Back to school today. The holiday was definitely too short. Still, I do like my work... most days ^_^.

Part 53/?

The next few weeks passed both very slowly and extraordinarily fast. The papers were still churning up a storm, but the number saying Dumbledore should turn himself in and get a fair trial were increasing every day. Especially once word got around that Lucius Malfoy was asking other Ministries for help. Not in capturing Dumbledore, but in finding a judge. According to a press release put out by the Minister's PR department, 'Minister Malfoy is well aware that he would not be an unbiased judge in this matter, therefore he believes it to be best to find someone that could, in no way, be influenced or considered partial, by any of the participants.' However, finding someone that would be a good judge and yet had never met any of the important people in the trial was turning out to be very difficult. Dumbledore had certainly gotten around in his younger years, and Lucius had met an awful lot of people.

Back at Hogwarts, things were going wonderfully for the most part. The middle table was getting an awful lot of use, and in the times when it wasn't, the female portion of Harry's group had decided it should anyway. They'd started grabbing people they thought would get on well together, sitting them down next to each other for a chat, whether they wanted to or not. The girls especially seemed to enjoy putting the shyer of the younger students together with those who would be good mentors for them. Hermione in particular was good at putting together small study groups, where each student was good in one particular thing and together they were a well-rounded group. Those groups where all the members actually *studied* consistently, already had begun to turn in higher than average grades. Mostly, the boys seemed to just watch their girlfriends' antics in disbelief. And try to not draw any undue attention, lest they find some project for them, or perhaps *become*the next project, themselves. Although there were a couple of times Harry intervened and changed a grouping. Hermione had been paying too much attention to grades and not enough to personalities. It seemed the only thing the girls weren't doing was matchmaking.

Harry, meanwhile, was not yet feeling the pinch of being unable to leave. It had only been a short time, and even though Lucius hadn't been able to do more than call, he had enough going on to keep him busy. Especially after the middle of the first week, when Remus and Sirius showed up, portrait in tow.

Helga Hufflepuff turned out to be a very... earthy woman. It was almost immediately obvious why Salazar tended to leer when speaking of her. She wasn't scandalously dressed, but she seemed to exude a raw sensuality. And she had absolutely no compunction when it came to speaking about sex. The other three Houses were shocked by her, but they were even more surprised by the Hufflepuffs' reaction to her. None of them ever seemed to suddenly blush and run away, though even several *Slytherins* had been known to do that after talking to her for a couple of minutes. The House members seemed…comfortable with their Founder's viewpoints. Many people were looking at that House much differently as they watched them take their Founder's actions and words in stride.

Neville had traveled back to the Keep with Ron and Hermione. She was still working together with Roan, Connor and Severus to change the wards, but had not yet managed it. They did, however, manage to convince the Gryffindor Founder to return to Hogwarts until the current crises was over. If necessary, they promised, they would work on moving the rest of the portraits to Hogwarts. Surprising as it may seem, there were still sections of walls in the massive castle that were painting-free. As soon as the portrait was hung on the wall in the Great Hall, as the other three had already been, Harry called for Sanctuary and it was granted. Several other students also called for it immediately, letting Connor breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed he wouldn't have to ask some of the Sidhe to look after them, after all.

Although in other times those students who called for Sanctuary, and thus showed themselves to be in a far less than ideal home situation, would be targeted for teasing and even bullying, it wasn't happening now. More and more, it seemed as if the students were taking it on themselves to look after one another, and all of them had already been placed with mentors. Those who found out their charges were the ones who called for Sanctuary, just got more protective. There were still bullies at the school, still mean spirited teasing, but when the one you were teasing or pushing around wouldn't hesitate to go to his or her older and very annoyed 'big brother or sister' to get help, it tended to drop off very quickly.

So things went until the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Harry sent his supplies list in with Draco and Ron, while he went to an appointment with Madam Faire. He knew he had put certain things on the list that he really wasn't supposed to have, and there was no way Draco would buy them for him, but Ron didn't seem quite as determined Harry stay on his diet as his blonde friend was. Now, as long as Ron was by himself when he bought them...

