection. It..."
"It is totally fine, Alexandra," Izabelle cut her softly, "I checked on it when I was healing you and it did not suffer any consequences from the spell. As a matter of fact, the area around it was not damaged at all. I would say you maternal magic protected it from harm. Your baby is safe and as healthy as any other my dear," she added.
Yannick was astonished at the news and saw that Alex clearly was too. It was not that he did not want children, he did and he knew that Alex did as well. But so soon? They were not even married.
"I can see a little worry on both of your faces," Gran said, reading their expression. She came to sit in front of them on the bed and placed a hand on his and Alex's shoulders, "I know you two are worried that it might be too soon and also on the fact that you are not married yet. But I want you two to not worry at all about that," she told them with a warm smile, "As I told you before, Elves do not give birth as often as humans do. This is due to our long life and was sometimes seen as a curse. But it also got us to see a birth as a gift, a most precious one, where two lovers were given the chance to strengthen our race with new beings. That humans have children more often than Elves does not diminish its preciousness. Be happy of it, both of you. It is wonderful news after all the hardship you have been through and I'm speaking for the whole family when I say that we all approve of this," she added, kissing each on the forehead.
"Thank you Gran," Yannick said, smiling. He could see that Alex was too moved to speak.
"You are welcome, dear" Gran replied, standing up, "We'll leave you alone to digest the news," she added, going out of the room with Izabelle, who smiled warmly at them before closing the door and leaving them alone in the room.
Alex cuddled closer to him when the door closed. She did not say anything and Yannick took her into a hug, letting her digest the news and waiting for her to be ready to say something.
"It is so sudden," she said finally as he stroked her side back and forth.
"Yes," Yannick replied, "But it is not unexpected either. I mean, we are getting married. One would expect children to come after that, no?"
She looked up at him, smiling, "Yes," she said, "I"m glad you are taking it so well," she added.
"I love you Alex," he replied, kissing her softly, "the idea of marrying you and fathering your children is something I thought about for a long time and I'm happy it is finally becoming a reality," he added when they parted.
Her smile grew brighter at his words and she pulled him into a long kiss which he was more than happy to give her. They were going to marry and soon after would become parents. Yannick felt an elation at the thought and from Alex's reaction, he knew she felt the same.
"Did you ever think of names for our children?" Alex asked him after they had spent a long time kissing and enjoying each other's presence.
"I did actually," he told her, "and I wanted to ask you something," he added.
"You want to chose the first boy's name?" she asked, chuckling a little.
"Actually, I was more thinking on the first girl's name," he replied.
"I think I know which name on that one," she told him, "Gwendall, right?"
"Yes," Yannick admitted, "I know it might sound cliché and all but, you know...h
"I know Nick," Alex told him, cutting his sentence with a finger on his mouth, "And I agree too. I actually wanted to chose that name as well," she told him before to kiss him.
"So Gwendall if it is a girl?" he asked when they parted, his hand softly stroking her belly.
"Aye," she told him, "Any thoughts for a boy's name?"
"I'm sure you'll come up with the perfect one," he told her before to kiss her.
**********************
Year 2014
London
Alex groaned internally as she looked at the pitch diagram. She was reviewing the team's tactics and their various good and bad points, trying to come up with the best strategy for them to use against their next opponents this year, the Cannons. The Falcons were doing good this year, having only lost two matches overall and being tied for first place with the Cannons. This was why this next match was crucial in their run for the cup. As she set again at finding the right combination, she was disturbed by a short knock at her door. She looked up to see Angelina.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Cho wants you to come to the pitch to see something interesting," Angelina said smiling, "I think she is right too."
"Why do I have a feeling that it will involve my son?" Alex asked, rolling her eyes as she stepped out in the corridor and walked towards the pitch's entrance.
"Because it will," Angelina said chuckling.
"He is on a broom again, right?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yep."
"I should have never shown him a book on Quidditch," Alex replied sourly.
"Says the one who played beater since she knew how to fly on a broom," Angelina teased.
"I specifically told him not to try flying again," Alex said, "Especially since his last accident."
"Honestly Alex, that was years ago and he was three," Angelina said, "besides, would that have stopped you?"
"I'm serious Angie," Alex said, frowning slightly, "Kay is too young to be fooling around on a broom."
"And you are not answering my question girl," Anglina said, "Would your mother telling you not to fly have stopped you if you had known about Quidditch at his age?"
