Prophecy

Tribune

The trio appeared in the living room of a nice apartment. Neither of the twins had been in their mother's old place before, and they took a minute to look around. That their mother had decorated the apartment was obvious to the twins. It was done in a comfortable homey style, with one exception. In a corner of the living room was an old black chair that had seen better days, and better decades. Rose looked at the decrepit and battered chair, which didn't even come close to matching anything else in the room, then at her mother. "What's with the chair?' She asked, looking at it again.

Mary followed her gaze, and smiled. Her eyes were far away, as she answered absently. "Before I married your Father, I was not the richest woman, and that was part of the furniture I had then."

James and Rose looked at their mother, and back at the chair. They sensed an evasion, and James continued the question. "I believe what Rose means, is why is it still here? You've got enough furniture to get rid of it, and it is kind of beat up."

"Brother mine, that chair passed 'kind of beat up' before we were born."

Mary smiled again as she answered them. "When your father and I were dating, we spent a great many hours curled up in that chair, reading and cuddling. It's still his favorite chair."

James was looking at the clock. "If we're going to get any shopping done before the opening of Weasley's we have to go Mom."

Mary grinned at her son. "How did you know about that?"

"Please, it's only been in the paper for a month, and we were going to ask to be here, but then Rose started with the nightmares, and that was more important."

"Then we should be going." Mary led them out on to the street. This part of Tribune was mostly little stores, with apartments above them and about five blocks long. Under Mary's apartment was a bakery, and Mary felt a wave of nostalgia as she recalled many mornings sitting in front of the bakery discussing everything and anything with her friends, one of whom had introduced her to a tall green eyed man some eighteen years ago. "We have to stop in the bakery for a minute."

Inside the bakery, Mary grinned at the twins and motioned them to silence. When she spoke, her voice had the tone of an old money snob. "Goodman, something low fat, and without sugar." James and Rose watched the proprietor to see what he's do. At first, it seemed that he had not heard her, and then they saw the red flush crawling up his neck. Without turning around from the tray of pastries he was working on, he placed a rock on the counter.

"That's the only thing in this store without sugar Lady, and low fat too." He voice was low and raspy; as if he was growling the words he spoke.

When their mother spoke again, her voice was back to normal, and filled with affection and mirth. "Really Kevil, are you ever going to make anything that doesn't make me fat?" At her first words, Kevil had stiffened, and by the time she finished, he had turned and was grinning an impossibly large grin.

"Penny child." He tried to look stern but the effect was ruined by the smile on his face. "So. You leave me for years, and come waltzing back in, probably wanting credit, and expect me to be happy about it?"

Mary's attempt to look pathetic was ruined for the same reason Kevil's stern act had been. "Well, I am just a little short this week." The baker reached out with an arm that looked as though it would reach the front door from where he stood, and dragged Mary into a hug.

James and Rose were examining him with interest. Kevil was only about 5'6", but he was nearly as wide as he was tall, and from what the twins could see, the rock was not the only low fat thing in the store. His face was broad and looked as if it had been carved from the rock on the counter. Mary was trying to return his hug, but where his arms were wrapped around her almost twice, Mary's arms wouldn't even touch behind him. Releasing her, the shopkeeper looked at the twins. "No need to ask who these two are, not with your face and those eyes."

"Kevil, this is James and Rose."

"How do you do Sir?" two voices spoke as one.

Kevil looked around. "Sir? Who is this Sir? My name is Kevil"

Mary spoke again. "Kevil, I want my usual, and kids, what do you want?" While the twins inspected the myriad goods on display, Mary leaned close to Kevil. "Did you get Robert's owl?"

"Yes, and my response is on its way back." He examined the twins as thoroughly as they had done him earlier. "Are we sure about this?"

"Yes." Mary's answer was short and Kevil looked sharply at her, but let it pass for now.

"Which are they? The Seer and who?"

"Right this minute we're not even sure of the Seer." Mary looked sideways at him. "Is Constance still in the same shop?"

Kevil appraised her. "Testing for the healing gift?"

"Yes, and despite what you think of her, she's the best healer in the country." Kevil blushed suddenly, and muttered something Mary didn't quite catch. "What did you say?"

"I said She's not that bad." Kevil was avoiding her eyes, and his face was even redder than when she had been teasing him.

