A/N: Special thanks to Sorg, who's idea about Romilda's family connection to the Lestranges I'm using, and Nineveh, the definitive fic writer on the Blacks, IMO, who first came up with the idea of Romilda being related to that family.

Dorothy's physical description is modelled on Fairuza Balk, who played her in Return to Oz.

Chapter Nineteen

Fata Morgana

"A beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast, the less he knows it."

-George MacDonald

Diagon Alley, London, England, UK, July 15, 1996

Rowena Lestrange Vane was used to working long hours.

A publisher's work was never done, especially when one was the publisher for the Daily Prophet. It was even more so when one happened to be from the family that founded and owned the Prophet, the family whose name was synonymous with journalism in magical Britain for three hundred years. The Lestrange Group had several publications, including Witch Weekly, Seeker Weekly, and Spella Weekly, and newspapers and magazines all over the magical Commonwealth, but the flagship and crown jewel was the Prophet.

In recent years, though, the name Lestrange had become synonymous with something else. While Rowena was proud of the Prophet, and the family that built it, she was pleased her daughter, Romilda, wasn't a Lestrange by name, but a Vane, like her father.

What was keeping her in the office so late, today, was mysterious goings on at Gringotts, the wizarding bank just down the street from the Prophet in London's Diagon Alley. Rowena had developed a reputation among friends and employees of being overly paranoid about goblins, in general, and Gringotts, in particular. She refused to have all her money there, keeping a sizable sum locked away at home.

"Our money is perfectly safe, there," she was told. "The goblins know their place."

"Maybe what they consider their place isn't what we consider it to be," she had replied. Had people forgotten the Goblin Rebellions? Sure, there hadn't been an open war in a very long time, but the Chipping Clodbury Riot was just a few years ago. Shortly after, then Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was quietly looking into ways to take control of wizarding finances from the goblins. Nothing came of it. The Prophet, responsibly, didn't report it. No need to cause a panic.

The Quibbler, naturally, did report it. Xeno Lovegood lived to stir things up, Rowena thought. According to Romilda, his daughter Luna was the same way.

Rowena thought that she and her daughter were the only good things left in the Lestrange family. Her brothers, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, served Voldemort, and got what they deserved, sentenced to Azkaban for life. Rowena was taught by the Dark Lord as a child, but never joined him, and after Hogwarts, always defied him. Her brothers had escaped Azkaban, briefly, but were now captured and returned there. Unfortunately, her sister-in-law, Bellatrix, was still on the loose.

"Mrs. Vane!" It was one of the staff she'd assigned to watch the Gringotts situation.

"Anything new?"

"Ragnok's just left Gringotts."

"Keep him tailed. I want to know where he's going. And, somebody bring me a copy of Little People, Big Plans."

"Huh?"

Rowena sighed. "The book Ragnok wrote? It may have some clues."

So, whatever the goblins were up to, Ragnok was in the thick of it. He'd been vocally anti-wizard for years, now.

"I don't see why Gringotts beefing up security has you like this. They do that, a lot, when they're guarding something big," Percy Weasley, one of her Ministry contacts, had told her.

"The situation is a little different, now, if you haven't noticed. We're already in a war, and now Dumbledore seems to be trying to push us to another one."

"Which is why it makes sense for them to beef up security. They're protecting our interests."

"They're protecting someone's interests..."

"Come on, Rowena. They aren't siding with You-Know-Who."

"This isn't about Voldemort, not directly, anyway." Rowena hated it when people called Voldemort "You-Know-Who," and the fact that the Prophet was discouraged by the Ministry to call him Voldemort. Percy caught that.

"Well, if the goblins aren't siding with... Voldemort, why are they an issue?"

"It's about the people who gave Voldemort his recent setbacks. Dumbledore's pushing them."

"The goblins are Unseelie Court. They've been in constant conflict with the Seelie for centuries, and remain so. You know that."

"How do we know they're still in conflict? Queen Sarah has been in town for weeks, and where she is, you can bet King Jareth is somewhere close. You think it's a complete coincidence that the Unseelie Court Lords are staying in London for some reason right when Princess Dorothy of Oz is in the country?"

"Yes, actually, until there is some real evidence saying otherwise. Right now, it's pure conjecture."

"Percy... I know these people. I know what they're about."

"Are you sure you're not letting family issues affect your judgment?"

"I was taught how to develop my reporter's instincts from the cradle. I know this is something to worry about. And yes, since it does, as you said, involve my family, I'm in more of a position to know what they're capable of than anybody, don't you think?"

