I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

A Taste of Magic

Chapter 81 – Across the Channel

"Why does every form of magical transportation make you feel awful?" Harry said. He blinked a few times, feeling slightly queasy.

"You get used to it," Sirius said, patting his back.

"Do you?"

"Well, usually," Sirius chuckled.

"That or get used to the taste of Pepper Up potion," Andromeda said and gave Harry a vial.

He quaffed it and coughed a little as the potion burned its way down his throat and stomach. In moments, however, he was feeling much better and he straightened. "That's better," he said, sighing with relief. He took in his surroundings, eyes opening with awe. "Oh wow."

"Right? I want to make our Floo room like this," Sirius said. "What do you think?"

"It would be very shiny," Harry smiled.

"I like shiny," Sirius smiled.

They had landed at the French Ministry of Magic, at their Portkey hub. Since this was Harry's first trip out of the United Kingdom, they went through the Ministries after getting him his passport and other identifications and records updated. After everything was approved, the trip plans were finalized and they came over to spend a little more than a week in France. Sirius would be spending some time at the French Ministry to do work as well while Andromeda was there to learn enchanting things from the Flamels. Ted and Dora would be coming over towards the end of their trip. Hedwig had flown off that morning to meet them in France.

The Portkey hub was marble and gold, the fixtures shining brightly in the copious lights that shone all around. The ceiling looked like colored glass and magical sunlight shone down in a myriad of colors. The symbol of the French Ministry, a stylized M emblazoned over an ornate marble arch, was in the painted glass, glittering and shining. Floating lanterns provided more light and the pillars were gilded marble, the floor made of marble.

Sirius was dressed in formal robes and Andromeda wore traveling ones as well. Harry wore jeans and a nice shirt and felt slightly out of dress compared to the others arriving and leaving the hub as well as the ministry officials that worked there. He followed as his godfather and god-aunt approached a Customs official.

"Bonjour," Sirius said, smiling winningly. "Sirius Black with Andromeda Tonks and Harry Potter. Here's our passports and papers."

"Merci," the wizard said, smiling pleasantly. He looked through the documents, looking at them in turn. His eyes flicked up to Harry's scar briefly before he handed everything back to Sirius. "Everything is in order. Welcome to France!"

"Thank you," Harry said. "It's my first trip."

"Ever? Then we must ensure it is a splendid one," the wizard said with a broader and more sincere smile. "Do you have lodgings prepared?"

"We do," Sirius said. "We're meeting our hosts here at the Ministry. They should be waiting for us at your Department of International Cooperation?"

"Very good. Let me have someone escort you. De Mayne, if you would take our guests there, please." He looked to one side and a familiar figure walked over, dressed in neat robes of sky-blue, trimmed in white.

"Harry!" Colette exclaimed, delighted.

"Hi Colette!" Harry greeted back. "It's nice to see you!"

"It is very nice to see you!" She hugged him, seeing the looks of amusement on Sirius' and Andromeda's face. "We became acquainted with one another at Hogwarts during the Tournament. Follow me." She led them out of the hub and down hallways that were just as impressive to look at and walk in. "What are you doing in France?"

"Sirius, my godfather, is a liaison with International Cooperation," Harry said, walking beside her. "He's here for work and for visiting. I'm visiting with my god-aunt too."

"How nice. Did you inform Fleur and Sophie and Aimee?"

"I was going to send a message when I arrived. Didn't want to be a bother."

She sniffed. "It is more of a bother if you kept it hidden. So ashamed of us are you? How cruel."

"I didn't know if you all would be available or not!"

"No, I see how it is. You are so ashamed of us that you had not informed of us to your family," she sighed dolefully, making Sirius and Andromeda chuckle and Harry flush. "Though I do not blame you for keeping what happened between us private."

Harry groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Why do you always phrase things to be really misconstrued like that?"

Colette giggled. "Because it is fun!" She led them to an open area in front of the Department of Magical Cooperation. Long comfortable looking couches were scattered about amid fountains of stone-carved magical beasts that emitted water that glittered. Plants swayed as if blown by an invisible breeze. "Do I need to take you elsewhere? Are you two waiting for Monsieur Black to work?"

