Hellfire in New York

Hellfire in New York

Chapter 22: The Family of Jessica Crowe

Harry, Ginny and Kitty arrived in the main hall of Xavier's mansion to find themselves in the middle of a milling crowd. No sooner had Harry oriented himself, than he heard Hermione shriek "Harry!" A moment later, she was in his arms, Ron was hugging Ginny, then they were both hugging Kitty. Harry barely had time to recover his breath before Marie was there, then Dani, Rahne, Ali, Ororo, Fleur, Emma and Lorna.

The greeting and congratulations went on and on. Sirius embraced Harry firmly; Ron did, too. Peter thumped his back, almost knocking him over. Then Cyclops was wringing his hand, and Remus, and Havok and Banshee. Beast and Nightcrawler offered high fives, as did Seamus and Bob. Shiro bowed gravely, but Logan cuffed Harry lightly on the back of the head, saying, "Ya done good, Hawk!"

Then, to Harry's lasting wonder, Professor McGonagall approached him with a wide smile and both hands held out. He took them instinctively, realising for the first time that this woman, who had always seemed to tower over him, was actually an inch or so shorter than he!

"A most remarkable day, Harry," she observed. "You seem once again to have distinguished yourself beyond any of my expectations!"

"Thank you, Professor," Harry managed, still slightly intimidated by her.

McGonagall's smile took on an impish quality. "Please, Harry," she said, "You're long past titles with me. Minerva will do from now on."

To finally and completely dumbfound him, she leaned forward and presented her cheek. Harry swallowed hard, then leaned forward himself and saluted her as gallantly as he could manage.

There was a sudden boom. Bill and Tonks appeared.

"Wotcher, Harry!" called the young Auror, trotting up to him while Bill greeted his brother and putative sister-in-law. "Bill and I just popped over to London to drop Rookwood off at the Ministry. Don't think he was as pleased to see Shacklebolt as Kingsley was to see him! Hear you've been duffing up Dark wizards again - ever consider a career change?"

"Not on your nelly!" Harry told her. "Why should you Aurors have all the fun?"

She laughed and hugged him lightly. "I'm looking forward to working with you, mate!"

By this time, all the greetings were over, and people were starting to wonder what to do next. Then the double doors opened, and Professor Xavier entered the room, Lilandra at his side.

"Welcome back, all of you," he said, beaming at them all. "I'm pleased to see you in such obvious good spirits; however, could I take a moment to debrief you all? Most of you are familiar with the process, but if the others could simply relax for a moment?"

Harry did as asked and felt the familiar sensation of the Professor's powerful mind delicately probing his own. As before, he felt relaxed and cleansed afterwards. He opened his eyes. Xavier was smiling at them still.

"Thank you all," he said. "Now, I expect you could use a shower and a change of clothes, so you'd better go off and do that now. Mrs. Arbogast tells me that there will be fried chicken, BLTs and other delicacies in the cafeteria in twenty minutes."

The Professor had to move rapidly to one side in order to avoid the stampede.

Harry and Ron showered and changed in record time, but were still not the first back to the cafeteria. They waited impatiently in the queue, loaded their trays with masses of food, then looked around for somewhere to sit.

"I don't believe it!" Ron gasped. "The girls got here before us! Normally, you can't get 'Mione out of the shower for at least a quarter of an hour! We'd better get over there." He looked ruefully at the huge stack of food he was carrying. "She's going to give me some gyp about this. She worries about my weight."

The lads wandered over, and Ron got a surprise. Hermione glanced up at him and imperiously patted the seat beside her. Ranged in front of her were four plates: one stacked high with chicken, another with sandwiches, a third with nachos, and a fourth with salad. Hermione turned back to the table, deposited the cleanly picked remains of a chicken leg on an empty plate by her elbow, took a deep draught of Mountain Dew, emitted a burp several sizes larger than she was, and took an enormous bite out of a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. As a shocked Ron sat down beside her, she turned to him and explained, "Shtahrvin'!"

Ron brushed a few crumbs from the front of his T-shirt, said "Yes, pet," and set about his own meal.