Rowena Lestrange was the second of three children. She had an older brother, Rodolphus, three years her senior, and a younger brother, Rabastan, three years her junior. The Lestranges had been journalists for centuries, dating back to Roger L'Estrange, the first man to make journalism a profession. The magical side of the family continued this profession when they withdrew from the muggle community after the establishment of the Statutes of Secrecy at the end of the 17th Century.

Though being a relatively new family in magical Britain, they quickly became one of its most powerful and influential. After a few generations, they were accepted as Purebloods, which meant no doors would be closed to a Lestrange.

At Hogwarts, Lestranges were always sorted into either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Those were natural houses for them, but Rowena would wonder, in later years, if those two houses shaping generations of Lestranges were responsible for what the rest of her generation would become.

Slytherin valued ambition, cunning, a willingness to use any means to achieve your goal, and, of course, the best bloodlines. Ravenclaw valued intelligence, wit, and the ability to be detached, to be able to step back and look at the whole. While her brothers became Slytherins, Rowena was sorted into the House of her namesake, and ancestor, Ravenclaw.

Of course, as Xeno Lovegood enjoyed pointing out to her, Ravenclaw's name wasn't actually Rowena. Frankly, Rowena Vane now preferred it that way.

She remembered a Ravenclaw while she was there, Ted Tonks, who married Andromeda Black. Andromeda was one of the leaders in Rowena's older brother Roddy's gang of Slytherins. She and Tonks were a perfect example of the results of a union between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The combination was deadly.

They were quite close to Xeno Lovegood, of course, and his Fae wife, Morgan. The Lovegoods' half-breed daughter went to school with Romilda, and was "spooky," in Romilda's words, with what Rowena remembered as her mother's eyes.

When Voldemort fell, the first time, magical Britain celebrated. Rowena, though, thought that the battle wasn't truly won while the Dark Arts were still practiced, and dark creatures still roamed the land.

Romilda had told her about her own sorting.

There was never a question where Romilda's loyalties were. She made that clear to the Sorting Hat upon her arrival at Hogwarts. One tended to be sorted into one of your parent's houses, which, for Romilda, meant a probability of either Gryffindor, her father's house, or Ravenclaw, her mother's. Her father had always discussed Gryffindor with pride, while her mother...

The Hat had actually tried to convince her that Ravenclaw would be good for her, that Ravenclaw would help her find all she sought...

The house with a part-goblin as Head.

Luna Lovegood's house.

"Not Ravenclaw," she kept repeating.

So, she got Gryffindor, her father's house, the house that valued bravery and morality, above all. There was also the added benefit that being a Gryffindor meant she wouldn't be a target of the Weasley siblings. There were five of them, there. It also happened to be the house of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Romilda, like so many other girls, had a crush on the celebrity. Rowena received plenty of angry letters from her daughter, last school year, over the Prophet's treatment of the Potter boy.

Well, she hoped she was making it up to her daughter, this year. Rowena came up with the Chosen One nickname, remembering the legend of the Slayer, the apex predator of the magical world, the most dangerous dark magical creature there was. Well, most believed it merely a legend, but Rowena knew the truth of the matter, another thing the Prophet had to keep secret from the public, for the same reasons she wasn't going to publish any of this investigation of the goblins until she had the Ministry's OK.

She wondered if the goblin situation had anything to do with why Dumbledore had asked to meet her in a room at the Leaky Cauldron, and what that emergency session of the Wizengamot that he'd called for Thursday was about. It was about the Fae, she was sure. She wondered if her staff would be able to write a story in time to make tomorrow morning's edition, or if it would have to wait for Wednesday's. It would depend on what Dumbledore had to tell her, and how long it would take to verify and get the story written.

Whatever the Chief Warlock wanted to speak to her about, it had to be big. He usually didn't use the press for his agendas, and after last year, she didn't think he'd want to speak to the Prophet for a very long time.

Earlier that day, Albus Dumbledore was upset.

Andromeda had outmaneuvered him, brilliantly. Of all the moves he'd anticipated she'd make, taking Harry Potter was one he never considered. And, he realized he should have. The Tonkses had been one of the families that sought to adopt Harry after that fateful Halloween night, fifteen years ago.

He'd thought Harry safe behind the blood wards at the Dursley home, but those only protected him from Tom and his marked followers. Nymphadora Tonks, therefore, had access. She'd even been to the home, the previous Summer. As a former Order member who had been one of those assigned to guard duty there, she knew how the Order did it, and how to evade them, able to come and go at will.

No doubt, she had been who had arranged for Harry to see the Lovegood girl. Now, so Molly told him, he was dating the cursed Fae. Albus shuddered at the possibility that they may have even already fornicated.

