Disclaimer: Usually I write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so this time as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am not making any money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 40: A Measure of Closure
After the meal the Great Hall took on an expectant air as the Maganacs goaded Harry into showing off his latest tricks; something he'd not done since the summer before. He eventually acquiesced though he didn't wear his usual grin of anticipation as the center of the room was cleared and a protective barrier put up to protect those watching. Harry then used a quick spell to temporarily expand the already high ceiling up another ten feet just in case while a quick trip into his supply trunk netted him all sixteen of his throwing knives and his deck of throwing cards. The knives quickly disappeared into his clothes the moment he was back in the center of the hall while he started off with a few simple tricks with his rather deadly deck of cards.
Not long after that he had the entire deck up in the air as he systematically snatched the cards from the air while performing a few rather dangerous tricks. All sixteen blades eventually joined the cards for a couple of minutes before they disappeared back into his clothes. After about ten minutes, Harry did something he'd never done before during his card tricks; he let the cards fall to the ground so that they landed face down in a circle around him.
A few people began to clap only to stop when Harry held up a hand to silently tell them to wait while he pulled out his wand. Now, while every one present had seen Harry perform magic time and time again very few of them had ever actually seen Harry perform magic; in other words use his magic simply to entertain an audience. He started with a simple levitation spell that lifted all fifty four cards into the air and set them in a staggered pair of circles around him.
He then clasped his wand in his mouth as he slipped his shirt off to free his wings. Fully healed now (and recently shed for the second time ever), the wings looked shiny and healthy as they stretched out to on either side of him before snapping back behind him. A banishing spell sent his shirt out of his way after he reclaimed his wand and Harry bowed his head for a moment as he lifted both hands slightly higher than his head; posing much like a conductor of an orchestra might post just before starting the concert. When he looked up a moment later his eyes were glowing not with his connection to Zero but with barely suppressed power as he unleashed a shower of gold sparks that brightened the torch lit hall.
He then began making his floating cards dance to some unheard melody as they lazily twirled and spun around each other and him. Another spell had blue and purple bubbles floating about as the cards continued to waltz around Harry. Next, Harry shocked a number of people when he transformed his silver cards into silver doves that circled around him once more before driving towards the floor where another spell changed them into silver mice that scattered in every direction before he turned them into silver cobras. The cobras then began dancing and circling in and around each other while Harry conjured a flock of white doves that exploded into a shower of white feathers that morphed into white flower petals that rained down all around Harry.
Next he merged all of the snakes into a single giant snake whose head Harry stepped up onto as it rose up high before shattering into playing cards once more leaving Harry to gently float back to the floor using his wings. As the cards rained down on the floor, their sharp edges cut right through the floor and they seemingly vanished from sight completely. A minute later, silver flowers were growing up out of the floor in a circle around Harry. Half of the flowers morphed into large, silver swallowtail butterflies while the second half became two foot tall wood nymphs that danced sinuously around Harry while the butterflies morphed into miniature winged horses.
The flying horses then became phoenixes while the nymphs became satyrs that played on silent pan flutes as they danced on their cloven feet. The creatures then merged into a single being a second time and a spell from Harry turned the silver figure into a life-like copy of Harry's mother and he danced with her around the edge of his stage for several minutes before she morphed into an image of Hermione as Harry remembered her from the Yule Ball. Another few minutes and Harry was dancing with Cathy's twin before he returned to the center and let go of the clone as Cathy morphed into his father who in turn morphed into a magnificent stag.
The stag danced on his hooves before he transformed into a large black dog that pranced about playfully before turning into a younger, happier version of Harry's godfather. Harry then changed Sirius into Remus and Remus into Moony before turning Moony into Wolfstar. He wasn't quite certain what made him do the next transformation but Pettigrew was suddenly standing in the room before he shrank down into Wormtail and a rather sadistic grin momentarily flashed across Harry's face for an instant when a blasting spell blew the silver rat into fifty-four pieces that once more became cards.
The cards then began flying around the room in a long train, spiraling ever closer to where Harry stood at the center of the room before they melted together once more and he transfigured them into a larger than life copy of Beauty. Harry then danced with the giant python, incorporating the acrobatics that the Maganacs had taught him and a few of the katas that Wufei had shown him; his body effortlessly bending and weaving in and around that of the snake's body. After a few more minutes, the silver python wrapped itself around Harry and slowly reverted into a long train of cards that slid up and around his body until all fifty-four of them were sitting in his left hand once more.
The cards vanished into his shirt just seconds later as Harry gave a short bow before he dropped all of the spells he placed on the Great Hall and tucked his wand back into his glove.
A small smile flittered across his face when the applause rang out but it soon vanished as he slowly made his way to his shirt and covered his wings once more before taking a seat beside Wolfstar as Anubis and Seth slipped from their temporary perch on Trowa and slipped back into Harry's shirt all the while complaining of chilly old castles. Someone struck up a merry tune at that point and as a handful of the others danced with the few ladies present and Harry watched silently from the shadows as he rested, his hour long presentation having drained him nearly as much as a five hour battle in Wolfstar would have.
He was half dozing when Cathy dragged him out for a real dance, claiming that watching him dance with a carbon copy of her didn't count and Harry earned a swat when he cheekily corrected her; it had been a silver copy not a carbon copy. Harry soon found himself dancing with Hilde and then Patricia; both teens asking him dozens of questions about the spells he used (only five in total for the manipulation of the cards; a levitation spell to make them float, an animation spell to give them life, and a trio of transfiguration spells being used repeatedly).
Harry faltered and fumbled when his next partner turned out to be Dorothy and he found himself blushing and paling in turns as he kept thinking about the kiss they shared, their rather violent if short fight, and everything he'd talked about with his brothers afterwards.
He only grew more flustered when it became apparent that she wasn't going to let him go after the first dance and he nearly turned to glare at those playing the latest song when he noted that it was a much slower tune than the previous songs. He grew tense when he noted that the two of them were virtually off dancing by themselves as every one else had slowly migrated to the other side of the hall to give them a little privacy. He proceeded to trip over his feet when Dorothy addressed him right after that, her voice pitched low to keep her words from traveling.
"I… Hilde and Cathy told me why you reacted the way you did a couple of weeks ago. They didn't give me any details or anything… they just gave me a brief explanation. I wanted to apologize for behaving the way I did and to let you know that if I had known before about… well I wouldn't have startled you the way I did. And I probably wouldn't have… wouldn't have kissed you the way I did."