Mary stared at him, taking in the blushing, and the way he was avoiding her eyes. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went round with astonishment. "Kevil? You and Constance? Or does she know?"

A new voice entered the conversation. "Does Constance know her fiancé is head to head with some man stealing actress you mean?" Two sets of blazing green eyes examined the short heavyset woman that had entered the store unnoticed. A split second's thought, and James and Rose joined the three adults at the counter, with James passing close to the middle aged blonde woman, and Rose moving up closer to Kevil and Mary. The whole thing was done in less than ten seconds, and they looked at their mother, who was laughing?

Mary was completely dumbfounded. "Excuse me," She finally got out through the giggles, "but weren't you the two that were asked to moved your shops at least five blocks apart, so you wouldn't argue in the streets anymore?"

Kevil's blush was deepening, but Constance brushed the comment aside. "That was in our younger days." She grinned, shooting Kevil a wicked look. "Since then we've found better things to spend our passions on." Kevil closed his eyes, and his face got even redder. He mumbled something about baking to check on, and fled into the rear of the shop. As the two women embraced and began talking about friends, the twins were regretting their sudden actions of a few minutes prior. Silently they decided to confess, and James moved up next to their mother. The two women looked at them.

"So these are your twins?" Constance said, and James and Rose were introduced again.

"Umm, Mom we've got something to tell you." James muttered.

Mary raised one eyebrow as she recognized his embarrassment. "What is it James?"

James spoke in a rush. "Well, when she made that actress comment, Rose and I were upset, and might have acted a bit hastily."

Mary figured out what he meant quickly. "Which one did you use?"

James grinned a bit sheepishly. "Actually, it's a new one Rose and I have been working on."

Constance was following the exchange and broke in. "What ever are you talking about? Am I going to blow up or something?" She looked down at herself. "That would make an awful mess you know."

Mary smiled at her. "No, the twins' pranks are more annoying than painful." She looked at James and Rose again. "So, what exactly is going to happen?"

James grinned, and began explaining with the pride of an inventor. "It's an adaptation of the 'Speculum dorsum' spell that people use to see their own backs. I put an activator disk on Constance, and Rose put the other half on Kevil. The next time Kevil comes close to you, your image will be cast over him, and all you will see is you, as if you were looking in a mirror."

Constance thought about that. "That might be surprising the first time, but not really funny."

James grinned, and his eyes were alight with a twisted humor. "Well, we thought so also, so it has one more little twist. You are the only one that will see it. Imagine trying to explain to people that Kevil looks like you, when none of them can see it, and casting a Finite Incantatem won't work either, because the spell itself is not on the person, but on yourself."

Constance thought about that. "That could drive somebody crazy. I like it. Do you have another you can place on Kevil?" James grinned, and brought out a small pouch. Reaching inside, he pulled out a handful of small wooden disks about half an inch wide. Each disk was marked with a green rose on one side and various other markings on the other side. Checking the markings, he held up a disk.

Mary grinned at Constance. "I always told you your mouth would get you in trouble."

Constance was unrepentant. "What can I say? I was not expecting bodyguards at Kevil's shop, and certainly not from my friends."

Mary looked at her sharply. "How did you know I'd be here anyway? I only decided to come this morning."

Her friend merely rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid youngster. Robert sent the alert out, and from our correspondence of the last three years, figuring out you'd be bringing the kids to me for testing was a no brainer, and I don't think you can come within a hundred miles and not stop in here. Although, two years is far too long between visits."

Mary nodded. "I think so. I mean, you and Kevil? I thought you and Johann were an item."

Constance made a face, as if something tasted bad. "That peacock fell for a dancer from the Floating Platform." As the two women sat at a table chatting about old friends and places, James and Rose moved to a table at the front of the store to watch the people passing by.

Kevil came back out, and took care of some customers that had come in. Seeing the women talking, he took them a tray of drinks and pastries, and brought another to the twins. He smiled at them. "Those two will be at least an hour, you might as well enjoy the wait." Rose thanked him for the tray, and the twins began eating as they used their nonverbal speech to talk. They finished deciding on a name for the new prank, and their talk turned to the prophecy. As they discussed it, the hot chocolate and pastries were forgotten, and Rose pulled her copy from her robes. Setting it on the table, they began going over it again, one line at a time.

