Celebrations
15th of November, 1998.
To Nymphadora Tonks,
You are hereby invited to
Ennerdale Estate for the Holidays.
We hope to see you on the twenty-fourth.
If you are unable to make it, please
inform us before the twelfth of December.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter, Draco Malfoy and Sirius Black
PS. If you would like to help us prep we would like
to meet you on the twentieth of November at
sixteen-thirty in the Leaky Cauldron.
Tonks stared at the letter. A Christmas party. Her mother's cousin and her cousin were hosting a party with the Boy-Who-Lived, and they wanted her help. She wasn't sure she could help them. She might have been the one who broke up with her boyfriend, but she still didn't feel great. Why could nothing work out for her? She sighed and rubbed her face. She needed to head off to work.
…
Hours later Tonks collapsed in her parents' kitchen. Her father was frying fish in a pan while drinking beer. He walked over to the fridge and took one out for her too. You look like shit," he said.
"Thanks, dad," Tonks responded sarcastically. She took a swig of the beer and placed it down on the table. "Dad… did you receive an invitation for the Holidays?"
"We did," Ted said. "Your mother wants to go."
Tonks nodded slowly. "They invited me to be part of the planning," she said.
"Might be good for you," Ted said. "Could get your mind off things."
Tonks hoped he was right. She guessed it could be fun. She could see what they had in mind at least. Maybe, it could be good, Draco had been nice the last time she ran into him; Uncle Sirius was funny.
"Good evening, pumpkin," Andromeda said as she walked into the kitchen. She smiled as Nymphadora's hair turned orange for a moment.
"Good evening mom," Tonks said. She was too still trying to decide what to do. Maybe she should meet up with them. It could be a lot of fun.
20th of November, 1998.
Tonks walked into the Leaky Cauldron nervously. It was cold outside and she really just wanted to warm up. She headed over to Tom, the barman and ordered a drink. "I'm meeting with Draco Malfoy. Do you know where he is?"
"Down the hall and first room to the left, miss," Tom said. "There is a whole bunch of 'em in there."
"Thank you, Tom," Tonks said. She weaved through the bar until she reached the corridor. She could hear laughter coming from the room Tom had pointed her to. She knocked on the door.
A young man with black hair and green eyes threw the door open. "Hi I'm Harry and you must be Nymphadora Tonks," he said.
"It's just Tonks," Tonks said.
"Dora then," Harry compromised. "You know Draco and Sirius and I'm pretty sure you know my boyfriend Charlie as well, right?"
"Wotcher, Dora," Charlie said cheekily. He draped his arm over Harry's shoulders.
"Welcome to the first planning session," Draco said.
"You haven't agreed to help, yet and we don't need your answer right this second," Sirius said. "For now just grab a chair and take a biscuit."
Tonks realised quite quickly that she had stepped into a discussion. She understood that when Harry said Party it wasn't some food and dessert he was talking about. He wanted to create a spectacle. She found herself smiling more than she thought she would. It didn't take her long to come up with her own ideas and join the conversation. She hadn't laughed so much in a long time.
Dinner was brought in and eaten as Harry scribbled things down in his journal. Then they kept talking long into the night. It wasn't quite midnight yet when Tonks made it back home. She collapsed into her bed, exhausted but happy. They were going to meet up again in two days to finalise the guest list. She had been allowed to invite her own friends once she had agreed to help. Harry had told her it made no sense she wouldn't be.
23rd of December, 1998.
It was cold that morning. Tonk's breath came you in a puff of white smoke. She didn't look forward to her assignment that day, but at least she knew that food would be ready for her when she arrived at Ennerdale.
"Ready to head out?" Luke asked as he reached her.
"Yeah, might as well," Tonks said. She wrapped her cloak closer around herself and reapplied her muggle-repelling charm before following Luke. The Dark Lord hadn't done anything since the attack on Hogsmeade and it was putting her on edge. Why was he so quiet? There didn't even seem to be any attacks in the muggle world. The Dementors were still in Azkaban. She could understand why the Ministry was so slow to acknowledge that Voldemort was the enemy. They had very little proof it was him, and the attacks didn't keep up. A single attack didn't prove anything. She walked up next to Luke. "Today is going to be slow," she said.
"Yeah, but at least we're here together," Luke said.
"True," Tonks said. "Very true."
…
It was dark when Tonks walked through the wards to Ennerdale Estate. It wasn't her first time there. They had been planning a lot for the party in a few days so she felt quite comfortable just walking in. Still, she preferred to not apparate through the wards. Snow covered the grounds even though the nearby forest was barren. She knew Harry had a hand in that. Not that she minded. It would be nice with a white Christmas. As she entered the house, she could hear her parents talking and laughing from the dining room. She had always gone home for Christmas so this would be similar yet different from what she was used to. It wouldn't necessarily be a Tonks family celebration but all the important people were there. She was surprised her cousin wasn't going home to his parents. Though, she guessed it was understandable considering who they had as a houseguest. Information she wished she could use at work, but without proof, there was nothing she could do.
"Good evening, Dora," Harry said as she entered the dining room. "Please have a seat and grab some food." He turned to his right and helped a small boy refill his glass. "This is Leoline Lupin, my guideson. His father should be showing up soon enough. He had a few things to take care of."
Tonks nodded slowly. "Nice to finally meet you, Leoline," she said.
"Hi," Leoline said before turning back to his food. The three-year-old was tired and wanted to go to bed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Just finish your peas," Harry said. "Then I'll take you upstairs." He patted Leoline on the back. Maybe they had stayed out for a bit too long earlier. The poor kid was exhausted. He listened with half an ear to Dora speaking with her parents and Charlie. His main focus was his guideson until it became clear that Leoline was going to fall asleep where he was sitting.
Tonks looked after Harry as he walked away carrying the little boy. She sighed. A big part of her kind of wished she hadn't ended up with a guy who wanted her to give up her dreams to have children. She wanted children. She didn't want to give her whole life up to have them.
"Good evening."
"Hello, Remus. How are you doing?" Ted asked.
"Well enough. The publisher and I don't quite agree currently, but we'll work it out," Remus said. "Where's Harry?"
"He's putting Leoline to bed," Charlie answered. "If you hurry you might be able to tell him goodnight before he completely dosses off. He was about to go face first into his mashed potatoes before Harry carried him off."
