Rating:
PG-13
House:
Schnoogle
Genres:
Action Drama
Era:
Multiple Eras
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Quidditch Through the Ages Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 01/08/2005
Updated: 06/29/2005
Words: 244,306
Chapters: 66
Hits: 89,703

The War of Shades

quintaped

Story Summary:
Seventh year - The scar connection becomes wide open, giving both Harry and Voldemort ever more detailed views into each other's mind. Harry works on practicing the message he gained in Egypt (Harry Potter and the Goblin Rebellion), but Voldemort launches the Second War to fill Harry with hatred and anger and to strip him of all who are loyal to him. Ever more desperately Harry trains himself and others to fight, but something is making all of his friends fight each other. Harry must find a way to stop the internal warfare or Voldemort will be able to launch an attack on Hogwarts that will destroy all who are capable of resisting him, including Harry. Through all this, Harry must learn for himself how he will finally vanquish Voldemort.

The War of Shades Epilogue 5

Chapter Summary:
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione go on the Famous Wizard card promotional tour. Hermione trades in all their recreational events for educational and cultural things. Before she can schedule such things for their final stop, in Atlanta, the others put a stop to it and insist they are just going to have some fun in the sun.
Posted:
06/24/2005
Hits:
1,207


Epilogue Chapter 5 Magical Mystery Tour

Harry thought he was going to Disneyland, or maybe EuroDisney: both were on the itinerary, but sometimes things don't turn out as you expect.

He had immediately owled Ginny to set up a visit and date for the weekend - since the rest of his week at Hogwarts was filled - without mentioning the promotional tour. Her response made it clear that she had already learned of the tour from Ron and was not happy at the thought of being left behind - so much for Harry's surprise. He owled her back, expressing disappointment at not having the chance to tell her himself, but then inviting her. He also asked if there would be a problem getting Molly and Arthur to allow them all to go together.

Ginny and Harry made arrangements for him to visit each weekend until the tour. She also said that her parents had already figured the four of them would be going. They expressed their concern but recognized that they had all been at Hogwarts for all these years together, and that next year Harry and Ginny would be there again, so they would just have to be expected to behave responsibly. Besides, they said, there weren't four teens who had earned a holiday more than them.

It was Hermione's owl that started to shift plans. She had asked if she could make arrangements for a few additional activities, since they were going to be in so many exciting places. They all agreed, figuring that this would be a great opportunity for all sorts of experiences, and since Hermione was the best traveled, and most widely read, of any of them, she should be able to select the best activities. Harry, in particular, was excited, because he had never been taken by the Dursleys to any sorts of cultural sites and there had been no opportunity since he had learned he was a wizard.

Thus it was that there was no concern when Hermione cancelled the day at EuroDisney in favor of visiting the Louvre, the Bastille, Lourdes, Chartres and other historical, cultural and magical sites. Italy became booked with visits to ruins, catacombs, and chapels. The time at the Greek beaches gave way to visits to Mount Olympus, the Parthenon, Delphi and other magical sites. The recreational activities in Germany and Scandinavia gave way to the Berlin Opera, museums, and other such sites. It wasn't that any of them were not good ideas, but they were getting to be too much. But no one could object to spending their free time in the Balkans with Charlie Weasley at the dragon preserve and touring the all-vampire town in Transylvania. Nor did anyone want to miss the tour of the goblins' excavations in Egypt. Even in Vancouver, Hermione had arranged a side trip to visit the Tlingkit Indians to learn about Devils' Club, a medicinal plant which had magical properties and required specialized picking procedures to preserve the magic.

By the time the day for the kickoff for the promotional tour had arrived, Hermione had substituted edifying activities for every single recreation that had been scheduled. They were left no free time for any simple fun until they ended their tour in Atlanta. Ginny and Harry cornered Hermione at the party when they were able to get her aside at the party.

"What is wrong with you, Granger?" said Ginny. "Have you got something against fun!?"

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, don't be silly, Ginny. We can go do those 'play' things anytime: these are opportunities! Besides, these things are a lot of fun."

"I reckon they will be, but it's just too much," said Harry. "Some variety would be nice."

"This IS variety - there's archeology, and magic, and botany, and music, and ballet. It just goes on and on!" enthused Hermione.

Ginny looked at the new itinerary. "So what's wrong with Atlanta!? Is it such a wasteland that you couldn't load us down there, too?"

"Well, not exactly. It has museums and battlefields and such. Give me time."

"NO!" said Harry and Ginny together.

"How about a day at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the Centers for Disease Control?"

