Prophecy

Chapter 21: Manticore revealed

Manticore arrived in Hogsmeade several hours before the families would start arriving by Portkey, and the time was used to make last minute adjustments in the plans for the day. Rose and Melissa were worn to a frazzle, as they had been up all night working on something, and even Lisa's coffee only had so much affect on a person.

James sent them to a quiet corner to catch some sleep before the families arrived, as he wanted all of Chimera at their best. Today, Manticore would tell the families everything. How they were going to react was a matter of furious debate over the links and among the various members of Manticore without links.

Several of the families of course, already knew about it, and would be speaking on Manticore's behalf. The entire Weasley clan would be there, along with a good many of the Borderers; mostly Rangers that Alexander had approached. The Borderers had been nearly decimated during the Voldemort War since nobody would help them on the borders, and this time Alexander was not going to lose so many friends and comrades in another war.

Almost all of the people from the first meeting in Dumbledore's office two years ago would be there, except for Jose Amigo, who was not at all willing to show his face at such a large gathering. Jose was a spy, who walked in the shadowy world of Wizard criminals, and to show up at a meeting like this would be folly.

Robert agreed, and added another reason. There were a few people here that had worked as Aurors at one time or another, and they might recognize Jose as one of the criminal element that most Wizards barely knew existed. Having ties to the criminals would not be a good thing at this point, although it could be revealed later, after Manticore and Cumulus had proven themselves.

James kept running around double-checking things until Mary simply stopped Tiffany and handed her a brush. "Take him away, and don't let him go until he's relaxed enough to stop this crap. Robert is bad enough, I don't need two of them running around."

Tiffany smiled at James's mother. "He'll never relax that much. Maybe I should find him an animal to rescue while we wait."

Mary Evans rolled her eyes. "Goodness no, we don't need him showing up all bloody and covered in fur." They shared a quick smile as James came up.

He was looking at the brush as he replied to his mother's comment. "I don't always get hurt rescuing things."

Mary looked at him and smiled gently as she hugged him. "James, do you realize that by the time you were eight, I had taken enough classes, and gotten enough experience working on you to qualify as a Medihelper?" James blinked as he thought about that. Medihelpers were the same as Paramedics in the Muggle world, but they worked with spells and magic rather than equipment and medicines. Before he could say anything though, Tiffany was pulling him away by the hand. Five minutes later, they were lost in the reverie that only came with the Soulbonded touch of each other.

Adam was discussing the order of people that would be speaking with Robert, and looking at the notes and references that Robert had amassed for this day. Adam was quietly impressed with the forethought Robert showed, having never thought of running a large business in strategic terms.

Robert was quick to disabuse him of the ideas Adam had. "Running a major corporation is very much like low grade warfare. You have your side, which consists of you and all the people that work for, or with you. You also have the enemy, which is everybody else that can or will take your business or customers. The only difference between what you're doing, and what I have to do, is that I can't shoot or curse the enemy. Much as I'd like to sometimes."

Adam was also impressed with the speed with which Robert made decisions. He wasn't as smart as Lisa, or as methodical as Emily in researching things, but he had decades of experience to draw on, and an ability to take three or four facts and put together a working plan with enough flexibility to account for any sudden changes. Unlike James, who thrived on tension and was always in motion, Robert had an aura of calm and relaxation that fooled people who didn't know him.

Adam though was learning, as he worked with Robert that aura covered a controlled energy that rivaled James. He had a sudden picture of James in ten years or so, with the same controlled way, until he remembered that James probably wouldn't live long enough to get that aura, because of the Soulbond.

Lisa and Jerrick were going through the mass of data that had accumulated while Manticore was at the training site, and that had not been considered important enough to pass on to Jerrick while he was training. There was a great deal of it, but since Jerrick's father was the person that looked at it while they were in Training, most of it was merely random data. Lisa did stop and look at one piece of information for several minutes before passing it to Jerrick. They had a quick conversation, and Jerrick ended up sending off an owl at Lisa's request.

Emma and Hangeld had been drafted to help Phoenix set up the benches and other things in the conference tent that Cumulus had set up. They were also keeping an eye on more than twenty long boxes set up along the wall. The boxes contained the Starblades for Manticore and those members of the Wolfpack that could use them.