Recovering Harry was now Dumbledore's top priority. There were three possible places they could have taken him. One was Bill and the Veela strumpet's flat. Dumbledore couldn't simply apparate there, because that required him to visualize his destination, and he'd never been there. More likely, though, it was one of two places. His first stop would be the Rook.

No one was home.

In the study at Thelema, Hermione was making introductions.

"Harry Potter, this is Dorothy, Princess of Oz."

"It's an honor to meet you, Princess. I heard about how you handled the Death Eaters and Dementors."

"Thanks. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Harry."

Just then, luggage appeared in the study, some of which Harry recognized as his own as well as what he had bought for Luna. With it was the painting of the entrance to the Department of Mysteries that she had been working on.

This was followed shortly by a popping sound, indicating apparation. Arriving were Ted, Xeno, and a naked Luna, who rushed to Harry and hugged him immediately.

She said, "Ted said Dumbledore was on his way, so we had to leave, right then. I didn't have time to dress, but fortunately we were going somewhere I didn't need to be dressed for."

"But you had time to pack?"

"Oh, Fleur told us to, earlier. Hermione! Good to see you here. Have you met Dorothy, Harry?"

"We were just introduced."

Hermione said to Harry, "You don't seem at all surprised that Dorothy Gale is a real person."

"I'd been told about her, and I've met her godmother, Queen Alice of Wonderland. Alice is Luna's godmother, too."

"I know. That... makes a lot of sense for both of them," Hermione said, smiling at Dorothy.

"I also met Wendy Darling and Mary Poppins."

"OK, you're going to have to tell me everything you've been up to."

"Likewise."

Before they could get into any of that, though, there were new arrivals from the floo, Dora, Amelia Bones, a man Harry didn't recognize that he guessed was another Auror, and, to his surprise, Madame Bones's niece, Susan.

Hermione was suddenly very self-conscious about her nudity, though she noticed no one else seemed to be. It wasn't a surprise with Luna, but the people who had just arrived with Dora and Susan were talking with Andy, who was still as naked as Hermione, having just come with her from the pool, like it wasn't unusual. Susan came quickly to Hermione and the others.

"Hey, guys. Good to see you're all safe."

"Good to see you safe, as well," said Harry. "Your aunt let you come along?"

"Yeah, I happened to be with her when Dora called. When she told us what it was about, I asked if I could come along since it involved a friend."

Andy, Dora, Madame Bones, and the other man approached.

Susan said, "Aunt Amelia, this is Hermione Granger. You know Harry and Luna."

Madame Bones shook Hermione's hand, and said, "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger. Susan has spoken often of you. Having a swim before everyone started turning up, unexpectedly?"

"Um, yes... How'd you know?"

"You hair is still a bit damp, as is Andy's."

"Ah, of course you'd notice something like that."

"I didn't get this job because of my looks."

Hermione then realized that swimming nude probably wasn't unusual in the magical culture. She couldn't picture the Weasleys doing it, but covering oneself to swim was a relatively recent custom, and not one practiced before the magical culture separated itself from the non-magical one. Some families, like this one, kept the old ways, so Aurors and the like would think nothing of someone being nude at their home in the Summer.

"And who is this?" asked Madame Bones, turning to Dorothy.

Dorothy answered, shaking Madame Bones's hand, "Dorothy Gale, Princess of Oz, and some other titles, Ma'am."

"Ah, the notorious Princess of Oz... You're very informal for a Princess."

"I was a farm girl from Kansas before I was a Princess."

"Thanks for the help against the Death Eaters. Even if the Ministry can't formally acknowledge your help and thank you, nothing's preventing me from doing it, personally."

"It was something that needed doing, Ma'am. We knew what they were going to do, so we had to stop them, you know."

"If only more of our own people thought that way... And you don't have to keep calling me Ma'am, by the way, since you don't work for me. But, now to business..."

Madame Bones questioned Harry, Bill, and Fleur about the recent events at the Burrow that had brought them here. She took special interest in Ginny's sudden change in behavior and Mrs. Weasley's reaction after Harry confronted them, asking detailed questions.

"Yes," she said, "it sounds like they're not entirely in control of their actions. We'll need to investigate the how and who."

"I told you who I think did it," said Harry.

"Yes, but we'll need more evidence, and it'll have to be airtight. He's a very powerful and well-connected man, and you've seen what a difference that makes with what it took to send Lucius Malfoy to Azkaban."

Hermione asked, "Shouldn't the love potion, itself, be illegal? It violates the victim's mind as much as what was done to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny."

"Allegedly done to them. Again, we'll need proof. And I do agree that Amortentia, especially, should be considered the same as any potion that manipulates someone's mind, but our current laws don't agree.