Professor O'Feahr was one of the school chaperones for that trip. He was standing on the main thoroughfare of the small school town, where anyone who needed him would be easily able to find him, and where he could watch both Zonko's and the Three Broomsticks. Of course, the proprietor was usually good at keeping the students away from the hard liquor, but every once in a while someone would try to get by her.

He was still standing there when a Third Year, on his first trip, ran up to him. "Professor! Professor! I saw him! He's here!" the child gasped out.

"Calm down, Mr. Lastings. Who's here? What's the problem?"

"The Headmaster!" the child said, tugging on his robes. "I saw him talking to some of the older students, but I don't know which ones. Why didn't they come tell you themselves? I thought no one was supposed to talk to him?"

Connor was still for only a moment. "Are ye absolutely sure it was him?" he asked intensely.

"Uh-huh. He had his long white hair, and beard, and those glasses, but he wasn't dressed in blue or green or orange or anything. He was wearing something dark. I've never seen him in anything dark before, but it was him, I know it was." The child defended what he had seen.

Connor made a decision. He quickly pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and jotted down a quick note. "I need ye to go over to Honeyduke's. Draco Malfoy and Ehlana should still be in there, and I want ye to give this to one of them, okay?" He pulled out a couple of knuts. "Once ye've done that ye may get something for yerself, but make sure ye give them the note *first*. Do ye understand?"

"Of course I do," the boy said importantly. "Are you going to capture him? Is he going to be put in jail? Is there going to be a duel?"

"I'm not being sure what's going to happen," Connor admitted, "but I want ye to stay in the store until one of the older kids says it's safe to be coming out, alright? Now, head on with ye."

With the child running towards Honeydukes, the Sidhe warrior headed towards the alley the child had come down.

Meanwhile, back in the candy store, the young student had followed directions. Draco took the note with a surprised look on his face. It darkened immediately as he read it. 'Dumbledore spotted talking to unknown students. Draco, make sure Harry is safe. Ehlana, call for back up. Connor'. Ehlana hissed in a breath as she read, then reached into her hair and pulled down a crystal hair ornament. With one sharp move she snapped it in half.

Draco had pulled out his communicator mirror and called Malfoy Manor. "Moppy, transfer me to Harry's mirror, immediately," he ordered as soon as the house elf answered. His tone obviously got through to the elf, because Moppy didn't even bother to acknowledge the order before he transferred the call to Harry's mirror.

"Draco?" Harry asked in surprise as he looked down at his small mirror. He knew the other boy would be aware he was getting a check up and would never normally call in the middle. This had to be something important, more important than just asking about what he had asked Ron to pick up for him.

"Dumbledore has been seen in Hogsmeade talking to students. At this moment we don't know who they are. Assume the worst. O'Feahr went to confront him. I need to go back him up." Draco's image abruptly disappeared, but it was enough.

"Come on, Madam Faire. Grab what you need for an unknown time away from here and living like a Muggle," Harry ordered as he ran through the rooms to the closet he kept here in the Chambers. He looked down at the mirror he held. "Voco Malfoy Study," he ordered. "Transfer me to Mr. Malfoy," he ordered as Moppy answered. He was quickly changing into a simple skirt and blouse combination and was working on his hair as the call went through. "Hey love," he said as soon as Lucius' image appeared. "Draco just called in the alert. Dumbledore was seen in Hogwarts talking to some students, but no one seems to know who right now, so I'm heading out. Hopefully it isn't anyone who knows where these Chambers are, but I'm not going to take any chances. Is everything still set up in the study?"

Lucius' mind was working as fast as Harry's. "Yes," he agreed. "The portkey is where I promised it would be, and it's the only one leading there. There's also enough Muggle money to last you for at least several months. Hopefully this won't take that long. Are you sure..."

Harry nodded even as he finished applying his makeup. "Until we know who he was talking to, and what he told them to do, I'm not safe here. This is the best choice at the moment. You know how to get in touch with me when necessary. Please, keep me updated." He stopped and looked deeply into the storm grey eyes looking back at him. "I love you," he whispered. "I'm going to miss you."

"It won't be for too long, I promise you that," Lucius swore. "I love you, too. Be careful, you never know what those Muggles will do."