"No, our hosts should be coming to meet us," Sirius said.

"Hosts?" Colette frowned slightly. "Unless you have permission to come here, one does not easily come here. I would know if you were staying with the Delacours. Sebastian works for International Cooperation after all. Who could be-"

A hush filled the large space. People stopped speaking and stared silently with mouths opened and eyes wide. Even the fountains seemed to subside in noise making, the water becoming silent. A very low murmur rose and people parted to allow a figure to walk past.

Her footsteps were measured but purposeful, unstopping. Her eyes were cool and her smile was faint and polite, her hair tied in a bun. Her robes were deep purple and the edges silver thread. She nodded politely at certain individuals as she walked past but did not stop, even when some tried to gain her attention. When she saw Harry however, her features transformed. Her smile went from ear to ear and was warm and kind and full. Her eyes glittered and her steps quickened with obvious enthusiasm. "Bonjour cheri!" People gasped at the sight and goggled when she hugged Harry with naked enthusiasm and lack of reservation.

"Hi Grandmother!" Harry coughed; the breath squeezed out of him. "It's so good to see you!"

"It does my heart well to see you," Perenelle replied, kissing him on the cheeks. "How was the trip?"

"Rough, my first Portkey," Harry laughed.

"Ah yes, they can be rather strenuous," she smiled.

"Madame Flamel!" A witch came over, dressed in a Ministry uniform. "You honor us with your presence! How may we be of service?"

"No need. I am here to escort my grandson and his family to my estate." Even more whispers were heard at that statement. "Wait, you need to conduct some business here first?" she asked Sirius.

"I was going to do some today, yeah," Sirius said easily. "Work now, play later. A difference from how I did it at school. I call that character growth." He smiled cheekily at Andromeda's snort.

"Good for you," Perenelle smiled. "Nicolas has yet to learn that lesson." She handed Sirius a stone with runes carved onto it. "Press the center rune when you are finished and either I or an apprentice will come fetch you. No complaints if I leave with Harry and Andromeda now?"

"Abscond away," Sirius laughed, putting the stone into his pocket.

"Good!" Perenelle looked at the Ministry witch. "Sirius Black is a guest of my husband and I, as are his family."

"We will treat him like royalty," the witch said hurriedly.

"No, do not do that," Andromeda said.

"No, do do that," Sirius said. "For the unofficial stuff at least."

Perenelle chuckled. "Contact us if anyone gives you any trouble," she said. She tucked her arm into Harry's. "Come! Let us go home." She walked out spritely with Andromeda and Harry at her side and the others watching them leave.

Harry waved goodbye to Colette and said he would send a message to her later before they left the waiting area and continued through the Ministry. People stopped and gaped to stare at Perenelle and she ignored them all easily. "Sorry you have to endure this for me."

"Think nothing of it," Perenelle said, squeezing his arm comfortingly. "This does not bother me in the slightest. Nicolas loves the attention as it is, usually. The only reason he is not here is because he swore that the next time he came to the Ministry he would destroy one of the offices here and he has not decided how he wished to do that yet."

"Really?" Andromeda gasped.

"Oh yes. You see, some of the officials in the Patent Department were supporting someone who had tried to steal an idea from him, unaware that Nicolas was the one he tried to steal from. In a fit of anger, Nicolas swore he would destroy the Patent Department for the slight. They had increased security for a very long time before they went the opposite way and had it sparsely decorated and the records moved." Perenelle shook her head. "I keep telling him to just do it and get it over with but he wants it to be flashy and impactful. Never mind that it has been nearly fifty years since he made the declaration. But he is being stubborn and vain about it and if I did it myself, he would whine about it for far too long."

"Men," Andromeda smiled.

"Quite," Perenelle agreed, smiling too.

-0-

"Welcome to the Flamel Estate," Perenelle said. She had side-along apparated Andromeda and Harry and she beamed as they looked around. It was a beautiful place, situated between two very large rivers on either side. A forest ran along one side as the land opened up before them and it was slightly hilly. Various buildings dotted the grounds and the air was warm and balmy.

"It's beautiful," Harry said in awe, looking around.