"NO!" said Harry and Ginny together again.

"The Center for Puppetry Arts?"

Ginny shook her head and continued. "Hermione, when we get to Atlanta, we're not going to museums or concerts or Indian sites. We're going to play - we'll be at a pool or an amusement park or something just for the fun of it. They have lots of sun there and we're going to make use of it!"

"Okay, I guess a day or two of downtime before we come back to Britain would be a good idea."

"Oh, you are too generous, Hermione," said Harry sarcastically. "I want at least a day or two of this trip where there's nothing I need to be looking at except Ginny!"

"Ooh! I like the sound of that," said Ginny.

"And what's wrong with me, Potter?" asked Hermione indignantly.

"You're not Ginny. If you want someone to ogle you, go get your own Weasley."

She smiled. "Oh, alright, I'll just do that. Oh, Harry, I know we're the best of platonic friends, but a girl also likes to think she's attractive."

Harry gently grasped her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Hermione, we've been friends for so long it's hard for me to judge. I know my heart soars with happiness whenever I see you. Is that because you're beautiful, or because I love you? The answer is that everyone you love becomes beautiful to you, so it's both. To me, you are truly beautiful."

Hermione looked up at him fondly, then Ginny cackled, "Way to get out of telling her the truth, Potter!"

Hermione broke away and began chasing Ginny. "I'll get you for that, Weasley!"

The kickoff for the promotional tour was probably the most demanding day Fred and George had ever faced: they had to play it straight. They were the hosts for the roll-out of the Harry Potter famous wizard cards. They would have loved to have jinxed the cards to alter the photos, but that would have to come some other time. They could play games with their own reputations, but not the Chocolate Frog Company's. Besides, they had bid heavily to be the only carrier of the Potter cards in Britain for the first three months after they were introduced and they expected to make thousands of galleons on the deal. They had even had to build an extra storeroom on top of their building so they would have an adequate supply each day. Lines formed hundreds long well in advance of the 10 a.m. unveiling. Speeches were made in the roundabout in front of the store. Almost everyone was just as effusive with Ron and Hermione as with Harry, and as Harry gave credit to Ginny, Fred, George, other members of the DA, the aurors and the auxiliaries who had participated in the defense, all were shown hearty and genuine gratitude. Harry was more than glad to spread it around.

The tour was much the same, though Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had to bear the press themselves. They shook thousands of hands, retold different tidbits at least as often, heard all manner of stupid-muggle jokes (with Hermione getting angry over them just a few times), and learned to smile no matter how tired they were. It was altogether easier in lands where there were very few English-speakers, as there they needed only smile blankly and shake hands as people came by.

The Longbottoms' party was everything they had expected and more. Everyone who had been at the training camp - and survived the war - attended, as did prominent wizards and witches from around Europe and the British Isles. The Longbottoms made an enormous and very public fuss over Harry. He noticed Dumbledore making a point to avoid the attention, but beaming toward him throughout. Harry accepted it all modestly, and then called attention to all the hard work and courage of all the rest.

Alice Longbottom found a chance to ask Harry all about figuring out the coded message she had passed him with the gum wrappers, his role in the Battle of Gringotts, and the trip to the Egyptian shrine that the scarab charm opened. She was very surprised there wasn't something more magical there. Harry assured her there was nothing more magical anywhere and that it led him to find the power he needed.

That evening, Harry and Hermione stayed at Grimmauld Place so they could resume the tour bright and early together. After Molly and Arthur had gone to bed, the four were sitting around the table for late night tea when a quartet of owls arrived, each with an envelope.

"Our NEWTS!" squealed Hermione, tearing open her envelope.

Ron gazed at the teapot like it was a crystal ball, and spoke airily, "Things are getting clearer, yes, I am seeing something now - Hermione got an outstanding NEWT in every exam."

Harry threw an oven mitt at him and laughed. "That's not divination - that's a sure thing."

"Hmf," said Hermione. "The least you two could do is let me announce my own results."

"So ...?" said Ginny.

Hermione blushed. "An outstanding in every exam. Now you, Ron."

Ron tore his open. "Missed the NEWTs in History and Divination, but outstanding in the rest except an E in Potions."

They all cheered.

"Now you, Harry," said Ginny, squeezing his arm.

"Alright," he replied, tearing open the envelope. "NEWTs in all I took, outstanding in all but Potions and Divination: I got E's in those"

"Excellent, Harry," said Hermione. "You're still on track to be an auror."

Harry smiled. "I reckon. Right now I'm not so sure I want to do that any more than I have to."