Alex stopped as the pointedness of the question finally registered with her. Of course it would not have. She had always been fond of flying in her youth and to find out in her first year at Hogwarts that you could fly brooms in a game had been like being shown heaven for her. She looked at her friend who was looking at her with an amused smile.
"No, that is true. It would not have stopped me at all," she admitted finally, "I'm overreacting."
"No you are not," Angelina said as she gave her a friendly hug, "You are just acting like any mother who would be worried about her child. Nothing wrong in that, girl. You just have to admit the fact that they wont stay a child forever."
"I guess you are right," Alex said starting to walk again.
"I thought I had told you, Alex. I'm always right," Angelina relied, laughing lightly and causing Alex to join her as they came out on the pitch.
But as she laughed, the image of Kay falling from his broom to the snowy grounds 10 meters below came back to her. They has been lucky that day. The snow had broken his fall and Yannick's mother had been at the manor fast enough to prevent the wounds from causing any lasting trauma. That incident had gotten Kay to not approach a broom for over a year or more. Then she had found him crying in his room one day, having apparently awoken from a nightmare. She talked to him and found he was afraid of falling again should he try to fly once more. She had reassured him the best she could, explaining him that he had just been too young and not having a good enough balance and that professional Quidditch players had fallen hard one time or another and almost always come out on the other end. She had even given him her copy of Quidditch through the ages, but soon regretted that move. He had torn through the book in two days, reading it from cover to cover. A few weeks after she had found him hovering a few meters off the ground on a broom at their home. He had been so happy back then that she had not had the heart to stop him. She had been happy for him too, that he had surmounted his fears and was not afraid anymore. But dread had filled her too, what if the incident occurred again and this time was fatal?
Due to this she had told him to always stay on a safe distance from the ground. He had understood at first but since a year now kept forgetting and doing daring moves with his broom which had recently pushed her to confiscate it until her sobered up and stopped playing reckless.
As she came near where Cho was sitting in the stands she saw that Kay was indeed on a broom again and flying in the pitch, closely followed by Ethan who was apparently trying to catch him. She sighed internally. Maybe Angie was right, she was the one still afraid. Maybe she ought to loosen up a little on Kay's account.
"So," she said to Cho, "What is there for me to see? Apart from the fact that my son has again disobeyed me?"
"If you wanted him not to go on a broom again you should not have brought him to a Quidditch pitch, Alex," her Chinese friend said.
"Good point," Alex conceded as she heard Angelica snicker next to her, "What are they playing at?" she asked, pointing at the boys who were now flying near the goal hoops, this time with Kay chasing Ethan.
"Catch on brooms," Angelica said, "You know, the broom handling training that really demands you to be in control of your broom."
"I know what catch on broom is Angie," Alex replied with a mock glare, "Anything else?" she asked Cho.
"I decided to do a little experiment," Cho said.
"Which one?" Alex asked, now interested.
Cho showed that she was holding a stopwatch in each hand.
"Standard test to see who of two persons is the best on a broom," Cho said, "I let the time run on each stopwatch for the time the player has been the one who has to catch a person. This is Ethan's time as 'it'," she continued, showing the watch in her left hand. As she did that she also clicked the button on the top, causing it to run again. Kay had caught Ethan and was now flying away from him with his friend in close pursuit.
"And this is Kay's time," Cho said, showing the watch in her right hand.
Alex was stunned. The time displayed on it was less than a quarter than the overall time displayed on Ethan's watch.
"Your son, my dear, is a natural flier on a broom," Cho said, echoing what she was now realizing.
"She's right Alex," Angelica agreed, "I've seen him pull stunts in this game that even kids twice his age are scared to try."
Alex nodded at that, looking at Kay flying, she could see her friends were right. And the worst was that she knew that she should be angry at Kay for disobeying her yet again, but she felt she could not either. The look on his face was so eloquent. He was having fun, a lot of it, why ruin it? She sighed and took a whistle from her pocket. She wanted to try something. The shrill noise that came out of it when she blew it caused Ethan and Kay to stop instantly and look at who had cause the noise. She motioned them to come to her and they did. Kay was looking sheepish as he neared, having realized that his mother had caught him red-handed disobeying her order. She could not blame him.
"So Kay," she said as they came to a stop in front of them, "Looks like despite what I say you cannot keep yourself off a broom."
"I'm sorry mum," Kay said, looking ashamed.
