When I Learn to Fly (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 6)
Title: When I Learn to Fly (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 6)
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: After the Flaw; Previous Chapters
Rating: PG13 for language
Summary: Flying lessons with the Harpies
Notes: The last pre-Hogwarts chapter, I won't be posting again until the next, pre-Christmas chunk is completed.
I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling
Mask of Osaka / Previous Chapters / Sorting Things Out
As they walked through the stone corridor towards the light, Hermione Caroline Lupin felt as though her heart was beating a thousand times a minute.
"Nervous?"
"A bit," she squeaked.
"Well, don't be," said Ginny from the front of the group.
"She means it," said James from the rear. "They can smell fear."
"No they can't," said Albus, patting her back. "He's just joking. Kind of..."
"I can't help it!" said Caroline, tightly clasping Teddy's hand on her right side. "I was expecting a classroom or something, at least to start. Books and instructional films and all of that. You know, like when you're revising for your driving theory test?"
"This is how they taught us to fly at Hogwarts," said Harry from beside Ginny. "Seemed to work well enough."
"Yeah?" Caroline said nervously. "I'm sure Victoire would disagree with you on that."
"You'll be fine," said Albus.
"Look, it's not even the whole practicality of the thing," said Caroline shakily. "It's just that you couldn't have picked someplace less--"
"Someplace less intimidating?" Lily finished from her other side, her voice shaking with nerves of their own as the Lupins and the Potters, each equipped with their own broomsticks, stepped out of the tunnel and into the bright July sun shining down on the Holyhead Harpies' Quidditch pitch.
"Wicked!" Albus breathed. The Potters had come to many Holyhead matches in the years since Ginny left the team, but this was one of the few times that they had been to Holyhead's new stadium, and the first time they'd ever been on grass level. James, on the other hand, whooped with joy and sprinted out onto the green.
"You'd think at fifteen he'd have some decorum," said Ginny wryly as James leapfrogged onto his Thunderbolt and took a wide lap around the stadium. "Be careful up there!" she yelled as her eldest son slalomed around the flagpoles surrounding the bleachers, green and gold flags bearing the Holyhead talon waving briskly in the bright sun.
"You're one to talk about being careful on a broomstick, 'Weasel,'" said Harry, squeezing the back of Ginny's neck gently.
"Well, it's... it's James!" Ginny said in exasperation. "His definition of 'being careful' is a lot narrower than mine."
"Right..." Harry chuckled, remembering Ginny's last endeavors on a broomstick: hanging upside-down by a broken arm and pregnant with James, she was about as 'not careful' as one could get.
"I'm not allowed to be a mother, am I?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Hey, Dad!" James yelled as he flew his way back to the group. "Give it up!"
"You coming, Teddy?" Albus asked as Harry lobbed the Quaffle he was carrying up to James, who tucked it under his arm..
"I'll be up in a bit," said Teddy, glancing over at Caroline. "I think my wife's going to need a heckler."
"I'm not against divorce, you know," she replied, making to smack him in the gut with the handle of her brand-new Cleansweep, purchased for her, as promised, by her older sister soon after the Lupins' return from Japan.
"Dad?" Albus continued. "You coming?"
"In a few minutes," said Harry.
"Alright, before everyone starts running off and doing their thing," Ginny announced, "remember that we're here by special permission, so that means rules. Flying lessons are happening on that side of the pitch," she pointed to her left, "which means that Quidditch players stay over there," pointing to the right. "And be really, really careful about doing any damage to the goalposts, the stands, the pitch, whatever."
"Can we borrow some of their Bludgers, Mum?" asked James, currently Gryffindor Beater along with his friend, Chase Quentin. "I could use some warmup whacks before school starts."
"And you know what I was just saying about not doing any damage?" Ginny said. "That's one of those things. Gwen loves me, but my life is forfeit if we break her shiny new stadium before she's even had a chance to manage her team here."
"Yeah, yeah," said James absently. "Come on, Al, let's toss."
"I'm coming," said Albus, jumping onto his broomstick and flying up level with his older brother. "See you in a bit, guys."
"We'll be up shortly," said Harry. "I just want to make sure the ladies are settled in."
"Try not to screw up too bad, alright?" they heard James say to Albus as the two floated to one end of the pitch.
"Shut up, James," Albus muttered.
"Hey, I'm not going to go easy on you," said James, his voice fading in the distance. "Pressure's going to be ramped up, you know? Way I hear it, Uncle Ron almost threw up first time he--"
"What's Al trying out for again?" Teddy asked as the others made their way to the opposite end.
"Chaser," said Harry. "I guess the Gryffindors lost a few seventh years this year: two Chasers and a Keeper."
"Chaser's probably best for him," said Teddy. "He doesn't have the size to be Keeper."
"We'll see how it goes," said Harry truthfully. "He is only a third year, I'm not sure what his chances are going to be to get on the club quite yet."
"Harry, except for Oliver, the Gryffindors you played with were all in their third year when you made the club," said Ginny. "Fred and George, Angelina, Alicia... Hell, Katie was a second-year. Just because you captained a squad of upperclassmen doesn't mean they're all built that way. There's something to be said for starting a team young and building chemistry over the years."
"No one will be happier than me if he makes it, Ginny, you know that," Harry said quickly, turning around to see his two sons in mid-air, tossing the Quaffle back and forth to each other. "He could get on the reserve list and I'll be clicking my heels. But from what James has been saying about the competition, Al may have to wait another year. The returning Chaser's a seventh, and the Seeker's a sixth, so there'll be plenty of opportunities before he leaves school."
"What about you, Lil?" Teddy asked the youngest Potter. "You trying out once you've gotten your broom under you?"
"I don't know," Lily sighed. "It might be fun, but... I don't know. James is right, there's a lot of pressure, and I'm already nervous enough about getting on my broom. There's no way I'm even thinking of flying around in front of hundreds of people yet."
"You don't have to do this, you know," said Ginny to her daughter as they stopped at the far end of the pitch, fifty feet away from the visitors' goalposts. "Plenty of kids get a chance to fly once or twice before Hogwarts flying lessons, but if you're not ready, just give the word. Madam Hooch is a great teacher, and there's a good chance she'll be correcting mistakes that I teach you."
"You're instilling me with so much confidence, Aunt Ginny," Caroline said dryly.
"You'll be fine," said Harry. "It's like learning to drive. Madam Hooch teaches the basic methods and skills, but everyone's style evolves over time."
"I'm fine with doing it," said Lily to Ginny. "It'll be nice to not look like a complete idiot in my first lessons. Besides," she said with a glance to Caroline, "I want to give Caroline moral support. I don't want her to be the only one struggling through this."
"You're a sweetheart," said Caroline, playfully tugging one of the girl's bright red pigtails. "You hear that, hubby o' mine?" she said, turning to Lupin. "That's how you support me. Be like Lily."