"Any more than you have to? If you don't want to, why would you have to?" asked Ron.

"It's the downside of being The Boy Who Lived - just as Dumbledore has always been expected to fix things when there were dark wizards that the aurors couldn't take care of, people will be looking to me for those special cases. Dumbledore's already warned me. It's one of the reasons he wants me to continue teaching DA for awhile - he hopes my attentions will help to turn those around who might be tempted to go down the dark path."

Hermione nodded. "Better to help them be good wizards than to have to fight them later."

Ginny grabbed his hand and said with a wink, "I hope that's not the only reason you want to be at Hogwarts next year."

Harry squeezed her hand, grinned, and winked back at her. "No, of course not, but I want to warn you three right now. We're a team, so if I'm called on to sort something out, I'm dragging you into it, too."

"You got it, mate," said Ron. "You don't thing we're going to let you hog all the glory do you?"

Ginny put her hand out between them all. "A pledge," she said, "that we'll face the big issues together."

They all put their hands together and said "pledge."

"Thanks, everyone," said Harry. "I need you all. Now, Ginny, how about your envelope? Can't be a booklist, since you already have all your NEWT-level books."

"I've already felt it, so I know what it is," said Ginny, pouring out the Head Girl badge.

The others cheered for her.

"You'll have some big shoes to fill, Ginny," said Ron.

"Really, Ron? That's very sweet of you," said Hermione.

"No, I meant it literally. Have you two seen the size of Hermione's feet - blimey!" Ron laughed and ducked as another oven mitt came flying at him.

The tour picked up just where it had left off before the break for the Longbottoms' party. Generally things went very smoothly. They only had one bit of trouble. In New York City, Hermione had stayed behind at the Museum of Natural History and decided to walk back to the hotel through Central Park near twilight rather than take a taxi. When the others realized that she was taking too long to return, they set off toward the Museum. Partway through the park, they noticed a large number of flashing emergency lights. They ran to the scene to see what was up and asked a policeman manning a barricade what had happened.

He barely could contain himself from laughing. "Gang of yoots tried to give a young woman trouble. She must have been a black belt or sumthin' cuz she kicked 'em all silly. Didn't know what hit'm, none of 'em can even remember what hit 'em. They even had knives and guns. Chief wants to send her troo again - we could make this place safe for reg'lar folks in a couple-a-nights."

Ron looked panicky. "What did she look like - she might be a friend of ours."

"There she is - talking with Sergeant Pooler."

They recognized Hermione's still-short hair silhouetted by the lights.

"That's Hermione, all right," said Harry. "Can we go in and see her?"

The officer shouted, "'Ey, Miss - youse know dese t'ree?" When she squealed and nodded yes enthusiastically, he let them in. They ran over and teased her as she finished filling out reports with the police sergeant.

"It's lucky your friend here knows how to defend herself," Sergeant Pooler said to them.

Hermione laughed. "Those thugs are lucky they didn't run into these three - they're all much tougher than me."

"Really?" said the sergeant, looking them over. "Well, they're fit, I'll give you that. None of you look tough, though."

"It's all in the technique, sir," said Ginny.

Finally they had a couple of days to spend in Atlanta with nothing scheduled but their promotional appearance. Hermione picked up brochures for things like the Martin Luther King Memorial and ZooAtlanta, but the others would have none of it.

"We're sure those things are inspirational and educational, BUT - we're either going to play or lay in the sun, Hermione."

They asked the hotel clerk about what sort of recreation was available.

"I assume y'all want more than the hotel's pool? Well, it depends on what y'all're interested in. Y'all appear to be a bit young to go to the bars and places like that. There's the Braves, our baseball team: they're doin' right well this year."

Harry and Hermione knew enough about baseball to know they weren't interested. "How about amusement parks?"

He pulled out a couple of brochures and handed them to the group. "Sure. Ya basically have two major choices close at hand. There's Six Flags - that's a large amusement park with rides and stuff like that, and there's White Water, that's a water park. Oh, and it's got a small amusement park with it - more for younger kids, but there's bumper cars and miniature golf and stuff."

Harry pulled Ron aside. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Water park - girls in swimsuits! How about it?"

"Sounds great, but how do we ditch Ginny and Hermione?"

"Ron!" But Ron was laughing.

"Seriously, Harry, sounds good to me - look at this - there's a bunch of pools, slides, places to lay in the sun, lots of stuff to eat. What's not to like?"

Harry turned to Hermione and Ginny. "How about the water park?"

