Harry and Ginny: A Love Story
Chapter 26: Birthday, Part One
It was getting quite late before Tonks was able to show up at the Burrow. She had hoped to get there quickly, but fate seemed to intervene, so it wasn't until 10:30 that she approached the door to the Burrow with her news of the attempt to kidnap Harry at his birthday party.
She was glad that the light was still on in the kitchen, showing someone was still up, she would not have wanted to try to decide between waking someone or waiting until the morning.
With a tired sigh, she knocked on the door. It opened in a moment and she was glad of the smile that came to Arthur's face.
"Well, what do we owe the pleasure to for your visit?" he asked, affiably.
"I'm not so sure you'll say pleasure once I explain why I'm here," Tonks replied, as she removed her cloak.
Arthur's face became grave, but he was still showing how glad he was that Tonks had arrived. "Well sit down and let me get Molly. Should we contact anyone else too?" he asked.
"Do you think it's too late to get Minerva here?" Tonks asked.
Arthur smiled, "Why don't you ask her yourself. She's in the parlour with Molly going over the final plans for Harry's party."
"That's one of the things we need to discuss," Tonks said, heading for a chair at the table.
"Oh, forget that, let's just join the ladies in the parlour," Arthur said, with a grin.
Tonks smiled and followed Arthur into the parlour. Since she was a little behind him, she heard Molly ask, "Who was at the door, dear?"
She entered just after Molly had asked her question, and she was happy to see the smiles on Molly's and Minerva's faces.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise, Dora," Molly said, rising and coming over to hug the young Auror. After her welcoming hug she asked, "Tea?
Tonks couldn't help but smile, Molly always got to taking care of everyone first before anything else was handled. "Yes, that would be nice," Tonks replied.
"I'll just freshen the pot. Why don't you sit down and get comfortable. It won't take me but a minute," Molly said, smiling at the young Auror.
Tonks went and sat down near where Molly and Minerva had been sitting. She saw the look that Minerva gave her, a look that spoke of her concern at the lateness of the visit, telling her that whatever Dora wanted to discuss, had to be of relatively important, or she would have waited till tomorrow.
"Hello Dora," Minerva said pleasantly. "How are things at the Ministry?" she asked offhandedly.
"The same," Tonks replied, "To much work, to few people to do it and to many hours working because of it."
Minerva nodded in understanding, Fudge's austerity push was all to well known and it seemed that the MLE was bearing the brunt of the spending cuts, stretching the limited resources of the MLE and by default the Auror's to the limit.
Further conversation was halted by Molly's return with the fresh pot of tea. She quickly served everyone and retook her seat. All eyes in the room then turned to Tonks.
"So what brings you here at this time?" Arthur asked.
"Albus came to see me earlier today," Tonks began. "He asked me to be on watch tomorrow evening at Harry's party because he has received information that someone is going to attempt to kidnap Harry during it."
She watched as Minerva got a very sceptical look on her face, one that was mirrored by Arthur and Molly.
"Do you think there is any validity to this information?" Mineerva asked.
"Well not in the information that Albus gave me, saying that it would be followers of You-Know-Who," she said with a small laugh. "I'm sure there will be an attempt, but I'm sure someone else is behind it."
Minerva nodded in agreement, "It wouldn't be a manipulative old Wizard, who just happens to be the Headmaster of a famous Magical School, would it?"
"Very delicately put, Minerva," Molly said with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Tonks said, with a frown. "He even had the audacity to try to probe my mind at headquarters."
"He didn't?" Arthur said in surprise. "I'm sure your Auror training foiled his attempt?" he added, questioningly.
"Yeah, he got nothing, but to attempt it at the Ministry, I can't believe him," Tonks said, disgustedly.
Arthur just shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face. "He must really be getting desperate," he said lowly.
"That's what I think too, and a desperate person is a dangerous person," Tonks said, fervently.
"Did he have any more concrete information?" Minerva asked.
"Not on the attempt itself, only that he wanted me close by and if an attempt was made to make sure I got Harry to safety. Telling me to get him to Hogsmeade where he'll have Hagrid waiting to get him onto the school's grounds, where he'd be "safe"," Tonks said, emphasizing the word safe, as if she didn't believe it for one moment.
"What are you going to do?" Molly asked.
