章 445: 151-153
Among other things, Harry and Hermione had received bright red quad bikes for Christmas. These had seating for two and came with the extra crash helmets needed for their passengers. The rest of the morning was then spent zooming up and down the beach, giving their friends rides until they felt confident enough to have a go themselves. Neville took to it like a duck to water, Millie snuggled behind him with her arms wrapped around his chest might have helped slightly. Oliver was not one to miss an opportunity and was soon repeating this feat with Penelope hanging on for dear life behind him. Luna though was downright scary at the controls and seemed to instinctively push the machine to its limits, only Harry and Hermione were brave enough to climb on behind her.
The camp now had a table resembling one of those from the Hogwarts great hall in place of the picnic benches. It was currently straining under the weight of the food dobby had placed on it. Harry was mesmerized by the size of the turkeys, they were so large Harry began to fear that the local emu population might be missing a few of its number. Crackers were being pulled, silly hats were being worn before Harry stopped speaking mid-sentence and pulled something out the bag that was by his side.
"Oh no, I forgot they were in a different time zone. Ginny, this is for you!"
.....
Arthur had all Ginny's photographs spread before him, he'd been staring at them for hours like a starving man sat down to a feast. His eyes just didn't know where they should be looking as the pictures were all so good. It wasn't the muggleness of them that fascinated Arthur, Ginny's smiling face beaming out from every single one was a sight his tired old eyes couldn't get enough of. He was forced from his musings by an owl delivering a small parcel addressed to him, a quick round of headshakes told Arthur that neither his wife nor two eldest sons knew anything about it.
It was a mirror and the note attached simply said 'speak your daughter's name'. Arthur shrugged and gave it a go, "Ronnie? Ronda? Ginny?" On saying Ginny, the mirror went black but he could hear muffled voices. It was about twenty seconds later when the other one was clearly being unwrapped that Arthur saw the surprised face of his youngest daughter appear in front of him.
"Dad? Oh this is wonderful, Merry Christmas!"
Arthur had the beginning of tears in his eyes as his daughters face was replaced by those of Fred and George while the rest of the Weasleys crowded around the mirror Arthur was holding to see what was happening.
"Hey everyone, Merry Christmas."
"Yeah, same from me. Gin will be back in a moment, she's currently in floods of tears and hugging Harry and Hermione."
Fred noticed there was someone missing but didn't want to alert everyone at the Australian end to something they considered Weasley family business. "Where's Ronnie?"
Molly was also in tears at being able to talk with her children on Christmas Day, she was still aware enough though not to let anything slip. "The potions Ronnie has to take mean there are good days and bad days, we're just unfortunate this is a bad day. I'll pass on your good wishes."
It was Bill who asked the next question, "What in the name of Merlin are these things?"
George had a wide grin on his face, "I think the only words to describe them are bloody amazing. Harry's father and his friends invented them though he and Hermione have been working to improve them."
Fred was nodding his head in agreement, "Harry just gave Ginny one as part of her Christmas present, they must have sent you its partner."
The twins were elbowed out the mirror as Ginny had now returned, "Hey everyone, I see Charlie is there, did you like my pictures dad?"
Arthur's tears escaped to streak down his face at the thoughtfulness of the young couple who had made talking to his daughter possible. "I love the pictures Ginny and you seem to be enjoying yourself. You're smiling in every single picture, I've never seen you look so happy."
"Oh dad, it's been wonderful, even with the twins here!" This led to some shouts of indignation and laughter from around her. "We've got a double wedding to look forward to tomorrow and then the next day we're spending aboard a pirate ship and looking for dolphins out on the ocean." Someone said something to her and Ginny nodded in agreement. "Dad, I've got to go but we can call each other anytime now. We're actually sitting eating Christmas dinner in the sunshine at the moment, Harry forgot you were two hours ahead of Britain when he sent these out. Have a Merry Christmas and we'll talk to you later today."
As Ginny's image faded from the mirror, Arthur's gaze returned to those wonderful photographs. Lord and Lady Potter had done so much for Ginny and now the twins were with her for the holidays, it was a mystery to Arthur how Ronnie could have taken such a dislike to the young couple. One thing was for certain, not a word would be spoken against the Potters while he was head of house Weasley. Thankfully his wife appeared to have finally got that message.
With Harry's surprise now blown, he handed out the rest of the mirrors though warned everyone not to activate them. The mirrors vibrated when called and they might scare the owls who would currently be delivering them, they would survive being dropped but a lost mirror might as well be a broken mirror. The sun was going down as the screen was going up when the mirrors began to go off.
Luna was of course sitting next to Harry with her father on her other side, Harry put his arm around her shoulders. "You didn't get a mirror today because your father is sitting next to you, there will be one waiting for you Luna before you leave. Trust me when I say we will be keeping in touch with you. You're our best friend and we don't want you to forget that..."