"It is kind of my fault too, Mrs Silverleaf," Ethan said, "I want to make it into the Ravenclaw Quidditch team next year and Kay wanted to help me hone my flying skills."
"Cannot fault you on that one Ethan," Cho said, causing the young boy to blush slightly at the compliment.
Alex rolled her eyes inwardly. "I'll handle this Cho if you don't mind?" she said, sending a mock glare to her friend who crossed her hands on her lap and looked at the sky innocently, "Kay, while you did disobey me by doing this, I want you to know that you are not in trouble."
"I'm not?" Kay said, looking surprised.
"That is not to say that I'm happy you did not ask me first, you could have you know," she continued, making him wince and nod in agreement, "but seeing you fly I would like to try something."
She took a training snitch from her pocket. Unlike real sports snitches, the training ones could be set at ten different levels, one being the easiest setting and ten being close to professional level. She set it at three.
"Now, here is what I want you to do," she said, showing Kay the snitch, "I'm going to release this snitch and you will count to ten before to chase after it. I want to see how fast you can catch it, alright?" she asked, "Good," she added as Kay nodded enthusiastically.
She pulled back her arm and then threw the snitch away, the little golden ball soon flying in its erratic pattern in order to be hard to catch. Ten seconds after, Kay took off after it. He apparently had not lost the ball from view and was speeding right at it. Alex shot a glance at Cho who nodded at her, showing the running watch in her hand. The snitch made several wild moves to escape Kay's pursuit but while some succeeded, the young boy was getting back on its tail extremely fast.
And he's not even ten yet, Alex thought as she watched her son fly.
The snitch flew through one of the goal hoops, trying to evade Kay yet again. Alex was expecting him to avoid the hoop by going around but Kay did something that took her by complete surprise. He flattened himself on the broom and shot through the hoop itself, catching up to the snitch and grabbing it in his hand.
Ethan cheered as his friend was looping back to come to them. Alex looked at her friends. Angelina looked surprised, which was saying something, while Cho was nodding appreciatively as she came next to her. Alex looked at the watch Cho handed her and was surprised to see that the whole thing had taken just a bit more than five minutes.
"I've only seen this kind of catch in one game," Cho said to her.
"Gryffyndor versus Ravenclaw game of 96-97," Alex said, "It was the same stunt Harry pulled."
"Yes indeed, and the fact that Kay just did it at this age tells a lot on his potential," the Chinese witch agreed.
Kay soon arrived back to them, hopping off his broom to be next to her in the wooden stand. He was smiling brightly as he handed her the caught snitch.
"You took a bit more than five minutes Kay," she told him, "it is average but it is not bad at all," she quickly added as she saw him lose a bit of his enthusiasm, "Now, here are the things that will change from now on."
"Firstly, you are allowed to use a broom whenever you want, But!" she said quickly before he could burst in cheers, "I still want you to be careful, okay? No crazy and dangerous stuff."
Kay nodded at that.
"Good. Now second, each time I take you with me here, I want you to train catching snitches," she said, causing Kay's eyes to shoot in surprise.
"Really?" he asked.
"Absolutely," Alex answered, "What I saw today shows tells me one thing, Kay. You have the potential to become a very good seeker. And I would be a very bad Quidditch coach if I did not see this and got you to train on it as early as possible."
Kay was looking at her, mouth hanging open in surprise. He closed it quickly and then shuffled on his feet a bit, looking suddenly a bit embarrassed. Alex chuckled internally at this, she knew exactly who else had this look. Yannick, when he felt he did not deserve something.
"Are you sure mum?" Kay asked, "I don't want to mess up either and disappoint you."
"I'm very sure, Kay," Alex replied.
"I do not think you will disappoint her," Cho added, "And I'll be more than happy to help you out in your training if you want. I'm sure I can give you quite a few good tips, seeker to seeker."
"You would?" he asked in disbelief.
"Absolutely," Cho replied.
"So Kay?" Alex asked, "You agree to these new rules?"
Kay nodded enthusiastically, a wide grin splitting his face.
"Good," Alex said, smiling as well.
And then Kay rushed to her, hugging her and burying his face in her chest, murmuring thanks. She gave back the hug, and kissed the top of his head. She looked at Angelina and saw her friend grinning widely and giving her a thumbs up. She sighed as she rocked her son softly. He'd always be her little boy, but Cho was right, too much potential there to let go to waste. And if Kay was happy, then, so was she.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Winter 2019
Hogwarts Express
"I'm bored," Gwendall said, leaning back into her seat.