"Be like Lily," Teddy repeated studiously, suddenly sprouting pigtails and freckles. "How's that?"
"Come on, Pippi," said Harry, grabbing Teddy by his braid and dragging him towards the goalposts as the other three rolled with laughter. "Let's leave the ladies to their work before you get sent to the sofa for the next month."
"Oh, I won't be that cruel," said Caroline, wiping a tear from her eye. "We have a very nice guest bedroom he could sleep in."
"We'll watch from over here for a bit," Harry called out. "Besides," he added more quietly, "I wanted to talk to you for a bit, Teddy. I hear you had a bit of an adventure in Japan."
"You mean in Osaka?" Teddy asked, his hair shifting back to its Muggle-neutral brown as the two leaned against neighboring goalposts. "Yeah, 'adventure's' one way of putting it. Dan and Charlotte gave you the rough outline?"
"A bit, yeah," said Harry, setting his broomstick down on the grass. "Heard a bit from the Ministry, too."
"Yeah, I suppose you would," Teddy sighed. "Whenever something happens around wizards I suppose it gets their dander up. We never had any Japanese Ministry officials interview us, though. Just the Japanese police. They said they already had a picture of the guy, and the newspapers said they found him dead a few hours later hanging in his closet, so they let us check out after a few questions."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Teddy shrugged. "Shook Hermione up a bit. Hell, shook me up a bit, knowing that two girls got killed in our hotel. But the police, they were good. Seemed to know what they were doing. Japan's murder rate's pretty damn tiny, so they took it seriously. I was amazed they found the guy so fast."
"Well, they found him fast because they had help from the International Confederation," Harry said grimly.
"What?" Teddy asked. "The... Why would the International Confederation get involved with this? Was it because of us? Because I was there? They didn't think... They didn't think we did it, did they?"
Harry sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "Lord, Seamus asked me to not tell you this," he said. "But since when have I ever listened to authority figures?"
"Harry, spill..."
"The International Confederation wasn't involved because they thought you might have killed the girls," Harry said slowly. "They were involved because... Teddy, they were involved because you and Caroline were the targets."
---------
"And we're sure this is going to work?" Caroline asked as she and Lily set their broomsticks on the ground to their right side. "We're sure this is going to work even though I'm a Muggle?"
"Absolutely," said Ginny, setting her own broom down.
"And you're sure that it's legal?" Caroline continued, knowing full well that she had already asked Jean a dozen times during their visit to Diagon Alley.
"It's been in the books for hundreds of years," Ginny explained. "Back before cars, most wizards didn't think horses were fast enough to get from place to place, and the Floo Network wasn't as expansive as it is now. So if a wizard married a Muggle, or a witch married a Muggle, they wanted the option of fast travel that didn't involve Side-Along Apparition. So the Ministry allowed Muggles to have broomsticks, provided they were used discreetly."
"Since Muggles couldn't cast invisibility spells and stuff?"
"Right," said Ginny. "Besides, a broomstick's an enchanted object, like a Portkey or a Muggle Charm. There's no magic involved on our part to use them. It just takes practice to get the basics down, and skill to do anything fancy with it. Just like driving."
"Just like driving..." Caroline said, taking a deep breath. "Right. Okay. Right."
"Okay, we'll start with the basics," said Ginny, trying to do her best Madam Hooch. "Hold your right hand over your broomstick and say 'Up!'"
"Up!" both Caroline and Lily yelled at the same time. Lily's broom wobbled on the ground a few times, while Caroline's--
"It's fine," Ginny said to Caroline. "It doesn't happen right away."
"Maybe this isn't going to work," Caroline said sadly, looking at her immobile broom.
"Well, try it again," said Ginny. "The broom's not going to do anything else for you until you can get it to jump into your hand."
"Up!" said Lily, and the broom moved halfway up before falling back to the grass.
"Up!" Caroline yelled, and this time her broom practically launched into her hand. She was so surprised by this that she forgot to grasp it, and the broom simply bounced off her palm and fell back to earth.
"See?" Ginny laughed as Caroline gave her a huge, surprised smile.
"It does work!" Caroline gasped. "Up!"
This time she was prepared for the jump, and caught the broom in mid-air. She looked over at Lily with a broad grin, and Lily returned it, if not a little uncomfortably.
"Up!" Lily yelled again, and had to try three or four more times before it made it to her hand. This time the smile she gave Caroline was more relieved.
"Good job," said Ginny. "Alright, now throw your leg over the broom. Be careful not to slide off..."
"Alright," said the two girls, who did as they were told. It took Caroline a precarious few moments before she was sure that she wasn't going to slip off the front or the back.
"Now the standard grip's easy," said Ginny. "Caroline, you're right-handed, yeah?"
"Yeah..."
"Then put down your left hand with the thumb extended," said Ginny. "Lily, you use your right, since you're a lefty."
"Alright," said Lily, doing as her mother asked.
"Now the other hand goes--"
"HERMIONE!"
The three turned to see Teddy practically running towards them, his eyes wide with panic. Harry was following close behind.
"Hermione, we have to go," he said quickly as he approached. "We have to get out of here. Now."
"Teddy, calm down!" Harry yelled.
"MY WIFE!" Teddy roared, turning on Harry. "He was ten feet away from my wife! We were asleep and defenseless and she's a Muggle, Harry! Do you have any idea what he would have done to her? What he still could do?"
"Teddy, he's not going to--"
"Oh, Lord, Harry," Ginny said, putting her hand on her forehead. "This is exactly why Seamus--"
"You knew?" Teddy yelled at Ginny. "Everyone knew, but the Ministry decided not to tell us?"
"Ted, what's going on?" asked Caroline. "What are you talking about?"It's "
"It's Carrow," said Teddy, grabbing her arm. "I'm so sorry I got you into this, Hermione. Carrow killed those girls."
"In Osaka?"
"And we're next," he said, dragging her towards the exit. "We have to hide... Maybe Ogden'll let us into Hogwarts until everything blows over, that's safe enough--"
"Carrow's dead, Teddy!" Harry yelled in frustration.
Teddy stopped in his tracks and turned back around. "What?"
"He's dead," said Ginny, approaching the Lupins carefully. "They found his body the next day."
"What, he hung himself?" Teddy snorted. "Killed himself out of remorse for two dead Muggles? Not bloody likely."
"No, that was the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee's story," said Harry as James and Albus swept down to find out the cause of the commotion. "The Japanese Muggles needed a reason why their police weren't investigating the murders any further, so we gave it to them."
"Yeah?" said Teddy, his arms crossed angrily. "And what's the Wizard-Worthy Excuse Committee have to say?"
"It's not an excuse!" Harry yelled, then closed his eyes, visibly trying to calm himself down before opening them again. "It's not a lie," he said, looking into Teddy's face. "I would never lie to you. you know that. He's dead. He's gone."
"Teddy, honey, think," said Ginny, taking Teddy's hands. "Carrow had gotten close to you, but he didn't finish the job. Someone stopped him. And someone killed him. He's not out there anymore. You're safe, we're all safe."