"You don't have anything to apologize for, I overreacted," Harry replied as he stopped dancing, his feet far too clumsy and heavy at the moment. "If I'd known what you were going to do I would have stopped you so you wouldn't have had to regret the kiss and I should have known better than to kiss a pretty girl."
Dorothy blushed at the compliment (the first Harry had ever given her in her hearing) before she softly state, "I don't regret stealing my first kiss from you."
"You should," Harry countered as he stepped back to put some distance between them (still uncomfortable with the physical contact; especially now that they'd stopped dancing). "I'm broken and the only thing I could possibly offer is pain and misery; no woman deserves that. You've given me a patronus worthy memory for my first kiss and if they were still alive I could have named at least fifty witches who would have gladly skinned you alive for stealing what I refused to give them. That is neither here nor there though and nothing more will come of that kiss because I won't allow you to be hurt because of me. I think it best you return to the Sanc Kingdom now that things are starting to settle down and the war is grinding to a halt."
"How dare you!" Dorothy hissed indignantly. "What gives you the right to decide what I can and can't feel? I'll tell you what gives you the right; nothing! I am perfectly capable of making up my own mind, thank you very much, and I'll thank you to not tell me what you and will not allow me to do as if you own me! And for the record you also have no right to tell me when or where I will be going because in case you forgot; I signed your stupid contract and I made a commitment to do a job and I will not allow you to make me break my word just because you are insecure and frightened."
Dorothy was practically yelling by the time she finished and you could hear the ice on the windows outside cracking as it melted and refroze due to the heat escaping through the glass from inside of the hall in the silence that fell after she finished. Harry eeped as Dorothy closed the distance between them a heartbeat later and grabbed hold of his shirt as she leaned down while pulling him closer so they were practically nose to nose.
"I also didn't appreciate you stringing the words 'first kiss' and 'fifty witches' together in the name sentence. If you were attempting to flatter or compliment me you failed miserably. If you thought to make me jealous you'd best not think to try it again, Mr. Bard, because I'll gladly give you another shiner to go with that one I gave you two weeks ago! Understand?"
"Perfectly," Harry croaked out which earned him several snickers from the men in the room that were currently married or that had been married at some time and his brothers as they could appreciate Dorothy's handling of Harry's tendency to wallow in self-pity.
"Good and you best not forget it!"
Dorothy then leaned down further and stole her second kiss from Harry. There was only a split second where Harry tried to break the kiss but a growl from Dorothy had him ceasing to resist with a soft sigh as the brief thought that he'd somehow managed to attract the attention of a girl just as stubborn as he was passed through his mind. The thought was gone a moment later as the euphoria he'd experienced from his first kiss returned with a vengeance in his second kiss and his passive acceptance of the kiss changed to active participation. The kiss ended a heartbeat later (as if him reciprocating was all she was waiting for) and Dorothy stormed off leaving a rattled and confused Harry in her wake as she grabbed Hilde's hand and the two teens disappeared off to who knows where with Patricia following after them a heartbeat later.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again; luck and ladies don't mix and I'm beginning to think common sense doesn't mix well with them either," Harry declared only to yelp when Cathy flicked his ear after hearing his comment as she walked up to see if he was alright. That of course earned him yet another round of laughter from the other guys and he soon slunk off to sulk in his office while he prepared the next meal for the phoenix twins since it was almost time to feed them.
"We can't even leave ya alone for five minutes without ya gettin' inta trouble, can we?" Duo asked rhetorically as he followed Harry into the former antechamber.
"Ya shoulda remembered that before ya left me ta da wolves," Harry shot back as he mimicked Duo's accent and tone perfectly.
"Well… ya know what they say right? Sink or…"
"Shave?" Harry interrupted with a mock growl from where he was mashing a plum with a vengeance before adding a few almonds to the mush and pounding them into paste.
"No… I do believe da word ya are lookin' for is swim," Duo insisted quickly.
"If you insist," Harry countered as he pulled out his wand and soaked Duo from head to foot with ice water that left the long haired teen spluttering indignantly. Harry then conjured a large towel and dropped it on Duo's head, since he didn't want to get his brother sick.
"Okay… I shoulda seen that one comin' a mile away."
"Should have but we both know you never look before you leap."
"Ha, ha… how about dryin' me out and warmin' me up before I catch pneumonia?"
Harry flicked his wand twice in Duo's direction, casting the requested spells soundlessly. He then went back to his systematic pulverization of nature's bounty (adding in a few slices of apple and some hazelnuts). As he worked the fruit and nuts into a thick paste, Harry's thoughts skittered all over the place like a water-skater dancing across the surface of a stagnant pond.
"Why are girls so confusing, Duo?"
"Why are ya askin' me?"
"Well… you're here and you and Hilde have a thing going so I thought maybe you'd know."
"Me… Hilde…? What are ya talkin' about, kiddo?"
"I never realized you were just as clueless as Heero when it comes to girls; maybe I should ask Abdul."
"What was that about me being clueless about girls?" Heero inquired as he pushed Duo out of his way and stepped into the office, taking note of Harry's repeated killing of what ever he was mixing.
"Well you are," Harry affirmed with a sharp nod. "Relena's been mooning after you for almost two years and you never even noticed until I started teasing you about it and even then we both know you think she's cute but you've not even told her you think she's cute."
"Uh-huh, and you don't think it has anything to do with the fact that she's a princess of an entire kingdom and a pacifist while I'm nothing but a simple soldier?"
"I know that… and you know that… but why the hell doesn't she know that?" Harry demanded as he added three fat raspberries to the paste he'd made in addition to an ounce of white grape juice.
"You're not actually talking about Relena are you?"
Harry's response was to shoot a quick glare at both of his brothers as he murdered the raspberries mercilessly before he let his shoulders slump as he simply swirled the now fruity porridge before dropping the pestle he'd used to mash the berries and nuts to the side of the bowl. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair (knocking his glass off to one side) as he huffed in pure frustration.
The sound of a hungry chirp had him fixing his glasses, grabbing a wide mouthed eye dropper, and picking up the food he'd made for the two phoenixes. Setting the bowl and eye dropper down beside the nest, Harry freed his wings (the two phoenixes now refusing to eat if they didn't see them after they'd seen them two weeks earlier – Harry thought it had to do with the heat the wings tended to generate which was distinct phoenix-like trait). Picking the dropper back up, Harry began offering each phoenix an ounce of the sweet gruel in alternating turns, their little voices rising and falling whenever their mouths weren't occupied.