Mary and Constance were watching them. "Will you test them for the gift?"

Constance just looked at her. "I don't have to, Penny, even you should be able to see they don't have even a touch of it, just by looking at their aura."

Mary grimaced. "Auras never were my strongest point, and I haven't even looked at one in ten years, I might have missed it."

Constance watched the flow of emotions over Mary's face and spoke sympathetically. "Mary, don't let your fears as a mother inhibit them. This is going to be hard enough on them without you holding them back."

"I know that, but it's so hard."

"I know. I lost my only child in the Voldemort war." Constance's eyes were far away and misty as she remembered a laughing boy, and the box he came home in for the last time. "No matter how we feel, if we do anything but support them, we will lose even more. Jeremy was my son, but more important, he was my friend. Being friends with your grown children is a large honor, and I can say he was mine."

Constance turned bitter for a minute. "Not that you could help them anyway, this war will be for the young. Swords and arrows are not for older people like us."

"Bullets either." Mary said grimly.

The older wizard was skeptical. "I still don't think that will work, Most of the wizard's world is charmed to prevent those kinds of things from working."

Mary took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "That's just it. Robert and I have been testing those wards, and if you fire a bullet from outside, it will still hit its target. Plus," Mary lowered her voice even further. "Robert found an old charm that allows Muggle things to pass the wards."

Constance stared at her in shock. "How hard is it, and how many people know about it?"

"Not hard at all, and the basic theory is in at least two old books that are uncommon, but not rare." Said Mary quietly.

"Any more good news for me?" asked Constance wryly.

"No, I think that covers it." Mary looked at her watch, and told Constance they had to be going. She stood up, and Rose caught the motion. Both of them looked at her and she inclined her head towards the door.

Kevil came over to say good-bye, and as he did, the disk that Rose had stuck to his sleeve put his image over Constance. Kevil jumped, and stared at her. Mary had to shake his arm to drag his attention to her.

They said their good-byes, and Mary had a request. "Kevil, you made a dinner for me a long time ago, that first dinner for two."

Kevil smiled. I remember it, and as I recall, it was followed by the first breakfast for two."

Mary blushed and slapped his arm. "Your memory is entirely too good, but if you could deliver that dinner again, around seven?"

"For you Penny-child, I will do it." Kevil looked at her severely. "Although, if it takes you two years to come back and see us, we won't invite you to the wedding."

Mary grinned. "Oh the horror, how could I miss that? Robert is never going to believe it unless we're there."

Constance was looking at Mary with an impish gleam in her eyes. "Mary, you're quite red over a dinner, you wouldn't be CKTing tonight would you?"

Mary turned a darker shade of red at the verbal slang they had used years ago for cuddling, kissing and touching. "Not exactly, Robert and I are just going to have a Family Business Meeting."

Constance smirked. "I remember that one."

As they talked, Constance caught Kevil staring at her again. She knew why he was staring, but pretended to be annoyed. "Kevil, what is your problem? We're saying good-bye, not dancing nude in the streets." Kevil mumbled something as the Evans left, and their last sight of the two was a confused Kevil trying to explain what he was seeing to a seemingly unbelieving Constance.

As they headed for the street where all the larger shops were, James asked Mary, "Neither of us have the Healing talent do we Mom?"

Mary walked on a few steps before replying. "No, and that's all we say in public."

James tried to say something else, but Mary cut him off. "Not another word." James blinked at the firm tone and left it alone for now.

As they walked down the street, passing shops that sold everything from potions supplies to used books and even Muggle artifacts, James asked, "Mom why does Kevil and Constance call you Penny?"

Mary was silent for a few minutes, and her eyes were far away. She shook her head and answered him quietly. "That's a long story, James, and this is not the time to go into it. I will tell you all about it soon though."

James and Rose looked at each other, putting together a few facts, and many guesses. "When you do, will it explain why we've never met any of your family, Mom?" Rose asked.

Mary looked at the twins sharply, and smiled wryly. "Yes, it will. But that too is a subject better left for home." At the next corner, they turned on to the main street of Tribune. Here there were no apartments, only the biggest businesses in the wizard world. Gringotts had a branch here, as well as Binklestocks, the bookstore that had a copy of every book ever written, and would make you a copy, if you had the money. As they came to Gringotts, Mary told the kids she had to stop in.