"He's gone..." Teddy breathed, looking into Ginny's face.
"He's gone," she repeated.
"He's dead..."
"Yes, he is."
There was silence for a moment, then everyone gasped as Teddy's legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees.
"Ted!" Caroline yelled, dropping down beside him.
"Hermione, I'm sorry," Teddy said, his entire body shaking. "I'm sorry, I never should have gone into that mission, I put you in danger, you could have died, I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," Hermione Caroline said soothingly as she wrapped her arms around him. "It's fine. You had to do what you had to do, Jean talked me down from it, I get it. I'm not angry."
"Never again," he said into her shoulder, practically clutching at her, making sure that she was still with him. "That's it. No more fighting, no more helping the Aurors, nothing. I'm not doing that to you again."
"Okay," she said quietly. "Alright." And as she said it she knew that he wouldn't hold his promise. Couldn't hold his promise. And she was fine with that.
As Jean had explained to her at lunch at day in Diagon Alley, there was a reason why most of the casualties in the First and Second Wars weren't Aurors or Hit Wizards or even members of the Ministry. Hell, there was a reason why no wizarding community in the world had an active military. It all came down to great power and great responsibility, that old Peter Parker chestnut. Every wizard in the world, from the Minister of Magic down to the most aged librarian or, yes, even upstart actors like her husband, knew how to fight. Lessons in Defense and combat sat side-by-side with History, Astronomy, and Herbology at Hogwarts and every other school. Every witch and wizard worth their wand knew how to shield, how to disarm, how to stun. How to kill.
All of the Weasleys, all of the Potters, had fought in wars. The Longbottoms, the Finnigans, the Macmillans. Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Dursley, Miss Lovegood, all of them. Many had died, and many, including sweet, loving Molly, had killed without remorse. Because they knew what was right, they knew what was wrong, and, most importantly, they knew how to fight for what they held dear.
"You'll always protect me," Caroline now whispered to Teddy as the Potter family stood a respectable distance away. "You'll always fight for me."
"Always," he said hoarsely, clutching her hand. "Always."
"It's a comfort to know that you can and that you will," she said, their foreheads touching. "I only wish I could for you..."
"I love you so much," Teddy gasped, his hand running through her hair. "I'm so sorry..."
"Shhh," Caroline breathed, and kissed him long and deep, not caring who was watching.
"Seamus is going to kill me," Ginny heard Harry say as his arm slipped around her shoulder.
"He doesn't need to know," said Ginny, wrapping her arms around waist as they watched the young couple. "You did the right thing."
"Um," James said to Albus and Lily, raising his hand, "am I the only one wondering what the hell everyone's talking about, and why we're standing around watching Teddy and Caroline snogging?"
"Not the only one," said Albus, raising his own hand in confusion.
"Boys," Lily sniffed, and wiped a tear from her eye as the Lupins separated.
"Is everything alright?" a voice yelled from the entryway. "I heard screaming from the office..."
"Everything's fine, Gwen," Ginny called back as Gwenog Jones, the former Holyhead Chaser/Seeker, approached the group. "Right?" she added to the Lupins, who both nodded.
"So how'd he find us?" Teddy asked Harry, still sitting on the ground with his arm around Caroline, who now had her head on his shoulder. "Finnigan promised my identity would be kept secret, how did Carrow--"
"Carrow?" Gwenog gasped. "Antaeus? The serial killer?"
"Let's not start the panic attack again, alright?" Ginny asked, raising her hand to her former Captain.
"We don't know," Harry said helplessly. "There were maybe seven or eight people who knew that you were involved in the mission, and Seamus is checking them all out. Beyond that, he's not even telling me, since I'm not a part of the Office. Just know that he's absolutely livid about the leak, and he'll do all that he can."
"Would Jean--?"
"She might have more information, she might not. She's not going to be Department head until mid-September, and I have no idea how much Robards has put her in the loop yet."
"Who killed him?" asked Caroline. "Was it a Japanese Auror?"
"The Japanese don't think so," said Harry. "Frankly, we don't know what happened. The Confederation's been letting both the English and Japanese Ministries look at the surveillance video from the hotel, and there's not much to go with. Someone scared him off after he found your room, but no one else was on camera, either in the elevator when he killed the two girls or in the hall afterwards."
"How do you know that there was someone else, then?" asked Caroline. "Maybe he had... second thoughts?"
"Not likely," Teddy muttered. "Man was a freak of nature."
"No one was on camera, but we think someone chased him off and followed him," said Harry. "The video had signs of magical feedback."
"What's that?" asked Caroline.
"When Muggle technology, like electronic devices and things, meet up with magic, they go on the fritz," Ginny explained. "That's why Teddy couldn't have any electronic devices at Hogwarts, and why you and Dudley have to have specially insulated and enchanted computers and mobile phones."
"When Carrow killed the two girls, the video showed two shots of feedback," Harry continued. "One for each spell. Each time he cast a spell, the video went to static for a split-second because it was in range of the hex. And then, when he went to your room, he looked like he was listening to someone for a moment. Someone who was out of the camera's range of sight. Then there was static, and he was gone. Disapparated from the scene.
"But there was a second shot of static a moment after he had already Disapparated from the hotel."
"Someone else Disapparated after him!" Albus announced proudly. "Someone the video didn't catch. Right?"
"Right," said Harry with a nod.
"See?" Albus said, smiling up at James. "I'm catching up already."
"So there was someone else there," Teddy said, his brow furrowed in thought. "And someone chased him down and killed him?"
"You might not have seen the report the next day," said Harry, "since you two were pre-occupied. Besides, it would have been buried in the local paper because of the murders. But there was a fire in an abandoned house across town from the hotel, that started only a few minutes after the two bodies were found. The Muggle papers said it was just an accident, some old papers caught an errant spark. But, again, Muggle Excuse Committee. Carrow had been found inside, dead, and all reports say that he was the source of the fire."
"You mean he started the fire?" asked Caroline.
"I mean that someone started him on fire," Harry corrected darkly, "and that the blaze spread out from him."
"Bloody hell," James said with a grimace. "That had to sting a bit."
"But how could someone chase Carrow down that fast?" asked Lily. "If whoever found him in the hotel was the one that killed him, how would they know where he Apparated? They Disapparated at a different time than he did, so they didn't grab onto him..."
"I don't know," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Legilimency? Some kind of magical homing beacon? Maybe they just knew where Carrow had been hiding out, and it was a lucky toss."
"Oligarchy..." Teddy mumbled.
"What's that?" asked Lily.
"Someone powerful enough to get in and out of the hotel without being seen," Teddy said slowly. "Someone with enough magical skill to chase a Disapparating Carrow all across Osaka. And Carrow's no slouch, either. He's killed a ton of people, he's evaded the Ministry for twenty years, but he lost to whoever was chasing him."