Remus chuckled as he headed back out of the room. He'd talk more to the Tonks once he had checked in on his son. A smile lingered on his face as he walked through the house. Harry was sitting on Leoline's bed next to his son. Remus walked up and grabbed Harry's shoulder. "Sleep tight," he told Leoline.
"Dad no go anywhere tomorrow?" Leoline mumbled.
"No, I'll be home all day buddy," Remus said. "We can play loads."
"Dora would probably like to join us too," Harry said.
"And Amber is coming over for a bit," Remus said. "Chiara asked me if we could take care of her for a few hours."
"So we'll have loads of fun," Harry said. He looked back down at Leoline and smiled.
Leoline had fallen asleep with a soft smile on his face.
"Let's head back to the others," Harry said. He stood up and headed out with Remus. He closed the door softly behind them. "We went skating on the lake and he had loads of fun, but I think that maybe we stayed out a little too long."
"Don't worry about it," Remus said.
They re-joined the others and Harry watched as Remus warmed up to Tonks. They had obviously met before, but he wondered if there wasn't something there. Only time would tell, he guessed.
25th of December, 1998
It was pitch black outside when Leoline rushed into Harry and Charlie's room to wake them up. He was babbling excitedly and seemed really happy that it was finally Christmas. Harry threw on a robe and followed the bubbly three-year-old down the stairs to the living room where the tree stood. There were presents everywhere. Harry wondered briefly if Sirius had emptied his accounts. "Wait Leoline," he said calmly. "Not all gifts are for you."
"But…" Leoline looked back at Harry with big eyes. He really wanted to open a gift. There were so many. Surly opening one or two couldn't be so bad even if everyone wasn't up yet.
Harry held his hand out and summoned a set of gifts that had been set aside for Leoline just in case he did wake up… he checked the time… four in the morning. Harry sat down in an armchair and brought the gifts with him. "Come here, buddy. You can open these," he said. He pulled Leoline up on his lap and got comfortable. He didn't mind being up so early. If he could keep Leoline from waking everyone else up he was fine with it. The smile on the boy's face and the happy sounds he made as he pulled out a Gameboy Colour in a bright yellow shade together with a game cartridge. Harry helped him set it all up before turning it on. He summoned a light so Leoline could see properly as he started playing as a secret agent gecko. Harry read the text and explained things as Leoline did his best to jump between platforms and do tailspins to destroy mushrooms.
Harry looked up as Remus entered the room a few hours later. 'Thank you,' Remus mouthed. He knew there might be trouble getting his son to stop playing the game he had gotten, but at least he had slept well. They could prepare for the tantrum when the time came. He knew Sirius would probably handle things once he got up. Thankfully Sirius liked sleeping in. He had memories from their school time of being woken up at some ungodly hour because the gifts had appeared already. They had slept most of the day away because of how early they had woken up.
Slowly, people trickled in and Winky appeared with breakfast. Harry managed to place the Gameboy down so Leoline could eat some, and then Sirius came rushing in. The handheld was quickly hidden away so Leoline would focus on the rest of his gifts.
While there were a lot of gifts and many of them were for Leoline he wasn't the only person surrounded by wrapping paper as Sirius kept throwing gifts at people enthusiastically. Winky was sitting in her own comfortable armchair in a corner and she soon disappeared behind the wall of paper belonging both to her own gifts and Leoline's gifts. She waved a hand and the paper disappeared. She had never been this happy before. Not even when little Barty was a child. His father had been so strict he hadn't been allowed to show joy. It was easy now to see just how horrible her old master had been in many ways. Winky still didn't like speaking ill of Old Master Crouch, but she could at least admit it to herself. She was secretly hoping that there would be more children soon. A small smile played on her lips as she watched the young elves. They were sitting near the tree surrounded by things the family had given them and Hermione had sent over. Even Kreacher had shown up and had been handed a gift in secret. It wasn't proper for an elf, but Harry had his ways of getting through to Kreacher.
Tonks' hair was rose red and she was smiling wildly as Sirius threw over another gift for her. Her eyes widened as she saw the name. How had Raiden sent her a gift here?
"A lot of people sent in gifts," Harry said as he saw her confusion. "Several of my friends have mailed gifts."
Tonks nodded slowly. She guessed that made sense. Owls were truly amazing creatures. She opened the box slowly and looked down at the beautiful silver dress. The card said it was handmade. The style seemed Asian, but she couldn't place it. She sighed. What could have been…
Remus noticed how Dora seemed to pull back into herself. He called his son over and handed him a gift to give to her. He didn't want anyone to feel sad on Christmas. He knew he might not be able to do much but at least he could try.
Sirius ripped the paper off his gift from Harry and laughed as he revealed a custom leather jacket with a big black dog and a dark green dragon on it.
"For when you go out on that lethal bike of yours," Harry said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He didn't mind the bike but he knew that some people had been complaining.
Sirius just grinned lopsidedly and put the jacket on. With magic, he was perfectly safe without it, but he couldn't say it didn't add to the aesthetics. It was also really comfortable.
…
The day proceeded and they had snowball fights and made sweets together so the whole kitchen looked like the grounds outside.
Once Leoline had gone to bed the adults settled down and spoke.
Of the future.
About concerns.
Of embarrassing things that happened a long time ago.
26th of December, 1998.
The grounds at Ennerdale looked like a snowy labyrinth filled with strange rooms and winding corridors. A lot of magic had gone into creating the mystical playground that people started arriving next to around noon on Boxing Day. All of the elves had helped in making the tunnels and puzzles.
It was a mixed group that arrived. Several former Slytherin's from neutral families such as Blaise and the Greengrass sisters were there as well as a good chunk of former Gryffindors in spread ages since Harry had many friends not locked to his age group. The rest were spread. Several of Dora's friends were there and people from other houses that all of them knew.
"Welcome everyone to Labyrinthian," Charlie said as he appeared in a swirl of ice and snow. His eyes were filled with colour, glowing an icy blue. His hair, while still orange, was filled with frost. "Great treasurer awaits those who enter here. However, you may not enter alone. Look to those around you to find people different from you. For you shall certainly fail if you are all the same. In these Halls, there are those who can help you if you find the items they seek but beware the sweetest face may hide a wicked scheme. Some may not be who they seem."
"How many to a team?" Ron asked.
"Between four and seven seem the most appropriate, but do not leave anyone behind. Quick choices may very well lead to failure," Charlie said.