They were sitting on a bench talking about their next experiment when Emily approached them. "I need a favor. Can you talk to James for a minute?"

Emma reached for James, using the link. "James? Are you busy?"

"Just having a bit of enforced relaxation, what's up?" James's voice was calm and suffused with the enjoyment of having Tiffany brushing his hair.

"Emily wants to have a word with you." James focused slightly, without losing the feeling Tiffany and he were sharing, and Emma felt Tiffany join him, listening to her.

Emma turned to Emily, and told her she had James's attention. Emily nodded and began talking, referring to notes in her little book. "Ok, it's fairly simple; I was researching something in 'Hogwarts, a History' and I found a room with no doors, and I was wondering if I could use whatever it that James and Tiffany use to find their way around Hogwarts, I assume it is some type of map, and that it has to be magical, but I was wondering if I could borrow it," she looked at her notes again, and continued while Emma was still passing that to James and Tiffany, "because according to the map in the book, the Endless stairway touches one point of the third floor every twenty minutes, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't have any doors there, so I checked the dimensions of the known rooms on the third floor, and there is a space there that would hold a room about the size of Gryffindor's common room, however, there are no marked entrances anywhere, and as far as I can tell, there are no doors into it, and I was hoping their magical aid would show it."

Emma passed the entire thing to James, who was impressed. "She said all that in one sentence? Did she stop to breathe at all?"

"You know Emily, when she's researching something, she doesn't stop for anything, including minor things like eating and breathing." Emma said dryly.

"Tell her to get with us when we get back to school, and we'll show her our little map." Tiffany said, "but right now, it is my turn to be brushed."

Emma relayed the information as the feel of the pair faded out, and Emily sighed. "I was hoping to solve this before the week was out, so I could move on to something else." She looked at the boxes. "What's with all the Broomsticks?"

Emma stared at her. "How did you know what they were?"

Emily shrugged. "Given what James has been saying about the different performances capabilities of the broomsticks, and the fact that he's obsessed with making sure we can all survive this project, I had to assume he would be doing something about the Broomstick problem. Given his family ties to Cumulus and the Starblade company, I assume they're Starblades as well."

Emily thought for a minute, putting the pieces together. "He's going to use them as some sort of proof of Manticore's commitment to the Prophecy."

Emma and Hangeld looked at each other and then at Emily. "You should keep your logic quiet," Hangeld suggested. "James wants it to be a surprise."

"I know that, it wouldn't have nearly the impact on the families if everyone knew about it in advance." Emily smiled at the two of them. "Just because I have a book with me most of the time doesn't mean I don't pay attention to what's around me."

She wandered off, pulling another book from her robes as she went, leaving Emma and Hangeld staring after her, bemused.

The families were scheduled to arrive over a four-hour period, and since they had the schedule, Manticore was able to make sure each family was met by their children. They couldn't hide the tension in the air though, and it was a quiet gathering, as the families talked to children they had not seen in nearly a year. As soon as the last family had arrived, the list of families was taken to Robert, who examined it for any surprises. Since Rose had made extensive use of her Sight for this, there weren't any, and Robert set the first plans in motion.

The family heads were given two envelopes. One was sealed, and they were asked to hold on to those, while the other had a sheet of paper with a question on it. The head of each family was asked to write their responses on the paper, and seal it in the second envelope.

After each team leader reported that they had all the responses written down and sealed, the Family heads, whoever they were, were taken into the large tent Robert had set up for this event. When everyone was inside, Robert and Mary warded the tent, so that nobody outside the tent could hear what was going on inside. The family members left outside were not too bothered by this, as Cumulus had spent a couple of days setting up several activities for them to do while the discussion was going on, and there was a carnival air outside the tent.

When Robert and Mary were done with the wards, Robert walked to the podium set on a raised platform in the front of the tent, and took a second to look around. Besides the podium, there were three rows of chairs on the platform, and setting in them were most of the people that would be speaking for Manticore. There were several Weasleys, who had gained an amazing reputation during the Voldemort War, as well as the Clearwaters, Harry and Ginny Potter, and Albus Dumbledore. Chimera was also there, and the back row was a veritable who's who of the Rangers, including Falcon, Blacklegs, Alexander and Martin, as well as several other names from the Voldemort War who were in on the secret already.