After everyone had taken the edge off his or her appetite - half an hour's concentrated effort, without unnecessary chatter - Harry was despatched to fetch four coffees and some brownies, cookies and ice cream. In the meantime, Marie and Bob had wandered over to join them, and they began to talk of the day's doings. Ginny couldn't get her head round the idea that it was still early afternoon!

"Feels like we were in there forever!" she complained.

"I know," Harry agreed, "but we went in there at eight this morning, and it was all over by what, twelve? It's only just two now."

"Have you checked on Sam and 'Berto, Marie?" asked Hermione.

"Uh-huh," Marie nodded. "Sam's up and about. He's over there in the corner with Rahne. Roberto's still in sickbay, but he'll be out tomorrow. They're both a bit pissed they missed out on the festivities."

"Probably better they did," Ron opined. "Sam wouldn't have had much room to manoeuvre in there, and we were too far underground for Sunspot to last long."

Just then, Jessica Crowe appeared at Harry's shoulder. "Ah," she said, "I seem to have found the Gryffindor table. Mind if I join you?"

Bob seated her with the old-fashioned courtesy that distinguished him, and Marie asked, "How's your brother?"

"Jason's sleeping," Jessica told them. "He's been through a lot, lately. It seems he's been spying on this Hellfire Club for someone called Erik, so he's had a lot of stress. When Psyche attacked him, it was the last straw. Poor Danielle keeps apologising to me, but she couldn't know about me, and Jason did attack her and Rahne first."

"Just a minute!" Harry protested. "We're all arse about face here! I get that Jason is Jason Wyngarde, the White Knight, or Mastermind, if you like. From what you said, Jessica, I gather he's been Magneto's undercover bod in the Hellfire set up, but that doesn't explain about him being your brother, or why you're here."

Jessica rubbed her face. "You know, I haven't really explained things to anyone. When I found Jason, I didn't have time to say much. Then Seamus gave me his Portkey, and I was here, and Professor Xavier was so kind. I didn't seem to need to explain anything to him. It was as if he already knew!"

"He probably does," Hermione told her, "but never mind. You'd better get it off your chest, anyway."

"You're right," Jessica nodded. "Well, my mum's an English witch. After she left Hogwarts, she decided to travel for a while. She ended up over here, and met a man, a Muggle, called Alex Wyngarde. Alex was a widower with a two-year-old son. His wife had been killed in a road accident. Mum and he fell in love and married, and then I came along. Jason and I inherited our father's odd eye colour."

"There's often problems between half-brothers and -sisters, but Jason and I adored each other. He's three years older than me, and he used to sneak into my room when I was little and tell me stories, the old ones like Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood, but he had a way..." She shook her head. "He could make me see the stories! I'd be in the bear's house, or the grandmother's cottage!"

Hermione nodded. "It was his Mutant power to create illusions. I read that psionic Mutants always manifest their powers in early life, unlike the metamorphs or elementals and the rest."

"If you say so," Jessica allowed. "Anyway, Jason and I loved each other very much, but the same couldn't be said for our parents! To be fair, Alex had enough on his plate with a Mutant son, I suppose, and when it became clear that I was going to be a witch like Mum, it got too much for him. I was about eight when they split up. Jason had to stay with his dad, but Mum took me back to England.

"Jason and I promised we'd always be in touch, but when we got back, Mum wouldn't let me write him. Of course, we'd come straight back to wizarding England, so there was no way for Jason to find me. Then, a couple of years later, Mum married again, to Ajax Crowe, and he adopted me. He's always been a good father, and we're very happy as a family, but I still missed Jason.

"I started having these dreams, really strange ones. They began just after I started Hogwarts. Sometimes, they were just ordinary, everyday things, but nowhere I knew, and about nobody I recognised. As the years went on, they got stranger, more frightening. I used to dream about fights - awful, confused battles. There were people as well, strange people."

Jessica looked around her. "Some of them are here, you know, the people from my dreams: Cyclops, the woman with green hair, the blue chap with the fur, and Ororo. That's where I knew her from. You remember, Harry, the day she was Sorted?"