Ron turned around. His first instinct had been to stick with friends and his auror buddies but maybe that wasn't the best idea. He saw one of the twins walk up to Tracy Davis and ask if they could be on a team. He turned to Susan Bones. "Want to team up?" he asked.
"Sure we can do that," Susan said. She was looking around for other potential teammates. They needed other viewpoints. Who would be a good… She moved through the crowd of people until she found Luna Lovegood standing by a glistening tree. "Will you join our team?" she asked.
Luna blinked slowly as she lowered her gaze and looked at Susan. "When snow is brought together like this the nyriadis get really happy," she said calmly.
Susan raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Luna was always hard to talk to but she did offer a unique perspective. If anyone could tell that someone was untrustworthy during this it should be Luna.
Charlie watched as the teams formed. It looked like everyone was going to enjoy themselves. He could see some old classmates of his mixing with the Aurors and younger students. He was hoping everyone would have a good time. "As you all ready yourselves, please step forward," he said. "We shall meet again."
The first group stepped into the maze and the path closed. Another path opened for the next group and this continued until everyone was in the maze.
Luke followed after one of Ron's older brothers he guessed judging by the hair. He wondered where Tonks was. She was one of the organisers. She had to be somewhere.
They entered a room with four pillars reaching for the skies. The pillars were covered in symbols. The far wall held a window but the glass was black.
"These can move," Tracy said as she noticed a row of signs on one of the pillars.
"I guess we need to find something that tells us what order we need them in then," Luke said as he looked around.
"This is a puzzle I think," Dean said as he knelt by a pale box. "Pieces are missing though."
George had walked up to the blank window. There were knobs around the frame. He reached out and twisted one of the knobs. The window sparkled for a moment.
"I have numbers here," Luke said.
"Read them," George responded. He could see numbers along the dials. Maybe they were connected.
"Five, seven, two and six."
George twisted the knobs and a clear picture appeared on the glass. "How many rows are the pillars?" he asked.
"Seven," Tracy said.
"Then this is not the solution," George said. "I have three of those strange symbols here though." He pulled a notebook out of a pocket and wrote the symbols down. "Give me more numbers."
"Eight, three, nine and seven.
George pulled up another image and noted the symbols down.
Meanwhile, Dean had found the key to the pillars… or at least part of the key. "We still don't know what the symbols mean," he muttered. They had solved the first pillar and been handed the key for the second, but they didn't understand it. Tracy walked up to George and looked down at his notes over his shoulder. He had the same strange symbols they had but he had drawn little images and written down interpretations. She looked down at the symbols she had and started building a sentence. She had to guess a few words but it didn't take them long to solve it.
Luke and George moved around the room once they had run out of numbers.
George bent down and picked up a chest with a number padlock. He held it out to Luke. "Four digits," he said.
"I guess we could try the ones from before," Luke said.
They walked back to the number wall and started spinning the dials around to match the numbers they had used for the images. George looked up for a moment. "Are there numbers that never appear in each row?" he asked.
Luke took on a thoughtful look as he scanned the wall. "Two, five, three and one."
The lock clicked open.
Inside the box lay several pieces of metal. They looked like maybe they could fit together, but when George took them out of the box to try it wasn't quite so simple.
"Maybe there is a piece missing;" Luke suggested.
"Could be the case," George said.
"Yes! Finally," Tracy exclaimed. She was holding a heavy golden key in her hand. She walked up to the door with it and twisted the key in the lock. The lock clicked satisfyingly and the door swung open.
Dean walked back to the bow with the unfinished puzzle on it and lifted it up. "Should we bring this?" he asked.
"Sure why not," Luke said. "Maybe the rest of the pieces are in the next room.".
They headed down the corridor slowly. No one knew what might lie ahead so they didn't want to rush it.
Meanwhile, in a different part of the maze, Ron and his group had just solved their second room and were quickly heading for their third.
"What in Morgana's name is that?" Astoria asked. She was looking down a smaller corridor taking off to their right. "Is that a Grim?"
Ron walked back and crouched down in an attempt to see better. He knew a dog that could be described as a Grim. His eyes caught sight of movement and he drew his wand and cast a lumous. On the other side of a deep gorge stood a big black dog.
"Padfoot?" Ron said.
The dog looked up at him and wagged his tail happily.
"You know that dog?" Susan asked.
"It's not a dog," Ron said. "He's an animagus. But yes I sort of know him. He's Harry's godfather." He looked around the corridor to see if there was any way across the gorge. The walls were lined with rocks that jutted out. "I think we could climb across," he said.
"Or we can continue," Cedric said.
"They did say we might find people who could help us in here though," Astoria said. "If the dog is an animagus then maybe he could help."
Cedric nodded slowly. "That might be true," he said.
"I think we go across," Katie said. She looked down at Luna. "What do you think?" she asked.
Luna tilted her head to the side and smiled dreamily. "I think the nyriadis will guide us across," she said. She walked forward and stepped out over the gorge. In a pattern that no one else could see, Luna walked out over the seemingly empty depths below.
Ron walked forward slowly and reached out with a foot. He found nothing to stand on. He reached out for Astoria as she took a determined step straight out. "Climb the walls," she said. "I can remember where she put her feet."
Ron looked back at Cedric who drew his wand.
"I'll stay and see if I can catch her if she falls," Cedric said.
Ron nodded slowly before drawing a deep breath. He headed out along the wall slowly while Katie took the other side.
Luna and Astoria sat next to Padfoot when they arrived and Cedric joined them not long after. Padfoot barked and took off running once everyone had their feet firmly on the ground. They followed him as quickly as they could until they reached another room. The door closed behind them and the room went dark. Everyone tried to light their wands. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then Astoria reached out with her wand and a colourful line suddenly appeared.
"Don't touch that," Cedric said. He moved his own wand out slowly and another line appeared.
"Do you think we have to manoeuvre through the room just using the colourful strings?" Katie asked. "And what happens if we touch one of them?"
"Probably to the first question and I have no idea about the second," Ron said. "We need to check down low too. We have to get Padfoot with us."
They moved extremely slowly. The room wasn't filled with strings, but they appeared at varying heights so it was tricky to get past them.
Suddenly, Katie stumbled and backed into a string. They could hear a ticking sound and Padfoot barked.
"Run for the door," Katie shouted.
"Only if you can come with us," Ron said. He grabbed onto her hand and he tried to pull her loose, but the string had wrapped itself around her and was continuing up her body. "Just go without me," Katie said.