"I thought you were going to talk to Miss Catalonia?" Heero asked after a few minutes.
"I did… you saw how well that turned out."
"Did ya actually talk ta her or did ya simply tell her what she could or couldn't do? Cause from what I heard of her reply it sounded like ya weren't gonna give her a choice and ya were practically orderin' her ta leave," Duo pointed out.
"Do you remember what you said right after we interrogated Miss Catalonia? When we were trying to decide what to do with her and you suggested we give her the choice because she was an intelligent girl and wouldn't think us for trying to order her about?"
"The two of you don't have to keep rubbing it in how badly I blundered out there. I had at least hoped to have a few days to gather the courage to ask her if we could talk and I suddenly found her in my arms and she wasn't letting go. I was nervous and floundering and she started right in by apologizing and let me know that Cathy and Hilde had told her that… well I don't know exactly what they told her but I'm pretty certain I can guess the topic because of the way the conversation went. She mentioned the kiss, I said I should have stopped her, she said she didn't regret it, I told her she should and went on to explain that I'm broken and have nothing to offer any woman, and then I told her she needed to leave. And you heard the result of that…"
"You issued her a challenge, young mage," Obduro stated as he ducked into the room and gently pushed the two taller teens out of the way of his much larger body. "Venus only appears to be the most delicate of the planets but she is a fiery and fierce warrior when her wraith is stirred. She will also face a challenge head on."
"Great… just what I need."
"Indeed it is," Obduro agreed, the centaur ignoring Harry's sarcasm entirely. "A foal can not survive on the teachings of a sire alone; foals need love and nurturing from their dam as well. You will be the sire of the entire magical world and it is your duty to claim a mate for you and your children. The young palomino filly is strong, intelligent, and more than a match for that temper of yours; she would be an ideal deal mate for you. She could give you many strong sons and daughters through the years and keep you on your toes."
Harry turned to gape at Obduro in horror as he registered that the old centaur had just basically ordered him to find a wife and that Dorothy had met with his approval. He shook his head in denial and returned his attention back to the still hungry chicks as Spera, the little female, nipped him on the hand for his inattention. He shook his head several more times as he listened to his two brothers smothering what sounded suspiciously like laughter. After a few minutes, Harry finally found his voice.
"I have nothing to offer any woman."
"What makes you so certain," Heero asked almost before Harry had even finished speaking. Harry opened his mouth to reply but Heero held up his hand to stop him as he continued, "Let's look at this logically; shall we? You own an entire valley and have a castle; so you can provide shelter and a home. You have money, so you could easily support a rather large family in addition to funding the magical creature reserve and the ongoing repopulation of the various species. You have the knowledge and skills to defend your home so you have the ability to protect a family."
"With all of the work that needs to be done to reestablish the magical world I doubt any one could find the time to grow bored around here. And we already know there is nothing medically wrong with you so you could conceivably father any children your hypothetical wife wished to bring into this world. So what exactly is it that you can't offer a woman? I mean, really? Because I just covered the basics as far as I know and I didn't even mention that you are in effect the king of a small kingdom."
"I wasn't speaking materialistically, Heero, and you damn well know it. I refuse to bind some woman into a loveless marriage of convenience."
"Are ya afraid that ya will never be loved or that ya can't bring yourself ta love a woman?" Duo countered.
Harry didn't answer the question as he slowly tucked the now sleeping phoenixes back beneath their bed of ashes, making certain to cover every bit of red down so they wouldn't get a chill. The sound of hooves ringing on stone filled the room before Harry felt a large hand fall on his shoulder and he looked up to meet the centaur's warm and concerned honey colored gaze.
"Every stallion needs the love of a mare just as much as every foal needs a sire and a dam; the long winters are cold and lonely without a pair of arms and the beat of another heart pressed close to yours. As one forced to walk most of my life alone I can tell you that a solitary life is hard and difficult and above all else it is empty because duty will not erase the loneliness that eats at your soul each night you fall asleep as alone as you were when you woke up that morning."
"Why didn't you say anything about how you're feeling right now when we were discussing your past and your insecurities?" Heero asked curiously. "I mean, we talked about everything else, why not this as well?"
"I honestly thought there wouldn't be an issue because I didn't think she'd want anything to do with me after what happened so I thought it was unnecessary," Harry admitted as he made no protest to Obduro offering him a measure of comfort as if Harry was one of his foals; the centaur running his hand through Harry's hair and down his back (a centaur's equivalent of a hug).
"Ya didn't think she'd want anything ta do with ya… does that mean ya want something ta do with her?"
"No. I don't know. She's the granddaughter of the man who wanted to see me strapped to a lab table and under the knife of a scientist."
"What does that have to do with how you feel about her? You don't plan on dating her grandfather do you? It's really simple; do you like her? Do you find her pretty? Is she easy to talk to, when you're not tripping over yourself and your words? Or does she bore you? Do you enjoy her company when she's in the room with you? Did you enjoy her kisses?"
"Heero…"
"I don't expect you to give me the answers to those questions and I'm really not the one who needs to hear the answers anyway; you are. And you need to be honest with yourself about the answers to them because you'll only end up hurting yourself in the long run if you aren't."
Harry watched as both of his brothers filed out of the room and left him alone with the aging centaur and the two sleeping phoenixes. He just felt so confused and more than a little frustrated because it seemed like he still didn't have any choice in how he lived his life; even if he knew that wasn't exactly true. Sighing, Harry leaned sideways into Obduro, resting one shoulder against the centaur's wide horse chest, and closed his eyes as the centaur continued to pet him from his head to the middle of his back. He eventually fell asleep leaning against the centaur, much as a young centaur foal might when in the same position.
All five of his brothers ended up sticking around for the rest of March since there wasn't really much else for them to do (except for Quatre but he could work from Scotland as easily as he could from Saudi Arabia). Wufei and Quatre took over working the bugs out of the plant tracking system and began entering data into the system, Duo took to helping Dorothy, Patricia, and Hilde with the creature database, and Trowa and Heero helped Harry to clean out Gryffindor Tower as Harry had decided to claim the entire tower for his own; having felt at home there for nearly four years (when he ignored all of the negative memories he'd collected during those same four years).