"Well, I'll definitely be here for Harry's safety, but if he thinks I'm going to deliver him to Hogsmeade, well, let's just say he's more delusional than we think he is already," Tonks said with a grin.
"How can he expect anyone to get through the wards?" Molly asked, frowning as she thought about it.
"Unfortunately, there are people who specialize in that kind of thing and maybe Albus gave them a spell or two to help them out," Tonks said, sadly.
"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Arthur asked.
"Should we move the party to McGonagall castle?" Molly asked.
"No, that would tip him off that Tonks informed us of the plot," Minerva said, thoughtfully.
"We need to come up with some kind of plan to thwart the attempt here, so that Tonks will not have to be revealed," Arthur said.
Minerva looked at Molly, "May I make a floo call?"
"You know you don't need to ask, of course you can," Molly replied.
Minerva went to the floo in the kitchen and they heard her call out "The Hogshead." Then after a brief wait, "Ab, can you come over right away?" Then another pause and finally, "Okay, see you in a minute."
Minerva returned to her seat, "Aberforth will be here in a moment, he should be able to help us out."
Molly rose and went to get another cup for tea and while she was in the kitchen, Aberforth came through the floo. "Good evening Molly, I hope you're well?" he said with a smile.
"I'm fine," Molly replied, "and I'm so glad you could come on such little notice."
"What's up?" Aberforth asked.
"Everyone is in the Parlour, go on in and I'll be right there," Molly replied.
Aberforth went into the parlour and took a look at the people assembled there. "What's he up to now?" he asked with a knowing twisted grin.
"He's going to try and get Harry back under his control tomorrow evening during Harry's party," Minerva said, giving him the synopsis of what they knew.
Once Molly had rejoined them, Tonks went over what Albus had said to her and what he wanted her to do.
Aberforth listened quietly, but intently. Shaking his head he said, "Sounds like my conceited brother, and I'm sure he has an ironclad alibis."
"Yeah, he said the reason he couldn't be here himself was because of a meeting for the Confederation of Wizards," Tonks said.
Ab nodded knowingly, "It helps being the head Mugwump, that way you can call a meeting whenever you want." He looked around at everyone, "Well the first thing is we certainly can't do what Albus wants done." He then looked directly at Tonks, "No matter what happens you can't take Harry to Hogsmeade, no telling if he has a secondary plot to get Harry away from Hagird, and that's if he is going to be there at all."
"So where does that leave us?" Arthur asked.
Aberforth smiled, "Albus isn't the only one who has contacts, so here's what we're going to do. . . ."
XX HP + GW XX
Sirius had made good time, he was now at the edges of the Burrow and he could smell that slimy, dirty traitor from where he was when he was down wind.
What puzzled him was the wind also carried the scent of two who reminded him deeply of James and Lily. He knew that couldn't be the case, because he had seen their dead bodies himself, so who they were was a mystery to him.
He smiled to himself at the fact that he had arrived on Harry's birthday, and he wished that he'd be able to capture Wormtail so that he could be a free man again, and doing it on Harry's birthday couldn't please him more.
Sirius skirted the wards, trying to get a good look at the Burrow, it had been a long time since he had visited there. It had been only once during the first war for a meeting of some of the Order of the Phoenix but he knew it like the back of his hand, at least the grounds and the first floor. He had nothing better to do for the last twelve years but to go over every detail of everything in his pre-Azkaban life to keep himself sane.
By searching carefully he had discovered a weak spot in the wards where a small brook entered the property, and come evening, he planned on entering the property so that he could position himself to get Wormtail after everyone had gone to bed.
Feeling better than he had in ages, Sirius found a small secluded spot where he could curl up and rest before he had to move later on. With a smile of satisfaction, he tucked his nose under his tail, falling into a shallow sleep that left part of his dog self aware of his surroundings.
XX HP + GW XX
Harry and Ginny awoke and immediately Harry felt Ginny's excitement about the coming day. Though he couldn't get any specifics he knew that Ginny had some special things planned and the thought of that filled him with joy.
"Hey Birthday Boy, time to get up," he heard from Ginny.
"What? Can't I stay in bed all day if I want to?" he asked playfully.
"Sure, but you'll miss a lot of the family traditions for birthdays if you do. Starting with a special birthday breakfast, so come on!" she sent as she crawled over him.
Harry loved the exuberance he was feeling coming from Ginny and he found it quite contagious. Knowing she'd never let him stay in bed, he followed directly behind her as she exited their bed.