"No," Ron answered.
"He is right," Cedric said. "We're not leaving you behind."
"What if our only way out of here lies ahead?" Katie asked irritably.
"Then I stay," Ron said. "You guys go ahead and find a way to get us out of this room."
"Go!" Katie ordered them.
"This way," Astoria called and Cedric could see the light of her wand streaming out from a lowering door. He rushed over to her and Luna and slid in through the door before it closed.
The room with the strings lit up slowly and Katie was freed. "So what do we do now?" she asked as she looked around.
"We see if there is anything else in this room," Ron said. "Either a way out or some way to help them get us out of here."
"Fair enough," Katie said.
They looked around and gathered the strings up so they would be out of the way. "Wait, what is this?" Katie said. She grabbed something in a corner tightly and pulled. The entire wall fell away. Glass stood between them and the room on the other side. A shape moved out of the darkness slowly. Something seemed off. They didn't move the way a normal human would.
"Are those strings?" Ron asked as he pointed above the person in the other room.
"It's a marionette," Katie said. It looked like a real person though. How were they moving like that?
"There is colour coming from those panels on the floor," Ron said suddenly. "When they step on a panel it shows a colour."
"Do you think they'll repeat it?" Katie asked.
"I sure hope so," Ron said. He grabbed a tussle of string and placed it down on the ground. He was trying to keep track of what colours were stepped on as he gathered the string together. He wasn't sure they would need it, but he wasn't willing to take the chance they wouldn't.
"Do you think it's a real person in there?" Katie asked. "Or is this just an illusion or something?"
"I don't know," Ron said.
"Harry could move like that if he put his mind to it," Katie said.
"Yeah, I guess you are right," Ron said. It didn't look like Harry, but that didn't mean anything. Harry could look so many different ways.
"I wonder if we need to relay this information to someone else or if we need to do something with it," Katie said.
"I guess we'll see," Ron said. His eyes narrowed as the room beyond the glass suddenly turned dark for a moment before the floor lit up in colours. A group of people walked in, but it wasn't Cedric and the others. Instead, Fred led a group of people into the room.
"Do we help them?" Katie asked.
Ron shrugged. He wasn't sure. They had the key to this room, but did they want to help another team? He looked around. Behind them, it looked like the snow had moved to reveal a door. Had that been there earlier? On that door were small lights. "Maybe helping them helps us," he said.
Katie looked around and raised an eyebrow. "It is worth a try I guess," she said. She knocked on the glass to catch Fred's attention.
"Isn't that your little brother," Daphne said calmly as she pointed towards a big glass window.
"Yeah, and Katie," Fred said.
"Is she holding coloured string?" Christina asked.
"Looks like it," Fred said.
Daphne walked forward to the coloured panels on the ground. "Do we follow their instructions?" she asked. "Bell is saying yellow."
"I don't know," Fred said.
"Well, we have to go across. The question I guess is, do we trust them or do we find our own way?" Christina asked.
Daphne nodded slowly. Deliberately she stepped out on a red square rather than a yellow. The room rumbled and the ceiling seemed to close in on them. She stepped over on the yellow square and the rumbling died down. She guessed they were sticking to the colour given to them. She wasn't a fan of getting crushed.
It was slow going across since Daphne had to wait for Ron and Katie to show her the way, but across she made it.
The door behind Katie and Ron clicked open, they waved to Fred's team and headed through the door.
"Of course, that opened a door for them," Matthew said.
"What is that on the floor?" Tanya asked. She was pointing next to Daphne who turned and looked down. She walked up to the shapeless pile and moved a soft black fabric aside. "It looks like a life-sized doll," she said. It had long black hair and rosy lips. The eyes were closed.
The rest of the team made their way over to Daphne. The floor was no longer lit so there was no danger when walking across it.
Fred walked up to the doll and pulled it up so it was sitting. The eyes opened and stared out at the void.
"What do we do?" Christina asked.
"Do," Matthew said. "We leave it. That thing is bloody creepy."
"I think we bring her," Tanya said.
"Why?" Matthew asked.
"What do you think?" Fred asked Daphne.
Daphne looked from Tanya to the doll and back again. "I think she needs to fill a function if we're bringing her," she said. "She needs to be part of a puzzle or something. We can't just carry a doll around for no reason."
"Agreed," Christina said.
Fred laid the doll back down and looked her over.
"Usually power sources to dolls like this are on their backs," Tanya said.
They turned the doll around. Tanya was right. There was a hatch on the doll's back. It was held in place by a screw. Without tools, they weren't getting in. "Let's bring it," Christina said. "There could be something we end up needing in there."
"I'm not carrying that," Matthew said. There was just no way.
Fred rolled his eyes. "Give me a hand," he told Christina and they hoisted the doll up on his back and tied it into place with the ribbon-like piece of fabric she had been covered by. They walked through the next door together.
…
"Found a screwdriver," Christina called out. It was several rooms later and many interesting puzzles had passed.
"Good then we can see what we're dealing with," Fred said. He undid the knot that held the doll up and dropped her down on the ground gently. They turned her around and opened her up. Inside they found a piece of a blank puzzle and a locked box with a strange pattern on the top and moving parts. Inside the empty cavity, it looked like something should be placed but they didn't have anything so they closed her back up again.
"We could leave it now, right?" Matthew said.
"I think we better bring it along," Fred said.
"You're crazy," Matthew said.
"Maybe," Fred said while shrugging his shoulders. He picked the doll back up and they continued. While they walked Tanya tried to finish the pattern on the box they had picked out of the doll.
The next room was filled with colourful fabric. A cosy table was set out with some refreshments. "Hello?" Daphne called out. Something crashed further into a room and a man with messy brown hair and big blue eyes came stumbling out with a tray of newly baked cinnamon buns. "Oh, guests, how lovely," he said. "Please have a seat. Have some tea. I apologise for the mess. It has been so long since I last had visitors. What brings you here?"
"We're looking for the treasure," Christina said carefully.
"Ah, Treasure Hunters, how lovely," the man said. "I'm more of a researcher by profession. Oh, my I haven't introduced myself have I…? I am Joshua Lovecraft."
"What do you research Mr Lovecraft?" Daphne asked.
"Latent energies. This place is full of magical anomalies," Lovecraft said.
"You wouldn't happen to know the way forward, would you?" Matthew asked before taking a bite from a chocolate chip biscuit.