"But who's--"
"When I was on the mission," he continued, "Carrow mentioned the Oligarchy. He was terrified of them. They all were. Maybe the Oligarchy finally caught up with him and turned him into an overcooked marshmallow."
"But who are they?" all three Potter children asked at the same time.
"Yet again, something else we don't know," said Harry. "For all we know they're some kind of Death Eater urban legend, there's so little information about them. Caroline might be right, it might just have been a Japanese Auror looking for payback for the Muggle murders. Might have been another Dark wizard who crossed Carrow's path. Or a bounty hunter who got an inside tip that he was in Osaka. He was an international fugitive, after all, with a hefty price on his head. The Oligarchy theory's no less valid, but it is a lot harder to prove."
"If they're real, they can't be all bad, right?" Caroline asked hopefully. "I mean, if the Death Eaters are scared of them... They saved our lives, Harry! We'd be dead if they hadn't gotten rid of him."
"One of the first things that you learn, Caroline dear," said Ginny as she helped the Lupins to their feet, "is that it's a lot harder to take things at face value. Trust me, we've met enough magic diaries and prisoners of Azkaban--"
"--Not to mention Death Eaters pretending to be professors," Harry added, "and professors pretending to be Death Eaters--"
"--to know that any motive is ripe for questioning. Even super-secret, crime-fighting organizations like this Oligarchy."
"We're not saying they're bad," Harry said quickly at Caroline's worried look, "and we're not saying that they're good. We're just saying that they're... um..."
"That they're there," Ginny concluded. "If they're there, that is..."
"Wow, that was good and vague," James sighed, running his hand through his bright red hair. "My brain hurts."
"I'll say this for you Potters," said Gwenog with a shake of her head, "you always make things interesting."
"Oh, God! Gwen!" Ginny exclaimed, as though just remembering her old Captain was there. "I don't know how much of that you should have heard. Any of you," she added to her children.
"They'll be fine," said Harry. "I don't think any of them are going to be running to Seamus to say that we snitched."
"I've held how many secret plays in my head the last thirty years?" said Gwen. "It doesn't leave this field, Weasel."
"I loved that play your Beaters pulled on the Ballycastle Seeker last season, by the way," James said to Jones, idly swinging his broomstick like a Bludger bat. "Fantastic move; my friend Chase and I are going to try it this season."
"Still doesn't top the play your Mum made against Vratsa," said Gwen with a satisfied nod. "Made the tournament what it is today, that Spin did..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," James sighed. "Mum was pregnant with me, broke her arm, tied it down. Schneeberg Spin, won the game, I've heard it a thousand times already."
"Well, it was brilliant," said Harry defensively.
"It was fifteen years ago and my mates still bring it up at practice," said James with great martyrdom. "My parents are way too famous," he added in an undertone.
"James is a Beater for Gryffindor," Ginny said to Gwen with a proud smile. "Good Lord, I haven't made introductions, have I? James you've already met. And this is Albus and Lily," she said, motioning to the other two, who looked slightly star-struck as they waved. "Al's trying out for the Gryffindors this school year, and Lily's just starting her flying lessons. And you remember--"
"Of course I remember," said Gwenog to the Lupins. "Teddy and Caroline..."
"Or Hermione," said Caroline with the shrug of someone who's had to say the same thing over and over through the years. "Depends on who I'm talking to."
"Never got that straightened out, did you?" Jones said under her breath to Ginny, who could only shrug helplessly, before turning back to the young couple. "I remember you two when you came up to my knee."
"Yeah, I vaguely remember being short," said Teddy.
"You caught the Snitch," Caroline said with a reminiscent smile, repeating exactly what she had said to the former Seeker sixteen years previous. "You let me play with it while the others were in with Ginny."
"That I did," said Gwenog. "But I remember when you were even shorter than that. How old were they at your wedding, Weasel? Two? Three?"
"Three," Ginny agreed.
"Speaking of weddings, I hear congratulations are in order for you two?"
"Just last month," said Teddy, putting his arm around Caroline's waist.
"And no babies we have to keep from errant Bludgers, right?" Jones said with a wink.
"Oh, God, no," Caroline exclaimed as James groaned with embarrassment in the background. "A few more years before we're even considering that."
"Are we done with the happy fun time?" asked James. "Can we get back up in the air soon? Ms. Jones, can I borrow some Bludgers?"
"We probably should get back to lessons before the daylight stops cooperating," said Harry, glancing at his pocketwatch.
"How are they going?" Gwenog asked Lily and Caroline.
"Well enough," Ginny answered for them. "I didn't get very far with them before things blew up, though..."
"You didn't get very far with them?" Gwen asked. "Harry's not doing the lessons?"
"Well, I just thought--"
"Weasel, there's a reason I'm letting you all in today," Gwen said with her arms crossed. "You should be training!"
"Training?" asked Albus. "Training for what?"
"They don't know?" Jones asked Ginny. "God, you Potters and your secrets," she said under her breath.
"Um, yeah," said Ginny slowly, turning to her children. "So... You know all those times I told you how much I missed playing?"
"You're playing again!" Lily cried out as James and Albus exchanged a surprised gawk. "That's fantastic!"
"Well, they're short a Chaser this season with Dunn's contract expiring," Ginny explained, "and Katie's been bugging Gwen to give me a call--"
"Like I needed Bell to bug me," said Gwen. "Been wanting to get you before you signed with Wimbourne."
"But... But... wait...," James stammered. "Aren't you old?"
"I'm thirty-eight!" Ginny exclaimed. "There are plenty of players older than that. For goodness' sake, Katie's older than me and she's still still one of the top Chasers in the league. And just because I live in Wimbourne," she added, "doesn't mean I want to be a Wasp. Uch..." she said with a shiver. "I don't know what's worse, their kits or being managed by Ludo Bagman."
"Well, yeah, but... old..."
"So are you playing when we're home for Christmas?" asked Albus, ignoring James.
"We have one match scheduled," said Ginny. "And you'll be home for the Invitational."
"I'll have to subscribe to the Prophet when I get to school now," said Lily, visions of her dorm wall plastered with clippings dancing in her head.
"But Gwen's right," said Harry, snatching the Quaffle from James and tossing it to Ginny. "I'll take over the lessons. You go practice."
"Dad's going to be teaching us to fly?" asked Lily with a teasing glance at Caroline. "That's it. I'll wait for Hogwarts."
"Very funny," said Harry as his daughter gave him a big smile.
"You in this time, Teddy?" asked James. "Two-on-two? Or do you two have to snog a bit more?"
Teddy glanced questioningly over at Caroline. "I'll be fine," she replied with a wave of her hand. "Go. Fly. Have fun. We'll snog later."
"Oh, Merlin, I was joking," James groaned, taking off with the others following behind and Ginny's manager following on the ground to critique. "Now I'm going to have that pleasant thought trapped in my head. Guh..."