"All that said, we have enough to conclude that Auror Tonks acted properly, if certain people challenge it. She will also continue in her assigned role as Harry Potter's personal bodyguard, and we'll need to consider more security arrangements for Hogwarts for the coming term. I now just have to ask if Harry is happy with living here."

"Yes," said Harry. "This is where I want to be."

"Good, then we're done, here. Susan?"

"Um, may I exchange phone numbers with my friends? I'm assuming you all have phones now, or will, anyway..."

The teens exchanged phone numbers, and Susan, Madame Bones, and the Auror that came with them that wasn't Dora left.

Andy said to Bill and Fleur, "I suggest you move in, for a while, and I'm sure Sarah will agree. Retrieve some things from your home, but let's give it a few hours, as I expect certain people will be looking for you, there."

"Thank you," said Bill, "but we don't want to be any bother..."

"Trust me, we have the room, and we've earned our reputation for security."

Dumbledore stood, a shield charm protecting him from the rain, about a hundred yards from Thelema, which was as close as he could approach from any direction. It seems Thelema's defences kept out more than Tom and his Death Eaters. He wondered how they distinguished between friend and foe. Something that detected intent, perhaps? There was nothing he knew of in European magical practice that could do that with wards, and Albus Dumbledore knew most of what there was to know on the subject.

He had long ago learned as much as was available about Thelema. It was built into the hill, a large part of the house undoubtedly being within it, leaving fewer directions from which to attack. He knew from Severus that even Tom wasn't able to come any closer than where he was, now. Thelema wasn't under a Fidelius. It wasn't Unplottable. It stood there, right in the open, in full view of everyone, as if it were taunting anyone seeking to invade it.

He determined that the defences were a complex blend of magic, muggle, and Technomagic. His Putter Outer could probably shut down, or at least disrupt, the muggle aspects of the defensive system, but he couldn't count on being able to disrupt the purely magical aspects. He could feel the magic all around this place. It was Glastonbury, after all, and close to the Tor, at that. Even many of the muggles could sense the magic, here.

Knowing where that magic came from chilled him. And, that was no doubt powering the magic protecting Thelema.

No, he wouldn't be able to overcome Thelema's defences. And, even if he could, there would be too many witches, wizards, and Merlin knew what else in there, too many for him to defeat, memory charm, and erase all evidence of his invasion without some escaping and bringing Bones and the Aurors down on him. His power, reputation, and influence had protected him from prosecution over the years, but this would be enough to send him to Azkaban, without question.

He'd have to regain control of Harry through legal means, through the Ministry. It might take longer than he'd like, but he was certain that once he had Harry, again, he'd be able to undo the damage of the recent weeks, and re-condition the boy so he'd be the sacrifice that Dumbledore had planned.

No matter the magical training, Harry would never have enough experience and skill to defeat Tom, so Dumbledore developed a plan that would still fulfill the prophecy. He felt a tinge of regret, as he often did about raising Harry as a sacrificial pig for slaughter, but he, as always, knew it was for the greater good, and that only he had the wisdom and strength to do what needed to be done. Thus reassured, he left to put his plans in motion.

Hermione called her parents to tell them she'd be spending the night at Thelema, since something major had come up. She promised to tell them the details, later. Xeno, meanwhile, was on the phone with Emily, updating her. She said she'd come, later.

Jeeves was taking everyone's luggage and setting up their bedrooms. Harry and Luna would share one, as would Bill and Fleur, much to their delight. Xeno was getting a room, but it was doubtful he'd be sleeping much in it. Even Hermione was having a bedroom set up. Harry realized that Dora and Luna were right about his own large house. It was useful to have a lot of bedrooms if you could afford it.

With Luna, Hermione, Andy, Dora, Bill, Fleur, and Dorothy, he was then given a tour of what, until he came of age, finished school, and Potter House was ready, would be his new home. He was a bit overwhelmed. It was so much. He couldn't wait to give the home theater system a good workout. Speaking of workouts, there was the workout room, that he was told he'd be using a great deal. He knew he'd need a lot of training to be able to face Voldemort, and, he now learned, Dorothy and Queen Ozma were who were going to provide it.

Dorothy said, "We've got a lot of years to make up for, to get you in shape. And no, Quidditch doesn't get you in the shape you'll want to be in when you really start training. Your diet will have a lot of nutrients... protein, vitamins, minerals, so on, all that stuff you've never gotten enough of. You'll be using a few nutritional supplements, too. We're gonna build your body up. You may be surprised to know that it'll also strengthen your magical core. You're gonna learn yoga to balance everything, your mind, body, and spirit, which will make a big difference with your magic. Then, we get to the martial arts. We're not going to turn you into Bruce Lee, but you'll be able to move and fight a lot better."