"Oh, I'm sure you could just take the front door," Lovecraft said. "Why don't you take a look around first though? I have gathered many things over the years. Maybe I have something you could use."
"That is very kind of you," Christina said.
"Oh, don't mention it. It is always nice with some company," Lovecraft said.
"Do you think we could leave something here too?" Fred asked. "We didn't just want to leave her lying around, but she is kind of cumbersome to carry with us."
"Certainly. You can always come back for her," Lovecraft said.
Tanya sighed as they placed the doll down. "I guess you're right," she said.
"You heard what Mr Lovecraft said. We can always come back for her," Fred said.
"Yeah, I guess," Tanya said. "Thank you, Mr Lovecraft."
"Not a problem, young one," Lovecraft said. "Hope you find the treasure." He waved and smiled kindly as they walked out the front door.
"Thank you for the biscuits," Matthew said.
Lovecraft smiled until they had all disappeared out the door and it closed behind them. "Well, it looks like things are going the way we want," he said calmly while looking over at the doll.
The doll was sitting up now and looking at him. "I'd have to agree," she said.
"Do you want to walk around for a bit before we move you to the next room?" Lovecraft asked.
"That is probably a good idea," the doll said. She held her arms out. "Help me up. It will take me forever to reapply the magic."
Lovecraft walked up to the doll and pulled her up on her feet. "Should I get you shoes?" he asked. He watched her as she walked around stiffly. It was eerie to watch her. Her stiff walk and locked joints made her look like someone had brought a real doll to life, but it was the feet that really unsettled Lovecraft. She looked like she had to wear high heels; her ankles had no mobility.
"Ready?" Charlie asked as he walked into the room.
"Yes," the doll answered.
"Do you have any idea how creepy that is?" Charlie asked. He shook his head and wrapped an arm around the doll before apparating. The room they landed in looked like a workshop and Charlie helped the doll up on a table. "Do you have everything you need?" he asked. He watched as the scene before him changed. Parts of the doll had been strewn about the room. It made him feel a little more than mildly uncomfortable to see her lying there with her arms and legs missing. He knew it was just illusions but damn were they good illusions. "They should be here soon," he said before leaving.
…
Elsewhere in the maze of rooms and tunnels Neville and his group had just passed another room. They were walking down a corridor slowly, well aware that anything could happen anywhere. Suddenly, two dragons sprung out of the icy walls. Lightning cloaked their bodies. They were blocking the way forward.
Neville, knowing that these dragons were the same as Harry's Qozul, stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't want to harm the dragons. He reached out and motioned for his team to back off slightly.
"How the heck do they have dragons in here?" Zach asked. He felt no ill will from the little creatures still he wondered what was going on.
"Tanya says Harry keeps Dragons here. They have a preserve," Natalie said. "I guess these dragons might be some of the ones they take care of."
"That still doesn't explain what the beasts are doing here," Blaise said.
"They are guarding something obviously," Hannah said. "And they aren't beasts. I think they are quite beautiful."
"Either way they are still blocking our path," Zach said.
Neville nodded slowly. He knew a few words in Dragon-tongue but not enough to hold a conversation. "Monah kos?" he asked.
The dragons looked at each other for a moment before lowering their wings. "Aav," one of them said before moving ahead. Golrii stopped every once in a while to make sure that the humans were keeping up.
He stopped in front of a door and looked at Neville expectantly.
Neville walked up to the door and knocked. He didn't just want to pull the door open. He had asked for the dragon's mother. He knew that wasn't the best way to say it, but his vocabulary was limited, and he had at least managed to get past the dragons. There was no answer at the door so he reached out and pushed it open slowly. "Hello there. Is anybody home?" he asked as he stepped through the door. A grand hall lay before him. Beautiful statues lined the walls and magical paintings seemed to lead to other worlds entirely.
"Someone rich or talented lives here," Blaise said.
Hannah walked further in. "These aren't statues guys," she said as she walked up to what looked like the statue of a woman dressed in a beautiful silver dress. "This is a doll."
"A life-sized doll," Zach agreed.
"What is this guy? Some kind of creep?" Blaise asked.
"Certainly one such as you would never understand the finer arts. My creations are no mere dolls. They each are a work of art like no other," the melodious voice of a man draped in shadows said. He stepped out of the darkness to reveal a flawless face. His eyes were mismatched and one of his arms looked like a doll's arm. "You step into my home to speak ill of my creations. Who art thou?"
"My name is Neville. My companions and I search for a treasure," Neville said. "We mean no ill by coming here. Your dragons showed the way."
"They would…" the Creator said. "I am the Creator. This is my studio. Lo, my talents are waning since my masterpiece was stolen from me."
"That's a shame," Hannah said. "They are very beautiful."
"These are but dust next to my darling. Perfect in every way. She could move, you see. She was not frozen like these…" He paused. "No matter. You seek the treasure. Any one of these paths may lead you there. Choose wisely."
The Creator disappeared through a hidden door. He hoped that the emphatic one had not been able to see through him.
"Nice job," Charlie said. "They won't know what to think."
"That was the point," the Creator said.
"Shall I move you ahead?" Charlie said. He was the only one who had the entire picture of what was going on. He was opening certain doors and closing others as the people moved through the maze. He made sure that no one ran into each other and he commanded the elves. They had employed all of their elves to run interference. All of them were doing a good job so far. Even Kreacher seemed to be enjoying himself. He apparated the Creator to the next phase.
In the meantime, Neville and his group had walked up to one of the paintings and pulled it open like a door. They made it through two rooms before stepping up to a door with bars covering a coloured window.
"This looks ominous," Hannah said.
"It does, right," Neville said. He pushed the door open. The room was dark so they drew their wand and lit the tips. They walked into the room slowly and spread out. Blaise stumbled over something and moved his wand down.
"What is wrong?" Zack asked as he was hit with an intense feeling of terror.
"An arm," Blaise said in a squeaky voice. He was pointing to the floor.
"Maybe it is part of the doll?" Natalie said. She walked up to the arm and lifted it off the floor. "It could be the doll that the Creator was missing. Why is she in pieces though?"
"Why are you touching that?!" Blaise asked.
"Because we have to put her back together of course," Natalie said. "Right?" She looked over at Neville and Hannah.
"Of course, we'll put her back together," Hannah said.
"I don't see why not," Neville said.