Mask of Osaka / Previous Chapters / Sorting Things Out
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: After the Flaw; Previous Chapters
Rating: PG13 for language
Summary: Flying lessons with the Harpies
Notes: The last pre-Hogwarts chapter, I won't be posting again until the next, pre-Christmas chunk is completed.
I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling
Mask of Osaka / Previous Chapters / Sorting Things Out
As they walked through the stone corridor towards the light, Hermione Caroline Lupin felt as though her heart was beating a thousand times a minute.
"Nervous?"
"A bit," she squeaked.
"Well, don't be," said Ginny from the front of the group.
"She means it," said James from the rear. "They can smell fear."
"No they can't," said Albus, patting her back. "He's just joking. Kind of..."
"I can't help it!" said Caroline, tightly clasping Teddy's hand on her right side. "I was expecting a classroom or something, at least to start. Books and instructional films and all of that. You know, like when you're revising for your driving theory test?"
"This is how they taught us to fly at Hogwarts," said Harry from beside Ginny. "Seemed to work well enough."
"Yeah?" Caroline said nervously. "I'm sure Victoire would disagree with you on that."
"You'll be fine," said Albus.
"Look, it's not even the whole practicality of the thing," said Caroline shakily. "It's just that you couldn't have picked someplace less--"
"Someplace less intimidating?" Lily finished from her other side, her voice shaking with nerves of their own as the Lupins and the Potters, each equipped with their own broomsticks, stepped out of the tunnel and into the bright July sun shining down on the Holyhead Harpies' Quidditch pitch.
"Wicked!" Albus breathed. The Potters had come to many Holyhead matches in the years since Ginny left the team, but this was one of the few times that they had been to Holyhead's new stadium, and the first time they'd ever been on grass level. James, on the other hand, whooped with joy and sprinted out onto the green.
"You'd think at fifteen he'd have some decorum," said Ginny wryly as James leapfrogged onto his Thunderbolt and took a wide lap around the stadium. "Be careful up there!" she yelled as her eldest son slalomed around the flagpoles surrounding the bleachers, green and gold flags bearing the Holyhead talon waving briskly in the bright sun.
"You're one to talk about being careful on a broomstick, 'Weasel,'" said Harry, squeezing the back of Ginny's neck gently.
"Well, it's... it's James!" Ginny said in exasperation. "His definition of 'being careful' is a lot narrower than mine."
"Right..." Harry chuckled, remembering Ginny's last endeavors on a broomstick: hanging upside-down by a broken arm and pregnant with James, she was about as 'not careful' as one could get.
"I'm not allowed to be a mother, am I?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Hey, Dad!" James yelled as he flew his way back to the group. "Give it up!"
"You coming, Teddy?" Albus asked as Harry lobbed the Quaffle he was carrying up to James, who tucked it under his arm..
"I'll be up in a bit," said Teddy, glancing over at Caroline. "I think my wife's going to need a heckler."
"I'm not against divorce, you know," she replied, making to smack him in the gut with the handle of her brand-new Cleansweep, purchased for her, as promised, by her older sister soon after the Lupins' return from Japan.
"Dad?" Albus continued. "You coming?"
"In a few minutes," said Harry.
"Alright, before everyone starts running off and doing their thing," Ginny announced, "remember that we're here by special permission, so that means rules. Flying lessons are happening on that side of the pitch," she pointed to her left, "which means that Quidditch players stay over there," pointing to the right. "And be really, really careful about doing any damage to the goalposts, the stands, the pitch, whatever."
"Can we borrow some of their Bludgers, Mum?" asked James, currently Gryffindor Beater along with his friend, Chase Quentin. "I could use some warmup whacks before school starts."
"And you know what I was just saying about not doing any damage?" Ginny said. "That's one of those things. Gwen loves me, but my life is forfeit if we break her shiny new stadium before she's even had a chance to manage her team here."
"Yeah, yeah," said James absently. "Come on, Al, let's toss."
"I'm coming," said Albus, jumping onto his broomstick and flying up level with his older brother. "See you in a bit, guys."
"We'll be up shortly," said Harry. "I just want to make sure the ladies are settled in."
"Try not to screw up too bad, alright?" they heard James say to Albus as the two floated to one end of the pitch.
"Shut up, James," Albus muttered.
"Hey, I'm not going to go easy on you," said James, his voice fading in the distance. "Pressure's going to be ramped up, you know? Way I hear it, Uncle Ron almost threw up first time he--"
"What's Al trying out for again?" Teddy asked as the others made their way to the opposite end.
"Chaser," said Harry. "I guess the Gryffindors lost a few seventh years this year: two Chasers and a Keeper."
"Chaser's probably best for him," said Teddy. "He doesn't have the size to be Keeper."
"We'll see how it goes," said Harry truthfully. "He is only a third year, I'm not sure what his chances are going to be to get on the club quite yet."
"Harry, except for Oliver, the Gryffindors you played with were all in their third year when you made the club," said Ginny. "Fred and George, Angelina, Alicia... Hell, Katie was a second-year. Just because you captained a squad of upperclassmen doesn't mean they're all built that way. There's something to be said for starting a team young and building chemistry over the years."
"No one will be happier than me if he makes it, Ginny, you know that," Harry said quickly, turning around to see his two sons in mid-air, tossing the Quaffle back and forth to each other. "He could get on the reserve list and I'll be clicking my heels. But from what James has been saying about the competition, Al may have to wait another year. The returning Chaser's a seventh, and the Seeker's a sixth, so there'll be plenty of opportunities before he leaves school."
"What about you, Lil?" Teddy asked the youngest Potter. "You trying out once you've gotten your broom under you?"
"I don't know," Lily sighed. "It might be fun, but... I don't know. James is right, there's a lot of pressure, and I'm already nervous enough about getting on my broom. There's no way I'm even thinking of flying around in front of hundreds of people yet."
"You don't have to do this, you know," said Ginny to her daughter as they stopped at the far end of the pitch, fifty feet away from the visitors' goalposts. "Plenty of kids get a chance to fly once or twice before Hogwarts flying lessons, but if you're not ready, just give the word. Madam Hooch is a great teacher, and there's a good chance she'll be correcting mistakes that I teach you."
"You're instilling me with so much confidence, Aunt Ginny," Caroline said dryly.
"You'll be fine," said Harry. "It's like learning to drive. Madam Hooch teaches the basic methods and skills, but everyone's style evolves over time."
"I'm fine with doing it," said Lily to Ginny. "It'll be nice to not look like a complete idiot in my first lessons. Besides," she said with a glance to Caroline, "I want to give Caroline moral support. I don't want her to be the only one struggling through this."
"You're a sweetheart," said Caroline, playfully tugging one of the girl's bright red pigtails. "You hear that, hubby o' mine?" she said, turning to Lupin. "That's how you support me. Be like Lily."
"Be like Lily," Teddy repeated studiously, suddenly sprouting pigtails and freckles. "How's that?"