"Thank you! We are actually not too far from Lyon. Far enough of course. We like our privacy as you might imagine. We have apprentices and close friends can come visit." She hugged Harry. "You are family so you will have a place here whenever you wish. We will be adding you to our protections during your visit here."

"I thought you had neighbors," Harry said. "Something about their dogs?"

"Ah yes well, they moved for reasons that may or may not be related to our doings," Perenelle said evasively. "They lived on the northern side which is one of the only ways to approach our estate without magical transportation. We have added to our protections and things in the last few years."

"Harry my boy!" Nicolas walked out of the house with arms held wide. "Good to see you!" He hugged Harry fondly. "How was your trip? How do you like France so far?"

"It was okay, Portkeys are rough. The Ministry is fancy," Harry said.

"Yes they are and yes it is," Nicolas smiled. "I am glad you are here. Oh! Before we continue the tour, I better do this first." He walked to the side of the main home and touched a pole. It was made of silver and it was topped with a snake. At his touch, the pole shuddered but seemed to do nothing else.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Summoning Blinky," Nicolas explained. "She said she would bite me if we did not tell you the moment you arrived. Ah, there we are. Here she comes."

Andromeda's eyes widened as a very large form in the distance broke through the trees and was approaching at a very rapid pace. The form got even bigger as it got closer and she gasped and resisted the urge to take a step, to take many steps, back. "Dear Merlin, that's Blinky?!"

"Wow! Hi Blinky!" Harry exclaimed when the basilisk got to them. She was very large. Her head was as large as a car and her body long and thicker. She hissed joyfully, pressing her snout against Harry and crooning at his touch. "You're so big!"

"They can get that large?" Andromeda asked, her fear subsiding at how happy the basilisk looked.

"Apparently!" Nicolas smiled at the sight. "They can grow as large as they want to fit the environment and we have plenty of room for her to roam and hunt when she is not in her home. That building over there, that is hers."

Andromeda gasped when Harry was flipped onto Blinky's back by the enthusiastic basilisk. She bunched her coils and took off, slithering away rapidly with Harry holding onto her spines on her neck and laughing, her hissing loud and happy.

"No fair, I have to bribe her with a lot of meat before she lets me ride her like that," Nicolas pouted.

"We might as well make ourselves comfortable," Perenelle chuckled, leading Andromeda inside. "She will probably take him around the estate like that and it will be some time before she lets him go. She has been just as excited as we have when we told her Harry was visiting. She adores him."

"Forgive me for asking, but is it safe?" Andromeda asked, following the Flamels indoors.

"Oh yes. We know every animal that lives on the grounds," Nicolas said. "As in, we own them or are partnered with them. Now that does not count the wild ones that wander on of course but few are bold enough to do that, the non-prey species of course. We actually had an invasion by an oeil de feu a week ago but it was handled by Blinky."

"French dragon, a fire eye," Perenelle said.

"Dear goodness!" Andromeda gasped.

"Blinky was not even hurt," Nicolas said airily. "The dragon thought it could claim the territory and was about to attack our thestrals. Blinky is friends with them and took that personally and attacked. She's such a good basilisk. Managed to kill it without poison or her gaze. She bit the dragon's tail for grip, slammed it onto the ground several times to stun it, then suffocated it. We managed to get a lot of scales and things from it in very good condition."

"Of course, we had an official from the Ministry complaining about something. We said to bring the complaint to Blinky and he did not know who Blinky was until we introduced them. At first we thought she paralyzed him because he stood stock still for ages but we realized that he had passed out from fright and was still standing," Perenelle laughed.

"I paid the fine," Nicolas sniffed. "What we got from the dragon was worth that many times over."

"My word, that is very exciting," Andromeda smiled.

"And things used to be ever so dull for ages," Perenelle chuckled. "Things are much more lively lately, and we have Harry to thank."

"He's a good boy," Nicolas said comfortably.

-0-

When Blinky finally let Harry go, the Flamels led him and Andromeda on a tour of their home. The building itself looked somewhat plain and comfortable on the outside, yet the interior was much larger, much like Grimmauld. Most of the rooms were built into the ground and it seemed that each room had a distinct purpose. Harry had his own permanent suite, complete with owl tower and a window for outside access of course.

