Disclaimer: J. K .Rowling owns Harry Potter and his world.

Notes for the convenience of the reader: Harry's children: Margaret, Victoria and James, children of Ginny, Beth, daughter of Luna, and Adrian, son of Harry and raised by Julie and himself. Current wife, Julie.

Chapter 3

School holidays commenced in July. Shortly into the school holidays, Adrian received his exam results. He had done well, although not brilliantly. Potions had let him down, and Harry sympathised with him. Without good results in Potions, he wouldn't be able to be an auror, as he'd wanted. Adrian was matter-of-fact, assuring his father that he'd changed his mind in any case. He no longer wanted to be an auror. He was not sure what he wanted to be.

That weekend, he joined his father as he rode over to see Cissy and her husband, Bridon Pickering. Harry was casually bareback as always, though Adrian thought a saddle enormously more comfortable. Cissy and Bridon bred Andalusians and were extremely proud of their stud. There were two stallions standing now, and they had twelve mares of their own, as well as the visiting mares. The stud was well established, and was beginning to make good money.

Cissy, if she chose, could have given up the spell-breaking work. But Cissy found it rewarding, and enjoyed the respect with which she was treated. She'd been thrilled with the recent increase in her power. She rarely had failures now. Five times she'd needed that extra power, and still hoped that one day she would be able to call up 'the strong magic' that Harry could use, a feeling in the air that daunted and impressed observers, sometimes having them run from him in panic, and once making a mediwizard faint. Harry had been over forty when he'd done that for the first time. Maybe her own power would increase yet further.

Harry smiled on her. Long before Cissy had started to do the spell-breaking, he had tired of what he'd started to perceive as a bore. But no-one else could do it, which made it rather an obligation. After all, the clients were not all stupid young wizards who got themselves into stupid duels!

Cissy was to go to Germany on Monday, and France the week after. There was to be a two week break then, and then three weeks straight in different countries in South America. She always told Harry where she was going. For years, as long as she was at least on the same continent, he'd turned up on the last day to clean up her failures, but he was beginning to think that would no longer be needed.

Harry and Julie were planning something different. In a few weeks, they would go to Zefron School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in California for a month, be accommodated there, and Harry would earn their way with lectures in the evenings, and spell-breaking each afternoon. The mornings were free. They'd been there before, and all of them were looking forward to their return.

Monday night, Harry was ripped by a worse nightmare than he'd had in a long time. He'd always had nightmares, usually concerned with his terror of helplessness and imprisonment. This time, it was more vague, but he'd woken himself with his own cry of despairing grief, and had then walked a long time in the night, seeking to restore calm to his trembling body.

Something was worrying him, and he was moody, abstracted. Wednesday night, again, he was walking in the night. Thursday, in spite of a message that he was not required, he joined Cissy in Germany, annoying Tracy and Louis by quizzing them about the precautions they were taking for Cissy's safety. He hung around all day, even though they pointed out to him that he was far more of a target than Cissy ever was. No-one tried to kill Cissy. Harry had long lost count of the number of times he'd dodged Death Curses himself. But this time, his worry was for Cissy.

Tracy spoke to the German Coodinator, and several German aurors reinforced Cissy and Harry's guard. Harry's instinct for danger was known to the aurors, and known, too, to the Germans. Britain was not the only country that kept a file on Harry Potter. Even as night fell, he didn't go home, and Cissy was grateful that they were to fly home first thing in the morning. Meantime, Harry prowled around, scanning his surroundings, varying his restless prowl sometimes by stopping still, staring into the distance, as if listening for the danger. There was something, he knew, and he wasn't leaving Cissy until she was safely home.

In other countries, they might have been joined for dinner by various important dignitaries, wanting to meet the famous wizard. But Germany was wary of him, and it was only Tracy, Cissy and their own Trip Coodinator, Vernon, who sat with them at dinner, while Louis stayed on guard. He would eat later. Tracy and Louis were nervous now, very alert.

Cissy had never seen Harry in dangerous situations, and became more and more annoyed with him, especially when he suggested quite strongly that she should give up the spell-breaking trips for a while. Idiot duellists could stew in their own juice, he said. Vernon gave him a look askance. He didn't want Cissy giving up the spell-breaking. He very much enjoyed this duty.

Harry announced that he would be staying the night, and returning home in the morning with them. Louis sighed. Harry ignored him. Cissy was like a daughter and he wasn't leaving her alone. She may be a powerful witch, but she'd never had to fight, and Harry's fighting abilities were legendary. They gave him a bedroom close to Cissy's, but he scarcely slept, and obviously expected either Tracy or Louis to be awake and alert as well, though always before, Cissy had just locked her door. More for Harry's protection than because they believed Cissy to be under threat, four German aurors also prowled the corridors of the hotel. There was one whom Harry recognised from a previous occasion, but he only glanced at him, and thereafter ignored him, to that one's relief.