"They're my friends," Harry reminded him. "And I seem to have good friends."

"You are good at picking those you can trust," Lucius had to agree.

They might have continued doing nothing but staring into each other's eyes for another hour, if Madam Faire hadn't entered the room and interrupted them. With another whispered "I love you," they each went to attend to the matter at hand. Lucius hurried to send Aurors to Hogsmeade while Harry quickly packed.

In the middle of Hogsmeade, Dumbledore and O'Feahr faced each other. Connor had managed to mire the mage in mud before the man even knew he was there. He'd pulled the winds into bindings, but it was taking all of his concentration and power to keep the older man from Apparating away. He wasn't able to stop the other man from slowly pulling away from the bindings he'd tried to cover him with. The only good thing was that the old mage couldn't use his own magic against him, as he could have with a normal wizard.

Just as it seemed the white-haired mage would be able to pull completely away, the help that Ehlana had called for arrived. A dozen Sidhe warriors quickly surrounded Dumbledore They covered the entire section with their own magic, a magic they knew no human mage could use. It still took another half an hour to completely immobilize the old man. To those who watched, it seemed not much of a battle at all. There were no spells being thrown around, no giant fireballs or rushing to get out of the way. It was a battle of strength and will, pure power against pure power. The Aurors and Draco, as well as several other students, had shown up to help, but had been ordered to stay out of the way. If it hadn't seemed as if the Tuatha de Danaan were winning, they probably wouldn't have.

"Thank you for capturing him for us," the Head Auror said, "We'll take it from here."

"No," Draco disagreed. They all turned to him. He glared at the white-haired man whose blue eyes were *still* twinkling. "We need to know who he was talking to and we need a safe place to keep him until the trial. I believe," he said, turning to the leader of the Sidhe warriors, "that your King offered to hold him for as long as necessary?" It was only slightly a question.

"That is correct," the tall warrior agreed.

"I assume Professor O'Feahr knows how to contact you once we find an impartial judge?" he asked, thinking deeply.

"O'course I do," Connor agreed.

"Do you have a way of extracting information without harming him?" was the young blonde's next question. "We've got to know who he was talking with and what he told them to do."

The warrior smiled grimly. "We have such a way," he agreed, not mentioning what the way might be.

Dumbledore spoke for the first time. "I have the right to speak to my students. There is no crime in that. As for finding an impartial judge, I doubt that's going to happen. It's unlikely anyone but Merlin himself could be impartial in this."

Draco looked at him thoughtfully. "That might actually be a good idea." The Aurors looked at him strangely, but by the looks of the Tuatha de Danaan, they understood.

Dumbledore and those guarding him disappeared off the streets of Hogsmeade and out of Overworld altogether.

By the time they got back to Hogwarts, Harry had disappeared as well.

Part 54/?

A dark alley behind an upscale department store was empty except for one black and white cat. It was digging through the rubbish, looking for employee dinner leavings. It was the only witness to the loud pop that sent it scurrying behind a convenient bin and left behind two more beings than had been there moments before.

Madam Faire looked around and wrinkled her nose. "*This* is where we are going?" She had spent time in some very unattractive places, but there was no way to get a place like this sanitary.

Jade laughed and shook her head. "Of course not. This is just where we arrive so no one would see us appear." She led the way out of the back alley, making sure they weren't noticed as they entered the mainstream of humanity.

"Tell me about these friends of yours," Madam Faire asked. "What are you planning on telling them?"

"Well, the main one is Jeri. She's really the person that created Jade. She lives like this all the time, as do her friends. They were all very nice to me when they found out I was trying out the lifestyle." Jade explained. "Up until I went to live at the Manor, I'd see at least one of them every day. They'd teach me how to walk, put on make-up... you know, things that would make it easier, and make sure I wasn't caught out. They really became like adopted older sisters to me."

"Won't they wonder where you've been? They don't know about... you know," she whispered conspiratorially.

"If you mean about magic and such, Jeri does," Jade admitted in a low voice that no one who was not standing right next to them would be able to hear, "but the others don't. As for where I've been, nope, they all know I go to boarding school for most of the year. They will, however, be wondering why I'm back. Not to mention who you are."

"And who am I?" she asked with an upraised eyebrow.