"Come on, Pippi," said Harry, grabbing Teddy by his braid and dragging him towards the goalposts as the other three rolled with laughter. "Let's leave the ladies to their work before you get sent to the sofa for the next month."
"Oh, I won't be that cruel," said Caroline, wiping a tear from her eye. "We have a very nice guest bedroom he could sleep in."
"We'll watch from over here for a bit," Harry called out. "Besides," he added more quietly, "I wanted to talk to you for a bit, Teddy. I hear you had a bit of an adventure in Japan."
"You mean in Osaka?" Teddy asked, his hair shifting back to its Muggle-neutral brown as the two leaned against neighboring goalposts. "Yeah, 'adventure's' one way of putting it. Dan and Charlotte gave you the rough outline?"
"A bit, yeah," said Harry, setting his broomstick down on the grass. "Heard a bit from the Ministry, too."
"Yeah, I suppose you would," Teddy sighed. "Whenever something happens around wizards I suppose it gets their dander up. We never had any Japanese Ministry officials interview us, though. Just the Japanese police. They said they already had a picture of the guy, and the newspapers said they found him dead a few hours later hanging in his closet, so they let us check out after a few questions."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Teddy shrugged. "Shook Hermione up a bit. Hell, shook me up a bit, knowing that two girls got killed in our hotel. But the police, they were good. Seemed to know what they were doing. Japan's murder rate's pretty damn tiny, so they took it seriously. I was amazed they found the guy so fast."
"Well, they found him fast because they had help from the International Confederation," Harry said grimly.
"What?" Teddy asked. "The... Why would the International Confederation get involved with this? Was it because of us? Because I was there? They didn't think... They didn't think we did it, did they?"
Harry sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "Lord, Seamus asked me to not tell you this," he said. "But since when have I ever listened to authority figures?"
"Harry, spill..."
"The International Confederation wasn't involved because they thought you might have killed the girls," Harry said slowly. "They were involved because... Teddy, they were involved because you and Caroline were the targets."
---------
"And we're sure this is going to work?" Caroline asked as she and Lily set their broomsticks on the ground to their right side. "We're sure this is going to work even though I'm a Muggle?"
"Absolutely," said Ginny, setting her own broom down.
"And you're sure that it's legal?" Caroline continued, knowing full well that she had already asked Jean a dozen times during their visit to Diagon Alley.
"It's been in the books for hundreds of years," Ginny explained. "Back before cars, most wizards didn't think horses were fast enough to get from place to place, and the Floo Network wasn't as expansive as it is now. So if a wizard married a Muggle, or a witch married a Muggle, they wanted the option of fast travel that didn't involve Side-Along Apparition. So the Ministry allowed Muggles to have broomsticks, provided they were used discreetly."
"Since Muggles couldn't cast invisibility spells and stuff?"
"Right," said Ginny. "Besides, a broomstick's an enchanted object, like a Portkey or a Muggle Charm. There's no magic involved on our part to use them. It just takes practice to get the basics down, and skill to do anything fancy with it. Just like driving."
"Just like driving..." Caroline said, taking a deep breath. "Right. Okay. Right."
"Okay, we'll start with the basics," said Ginny, trying to do her best Madam Hooch. "Hold your right hand over your broomstick and say 'Up!'"
"Up!" both Caroline and Lily yelled at the same time. Lily's broom wobbled on the ground a few times, while Caroline's--
"It's fine," Ginny said to Caroline. "It doesn't happen right away."
"Maybe this isn't going to work," Caroline said sadly, looking at her immobile broom.
"Well, try it again," said Ginny. "The broom's not going to do anything else for you until you can get it to jump into your hand."
"Up!" said Lily, and the broom moved halfway up before falling back to the grass.
"Up!" Caroline yelled, and this time her broom practically launched into her hand. She was so surprised by this that she forgot to grasp it, and the broom simply bounced off her palm and fell back to earth.
"See?" Ginny laughed as Caroline gave her a huge, surprised smile.
"It does work!" Caroline gasped. "Up!"
This time she was prepared for the jump, and caught the broom in mid-air. She looked over at Lily with a broad grin, and Lily returned it, if not a little uncomfortably.
"Up!" Lily yelled again, and had to try three or four more times before it made it to her hand. This time the smile she gave Caroline was more relieved.
"Good job," said Ginny. "Alright, now throw your leg over the broom. Be careful not to slide off..."
"Alright," said the two girls, who did as they were told. It took Caroline a precarious few moments before she was sure that she wasn't going to slip off the front or the back.
"Now the standard grip's easy," said Ginny. "Caroline, you're right-handed, yeah?"
"Yeah..."
"Then put down your left hand with the thumb extended," said Ginny. "Lily, you use your right, since you're a lefty."
"Alright," said Lily, doing as her mother asked.
"Now the other hand goes--"
"HERMIONE!"
The three turned to see Teddy practically running towards them, his eyes wide with panic. Harry was following close behind.
"Hermione, we have to go," he said quickly as he approached. "We have to get out of here. Now."
"Teddy, calm down!" Harry yelled.
"MY WIFE!" Teddy roared, turning on Harry. "He was ten feet away from my wife! We were asleep and defenseless and she's a Muggle, Harry! Do you have any idea what he would have done to her? What he still could do?"
"Teddy, he's not going to--"
"Oh, Lord, Harry," Ginny said, putting her hand on her forehead. "This is exactly why Seamus--"
"You knew?" Teddy yelled at Ginny. "Everyone knew, but the Ministry decided not to tell us?"
"Ted, what's going on?" asked Caroline. "What are you talking about?"It's "
"It's Carrow," said Teddy, grabbing her arm. "I'm so sorry I got you into this, Hermione. Carrow killed those girls."
"In Osaka?"
"And we're next," he said, dragging her towards the exit. "We have to hide... Maybe Ogden'll let us into Hogwarts until everything blows over, that's safe enough--"
"Carrow's dead, Teddy!" Harry yelled in frustration.
Teddy stopped in his tracks and turned back around. "What?"
"He's dead," said Ginny, approaching the Lupins carefully. "They found his body the next day."
"What, he hung himself?" Teddy snorted. "Killed himself out of remorse for two dead Muggles? Not bloody likely."
"No, that was the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee's story," said Harry as James and Albus swept down to find out the cause of the commotion. "The Japanese Muggles needed a reason why their police weren't investigating the murders any further, so we gave it to them."
"Yeah?" said Teddy, his arms crossed angrily. "And what's the Wizard-Worthy Excuse Committee have to say?"
"It's not an excuse!" Harry yelled, then closed his eyes, visibly trying to calm himself down before opening them again. "It's not a lie," he said, looking into Teddy's face. "I would never lie to you. you know that. He's dead. He's gone."
"Teddy, honey, think," said Ginny, taking Teddy's hands. "Carrow had gotten close to you, but he didn't finish the job. Someone stopped him. And someone killed him. He's not out there anymore. You're safe, we're all safe."
