The shock of losing Striker hung over the house in the days that followed. Silver kept expecting to see him stomping in through the back door like the other Order members, who passed in and out to relay news. Silver felt that nothing but action would decrease his feelings of guilt and grief and that he ought to set out on his mission to find and destroy the Core Shards as soon as possible "Well, you can't do anything about them till you're seventeen. You've still got the Trace on you. And we can plan here as well as anywhere, can't we? Or d'you reckon you already know where they are?" Razor asked. Silver shook his head "Locke didn't get a chance to tell me everything" "I think Coral's been doing a bit of research. She said she was saving it for when you got here". They were sitting at the breakfast table; Rob and Ash had just left for work. Mari-An had gone upstairs to wake Coral and Blaze, while Mina had drifted off to take a bath. Silver felt utterly useless right now "The Trace'll break on the thirty-first. That means I only need to stay here four days. Then I can-" "Five days. We've got to stay for the wedding. They'll kill us if we miss it". Razor stared at Silver who was looking mutinous "It's one extra day" "Don't they realize how important this is?" "'Course they don't. They haven't got a clue. And now you mention it, I wanted to talk to you about that". Razor glanced toward the door into the hall to check that Mari-An was not returning yet, then leaned in closer to Silver "Mum's been trying to get it out of Coral and me. What we're off to do. She'll try you next, so brace yourself. Dad and Knuckles have both asked as well, but when we said Locke told you not to tell anyone except us, they dropped it. Not Mum, though. She's determined".
Razor's prediction came true within hours. Shortly before lunch, Mari-An detached Silver from the others by asking him to help identify a lone man's sock that she thought might have come out of his rucksack. Once she had him cornered in the tiny scullery off the kitchen, she started "Razor and Coral seem to think that the three of you are dropping out of Soleanna". She was speaking in a light tone that still somehow made Silver feel tense "Oh…Well, yeah. We are" "May I ask why you are abandoning your education?" "Well, Locke left me stuff to do. Razor and Coral know about it, and they want to come too". Mari-An narrowed her eyes "What sort of 'stuff'?" "I'm sorry, I can't say" "Well, frankly, I think Rob and I have a right to know, and I'm sure Coral's parents would agree!" said Mari-An. Silver had been afraid of the concerned parent attack. He forced himself to look directly into her eyes "Locke didn't want anyone else to know. I'm sorry, Mrs O'Hedge. Razor and Coral don't have to come, it's their choice" "I don't see that you have to go either!" she snapped. She dropped all pretence now "You're barely of age, any of you! It's utter nonsense, if Locke needed work doing, he had the whole Order at his command! Silver, you must have misunderstood him. Probably he was telling you something he wanted done, and you took it to mean that he wanted you to-" "I didn't misunderstand. It's got to be me" Silver said flatly. He handed her back the single sock he was supposed to be identifying, which was patterned with golden bulrushes "And that's not mine, I don't have any Sky Chase socks" "Oh, of course not". She had a sudden and rather unnerving return to her casual tone "I should have realized. Well, Silver, while we've still got you here, you won't mind helping with the preparations for Ash and Mina's wedding, will you? There's still so much to do" "No, I…Of course not" Silver said, disconcerted by this sudden change of subject. She smiled rather threateningly "Sweet of you".
From that moment on, Mari-An kept Silver, Razor and Coral so busy with preparations for the wedding that they hardly had any time to think. The kindest explanation of this behaviour would have been that Mari-An wanted to distract them all from thoughts of Striker and the terrors of their recent journey. After two days of nonstop cutlery cleaning, of colour-matching favours, ribbons, and flowers, removing Dark Bat from the garden and helping Mari-An cook vast batches of canapés, however, Silver started to suspect her of a different motive. All the jobs she handed out seemed to keep him, Razor, and Coral away from one another; he had not had a chance to speak to the two of them alone since the first night he arrived.