The common room became a cozy sitting room that doubled as a library and a study as Harry filled the room with book shelves, a desk, a pair of coffee tables, an antique grandfather clock, a couple of comfortable couches and armchairs (charmed to be dark red), and a few other tasteful rugs and decorations that he'd pulled from his storage trunk and his trunk of valuables (some of them Potter or Black heirlooms Sirius had thoughtfully tucked away for him and the rest spare furniture that his godfather had had a pair of elves collect (steal) from around the castle). The large fireplace was cleaned up and repaired and the portrait of the Fat Lady moved into a place of honor above the mantle as there was no need for her to guard the entrance any longer (Harry having replaced the former tunnel with a proper door).
Once Harry figured out how to connect the other three frames he'd made for her to her painting she'd be able to freely travel between the command trunk, the entrance hall, and the headmaster's office where her other portraits now sat. She could at least still visit the occupants of the portraits hung throughout the castle so she at least wouldn't be lonely for the moment (she just couldn't travel outside of the castle or use the newly made portraits yet).
Additionally, the painting of the forest with the unicorn was hung in the former common room on the wall above the desk, Sir Cadogan and the portrait of the former Weasley twins were both placed on either side of the main entrance, a painting of a medieval castle (that the title claimed was the original Hogwarts Castle as built by the founders) was hung on the first landing above the main staircase (where the stairs split off leading up to the boys and girls dorms) between the two windows, and two more landscape paintings (one of the Scottish coastline and another of a moonlit meadow; both of them with at least one magical creature in the background) were hung to either side of the unicorn's painting.
The head boy's room, which sat directly below the boys' dorms on the ground floor, became Harry's bedroom after he cleaned it up and repaired the bathroom. On the opposite side of the common room, what had once been the head girl's room, in turn became Harry's private workshop and the bathroom that had been attached to the former bedroom became a small lab and wash room for when Harry needed to draw blood for the wards or brew a small potion for one of his many projects. Harry then ended up turning the large storage room between his new bedroom and the entrance (directly opposite of the fireplace and where all of the extra beds, pillows, linens, and other furniture for the dorm rooms had been stored) into a kennel slash garage for Wolfstar as the sentient suit still insisted on following him everywhere.
Harry was at a loss as to what to do with the fourteen dorm rooms (seven each for the boys and girls) when Heero suggested turning one of the lower floors into a nursery. Harry cringed at the reminder but quickly saw the merit in the suggestion because he was going to need a place for the eight little wizards and witches (exactly four of each) to sleep once they were 'born'. He then set about turning the first floor boys' dorm into a nursery and the attached bathroom into a bathing room slash linen closet.
Not knowing what babies would need (he had no experience with babies or small children after all), he asked Cathy for her input and soon his private tower was invaded by four teenage girls as they discussed furniture, decorations, and accessories (all of which was soon purchased on-line and picked up by Takoda a few days later). When they were finished roughly one week later, the room had been painted in shades of red and gold (Harry refused to part with the Gryffindor theme despite their efforts to impose a pink and blue scheme) and decorated with baby animals (both magical and mundane).
Lined up against the walls on either side as you entered the room, were four baby cots; the ones to the left for the boys and the ones for the girls to the right. Interspersed between the cots on both sides of the room were three dressers that would eventually be filled with an assortment of baby clothes. To either side of both doors stood a pair of wardrobes; the two near the bathroom meant to hold baby blankets, baby toys, and stuffed animals and the two near the bedroom door intended to hold shoes, jackets, jumpers, hats, gloves, and scarves.
Down the center of the room, with plenty of space to walk around them, were four changing tables that would need to be filled with diapers, wipes, baby powder, and a dozen other little things that babies needed. On either end of the changing station stood a tall clothes basket beside a magical clothes hamper that would wash, dry, and fold any soiled diapers or clothes tossed into them (the ladies loving the concept of the magical hampers after Harry had mentioned them in passing to Cathy).
The bathroom went through an even more startling transformation as all of the sinks, toilets, and shower stalls were removed. In place of the showers, they had Harry (with the help of Heero) install a long counter-top with three long, shallow rectangular sinks that were sloped on one side; ideal for washing young infants and toddlers who could easily slip beneath the surface of the water in a regular sink or tub.
Above and behind the counters, was a series of recessed shelves and cubbies that currently only held a handful of soft washcloths and fluffy towels (spread out so there was some above each sink) but would eventually also hold baby shampoo, baby soap, baby sponges, baby hair brushes and combs, baby tooth brushes, and an assortment of baby friendly bath toys. Below the shelves was a long mirror that ran the length of the counter and would allow anyone standing at the sinks to keep track of anything going on behind them without needing to turn around and take their complete attention off of the babe they were washing.
One end of the bathroom was blocked off and a more traditional bathroom installed with a single sink, toilet, and shower for any adult in need of a quick shower or a restroom break but not wanting to tromp all the way downstairs and leave the babies all alone for quite that long. Opposite of the baby baths, there was a series of recessed linen closets that would hold extra towels, extra bathing supplies, sheets, pillow cases, and more blankets.
Between the door and the first cabinet, was an extensive first aide kit with both magical and mundane necessities for treating any type of potential injury or common illness. Finally, there was another pair of large mirrors hung on the two shorter walls of the rectangular room with the one on the wall leading into the private bathroom slightly smaller to account for the door. The colors chosen for the bathroom were white and gold with red flowers for accents.
The four ladies didn't stop there either as they turned the second floor boys' dorm and bathroom into a near exact replica of the nursery below; except toddler beds were exchanged for the cots, the changing tables were switched out for a large communal playpen, and small toddler size benches slash toy chests were placed at the foot of each bed so that the children could sit down to put on their shoes or have a place to keep their personal toys. They also added a pair of low book shelves and two extra wardrobes to hold books and communal toys respectfully.
The bathroom was set up similarly with the baby sink baths replaced for slightly longer and much deeper sinks (without the sloped side) that would place the water level inside the bath just a few inches above the belly button and the addition of a place for training toilets to be set up when it come time to potty train the children. The colors used in both bedroom and bathroom were identical to those used in the nursery and nursery bathroom with an assortment of different animals and designs to distinguish the two rooms from one another.
The third and fourth floor dorms saw the girls and boys being moved into separate rooms for the first time, with the boys being given the higher floor (to burn off their excess energy according to Cathy). Each room had eight twin sized beds, with eight dressers, eight wardrobes, eight bookshelves, eight toy chests, eight small desks, and a single magical hamper placed right beside the bathroom door.