"You're my Aunt Lillith of course," Jade grinned. "Well, Great Aunt, technically. And you're the one I'm named after. You know, Jade 'Lillith' Jameson. Of course, they know my mother was named Lily, so she was named after you."

"You have it all planned out?" the mediwitch asked in surprise.

"Of course. It's not a good plan if you have to make it up on the fly. Actually, Jeri should have received a box sent by Lucius to hold for me. It'll have most of what we need. That includes real, actual Muggle identities for both of us. I'm not sure what last name he came up to for you though."

"And what's wrong with my own name? It's served me well for the past fifty years or so." Lillith looked affronted.

"I know it did," Jade agreed. "But it also serves well for the nurse who's taking care of Harry Potter. To hide, we've got to get as far from that life as possible. That means new names, among other things. Yes, it's entirely possible that no one will be looking that has the capability of searching the Muggle world for us, but I'm not going to take that chance. And if there is someone that is looking for us among the muggles, and knows how, I'm not going to make it that easy for them. Some enterprising reporter somewhere might very well have that aptitude and ability. Jeri is safe because no one except for my husband, father and Draco know who she is and where she works and lives. The others know she's the one who got me dressing this way, but don't know how to find her."

"Why did she start dressing like that?" Lillith asked, changing the subject slightly. All of this subterfuge was not to her liking, but she understood the necessity.

Jade shrugged. "I've never asked. If she wants me to know, she'll tell me, but it's not the sort of thing you just come out and ask someone."

"Why did you, then?"

Jade smirked. "Because I didn't want to be *him*. I needed to get as far away from that as possible. I needed not to be recognized... and trust me, I'm not."

"Is that really healthy?" Madam Faire asked worriedly. She might not be a mind doctor, but running this far from yourself couldn't be really healthy... could it?

"I'm sometimes convinced it's the only thing that's saved my sanity," Jade admitted softly.

"I've *never* forgotten who I am or what I've done. But it's not nearly as overwhelming when I'm surrounded by people who don't know. And just being in the Muggle world didn't help. There are too many people that straddle the line. I've walked the Muggle world as Harry and been accosted almost as much as in the wizarding world. Jade isn't a different person than Harry, although I know I sometimes speak that way, but I'm able to be freer as Jade, without everyone watching my every move. I need that. It's one of the reasons I'll dress as Jade even when there's no one to see me. I just feel better about myself that way."

"I'm never going to understand, am I?" she asked, her voice gentling quite a bit.

Jade looked thoughtful as she guided the older woman into a store. "I don't think so," she agreed. "It's hard to imagine my life if you don't live it. The choices I've made might seem strange to some, but sometimes, they're the only ones I've felt I could make. And I don't think there are very many I would go back and change if I could. Oh, there are some. I'm not a masochist after all. But *this*... this isn't one of them."

Anything more she might have said was silenced as she was suddenly attacked. Madam Faire reached for her wand and was getting ready to curse the intruder before she realized that the attack was simply a full-on hug.

"What are you doing here, Jade?" the sales associate that simply had to be Jeri asked as she finally let the younger 'girl' go.

"I needed to get away for a while," Jade explained. "Don't worry, I didn't run away from school. It was simply felt that it would be better for everyone concerned if I removed myself from the situation until things calmed down. Aunt Lillith, here, came to get me and we're trying to decide what to do for the next week or two."

"What happened?" Jeri asked, frowning worriedly.

"I'm pregnant," Jade answered happily.

Jeri's eyes went wide. Her mouth opened and closed silently for a long moment. Finally, she seemed to get control of herself. "Stay right here," she ordered. She turned on her heel and headed determinedly towards the manager's office. Five minutes later she was back. "Come on," she told them, taking Jade by the hand.

Nothing more was said until they reached her apartment.

"Now, what do you mean, you're pregnant?" Jeri burst out. It was obvious that she'd been holding that in for a while.

Jade laughed. "Is it such a difficult concept?" she asked lightly.

"Considering last time I saw you, you were not only male but planning on staying that way, I would say so. What changed your mind? Why did you decide to go through with it?"

"Why would you think he wasn't still a boy?" Madam Faire asked, completely confused.