On the third night Blaze was helping Silver sort the cutlery on the table "I think Mum thinks that if she can stop the three of you getting together and planning, she'll be able to delay you leaving" she told him. Silver rolled his eyes "And then what does she think's going to happen? Someone else might kill off Finitevus while she's holding us here making cakes?". He had spoken without thinking, and saw Blaze's face whiten "So it's true? That's what you're trying to do?" "I…I was joking" Silver said evasively. They stared at each other, and there was something more than shock in Blaze's expression. Suddenly Silver became aware that this was the first time that he had been alone with her since those stolen hours in secluded corners of the Soleanna grounds. He was sure she was remembering them too. Both of them jumped as the door opened, and Rob, Espio, and Ash walked in. They were often joined by other Order members for dinner now, because Deerwood had replaced number twelve, Haven as the headquarters. Rob had explained that after the death of Locke, their Secret-Keeper, each of the people to whom Locke had confided the location had become a Secret-Keeper in turn "And as there are around twenty of us, that greatly dilutes the power of the Fidelius Charm. Twenty times as many opportunities for the Nocturnus to get the secret out of somebody. We can't expect it to hold much longer" "But surely Infinite will have told the Nocturnus the address by now?" asked Silver. Ash smirked "Turns out Striker still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He set up a couple of curses against Infinite in case he turns up there again. We hope they'll be strong enough both to keep him out and to bind his tongue if he tries to talk about the place, but we can't be sure. It would have been insane to keep using the place as headquarters now that its protection has become so shaky".
The kitchen was so crowded that evening it was difficult to manoeuvre knives and forks. Silver found himself crammed beside Blaze; the unsaid things that had just passed between them made him wish they had been separated by a few more people. He was trying so hard to avoid brushing her arm he could barely cut his food. He tried talking to Ash "No news about Striker?" "Nothing". They had not been able to hold a funeral for Striker, because Ash and Knuckles had failed to recover his body. It had been difficult to know where he might have fallen, given the darkness and the confusion of the battle "The Daily Prophet hasn't said a word about him dying or about finding the body. But that doesn't mean much. It's keeping a lot quiet these days" "And they still haven't called a hearing about all the underage magic I used escaping the Nocturnus?" Silver called across the table to Rob, who shook his head. Silver raised an eyebrow "Because they know I had no choice or because they don't want me to tell the world Finitevus attacked me?" "The latter, I think. Saline doesn't want to admit that You-Know-Who is as powerful as he is, nor that Prison Island's seen a mass breakout". Silver clenched his knife so tightly that the faint scars on the back of his right hand stung.
Razor groaned in frustration "Isn't anyone at the Ministry prepared to stand up to him?" "Of course, Razor, but people are terrified. They're scared that they will be next to disappear, their children the next to be attacked! There are nasty rumours going around. I for one don't believe the Muggle Studies professor at Soleanna resigned. She hasn't been seen for weeks now. Meanwhile Saline remains shut up in his office all day. I just hope he's working on a plan". There was a pause in which Mari-An magicked the empty plates onto the work surface and served apple tart. Once they were done Mina stood up "We must decide 'ow you will be disguised for the wedding, Silver. Of course, none of our guests are Nocturnus, but we cannot guarantee zat zey will not let something slip after zey 'ave 'ad champagne". Mari-An nodded in agreement "Yes, good point". She wrote it down on a list of jobs she had "Now, Razor, have you cleaned out your room yet?" "Why does my room have to be cleaned out? Silver and I are fine with it the way it is!" "We are holding your brother's wedding here in a few days' time, young man". Razor shrugged "And are they getting married in my bedroom?" "Don't talk to your mother like that. Do do as you're told" Rob said firmly. Razor scowled at both his parents, then picked up his spoon and attacked the last few mouthfuls of his apple tart. "I can help, some of it's my mess" Silver told Razor. But Mari-An cut across him "No, Silver, dear, I'd much rather you helped Rob muck out the Cuckys, and Coral, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd change the sheets for Mina's parents; you know they're arriving at eleven tomorrow morning".
But as it turned out, there was very little to do for the Cuckys "There's no need to, er, mention it to Mari but, uh, Simon sent me most of what was left of Elias' bike and, er, I'm hiding, that's to say, keeping, it in here. Fantastic stuff. There's an exhaust gaskin, as I believe it's called, the most magnificent battery, and it'll be a great opportunity to find out how brakes work. I'm going to try and put it all back together again when Mari's not…I mean, when I've got time". When they returned to the house, Mari-An was nowhere to be seen, so Silver slipped upstairs to Razor's attic bedroom. "I'm doing it, I'm doing-Oh, it's you" said Razor in relief, as Silver entered the room. Razor lay back down on the bed, which he had evidently just vacated. The room was just as messy as it had been all week; the only change was that Coral was now sitting in the far corner with Aquarius at her feet, sorting books, some of which Silver recognized as his own, into two enormous piles. Silver was surprised she was here "How did you manage to get away?" "Oh, Razor's mum forgot that she asked Blaze and me to change the sheets yesterday". She threw Numerology and Grammatica onto one pile and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts onto the other. Razor sat back on his bed "We were just talking about Striker. I reckon he might have survived" "But Ash saw him hit by the Killing Curse" "Yeah, but Ash was under attack too. How can he be sure what he saw?".