Robert had found recruiting easier in Europe simply because so many people had been so intimately affected by the Voldemort war, and they were more willing to make sure it didn't happen again. In addition, he had the advantage of being able to call on the veterans of the last war, who had given him more names to work with.

Deciding he'd delayed long enough, he looked at over the crowd, noting the tension in the air, and the looks on their faces. He held up a hand full of notes. "When I first started planning this, I planned to treat it like a business meeting, and I was wrong," he said calmly, as the people quieted to hear what he was going to say. "I'm going to talk to you, not as a businessman, but as a parent with children involved in this thing. I have to apologize to you first. Manticore is an educational society, as your children's grades should be reflecting, but that is not its primary purpose."

He took a deep breath, and forged on. "Manticore's purpose, and the reason that you haven't seen your children much, is to protect us all against a Dark Wizard that will make Voldemort look like a baby throwing a temper tantrum."

An instant of silence after he finished talking exploded into shouts and cries. He held up his hand, and waited patiently for the people to quiet down again. "I know this sounds bad, but I am asking you to hear me out, and allow me to answer any questions you may have before making up your mind."

In the silence, he began with Elric and Cassandra's story, and laid out what had happened to them. At the appropriate point, the Manticores handed a copy of the Prophecy to their parents, and Robert walked them through it, as he'd done so many times before, including for James and Rose. Several questions were asked, and he answered them as best he could. When he was done, Manticore's history was gone over, including the links. The dissolvable nature of the links was stressed, and Robert finished the initial argument.

"I am now going to open the floor for your questions," he said, and they were not long in coming.

"How are children going to defend us all? Why aren't you using adults for this?" asked one parent, who James recognized as Mr. Higgs, father of Debra and Lily Higgs of the Unicorn team.

"That is at once a simple question, and a very complex one." Robert said. "First, we are drawing from adults, and if you're willing, some of you have skills and experience that we will draw on, now that you know about this project. The eight are the age they are, and there is nothing we can do about that. The rest of the children though, will not be children when the war starts, as the worst case has it starting in three years, although the Seer thinks it will be in four, and I believe her."

Robert sighed. "I would prefer not to have to do this at all, but as it has fallen to us to do it, we should have the best possible chance. Unlike the last war, we know this one is coming, and we can prepare, which includes training the people that will be in the thick of it. Every Manticore will have a minimum of six years of training when it starts, and won't be reaching middle age, like most of us will be. They're going to still have the reflexes and reactions of youth, combined with the experience of years of training, something we adults simply cannot take the time for. We have jobs, families to support, and no time to learn all the things we need to learn."

"There is one other thing as well. Almost all of us are Wizards, used to living in the Wizard world, and we don't have the faintest clue about Muggle things, but in order to keep our children alive, we're teaching them about the Muggles, and their devices, and it's easier for a child or younger person to wrap their minds around new concepts and ideas." Robert smiled wryly. "I myself run a company in both worlds, and have been doing so for twenty years. I have access to Muggle devices that can send a letter around the world in seconds, and yet, my first impulse when I need to send something is to look for an owl."

He looked around, at the people slowly nodding in agreement, and noting the ones that still looked stubborn, and there were far too many of those still. "As for using the people that are Muggles, or Muggleborn Wizards, but adults, they have the same problem in reverse. They tend to look for Muggle answers first, and ignore the magical answers. What we need are people that are equally comfortable in either world, and there simply are not that many of those. We almost have to train them all from the start."

The next question was much easier to answer, and opened a line Robert had been hoping for. Mrs. Redstone, mother of Teun Redstone of the Phoenix team asked, "Why isn't the Ministry of Magic involved in this?"

Robert looked through his notes and held up two letters. "This letter was written by one of the people that know about the Prophecy, and details everything we can prove, and what we think, making clear distinctions between them. It was sent to the Ministry a month ago. Two days later, we got this letter back, and this is what is written in it."

Robert opened the second letter, and began reading it.

"'To: Mr. Jackson:

Sir, we have studied your letter in depth, and can assure you that there is no basis of fact in it. The story of the Prophecy given in your letter is impossible, as no Soulbonded couple has ever survived more than seconds after the death of their other half, and it is impossible for two people to occupy one body in any case.'"