They both agreed happily. Then Hermione turned to the hotel clerk and got instructions for where they could get swimsuits and then get to the park. While neither Ron nor Harry normally enjoyed clothes shopping, on this occasion it was pleasant enough. They first made sure they had their own swimsuits, while Ginny and Hermione looked for some that they liked. They asked a clerk - a pleasant young black woman - to help them find suits. She showed them a selection of swim trunks. Ron looked confused.

"Beg your pardon, Miss, but where we come from, the boys where tight little suits, you know, like Speedos and such."

She looked them up and down and started to grin, then laughed. "Well, I'd be happy as pie to see you two try those on, but if you're going to be around a pool or a hot tub, this is what all the boys here wear."

They chose out a couple of trunks and got Hermione and Ginny's approval (after explaining - to the girls' disappointment - about the current American fashion). Then it was time for the girls to model what they had selected. They showed about twenty different suits to enthusiastic responses (except that Ron could not bring himself to encourage anything but the most conservative of one-piece suits for Ginny). Finally, Hermione selected a one-piece with the hips cut high and a scoop back and Ginny selected a backless one-piece with the front held up by a strap around her neck. They also found beach towels, sunscreen, and hats, after having been warned that the sun in Atlanta is much stronger than they were used to.

They had a taxi drop them off at the park. It was a fine sunny day, but they soon appreciated the warning about the Atlanta sun - even under the pine trees in the line to the entrance, the heat was harsh. When they got to the head of the line, they started through the gate and a boy about their age holding a rubber stamp said to Ron, who was first, "Hand, please."

Ron looked at him oddly and then held up his hand like he was waving to someone.

"Hey, dude," said the attendant. "I've been standing out here for four hours already - just let me stamp your hand. Here, like this."

"What for?" asked Ron, as Hermione and Harry fought to suppress their giggles.

The boy struggled to be patient. "If you decide to leave the park, like to go to the amusement park or sum'thin' you'll be able to show this to get back in."

"Oh," said Ron and Ginny (who had come up to hear the explanations). Then the boy stamped their hands, and Ron said, "Now wait a second, mate, there's nothing here. I might want to get back in."

"Sir," said the boy, with just a hint of sarcasm, "let me show you." He took Ron by the wrist and held it under the ultraviolet light at the gate at the other side of the stand. The date appeared glowing under the light.

"Ooh, cool," said Ron and Ginny.

"Yeah," said the boy, rolling his eyes. "It's like magic."

"Well, not really," said Ron, "but it is pretty neat."

Harry and Hermione, barely able to control themselves, pushed Ginny and Ron through as they got their own hands stamped. Then they all picked up a map to get their bearings to the various pools and slides. At first they thought they would do a slide. They saw that one was called the Dragon's Tail, and felt they had to see what kind of dragon's tail it would be like. The got directions over to it and found that it didn't resemble a dragon's tail much at all; however, it did have a rather high-speed stair-stepped waterslide that looked to be a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, a lot of other people thought it looked like a lot of fun too, so the line was outrageously long. They had already resolved not to use magic to unfair advantage at muggle places, so they determined instead to find something not so crowded. They got directions to a bunch of other slides and found them all with similar lines. It seemed like half of Atlanta wanted to play in the water. Finally they asked a staffer what they could do without such lines. She pointed them to an area with a wave pool and artificial beach, an inflatable tube ride along a moderately paced canal, and several pools with varying sorts of accommodations for playing in the water. Best of all, none of these had lines - you just joined right in.

Ron and Hermione decided to start off with a tube ride. Hermione showed Ron how to get into the tubes and lean back to go floating along. He missed a couple of times, but then got the hang of it, and they headed off down the channel, with fingers and toes intertwined.

Harry and Ginny had been watching them. By the time Ginny had seen them pass out of sight around a bend, Harry's attention had drifted elsewhere. He was staring off toward something, but she was not sure what. Then she saw in the direction he was looking a very shapely woman in an extremely tiny thong bikini.

"Harry!" she cried, "how could you!?"

"Hmm, what?"

"Looking at that girl. I'm right here! At least be polite!"

"What!? Oh, I'm not looking at anyone, Ginny."

"Then what?"

"At those," he said, pointing to a couple of areas that had something that looked like an enormous jungle gyms in pools with water splashing and spraying all over the place and another with a multistory wooden structure to climb all over that also had water splashing and spraying all around. There were hundreds of kids and young teens splashing and playing all over them.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"That looks like so much fun."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Harry, a bit wistfully. "I know it's mostly kids younger than us there, and a few parents with the toddlers. But I never got to do any of those sorts of things when I was a kid. Even at school, Dudley and his gang would chase me out of the swings and playsets. My best place to go was up the trees where the heavier kids couldn't get to me."