Harry nodded, feeling an empathy with his former Head of House. "Been there, done that, Jessica!" he said. "At one time, I was mind-linked with Voldemort. I could see in my dreams what he was up to. Not a good experience, but Professor Xavier taught me to shield my mind."

"Lucky you," said Jessica. "Anyway, last night, I woke up from a terrible nightmare full of demons and fear. I got up, got dressed and decided to go and do some work for next term. I met Minerva in the corridor and we were chatting when I suddenly felt Jason! He was terrified, exhausted, desperate for help, and thinking of me! Somehow I knew where he was. I didn't think; I just Apparated straight to him! How Minerva followed me I'll never know, but I think she's glad she did!

"So, that's it. Now I've got to get used to the idea that my beloved brother is mixed up with a bunch of Mutant terrorists!"

Marie leaned forward. "You don't wanna think bad of him, sugah," she said. "Ah almost joined up with Magneto. If'n Ah hadn't met these guys, and seen there was anotha way, Ah'd have been a terrorist, too!"

"Mutants get persecuted, fact of life," Bobby noted. "You either try to do something positive, or you get mad. Mastermind got mad, that's all."

Jessica sighed. "Yes, I suppose we can all make bad choices. But now, Jason's coming back to England with me, for a while at least. He'll be safe in our world, and maybe we can find a nice witch for him!"

"I'm taken," said Ginny.

"I said a nice witch!" Jessica replied without batting an eyelid.

"Touché." Hermione grinned. "You're well outclassed, Ginny, luv!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You sound more like Ron every day," she told Hermione.

"Really?" asked Ron. "And to what precise set of environmental or other factors do you attribute this peculiar metamorphosis, sister mine?"

Ginny hit him. Harry and Marie managed to stop Bobby from sliding under the table as he howled. Then, suddenly, the mood changed.

Attention, everyone! It was Xavier, broadcasting mentally. An aircraft is approaching the mansion. It is Magneto. He's signalled for truce, but be on your guard. All junior students to the Secure Room. Guests may join them if they wish. All active X-Men to the front terrace.

Not one of the guests chose to go to the Secure Room. Harry found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Sirius, who said out of the corner of his mouth, "This Magneto - he's dangerous?"

"I told you," Harry replied, "he treated Voldemort like a First Year! If he's come for a fight, we're in deep fertiliser."

"I don't see an aircraft...bloody Hell!" Sirius gasped.

The empty air above the lawn shimmered, and a large plane appeared. To Harry, it resembled the modified SR-75 Blackbird the X-Men used, and which Cyclops had promised to teach him to fly. This version, however, clearly had what Beast called a 'Cloaking Device', and mounted on it were two cannon and several missile racks!

The black plane settled onto the front lawn. A ramp lowered, and several people made their way out of it. Harry recognised them from Cerebro's database. In the lead was a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing red, with a heavy purple cloak and a bizarre metal helmet. This was Erik Lensherr - Magneto. Just beside him was a slender woman in white, with long, dark-red hair, indigo skin and yellow eyes - the shapeshifter, Mystique. Mystique was supporting a frail-looking elderly woman, who was clearly blind and could only be the precog called Destiny. On the other side of Magneto was a small, wiry, dark-haired man who moved with an odd, hunched, hopping gait. He had a greenish cast to his skin, and Harry knew that his clumsy appearance belied his agility and strength because this was the assassin, Toad.

Behind them ranged the rest of the Brotherhood: A stocky man wearing an armoured breastplate and steel mask - Avalanche. A barefooted man so grossly fat that beside him the Black Bishop would look starved - the indestructible Blob. There was a slim but well-muscled fellow with dark hair whom Harry recognised as Unus the Untouchable. Then, a hulking, top-heavy figure with shaggy hair and beard debarked, glaring unblinkingly at them with dull, animal eyes - Sabretooth. Finally, there was a youth, no older than Harry, fair-haired, carrying a tank on his back from which pipes led to nozzles mounted on his wrists. With a pang, Harry realised that this could only be Marie's former classmate and friend, John Allerdyce - Pyro.