Inside of the bathroom, the counter-top bathtubs were exchanged for two normal sized tubs in each bathroom and two shower stalls, the elimination of the private bathroom, and four bathroom stalls (with toilets) installed. The color theme also changed for the first time (despite Harry's protests) as the boys were given a nice medium blue and gold with a wolf theme while the girls room was done in purple and gold with flowers and butterflies; both themes and colors continuing on into the bathrooms.
The fifth and sixth floors were left untouched for the moment (since it would be years before any children would have need of the rooms up there) and the seventh floor was turned into a library/study geared towards children aged ten or older. The attic sitting above the new study was cleaned up and set aside for storage. When the three ladies then turned their attention to the former girls' dorms, Harry put his foot down and told them he appreciated their help but they'd done enough.
They acquiesced but made him move his workshop/lab up into the first floor girls' dorm so that the former Head Girl's room could be turned into an appropriate playroom and bathroom for the children. He complained but did as told while the three ladies repainted the room with a jungle theme (Harry would add moving animals to it later) and arranged the various furniture.
Harry then set about turning the second, third, and fourth floor dorm rooms on the girls' side into snake habitats (after hearing Seth and Anubis complain for the thousandth time about the cold). He set them up similarly to the rooms he'd created at the Winner Estate; the bottom floor being a combination swamp and jungle, the middle room covering the forests and grasslands, and the top floor being fairly arid and dry for the desert dwelling snakes. He then connected all three rooms with a cast iron, spiral staircase that would be fairly easy for any of the snakes to climb up and down.
Next, he completely sealed off and covered the doors to the second and third floors (barring small cat flaps that the snakes could use to come and go) which left only one main entrance large enough for a person to walk through up on the fourth floor to make it easier to keep wandering children away from the snakes. Once he finished with that, he released the majority of rodents he'd been raising in his supply trunk into their natural environments so that they could establish themselves before he brought the rest of the snakes up in the summer. He also made a note to purchase or capture other several species of rodents, small birds, and lizards to account for the different dietary preferences of the various species of snakes he'd collected.
Of the last three floors on that side of the tower, Harry only did anything to the seventh floor and the attic space above it; removing the floor/ceiling separating the attic from the top floor and turning the combined room into an aerie for the two phoenixes. The attic windows were enlarged to let in more light and charmed to repel wild birds, inclement weather, and still allow the two phoenixes to enter and exit once they were old enough to fly. The rest of the room was turned into a rather tasteful forest clearing with a ring of trees growing flush against the walls, an assortment of thorn-less climbing roses and ivy coaxed into growing up the walls and over the tree trunks, and the floor covered with a layer of soft loam and seeded with wild grasses and flowers.
Immediately to the left of the door, a rune powered waterfall flowed down from ceiling to floor into a raised stone pond that was three feet deep, four feet long, two feet wide, and curved around to the left (following the contour of the wall). Using magic, Harry wove the branches of the trees into tasteful nests and perches that looked fairly natural once they were covered with vines. The rest of the salvaged gold bowls (which Harry thought were far too opulent to use as common every day dishes) were settled into the various nests in the hopes that additional phoenixes would one day join Fawkes's two children.
To either side of the waterfall, a series of scattered stone ledges were affixed to the wall so that the birds could perch on them. Sitting just a few feet in front of the pond was the statue of a stag he had found in his trunk that he thought looked exactly like his patronus (and therefore like Prongs). He affixed a large golden platter to the stag's back as a feeding tray where he could place fruits and nuts for the phoenix to pick from once they no longer needed to be hand fed.
In the very center of the room, Harry set a large shallow silver cauldron in which he conjured some bluebell flames in honor of Hermione (which would eventually be replaced with Gubraithian flames when Harry learned how to cast the spell). Finally, he put in a stepping stone path that encircled the room and led up the cauldron in the middle to prevent visitors to the aerie from trampling the flowers once they bloomed.
During that time, even when she was helping in the nursery and other bedrooms, Harry studiously avoided Dorothy and took extra care that they were never left alone. He would watch her occasionally and more than once caught her watching him in return but he was still too confused about his feelings regarding the spirited blonde to make any overtures. It didn't help that he had virtually no experience with girls in general other than his friendship with Hermione and the sisterly mothering that Cathy still sometimes lavished on him. The only positive thing he noted was that she had not taken to exhibiting any fan-girl type behavior; though, if she had it might have been far easier for him to dismiss her.
He had answered the questions that Heero had given to him but he wasn't certain what they meant in the long run and he couldn't quite bring himself to ask anyone because he wasn't quite certain he wanted to know. So he continued to dance about his feelings and avoid the issue entirely by keeping his mind occupied with other things.
At the end of March, Quatre, Trowa, and most of the Maganac Corps bid Harry goodbye as they headed back to the Winner Estate. Heero and Duo left a couple of days later, heading to the Sanc Kingdom to consult with Zechs about the increased activity of the White Fang group. The rest of the Maganacs stayed behind as winter finally began to loosen its grip on the countryside in order to start construction on the greenhouses. Wufei stayed as well, continuing to input the magical plant data into the computer as well as help Harry peruse the applications that were slowly starting to filter into the castle as a result of the job advertisements Quatre had posted for Harry.
It was important to screen applicants carefully because of how vulnerable the magical world was at the moment and any negative attention would only bring disaster. Still, they needed more hands to help share the load because the work was only going to multiply (and quickly) once the reserve truly got off the ground and so they had to trust themselves to find trustworthy people to join them. After a week's deliberation, Harry selected eighteen applicants that he thought would do well (Wufei tacitly endorsing his selections) and sent all eighteen an informational e-mail packet that would get them to the Winner Estate for an interview conference (which Quatre had already agreed to help him conduct).
Those that passed the interview would then be given a contract to sign (similar to the one Dorothy signed but with fewer strings attached) before being flown up for a tour at which point they would either be offered a formal employment contract (which was slightly more rigid than the one Dorothy signed) or have their memories slightly altered before being sent on their merry way. (Harry had worked extensively with several of the headmaster portraits in order to learn the spell safely because it was essential at this point; even if he disliked the very idea of stealing memories from people after everything he'd been through.)
There were currently four basic positions that Harry was attempting to fill; medical staff (both human and veterinary), animal handlers, farmers, and construction workers (or just basic handymen). He also hoped to pick up a couple of researchers that could help finish the magical databases for the creatures, beings, and plants. A trip to the clinic (to conduct the weekly inspections he'd stopped doing back in December) where he was given an update on the fetuses that were just a few months away from birth reminded him that he was going to need nannies, caretakers, and teachers to help with the children. It was at that moment that he wished there were still living house elves as he fondly remembered Dobby.