Kay pried his attention from his Quidditch book and looked at his big sister.
"Bored?" he asked, "Come on sis, you're never bored."
"Well I am," she retorted, "Drake is not here as he prefers to fly back to Hogwarts. Most our friends staid there for Christmas which makes this train almost empty."
"What about the books you got for Christmas?"
"Read them," Gwen said, "twice," she added
"And?" he asked.
"And I'm not feeling like reading them a third time," she replied.
Looking somewhat frustrated, she propped her head in her hand, her elbow resting on the windowsill and looked outside at the passing scenery.
Kay took that time to study his sister. Her being bored was unheard of. She always had something that she had to do, some homework to finish, a book to read again. It was in her blood, she was curious by nature. As he looked at her, he saw her expression change from frustration to one that he remembered seeing a few times, especially at Quidditch games. Longing.
"Oh I get it," he said, "You're not bored. You just cannot wait for the train to arrive so you can be with someone again."
"What?" Gwen exclaimed, a look of surprise and a little fear on her face which told Kay he'd been right.
"Seeing your reaction, I'm guessing it is a boy," he continued.
"Kay, no, absolutely not," Gwen defended herself.
"Sure Gweny," he replied, "I'm not your brother for nothing you know. Now let's see, who could that be?"
"Kay..."
"Not Hammond," he said, referring to a 5th year Slytherin who some girls found attractive but he knew his sister abhorred.
"Ugh! Kay!" Gwen replied, making him chuckle.
And he went on, naming boys in or close to his sister's year and enjoying her reaction on each name. Some produced more reaction than others until he reached the one he knew was the person.
"And Ethan O'Malley?" he asked, and was rewarded by Gwen closing her mouth and blushing.
"Ha! I knew it!" he exclaimed, "You like Ethan!"
"Kay, please," Gwen said, "I do like Ethan but only as a close friend."
"Your blushing says otherwise, Gweny," Kay laughed, "You have a crush on Ethan."
"Kay..." Gwen said, but he was enjoying his discovery too much to note her sudden warning tone.
"Gweny's got a cruuuush," Kay started to sing on a fake high voice, only to be stopped by his sister grabbing him by the collar and pinning him to the back of his seat.
"You continue like this and I can assure you that you will never find your broomstick again," she said, her eyes reduced as slits.
"You would not dare!" Kay exclaimed at the threat.
"Try me, little brother," Gwen replied, "I can make sure that some hungry termites find their ways to it, or some other wood loving insects. So my feelings for Ethan are staying under wraps until further notice. Are we clear on that?"
"Crys.. crystal," Kay replied.
He knew what his older sister was capable of and that threat was not to be taken lightly. Her gift with animals was not widely known at Hogwarts but he had already been at the receiving end of her wrath and he did not want to experience that again.
But while he had enjoyed making fun of Gwen, he was happy for her. He was close friend with Ethan, despite their age difference. He knew that his older friend liked Gwen and from what he had gathered from their talk, it was more than a friend thing.
Cool, he thought as he took his book again and continued to read, Gwen having gone back to looking out of the window.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Year 2020
Hogwarts grounds
Aidan was getting very frustrated. He was out on the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying the last warm days of the year and trying to get a spell right. But so far, he was failing miserably.
"Wingardium Leviosa," he chanted, waving his wand at the feather. It did not move.
"You're saying it wrong Aidan," the young girl sitting by him said, "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." (*)
"Wingardium Leviosa," Aidan said at the feather again that was on the ground next to where he was seated and was happy to see it move and hover slightly.
"Good," the young girl, "see? Not that hard when you get it right."
"Why am I having so much trouble in Charms?" Aidan asked, "You don't seem to have a problem with them Lisa."
"It is not that hard you know," Lisa replied.
"Right," Aidan said, "I got to get it right before next lesson though. It won't do to be the only first year not being able to do a hover charm."
Lisa chuckled. "You'll get it right," she told him.
"Entropists have no problems with such thing Silverleaf," a voice said behind them, causing them to turn.
"You still need a wand for some spells Heimdal," Aidan replied back at the Hufflepuff, "you cannot hope to produce strong spells without it.
"Not really," Heimdal said a bit disdainfully, "watch."