Xavier wheeled himself to the edge of the terrace. Magneto came up to the bottom step, so that he was eye-to-eye with the Professor, and removed his helmet, revealing a thick head of silver hair and an age-lined but still handsome face. He nodded gravely. "Charles, it's good to see you, old friend."

"Erik, you're looking well," Xavier replied easily. "To what do we owe this...pleasure?"

Magneto smiled slightly. "We've not come to fight you, Charles, as you well know. You have one of my people here, Jason Wyngarde. Destiny assures me that you are not holding him against his will, which is why we are here to parley, rather than to attempt a rescue. For my own conscience's sake, I need to speak with Jason myself, you understand?"

"Conscience? You?" snarled Cyclops, who had come up behind the Professor.

Magneto looked up at him. "You're judgemental, Scott," he said quietly. "It's a failing of the young, but take care not to overindulge yourself."

"Take it easy, Scott," Xavier told his protégé. "It may come as a surprise to you, but Erik cares for his own people just as much as I care for all of my X-Men. Professor Crowe, would you be kind enough to fetch Mr. Wyngarde? He is awake now."

Jessica went off, leaving the two groups eyeing each other. After a while, Pyro spoke. "So, Marie, Bobby, still trying to save the world?" he sneered.

Marie shook her head. "Just keepin' our little bit of it safe, John. You know that."

Pyro snorted. "Fat lot of help that'll be when the flatscans come and put you in a concentration camp! Once they've put an inhibitor collar on you and sterilized you, how will you feel? When the guards come to help themselves to a piece of mutie tail, you're gonna wish you'd come with us!"

"If that happens," Bobby said flatly, "it'll be because of what you do, not us!"

Pyro sneered again. "You never had any balls, Bobby. Hidin' does no good. You gotta fight, make the flatscans scared of you, so they leave you alone. You think these other weirdos," he indicated Harry and his friends, "are gonna help you when the chips are down?"

"We'll do whatever we need to," Ron growled. "I'll remember your face, pillock, so you'd best remember mine, and be ready to do a runner the next time you see it!"

"Enough, Ron." Hermione grabbed his arm. "He's not worth it!"

Magneto sighed heavily. "Don't you find it tiresome when the children squabble, Charles? I don't know how you stand it.

"Pyro, be silent! A challenge to Mr. Weasley, not to mention his lady friend, is inappropriate - even beyond your usual foolhardiness. My late wife told me about the Weasley clan, a most formidable family of Pureblood wizards, every one a fighter." He inclined his head in Ron's direction.

There was another silence, then Sabretooth spoke in a thick, guttural voice. "What're we standin' here for, Boss? Let's take 'em down now! I can see the runt over there..." he pointed at Logan, "an' he an' I got things ta settle!"

"Down, boy!" snapped Wolverine. "I know I still gotta clear up Weapon X's garbage, but now ain't the time. Magneto, you better keep your attack dog on a shorter chain, or leave him in his doghouse next time. I'm tellin' ya, that psycho's gonna turn on you one day! Either that, or his dumbness'll get you all killed."

"Psycho?" growled Sabretooth. "Look who's talkin'! How many'd you kill cuttin' your way outta Alkali Lake, Logan?"

"Clearly, one too few, since you're still with us!" remarked Sirius, who had moved to stand beside Logan. Now he tossed his wand into the air, where it flipped, showering sparks, before he caught it again. "But I'm sure I can help him correct that omission, should you make it necessary."

There was a commanding presence about the tall wizard that seemed to cow Sabretooth. He snarled, but didn't meet Sirius' steady gaze.

Xavier said, "That's enough, all of you! My apologies for the poor hospitality, Erik."

Magneto shrugged. "They're young, Charles. We should expect nothing more. I also apologize for my colleague's lack of manners."

He looked over the front of the mansion, and sighed. "You know, Charles, despite all that has happened since, my memories of the time we spent here are still among my happiest."

Xavier nodded. "I know, Erik. I miss your inventiveness and energy sometimes."

At that point, Jessica returned, supporting Mastermind, who looked pale and tired, but otherwise well.

"Jason, are you all right?" asked Magneto anxiously.

"I'm fine, Erik," Jason told him. "This is my half-sister, Professor Jessica Crowe. Jess, this is Erik Lensherr."