"He's gone..." Teddy breathed, looking into Ginny's face.
"He's gone," she repeated.
"He's dead..."
"Yes, he is."
There was silence for a moment, then everyone gasped as Teddy's legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees.
"Ted!" Caroline yelled, dropping down beside him.
"Hermione, I'm sorry," Teddy said, his entire body shaking. "I'm sorry, I never should have gone into that mission, I put you in danger, you could have died, I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," Hermione Caroline said soothingly as she wrapped her arms around him. "It's fine. You had to do what you had to do, Jean talked me down from it, I get it. I'm not angry."
"Never again," he said into her shoulder, practically clutching at her, making sure that she was still with him. "That's it. No more fighting, no more helping the Aurors, nothing. I'm not doing that to you again."
"Okay," she said quietly. "Alright." And as she said it she knew that he wouldn't hold his promise. Couldn't hold his promise. And she was fine with that.
As Jean had explained to her at lunch at day in Diagon Alley, there was a reason why most of the casualties in the First and Second Wars weren't Aurors or Hit Wizards or even members of the Ministry. Hell, there was a reason why no wizarding community in the world had an active military. It all came down to great power and great responsibility, that old Peter Parker chestnut. Every wizard in the world, from the Minister of Magic down to the most aged librarian or, yes, even upstart actors like her husband, knew how to fight. Lessons in Defense and combat sat side-by-side with History, Astronomy, and Herbology at Hogwarts and every other school. Every witch and wizard worth their wand knew how to shield, how to disarm, how to stun. How to kill.
All of the Weasleys, all of the Potters, had fought in wars. The Longbottoms, the Finnigans, the Macmillans. Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Dursley, Miss Lovegood, all of them. Many had died, and many, including sweet, loving Molly, had killed without remorse. Because they knew what was right, they knew what was wrong, and, most importantly, they knew how to fight for what they held dear.
"You'll always protect me," Caroline now whispered to Teddy as the Potter family stood a respectable distance away. "You'll always fight for me."
"Always," he said hoarsely, clutching her hand. "Always."
"It's a comfort to know that you can and that you will," she said, their foreheads touching. "I only wish I could for you..."
"I love you so much," Teddy gasped, his hand running through her hair. "I'm so sorry..."
"Shhh," Caroline breathed, and kissed him long and deep, not caring who was watching.
"Seamus is going to kill me," Ginny heard Harry say as his arm slipped around her shoulder.
"He doesn't need to know," said Ginny, wrapping her arms around waist as they watched the young couple. "You did the right thing."
"Um," James said to Albus and Lily, raising his hand, "am I the only one wondering what the hell everyone's talking about, and why we're standing around watching Teddy and Caroline snogging?"
"Not the only one," said Albus, raising his own hand in confusion.
"Boys," Lily sniffed, and wiped a tear from her eye as the Lupins separated.
"Is everything alright?" a voice yelled from the entryway. "I heard screaming from the office..."
"Everything's fine, Gwen," Ginny called back as Gwenog Jones, the former Holyhead Chaser/Seeker, approached the group. "Right?" she added to the Lupins, who both nodded.
"So how'd he find us?" Teddy asked Harry, still sitting on the ground with his arm around Caroline, who now had her head on his shoulder. "Finnigan promised my identity would be kept secret, how did Carrow--"
"Carrow?" Gwenog gasped. "Antaeus? The serial killer?"
"Let's not start the panic attack again, alright?" Ginny asked, raising her hand to her former Captain.
"We don't know," Harry said helplessly. "There were maybe seven or eight people who knew that you were involved in the mission, and Seamus is checking them all out. Beyond that, he's not even telling me, since I'm not a part of the Office. Just know that he's absolutely livid about the leak, and he'll do all that he can."
"Would Jean--?"
"She might have more information, she might not. She's not going to be Department head until mid-September, and I have no idea how much Robards has put her in the loop yet."
"Who killed him?" asked Caroline. "Was it a Japanese Auror?"
"The Japanese don't think so," said Harry. "Frankly, we don't know what happened. The Confederation's been letting both the English and Japanese Ministries look at the surveillance video from the hotel, and there's not much to go with. Someone scared him off after he found your room, but no one else was on camera, either in the elevator when he killed the two girls or in the hall afterwards."
"How do you know that there was someone else, then?" asked Caroline. "Maybe he had... second thoughts?"
"Not likely," Teddy muttered. "Man was a freak of nature."
"No one was on camera, but we think someone chased him off and followed him," said Harry. "The video had signs of magical feedback."
"What's that?" asked Caroline.
"When Muggle technology, like electronic devices and things, meet up with magic, they go on the fritz," Ginny explained. "That's why Teddy couldn't have any electronic devices at Hogwarts, and why you and Dudley have to have specially insulated and enchanted computers and mobile phones."
"When Carrow killed the two girls, the video showed two shots of feedback," Harry continued. "One for each spell. Each time he cast a spell, the video went to static for a split-second because it was in range of the hex. And then, when he went to your room, he looked like he was listening to someone for a moment. Someone who was out of the camera's range of sight. Then there was static, and he was gone. Disapparated from the scene.
"But there was a second shot of static a moment after he had already Disapparated from the hotel."
"Someone else Disapparated after him!" Albus announced proudly. "Someone the video didn't catch. Right?"
"Right," said Harry with a nod.
"See?" Albus said, smiling up at James. "I'm catching up already."
"So there was someone else there," Teddy said, his brow furrowed in thought. "And someone chased him down and killed him?"
"You might not have seen the report the next day," said Harry, "since you two were pre-occupied. Besides, it would have been buried in the local paper because of the murders. But there was a fire in an abandoned house across town from the hotel, that started only a few minutes after the two bodies were found. The Muggle papers said it was just an accident, some old papers caught an errant spark. But, again, Muggle Excuse Committee. Carrow had been found inside, dead, and all reports say that he was the source of the fire."
"You mean he started the fire?" asked Caroline.
"I mean that someone started him on fire," Harry corrected darkly, "and that the blaze spread out from him."
"Bloody hell," James said with a grimace. "That had to sting a bit."
"But how could someone chase Carrow down that fast?" asked Lily. "If whoever found him in the hotel was the one that killed him, how would they know where he Apparated? They Disapparated at a different time than he did, so they didn't grab onto him..."
"I don't know," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Legilimency? Some kind of magical homing beacon? Maybe they just knew where Carrow had been hiding out, and it was a lucky toss."
"Oligarchy..." Teddy mumbled.
"What's that?" asked Lily.
"Someone powerful enough to get in and out of the hotel without being seen," Teddy said slowly. "Someone with enough magical skill to chase a Disapparating Carrow all across Osaka. And Carrow's no slouch, either. He's killed a ton of people, he's evaded the Ministry for twenty years, but he lost to whoever was chasing him."