He waved his hands at the whomping willow that was nearby and a sudden lightning bolt came down from the sky to hit the tree.
Aidan gasped in shock, but not from what he had just seen, but from the sudden pain that had washed all through him overwhelming his senses. He felt Lisa's hand on his shoulder and heard her calling his name. He tried to answer but more pain washed through him and everything went black.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"What I want to know young man, is if you realize the seriousness of what you have caused!" Yannick snapped, his hard stare making the young Hufflepuff shift in his seat uncomfortably.
"Mr Silverleaf, control yourself. Please," McGonagall said.
"I'm sorry, headmistress," Yannick apologized, "but I do not like to see my youngest son in the state he is."
"I'm sorry sir," the young Hufflepuff replied, "I did not mean to do harm but Silverleaf wanted to know what an Entropist could do…"
"And you thought of nothing better than to hit the whomping willow with a lightning bolt?" Yannick cut him sharply, "Is that a proper way to demonstrate one's power?" he asked, looking at Alexander as well.
"I do not prevent my pupils from experimenting with their powers," the Entropy teacher replied, "but I do ask them to not use them destructively. Hitting a tree with lightning is destructive and a poor show of responsibility," he added, looking sternly at his pupil, making him shift uncomfortably on his chair again.
"I thought I had taught you better than that in regards to the respect of plants, Mr Heimdal," Professor Sprout added sternly.
"But it is just a tree," Heimdal said, "and it always tries to hit the students that go near it,"
"That is because it is its purpose," MacGonagall said, "It was planted there before to prevent anyone from accessing what it is protecting."
"That tree is a living being as you and I Mr Heimdal," Yannick said sternly, "It will thus feel pain and react to it. I spend near two hours with it in my twenties to fix it so it would not lash out at everything that came next to it. I will not have you destroy my work so you can give a stupid example and send my youngest son to the hospital wing as a result!"
Rufus Heimdal recoiled at Yannick's last words, which relayed every ounce of the anger Yannick was feeling
"I think I understand what happened now," Alexander said, "He felt it, right?"
"Bloody Hades right he did!" Yannick said, "And that landed him right into the hospital wing."
"I am afraid that I do not understand," McGonagall said.
"I'm sorry, headmistress," Yannick said, "I'll explain. I'm a treeshaper. It's a gift I came into touch with when I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I'm sure you can remember that time and my knack for herbology," he added to his former househead, Professor Sprout, who nodded.
"Being a treeshaper, I can communicate and work with plants and nature. I healed the willow when I came to the first Hogwarts reunion, Alexander saw that. My power also means that I can feel the pain of plants when they are hurt."
"And your son Aidan would have this gift as well?" McGonagall asked.
"Yes."
"I saw an aura identical to Yannick's around Aidan," Alexander said, "but it was brighter."
"I have known Aidan would show the gift since a few years now," Yannick added, "I did not think it would be so soon however. I came in touch with mine at the age of sixteen only, and I was the first to do so at such an age."
"But how could that land him into the hospital wing in such a state?" McGonagall asked.
"I experienced my first 'plant pain' from a tree next to me being suddenly hit by an exploding spell at its base. The shock almost got me to faint but other events prevented me to," Yannick said, "I was sixteen at the time, Aidan is only eleven! The shock he felt was enough to put him in a near catatonic state!"
"Now I understand," McGonagall said, "Is there anything that can be done?"
"I have flooed for my mother to come," Yannick said, "She's an accomplished healer and was able to.."
The door opened suddenly to let in a frantic looking Alexandra.
"Nick! You must come right away," she said, "Aidan's gone from the ward."
"What?!? How could this happen?"
"I don't know! I went to speak wit Madam Pomfrey for a few minutes and he was gone when I came back. I sent Gwen and Kay to look for him."
"Was he saying anything when you left him?" Yannick asked.
"He was mumbling something about pain and having to stop it, once in a while," Alex said.
"I think I know where he might be," Yannick said. He grabbed his wife by the hand and left the room, followed closely by Alexander, the Headmistress and Professor Sprout. Just as they were coming out of the castle's doors a minute after, they saw Kay running towards them.
"Mum! Dad! We found him!" he shouted as he came towards them, "He's by the willow."
Alex started to run when she heard this but Yannick prevented her to. He did increase the speed of his walk however and the sight that greeted him as they came into view of the age-old tree was what he had expected.