"And now, the second most important room," Nicolas said, ushering them into a very large kitchen. Harry gasped with delight. It was large and bright and clean, with long windows letting in the sun and showing a very impressive view of the grounds. A large stove was against the wall, gleaming with many stovetops. A walk-in pantry was alongside a walk-in freezer, and racks lined the walls holding all sorts of pots and pans and equipment. A wood-fire oven was installed into the wall as well, the large heavy door shining and warm.

"We recently renovated it," Perenelle said, enjoying Harry's delight. "For the longest time, we used this as a separate work room of sorts. We never really cared to cook anything here."

"But due to someone's influence," Nicolas said, winking broadly, "we decided to make it into a proper kitchen. We still don't cook too much but we have an apprentice or two that is inclined that way. Not to mention this is an unsubtle attempt at convincing you to come over more."

"It's wonderful," Harry said happily.

"We modeled it after a rather fancy kitchen in Paris," Nicolas said. "And we can easily make changes based on what you want."

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked.

"I can always eat," Perenelle smiled.

Harry tied on a bandanna and happily got to work. Soon he had a pot of chicken soup bubbling merrily away and not too long after that, bowls of the soup sat alongside French omelettes and a simple salad of greens and onion and tomato. Slices of cured meats adorned a plate with pickles and cheeses and Perenelle returned with baguettes she got from the city.

"Mmm, wonderful," Nicolas praised. "I love a good omelette and this is especially delicious."

"I learned from Sophie a month or so ago, the trick of the little bits of butter at the end," Harry said.

"One of the girls from Beauxbatons?" Perenelle asked.

"Yeah. BeauSoleil is her family name."

"Ah, one of the Veela clans," Perenelle nodded.

"Fleur Delacour is her cousin."

"A fine family," Nicolas said. "One of the pillars of Wizarding France. Well, if you are friends with them, I suppose we can be as well. We can invite them over if you wish."

"I would like to see them. I think I'd get the business if I didn't and I was here," Harry said.

"We cannot have that," Perenelle smiled. "We will send out messages tomorrow." She slurped her soup and sighed happily. "Teach me this, please. It is very good."

"It's a staple at the Hog's Head now," Harry said proudly.

They ate and chatted together, slowly enjoying their meal. After cleaning up, and they showed Harry a fun dish washer that they made based on magic, Andromeda elected to rest a bit and Nicolas and Perenelle took Harry around the house some more. By then Hedwig had arrived and after eating the remnants of their meal, went to Harry's room for a post-long flight snooze.

"And now, one of my favorite places to be, my lair." Nicolas opened the door with a flourish. "Behold! Where I come up with my ideas and figure out how to make them real!"

"Watch your step," Perenelle said dryly. "It is a dangerous place. Perilous, I think you English say."

It was an impressive room. Racks were full of all sorts of things. Some looked half-made, some unmade. Raw materials lined other shelves and parchment and paper and things flitted about. One wall was a row of potion making things: beakers, decanters, pipes upon pipes, cauldrons, fires, and more. Things dangled from the ceiling ranging from the mundane like models to gruesome looking skeletons and bones.

"This is awesome," Harry said softly, looking about with interest.

"I will make you an alchemist too!" Nicolas said, beaming. "I think you would be a good one. You have the desire for it. Granted, it is mostly food related in scope but that is an important quality of an alchemist."

"I do?" Harry asked, still looking around and being very careful not to touch anything.

"Of course! Alchemy is about making things possible," Nicolas said. He picked up a slim silver flask. "Take this flask for example. Any vessel can hold water. But this not only does that, but it purifies it. Any liquid can be cleansed in here and turned into clear water that is sterile and of quality for medicinal and potion needs. Now there are charms that do that, but this needs not the charm to do it. Not only that, it takes the magical energy needed to purify from the surroundings. It keeps the liquid within at a stable temperature and you can alter that within reason. It cleans toxins, viruses, bacteria, poisons, and all sorts of things. It holds far more than it should, and the flask is nearly indestructible. All things possible via charms and runes but those would have to be reapplied and would require considerable magical talent and energy."

"Wow," Harry said with awe. He caught it when Nicolas tossed it to him.