"How about we get some more light then," Zach said. He threw up a ball of light at the ceiling and they looked around. The room was split in two by a wall but there were pieces of different creatures and not just the doll lying strewn around like someone had been moving through the room in a hurry. Neville was the first to move on to the next part of the room. He found the Doll lying on a table surrounded by tools. It looked like someone had been taking her apart. He opened the hatch on her back and found nothing.
"Maybe there should be a battery there?" Natalie asked.
"Unfortunately we don't have one," Neville said. "She seems to be missing quite a few parts." He turned the doll over carefully. She looked eerily familiar. Her dark hair flowed around her. She was wearing a beautifully made dress that sparkled in the light from their wands. "Give me her arm," Neville said. He wasn't quite sure how to attach a doll's arm, but he trusted that Harry and the others hadn't made anything impossible. A loud click sounded as the arm attached and Neville let go. "Let's see if we can't find the rest of her."
Blaise kept as far away from the doll as humanly possible. He couldn't understand how Neville and the others so casually put her back together.
"I think we should bring her," Natalie said once the Doll was complete. "What if we run into the Creator again?"
"She has a point," Zach said. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about the Doll. In some ways, she was intensely lifelike and in other ways, she wasn't. He felt nothing from her so she wasn't alive. This wasn't just some complicated costume… though he doubted anyone could pick themselves apart the way she had been lying all over the room. She was beautiful. He could see why the Creator was distraught about losing her. There had been something else though that he hadn't quite been able to read from the Creator, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"This door is just open," Hannah said as she pushed a door open. "We can continue."
"I guess I'm taking her then," Neville said.
"We'll strap her to your back," Zach said. "You might need your arms."
It took them a little while but eventually, they managed to tie the Doll to Neville. He shook his head and sighed before they headed on. He had a feeling he knew what was going on and it was kind of creepy. He wouldn't say anything though just in case he was wrong.
Suddenly the corridor started giving out behind them and they had to run. They pulled everyone through the next door and walked into complete darkness.
…
Ron and Katie were running quickly as they made their way across a bridge. Below them, the rest of their team was trying to figure out a way across a pit of snakes. At least it looked like snakes from where Ron was.
"Hey, there are dials up here," Katie said.
Ron shouted down to the rest of the team.
"Go ahead and do something!" Susan called back. "We'll see if we can find something down here to help you." She started looking around her when Astoria screamed. She turned back. The pit looked like it was bubbling violently. "Ron!" she called.
"Turn it!" Ron shouted to Katie. It took a little while for the mess to settle back down. Thankfully, no one had gotten caught in the bubbling mass. Then without warning the pit filled with crystal-clear ice.
"At least we can get across now," Astoria said. She stepped on the ice carefully and glided to the other side. Slowly the others followed her.
"Is there something at the bottom of the pool?" Cedric asked.
"Looks like it," Ron responded from above.
"Maybe we should get that," Cedric called back.
"I'll see what we can do once you get across," Ron said.
"Wait, there is something here that might melt the ice," Susan said. She grabbed a hose and turned the water on. As soon as the hot water from the hose hit the ice, steam rose and the ice melted.
Padfoot barked and jumped down.
"Crazy dog," Ron muttered. He wished they could get down somehow, but he didn't feel like jumping. When a very wet Padfoot got back out of the pit he was clutching a strange purple stone in his jaws. He handed it to Cedric.
"Do you have a path to continue on up there?" Susan asked Ron.
"We do," Ron responded.
"See you in the next room then!"
…
"I swear this place is crazy… amazing but crazy. Who are these people…? I mean the magical know-how they must have to create something like this is astounding," Barbara said as she ducked under a heavy wooden log.
"Harry certainly knows a lot," Angelina said. "I am surprised it is quite this involved, but we have done similar things with him before."
"That just makes me jealous," Seamus said. "Though Harry and Neville's birthday was pretty epic."
"Still they are just a handful of people right?" Barbara asked.
"And probably some house-elves," Oliver said. "Harry has a pretty devoted house-elf."
"I'd still say this is impressive," Barbara said.
"Certainly," Angelina said. She pulled a door open and they walked into the next room. It was dark. "Wandlight?" Seamus asked.
"Last time you asked that we had to run for cover," Oliver said.
"That may or may not have been on purpose," Seamus said. He lit his wand and looked around. Looks like the walls are glass," he said. "There are quite a few puzzles in here."
"Great!" Barbara said enthusiastically. She loved puzzles and so far nothing had been quite the same.
They spread out and started looking through what they could find.
Seamus pushed a panel closed and the lights turned on. "I think everyone else is here or will arrive here eventually," he said.
"Can you see anyone else?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, but I can't tell who it is," Seamus said. He looked back at the puzzles and knelt next to a strange-looking statue.
Slowly the other room lit up until only the centre was dark. A strange sound could be heard and the rooms moved together.
The Creator appeared in the empty room. He looked confused for a moment before catching his bearing. "What shall you take from me now," he called. "You thieving fiend. You think I have not noticed your manipulations."
"You truly have fallen old friend," Lovecraft said as he walked into the room slowly. "Screaming into the void as if it will ever answer you."
"Don't get distracted," Barbara said.
The Creator was looking at Lovecraft in disgust. "You are one to talk. You who only care for your scrolls and foolish fancy magic," he said.
Padfoot growled from where he stood next to Susan. "What is wrong, boy?" she asked. She looked over at the people in the centre room. "Do you know them?"
Padfoot nodded.
"Did one of them turn you into a dog?'
Another nod.
"Was it the messy one?"
Padfoot shook his head.
"So it was the pretty one then?" Susan said. She had lost track of the puzzle in her hands as she watched the scene play out before her.
Lovecraft walked up to the Creator and punched him in the face. "Your stupid creations have driven everyone away. You never listen to anyone anymore. Leah left because of your incisive questions," he shouted.
The Creator closed his eyes. "How is any of that my fault?" he said calmly. "Have you any idea how people look upon me?" He moved away. "My creations are the only company I have. You did not need to stay. Leah left because you wouldn't listen to her. She wanted to leave and you didn't."
Susan shook her head. These people needed help, that was for certain. "Do you think he would turn you back?"
Padfoot shook his head.
"We could still ask," Susan said.
Padfoot snorted. He watched Susan as she stood up and walked up to the glass. She knocked heavily until the Creator turned around to look at her. He was staring at her confused. It was as if he hadn't realised exactly where they were until Susan caught his attention. "Can you turn him back?" Susan asked as she pointed down at Padfoot.