"Since it's your birthday, I'll let you use the loo first," Ginny sent with a smile. "But don't get use to it."
Harry just smiled and shook his head, to him it didn't matter about using the loo first or last, at least here he could use it when he wished and not on some bizarre schedule set by his Uncle.
"You can come up in five minutes," Harry sent with a smile. He had gotten very good at taking a quick shower if he wanted to be thoroughly rinsed when the time was up, or he'd be dragged from the shower by his Uncle and given a beating for wasting water, even though everyone else took much longer showers.
The Dursley's had even installed an over-sized water heater because Dudley kept complaining when the hot water ran short if he was in the shower longer than a half hour.
Harry had finished his shower, and was brushing his teeth when Ginny arrived. She pulled the door shut behind her and immediately began to disrobe. They had long since gotten over any embarrassment about being unclothed in each others presence, a gift of the Bond. There was no sexual attraction, and though both liked looking at the other nude, it wasn't something that they concentrated on, it was just something that they enjoyed when it happened.
Ginny jumped in the shower, sending to Harry, "You'd better wait for me before going down to breakfast, or maybe I'll keep your gift for myself."
Harry could feel the playful nature of her warning and knew that she wasn't really concerned about his heading off without her.
"See you down in our room," he sent as he exited. He almost ran right into Ron who was waiting patiently outside the door for his turn. Harry saw the surprised look on his face when Harry shut the door behind himself as he exited.
When Ron reached for the doorknob, Harry innocently said, "Ginny's still in there taking her shower."
Ron's eyes widened and he immediately began to turn red, his rage overcoming his brain's attempt to tell him that the Bond must have had something to do with it.
Harry immediately knew he had made a mistake in what he had said to Ron, but that was irrelevant now, he needed some way to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.
Fate must have been looking out for Harry because of his birthday, for before Ron could explode the Twins showed up and took stock of the situation.
Fred and George each gabbed one of Ron's shoulders and pushed him hard against the wall, both glaring at their little brother. "What's got your knickers all in a twist already this morning?" Fred said fiercely, hold Ron tightly against the wall.
"Yeah, you'd think from looking at you, that you were about to fly off the handle or something," George added, pressing on Ron's other shoulder just as forcefully as Fred was on the other.
When all Ron did was glare at them for a moment, Fred said to Harry, "Go on, we'll handle it from here."
"You sure?" Harry asked.
"We're sure," Fred replied.
"Harry? What's going on out there?" Ginny sent, sensing Harry's unease.
As Harry descended the stairs he replied, "Ron was waiting outside and when he went to enter, I told him you were still taking your shower."
"Oh, Harry, did you really?" Ginny asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I wasn't thinking," Harry sent back, sheepishly.
"Harry, Harry, Harry. What am I going to do with you?" Ginny sent back playfully.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," Harry replied, grinning.
"What happened, if I may ask?"
"The Twins showed up," Harry said.
"And?" Ginny sent exasperatedly.
"Oh! Well they grabbed Ron and shoved him up against the wall and told me they'd handle it," Harry sent back offhandedly.
"Poor Ron," Ginny sent with a giggle. "Good thing I'm done, maybe I can save Ron from too much damage."
Harry had reached his room and started to get changed. He wasn't sure how he felt about Ginny rescuing Ron. On one hand he felt Ron deserved it but he also didn't want to create any more animosity. Overall he was glad he didn't have to make that decision and hoped things worked themselves out peacefully.
Ginny entered the room a few moments later, giggling almost to the point of hysterics. "Well, are you going to tell me?" he asked trying not to laugh.
"Good thing I opened the door when I did or Ron would have been the life of the party tonight," Ginny replied. "Fred and George hadn't actually done anything yet, but they were telling Ron in great detail what they were planning on doing."
"What was that?" Harry was compelled to ask.
"Well you know those Muggle clowns?" Ginny asked, stifling another giggle. "They were going to turn him into one and to counter the spell, he'd have to apologize to you one hundred times, during the party, or he'd go to bed that way. Though it would wear off overnight."
"Makes me almost wish you hadn't intervened," Harry sent, then when he felt Ginny's emotions, he quickly added, "You did intervene, didn't you?"
Ginny burst into laughter, "Yeah, I did, but I almost wish I hadn't," she said as she began to get changed.