Robert stopped reading, and looked over to the bench where the Xaviers sat. "Mr. Xavier, would you care to respond to that, as it is your family that is being maligned here?"

Melissa's father, Johann Xavier, stood up. "Eight hundred years ago, Debra Xavier was the MediWitch that took care of Elric Evans after the death of Cassandra Evans. I have here the copies of her notes and the medical records of Mr. Evans that we have kept ever since, along with the copy of the Prophecy that Debra kept for herself." He looked at the notes, and held them up. "Fact: Cassandra Evans died May 16^th, and Elric was brought to the hospital and admitted that same day. He did in fact live until the next day, and died on May 17^th. This has been recorded in every book on Soulbonds since then, since it remains the only time a Soulbonded couple has failed to die within seconds of each other. Fact: Debra Xavier was the MediWitch assigned to the case, and by use of a potion, managed to communicate with Elric."

He looked up, and smiled. "Whether his words were the raving of a madman or Prophecy is the point we are discussing now, so I will not go into that. Fact: In casting the spells that allow a MediWitch to see the mind and vital signs of a patient, Debra found several anomalies, including a female aura residing in Eric's body with his, according to her notes and the official conclusions of a panel set up to examine the death afterwards."

He regarded the crowd soberly. "As to the Ministry's claim that two people cannot occupy the same body, I need only point to the fact that a Professor at Hogwarts managed to keep Voldemort in his body for most of a school year, right here, and that can be attested to by Professor Dumbledore, as well as several others here." He sat down, and the crowd turned back towards Robert Evans as they buzzed with speculation.

Robert waited for the murmurs to stop, and continued quoting from the letter. "In addition to that, while the half-giant ancestry of the Hagrids is common knowledge, and there are in fact both a Soulbonded couple and a Healer currently at Hogwarts, after careful examination, we cannot find any evidence of the other so-called 'Eight' residing anywhere in the country at this time, nor is there a Seer currently alive."

Robert looked up, and turned to Albus Dumbledore. "Headmaster Dumbledore, have you been asked about the students in your school?"

Professor Dumbledore stood up, and spoke in a low voice that carried throughout the tent. "Neither myself, nor any member of my staff have been approached about the students in the school at this time."

Robert nodded, waited for the Headmaster sat back down, and then looked at three other men, while speaking to the crowd. "Almost all of you will remember that Ron Weasley, Alexander Evans and Mr. Clearwater were the driving forces behind the strategic and tactical decisions during the Voldemort war. Gentlemen, would one of you care to speak?"

Robert got a surprise this time, as a woman stood up. "Actually," she said, "I have the privilege to speak now." Murmurs rose through the crowd as the people that recognized Athena Clearwater told their neighbors who she was. "I am Athena Clearwater, and I have been listening to my husband, Mr. Evans and Mr. Weasley talk about Adam Brooks for over a year now, and it is their consensus that Mr. Brooks will be at least as good as any one of them, probably better, at strategy with a bit more training and some experience."

More murmurs ran through the crowd at that, and most people turned to look at the quiet boy sitting with the rest of the Eight. Robert waited, and looked at the letter again. "The Ministry admits the existence of the Soulbonded and the Healer, as well as Hangeld Hagrid's half-giant ancestry. We have offered all the proof we have of the Warrior, and that leaves the Seer, the Mental Wizard and the Fireheart. We shall now offer a bit of proof of the Mental Wizard. Madame Weasley, would you like to speak?"

Hermione Granger-Weasley stood up, and faced the crowd. "I am Hermione Granger-Weasley, and I have been corresponding with Miss Lisa Malfoy for almost two years, and have met with her on several occasions, and it is my opinion, and the opinions of the professors at Hogwarts that Lisa is at least as smart as I am, and possibly even more so." The talk was louder this time, fueled by the Malfoy name, and by hearing the woman that had written nearly a dozen books, including two new textbooks used in almost every magical school admitting that she thought that a child was her equal.

One of the more emotional parents made a comment about Lisa that carried to James's ears. He stood up, and spoke. "I realize that Lisa's father may have been evil, but I have been linked to Lisa for nearly two years now, and her Honor is above reproach. I will even say that she is more honorable than I am, and she is not to blame for what her father did, years before she was born."