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Ginny. "Well, if that's what you want to do, let's go. I just want to get some sun, get plenty wet and spend the day having fun with you."

They climbed and squirted each other and others, and splashed and slid for more than an hour before Ginny finally said she needed a break. Harry offered to come along, but Ginny told him to stay. "You're having too much fun. I'll go get a couple of drinks and we can sit together for a bit when I get back."

"Thanks for understanding," said Harry.

When Ginny returned with the bottles of drink and found Harry, she nearly split her sides laughing. She ran to get Ron and Hermione, who were just rounding the bend on the tubes again. They laughed just as hard. They found Harry in one of the shallower pools for the younger kids. He was surrounded by two or three dozen kids who seemed to be no older than ten, all splashing him and squirting him with the many constantly squirting squirt guns around the pool, as he squirted and splashed them back. They were all squealing and laughing as Harry played with them, hopelessly outnumbered as he was.

"Reckon we should rescue him?" asked Ron.

"I'm not sure," said Hermione, still laughing. "Who would rescue us?"

"I'll do it," said Ginny, wading in and taking him by the arm, to the disappointed moans of the kids there. She led Harry over to a shaded deck with some lounge chairs.

"How'd you get into that, Harry?" asked Ron.

"I don't know really. I just waded in to slide down the sluice there, and got squirted. I turned around and there were a couple of boys laughing and grinning, so I grabbed a water gun and squirted them back. It just grew and grew from there."

"Well, it looked like you were all having a wonderful time," said Hermione.

"Oh, yeah, it was great fun. Kind of sad, though."

Ginny tilted her head toward him. "How so, Harry?"

"All those kids have been dropped off by their parents. Maybe the parents are sunning themselves, or doing the water slides or something like that - the parents may have even left them at the park, though the kids seem too young for that. The kids are having some fun, but what they want most of all is some time with their parents. So when they found an opportunity to play with someone who seemed parent-sized to them, they were drawn like Nifflers to gold. Those parents don't realize what they're missing. The kids do, but they can't make themselves properly understood. What a shame that is. I remember how much I wanted to have an adult who cared about me - that's why your parents accepting me as they did was so important."

"Oh, Harry," said Ginny, laying her head on his shoulder. "I promise if we should ever be parents, I'll be sure to push you in the pool every chance I get."

"Oh, yeah!" said Harry, swallowing the last of his drink and standing. "Well, Mums can play, too." Then he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her into the pool with the squirt guns, dropping her into the three-foot-deep water. "You take that one, I'll take this," he said, as both were immediately under attack by dozens of kids with squirters.

They played for another hour before Ron and Hermione insisted they get out for lunch.

Hermione laughed at them. "Honestly, the way you two play, it's like you need us to be your parents."

"Were you ever a child, Hermione," said Ginny, "or were you just a little adult growing up?"

They walked over to the food vending area and found a table. Harry handed Ron a muggle credit card the Chocolate Frog company had given them for the trip. "Here, Ron, I need a rest. Why don't you get some food?"

In about ten minutes, Ron came back with a tray that had on it a medium pizza, two hamburgers, three foot-long frankfurters, a quart each of cole claw and baked beans, and an extra large milkshake. He sat down, setting the tray in front of him, and set the card down on the table, asking, "Who's next?"

"Ron!" said Hermione. "You don't mean to say you're going to eat all of that yourself!?"

"I'm starving, Hermione," he said through a bite of hamburger.

"How can you be surprised, Hermione?" said Ginny, laughing. "You've seen him eat at Hogwarts."

"Oh, well," she replied. "You two go get your food. I'll see if I can't work a piece of pizza away from him to tide me over till you get back."

As they let lunch settle, they talked about what they would do next.

"I'd really like to try one of those big slides," said Ron.

"Me, too," said Harry.

"Same here," said Ginny.

Hermione shook her head. "What is it with you three? You play a sport that has you dashing about over a hundred feet in the air, making tight maneuvers at up to 200 miles per hour, and you still want to do a thrill ride?"

"Aah, but Hermione, we're in control on brooms," explained Ron.

"Mostly," qualified Harry.

"Mostly," Ron agreed. "But here, we'll be letting go completely, without anything to control us or any way to stop - that's what makes it exciting. Besides, if we didn't like high-speed thrills, we wouldn't play qui- erm, the game we do."