Harry was interrupted by Susan, "Harry, my aunt really needs to speak with you. She says it's very, very urgent."
Harry took the offered mirror to see the monocle wearing head of the DMLE smiling at him. "Lord Potter I'm extremely relieved to see you're not only alive but looking very healthy."
Harry hadn't noticed that all conversation around the camp had died as everyone struggled to listen in to this conversation. Hermione was on his other side and was currently signalling for her dad to leave the projector and get his backside over here. "Madam Bones, you have me at a disadvantage. I have no idea what you are talking about."
Amelia took a deep breath before beginning, "Last night, Albus Dumbledore broke into Hogwarts. We apprehended him in a corridor where he claimed to have just defeated you in a battle to the death. He indicated your body was in a room behind him but none of us could find it. While certain he was mistaken, it's still a relief to have it confirmed by speaking with you."
Hermione was first to see the possibilities and asked the appropriate question, "Madam Bones, did you catch Dumbledore on the seventh floor? Beside a particularly ugly tapestry of dancing trolls?"
Amelia Bones was shocked, something that was not easily done. "Lady Potter, how could you possibly know that?"
The two Potters were running the possible scenario through their heads, unfortunately they were talking out loud at the same time.
"The room would show him exactly what he wanted to see."
"An epic battle with him as the victor."
"All his ideas proven right."
"The name of Albus Dumbledore once more revered."
The Weasley twins once more broke the resulting awkward silence, "Do you ever get the feeling we've been superseded Fred?"
"George, we've been outclassed since the minute those two walked into Hogwarts."
Remus joined the conversation, "Don't take it to heart boys, we thought our group was pretty hot and I don't know anything about this mysterious room either. How the hell did you two discover in a matter of weeks something the marauders didn't in seven years?"
Harry realised everyone in their Australian party was now waiting on an answer as much as Madam Bones was back in Britain. "Well Moony, perhaps if you'd let my mum join you guys, you might have fond it. Apart from my brilliant wife's assistance, we also had a rather pressing incentive for scouring the castle for its secrets. We were searching for Voldemort's horcruxes, we discovered he'd hidden Ravenclaw's diadem in what's known as the room of requirements."
Hermione took over seamlessly, "The room of requirements becomes whatever you need it to be, the diadem was hidden in a massive store room with century's worth of junk cluttering almost every inch of it. It can just as easily become an exact copy of your bedroom back home if that's what you want."
Harry nodded in agreement with his wife, "If Dumbledore entered there thinking that he needed to kill me, then the room would accommodate him. He will really believe he killed me but why was he in Hogwarts in the first place?"
Amelia had the answer to that, "He'd placed tracking charms on your Gryffindor friends' trunks, had you not provided them with holdalls for travelling they would have led Dumbledore right to your home."
Harry smiled and winked conspiratorially toward Luna, knowing that was their friend's biggest fear. "Madam Bones, no one takes heavy trunks as luggage on an airplane but the protections around this house would cancel any tracking charms the instant they passed through the wards. There is also a very good reason we travel everywhere by car. In the extremely unlikely event that someone managed to get a fix on this position, our wards redirect attempted portkeys or apparition to the most shark infested bit of ocean the goblins could find. The goblins informed me that should anyone be unfortunate enough to splash down in that spot, their chances of dying from drowning are practically nonexistent."
Dan's face appeared between those of his children, "Excuse me for butting-in Madam Bones but I'm more interested in what happened to Dumbledore?"
"After Dumbledore told his story, he asked me to take care of phoenix that only he could see. We have him locked in a secure room at St Mungo's and he'll never leave it again, our healers have already diagnosed his mental state as poor and degenerating rapidly. In layman's terms, he's nuttier than a fruitcake! We have him isolated and the healers have convinced him to write down his memoirs so our society will forever know how great Albus Dumbledore actually was. He's happily writing away to preserve his image for posterity, Cornelius has only read the beginning and already wants to see the crazy old coot introduced to a dementor for some of the things he's done."
Dan wanted to make sure there were no mistakes, "I want to be sure we understand each other here Madam Bones, Dumbledore will never be a threat to my children again?"
Amelia nodded, "He's locked in a secure room and will be there until he dies. Our healers speculated that he had been ill for a while but there had been a severe acceleration of his condition recently. Based on their estimates, we reckon he'll not remember his own name, far less Hogwarts by September next year. It is now safe for your children to return to Hogwarts if they wish to do so. I would ask that you keep his worsening mental state quiet for now, we want to get as much information out of him as possible without this situation being blazed all over the Prophet."