Coral stopped sorting her books "Even if the Killing Curse missed, Striker still fell about a thousand feet and his Talismans were blaster out of his hand" "Well, all right, if you want him to be dead" said Razor grumpily, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape. Coral looked shocked "Of course we don't want him to be dead! It's dreadful that he's dead! But we're being realistic!". For the first time, Silver imagined Striker's body like Locke's, broken. He felt a stab of revulsion mixed with a bizarre desire to laugh "The Nocturnus probably tidied up after themselves, that's why no one's found him. Like Puff, turned into a bone and buried-" "Don't!" squealed Coral. Startled, Silver looked over just in time to see her burst into tears over her copy of Spellman's Syllabary. Silver got to his feet "Oh no. Coral, I'm sorry". Razor bounded off the bed and got there first. One arm around Coral. Razor handed her a handkerchief "Oh, thanks, Razor. I'm sorry". She blew her nose and hiccupped "It's just so awful, isn't it? R-right after Locke. I j-just n-never imagined Striker dying, somehow, he seemed so tough!" "Yeah, I know. But you know what he'd say to us if he was here?" "Constant vigilance" Coral said, mopping her eyes. Razor nodded "That's right. He'd tell us to learn from what happened to him. And what I've learned is not to trust that cowardly little shit, Farrel". Coral gave a shaky laugh and leaned forward to pick up two more books. A second later, Razor had snatched his arm back from around her shoulders; she had dropped The Monster Book of Monsters on his foot.
The book had broken free from its restraining belt and snapped viciously at Razor's ankle "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Coral cried as Silver wrenched the book from Razor's leg and retied it shut. Razor limped back "What are you doing with all those books anyway?" "Just trying to decide which ones to take with us. When we're looking for the Core Shards". Razor clapped his hand against his forehead "Oh, of course. I forgot we'll be hunting down Finitevus in a mobile library" "Ha ha. I wonder will we need to translate runes? It's possible, I think we'd better take it, to be safe". She dropped the syllabary onto the larger of the two piles and picked up Soleanna, A History. "Listen" Silver said, sitting up a little straighter. Razor and Coral looked at him with similar mixtures of resignation and defiance "I know you said after Locke's funeral that you wanted to come with me" "Here he goes" Razor said to Coral, rolling his eyes. Coral merely got back to her sorting "You know, I think I will take Soleanna, A History. Even if we're not going back there, I don't think I'd feel right if I didn't have it with-" "Listen!" Silver said again. Coral glared at him "No, Silver, you listen. We're coming with you. That was decided months ago, years, really" "But-" "Shut up" Razor advised him.
Silver sighed "Are you sure you've thought this through?" "Let's see" Coral said, slamming Cracking Krakens onto the discarded pile with a rather fierce look "I've been packing for days, so we're ready to leave at a moment's notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Striker's whole stock of Metamorphia Potion right under Razor's mum's nose. I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Adabat, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Finitevus to track them down and interrogate them about me or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you. Assuming I survive our hunt for the Core Shards, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't, well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see". Coral's eyes were swimming with tears again. Razor got back off the bed, put his arm around her once more, and frowned at Silver as though reproaching him for lack of tact. Silver could not think of anything to say, not least because it was highly unusual for Razor to be teaching anyone else tact. Silver sighed "I…Coral, I'm sorry…I didn't…" "Didn't realize that Razor and I know perfectly well what might happen if we come with you? Well, we do. Razor, show Silver what you've done". Razor cringed "Nah, he's just eaten" "Go on, he needs to know!" "Oh, all right".