"It is yours," Nicolas smiled. "But you see, Alchemy is about taking different branches of magic and combining them, honing them, enhancing and detracting. You find connections within magic and work to make it work how you want and try to not have the typical explosive clashes that magic can have. It is about knowing magic at its purest: possibility. Magic is change. There are rules for it but it is also its own element. An alchemist tries to harmonize magic, and create as much as destroys."

"So alchemy isn't always perfect?" Harry asked.

"Not at all," Perenelle said, sitting down on a stool. "It is very much trial and error. Many times it is more error. Most alchemists specialize in a specific medium or are masters of a specific branch and are more successful there. But even in failure, an alchemist thrives. Many spells, potions, and other things that are commonly used now are by-products of failure."

"Except for you two," Harry said, looking innocent.

The Flamels laughed. "Well, I am the Alchemist," Nicolas said with sheer confidence. "As is Perenelle of course." He sobered a little. "Alchemy existed before I was born though. I simply made it, how you say, cool."

"He was also one of the few that arrogantly called themselves the Alchemist and unlike the others, had the skills to support his assertion," Perenelle snorted.

"Also that," Nicolas smiled.

"Alchemy sounds amazing, why aren't there a lot of people doing it, or are alchemists?" Harry asked.

"Because while I make it look easy, it is not," Nicolas said flatly. "I have more than my fair share of failures. Most likely because I do what I want even knowing it might not work because it also has a chance that it would work. You also have to have the knowledge and the desire to continue as well as have the ability to persevere. Many falter on the path of alchemy because they cannot continue. They cannot surmount the challenges and the stress and the difficulty."

He looked uncharacteristically serious. "There is also a very important part of alchemy that not many can tolerate."

"What is it?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Sacrifice," Perenelle said quietly. "As you know, casting magic takes energy, your stamina. Now that is something you can get back fairly easily. A good night's sleep, a cup of coffee or tea, a hearty meal, and you have the energy back. Also, as you know, the stronger and more involved the spell, the more it requires, the more it takes."

She pointed at the flask. "The runes needed to keep all those spell effects stable and constant take time to etch, needing special materials to etch onto and etch with. The materials needed to make that are rarer as well. Now that we know how to do it all, we can remake that with a lot less effort and cost, but it took us months and much gold to make that. Now there are others that do something similar that are much less costly, but they will not have the same quality as that."

"And usually, the most important thing to sacrifice, is time," Nicolas said, still serious. "Time spent on thinking, planning, attempting, and then doing it all again when you fail. And for most, time is something you cannot get back and you do not have an infinite supply of."

"But you two do," Harry said. "Your Stone makes the Elixir of Life, right?"

"Yes," Nicolas said. "And Perenelle and I are attuned to it so the Elixir works for us, but it does not work for everyone. And we are…dependent on it."

"You had to sacrifice a lot to make it, didn't you?" Harry asked, his heart heavy.

"We did," Nicolas said softly. "And we still do. When you ask a lot of magic, magic asks a lot of you."

"Are you two okay?" Harry asked, starting to panic.

Perenelle's eyes softened and she walked to him and hugged him. "We are fine," she soothed, "more or less." She smiled at his snort. "The gift of immortality is a heavy one and it costs heavily as well. We have to adhere to oaths that we made to never abuse such a gift, one that is technically unnatural. As such, we cannot do certain things or go against certain laws of magic. To do so would have terrible consequences."

"We have broken them in the past," Nicolas said. He suddenly looked immeasurably old, incredibly weary. "And it was difficult to return afterwards." He sighed, a deep and heavy sound. "In fact, that was why Perenelle and I were so removed from the world at large for a while. We sequestered ourselves away, letting the world and time pass us by. We tried to find things to amuse us but it all felt…empty."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, feeling incredibly small for a moment. He hugged Perenelle before gently breaking the embrace to hug Nicolas. "What brought you back?"

"You did, of course," Nicolas said, his countenance brightening a little.

"Me?"

"You. I still remember when I saw you the first time. Such a scrawny little whisp of a child." Nicolas grinned at Harry's sour look. "So scrawny compared to a troll that towered over you. And yet, instead of passing out or fleeing and screaming, you stood your ground to protect a friend. I was impressed by that. Then the strangeness of your condition after intrigued me.