At first, it seemed as if the Creator hadn't heard her. Then the man turned to the dog and shook his head. "Can you return to me what you stole?" he asked. "It can turn you back."
Susan looked down at Padfoot. "You stole from him?" she said. "That's not very nice."
Padfoot looked ashamed as he looked down at the ground.
"What is happening over here?" Ron asked as he came walking over.
"Padfoot stole something from the gentleman across the glass so he turned him into a dog," Susan said. "If he returns the item he'll turn back."
"What was stolen?" Ron asked.
"A soul gem," the Creator said. "The crystal brings life."
"We found a crystal," Ron said. He walked back over to Cedric and fetched the purple gem they had picked up from beneath the ice. "Is this what you want?" he asked.
"That is a soul gem," the Creator said. "If you return it to me I will turn him back. Is that what you want?"
A bright spot appeared on the glass.
"Should we give it back to him?" Ron asked Susan. "Charlie did warn us that some people couldn't be trusted."
"So maybe he isn't to be trusted," Susan said. "or…" she looked down at Padfoot, "maybe we can't trust you."
Padfoot barked.
"I don't know," Ron said.
Lovecraft came walking over. "Your creation is over there," he said and pointed. "They are carrying her around."
The Creator looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened. It was clear that he wanted to head over there, but he needed to know what the ones with the crystal decided to do.
"Give it to him," Susan said. "We don't need it, do we? If Padfoot can't be trusted we'll deal with him."
"If you're certain," Ron said. He placed the crystal against the brighter spot on the glass. As the crystal passed through the glass the dog shifted and changed into a man with long black hair and dark eyes. Ron couldn't recognise him. This looked nothing like Sirius. He guessed it wasn't supposed to. The shit-eating grin the man wore was what had Ron pull his wand. He stunned the man the moment he had turned back entirely.
"Wise choice," the Creator said. "Who knows what else he might have taken? "Please solve your puzzles." He turned around as Ron started looking through Padfoot's pockets. Lovecraft was right. They had her. She was right there.
"If you pick them again. We will have nothing else to say to each other," Lovecraft said. "It is her or me… will you really choose her again?"
"What are you talking about?" the Creator asked. "We were friends nothing more. You have blamed me for everything that ever goes wrong in your life."
Neville watched the two men in the centre room while he worked on a puzzle. He could hear them just fine, but he wasn't really paying them much mind. They were arguing and it didn't affect him as far as he could tell.
"We were a lot more than friends. You just can't see it," Lovecraft said. "No one can and it hurts. When Joshua and I went missing some really bad things happened and you have never looked upon me the same again."
The Creator stopped in his tracks. "You are Joshua," he said.
"No… I act as if I am Joshua because that is what the world expects of me. What you expect of me but I am not Joshua. He died. My body… his mind they are gone forever… do you understand now, Dimitri?"
The Creator closed his eyes as he reached up to rub his face. He was crying as his hands moved away. "Leah?" he said. Then he looked over at his creation. He had worked so hard on her. He started walking towards Neville.
"Dimitri?" Leah said. Her voice was cautious with a hint of steel. She watched him as he pressed the crystal he was holding against the window. A bright light appeared for a moment and the crystal moved through. "If you give her this she will come to life. My creation is innocent," the Creator said. "Please take care of her." He started looking around wildly as he backed away.
The ground was rumbling and the glass was slowly filling with patterns of ice hiding everyone from each other. Neville quickly moved over to the Doll and opened her back panel up. He placed the crystal in her moments before she disappeared.
Dean finally found the last of the puzzle pieces for the box he had been carrying from the start. He placed them in and the box clicked open. In the box lay a strange red stone.
The glass shattered and people moved back. Dimitri and Leah were standing on a small platform together.
Padfoot was gone and a strange mist hung in the air. In the centre of the room sat the Doll and panels filled with levers and buttons appeared by each team.
"Tick-tock, time is slipping away," Charlie's distorted voice reached them. "Have you enjoyed my little game?" He appeared standing in the air above them. "Each of you hold the key to get out. Those who make it get to live."
"Monster," the Creator called angrily.
"You had your chance," Charlie said snidely. "You failed." He raised a hand and fire sprung from cracks in the ground splitting everyone off from each other. Dragons flew in and surrounded them.
"You will not win this time," Leah said.
Charlie laughed coldly. "You who only live on through a fluke of magic," he said. "What power do you think you have?"
"Not me," Leah said. "Dimitri and his creations."
"This silly little puppet you say," Charlie said as he disappeared and reappeared next to the Doll. "She has served her purpose now I guess. There is no need to keep her." He moved his arm and the Doll was sent flying across the room. She landed in a heap, her limbs bent awkwardly.
Dean walked up to the panel and placed his stone into a slot. "Let's end this," he said.
Luke nodded slowly. "Let's do that," he said. He looked down at the panel. "Those look like communicators. If we unlock them we might be able to talk to everyone else."
"Let's see if we can't figure this out then," Tracy said. They started working with what they had. In the meantime, the stone Dean had placed in had started glowing faintly, and the Doll had risen from the ground. Her eyes opened and she moved forward.
Cedric unlocked another of the old puzzles and placed a green stone into a slot on their panel. The doll started running and she leapt across the burning gap separating her from Charlie. Her movement was stiff and she was forced to move within the restrictions of her creation, but she was not going to let her Creator die in this place.
Barbara placed a blue stone into their panel and looked up as the Doll sent ice out towards the Creator and Leah. A bridge formed so they could run across.
Another stone was placed and the Doll reached out and placed her hands on Lovecraft's chest. Leah froze for a moment before their body changed.
"So the girl turned dude was Tonks," Luke said.
"Maybe," George said. "Most of them could change from one gender to another. We made a potion that can make that happen.
"She didn't drink anything," Luke said.
"Then that might be Tonks," George said. "I think the Doll is the wrong gender so that would add up I guess."
"Tonks could never move the way the Doll is moving," Luke said. "That can't be her." He watched as the Doll danced around Charlie.
"So you managed to turn her back," Charlie said. "It matters not, none of you shall see the light of day."
"Hey!"
"Yo, Oliver, how are you guys doing?" Fred said. "We've got some strange symbols here. You wouldn't happen to have a solution would you?"
"Not me but we can check around," Oliver said.
"You have more communicators?" Fred said.