Razor led Silver out of the room and up into the attic. As they entered Silver heard a horrible, half-sucking, half-moaning sound came out of the square hole, along with an unpleasant smell like open drains "That's your ghoul, isn't it?" asked Silver, who had never actually met the creature that sometimes disrupted the nightly silence. Razor nodded "Yeah, Seamus MacGuffin. Come and have a look at him". Silver caught sight of the creature curled up a few feet from him, fast asleep in the gloom with its large mouth wide open. Silver noticed it looked different than normal. It normally resembled a human men dressed as a pirate but now he was smaller and had fins "Why's he wearing pyjamas?" "He's me, see?" "What do you mean" "I'll explain it back in my room, the smell's getting to me". They climbed back down the ladder, which Razor returned to the ceiling, and rejoined Coral, who was still sorting books "Once we've left, the Seamus is going to come and live down here in my room. I think he's really looking forward to it. Well, it's hard to tell, because all he can do is moan and drool but he nods a lot when you mention it. Anyway, he's going to be me with N.I.D.S. Good, eh?". Silver merely looked his confused. Razor was clearly frustrated that Silver did not grasp the brilliance of the plan "It is! Look, when we three don't turn up at Soleanna again, everyone's going to think Coral and I must be with you, right? Which means the Nocturnus will go straight for our families to see if they've got information on where you are" "But hopefully it'll look like I've gone away with Mum and Dad, a lot of Muggle-borns are talking about going into hiding at the moment" Coral said.
Razor nodded "We can't hide my whole family, it'll look too fishy and they can't all leave their jobs. So we're going to put out the story that I'm seriously ill with N.I.D.S, which is why I can't go back to school. If anyone comes calling to investigate, Mum or Dad can show them the ghoul in my bed, covered in pustules. N.I.D.S is really contagious, so they're not going to want to go near him. It won't matter that he can't say anything, either, because apparently you can't once the fungus reaches the throat" "And your mum and dad are in on this plan?". Razor shrugged "Dad is. He helped Mighty and Ray transform the ghoul. Mum, well, you've seen what she's like. She won't accept we're going till we've gone". There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Coral continued to throw books onto one pile or the other. Razor sat watching her, and Silver looked from one to the other, unable to say anything. The measures they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would be. He wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough. Through the silence came the muffled sounds of Mari-An shouting from four floors below "Blaze's probably left a speck of dust on a napkin ring. I dunno why Mina's family have got to come two days before the wedding" "Mina's sister's a bridesmaid, she needs to be here for the rehearsal, and she's too young to come on her own" Coral said, as she pored indecisively over Break with a Banshee.
Razor chuckled "Well, guests aren't going to help Mum's stress levels". Coral threw Defensive Magical Theory in the bin without a second thought "What we really need to decide, is where we're going after we leave here. I know you said you wanted to go to Vigil's Hollow first, Silver, and I understand why, but…Well, shouldn't we make the Core Shards our priority?" "If we knew where any of the Core Shards were, I'd agree with you" Silver said, who did not believe that Coral really understood his desire to return to Vigil's Hollow. His parents' graves were only one reason. He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for him. Perhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Finitevus' Killing Curse; now that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, Silver was drawn to the place where it had happened, wanting to understand. Coral seemed to read him "Don't you think there's a possibility that Finitevus' keeping a watch on Vigil's Hollow? He might expect you to go back and visit your parents' graves once you're free to go wherever you like?". This had not occurred to Silver. While he struggled to find a counterargument, Razor spoke up, evidently following his own train of thought "This M.T.T person? He said in his note he was going to destroy the Locket, didn't he?". Silver dragged his rucksack toward him and pulled out the fake Core Shard in which M.T.T's note was still folded "He said he'd try" "Well, what if he did finish it off?". Coral considered "Maybe but we'll still have to track them down. We need to know if it's destroyed. Silver can't face Finitevus' until we know for sure there's no more Shards" "How do you destroy a Core Shard, anyway?" Razor asked.
Coral took a book from her pile "Well, I've been researching that" "Where did you get that? I didn't think there were any books on Core Shards in the library?" Silver asked. Coral had a look of both pride and guilt "There weren't. Locke removed them all, but he didn't destroy them. They were in his private study" "How in the hell did you managed to get your books out of there" "It-It wasn't stealing!" Coral said. She looked from Silver to Razor with a kind of desperation "They were still library books, even if Locke had taken them off the shelves. Anyway, if he really didn't want anyone to get at them, I'm sure he would have made it much harder to-" "Get to the point!" "Well, it was easy. After we agreed to go with Silver, I just did a Summoning Charm. And they zoomed out of Locke's study window right into the girls' dormitory. They flew straight in through the open window and I packed them". She swallowed and then said imploringly "I can't believe Locke would have been angry, it's not as though we're going to use the information to make a Core Shard, is it?" "Can you hear us complaining?" Razor said. Coral looked down at the book she was holding. She looked a little nauseated "This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Core Shard. Secrets of the Darkest Art. It's a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic. I wonder when Locke removed it from the library". Silver crossed his arms "They were banned when Sam asked Ellidy but Locke thinks he must have found out about it outside of school. He only approached Ellidy to find out what would happen if you split your soul into seven".