The two exchanged formal nods, then Wyngarde said, "Erik, I'm not coming back with you. I told you once that I was trying to find my sister; well, now I have! So, I'm going back to England with her when I'm rested. We've a lot of catching up to do, you understand?"

Magneto nodded and smiled. "Of course, Jason. Family must always come first. You will have a warm welcome, should you decide to return to us. Professor Crowe, take care of him!"

Mystique came forward and embraced Mastermind, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Take care, Jason, we'll miss you." Then others of the Brotherhood bade Mastermind farewell, but Harry noticed that not all of them did. The bonds between them didn't seem as close and firm as those between the X-Men.

Magneto put out a hand to Xavier. "Well, it has been good to talk with you again, Charles. Perhaps one day, our differences will be settled, or become irrelevant. Then we may be able to work together again."

Xavier took the hand firmly. "I hope so, Erik. I truly do!"

With that, the Brotherhood returned to their aircraft, which took off and vanished once again.

****

The afternoon passed peacefully. Harry and Ginny, like their friends, found time and privacy for some intense, passionate lovemaking. But after that, they felt the urge to gather again. They visited Roberto in small groups, regaling the young Brazilian with slightly exaggerated accounts of the morning's adventures. Then they took over the Quiet Lounge, sitting in ever-shifting groups, making what seemed like inconsequential small talk, but actually checking for signs of hurt or upset, reassuring themselves that their friends were all right.

Dinner was a quietly happy affair, after which Harry dragged Ginny off to the room he shared with Ron, and took her to bed again. But then Ginny wanted to talk, pushing him hard about what had happened in the Temple. Harry didn't want to speak of it, not to her, so he told her he had to get it straight in his own head, first. Ginny seemed to accept this, and told him she wanted to visit with Dani, who was lonely without Roberto. "It'll be all girl talk," she said, "so you won't be interested." Harry had to agree, so they'd parted with a kiss.

Harry knew he had to talk to someone, and something told him that this time, Xavier was not the right person. There was, in fact, only one person whom he had a right to burden with this. Harry made his way to Sirius' room.

He tapped on the door. Sirius opened it, looked at him for a second, then said, "You're late, Harry. Your Ginny must be a demanding little thing! Come in."

"You've been expecting me?" Harry asked as he followed Sirius into the room. There was a table set up with four chairs around it. Remus occupied one, while opposite him sat Wolverine, a cigar clamped in his strong, white teeth. Sirius pointed to a chair and said, "Sort of. Logan said you'd be along. Sit down, son."

Harry sat, and Logan reached across to plonk a bottle of beer in front of him before adding a shot glass, which he filled to the brim with Firewhisky.

"You had a look in your eyes, Hawk, when you got back here. An' I figure you didn't tell everythin' about what happened down there. So I had to believe you'd be along tonight."

Harry grinned ruefully. "Am I that transparent?" He sipped his Firewhisky.

Logan thumped the table. "Fer cryin' out loud, kid! Charlie's been corruptin' you! That's not how you take a shot. Down in one, like this!"

Wolverine demonstrated, and Harry - having been challenged - followed suit. He managed not to splutter, but the liquor burned his throat and made his eyes water. Wolverine grinned at him.

"Not bad, for a beginner! Take some beer, Hawk. It'll cool the sting." He filled Harry's glass again. "C'mon, bub, you're about three drinks behind!"

Harry wasn't unused to drink. Since he came of age, he'd been experimenting, as young men will. He and Ron had managed to get drunk a few times, and after one memorable bout with Seamus, they'd both been completely hammered. ("Serves us right!" Ron had groaned the following morning. "What made us go drink for drink with a bloody Irishman?") So, Harry knew he had a pretty strong head, but he was in company with three experts here! Remus had misspent a good deal of his youth, and both Sirius and Logan were hardened pub-crawlers. By the time the Firewhisky was gone and Wolverine had broached a bottle of his favourite Yukon Jack, Harry was ready to talk about anything!

But it was Remus who opened the serious subjects, asking, "Right. So, what happened with Peter damn-his-eyes, rot-in-Hell Pettigrew?"