He knew that house elves were unusually devoted creatures as their method of siphoning excess magic directly from a witch or wizard made them highly dependent upon humans. Over the course of several hundred years, the symbiotic-parasitic relationship between humans and house elves (once called brownies) developed into the servant-master bond that was necessary for the elves' survival. While it sounded like slavery when viewed without the full knowledge of all aspects of the bond (S.P.E.W. and Hermione's firm stance against house elf ownership the result of too little information), it actually wasn't since the elves were getting the magic they needed (with permission through the bond) directly from the family they bonded with or in some cases the magical buildings they bound themselves to.
Hogwarts, in her current condition, couldn't support any elves but Harry could if he bonded with them directly and they in turn would be a big help in managing the reservation as they would absolutely thrive on the challenge of maintaining the castle and the animals facilities (barring the clinic).
Since he hadn't really learned all that much about wizarding culture and tradition and had no idea what owners might have done to aged elves that passed away in their care, Harry went to the experts for a possible solution. He asked the former headmasters if any of them knew where he could find the remains of the house elves. He got an unexpected answer back when Phineas Black (most hated Hogwarts Headmaster) said that the Black Family home in London was still standing and that they had preserved heads from at least eight unrelated house elves decorating one of the walls. The problem was that only a member of the Black family could enter the house.
Harry immediately wondered if his godfather had been a member of the Black Family and when Phineas asked for his name Harry learned that Sirius had been the portrait's great-great grandson. That soon led to the revelation that through Sirius, Harry was the current Head of the Black family because Sirius had adopted Harry at some point before he'd sent him forward through time (which was why the man had given Harry the Black Family Ring). He had actually been related to his godfather by blood prior to the adoption through one of the branch houses because the Potters had married into the family (they had been something like third or fourth cousins twice removed or something like that – the exact relationship convoluted and not strong enough to warrant the headship of the house without the adoption; one of many reasons Sirius had adopted him the way he did).
On the twelfth of April, with Takoda as his copilot, Harry ventured into the heart of New London under stealth mode in Wolfstar and soon found the former town house that Sirius had left to him. Originally, the house had stood in the center of a rather well to do neighborhood that had declined rapidly during the last half of the nineteen hundreds. After the passing of more than four hundred and fifty years, the house now sat alone in the middle of a huge park (part of the reclamation efforts of the late fifties of the twenty-third century when the government sought to 'beautify' its capital city to reduce the level of pollution); hidden by wards far more powerful than those on the twins' prank shop (thereby protecting and hiding the house from the muggles) and close enough to another large nexus of ley lines (this one only about nine lines strong and directly beneath the foundation of Gringotts) that they hadn't yet begun to degrade.
Inside, Harry found much more than he bargained for as he stumbled across not only the expected severed elf heads but the skeletons of seventeen witches and wizards, three complete elf skeletons, and the magically preserved body of a snowy owl that Harry immediately recognized as Hedwig. Harry immediately knew that his godfather accounted for at least one of those skeletons and figured that Remus probably counted for another. He wasn't certain who the other fifteen belonged to but a letter addressed to him beside one of the skeletons he found in the drawing room provided the information and brought tears to Harry's eyes as he realized that all seventeen of these people had been or could have been close friends or damn near family.
Harry,
If you are reading this, then you've finally found us but we didn't make it. We tried
to find you but I guess you hid yourself far better than we ever expected or the
papers got something right and Dumbledore or Voldemort really did kill you. We…
no I want you to know that I never blamed you for leaving but there were a number
of people you left behind that have missed you terribly; me included.
Everyone trapped in this house was loyal to you to the end but I'm afraid that the
muggles have us completely trapped and we're as good as done for; as you've
probably noticed. Not even the house elves, your old friend Dobby, the old Crouch
elf Winky, and the foul Kreacher, can leave the house for food anymore after the
muggles figured out how to block magical transportation throughout all of London
and we had no where to go.
I pray to the gods that you at least escaped the purges but if not I guess I'll see you
soon anyway as right now we're slowly starving to death after our supplies ran out
two months ago after getting us through nearly ten years after the fall of Hogwarts
due to a traitorous wizard and several dissatisfied squibs.
If you are still alive by some miracle, please take us home to the fields of Hogwarts
(unless the muggles still have control of the castle) and keep our names in your heart
and whatever you do, don't let them catch you! The chance, no matter how small,
that you are still alive is the only thing that gives me hope for the future; that we
might one day get past all this and thrive again.
Everything we own now belongs to you, it's all here in the house, and when you are
finally ready to meet us on the other side, we'll be waiting for you with open arms
and love in our hearts.
Yours truly,
Sirius Black, Remus and Dora Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Bill and Fleur Potter,
Charlie Potter, Percy and Penelope Potter, Viktor and Hermione Krum, Neville and
Hannah Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Susan Bones, Gabrielle Delacour, and little
Teddy Lupin
P.S. Are you still behaving?
It only took Harry a moment to realize that his godfather (he'd recognized Sirius's handwriting) had hidden something using the old Marauder's Map password because it made no sense for that post script to be used otherwise and after he regained control of his emotions he pressed his wand to the parchment and gave the password and received another, shorter letter from his godfather.
Pup,
I know what really happened to you as I left myself a letter and a purging potion to
free my memories so I would be able to protect those that I knew you would hold
dear and so I'd know when to go back to save you. I'm sorry I failed you so badly.
I'm also sorry that I lied to you but I feared you'd try to come back if you'd known
that I'd sent you forty-five years into the future and not another world. You were
bound to find out someday though and that is why I left you this letter.
There is a journal I kept, in addition to a box of memory vials, hidden beneath my
bed on the second floor (the only room in this house decorated in Gryffindor red).
They will help explain how we all ended up here as well as everything that
happened after I sent you on your way.
There are several graves out back (two marking the smallest two children who were
the first to perish once we ran out of food and the elves could not steal more) and two
whom I collected because I knew you would want to see them someday. Please take
them with you when you take us to Hogwarts.
And please take Buckbeak's remains with you as well (he's in the room at the end of
the hall on the third floor) because the old chap deserves a proper resting place after
everything he's been through.
You are the son I never had, Harry, and I know you will make me proud no matter
how you decided to live out your life.