Harry was already done and he just sat there admiring Ginny's lithe body. Even though she was starting to develop and had continued just as fast as she had before Aunt Poppy had checked her out, Harry only felt a warm loving glow concerning her physical attributes. It never even occurred to him that his seeing her naked was out of the ordinary for someone their ages. To him and Ginny it just felt natural and how things were supposed to be.
Ginny was ready in no time at all and she took Harry by the hand, leading him down to the kitchen. Harry was a bit surprised to see everyone was there, even Ron and the Twins.
Ginny led him to his normal spot, but instead of the normal plates and cutlery, the was a special plate that said, Birthday Boy along with magical decorations that moved around the plate. There were Quidditch players and Quaffles and Bludgers flying around. There were also magical creatures, dragons, Hippogriffs and others that Harry couldn't identify.
Harry stared at the plate for a moment, his emotions running wild, he was dimly aware of everyone wishing him a Happy Birthday. Harry felt his eyes watering up, his emotions a combination of what he had missed during his childhood and how lucky he was feeling now to be a part of such a loving family.
Ginny could feel Harry's runaway emotions, and she sent "Are you okay?"
Harry looked up at her and gave her a weak smile, "Yeah, I'm okay, really. It's just a little overwhelming, that's all."
Ginny nodded in understanding, letting Harry feel her love for him and just letting him adjust to everything.
Harry surprised her and everyone else by going around the table and hugging each and everyone there, Percy and Ron included. Percy was totally taken by surprise, and you could tell it threw his pompous sensibilities off and then there was Ron, he and Harry had looked at each other for a moment, both looking a bit uneasy, but then Harry had just hugged him, saying softly, "Thanks Ron."
It took a moment but Ron did return Harry's hug, if a bit awkwardly. Things weren't back the way they had been, but Ginny got the feeling that things had taken a step in the right direction.
Ginny was afraid at what the Twins might do, but all they did was slap a sign on Harry's back that read, "Kick Me, I'm the Birthday Boy", and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Ginny really felt Harry's emotions soar when he hugged Arthur and Molly and she was all smiles as he came back and sat down. The only one who hadn't acted strangely of the kids was Hermione, she had just hugged Harry back and wished him a happy birthday again.
Harry Hugged Ginny last, right before he sat, by now it was really evident just how emotional of a time it was for Harry and Molly had looked at him, her face full of concern, "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Even though a few tears were leaking out and down his cheeks, Harry nodded and said emotionally, "Yeah, I am. It's just so different, you know. Before Hogwarts, I never even knew when my birthday was, my relatives never would tell me, and since it didn't fall during school, I never thought to ask any of my teachers."
Harry was forced to take a drink of water before continuing, "Last year when you sent me presents for my birthday was the first time I ever received anything, well except for the cake Hagrid brought with him, though Dudley ended up eating it, and I suppose Hedwig, I think I remember Hagrid saying it was my birthday gift, but well, this is the first time I've ever really had any kind of celebration and I can't thank you all enough."
The table was a bit sombre after Harry finished speaking but things slowly returned to normal as the meal progressed. Harry knew from Ginny that his party was going to be that night so that he wasn't surprised that he hadn't received any gifts yet, but to Harry, even if he didn't receive one present, it had already been the best birthday of his life. He was among people who cared about him and loved him and that was good enough for him.
XX HP + GW XX
Tonks was just finishing up at work and she was getting her stuff together to leave when Kingsley Shacklebolt came up to her.
"Here's that copy of the Auror training manual you wanted," he said as he handed her the book. "What are you going to do, reapply?" he asked good-naturedly.
"Ha, Ha," Tonks said sarcastically. "No, it's actually going to be a present for Har. . ., a friend."
Kingsley looked at her shrewdly, "Nymphadora!" he said, his voice rising in pitch all the way through. "Would you like to tell me who Har. . . is?'
Tonks cringed. She knew that it would be difficult for her to lie outright and that might cause more trouble than the truth. Sighing she said, "King, if I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?"
Kingsley was taken by the tone of Tonks' voice. He could tell that she was really upset at having let something slip and from her looks he knew it was something major. "Why don't you come into my office," he said kindly.
Tonks nodded and followed him into his office, where he shut the door and cast several more privacy spells on the room, besides the standard ones always in place.