"Albus kept me apprised of you through your second year and when he informed me of a chance to obtain a basilisk, I jumped at it of course. Always wanted one. But then, there you were again. Slightly less scrawny," he chuckled, dodging his wife's irritable poke, "but still there. And then we tasted your food. And I do not exaggerate when I say it was some of the best we have had in a very long time."

"It wasn't that good," Harry flushed. "I've gotten better."

"It was very good," Perenelle cut in. "But not just the food itself, but the intent. We have met many people, Harry. And the vast majority of the time, people either treated us with nauseating deference in an effort to ingratiate themselves, or were so deferential and treating us like gods."

"I am a god," Nicolas said under his breath.

Perenelle continued to speak, ignoring him. "But there you were, cooking because you wanted to, because you wanted to thank us for saving a life. And your food was so warm, so sincere, it awoke something in us. Something we have not had in a long time." She smiled and patted his cheek. "You helped us remember what was in the world once more."

"Then we learned more about you," Nicolas said. "How kind you were despite your awful childhood and circumstances. You are a genuinely good person, and there are not enough people like that at all. And if you could continue to be so in the face of such adversity, well, then we," he gestured at himself and Perenelle, "who are only a little older than you, can continue to push on as well."

"You don't like a day older than, well, some respectful number," Harry smiled.

Nicolas and Perenelle laughed. "You are too kind," Perenelle giggled, pinching his ear playfully.

"So are you two too."

"Only to you," Nicolas said. "Trust us on that. And even then, it is not enough. What you gave us is priceless to us, Harry."

"I'm glad I can help you feel that way. I'd be sad if I didn't get to know you," Harry said sincerely.

Perenelle crushed him in her arms. "And we would be poorer in heart, mind, and body without you Harry."

"Especially body," Nicolas said, licking his lips and patting his stomach. He grew more serious. "We will always try our best to aid you, Harry. We truly see you as a grandson."

"I'm glad you're my grandparents," Harry said and hugged them tightly. They stood there for a long moment in the middle of the lair, an island of calm and warmth amid a chaotic sea of plans and creations.

-0-

"And that concludes the majority of our business," Sebastian said, putting away a large folder with satisfaction.

"Great," Sirius smiled. "Get all the boring things out of the way."

"Indeed," Sebastian chuckled. "Now, you mentioned you are visiting with your family?"

"Yup! My godson and my cousin. Her family is joining us in a few days."

"I would be pleased to entertain you and yours," Sebastian smiled. "I am sure we, my family, could show you around as well."

"That would be fun. Let me ask what they want to do and the plans of our hosts."

"Hosts? Oh you are staying with someone?" That is nice. May I ask who?"

Before Sirius could answer, there was a knocking on the door. A wizard stuck his head in looking very flustered. "I am so sorry to interrupt, Director Sebastian, but there is a bit of a situation and-"

"Look, I helped build this place. In fact, I was one of the ones that helped found this department!" Nicolas pushed the door open easily, breezing past the secretary that tried feebly to stop him. "See? If I was not allowed to be here, the door would shock me and kick me out and it did not. Now your sense of propriety should be assuaged and you can run off knowing you tried your best. Run along then." Nicolas politely and firmly shut the door in the gaping wizard's face and shook his head, turning to face an amused Sirius and a gobsmacked Sebastian.

"Of course, I did help make said door and I ensure that all of my creations will never harm me unless I allow it to," Nicolas said with a broad smile.

"Makes sense," Sirius snorted. "And you really created the whole concept of International Cooperation?"

"I once told someone to get over himself and work with a counterpart from another country," Nicolas said, waving his hand. "So it counts." He looked at Sebastain who was still staring with a shocked expression. "Ah, you are the new Head of the Department, yes? Replaced Reynauld?"

"Monsieur Reynauld was my predecessor's mentor," Sebastian said slowly, blinking rapidly.

"Oh that is right. My the time flies. Boucher replaced Reynauld, and here you are. That is good. I always found Reynauld to be quite level-headed for the time. Good that his best continued his legacy. Oh, where are my manners, Nicolas Flamel."