Hermione shook her head. "Whatever. I'm just not a thrill-seeker. I had enough of thrills during the battle."

"Does that mean you won't join us?" asked Harry.

"What - and let you people call me a wuss? Not on your life, Harry Potter. I just wish the lines weren't so brutally long."

"Well," said Ron craftily, stroking his chin, "there are things we could do."

"Nothing doing, Ron," said Hermione. "If you mean using our ways to cut queue, you can forget it. Everyone else here has to wait in line. We're not superior."

"Okay, okay," relented Ron. "But Harry, if a little thunderstorm should arise, I'll bet the line would get a lot shorter."

Harry shook his head with an indulgent smile. "I believe I'd attract too much attention waving my arms about overhead, especially holding wands. Besides - look at the supports for the slides. They're all metal. If there's a thunderstorm, that's where lightning would strike, so the management would shut them all down for safety."

"Really? That's how they deal with lightning - just shut stuff down?"

"Really, Ron, at least for things like this."

"Well, we can wait on line," said Ginny. "It feels good to do things the muggle way for a while."

"She is her father's daughter," said Hermione.

The queue went up at least ten sets of stairs separated by landings. They were packed into very tight lines. They were amazed at how, by and large, people waited politely, cheerfully even. For many customers there, it seemed the slides were the whole point of being at the park, and waiting on line was part of the experience. Although people started off talking among the people they had come with, as they stood on line near each other they more and more talked to others around them, venturing to talk about weather, sports, jokes, politics, just anything and everything. More than once, the four had to nudge each other to avoid talking about sorcery, the war and the wizarding world as if it was just what everyone talked about.

At one point, Hermione commented, "I had heard how friendly the people in the American South were, but I didn't realize how much that was so."

A thirtyish man waiting on line with a woman and a couple of children who had previously talked with them overheard that and smiled at her. "Everybody's a friend until they prove otherwise: there's just some friends you haven't met yet."

The excitement built as they neared the top. There were maybe two dozen people ahead of them when the line was stopped. A small knot of people in identical t-shirts accompanying a pre-teen boy nudged their way through the queue, continuously repeating "Pardon, please," and bypassing everyone.

Looking at them going to the head of the line, Ron nodded his head toward them and asked, "What's up with that? I thought everyone waited their turn."

The father with the two kids explained, "See the t-shirts. They're with Wish Fulfilled."

"What's that?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, it's a group that helps give dying kids a few last happy memories."

"Dying?" said Hermione aghast. "Of what?"

The father nudged one of the helpers and asked, "What's he have?"

The woman turned and smiled benignly. "Oh, he has leukemia, but it's gone to his bones and organs now."

"How long does he have?" asked the father.

She turned to speak softly. "The doctors say maybe a month."

"Isn't he in pain?" asked the man softly.

"Well, he's on very powerful narcotics, but you know they never give enough of a dose to really eliminate the pain."

The boy had already gone down the slide by now and the helpers turned and made their way back down the stairs. The father and his kids edged around to the staging area.

"That's really rough," said Ron to Hermione. "Don't they have any way to heal him?"

"They have a number of treatments, but some work better than others and none are perfect," she said to Ron. While she spoke, she glanced at Harry, who was staring into the distance sadly.

"So what happens?" asked Ron.

"Like she said - in a month or so, he'll die."

Now Harry was tapping his fist against his lips and looking down.

Ron asked, "Does it have to be painful?"

"Well, it's worst if it gets into the bones, like this has. Then it's truly awful. They have powerful narcotics, like morphine, that can block the pain, but because healthy people sometimes abuse narcotics, the doctors are discouraged, prevented even, from giving adequate pain killers, so the people who really need it and who would not be abusing it to get it end up dying in excruciating pain."

Suddenly they heard a sharp crack and everyone around looked in their direction.

"Uh, oh, sounds like thunder," said a young woman just behind them. "Hey, didn't you have another guy with you?"

Ginny laughed nervously. "Oh, he just hates heights." Then she looked over the edge. "He probably climbed down the trusses. He's been known to do that before - he's an excellent climber."

"He's built for it, really wiry."

"Yeah, it's a shame he hates heights."

The woman laughed. "Not good for a climber, is it?"

Ron, Hermione and Ginny put their heads together to whisper. "Where'd he go? I dunno. He was just here? Did he say anything? Did something upset him? Should we look for him? After the slide - it's our turn."

As the others had suspected, Harry hadn't apparated far away. There were some picnic tables in the woods around the exterior fence. He appeared behind some shrubs and walked out past a family with young children having sandwiches.