Padfoot
After he finished reading the hidden letter, Harry stared at the line stating that his godfather had intended to only send him forty-five years into the future. Something had gone drastically wrong though as Harry had actually ended up being sent four hundred and sixty-some years into the future. Uncertain how he should feel about that revelation, Harry shoved it to the back of his mind for the time being as he focused instead on the list of signatures at the end of the main letter; tears sliding down his face unheeded as he read their names over and over again.
"Is everything alright, Taliesin?" Takoda asked softly as he walked into the drawing room and unexpectedly found Harry crying.
"Yeah… just missing my first family," Harry replied softly as he carefully refolded the letter. "Can you please help me prepare them all for transport back to Hogwarts? My family requested that I take them home when I found them. The stuffed white owl will need to go as well (just keep her with the skeleton that was propped up beside her) as will the hippogriff skeleton from the third floor; the rest of it we can come back for another time. I'll start with the ones in here if you can take care of the ones in the library?"
"Sure thing…"
Harry started with his godfather (the skeleton was wearing a smaller version of one of the rings that Sirius had left him and he had recognized the Black crest etched on the ring and stone) and said his goodbyes as he tucked the skeleton into the crate. The next group was one of the married couples as the smaller of the two was sitting on the other's lap and they wore matching wedding bands. Harry believed it to be Remus and his wife Dora since a third form had been nestled up beside them and from the small size he believed it to be Teddy Lupin who had to be Remus's son if he read the letter right.
Those three Harry carefully placed into a single crate, as he was unwilling to separate them even for the short ride to Hogwarts. The rest of the skeletons had been scattered through the house in groups of ones and twos, matching wedding bands identifying couples if not giving him an idea of which couple they were (aside from the Lupin family) though he had recognized McGonagall due to her glasses and he suspected Hermione and Viktor were the pair that had been found in the library.
He then left Takoda to pack up the elf heads, the three elf skeletons (Harry believing that the one found beside Hedwig belonged to be Dobby while the other two were indistinguishable), and Hedwig while he entered the back yard to collect the four skeletons from the graves Sirius had told him were there. He received a second shock when he found that Sirius had found his parents and rescued their remains for him and he found himself crying again as he carefully exhumed their coffins and packed them into a single crate. He then exhumed Hermione and Viktor's son that they'd named Harry (he'd only been two years old when he died) and Neville and Hannah's daughter Alice (who'd been three); making certain to place the three headstones inside of the crates with the coffins (his parents sharing a single stone).
The last two things Harry did before he left was to retrieve the journal and box of additional memories from Sirius's bedroom along with one of Sirius's old Gryffindor scarf (the latter strictly for sentimental reasons) and pack up Buckbeak's remains. After loading up the numerous crates, Harry allowed Wolfstar to take them home while he sat lost in his thoughts holding the journal, scarf, and letter; tears once more coursing silent and unnoticed down his face. He'd known everyone had been dead for centuries for nine months now but to suddenly have undeniable proof of what had happened to them only made their deaths all that more real. And to finally be able to pay his respects to his parents (something he hadn't thought would ever be possible since he hadn't even known where they'd been buried previously) was a gift he would treasure until he drew his last breath.
They had a concerned welcoming party waiting for them when they finally did touch down (they'd only been expected to be gone around sixteen hours and they'd been gone for twenty-eight). The lost and grief-stricken expression on Harry's face only doubled their concern. In complete contrast to the pain they could clearly see on his face, Harry held himself tall and proud as he personally levitated the fifteen crates holding the twenty-one unexpected human skeletons, one elf, an owl, and a hippogriff into the clinic where he set them down with extra care (leaving the elf heads and the other two elf skeletons to be dealt with by someone else). Harry then knelt in the center of the room, surrounded by his lost family, and bowed his head as he settled in for a long vigil in order to give his family a proper goodbye.
While he mourned, Takoda brought the other elf remains into the clinic and handed them over to the staff before he filled the others in on what they had found and why he hadn't left Harry alone to give them a heads up the moment they knew they would be late (he'd been worried for the younger man's state of mind and only Harry could get him in and out of the house) and what had prevented Harry from notifying them himself. After five solid hours of kneeling on the cold hard floor without moving, Harry finally dried his eyes and climbed wearily back to his feet to find everyone watching him from where they'd been leaning against the outer walls of the room. He gave Wufei and Cathy (their concern the easiest to read) a tight smile to let them know he would be alright before he addressed Dr. Watanabe as he stepped up to one of the crates.
"Dr. Watanabe, did Takoda give you the preserved elf skulls and the two complete skeletons? Good. I have no preferences as to how you mix and match their genes to produce the clones and I trust your judgment as to knowing which combinations will produce the widest selection of genetic mutations for the entire species. There are a total of ten unrelated samples in what you have already been given in addition to an eleventh one here in this room."
"The reason I separated one of the elves out was because I wish for you to make an exact clone of this elf before you mix his genes with the others. In the crate with him is a snowy owl that I'd also like you to clone; she is a postal owl and therefore slightly bigger and smarter than the non-magical breed of snowy owls. Please clone an entire clutch of eggs from her, at least six (three of each gender if possible); genetic variances can later be introduced by crossing them with mundane snowy owls to strengthen the breed once they are old enough since magical snowy owls were actually quite rare."
"Of the humans we unexpectedly found, there are two young children, Harry Krum and Alice Longbottom, please clone them each once and do not mix their genes with anyone else's. The family designated as the Lupins are not to be cloned until extensive testing has been done on the D.N.A. of the husband and the son as they potentially carry the curse for lycanthropy and if it can at all be avoided, I would spare reintroducing that curse to new generations."
"The two individuals named Sirius Black…" Wufei and Cathy both jumped slightly and stared at Harry with new understanding as they recognized the name of Harry's godfather. "… and Minerva McGonagall may be cloned both as they are and mixed with any of the D.N.A. that you already have on hand except for mine (for a good reason). You might also wish to hold back samples of their D.N.A. to study and compare to that of the two male Lupins as the two of them are known Animagi, meaning that they could change into a dog and a cat respectively, and might therefore help isolate the anomaly that is the werewolf curse that I know Remus Lupin was infected with at a very young age."
Harry paused for a moment as he stepped over to another crate (the one holding his parents) before he continued, "This next create contains James and Lily Potter…" This time Cathy gasped and pressed her hands to her mouth and Harry flashed her another tight smile as he knew she knew who they were. "… and I am going to ask you to clone no more than three children from them (two girls and a boy) total and under no circumstances are you to mix their genes with anyone else but each other."