"I'm sorry dad!" Gwen exclaimed worriedly when they reached her, "I was not quick enough to prevent him from reaching the willow."
"How could he manage that?" McGonagall exclaimed.
The willow was still moving its branches wildly preventing anyone from coming close. But down at its base, his small arms hugging the tree as best as he could, was Aidan.
"We have to get him out of there," Alex said, moving towards the tree.
Yannick stopped her. "No, love. The tree lets no one near it except for me," Yannick said, "Seeing that Aidan managed to get so near as to touch the trunk, I'd say he's safe."
"But what is he doing?" Alexander asked.
"He was mumbling he had to stop the pain," Yannick replied, "I'd say he is doing this right now."
He had used his own power to feel the tree. It was radiating with pain. So much that it was almost overwhelming for him. But where Aidan was, warmth was starting to trickle through. Aidan was using his power. He had no idea how he was doing it but he was. Suddenly the power emanating from his son increased dramatically. Yannick heard the gasps of many people who had come to see what was happening. Aidan was glowing. It was a soft green glow and was growing bigger by the minute, soon enveloping the entire tree.
Yannick could feel Alex's anxiousness as she hugged him tightly by the waist. He could understand her fear of seeing such a thing occurring to her youngest son.
"It's okay Alex," he whispered in her ear, "He's using the same power than me."
"But at this level?" she asked, "Aidan is nowhere near as strong as you."
"He's going to be okay, love," Yannick said reassuringly, "If anything starts to go wrong I'll be the first to reach him. That's a promise."
Aidan's glowing continued for some long minutes until it started to shrink slowly. Yannick let go of Alex and started to move towards the tree. As he approached the glow receded to Aidan and stopped. The tree parted its branches to let him through and he reached his son, who had still not moved from his spot.
He helped me. Stopped the pain. Yannick heard the willow say.
How do you feel? he asked.
Healed and alive. The tree replied.
I'm glad to hear that. Yannick said.
He feels like you. The tree stated.
He's my son. Yannick told the willow.
Tell him thanks from me. The tree said.
I will. Yannick replied as he picked Aidan up in his arms softly. The young boy was sleeping, his features strangely at ease after the ordeal. He brushed some of his son's brown hair away from his forehead and went back towards Alex and the children, who were waiting.
It was when he came out of the willow's area that he realized how many people were looking on. Alex was with Gwen and Kay, looking torn between amazement and worry for her youngest son. Next to them stood the O'Maley twins, their two siblings and Lisa Ramsay, Ethan speaking reassuringly to Gwen while Lisa seemed to be filling Kay and Eowyn on what had occurred. There was also dozens of Hogwarts students looking on the scene as well, many of them with stupefied expressions at what they had seen.
Headmistress MacGonagall looked relieved to see him coming out with Aidan. Alexander on his side had a knowing smile on his face and was talking to a young man next to him that Yannick recognized as Ian Malcom and who looked quite concerned by what Alexander was telling him. Prof Sprout was sternly talking to the Rufus Heimdal, the Hufflepuff entropist who had caused this mess and Yannick could see that Hermione Weasley, the Gryffindor head of house was waiting as well to know what had occurred to one of the students in her house.
"How is he?" Alexandra asked as he reached her.
"He's fine," Yannick said reassuringly, "He's sleeping now. More out of exhaustion than anything."
"I was so worried," she said as she softly took her child in her arms, holding him softly but tightly.
Gwen, Kay, Ethan and Eowyn all visibly relaxed at the news but Gwen took everyone by surprise by walking up swiftly to Rufus Heimdal and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him as she shouted at him.
"You're a bloody idiot you know that?" she roared, "Showing off your powers without any regards for the possible consequences they might have. You better not come within hexing distance of me or my brothers, because I can assure you you'll regret it."
"Gwendall that's enough!" Yannick said sharply, "I understand how you feel but such action is not what is expected from a Silverleaf. I taught you better than that, I'd like to think."
Gwen let go off Rufus' collar roughly and walked quickly back towards the castle, her stance and pace clearly showing that she was furious.
"Nutcase," Rufus muttered as she stalked off.
"Do not worsen your case, Mr Heimdal," Alexander said, "And while Mrs Silverleaf's reaction is not really what we encourage in this school, it is entirely understandable seeing that you sent her brother to the hospital wing with your antics."
"But sir," Rufus started.