"Hey, fella, there are restrooms just inside - couldn't you wait!?"

Harry looked up. "Er, no, sorry." Then he walked to a more secluded bench and sat down, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. He thought about what he had just heard on the slide and didn't even hear the crunch of footsteps on pine straw.

"Problem, son?" said the man who had walked up, in a slight drawl.

"What? Oh, uh, no, sir," replied Harry, unconvincingly.

"Don't try to fool me, son," said the man, whom Harry now saw was a tall fortyish man in short pants and a colorful tropical pattern shirt. "A healthy young man like yourself doesn't generally hang his head like that without a problem. Let's see - you could be sick from too much sun - I daresay from your accent you're not used to it."

"Um, no, sir, I feel fine."

"Maybe for now, but you won't if you don't do something about it - your neck and back are red as a lobster. Here, I've got a salve that'll fix that right up. So is it girl trouble?"

"Um, no, sir. Everything's great with my girlfriend."

"Glad to hear it - enjoy it while it lasts. You want me to put some of this on you?"

"You're sure it works: what's in it?

The man smiled. "Let's just say it's an old family herbal recipe."

Harry caught a whiff as the man poured a bit into his hands: it was vaguely familiar. The man started carefully smearing the salve on Harry's sunburnt back.

"Well, then, what's got you down?"

"It's pretty hard to explain." The man looked at him with the same patient, understanding manner that Reverend MacBoon had always shown. "Well, okay, I'll try. I have this opportunity to help someone who really needs it."

"That sounds like a good thing - what's the problem?"

"I'm reluctant because it, erm, requires a lot out of me."

"Like someone needing a kidney?"

"Oh, um, no, well, I wouldn't have to give up an organ, but it would hurt like that."

"And you don't want the pain."

"Exactly. I know I don't look the worse for wear, sir, but I've actually had to deal with a lot of pain. I kind of thought I had put an end to that for awhile."

"You could just walk away from the situation."

"I know, sir, but that seems just wrong."

"Well, a person should always do what he can. For me, I say 'May as well be a mensch.'"

"What?"

The man smiled broadly. "It's a phrase I picked up from an article by a columnist in the New York Times. Shh - I don't want anybody from around here to know I used to read that." The man grinned mischievously and winked. "'mensch' is a Yiddish word: the writer was a Jewish man whose father used to tell him that. A person can do just what is expected of him, what he needs to do to take care of himself and his family and to basically be a decent guy. But a mensch is someone who goes beyond just the minimum. A Christian would call it 'going the extra mile,' but it's nice to have a word that sums it up. No matter what your circumstance, there's always an opportunity to do a little extra to make the world a better place. It can be as simple as being friendly or letting another driver into the line of traffic. Or it can be bigger things as well. And the thing you find is that even if you can't solve all the world's ills, by making the effort to help folks out when you can, the world is a brighter place for you."

"Yeah, I see what you're saying. It sounds like something Reverend MacBoon might say."

"Ah, you have a pastor that you can talk with. That's good," said the man.

"So I should do what I can?" said Harry.

"'May as well be a mensch' - I know it's not always easy, Harry, but you'll always regret it if you turn your back on your fellow man."

"Okay, I guess you're right, I ..., wait a second, you called me 'Harry.' I didn't tell you my name."

"Rats, I slipped," the man said with a smile, pulling a card from his shirt pocket. It was a Famous Wizard card with Harry on it: the photo-Harry was smiling back at Harry and giving him a thumbs-up. "In that case, would you mind an autograph? I've collected these for years. I was glad to see they were adding some new ones, especially since the new ones were of you and your friends."

"Then you're a ..."

"Wizard? Yeah. Of course, I didn't need the card to recognize you, Harry: the scar is a dead giveaway."

"Did Dumbledore send you to keep an eye on me?"

"Dumbledore?" said the man, looking off as to search his mind. "Oh, yeah, I've got a few of his cards, too, but I sure don't know him. No, I brought my kids out here with their friends. They ditched me to play miniature golf, so I was reading the papers. When I heard someone apparating, I knew there was a witch or wizard nearby. That's how I found you."

"But you weren't going to mention that you knew who I am?" said Harry quizzically.

"You need your privacy, too. You're not here at the park to be a celebrity. You deserve to have some space."

"That's cool. I haven't been treated like that in a long time."

"Most folks around here understand that. We get a fair number of celebrities who spend time here in the South just because most of us will leave 'em alone enough to just be regular folks for awhile."