Coral looked back down at the book "From what I've read I actually can't believe he made six Shards" "Isn't there any way of putting yourself back together?" Razor asked. Coral slowly nodded "Yes, but it would be excruciatingly painful" "Why? How do you do it?" "Remorse. You've got to really feel what you've done. There's a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can't see Finitevus attempting it somehow, can you?" "No. So does it say how to destroy Core Shards in that book?". Coral nodded and turned a page "Yes, because it warns Dark wizards how strong they have to make the enchantments on them. From all that I've read, what Silver did to the diary was one of the few really foolproof ways of destroying a Core Shard" "What, stabbing it with a Iblis fang?". Razor shrugged "Oh well, lucky we've got such a large supply of Iblis fangs, then, I was wondering what we were going to do with them". Coral patiently shook her head "It doesn't have to be an Iblis fang. It has to be something so destructive that the Core Shard can't repair itself. Our problem is that there are very few substances as destructive as Iblis venom, and they're all dangerous to carry around with you. That's a problem we're going to have to solve, though, because ripping, smashing, or crushing a Core Shard won't do the trick. You've got to put it beyond magical repair". Razor looked confused "But even if we wreck the thing it lives in, why can't the bit of soul in it just go and live in something else?" "Because a Core Shard is the complete opposite of a living body". Now Silver and Razor both looked thoroughly confused, Coral hurried on "Look, if I picked up a sword right now, Razor, and ran you through with it, I wouldn't damage your Core at all" "Which would be a real comfort to me, I'm sure" Razor said. Silver managed a laugh as Coral continued "It should be, actually! But my point is that whatever happens to your body, your Core will survive, untouched. But it's the other way round with a Shard. The fragment of soul inside it depends on its container, its enchanted body, for survival. It can't exist without it".
Silver remembered the memory of Sam Tund screaming in agony when he stabbed the diary "How did it possess Blaze then?" "I only have a theory for that. I think Finitevus' intentionally put a large piece of his soul into the diary to allow it to possess someone so he could open the Chamber of Secrets. But he couldn't have done that for all of them. It would be too dangerous and pointless if the rest were just being hidden". Silver considered "So the others won't be dangerous then" "I didn't say that. We don't have to worry about possession but remember these can still think for themselves. We need be careful with any we find and destroy as quickly as possible" "I wonder how Locke destroyed the ring? Why didn't I ask him?". His voice tailed away. He was thinking of all the things he should have asked Locke, and of how, since the headmaster had died, it seemed to Silver that he had wasted so many opportunities when Locke had been alive, to find out more. The silence was shattered as the bedroom door flew open with a wall-shaking crash. Coral shrieked and dropped Secrets of the Darkest Art; Aquarius streaked under the bed, hissing indignantly; Razor jumped off the bed, skidded on a discarded Chocolate Frog wrapper, and smacked his head on the opposite wall; and Silver instinctively raised his hand before realizing that he was looking up at Mari-An, whose dreads were dishevelled and whose face was contorted with rage "I'm so sorry to break up this cozy little gathering. I'm sure you all need your rest but there are wedding presents stacked in my room that need sorting out and I was under the impression that you had agreed to help". Coral looked terrified "Oh yes, we will. We're sorry". With an anguished look at Silver and Razor, Coral hurried out of the room after Mari-An. Razor rolled his eyes "It's like being a Marmolim. Except without the job satisfaction. The sooner this wedding's over, the happier I'll be" "Yeah, then we'll have nothing to do except find Core Shards. It'll be like a holiday, won't it?". Razor started to laugh, but at the sight of the enormous pile of wedding presents waiting for them in Mari-An's room, stopped quite abruptly.