He relaxed once they boarded the aeroplane, which relieved the aurors. It had occurred to them that maybe there was to be a plane crash, but when they saw him heave a sigh of relief and promptly go to sleep, they also relaxed. Vernon had a dull flight, with only Cissy left awake to talk to. Poor Tracy and Louis were very tired. They didn't usually stay awake and on guard half the night.

Listening to their reports later, Franz made some changes. He knew Harry very well. If Harry thought some danger threatened Cissy, he was prepared to believe him. There were to be six aurors for her when she went to France the following week. She had pointblank refused when Harry had wanted her not to go.

But it was not until Wednesday that Harry appeared in France. The aurors made no verbal comment, but their mental groans were clear to Harry all the same. His senses were heightened. He was having more frequent trembling attacks than usual, and was obviously very much on edge.

Suddenly, at morning tea, he put down his coffee and said to Cissy that she should have a healer make a thorough examination.

She regarded him with exasperation. "No! And for goodness sake, get out of my hair!"

But he pleaded, and she finally yielded. "Friday, then. Hermione can have a look. But don't forget I'm a healer myself, I'm sure I'd know if I was sick."

"Thank you, Cissy," he said humbly, not pressing for further concessions.

Afterward, as Cissy resumed work, he stayed outside, talking to Alex, in charge of the expanded team, then again restlessly prowled the area, looking for the danger that he knew threatened Cissy. The aurors were very alert. They thought that probably Harry was right, that danger did threaten, but they still expected the threat to be for Harry, not Cissy.

In the workroom, Cissy cured her procession of patients almost as easily as Harry did. A difficult patient arrived, and she was pleased to need that new ability, that level of magic felt by observers as a gentle tingle in the air. She raised her wand, her patient waited, trusting, and the tingle began to be felt in the air. Abruptly, Cissy's wand was dropped, and she fell onto the floor, rolling in agony, her fists pressed to her forehead. Outside, Harry spun around, disapparated, and was by her side as her heart ceased its beat.

Harry knelt by her. Cissy's eyes were open, calm, but he knew. He had felt the pain, and he now knew her death. He reached forward, and gently, gently, he closed her eyes. The shocked patient behind him tried to apologise as if it was his fault. Harry only glanced at him, and said that it was not his fault, that it had been going to happen whether it was him or someone else. And while he was at it, he cured the painful skin condition that the wizard had been suffering from. It only needed a glance.

Harry was quite calm. The danger was over, and he hadn't been able to prevent the death. The aurors looked after Cissy, and Harry finished the week's work for her. He always hated seeing a job unfinished. The funeral was not until ten days later. The Ministry took control of the funeral arrangements, and gave her the honour of a Ministerial Merlinus Funeral, Bridon having been all in favour of this rare honour for his wife. Harry was at the funeral, wearing his coolly imperturbable face, Julie and Adrian beside him. Two aurors stood behind the family, as always watching for danger. Louis and Tracy were there, along with, it seemed, three quarters of wizardry. Bridon was pale, haggard, but he was controlled as he said good-bye to his wife.

Cissy had been the only one in the world who showed the same sort of abnormalities in physiology as Harry. Hermione insisted on making a very thorough checkup of Harry. If Cissy could die so suddenly, maybe he could, too. Harry didn't think it mattered very much. Everyone has to die some time, and he was beginning to dread the prospect of outliving everyone he knew.

Beth came to visit. She hadn't come to the funeral, but she knew that she was needed. Harry, whether or not he showed it, was finding it harder each time he had to go to a funeral. Beth could offer comfort, and he found himself comforted. She visited Bridon, too. Beth was an unusual lady. She was a true natural Telepath, and often met hatred from others, who never knew why they hated. And yet, those same people would cling to her when they were in pain. And they found comfort.

Beth was going to outlive her contemporaries, too. She was forty-six, but looked much younger. Beth had known very deep loneliness and shame in her life. It dated from the time she'd started school as a child of five, been shunned by the other children, and finally stoned. Her primary schooling had lasted less than three weeks. That had been the end of innocence for her. But her aloneness had given her a rare emotional strength. And now her father drew comfort from her, as so many others had done over the years.

She helped in Julie's troubles, too. Julie still fretted that she looked too old to be married to Harry. Beth, with scarcely a word, helped her to put away her worries for a time. But Julie still exercised rigorously every day, and still tried lotion after lotion that promised a younger looking skin, even though she was a perfectly nice looking woman of thirty-nine.