"Well, okay, if you know about me, then you must know ..."

"What your dilemma is? There was an article in The Witchhunt about your ability to heal. Very cool, but quite a burden as well. What's the situation?"

"My friend and I ran into somebody dying of cancer. He'll be dead in maybe a month. They say he's had all the muggle treatments, but it's spread all over, even in his bones."

The man winced on hearing that. "I'm not going to kid you, Harry - that's going to hurt. So what are you going to do?"

"Oh, I'll go back and do it. I just needed a chance to get my nerve up. Talking it over helped a lot."

"Glad I could be of service - in some small way. I don't want to act like a fawning fan, but do you mind if I watch?"

"Sure, maybe you could help us separate the boy from the Wish Fulfilled people who are with him so I can do it?"

"I'd be proud to lend a hand."

"Harry!" Ginny was running toward him from the path. In a few seconds, Ron and Hermione also appeared, drawn by Ginny's call. Ginny gave Harry a hug. "We were so worried when you, erm," she glanced at the man, "wandered off."

"Oh?" said the man. "Harry, did you wander off before you disapparated?"

"You're a ..." said Ginny, as Ron and Hermione arrived.

"Yes, Ginny, he's a wizard, too."

"Forgive my saying it, but you three are a mess," said the man.

"Huh?" said Ron. "How so?"

The man laid his hand on Ron's shoulder, who nearly collapsed with the sudden burning feeling. "You guys are all so sunburnt it hurts to look at you. Here, better use my salve."

"I don't mean to be suspicious," said Hermione, "but I'm cautious about taking unlabeled potions from wizards."

"I put it on Harry, and look at him now - hickory-brown, but not burnt. Give it a sniff!" offered the man, uncorking the bottle.

"Murtlap!" said Hermione happily.

"That's the smell!" exclaimed Harry. "I knew I recognized it. I just didn't connect it because I didn't expect to meet a wizard here."

"So, mate," said Ron, as Hermione began to apply some murtlap salve to his back, "Why'd you disappear on us?"

"It was the boy with the cancer. He needs healing, and I was losing my nerve to do it."

"The pain?" asked Ginny softly.

Harry nodded. "I've had a couple of months now without any significant pain. It was nice. Thinking about pain brought it all back to me. I had figured with the war over, there wouldn't be many occasions of injuries that the healers couldn't handle."

"The memory will fade again soon enough," said Hermione.

"I know that, Hermione, really I do," said Harry. "It's just that when I'm facing it, it's right there and terrifyingly oppressive."

"Well, you don't have to do it, Harry," said Ron. "He's a muggle, leave him to muggle care."

Hermione squared off at him, hands on hips, with eyes narrowed and lips thinned like McGonagall. "So muggles don't count as much!? They don't deserve help or consideration? Do you realize that my entire family is muggle but me? Are you going to treat THEM as subhuman!!?"

"He stepped right inta that," said the man.

Ron looked at her for several seconds quite abashed. "You're right, Hermione. Not always, mind you, but you're right. Every person should be treated with the same consideration. That's a big part of what we fought over, isn't it? It's just so easy to forget that when you live so separate from the muggles."

"Maybe that should ease up some, son. Here in America we've found ways not to be quite so separate. We sorcerers get together for our magical things, but mostly we live with our muggle neighbors - not just beside 'em, but part of the same community."

"That's worth a try," acknowledged Ron. "Hermione, can you help me with that back in England?"

She smiled. "I'd love to. But first - Harry, what are you going to do?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course, you do. It's not as if any of us could force you to."

Harry looked downward and sighed. "'May as well be a mensch.'"

The others looked around confused. The man Harry met said, "It means he'll do it."

"Oh. Great! Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Ron.

Harry shook his head, still obviously reluctant. "Just help me get the boy away from the attendants so I can heal him."

"Harry, would it help if you had something to make you forget the pain?" asked Ginny.

"Madam Pomfrey already warned me against using alcohol or other potions to avoid pain."

"Good advice," said the man, nodding sagely.

"That's not what I meant," said Ginny. Then she stepped up on tiptoe, grabbing his shoulders, and whispered into Harry's ear, ending by taking his earlobe into her mouth and gently nibbling it. Harry turned as red as their sunburns.

"Oh, yeah," laughed Hermione. "I think Harry'll be able to get over the pain."

"Erm, Ginny," asked Ron hesitantly. "What exactly did you just say to Harry?"

"Never you mind," she said, eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, THAT is not your business, mate," said Harry, grinning. "All right - let's go do some healing!"