"Got two of them."
"Sweet. I guess we're playing telephone then."
"Sure."
The word went around until it reached Tracy who asked for George's notes.
In the centre, the battle raged between Charlie and his prisoners until suddenly a great torrent of fire headed for Leah and Dimitri but the Doll forced them out of the way. Her body shattered as the teams each pulled the final lever. They had all worked together.
The ground mended and turned back to snow as the teams moved towards the centre. The spell was broken. "I guess you won," Charlie said.
"You don't stand a chance against us all," Dimitri said.
"True," Charlie said. He let go of his staff and it fell to the ground.
"You don't have to be alone though," Dimitri said as he wrapped his arm around Leah. Around them, couples did the same.
"Who would stay with a man like me?" Charlie asked. It was interesting to see just how much their little bit of theatrics were affecting people even though they knew who he was.
"She will," Dimitri said as he held out an arm and the Doll turned around. She slowly mended and the scourge marks faded. She walked up to Charlie and reached out. As her hand touched him the joints fused together. Her feet unfroze and she stumbled slightly. She moved forward and jumped up, wrapping her legs around Charlie's waist. As they kissed, she changed. Her hair shortened and her shoulders grew broader. By the time he dropped back to the ground, it was Harry standing there. Both Draco and Charlie had turned back to normal as well.
"I guess everyone lived happily ever after then," Luke said.
"Not quite yet," Charlie said. He reached out and took Harry's hand. "My family used to say that I was married to my dragons. They didn't think I would ever find someone to spend the rest of my life with. Truth be told I wasn't really looking when you stumbled into my life. Now I wouldn't want to live without you." He pulled a box out of a pocket. "Will you marry me Harry?" he asked.
Harry smiled. "I was a wreck the first time we met and you had patience with that," he said. "I will join in Mara's blessing with you." He raised a hand and a pendant appeared, a dragon hugging an amulet of Mara.
Charlie smiled. He knew from the stories Harry had told him what the amulet meant. He took the ring out of the box and placed it on Harry's finger and the amulet flashed and landed around his neck. They kissed and fireworks were set off while the crowd cheered. Charlie gave his brothers a pointed look as he moved away from Harry.
Fred and George just grinned and shrugged.
"Now let's head inside for something to eat," Harry called out.
"Yes," Ron exclaimed. While he was happy for Harry and Charlie it was still a little awkward for him that his once best friend was now engaged to his older brother. He didn't want to make things difficult for them so he would keep his mouth shut until he had processed what was going on. Stranger still was that Draco Malfoy had been one of the people involved in making the escape rooms. He sat down by a long table together with Luke and Zach.
"Man that was pretty darn cool," Luke said. "They know how to build an experience. I'm surprised they could do it on so few people."
"It was a lot of work over several weeks," Harry said as he sat down near them. While he would happily sit with Charlie they had already decided to spread out so they could answer questions.
"Why were you a doll?" Zach asked. "And how did you hide your presence from me?"
"I know a lot of things not many know," Harry said. "And why I was a doll was just because I figured it could be interesting. A lot of things that could have happened didn't because of the paths you guys took."
"But you could move right?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head. "Not really. I had a limited range of motion. Dropping all the spells that kept me that way would have meant half an hour of reapplying everything," he said.
"Wasn't that a bit claustrophobic?" Zach asked.
"Not really since it was all my magic. If I really needed to move I was the one in control of it," Harry said. "I don't know if I'd feel the same if someone else was in control."
"The blond guy was really quite convincing too," Zach said. "I couldn't read him either and that is rare for me."
"We have the same Master," Harry said. "He's pretty good with magic like that."
"You wouldn't happen to know Raiden Moody?" Zach asked.
Harry shook his head. "Doesn't sound familiar, but cousin Kato might know him I guess," he said.
"Guys were carrying you around most of the afternoon," Zack pointed out.
"They knew it was me and we're good friends," Harry said. "The one group that might have become problematic was Ron's group actually, but we didn't need anyone to carry the doll. It would have worked out anyway."
"It was a good time," Ron said. "I'm glad I got an invite."
"A lot more people got invites than could attend the only Weasley sibling we didn't invite was Percy because I don't think he would have appreciated it. Ginny is busy with some friends and Hermione is in Bulgaria still so they couldn't make it."
"Cool you got Tonks involved though I don't get how you know each other," Luke said.
"Well, Charlie knows her from school and Draco is her cousin and Sirius is kind of an uncle once removed or something like that," Harry said. "Everyone but me has some kind of connection you know. We work well together, though, and I have this feeling she might be coming around a lot if the oggly-eyes she has been throwing my guideson's father mean anything."
"He better not be like the last guy she dated. I don't want to see her like that again," Luke said.
"Didn't know the last guy, but Remus is nice. His wife died in childbirth so I don't think they'll rush into anything," Harry said.
"Gee, that's horrible," Luke said before thinking. He smiled sheepishly at Harry once he realised what he had said.
Harry didn't say anything though. He understood what Luke had meant and knew he had foot-in-the-mouth syndrome sometimes.
Fred said something that had the people around him laughing hysterically. Draco was talking animatedly with a group of girls and Charlie seemed to be having a lot of fun too. At least everything had turned out alright and everyone had fun. That was all that really mattered.
…
Later as people were leaving, Harry and Charlie grabbed a hold of Cedric. "So I have a proposition for you," Charlie said. "Harry told me you wanted a job that was a bit more adventurous. I am looking into assignments right now that will take me around the world."
"Pay?" Cedric asked.
"On commission but it is usually pretty good," Charlie said. "I have gotten to know quite a few people along the way as well so if what I do does not interest you we might be able to give you a hand with some of them."
"Sounds good to me, but I can't just leave," Cedric said.
"I'm heading out on the fifteenth of February so you should have time," Charlie said.
"Sweet," Cedric said. "I'll get back to you, yeah."
"Sure," Charlie said. They waved the last of the guests off and then they headed upstairs. "Everyone seemed to have a good time," he said.
Harry nodded. "Maybe wait a bit before the next one?" he said.
"I thought the wedding would be the next one," Charlie said. "Mother will try to take over if we tell her."
"Didn't work great last time I was involved," Harry said. "I mean she could try, but I'm pretty sure you and I have ideas of how we want it."
Charlie nodded. "Not tonight though," he said. "I have other plans." He pulled Harry's shirt off and they moved closer to the bed.