Sebastian shook his hand in a dazed way. "Sebastian Delacour, at your service."

"Oh! Your daughter is a friend of Harry Potter, yes?" He smiled when Sebastian looked even more shocked and nodded. "Very good. He mentioned the name earlier today and I was going to send you a message inviting you to my estate."

"You know Harry Potter? You spoke with him today?" Sebastian said, looking like he was drowning from information overload.

"Of course! He is my grandson and Sirius' godson and they are my guests for the week. Longer if we can finagle it." He looked at Sirius. "Finished then?"

Sirius held up the rune stone. "Was about to press it."

"Good timing then! Very well, let us go…" Nicolas removed a plain pewter watch from his pocket and looked at it. "In three, two, one."

Sirius and Sebastian shared a look of confusion. "Was something supposed to happen?" Sirius asked.

The sound of a brass horn filled the air before someone began speaking. "Attention! Ministry employees and visiting guests please avoid the area around the Patent Department. There is an ongoing…situation but it is not an emergency. Please avoid the area around the Patent Department on the third floor. Will the members of the Magical Creature Department please come to the third floor. Thank you."

"I'm assuming you had something to do with that," Sirius said with a very large smile.

"Oh yes," Nicolas smiled back. "I always keep good on my promises."

"What did you do?" Sebastian asked, looking wary.

Nicolas smiled. "Well I swore to have my revenge and destroy the department after what they did to me before but never decided on what to do. Harry though gave me a splendid idea today. I told him my plight and he remarked that they sounded like quacks. When he explained that colloquialism, I thought it was a perfect way to gain my revenge."

Nicolas' smile grew. "So I visited a friend who has a very large flock of rubber ducks and borrowed some. I visited the Patent Department under the pretense of forgiveness which after releasing said flock of ducks into the department, I do forgive them."

"What are rubber ducks going to do?" Sirius asked. "Squawk when squeezed?"

"Oh no, these are actual ducks but their feathers and bodies are remarkably like rubber naturally, as natural as magic is anyways. They are delightfully bouncy and enjoy careening off things and causing as much havoc and mayhem as normal ducks. They are terribly difficult to catch and bite very hard too. And their rubbery nature makes them somewhat resistant to magic." Nicolas' laughter joined Sirius' boisterous laughter and Sebastian's horrified laughter. "Their owner will be by soon to collect them."

"That's my boy," Sirius said proudly. "His dad enjoyed pranks too, as did me and Remus."

"Oh! You must tell me what you did. I always need more ideas. Come, let us leave this dreary place. Director Delacour, I will send messages out soon."

"I look forward to it," Sebastian said, still dazed. He watched Sirius and Nicolas leave before sitting in his chair with a slight boneless slump, shaking his head slowly.

-0-0-0-

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Hard to believe anything could survive the collective ire of the Flamels and Tepes. It will be a while yet but hopefully satisfying.

Arnie1701 - Hedwig already won that confrontation.

odonnellzoo99 - Tonks makes everything hysterical. Hedwig being a terrible influence on the other pets and familiars is also very funny to me.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - She is a terrible and terribly good influence. I'm hoping to have a good simmer once more. Not as full/momentous as last summer maybe, but still some good growth and some applicable changes while still full of good things and food. Thanks for reading.

poka - I'm very fond of Drake too. He became a much more fun and funny character and his attitude is still very amusing to me. A different kind of irreverance compared to Nicolas. You'll enjoy the enxt few chapters then, I'm sure.

l4w - Very messy. But fun and funny. Thank you so much.

alix33 - It's always fun to have a silly and belligerent relationship between an animal and a character like that. It amuses me greatly and glad people enjoy it.

DustieDaven - I don't think Dumbledore is insisting that per se. He still thinks something needs to happen within the limits of the prophecy, but he is still exploring options as opposed to saying it absolutely has to happen a certain way. I am trying to show Dumbledore trying to take in multiple factors at once while trying to keep things better for Harry, but maybe I didn't show it well.

DarkRavie - Thank you so much.

Astrakahn - Thank you, I'm glad you're still enjoying it. It's been a little tougher to get these chapters out how I want them but your kind words and the words of others are keeping me encouraged.