"He got eaten," Sirius replied. "Gobbled up. Scoffed. Masticated with extreme prejudice by a sod of a big squid!"

"Is that all?" Remus pressed.

Sirius shook his head. "No. I threw him to it. I picked the treacherous, slimy, lying, little shit up, and threw him off a bloody great cliff. The squid grabbed him and ripped him apart and ate him!"

"An' that," added Logan, "was after I sliced his silver hand off, an' Padfoot here hit him with one o' those crooshy curses, an' I roughed him up a bit more."

"So, he got off light, then?" quipped Harry, and the other three stared at him, then laughed.

"Keep forgetting," Remus said, "that it was your parents he betrayed, Harry. You had as much right to hate the git as either of us, right Sirius?"

"Bloody right!" Sirius agreed. "Still, got to admit, what with one thing and another, I'd all but forgotten little Peter. All the while I was in Azkaban, the two things that kept me alive were wanting to protect Harry and wanting to kill Peter. Then I got out, and everything was complicated. I couldn't go after him, except that first time. Anyway, Harry was more important!

"Then I went through the Veil and I saw things...." He paused a moment. "Well, anyway, a lot happened, and I sort of got a new lease of life. Peter wasn't so important anymore. Then I get pulled back, used as bait for Harry, and watch him and Marie slip Voldemort's trap like it's a joke! So, Harry doesn't need my protection anymore, but he still needs me, my advice, my skills. He needs family, so that's good. Then there was Ororo - most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Love at first sight. What would James think of that, Remus?"

"He'd wet himself," Remus replied solemnly. "Sirius 'love 'em and leave 'em' Black gone all hearts an' flowers? He'd have fallen off his chair!"

"He would!" Sirius grinned. "And he'd have been right. Lily wouldn't half have given him a bollocking for it, though. But now I'm in love, I'm needed, I'm not a fugitive anymore, so I think, 'Sod bloody Pettigrew! I've got better things to do, now.'

"Then I see him, see the little rat, and it all comes back- all the hate, all the anger - like it was yesterday. So I killed him. I tortured him and killed him, and if you want me to say, 'Sorry', you can bugger off!"

There was a deal of table thumping and cheering, then more drinking. Finally, Harry began to talk. He wasn't exactly precise in his delivery, but his tongue and his head were still clear enough for him to tell them how he'd managed to defeat Selene - how he'd used the Killing Curse.

"Thing is," he said, "I was totally cool when I did it. I mean, I was scared, you always are, but I wasn't panicking. I knew what I had to do, and I just did it. But now, I can't make myself feel guilty about it. I mean I'm going to be an Auror, for Merlin's sake, yet here I am, calmly casting the most Unforgivable curse of them all! Surely, I should feel a little bit bad about it?"

"Why?" asked Sirius. "You only did what you had to do, Harry - no more, no less. Look, son, you're not as much like James as I might have wanted you to be when all I wanted was my best friend back. You're more like Lily. James couldn't have cast that curse; he didn't have the nerve, or he'd have used it that night when Voldemort came calling. But faced with Selene, Lily'd have done what you did, and never regretted it because it was the right thing to do."

"Look, Hawk," said Logan, "Hunter killed that guy the day Voldemort attacked Hogwarts, didn't he? He snapped the guy's neck with his bare hands because the scumbag killed Dean, and Dean died protectin' you! Has Hunter lost any sleep over it?"

Harry shook his head, and Wolverine went on. "O' course he hasn't! Because he was just followin' his nature. Hunter's a lot more elemental than you and Charm- Firebird's the same - and he can't do anythin' that ain't in his nature. He'll kill, in the heat of a scrap, when he has to, or when the other guy deserves it, and so will Firebird. Charm won't, not in hot or cold blood; it isn't in her. She'll always stop and think.

"You, Hawk, you can kill in cold blood, but it don't make you the Dark Lord Severus was scared you'd become because you got morals! Not rules, 'cause they change from place to place, but morals, a gut sense about what's right and what's wrong. You won't kill when you don't need to, like I don't anymore, but when you need to, when there's no other way, when it's the right thing to do, you'll do it. The world needs the likes of us, Harry. It always will!"