James grinned. "That's good, Rose and I have some business with them also"

Mary smiled at them. "Going to try to beat your father?"

"Not yet, but this is too good an opportunity to pass up, and Dad helped us with the strategy. We should be able to work something out, and if we do, we'll need that vault."

Mary shook her head. "My budding tycoons. I feel sorry for everyone that has to deal with you when you two are running Cumulus."

Cumulus was the name of the Evans family businesses, and it had many fingers stretching into all lifestyles, and even holdings in the Muggle world. While the Evans holdings were not as large as the Pendragon fortune, or the Merlin family money, they were listed among the top ten richest families in the wizard world. James had been doing some quiet research, and suspected that if anyone but Robert actually knew everything Cumulus was into, they might be ranker higher than they were. In Gringotts, Mary went to the Evans vault while the twins opened an account in the name of the Green Flower business. By the time Mary returned, they were done, and they set off for the opening of the first North American branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Along the way, the younger Evans were busy refining their plan to attract the attention of Fred and George Weasley. As they approached the crowd gathering, the twins were picking out targets for their disks. Rose turned to James. "Which one?"

James grinned. "Rainbow Friends. I'll get the wizard in the green and lilac robes."

"I'll get the witch in yellow over there, and meet you in front of the stage." The two split up, worming through the crowds as only young children can do, making sure to pass within arm's reach of their chosen victims. In front of the stage, their watched as Fred (Or maybe George) put the final changes on several displays. The other Weasley twin came out of the store, and joined his brother. George and Fred had remained youthful, with only a few lines and a sprinkling of gray hair to show the passing years.

George was looking over the crowd estimating how many were gawking and how many would buy when two small heads caught his eye. Something about them was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what, and he was about to say something to Fred when the boy looked up at the stage. The green eyes brought back a memory twenty years old, then the other head turned his way, and he got another shock. "Fred, look at this. Those two kids there by the Ginny Gems table."

Fred looked, and swore softly. "That looks like Harry that first year."

"Almost, but his hair was never that neat. Now, put red hair on the girl, and think about Harry's picture album."

Fred squinted at them again. "Looks a lot like what I remember of Lily, from the early pictures Hagrid gave him."

"I thought so too. I wonder if we'll get a chance to talk to them."

"I don't know about talking to them, but right now, it's time to open." The two had the opening down to an art after opening 7 branches in Europe, and as Fred gave a short humorous speech, George threw various small pranks into the group of children standing near the stage. As Fred finished his speech, there was a commotion in the back of the crowd.

From their vantage point on the stage, Fred and George looked out, and quickly spotted the problem. A number of wizards and witches standing there had suddenly turned colors. Not just any colors, but loud screaming neon colors not found in nature. Electric blues clashed with screaming yellows. After a few seconds, the colors switched places, jumping from person to person in a circle. From their higher viewpoint, the Weasleys could see the circles were centered on two people, and they looked at each other. Fred was chuckling softly. "Not a bad prank, although it could use a few touches." As they watched the show, they didn't notice the sable haired pair they had seen earlier approaching the stage.

George grinned as the show ended. "That would be a good addition to our product line."

A young voice from the front of the stage spoke. "That sounds like our cue."

Fred and George looked down to see the two people they had been discussing. "You see, my sister and I invented the Rainbow Friends." Fred and George looked at each other.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Fred murmured rhetorically.

After they finished talking to the Weasleys, James and Rose went looking for their mother, and found her just outside the store, talking to an older wizard. They slowed as they came close, noting two things. Judging by the cut and material of his robes, the haughty wizard was very well off at least, but far more important to the twins, their mother was quietly furious with him. They moved up on each side of her staring at the older man. Mary was speaking in a tightly controlled voice. "No. You don't understand. Twenty years ago, He lost the right to order me around. I made an attempt at peace fifteen years ago, and again ten years ago and was snubbed both times. So you just run on back to the Patriarch and tell him that if he wants to talk to Robert and I, he can damn well come to us." James and Rose blinked as they heard their mother swear for the first time. Mary put an arm around her children. "Now, if you will excuse us, My Children and I have things to do." Something in the way she stressed the words 'my children' made the older man flinch.