He motioned for her to sit down and then he sat behind his desk, where he pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey and a couple of glasses. He poured out a couple of fingers into each and slid one over to Tonks. He just sat there, letting Tonks get to things in her own sweet time.
Tonks took a sip of her Firewhiskey and looked pleadingly at her boss. "King, what I'm going to tell you isn't really a huge secret anymore but, well if things got out, it could make it pretty unpleasant for some friends of mine."
Kingsley sipped his own drink while he contemplated her words, "Okay, I can understand that," he said finally. "But why the secrecy in the first place?"
"Well at first it was because of a meddlesome old fool and now it's just because I've grown to like someone and don't want anything to happen to him," Tonks said, truthfully.
"A love interest?" Kingsley teased.
Tonks shot him a dirty look, "No, he's much to young for me, besides he already has a girlfriend and there's no way for me to break them up."
"Now you really have me intrigued," Kingsley said with a grin.
Tonks sighed, "The book is a birthday gift for a special young man I've come to know."
Kingsley wasn't a stupid man by any sense of the word, his mind began to piece together the things she had said so far and he wondered about the gift. "Would today perhaps be this young man's birthday?" he asked, taking a stab at it.
Tonks just nodded, wondering when and not if he was going to put the pieces together.
When Tonks had nodded, Kingsley was sure about who she was speaking, and he sat back in his chair, staring at the ceiling while letting out a long whistle. "Well, you certainly have a way of dropping a name without actually saying it," he said with a tone of respect.
He then looked at her a bit closer, sensing a certain tenseness that he had always associated with Aurors who knew that they might be heading into trouble.
"What's up, Dora," he asked intensely.
Dora knew that he had felt her unease, it was just something that Aurors seemed to pick up on easily. "Well, there might be trouble tonight at the young man's party," she said.
"How certain are you of that?" he asked.
"Fairly certain, considering the source," Tonks replied.
"A reliable source?" Kingsley asked, not pressing for details about the person. Most Aurors had contacts on the street that kept them informed and Kingsley just assumed it was on of those.
"Usually very reliable," Tonks replied.
"Do you need any help?" Kingsley asked.
Tonks considered his question carefully. Sure Aberforth had come up with a plan but it relied on a number of hereto unproven participants. Having a few friendlies close by might be advantageous.
"King, you know me, there isn't such a thing as too much help," Tonks replied with a grin.
"So if me and a few friends just happened to be in the area, you wouldn't object?" Kingsley asked with a knowing smile.
"Who me? Object, you've got to be kidding," she said back, breathing a sigh of relief. When you didn't have confirmed information on how many people you'd be facing, you got as many people as possible for your side, better to have too many than not enough.
"When and where?" Kingsley asked.
"The Burrow, tonight. The party is set to start at 6pm with dinner, you know the drill," Tonks said.
Kingsley's eyes lit up, "Dinner at Molly's?" he asked, hopefully.
Tonks had to laugh, "Okay but just for you, I can't invite more than that without approval, so the others will have to fend for themselves," she said humorously.
Kingsley's deep baritone laugh rang out, "Sure thing, I'll see you in a little bit or I can show up a little later."
Why don't I go ahead and let Molly know you'll be joining us," Tonks said after a moments thought.
"Fine with me, that will let me have a little time to clean up and wrap a present for the birthday boy," Kingsley said with a grin.
"You have a present?" Tonks said in surprise as she stood up.
"If you're giving him a copy of the manual, I have something that will compliment it," Kingsley said with a wink.
Tonks laughed as she headed for the door, "In that case, I think I know what you have in mind, and if I'm correct, he'll love it too."
XX HP + GW XX
Sirius was waiting patiently until dark and he was eager to get a hold of Wormtail, the man who had been the reason, he had spent the last twelve years in Azkaban. No one had a bigger score to settle than him. Not only had Peter Pettigrew framed him, he had betrayed the people who had meant the most to him in the whole world.
Sirius decided to take another loop around the property to see what was going on. It was while he was down by the small stream that flowed through the property, getting a drink of water that for a moment, he thought he had finally lost his mind.
Coming down the path toward the stream he saw two people walking. That in itself wasn't the problem, the thing that he found extraordinary was that from the distance he was seeing them, he could have sworn that it was James and Lily.
Sirius shook his head and looked again, knowing what he was seeing couldn't be true. He had seen James and Lily's bodies, checking the house after Hagrid had taken little Harry away.