****

Ginny hadn't been visiting Dani, who was sitting with Roberto; instead, she'd followed Harry, and seen him go into Sirius' room. Damn! She thought. He's gone to Sirius! He's supposed to talk to me!

Hermione had been definite about it. "Make him talk to you, Ginny! Men have this stupid macho thing about hiding their feelings. I've knocked it out of Ron; you've got to get it out of Harry!"

Disconsolate, Ginny wandered along the corridor, so lost in her thoughts that she almost bumped into the woman walking toward her.

"Konbanwa, Ginevra-san," said the Lady Mariko. Ginny returned her bow.

"Good evening, Lady Mariko. I'm sorry. I was miles away!"

"Ah so desu ka? You were concerned, no doubt, about Harry-san?" Mariko smiled quietly, "I have been wishing for an opportunity to speak with you, Ginevra-san. Perhaps you would join me for tea?"

To Ginny's surprise, the older woman took her arm and began to guide her along the corridor. Mariko brought her to one of the rooms in the faculty quarters. "This is, of course, Logan-san's apartment, but I have the honor of sharing it with him when I can visit here," she said.

The ordinary-looking door led to a tiny vestibule, partitioned by paper screens painted with delicate images of pastoral landscapes in wooden frames. Mariko removed her sandals, and at her quick, meaningful glance, Ginny slipped off her flip-flops, placing them neatly on a wooden rack.

Mariko slid the screen aside and led Ginny into a spacious room. The polished, wooden floor was warm under her bare feet. There were four mats on the floor, symmetrically placed, and a low table in the middle. Three of the walls were more screens. The fourth held a picture window overlooking the grounds but covered by a blind. In one corner was a wooden rack supporting a long, curved sword and a dagger; in another, a bamboo table held a shallow bowl in which grew a tiny, perfect tree. By the window stood an easel with an unfinished canvas on it, next to a table with brushes and paints.

Following Mariko's lead, Ginny knelt at the low, central table. Mariko disappeared through a screen, coming back with a laden tray. She knelt opposite Ginny. The young witch watched, fascinated, as Mariko prepared tea with graceful, ritualistic movements. Ginny finally accepted the delicate cup, turned it, following her hostess's example, and sipped the fragrant green brew. Mariko pushed a plate of small cakes toward her, and though Ginny was not hungry, she took one and nibbled at it for courtesy's sake.

"Now," Mariko said, "while our men talk as men do, we shall talk as women do, yes?"

Ginny sighed. "Aren't they supposed to talk to us about important things?"

Mariko smiled. "But of course! And so they do. Much is said after the pillow, in the shallows of night, between men and women. But there is also much that is between men and men, and between women and women." She looked shrewdly at Ginny. "Hermione-san has told you much of her modern, Western thinking, which is all of what is, and what will come, but takes little account of what has always been."

Ginny nodded. "I'm supposed to make Harry be open with me about everything he's feeling and thinking. I mean, I know him so well, I can always tell if he's troubled, but there's a part of him that's locked away somewhere."

"Which is as it should be," Mariko told her. "Hermione-san is a young soul. So is Ronald-san, and so are you, child. But Harry-san is an old soul; perhaps in a former life, he was samurai. He understands the Way of the Warrior in his bones and blood, as does Logan-san. There are things about which such a man may not speak to any woman, even the one he loves best.

"We share this honor, this burden, Ginevra-san. We both are fated to love men who have two sides to their nature. Please to examine the painting over there."

Ginny rose and went over. It was a landscape in watercolours, clearly representing the view from the window. She was no art expert, but realised at once that the artist was more than usually talented. The view was not rendered in vast detail but had a vitality about it: these were living gardens and woods. There was something...an extra dimension that Ginny's witch eyes almost showed her.

She went back to the table. "It's beautiful," she said. "How do you do that - give things so much meaning?"

Mariko held up a hand. "Not I. My art is bonsai." She indicated the tiny tree. "The painting is Logan's work. Does this surprise you, Ginevra-san?"