"I also do not want an exact clone of either of them to ever be produced. James Potter was also an animagus, a stag, so you may study his genes more closely if you think it might help with isolating the lycanthropy problem. If you study the genes of both Potters closely you may be able to isolate the anomalies in my D.N.A. due to the changes I underwent that gave me wings, hollow bones, and who knows what else. They were, after all, my biological parents."
"Next we have another four married couples that I would like you to clone using their combined genetics rather than cloning them individually. There is Bill and Fleur Potter, no relation to James and Lily or myself as far as I know; please designate them as Delacours to differentiate them from the Potter children as that was Fleur's maiden name. You will also want to study Fleur's D.N.A. fairly closely as she was at least one quarter veela so there will be some anomalies in her D.N.A. and there is a chance that any male child you attempt to clone between them will not thrive. If that happens, please clone two male children from Bill alone so that his bloodline can survive and leave their combined children as female."
"Neville and Hannah Longbottom were the parents of Alice Longbottom who I mentioned earlier, so please count her as one of the four children that you clone from their combined genetics. Next, Viktor and Hermione Krum are the parents of Harry Krum who should be included in their four children. Finally there is Percy and Penelope Potter, also no relation to myself or my parents though Percy was the younger brother of Bill; you may designate their children as Clearwaters, which was Penelope's maiden name)."
"Of those three families, I am unaware of any special traits or talents so I do not know if anything will turn up or not. The other thing I do not know is which couple is which but I suspect their wedding rings will have the family name engraved on the inside as that is the typical wizarding tradition. If not please let me know and I'll see if I can find a spell to help identify them or you could probably figure it out based upon their children's D.N.A."
"The next four crates contain Charlie Potter, Luna Lovegood, Susan Bones, and Gabrielle Delacour. Charlie was Bill and Percy's brother and I think he was at least six or seven years older than me. I know that Susan at least was born around the same time that I was but I am not familiar with the name Lovegood so I don't know her age. Gabrielle was at least four to six years younger than me and she is the younger sister of Fleur and also at least one quarter veela."
"Until we know which one is which, I'd like you to leave them for last and then treat them the same as Sirius and McGonagall; with Charlie's clone being given the name of Weasley (which was his birth name before he and the others took the name Potter). All couples are to be kept together once you are finished with them so that I might bury them together once you are finished with their remains."
"The final crate contains the complete skeleton of a single hippogriff and I would like you to create two clones from his remains before you mix his D.N.A. with that of the other hippogriffs; one male and one female. When you are finished with his remains, please keep him separate from the other hippogriff bones as he will be laid to rest with the rest of my family."
"How many of the beings you call house elves did you wish me to clone in total?" Dr. Watanabe inquired as he glanced down at the notes his assistant had just passed to him on the instructions that Harry had just given to him.
"Create two of Dobby, the elf in this room – one male and one female – and then twelve to start with between the others in three staggered groupings of four (two males and two females per group). I don't know the gestation period of a house elf, or brownie as they were once called, and I am not certain how long they take to mature so staggering them with two months between each grouping should allow plenty of time between them to gain a better understanding of their growth rates. Please do the Dobby twins first though and allow at least a month before you start the second group."
"Did you wish me to catalog the children created from your parents as Potters or Bards?"
"Potters please… I do not wish for their name to have died with them. Were there any other questions?"
Seeing that there were no more questions, Harry nodded and headed for the door only for Wufei to stop him before he stepped out of the room. Harry smiled at the studious teen and patted the hand restraining him reassuringly before he gently freed his arm only to find himself being enveloped in a hug by Cathy the moment he was free. He hugged her in returned and leaned into her warmth for a moment before he gently pulled away and brushed a kiss to her cheek before he went to find Obduro (the centaur having agreed to watch the phoenixes while he was gone because he was the only other one the birds would eat for due to the ancient centaur's close connection to nature).
AN: Finally managed to find the motivation to finish cleaning up this chapter after the frustration of dealing with the large number of PMs and the handful of reviews of people ordering me to change the pairing. Sorry, not happening. Not only would that mean I have to scrap close to 100,000 words but that I'd have to rewrite over twenty chapters and I am NOT doing that. I'm sorry if some readers are disappointed or angry that I chose to pair Harry with Dorothy but there are plenty of other Gundam/HP stories out there that pair him with other people, so no one is forcing you to read mine.
I chose Dorothy to be Harry's partner in this story because it was one pairing that I had not seen in FanFiction. I don't like copying everyone else because it gets boring reading the same basic storylines over and over again. And for those who were demanding/requesting that I pair Harry with one of the pilots… uh, sorry, the answer is no. I stated right up front that Harry will not be paired with one of the Gundams and throughout the course of the story he has repeatedly referred to them as his brothers; I thought that would have been clue enough for everyone to get the point.
Okay, rant over for now.
So, we have another moment between Harry and Dorothy, Obduro gives us a classic example of centaurian logic (that scene was the highlight of the chapter for me!), and we finally learn the fates of the rest of Harry's friends, potential friends, and family. Harry also learns that something went seriously wrong with whatever spell or gadget Sirius used to send him to the future as he'd been thrown into the future a few hundred years more than planned. More information about the gadget/spell used will come up in later chapters.
We also see hints of Duo/Hilde and Heero/Relena in this chapter (or at least references to them) but the story will not focus on their relationships other than a mention or two here and there IF I have them get together (not certain really since they really aren't the focus of the story). I've also played around a bit with the idea of a Quatre/Trowa pairing because of the hints I saw of it in the anime but if I do, they're relationship will be given the same amount of attention that I would give to Duo/Hilde & Heero/Relena; which is to say nothing more than a mention or two here and there IF I have them get together.
Anywho… I've already started cleaning up the next chapter which will have another encounter between Harry and Dorothy, a closer look at what is happening with the reserve, another foray into the extinct magical world, and White Fang finally puts their plans into action. I'm probably going to finish posting Haunted before I throw up the next chapter here though, as well as getting the first chapter of WWY2 up (long overdue on that one, I know).
Oh, and most importantly, I want to thank everyone who has left a review (especially those that didn't try to tell me to change my pairings). I really do appreciate hearing what my readers think even if I don't say so often enough. And while I dislike the negative reviews, they do have some worth (unless they're just flames) if they offer constructive criticism instead of just demanding that I change things to satisfy a single reviewer. Anyway, will post again soon, I hope. ~ Jenn