Seeing that the couple was coming his way, Sirius found a hiding place across the stream, just outside the wards where he could see, but not be seen. He just had to find out who or what was coming.
It was as they came closer, Sirius realized it couldn't be James and Lily, they were much to young. This only piqued his interest, who could these two be to look so like his lost friends.
He didn't have that long to wait, as the couple came directly down to the stream. To Sirius they seemed to be acting very oddly. They would look at each other from time to time, sometimes smiling, sometimes poking the other or hugging lightly. From all appearances they seemed to be involved in a lengthy conversation, all except that their lips weren't moving or their mouths opening.
They were just across the stream from him when the boy pulled up short and the young girl into a tight hug, kissing her on the neck as he did so. Sirius thought they looked quite young to be participating in such activities, but his attention was drawn back to the couple when they young girl, said huskily, "Oh, Harry, that feels so wonderful."
Sirius' mind began to race, could it be? Was the boy really Harry, James' and Lily's son. He certainly looked right, and Sirius raised his nose to the breeze, closing his eyes he let his mind drift back to the idyllic times before his world had fallen apart.
Olfactory memories are deep seated, retained long after visual memories have faded and grown weak, and Sirius let the scent of the boy fill him and he knew without a doubt that he was none other than Harry James Potter. No wonder that he had smells so similar to James.
But if the messy black haired youth was Harry, who was the young girl who looked so much like Lily, at least from a distance. Up close he could see the differences, but still, she had a remarkable resemblance to the 11-12 year old Lily Evans.
Sirius thought hard, something he was use to doing, because it was one of the few things that had helped to keep him sane all the years he had been locked away in Azkaban.
From the looks of it she was slightly younger than Harry and since they were at the Burrow, could she be the young Weasley girl, She had been born just a couple of months before the killings of James and Lily.
What was her name? Jennifer? No, that wasn't it. Gin, . . ., Jen . . ., wait, wasn't it Genevieve, no! It was Ginevra! Ginevra Weasley, called Ginny the only time that he had visited, that one time the Order had met at the Burrow.
He clearly remembered Lily holding the young baby and cooing over her, before the meeting got started. James had gently chided her that they might have a girl next, to go along with Harry. He remembered the brilliant smile that had formed on Lily's face, saying that she would welcome a girl or a boy.
Suddenly, clearly in his mind he saw something that hadn't registered before, James placing his hand on Lily's abdomen, and Sirius felt his heart break. Lily had been pregnant at the time of her death. Robbing Harry of a brother or sister and the world of another brilliant child of James and Lily.
If that was true, she and James must have just discovered the fact and hadn't told anyone. Then when they were forced into hiding, they may have not wanted the fact known. He remembered that James had told him right before that fateful night that he and Lily had exciting news to share, but he wanted for Remus and Peter to be there too.
Without realizing it, Sirius was whimpering at the thoughts and he must have been heard by Harry and Ginny, because they looked intently across the stream to where he was hidden. It didn't look like they saw anything, but they turned and headed away rather quickly, leaving Sirius to morn for the Potter child that never had a chance to be born.
In that instant, the hatred Sirius felt for Pettigrew grew a hundred fold, and he vowed that nothing was going to stop him from extracting his revenge on the Rat that had betrayed the Potters, especially now that it looked like Harry was in close proximity to him.
Sirius rose and stealthily made his way back around to the weak point, where he would hunker down and wait till dark to slip in and find Pettigrew, Maybe, just maybe part of his nightmare would be over.
XX HP + GW XX
A/N: So I was wrong, the kidnapping didn't happen in this chapter. I had to get Sirius involved, plus set the stage. You'll just have to wait till next chapter to find out what happens.
Will Harry be snatched? Will Sirius get Peter? Will the Chudley Cannons ever win a game? Weighty questions, intrepid readers. Any guesses? A special prize to any and all who guess correctly.
As always please review.
I'd like to give a blanket thank you to those who have reviewed lately and not received a personal response. As you may know, and I let many do so, FanFiction has been having issues lately, one was getting notifications out and I got swamped with two batches of catch-up emails, resulting in me getting 93 at once and then shortly afterwards, 70 some. I have tried to catch up, but to do so would have eaten into my writing time, and I'm pretty sure you'd rather have story updates than a reply to a review or message.
Thanks for your understanding.