Ginny nodded, and Mariko went on. "Logan-san has a sensitivity in his nature. It is what makes him angry sometimes, but it also lets him care for his students as he does, and helps him create works such as that painting. The other Logan - the ruthless fighter, the killer, the hunting animal - is also the man I love."

Ginny stared at Mariko. "How can you do that?" she asked. "Harry is sweet and funny and gentle. He's the best Quidditch player in the world and a great wizard. And, yes, there is another Harry - a cold, clever, maybe even dark man. He's the one who defeated Voldemort.

"I want that Harry to go away, to not be part of my Harry anymore! I didn't want him to be an Auror because I think that'll keep that other part of him alive. You can't tell me that I just have to ignore it!"

"Not ignore. Embrace. Love. He must be all that he is."

Mariko made more tea. Just watching her calm motions soothed Ginny. After they had drunk it, the older woman smiled at the teenager. "Ginny-chan, little one, I say this to you because of the affection Logan bears both you and Harry. You cannot separate the pieces of a man's heart."

"I don't believe that," Ginny said firmly. "He can change! Once we get far enough away from the past, from Voldemort, from the Boy Who Lived--even the Man Who Won--he'll be like everybody else. He'll just be a good man, kind and warm."

Mariko bowed her head. Ginny followed suit. There was little more to say, and after a while, Ginny took her leave, making her way to the boys' corridor. She wanted to check in on Harry, to see if he was back yet.

Instead, she ran into Hermione and Dani a little way down from the room Ron and Harry shared. The girls were both on their knees on the carpet, feeling around, and as Ginny approached them, they looked up.

"Give us a hand, Gin," Hermione urged. "I've lost the butterfly off this stud again! It's really nice of your dad to go to all the trouble of buying Muggle presents for me, but this pair is always losing the butterflies, and they're so pretty I don't want to stop wearing them."

The three girls hunted around with no success, then decided to retrace Hermione's steps back to Ron's door. They had about reached it when Dani suddenly said, "There!" and bent down to pick something up. The other two were looking at her, so it was just at the last moment that Ginny saw Harry gliding noiselessly up behind Dani.

The open-handed slap he landed on Psyche's upturned rear end cracked resoundingly along the corridor! She shot upright with a squawk that rattled the windows and brought heads popping out of rooms. Shiro merely shook his head and went back in, but Bobby, Peter and Ron watched, grinning as Dani turned on her tormentor, who leaned chuckling against the wall.

"You rat!" she howled. "Harry Potter, I thought you were the perfect English gentleman! I expect that kinda thing from Ron, here, but you?"

Harry grinned widely. "Your own fault," he told her. "You shouldn't have such a smackable bum!"

Dani huffed, still miffed but not really put out. "Well," she asserted, "at least I got you to touch me of your own accord. Next time, Harry, make it a different kind of smacker, huh?"

Hermione looked at Harry shrewdly. "Mr Potter, I do believe you're drunk!" she said.

"No shirt, Shylock!" Harry replied. "Yep, I'm plastered, spannered, bladdered, kaylied, pissed as the well-known amphibibibian-thingy!"

"Mum always said that Sirius was a bad influence," Ginny recalled, "but me, I blame my brother, here!"

"Oi!" Ron protested.

"Oh, shut up, you!" Ginny told him. "I'll forgive you, but only because Harry's so cute when he's had a few!"

She stepped up to Harry and hugged him tight. For a moment, Harry joined in the exercise, then suddenly straightened and pushed her away a little.

"Uh-oh," he muttered. "Squeezing round the middle - not good tactic!" His eyes had gone a little owlish now, and his face was a delicate shade of green.

"Oh, Merlin!" said Ron, coming out of his room to take Harry by the shoulders. "OK, people, show's over. I'd better get this hero's head down the bog before he ruins the carpet."

Bobby and Peter waved goodnight and went back in. Ron guided Harry into their room and kicked the door shut as the girls heard Harry say, "M'all right. Be OK once the bloody room stops spinning!"

"'Course you will!" Ron replied. "Now, let's go and call Hughie on the big white telephone, mate!"

Giggling, Hermione, Ginny and Dani went off down the corridor.