"But who's--"
"When I was on the mission," he continued, "Carrow mentioned the Oligarchy. He was terrified of them. They all were. Maybe the Oligarchy finally caught up with him and turned him into an overcooked marshmallow."
"But who are they?" all three Potter children asked at the same time.
"Yet again, something else we don't know," said Harry. "For all we know they're some kind of Death Eater urban legend, there's so little information about them. Caroline might be right, it might just have been a Japanese Auror looking for payback for the Muggle murders. Might have been another Dark wizard who crossed Carrow's path. Or a bounty hunter who got an inside tip that he was in Osaka. He was an international fugitive, after all, with a hefty price on his head. The Oligarchy theory's no less valid, but it is a lot harder to prove."
"If they're real, they can't be all bad, right?" Caroline asked hopefully. "I mean, if the Death Eaters are scared of them... They saved our lives, Harry! We'd be dead if they hadn't gotten rid of him."
"One of the first things that you learn, Caroline dear," said Ginny as she helped the Lupins to their feet, "is that it's a lot harder to take things at face value. Trust me, we've met enough magic diaries and prisoners of Azkaban--"
"--Not to mention Death Eaters pretending to be professors," Harry added, "and professors pretending to be Death Eaters--"
"--to know that any motive is ripe for questioning. Even super-secret, crime-fighting organizations like this Oligarchy."
"We're not saying they're bad," Harry said quickly at Caroline's worried look, "and we're not saying that they're good. We're just saying that they're... um..."
"That they're there," Ginny concluded. "If they're there, that is..."
"Wow, that was good and vague," James sighed, running his hand through his bright red hair. "My brain hurts."
"I'll say this for you Potters," said Gwenog with a shake of her head, "you always make things interesting."
"Oh, God! Gwen!" Ginny exclaimed, as though just remembering her old Captain was there. "I don't know how much of that you should have heard. Any of you," she added to her children.
"They'll be fine," said Harry. "I don't think any of them are going to be running to Seamus to say that we snitched."
"I've held how many secret plays in my head the last thirty years?" said Gwen. "It doesn't leave this field, Weasel."
"I loved that play your Beaters pulled on the Ballycastle Seeker last season, by the way," James said to Jones, idly swinging his broomstick like a Bludger bat. "Fantastic move; my friend Chase and I are going to try it this season."
"Still doesn't top the play your Mum made against Vratsa," said Gwen with a satisfied nod. "Made the tournament what it is today, that Spin did..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," James sighed. "Mum was pregnant with me, broke her arm, tied it down. Schneeberg Spin, won the game, I've heard it a thousand times already."
"Well, it was brilliant," said Harry defensively.
"It was fifteen years ago and my mates still bring it up at practice," said James with great martyrdom. "My parents are way too famous," he added in an undertone.
"James is a Beater for Gryffindor," Ginny said to Gwen with a proud smile. "Good Lord, I haven't made introductions, have I? James you've already met. And this is Albus and Lily," she said, motioning to the other two, who looked slightly star-struck as they waved. "Al's trying out for the Gryffindors this school year, and Lily's just starting her flying lessons. And you remember--"
"Of course I remember," said Gwenog to the Lupins. "Teddy and Caroline..."
"Or Hermione," said Caroline with the shrug of someone who's had to say the same thing over and over through the years. "Depends on who I'm talking to."
"Never got that straightened out, did you?" Jones said under her breath to Ginny, who could only shrug helplessly, before turning back to the young couple. "I remember you two when you came up to my knee."
"Yeah, I vaguely remember being short," said Teddy.
"You caught the Snitch," Caroline said with a reminiscent smile, repeating exactly what she had said to the former Seeker sixteen years previous. "You let me play with it while the others were in with Ginny."
"That I did," said Gwenog. "But I remember when you were even shorter than that. How old were they at your wedding, Weasel? Two? Three?"
"Three," Ginny agreed.
"Speaking of weddings, I hear congratulations are in order for you two?"
"Just last month," said Teddy, putting his arm around Caroline's waist.
"And no babies we have to keep from errant Bludgers, right?" Jones said with a wink.
"Oh, God, no," Caroline exclaimed as James groaned with embarrassment in the background. "A few more years before we're even considering that."
"Are we done with the happy fun time?" asked James. "Can we get back up in the air soon? Ms. Jones, can I borrow some Bludgers?"
"We probably should get back to lessons before the daylight stops cooperating," said Harry, glancing at his pocketwatch.
"How are they going?" Gwenog asked Lily and Caroline.
"Well enough," Ginny answered for them. "I didn't get very far with them before things blew up, though..."
"You didn't get very far with them?" Gwen asked. "Harry's not doing the lessons?"
"Well, I just thought--"
"Weasel, there's a reason I'm letting you all in today," Gwen said with her arms crossed. "You should be training!"
"Training?" asked Albus. "Training for what?"
"They don't know?" Jones asked Ginny. "God, you Potters and your secrets," she said under her breath.
"Um, yeah," said Ginny slowly, turning to her children. "So... You know all those times I told you how much I missed playing?"
"You're playing again!" Lily cried out as James and Albus exchanged a surprised gawk. "That's fantastic!"
"Well, they're short a Chaser this season with Dunn's contract expiring," Ginny explained, "and Katie's been bugging Gwen to give me a call--"
"Like I needed Bell to bug me," said Gwen. "Been wanting to get you before you signed with Wimbourne."
"But... But... wait...," James stammered. "Aren't you old?"
"I'm thirty-eight!" Ginny exclaimed. "There are plenty of players older than that. For goodness' sake, Katie's older than me and she's still still one of the top Chasers in the league. And just because I live in Wimbourne," she added, "doesn't mean I want to be a Wasp. Uch..." she said with a shiver. "I don't know what's worse, their kits or being managed by Ludo Bagman."
"Well, yeah, but... old..."
"So are you playing when we're home for Christmas?" asked Albus, ignoring James.
"We have one match scheduled," said Ginny. "And you'll be home for the Invitational."
"I'll have to subscribe to the Prophet when I get to school now," said Lily, visions of her dorm wall plastered with clippings dancing in her head.
"But Gwen's right," said Harry, snatching the Quaffle from James and tossing it to Ginny. "I'll take over the lessons. You go practice."
"Dad's going to be teaching us to fly?" asked Lily with a teasing glance at Caroline. "That's it. I'll wait for Hogwarts."
"Very funny," said Harry as his daughter gave him a big smile.
"You in this time, Teddy?" asked James. "Two-on-two? Or do you two have to snog a bit more?"
Teddy glanced questioningly over at Caroline. "I'll be fine," she replied with a wave of her hand. "Go. Fly. Have fun. We'll snog later."
"Oh, Merlin, I was joking," James groaned, taking off with the others following behind and Ginny's manager following on the ground to critique. "Now I'm going to have that pleasant thought trapped in my head. Guh..."
Mask of Osaka / Previous Chapters / Sorting Things Out