"I do not want to hear your justification, Mr Heimdal," Alexander cut him, "You will head back with your househead to my office and will wait there until I am done here so we can go over your punishment for your careless action. That will be all."
Rufus dropped his stare and walked towards the castle, followed by Professor Sprout.
"What do you plan to assign as punishment, Alex?" Ian asked.
"Three weeks detention and at least thirty points from Hufflepuff," Alexander replied, "That is if Pomona does not take more already."
"I would suggest inhibition of his powers for the duration of his three weeks detention," Ian said, "But not just for the detention, for the entire time."
"A bit harsh with the addition of the rest, don't you think?" Alexander asked.
"Alex, he sent a kid to the hospital wing with his action," Ian countered, "That is not something we can tolerate. I told you at the beginning of term that Aidan was special."
"You knew about his possible gift?" Yannick asked surprised.
"Ian read Aidan's aura when he first saw him," Alexander said, "He spotted him when Aidan entered the great hall with the other first years and told me about it because he felt Aidan could be an entropist we did not know about. However, I found out who his parents were right after the sorting, when I heard his family name."
"So you then knew he was my son," Yannick finished, "And thus that he had the same power than me."
"Exactly," Alexander said, "He healed the tree, didn't he?"
Yannick smiled. "He did. Exactly the way I did years ago."
"How was this possible?" McGonagall asked, "The willow usually does not let anyone near it."
"The willow lets me near because I am a treeshaper and I healed it several times now," Yannick explained, "it would seem that it let Aidan near it because he felt like me."
"Felt like you?" Ian asked, "The willow can sense auras as well?"
"It would seem so," Yannick confirmed, "And Aidan has shown that he can use his gift, at least unconsciously. He's at least six years in advance from my own development at his age."
"Will he be alright?" Hermione asked.
"He'll need some rest from the effort but he should be fine," Yannick answered, "I never had any adverse effects from my gift."
"But what then?" McGonagall asked, "Is there a way to shield him from these emotions? I cannot have a student going in such a state each time a thing like this happens."
"He'll need training," Yannick replied, "I had not envisioned it so soon but that is the best way. You suppose there is a connection between entropy and the treeshaping gift?" he asked to Alexander.
"That could be a possibility," Alexander said, "But I know nothing of treeshaping."
"I can teach him how to best use his gift," Yannick said, "I might need you help to teach my son how to shield himself from heavy plant feelings, at least until he is strong enough."
"That should not bee too hard," Alexander said, "I'm sure Kieran will find an answer to that in no time," he added, making Ian chuckle.
"Thanks," Yannick said.
"I think it is best if you bring your son to the hospital wing for Mme Pomfrey to have a look at him," McGonagall said, "Then I will need you to pass by my office so we can arrange his future lessons."
"Thank you, headmistress," Yannick said. The witch nodded before walking back with Hermione, Alexander and Ian towards Hogwarts.
Seeing that the show was over, many of the students started to leave. It took a few minutes but soon, only Yannick and Alex were left with Aidan, who was still sleeping in her arms.
"So what now?" she asked as they walked slowly towards the castle.
"Well, I think we now have a new treeshaper in the family," Yannick said, passing his arm around her shoulder, "And from what I can see, he'll be even more powerful than me."
"I'm relieved it is only that," Alex said, "but I also finally understand one thing."
"What is that?"
"I understand the first thing that Nimloki said when she laid eyes on Aidan," Alex replied.
"What was it?"
"She said 'the circle is complete'," Alex said, "I never understood what she meant and she never explained. Now I get it."
"Like his father and his ancestor before him, Aidan Silverleaf is a treeshaper," Yannick said, "Amazing that she was able to see his potential before it even showed."
"So, will he also fall in love with an Elven maiden like his namesake?" Alex teased.
"Why not?" Yannick replied, "like you pointed out in the Hogwarts Express one day, the Silverleafs have a nice record for falling for those," he teased back, kissing her on the temple.
Alex laughed at that and he joined her.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Later that same day, Yannick was going towards the Raveclaw common room. His meeting with the headmistress had gone well and the proper arrangements had been made to train Aidan with his gift. Being back in Hogwarts felt good, the castle always felt full of mysteries and magic, the latter being normal as it was one of the greatest magical schools in the magical world. The Headmistress had proposed to accompany him to the common room but he had declined. He knew fairly well where it was, having accompanied Alex there numerous times when he was dating her in Hogwarts. It is only when he reached the entrance that he realized his mistake, he did not have the password to gain access to the common room. How was he to see Gwen then?