Mina's arrived the following morning at eleven o'clock. Silver, Razor, Coral, and Blaze were feeling quite resentful toward them family by this time. Once they had all been deemed smart enough, they trooped out into the sunny backyard to await the visitors. Silver had never seen the place looking so tidy. The rusty cauldrons and old boots that usually littered the steps by the back door were gone, replaced by two new Flutterby bushes standing either side of the door in large pots; though there was no breeze, the leaves waved lazily, giving an attractive rippling effect. The Cuckys had been shut away, the yard had been swept, and the nearby garden had been pruned, plucked, and generally spruced up, although Silver, who liked it in its overgrown state, thought that it looked rather forlorn without its usual contingent of capering Dark Bats. He had lost track of how many security enchantments had been placed upon Deerwood by both the Order and the Ministry; all he knew was that it was no longer possible for anybody to travel by magic directly into the place. Rob had therefore gone to meet the guests on top of a nearby hill, where they were to arrive by Warp Gate. The first sound of their approach was an unusually high-pitched laugh, which turned out to be coming from Rob, who appeared at the gate moments later, laden with luggage and leading a beautiful Mongoose woman, who could only be Mina's mother, Isabella. Mina ran out and hugged her parents "Maman!".
Arthur Mongoose wore armour and had a sword sheathed at his side. However, he looked good-natured. He greeted Mari-An at the door by kissing her on both cheeks, leaving her flustered "You 'ave been to much trouble. Mina tells us you 'ave been working very 'ard" "Oh, it's been nothing, nothing! No trouble at all!". Razor relieved his feelings by aiming a kick at a Dark Bat who was peering out from behind one of the new Flutterby bushes. Arthur was now holding Mari-An's right hand between his own two plump ones and beaming "Dear lady, we are most honoured at the approaching union of our two families! Let me present my wife, Isabella". Isabella glided forward and stooped to kiss Mari-An too. "Enchantée. Your 'usband 'as been telling us such amusing stories!". Rob gave a maniacal laugh. It was clear Isabella's Illumina half was affecting him. Fortunately, Mari-An threw him a look, upon which he became immediately silent and assumed an expression appropriate to the sickbed of a close friend. Isabella then gestured to the Mongoose holding her hand "And, of course, you 'ave met my leetle daughter, Melody!". Melody was Mina's in miniature. She gave Mari-An a dazzling smile and hugged her, then threw Silver a glowing look, batting her eyelashes. As Mari-An brought them inside Silver smirked at Blaze who rolled her eyes "I wasn't that bad" "No, you were worse. You couldn't stay in the room long enough to bat your eyelashes" "Oh, shut up".
The Mongooses, it soon transpired, were helpful, pleasant guests. They were pleased with everything and keen to assist with the preparations for the wedding. Arthur pronounced everything from the seating plan to the bridesmaids' shoes "Charmant!". Isabella was most accomplished at household spells and had the oven properly cleaned in a trice. Melody followed her elder sister around, trying to assist in any way she could. On the downside, the Deerwood was not built to accommodate so many people. Rob and Mari-An were now sleeping in the sitting room, having shouted down Arthur and Isabella's protests and insisted they take their bedroom. Melody was sleeping with Mina in Hamlin's old room, and Ash would be sharing with Rotor, his best man, once Rotor arrived. Opportunities to make plans together became virtually non-existent, and it was in desperation that Silver, Razor, and Coral took to volunteering to feed the Cuckys just to escape the overcrowded house. "But she still won't leave us alone!" snarled Razor, as their second attempt at a meeting in the yard was foiled by the appearance of Mari-An carrying a large basket of laundry in her arms "Oh, good, you've fed the Cuckys" she called as she approached them. She talked about the other guests that would be arriving "You'd better stay inside while they're here, Silver. I must say it does complicate organizing a wedding, having all these security spells around the place" "I'm sorry" "Oh, don't be silly, dear! I didn't mean, well, your safety's much more important! Actually, I've been wanting to ask you how you want to celebrate your birthday, Silver. Seventeen, after all, it's an important day". Silver imagined the additional strain that would put on everyone "I don't want a fuss. Really, Mrs O'Hedge, just a normal dinner would be fine. It's the day before the wedding" "Oh, well, if you're sure, dear. I'll invite Knuckles and Su, shall I? And how about Big?" "That'd be great. But please don't go to loads of trouble" "Not at all, not at all. It's no trouble". She looked at him, a long, searching look, then smiled a little sadly, straightened up, and walked away. Silver watched as she waved her staff near the washing line, and the damp clothes rose into the air to hang themselves up, and suddenly he felt a great wave of remorse for the inconvenience and the pain he was giving her.