As they started to turn away, he spoke again. "Don't you dare turn your back on me Marilyn P"

Mary twisted, cutting his sentence off as if she had used a knife. "Are you stupid, or merely so arrogant that a new thought can't penetrate your skull? My name is Mary Evans. I neither acknowledge nor answer to anything else." As the silver haired wizard started to lose his regal bearing, James and Rose took a hand in the situation. They moved up next to him, and each of them gripped the sleeves of his robes, pulling him down to where they could speak quietly in his ear.

They used the back and forth speech that always made people stop and listen to them to be sure they heard correctly. "Sir, we don't know you,"

"But you're annoying our mother,"

"And we don't like that."

"So unless you want us to cause"

"A very messy and very public"

"Spectacle in the street,"

"You'll leave right now." They let him go and moved back to stand next to their mother, pulling a handful of disks from their pockets as they did so. The older wizard stared at them, flushing an angry red.

He looked around, at the people watching them, and spoke again. "You have not heard the end of this Marilyn Elizabeth Pendragon."

With that parting comment, he Disapparated away, leaving the twins in shock. Mom was a Pendragon? The Pendragons were the oldest and largest family in the wizard world with the sole exception of the Merlins, and the two families had intermarried so many times over the years that they were practically one family. They put the disks away, deep in the silent link they shared. Mary sighed, looking at them. "I think we'll be having that talk a little sooner than I had planned on." She took a deep breath, pushing her anger down as she started walking again. The twins trailed after, and after a few steps, began giggling. Mary looked at them, instantly recognizing the signs. "What did you do to him?"

Rose spoke first. "When we had his sleeves, I planted a 'Dirty Face' on his robes."

James attempted to look innocent, although the mischief in his eyes ruined the act. "It should go well with the 'Tattered Robes' one I planted on him." Mary burst out laughing at the thought of the regal wizard looking like a beggar.

When she stopped, she looked sideways at her children. "You do know that was the Merlin don't you? Senior member of the Merlin clan?" James and Rose lit up, and stopped. James pulled a small notebook from his robes and wrote something down.

He grinned at Rose. "That leaves just six more to go." Mary raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

Answering the unspoken question, Rose smiled at their mother. "We're trying to prank at least one member of every family in the North American Book of Gold before we go to school in the fall."

James was checking the book again. "We've got just six families left, and then possibly five more, where the person we pranked was only married into the family."

Mary shook her head. "The Book of Gold? You aim high don't you?" The Book of Gold was a list of the 30 oldest and biggest wizard families in North America, and held such families as the Pendragons, Merlins, Penwall and more.

"You know what dad says, 'Always reach as high as you can,'" James and Rose chorused, " 'you may not succeed, but you'll get somewhere at least' "

As they reached a tailor's shop and Mary stopped to go in she smiled at her children again. " I believe he was talking about business when he said that."

The twins turned identical innocent looks on her. "But Mom, pranks are our business." Mary laughed, and warned the twins that these people were old friends, and not to prank them. Flushing at the reminder of their misguided prank on Constance earlier, they agreed.

Inside the shop, Mary led them towards the back, waving at some of the people working. The smell of fabrics filled the air, and there were a goodly number of people being fitted for robes. In the back of the store, an old man was sewing a robe, and murmuring quietly while he did. James and Rose caught the flash of magic around his fingers and the needle as he sewed and looked at each other. Mary spoke to him, using the same pathetic tone she had tried to use on Kevil earlier. "Pardon me, but do you have a job for me?"

The old wizard's fingers kept sewing even as he looked up at Mary, smiling broadly. "For you? No, I don't think so. Last time I gave you a job, you were here barely three years, and you left to get married. Now you have children. Come see me when they're grown and gone."

Mary sighed theatrically. "Then who should I see about fittings?" She asked. The tailor looked at the twins, and sobered.

Without taking his eyes from them, he questioned Mary. "I suppose you'll be wanting the special robes?"

Mary was just as sober. "Of course. I could have gotten regular robes anywhere, and not come halfway across the country for them."

The old man nodded, finished with his inspection of the twins. "See Ronald then, and tell him what you want." Mary touched the elderly tailor, and thanked him. The affection was back as he shooed them off. "Go child, you're interfering with my profit margin."