"Because muggle males can't get pregnant, remember?" Jade answered for her friend. "However, with magic, anything is possible. Especially if it's something you really want. I got pregnant the first time Lucius and I made love," she said with a soft smile.

Jeri was gaping and then a longing filled her eyes. "They can?" she said softly. "Really? Do you have to be a wizard?"

Madam Faire saw the look in her eyes and her heart went out to the young man in front of her. "I'm afraid so, dear," she said softly. "Without the extra bolster provided by their link to magic, a male's body simply wouldn't be able to handle it. For most normal wizards, it takes all of their strength to carry to term. Harry is lucky in that he has extra magic to pull from, since he is a mage. If not for that, I'd probably already have him on complete bed rest, as small as he is."

Jeri nodded her understanding and then excused herself. Jade just sat there hugging herself almost desperately.

"I'm sorry I had to tell her that," Madam Faire said softly.

"No," Jade shook her head slightly, "if it's really impossible, it's better to tell her immediately than to let her get any hope going at all. It would hurt a lot more if she really believed that it might be possible, then found out it wasn't. But... I don't understand. I'm not purposefully doing anything with my magic to sustain my body. I'm not using the channels. So why do you have to be able to *use* magic? She's got a lot of magic in her, she just can't use it."

"The channels are necessary to be a wizard. You're not using them because, as a mage, you're pulling enough in from outside that you don't need to use your own magic. She doesn't have that. If you 'looked', you'd see that several of your channels are actually going through your womb."

Jade nodded her understanding. She sat watching the doorway that she knew led to Jeri's bedroom, but when it remained empty for several minutes, she got up and followed her friend into the room Jeri was standing by the window, simply looking out. Her face was clear, with no signs of tears, something Jade was happy about. She didn't think she'd be able to take it if Jeri had been crying.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Jeri started slightly, but didn't turn around. "If I'd known you felt like that about it, I wouldn't have said anything."

Jeri jerked around. "Don't say that! I'm unhappy, yes. For one single, solitary moment, I thought it might be possible, and I'm sorry that it's not. But I'm not sorry that you're pregnant, and if you hadn't told me about it, *you'd* be the one who is sorry. Got me?"

Jade chuckled. "Loud and clear," she answered.

Jeri suddenly looked much happier. "So," she ordered. "Let's go out there and you can tell me all about it. If I can't live it myself, you'd better believe I'm going to live it through you."

Part 55/?

Professor O'Feahr watched Draco closely. "It would be a workable solution," the sixth year was saying.

Connor shook his head. "I canna' see how anyone would consider him to be impartial. Aye, he's never met any of those involved, but he does still be the head of Harry's line. Harry is his heir. That makes him inherently partial. Perhaps one of the Tuatha would be the best choice, but it's na' gonna be him."

"Dumbledore isn't going to accept one of the Sidhe," Draco disagreed. "They're very judgmental when it comes to children being harmed."

"But if he didn't actually do it, why should he be worried about that?" Hermione said thoughtfully. "To others, they would be considered impartial. Dumbledore's not wanting one of them as a judge would be easily considered an indication of guilt."

"What about that treasure Nuada said he had?" Ehlana wondered. "How come no one's said anything about that while they were trying to catch him?"

"It does not be something they wish to be bandied about," Connor explained.

"If people knew it was missing, there would be some that would try to find it, to find out what it is, then either keep it for themselves, or hold it for ransom," Thyme explained.

"Couldn't Dumbledore do that?" Blaise asked thoughtfully. "If he's the only one who knows where it is, couldn't *he* blackmail the Sidhe with it?"

"Which makes them suspect if one of them is the judge!" Draco said triumphantly.

Severus saw the group gathered together and talking intently, and quickly headed over. Although they often came up with good ideas, it was still best there be an adult nearby if possible to... curtail... their more impulsive ideas. The redheaded DADA professor did not necessarily count as an adult.

"What is going on?" Severus asked, placing his hand on Draco's shoulder to calm his young apprentice.

"Malfoy thinks we should go after Merlin, and ask him to be the judge," Ron explained.

"And what brought this about?" he asked carefully.