Harry could only shake his head, "I'm sorry Madam Bones but I don't think that's going to happen, everyone here heard every word we've said and most of them had their mirrors open as they were speaking to their family back in Britain when you called. I'll hand you back to Susan now as Hermione and me need to go speak with our parents and Sirius, thanks for letting us know so quickly."
Harry handed the mirror back to Susan as he and Hermione led Dan, Emma and Sirius back into the house, everyone left outside was very interested in the outcome of that talk.
Charity was sitting next to her headmistress, "How are you feeling Minerva? I know you've been close to Albus for many years."
Minerva analysed her feelings carefully before answering, "I'm feeling mostly relief, relief that he's been caught before he could do any harm and actually relief that he's ill. The thought of him being sane and doing the things he did would mean he'd conned us all for many years."
Charity understood immediately, "Yes, we can at least remember the good things he did before he was ill. Minerva, we need to talk to the Potters about this room. If it can do what the Potters claim, just think what it could achieve for muggle studies! We could introduce our students to a muggle environment with total control over the situation and no financial cost to Hogwarts. I know we both want to continue the trips but, without the Potters financing them, we are going to have to settle for what Hogwarts can afford. This room could give us unlimited possibilities."
The thought of her students being able to go muggle shopping or watch these wonderful films without leaving Hogwarts had the headmistresses' eyes sparkling. Her list just grew greatly in length, top of that list though was talk to the Potters.
They had been gone for less than ten minutes but already Luna was finding it difficult to remain sitting, she'd become used to having friends and could never go back to the way she was before. Talking through the mirrors was ok to keep in touch but that was the one thing they lacked, touch! A mirror couldn't put its arm around you if you needed a hug, Luna hadn't had this many hugs since her mother died and dreaded the thought of not seeing Harry and Hermione until the summer. Being here with everyone and her father was wonderful, flying back to Britain without the Potters and Grangers would break her heart.
The five walked back out, their faces giving nothing away, it was Harry who spoke. "Headmistress McGonagall, is our old room still available?"
Luna was like a champagne cork leaving the bottle as she shot straight into both Potters arms, this was also the signal for the celebrations to begin. Not one person heard if McGonagall answered Harry, they were all too busy cheering, whistling and shouting. Oliver had Penelope hoisted up in the air as if practicing for raising the house Quiddich cup that would soon be clad in Gryffindor colours. Neville and Millie were dancing for joy on top of the table, now thankfully free of food.
Dan could tell there would be no movie watched tonight, these kids were more interested in the wonderful wizard and witch who would be leaving Oz and flying back to Britain with them. They were in the mood for a party tonight. Their family discussion inside the house didn't really amount to much, both Harry and Hermione were desperate to return with their friends. Most of their time had been spent wondering if they could celebrate with a glass of champagne for everyone, Emma had been the hardest to convince but had finally conceded that one glass wouldn't do the children any harm. Dobby made sure everyone had a glass as Dan proposed a toast, 'There's no place like home' was something they could all agree on. With singing and dancing soon taking place as the party got into top gear, the general opinion was that Oz was a pretty cool place to be too.
...
Harry stood beside a nervous Sirius and Remus while three beautiful girls made their way toward them. The Double wedding was being held outdoors with Minerva, Andi, Carol and Emma all having their hankies out already. The three mothers had worked tirelessly to ensure everything went perfectly today, no detail was too small and that included the rose petal covered aisle the two brides-to-be were currently making their way down. Tonks and Hestia's dresses sparkled in the natural light, almost outshone by the smiles they and their proud fathers were wearing. All this was wasted on Harry though, his eyes only saw one person. He'd known his wife was beautiful since another Christmas when she had, in his unbiased opinion, outshone a veela. That night had nothing on today, probably because she was his Hermione now and he was the one waiting on her.
As she walked behind the brides, Harry silently swore Hermione would have her day in the spotlight. Dan would get his chance to walk his only daughter down the aisle, Emma and Hermione would have the opportunity to plan everything to the n'th degree and McGonagall would still be crying tears of joy. By that time their friends would all be so comfortable in the muggle world, they would have no worries about holding the wedding in a church. There might even be a few Blacks and Lupin pups to add to the guest list by then. Harry didn't think he would have any difficulty convincing his wife and family to hold this event on his seventeenth birthday, he could already picture their Devon home decorated for a wedding reception in July.
Harry had no idea what the British wizarding community would be like by then but the sorting hat did say their work had only just begun with the defeat of Voldemort in the last timeline. There were a few certainties he could count on though, Neville would be his best man while Luna would be Hermione's bridesmaid. The biggest certainty of them all was that Hermione would always be by his side, in this world and the next.
A nudge in the ribs by his godfather may have brought him back to the present but nothing was going to wipe the grin off his face today, not even the prospect of making the dreaded best man speeches!
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