Andy added, "You have magical power to match Voldemort, but he'll always have a lot of experience on you. But, you can more than make up for that by learning how to do things he doesn't know."

Harry was looking forward to learning all that. But...

"How are we going to have time?"

"We'll get to that in a bit. Trust me, we'll have plenty of time."

There was little time, Dumbledore thought.

He arrived at the Ministry, and found the Minister for Magic. While Rufus Scrimgeour was a very busy man, he knew if the Chief Warlock thought a meeting was imperative, it probably was.

Dumbledore got straight to the point.

"Harry Potter has been taken by the Tonkses from the loving and supportive home of the Weasleys. We must retrieve him, immediately."

"Interesting, because, according to the report I just received from Amelia, Mr. Potter left with Nymphadora Tonks of his own free will."

"Well, I can see how it might seem that way, but these are Fae, dark magical beings who have obviously bewitched Harry."

"Funny, but the reason he left, according to him, was that Ginevra Weasley was trying to bewitch him with Amortentia."

"Ah, young love... You see why he must be returned to the Weasleys, at once. Such love must be allowed to flourish."

"You seem to have missed my meaning, Albus. Mr. Potter didn't want to be dosed with the most powerful love potion known to Man. He left with one of my Aurors to prevent being bewitched."

"Have you no sense of romance, Rufus, to keep these two lovebirds apart?"

"If one of them wants to be kept apart from the other, no. Sorry, Chief Warlock, but I don't consider rape to be romance."

"Rape? That's a very strong word, Rufus."

"If one party is forcing another against their will, what else is there to call it?"

Damn the new Minister for obstructing the greater good, Dumbledore thought. He'd have to try a different approach.

"Well, semantics aside, Harry must be rescued, and returned to his legal guardians."

"Ah," the Minister said, smiling. "He's with his legal guardians, already."

Dumbledore was confused. "They returned him to the Dursleys?"

"No, the Dursleys are no longer his guardians. We learned that it was an abusive household -"

"Now, Rufus... The Dursleys may be strict, but that doesn't make them abusive."

"No, but beating, neglecting, and starving the boy since you placed him under their 'care' does."

"Clearly, Harry is exaggerating -"

"Healers from St. Mungos performed examinations, confirming both his and the Aurors' claims."

"Ah..."

"To avoid prosecution, they agreed to quietly turn over guardianship of Harry Potter. The paperwork was pushed through by Gringotts -"

"Of course..."

"-and everything became official, today. Harry Potter is now the ward of Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black-Tonks."

"And... no one thought to inform me that this was happening?"

"It wasn't something that required your attention, and you've now been informed."

"Yes... Thank you. I'm sad to say, Rufus, that I am disappointed that the new Minister is making the same mistakes as the old one. I'd thought, with a Gryffindor as Minister, my warnings would be heeded, this time."

"And what... mistakes... does the Chief Warlock think that I'm making?"

"You haven't supported me in my proposed legislation against the Seelie Court. My warnings to Cornelius that Voldemort had returned were unheeded, and now you aren't heeding my warnings about the Fae. We must take action, now."

"Chief Warlock, for your information, I do recognize the dangers posed by the Seelie Court. I also recognize something you don't seem to, and that is our top priority is the war with Voldemort."

"And that is my top priority as well. But, that doesn't mean we can ignore other dangers -"

"The other danger, in this case, is, so far, the only people who have been effective against the Death Eaters. Or, has your little group won some battle that I'm unaware of?"

"Not everything can be accomplished in weeks -"

"So, that's a 'no,' then."

"Rufus, need I remind you that this Princess Dorothy that slaughtered the Death Eaters in cold blood is the same Princess Dorothy that tried to abduct our brightest student at Hogwarts, some years ago?"

"No, I haven't forgotten that. But, as long as she's targeting Death Eaters, I'm willing to overlook past issues. Something you seem to have forgotten is the Seelie Court is acting with full support of the Crown. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, is who we are both ultimately answerable to. She can dismiss us both from our posts if she chooses. So, I'd prefer not to antagonize her."

Clearly, the Minister just wasn't going to listen to reason, Dumbledore thought.

"Very well, Rufus. I'll just have to call an emergency session of the Wizengamot for Thursday, then."

"For what purpose?"

"To challenge the Tonkses' guardianship of Harry Potter. I will propose myself as the boy's guardian."

All right, Harry decided, he was definitely going to follow Dora's suggestion of adding an indoor swimming pool to Potter House.

"This is beautiful," he said.

"Isn't it, though?" said Luna.

Hermione said, "Remember asking how we'd have time to train before Hogwarts is back in session? The answer's here. See that cave behind the waterfall?"

"Where does it go?"

"I think I know... Based on what Andy told me, and where this house is built."

"I... can feel something, there."

"What?" asked Hermione. "I didn't feel anything from it."

Andy said, "Let's see if Harry can figure it out." She spoke softly to him, soothingly. "Relax. Breathe. Close your eyes and open your mind. Let your magic reach out. Feel. And tell me where the cave leads to."

He did as instructed. He felt his magic reaching out.

Then, he felt it.

Somewhere, wherever the cave led to, it was there. The Grail.

He opened his eyes and said, "Avalon."

"How?" asked Hermione.

"The Holy Grail is there."

"Yes, but... How can you..."

"We said we had a lot to catch up on."

"OK, I think we should exchange our stories, now."

Luna said, "Why don't we do that while Harry tries the pool? You, me, and Andy are already dressed for a swim, after all."

"Good idea." Hermione looked Harry in the eyes, challengingly. "He keeps seeing me naked, so it's time we evened things up, a bit."

"Of course," Harry replied with his crooked smile, and began undressing.

"You could at least blush."

"Why? You and Dorothy are the only people here who haven't seen me out of my clothes, already."

"Damn, I really need to know what you've been doing."

Harry noticed Hermione was paying special attention to him, Dora, and, interestingly, Dorothy undressing. If he knew how, he'd have made a show out of it for her. His own attention was drawn to Dorothy, too. It was partly because she was the only one here he hadn't seen naked, and partly because, well, this was the Dorothy Gale, of Oz who was undressing.

The first thing that had caught his attention was her striking facial features, her turquoise eyes, her large, sensual, lips. Her breasts were smaller than the other girls in the room, but they were right for her petite build. Her nipples were, however, puffy, the sort that made themselves very noticeable when a woman with them wore a thin shirt without a bra.

What he would never have expected from Dorothy Gale was all the tattoos. She had several, and Harry didn't recognize what most of them were. The ones he did immediately recognize were on her lower stomach. Just above and to the right of her vagina was a crescent moon with a face. Opposite it was a sun.

"I like the sun and moon tattoos," he said.

"Thanks. The moon was the first one I got, 'cause I'm dedicated to it. The sun, I had to add because of polarity and balance. A few of these are moon related... This one," she indicated the one on her left hip, "is one of my favorites." It was a winged heart encircled with thorns with a goddess symbol of the full moon on top, with crescent moons on either side, and a wall of fire behind it.

Hermione asked, "What about the one on your lower back?"

Dorothy turned around and showed it to them. Hermione was studying it, though Harry was too distracted by Dorothy's shapely butt right below it.

"It's Sanskrit for 'Om mani padme hum.' It's a Buddhist mantra. It represents the purification of the six realms of existence."

As they enjoyed the swim, he told Hermione what he had been up to the past couple of weeks, with Luna and Dora adding to the conversation. Hermione was astounded. Harry breaking the blocks on his power. Sex magic. What Luna had endured to help Harry break the blocks on his power, her visit with her mother in the Afterlife, and what she learned. The Holy Grail. The Caffeinated Cross Ceremony of the Javacrucians.

She said, "I haven't even seen Andy's and Dora's Naga forms." She'd not been comfortable with Seth, at first, but now enjoyed petting him like he was Crookshanks. "So, you two, when do I get to see them?"

Andy immediately transformed.

"Um," said Harry, "can she swim like that?"

"Naga can swim," said Dora.

Andy swam up to Hermione and smiled. Hermione couldn't resist the urge to pet her. Fortunately, Andy enjoyed being petted when she was a Naga.

Hermione looked expectantly at Dora.

"Um," said Dora.

"There's no need to be nervous," said Hermione.

"She's a bit self-conscious," said Andy, amused. "You see, we think and respond a bit differently in our Animagus forms. We're still us, but are also very much what we transform into. We're far more reptile, like this."

"Why is that a problem?"

"We're more aggressive, dominant, and territorial."

"That's for sure," said Harry, with a smirk. "It's OK, Dora. We all love you like that."

"Dora," said Hermione, "I want to see this."

Dora sighed, but transformed into a boa Naga with pink markings.

"You're so cute!" said Hermione, with delight.

"You think so?" asked Dora, pleased.

"Yes!" said Hermione, grabbing Dora in a hug, then stroking her.

"Mmmm..." said Dora, as she wrapped herself around Hermione.

She was still wrapped around Hermione, nuzzling her, when Hermione stepped out of the pool and sat on the edge, the part of Dora not wrapped around her and nuzzling her neck resting in her lap.

"So, Harry," said Hermione, "you've done sex magic."

"Yeah."

"I read a bit about it in Andy's book, but I've never seen it. I'll need you and Luna to give me a demonstration."

"What? You want us to do that in front of you?"

"Harry, I'm not being voyeuristic. This is just a new field of magic for me. I need to see it demonstrated."

The scary part, Harry realized, is this was pure curiosity of a field of magic she didn't know that led Hermione to make the request.

"OK, but on one condition. If you're going to watch me doing sex magic, I need to be there when you're being taught it."

"I'm not even dating anyone right now, let alone involved sexually with anyone. I'm still a virgin, in fact."

"When you are, though."

"Fine. I'll do it if my partner is willing. I could probably use your and Luna's coaching."

"It's a deal."

"Now, I guess I need to start dating. And, it'll have to be someone open to all of this."

"I don't see that being a problem, actually."

"Yeah, sure... You know, Dora," Hermione said to the snake, "you're even more affectionate than Crookshanks."

"Mmmm..." said Dora.

The notifications to the members of the Wizengamot had been sent, and the appointment with Rowena Vane made. Now, Dumbledore was in his office taking out a very specific large set of files from a cabinet, ones he had added to since the final confrontation with Gellert. This was his trump card.

He thought he now knew how Tom must have felt after learning of the prophecy, and trying to prevent it from coming to pass. Dumbledore was now trying to prevent a thousand year old prophecy made by Ravenclaw, for which Hufflepuff created the so-called Blessed Grove in the Forbidden Forest and placed that... thing there. While the Prophecy of the Gentle One was stored in the Department of Mysteries, few knew of it, today. Headmasters and Headmistresses of Hogwarts, however, were always informed of it upon taking the position. As all these centuries had passed without the Gentle One arriving, Dumbledore had long decided it was nothing to be concerned about, until he asked Firenze why the centaur herd had contacted him again so soon after banishing him.

"She is coming."

Dumbledore had since felt the changes in the ambient magic from the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid felt it. Even Severus noticed.

Looking at the files before him, he felt another twinge of regret, this time for what this would do to Luna Lovegood. She really was a very sweet girl, and had put her life on the line to help Harry in his mission to rescue Sirius. But, for all that, she was still a dark creature, he reminded himself. Plus, she was a Ravenclaw. Despite what it seemed to more naive people than Albus Dumbledore, she couldn't possibly have done it because it was the right thing to do. Ravenclaws, he knew, were incapable of such things. Therefore, she had some ulterior motive.

He had to do this. It was for the greater good.

Reassured that this was the only way, however regrettable, he prepared for his meeting with the publisher of the Daily Prophet.

After their swim, the group headed to the dining room, nobody bothering to dress since their hostess clearly wasn't going to, leaving Ted and Xeno, who hadn't accompanied them swimming, and the new arrival for dinner, as the only ones dressed. Hermione was introduced to Emily Serendipity Piper, old friend of the Tonkses and girlfriend of Xeno. She still had Dora wrapped around her as she shook Emily's hand.

"Hey, Dora," said Emily.

"Hey, Emily," Dora replied.

As they sat at the table, Ted said, "Dora, dear... You might want to take the chair next to you before you shift into your human form, unless you want to spend the meal sitting in Hermione's lap while you're human."

A startled Dora quickly scrambled to the chair next to Hermione before shifting her form.

Harry said, "I probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on my meal, anyway..."

Luna added, "Would have made eating difficult for them, too..."

After a delicious meal prepared by Jeeves was served, a small owl flew into the room with a letter that Harry recognized as Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl. He landed in front of Hermione, holding out a letter. After Hermione took it, the hyper owl began flying around the room until Andy called him down.

As was very unusual for Pig, the startled owl obeyed, and landed again in front of Andy, who pet him and offered him some food on her plate. Pig remained quiet and behaved as Andy spoke quietly to him.

"How's she doing that?" asked Harry.

"It's one of her rings, the Seal of Solomon," Luna answered. "Speaking to and commanding animals is one of the things it lets her do."

Hermione told them the contents of Ron's letter, which was pretty much what Harry and the others had said about the events at the Burrow, with Ron emphasising Ginny's radical change in behavior over the previous week. He wanted Hermione to try to contact Harry, learn if he was OK, and wanted to know what he could do to help.

"I need to write back, now," she said. "Pig will wait until I send a reply. He always does."

"What sort of stationary do you use when writing letters to them?" asked Andy.

"Pen and paper. I only use quills, parchment, and ink bottles at school. Always preferred the modern methods."

"Less trouble and mess," Andy agreed. "I don't know why most magi still insist on using that archaic method of writing. Jeeves, could you -?"

Jeeves popped out, and returned with pen, paper, and an envelope.

"Thank you, Jeeves," said Hermione, and she began writing.

"What are you telling him?" asked Harry.

"That you contacted me, told me what happened, you're safe and sound, and I'll write him when I know more. And for him to write me when he knows more."

"How are you going to get mail to him?"

"I can always borrow Hedwig, since he'll know I'm in contact with you. I can say she's forwarding some letters for me. Or, I can say you left her in my care."

"We'd better go with that one. Dumbledore will probably want to visit you..."

"I was thinking about that..."

Ted said, "I'll add some security to your house and your parents' offices to help keep out unwanted magi. I'd also recommend that we give your parents portkeys to bring them here in case of emergency."

Dorothy added, "And I'll assign some of the Royal Army of Oz as extra security."

"Thank you all," said Hermione. "But, we'll need to find an alternate method to keep in touch with Ron, since it's only a matter of time before Dumbledore finds out I'm involved."

Bill said, "I'll visit the twins, tomorrow. Once they know what's been going down, I think they'll be sympathetic."

"Especially considering they're having to keep their relationship with their own girlfriend secret from their mother," said Fleur.

"Oh? What's going on with those two?" asked Hermione.

"They're living with Angelina, who is with them both," Fleur answered. "It's very sweet."

"Ah... I can see how they'd have to keep that secret from Mrs. Weasley."

Harry said, "I'd also suggest Neville."

"Why Neville?"

"He's on our side. His girlfriend is this immortal super Dryad... Long story. I'll let him tell it. We should invite them over."

Andy said, "Considering who the immortal super Dryad is, I agree. They're a part of this."

"Neville and a Dryad..." Hermione mused. "Makes sense..."

Rowena Vane arrived at the Leaky Cauldron at the appointed time, and was told what room Dumbledore was waiting for her in. She found the room, where he was sitting at a table.

"Thank you for coming, Rowena."

She took a seat opposite him and asked, "What can the Daily Prophet do for the Chief Warlock?"

"It's what we can do for each other. As you know, the Ministry has been slow in acting regarding the Fae crisis."

"It seems more a crisis for the Death Eaters than for us."

"Trust me, they are a danger to us all."

"Why should I trust you on that?"

"Just last year, if you'll recall, the Ministry denied Voldemort's return, and your paper embarked on a smear campaign against me at their behest. Yet, who was proven correct? Surely, my record speaks for itself."

"There's more to your record than the great deeds you've accomplished."

Rowena knew most of it. Rita Skeeter had prepared a very well researched tell-all biography of Dumbledore, and was just waiting for the man to die to finish and publish it. Now, that was going to be a best seller for Lestrange Publishing. Rita was hoping he'd kick the bucket as soon as possible.

Rowena, for her part, didn't wish death on anyone except Voldemort. Besides, Dumbledore was their best hope against the Dark Lord. But, she really didn't like the sanctimonious bastard. She knew where most of the skeletons were buried.

"Be that as it may," he replied, "I have something here that may convince you. I'd like you to publish a story using these materials. It would have the added benefit of allowing you revenge on the Lovegoods. Xeno Lovegood got a major scoop, last year, that ended as quite the embarrassment for you, if I remember correctly."

Of course you bloody remember correctly, Rowena thought. That was the biggest embarrassment of her career. And, to be scooped by the bloody Lovegoods, of all people, and using one of the Prophet's own to do it. Rita had explained to her that she'd been kidnapped and blackmailed by Hermione Granger into doing the interview with Harry Potter. Rowena understood, as she knew how Rita had gotten so many of her stories.

"So," she said, "you're offering me dirt on Xeno?"

"On his late wife, Morgan, actually. You know she was a Fae, of course..."

"Yes."

"She was quite notorious. Well, take a look for yourself."

He passed a large set of files over to her. She began looking through them, and her eyes widened in shock.

"It can't be," she said.

"All carefully documented, and indexed. Now, are you interested?"

"This is... huge..."

"Quite."

"All right... You'll have your story. It'll have to be Wednesday's edition."

"Perfect. That will give the Wizengamot, and everyone else, time to read it."

Albus Dumbledore was pleased. By the Wizengamot session, the world would know the Lovegoods for what they were. And the Tonkses' reputations would be destroyed by association.

Then, he could reclaim Harry, do the proper memory modifications and feed him the proper conditioning potions to bring him back on the right path, that which Dumbledore had chosen for him, for the greater good.