Mary was smiling, remembering her years of working in this shop, before she married Robert. She found Ronald, and they exchanged hugs before he started measuring the twins. As he worked, He and Mary kept up a constant stream of talk about people they knew. When the twins were done, they moved to the front of the shop to watch the street as Mary was measured for robes. After they were done, and the robes paid for, they headed to the Final Port to meet their father for lunch. Along the way, Mary cautioned them about the Inn. "Kids, this is a strange place, but two things will never change about it. Everyone in there is a good person, no matter what they look like, and you'll always be safe there." Despite their attempts, that was all Mary would say. By the time they reached the entrance, the twins were wildly curious.

The entrance to the Port was in an alley, and was a simple door, with no sign or anything to show what was inside. When Mary knocked on the door, a man opened it. Possibly, he was a short giant because the man that opened the door had to duck to stick his head out, and his shoulders were every bit as wide as the door. James was certain he could have taken the door's place quite easily. He looked at them, greeting Mary and then looked at the twins. For one brief second, they felt something, as if his eyes looked under their skin, into their very souls. Eyes wide they stared at him, until he nodded slowly, and moved aside to let them in.

Inside the door, James and Rose looked around slightly disappointed. After the cryptic comments their mother had given, they were expecting a dim smoky hole in the wall, with strange beings and sneaky bearings. What they saw was a well lit and clean Inn, with about fifteen tables, most of which had normal looking people at them. Robert waved at them from one of the tables, and they joined him. Chatter about their morning took them through lunch, which was a savory stew with warm breadsticks and a tart cranberry juice to wash it down. Robert nearly choked on a breadstick when he heard they'd pranked the Merlin. "Pompous fool needs it." Was all he would say about it, although there was an undercurrent of anger in his voice when he spoke of the Merlin.

As they were eating the strawberry pie that was desert, James frowned. He had just seen a wizard appear from one of the three booths he could see from his seat. He caught Rose's eye and they spoke silently. Watching the booths, they soon realized there was some sort of spell on them. When a person went into the booth, you could not see them until they left it again. When James said something to his father about it, Robert just shrugged. "Not all of the clients want to be seen." was all he would say and then he changed the subject.

After lunch, they spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering through the smaller shops, looking at rare things, and many strange things. Robert bought Mary a magic backscratcher that sent the twins to whispering together. Their parents just shook their heads, knowing that a new prank was being born, based on the backscratcher somehow. In a bookstore, James found a nearly unread copy of a book and bought it for Rose; telling her that if she was going to dream about it, she could read about it too. Rose looked at the cover. "Hogwarts, a History" she read, and flipped to the index. "Look at this, Lily and Harry are mentioned in here." Mary and Robert had to drag them away from the book at that point. The twins found a Muggle thing, and bought it after playing with it for a few minutes. They gave it to their father, saying it could replace his computer. After looking at the 'Magic eight ball' Robert laughed, and agreed it would work just as well for wizard business.

After a while, Mary gave the twins the port key, and they said good-bye, with hugs all around. As the twins ported home, Mary and Robert smiled at each other, and headed for Mary's old apartment, unaware of the bright red hearts on their backs, which read "We're in Love" every time they touched. Back at the house, James and Rose pulled out the little book and made a notation. "That gives us a Pendragon by birth, and an Evans."

The voice that came from the shadows was low, and very menacing. "And two dead children who don't pay attention to what's around them."

A/N: A low menacing voice in the shadows? Tune in next chapter to find out who or what the voice belongs to, although readers with a good memory should be able to guess. At this point, Twins vs. Twins and Mary's story are the shorts of the day, along with Interlude chapters one and two, Letters, and all of Mercy's story. I have to assume that if you're reading Prophecy, you've already read Elric's story, as that was the very first part of the story, sort of the Prologue. Of course, now comes the standard request for reviews. However, I hate standard, so I'm going to ask another way. ~~~Gets on knees~~ **Begging tone** Please review my work, or I shall surely pine away to nothing... and then I would leave you with just ten plot bunnie stories and eight chapters posted. Since that doesn't even finish first year... well, you get the idea. Read and review please. ~~~Gets off knees~~~ Ok, see you next chapter, dear readers.