"It was something Dumbledore said, about no one but him being impartial," Draco explained.

"And that didn't set off alarms in anyone's head?" Severus asked sarcastically.

There was universal silence as everyone processed what he had just said. Hermione actually hit herself on the forehead. "No, professor, I don't believe it did," she remarked sheepishly.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked, looking confused, but everyone else had the light of realization in their eyes.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have said it if he didn't have a reason," Thyme explained to her boyfriend. "He planted the idea in Draco's head. The pertinent question is, why?"

"He wants Merlin to come out," Ron murmured.

"Yes, but why?" Blaise answered back.

"Maybe because he's the son of two mages?" Roan suggested slowly. Everyone looked at him. He just shrugged. "It's a point of similarity between Merlin and Harry's child, in which Dumbledore has obviously taken a personal interest."

"Yes, but interested in getting rid of, not in getting," Ron argued.

"True," the Ravenclaw agreed.

"I suggest we think about this longer," Severus told them. "Until then, absolutely nothing is to be done." He stared hard at Draco. "Absolutely *nothing*. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Draco muttered petulantly.

Severus' eyes caught hold of each of his other Slytherins, warning them without words to keep an eye on the blonde. He didn't like the way the boy had said that, and Ehlana had been in the area at the time as well. True, she had been raised among the Tuatha de Danaan, and so didn't have the same perception of magic that most wizards and witches did, but she was wholly human. She might approach magic's use a different way, but still used it through the same active channels. And could be passively affected in the same way. If Dumbledore's words had been anything more than simply *words*, they might have caught her as well.

"Any more word on who the students might be?" Severus asked, changing the subject. He did not like the fact that Harry was out of his sphere of influence for the foreseeable future. He was going to worry about his son until the young man managed to return to Hogwarts where he belonged.

Headshakes came from all around. "Lastings couldn't give me any description at all, except that they were older students," O'Feahr explained. "He didn't even know if they were girls or boys, or what House they were in. All I can say for certain is that they were not Mr. Malfoy or Ehlana. I know where they were at all times. Unfortunately I can't say the same for anyone else, even those of this group."

"Well, I can say for sure that Blaise and I were in Zonko's," Roan spoke up. "We didn't leave until after we heard the commotion."

"Can the owner confirm that?" Severus asked.

Roan blinked. "Um... I'm sure he can. Why?"

"No students have come forward to say they saw Dumbledore in Hogsmeade today. Now, either they're scared to do so, they're working with him willingly, or he used a compulsion to make them forget seeing him. A compulsion that would make them believe they were with someone else at the time. If an adult can be found that knows where each and every one of you was at the time he was known to be in town, or if he can be... persuaded to admit to whom he was speaking, then we will allow Harry to return. However, until we can get such confirmation, he needs to stay away."

"You don't really think any of us would hurt Harry?" Ron argued vehemently.

"Willingly?" Severus said seriously. "No. I don't. However, I also don't believe there is a single one of you except *maybe* Draco, with the strength to fight off a compulsion placed by Dumbledore. And even he would not be able to if he sees it as common sense."

"Oh, come on," Draco disagreed vehemently.

"Are you saying you don't still consider going to get Merlin to be a good idea?" Severus raised an eyebrow in question.

"That's because it *is* a good idea," Draco disagreed.

That brought everyone's attention to him. "Okay, I understand what you mean," Hermione muttered. The others agreed.

"I am *not* being compelled!" Draco argued.

"I'd double check that if I were you," Blaise told him seriously.

"I'd know if I was," he frowned at his friend.

"Are you so sure?" Thyme asked softly.

"Of course I'm sure!" he said angrily. He turned around and stalked away from the group.

Blaise waited until Draco was almost out of the room before nodding at the rest of the group and drifting after him. They didn't even need to discuss it to be aware that he would not be allowed to be alone until they were sure he was not going to do anything stupid.

The others quietly gave Severus their alibis, knowing he'd check them out to be sure they were where they thought they had been. Ehlana drifted away from the group and out of the door. Just because they thought it was a bad idea, didn't mean it actually was. And just because Draco had given his word not to do anything, didn't mean *she* had. Once outside the wards of Hogwarts, she disappeared... going home.