After a few minutes of wondering how he would let Gwen know he was there, he found his answered and smiled, berating himself lightly for not having thought about it before. Where Gwen was, you were bound to find;
"Drake?" he called softly.
After a few moments, a flutter of wings was heard and a golden dragonnet was hovering next to him, looking expectantly.
"Could you please let Gwen know that I'm outside and want to see her?" he asked kindly.
The dragonnet let out a groan of assent and sped away the way he had come from. Drake had been Gwen's companion for 10 years now and he had been a gift from Alwena, who had found the egg during her travels. She had told him that Dimar had shown her where the egg was, apparently abandoned. Gwen had been delighted by the gift and Drake had proven a steadfast companion for her. The little golden dragonnet had been well accepted by Altair, who had always been very protective of Gwen, and he showed a high respect for Nimloki, apparently aware of her true nature.
As he was thinking, the statue guarding the Ravenclaw entrance moved and Gwen came out looking sully. It was such a contrast from the usual cheerful girl that she was that Yannick could not help his surprised expression.
"What's wrong Gwen?" he asked. Drake seemed to be wondering as he was shooting inquiring looks at her from his perch on her shoulder.
"Well, you're here to berate me for my behavior, aren't you?" she said, averting her eyes.
"Berate you?" Yannick asked, surprised, "Of course not!"
"Really?" Gwen asked, shooting him a surprised look.
"Gwen, I fully understand your reaction," Yannick said, "In fact I am amazed you did not punch that Rufus. Merlin knows I wanted to do it. But that would have been out of place."
"Is Aidan going to be okay?" Gwen asked, looking concerned once more.
"He will be just fine pumpkin. He just needed rest," Yannick said, taking her into a comforting embrace, "What he did was very taxing in terms of strength. But I actually came to let you know that he had woken up and that your mother and I had gotten a permission from the headmistress to take you three out to Hogsmeade for the rest of the day."
"Really?" Gwen asked looking at him surprised.
"Yes," Yannick replied, "Are you interested?"
She nodded enthusiastically, her face lighting up with a smile.
"Good! There's the Gwen I know," Yannick replied, starting to walk with her, "Your mother and brothers are waiting for us in the Entrance Hall. And while we walk you can also tell me all you want about Ethan," he added.
"What about Ethan?" Gwen asked, trying to sound detached but blushing furiously.
"I'm maybe old Gwen, but I know how to recognize the signs," Yannick answered chuckling.
"You're not that old dad," Gwen countered.
"Old enough to have a beautiful daughter who has a handsome boyfriend," Yannick replied, "because this is what Ethan is, if I'm not wrong."
"No you're not," Gwen admitted, smiling sheepishly.
"So how long has it been?" Yannick asked.
"Since the first Hogsmeade outing," Gwen replied, "He asked me out then. We're also going to the Yule ball together."
"But you were planning this since a while though," Yannick replied, "Otherwise, why ask Gran for help on a dress?"
"She told you?" Gwen asked.
"Only that you clearly were trying to impress a young man," Yannick replied, "And she told me that the poor lad's eyes would pop out of his head when he'd see you appear," he added, causing Gwen to blush again.
"I did not even tell her it was for a boy," she replied.
"There is little you can hide from Gran, pumpkin," Yannick replied, hugging her by the shoulder softly, "She's been around too long for that to happen."
"Well I do hope the dress has the desired effect," Gwen said.
"From what I heard from Gran, Ethan would be a fool to let you go after he's seen you," Yannick said with a smile.
Gwen smiled brightly at him and he was amazed at how she could look like a younger version of Alex at these moments. She suddenly hugged him furiously, burying her head against his chest.
"I love you dad," she said.
"I love you too pumpkin," Yannick said, kissing the top of her head softly, "But I think we should hurry to the Entrance hall before your mother sends a search party for us," he added, winking at her and making her laugh.
They soon reached the Entrance Hall and were met by Alex and the boys. Soon after they were all headed to Hogsmeade, the children playing a sort of catch game on the way to which Drake took part enthusiastically, Yannick and Alex looking at them smiling benevolently.
A full circle indeed, Yannick thought, and the future is looking very promising.
-FIN-
(*) Yes, I took this right out of HP 1. :P
Well, there you have it. After starting this story almost 4 years ago, it is now fully complete! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :)