Gypsy Woman

"That is not the same as a portkey," James said as he and Imogen landed in the forest just outside the colony.

Imogen smiled at him as he leaned some of his weight on her. "I never said it was like a portkey. I believe that's how you've been describing it all these years."

"Well I've only traveled by call once and I was in a bit of distress. I didn't remember how… bloody… dizzying it gets."

Imogen wasn't sure if she was just used to it, or if her abilities as a caster counteracted the effects of the call, but she had never thought of it as dizzying. "Want me to carry your bag or broom?"

"No," James said. "No, I got it."

"Imogen!" Harper said, walking forward through the trees. The two embraced and Imogen pulled Harper back to get a proper look at her pregnant belly, large and rounded out.

"Oh, Harper!" Imogen said, placing her hand on Harper's stomach. "Are you really only six months along?"

Harper nodded, looking exhausted. "It really can't be over soon enough," she said.

"Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

"They decided they didn't want to find out ahead of time," Hal said, appearing out of the trees, hands in his pockets. "How's life, Snow White?" he asked, coming up and kissing her cheek.

"It's pretty good, actually," Imogen said. "You remember James, of course."

"How could I forget?"

Imogen finished at Hogwarts and moved into a flat with James, who had just completed his first year at the academy. She worked for several years at Flourish and Blotts part time, though her main focus was in bringing unity back to the Gypsy community. James continually insisted he could cover the finances so she didn't have to stretch herself, but Imogen wanted to contribute and her personal work didn't actually provide an income.

The work consisted of training young Gypsies with gifts as well as spreading lost knowledge of how these gifts could be shared. Her and Harper worked for three years, traveling around to find children that they could provide with their gifts and this was becoming more widely known. Then Harper went and got married to a man they met from another clan. Others had joined the efforts and Harper moved back home with her husband to settle down.

"How long are you staying again?" Harper asked.

"A few weeks," Imogen said. "There's a wedding in Australia and we're meeting our parents there at the end of the month. Then if it's needed we can be back for a while longer."

"Nothing to rush back to then?"

"I just graduated from the academy, so we have a little time before real life begins," James answered.

"Is that why you finally popped the question?" Hal asked.

"No," Imogen said, rolling her eyes at him. Hal had become the leader of the clan. Imogen had brought others to visit through the years. Lily, once, and even Lorcan had been able to come several times as part of his research to repair misconceptions about the Gypsy community among wizards. But Hal kept saying James wasn't allowed. Harper insisted he held a grudge over some punch thrown when they first met. He made their engagement a condition of James being allowed to visit the clan. "It was just a good time for it."

James grabbed her hand, looking unsure. "Thanks for letting me come," he said to Hal. He'd been indignant for years over this, but apparently he'd realized he needed to stay on Hal's good side if he were to be allowed back in the future.

"Yes, well, we'll see if I end up regretting it," Hal said. "Like that time I let that sandy haired idiot in."

Harper sighed. "That's my husband you're talking about."

"Yes, I know," Hal said. "Come on, everyone's been waiting for you."

As they came into range of the caravan, several members of the clan gathered around them, coming to hug Imogen, kissing her cheeks. The children gathered around James, the ones who could speak some broken English were asking about what his broom was. Imogen had told him they didn't know about brooms or Quidditch. Feeling this was a necessity, he brought his broom along to show them. He was smiling as different children hung off his arms, pulling him down to their level.

"That's sweet," Harper said, watching James.

"They like new people," Hal commented. "They'll get over it."

Imogen shook her head at him. Hal would never change, but he really had been good for the clan. He opened the community to working with clans elsewhere and dispelled Sabina's fear mongering of wizards. It was his efforts, really, that opened the door for Imogen and Harper's work.

A girl Imogen didn't know well—around eighteen with pretty brown hair that waved most of the way down her back—brought a couple plates over to them. She paused when she handed one of them to Hal, looking down shyly. He smiled and was less irritable as he thanked her, watching as she weaved through the crowd and others came forward with food for James. Harper's husband, Grantham, brought her a plate as well, leading her to sit.

"Who was that?" Imogen asked.

Hal's cleared his throat, a stupid grin disappearing from his face. "June," he said. "Her and her parents joined the clan about a year ago."

Imogen raised an eyebrow to Harper whose lips were pressed together to keep from smiling.

"Well she seems lovely," Imogen said.

They sat around the fire, Harper mostly asking questions as Imogen and James caught them up on what was happening.

Lorcan had just started with the Department of Mysteries full time and Lily was finishing her third year with the Holyhead Harpies. The sports reporters used to throw around the question of whether she'd live up to her mother's reputation, now they were all abuzz about whether she'd outlast the length of Ginny's career on the field.

"But they're still together?" Harper asked.

"They keep saying it's complicated," James replied, rolling his eyes.

"Lily wants them both to concentrate on their careers right now," Imogen clarified. "But honestly, they still spend their time off with each other and they don't date anyone else. My best guess, they'll show up to some family event and announce that they eloped the weekend before."

Harper smiled at this. James scowled. Imogen shrugged.

"And you two don't want to just do that? Elope?" Hal asked.

"I'm pretty sure my mum would kill us if we tried," James said. "Then she'd reanimate our corpses to stand in the reception line."

Imogen had been the one to be slow on an official engagement. By the time she graduated there was a general understanding that a wedding was in their future, but she didn't see a point in being engaged until they both had the time and energy to put towards the actual planning. By then, James had learned to not press on such matters, though he did ask her thoughts on it every few months in case she'd changed her mind.

James had finished at the top of his class and had been prepared to accept a job with the ministry when he was approached by the International Federation of Wizards to be part of a specialized team of aurors to work jobs around the world. James had discussed the matter at length with his parents, and Imogen was interviewed just as thoroughly as James, since the position involved a great deal of undercover infiltration. They often hired based on whether the spouse of the candidate could be integrated into the cover. Of course they couldn't tell anyone else about this, but it did give the final shove on getting engaged and they were planning the wedding for that December. If James did get the position—which seemed more than likely—they would be assigned somewhere just after the new year.

This also motivated Imogen to make some plans for time with the clan. She watched Gabe, dancing in the crowds. She was twelve and had turned into a lovely young woman. She had a boyish figure, with dark, wavy hair that flowed down to her waist. "Do you think she's ready?" Imogen asked Hal.

"Absolutely," he said. "If you get her started I think we can go from there."

Imogen nodded. "We'll start in the morning."

They enjoyed the rest of the evening, dancing and singing. At some point someone insisted James sing for them, then several of the men asked him to sit down after he started. He turned red as they laughed, but Imogen distracted them from their teasing by starting a song of her own, and soon the clan joined.

The next morning there was still excitement in the air. Imogen and James went into the large field, where the bicycle was ignored as James showed off flying. Imogen noticed that when he was riding with a boy he'd do all sorts of tricks and flips, riding high and fast. With the girls he was more tender, carefully giving them time to adjust and holding tighter when he did make a more thrilling moves. She watched for an hour, until Gabe came out to the field, looking nervous.

"Hello, Gabe," Imogen said, pushing her hair back.

Gabe was usually so excited to see her. Of course, Imogen had never come to see just her, and never had Gabe had to perform her magic for a specific purpose. She gave a nervous smile, but didn't say anything.

"Let's go to the gardens," Imogen said.

She lead the way. Over the years, the forest that had once looked so monotonous to Imogen had come to have a variety of trees, each with their own personality. She could navigate the general area quite well, by now, and when they arrived at the patches of tilled soil, Imogen sat Gabe down on one large rock, sitting across from her. "Before we start, I want to know what you understand about the story of the gifts," she explained. She leaned forward, smiling gently at Gabe, taking her hands in her own and waited.

Gabe took a deep breath, thinking. "Zair vas once a mozer who had two daughters," Gabe said. She repeated the story, much as Hal had once told it to Imogen. The one became a caster, the other a caller. She described how the girls used these gifts. "And zair mozer required tribute from zem and zair children and zair children's children."

Gabe's eyes looked down at Imogen's left hand. The clan knew what had happened. Many had known for years that Sabina was taking the magic of those with gifts. She had convinced them this provided protection and that it was owed by those with gifts. Imogen turned over hand so it was palm up, making the fact of the raised, diagonal scar less secretive. Gabe traced it with her finger. "Vill zis happen to me?"

"No," Imogen said firmly. "There was a part of the story that was twisted over the decades and centuries, Gabe. We forgot a key part of what it all meant. The tribute—the one the story claims is owed to the mother—was a tribute to be passed down. The sisters were not to give their magic back, but to give it forward, to the children."

"Zen vhy do all Gypsies not have gifts?" Gabe said.

Imogen smiled at the question. "Not all have the heart for it," she answered, reaching out and placing a hand over Gabe's heart. "The more good you do with your gift, the stronger it will become. Do you understand?"

Gabe took a moment, thinking about this before she nodded.

"Good," Imogen said. "Then let's begin."

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read all the way through! I hope you enjoy this little epilogue chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts of the story overall, so if you haven't yet, shoot me a review :)

Also, if I'm perfectly honest with myself, I am still loving these characters and another story has started to breed somewhere in the back of my mind. If it does come to fruition, I will do what I did with the last story: add a preview as another chapter here and so anyone interested can jump onto that one. Again, thanks all! Hope you enjoyed!