"Who are you, that your opinion matters?" Mr. Painter, father of Andrea Painter, was openly scornful.

James looked at him, and the rest of Chimera felt Tiffany calming him, before he said something rash. Before he said anything, Andrea spoke up. "He's the boy that defended a girl from two boys, without knowing anymore than she was being picked on, and the leader of our group. I would follow him anywhere, and if he says something, I believe him. James has never lied to any of us." Andrea stared at her father, and there was something behind the choice of her words, undercurrents that spoke of strained relations between her and her father. Mr. Painter colored, but didn't say anything else as other Manticores agreed loudly with Andrea. James sat back down, and Robert looked out over the crowd again.

"For our proof of the Seer, we have prepared a display. Earlier today, you were all given a slip of paper with a question on it, and asked to write down your answer. At the same time, you were given a sealed envelope. I would ask that you now look at that sealed slip of paper, and compare what's written there with your answer." Robert waited, as everyone compared the two slips. "Now, would anyone who has different answers please raise their hand?"

Only one hand went up, and Rose spoke before he could say anything. "My fault, Sir. I was up late last night writing those, and yours was one of the last ones I did. Your answer and mine are almost the same, but I used the American spelling of Meters, and yours has the English version, Metres."

Mr. House agreed that that was the difference between the two papers, and then Mrs. Righter stood up. "How do we know this isn't some type of spell, that simply transferred our answers to the sealed paper?"

Rose smiled at her and spoke. "That is a fair question. Anna, would you give your mother the third envelope I gave you please?" Anna Righter, a Phoenix in her seventh year, handed her mother the envelope Rose has given her after she had given Anna the first two.

Mrs. Righter read the note aloud. "You will ask if this couldn't be a spell of some type. You will be sitting on the third bench on the right, and will be the sixth person from the end. You will be wearing lilac robes and have your shoes off." There was a localized motion, as those close enough to see craned their necks to see if her shoes were off.

Robert Evans frowned as he counted heads. "Rose, she's only the fifth person from the end."

Rose shook her head. "Not exactly. Mrs. Rollins, Harry's mother is pregnant, and I counted her child."

Harry looked at his mother in shock. "Mom?"

Mrs. Rollins smiled, and laid her hand on her belly in a gesture as old as motherhood. "That is proof enough for me, as I only found out yesterday, and I haven't told anyone, since I wanted the whole family to find out at once."

Robert Evans smiled. "Congratulations." He looked around. "Does anyone else need more proof?"

Nobody said anything, and Robert looked at his notes again. "We have shown our proof of the Soulbonded, Mental Wizard, Warrior, Half-Human, Healer and the Seer. The last one though, is a bit harder to prove. Short of placing Miss Weasley in a life threatening position and observing her reactions, I cannot think of any way to do it." He looked up at the crowd. "If any of you can think of a way to test that, without risking the life of one of the Eight, I would be glad to hear it."

Robert looked at the letter in his hand again. "Where was I...here it is." He continued reading. "'As for the chances of any finding and using Voldemort's spellbooks, that is impossible, as they were destroyed in the assault on his stronghold at the end of the war.'" Robert looked up. "If that is so, why is the government wasting money looking for them? Even in America, the Aurors have standing orders to investigate any rumours of the Voldemort spellbooks."

He looked back at the paper in his hand. "Here is the part that really interests me. Most of you will remember that Voldemort had to actually invade the Ministry of Magic during the second phase of the war before the Ministry would admit he was back. I would invite you to compare their reactions then, to this last paragraph." He read the last paragraph into a dead silence, as the families waited to hear what it said.

"'In the interests of public peace of mind, and to prevent the panic that spreading these unfounded rumors could cause, we ask that you refrain from mentioning this theory to anyone. The Ministry assures you that there is no fact to any of this.'" Robert looked up. "The letter is signed by Cornelius Fudge."

"I may," Robert admitted, "be wrong about the Prophecy happening now. In fact, I hope I am. I would prefer to be wrong, and let these children grow up in peace. However, I don't think I am, and to bury my head in the sand, as the Ministry did before, and seems to be doing again, is the height of folly. Can anyone here say I am wrong about that?"

Nobody said anything, and Robert judged that he'd said enough for now, and called a lunch break. As the families ate, the Manticores answered their questions, or passed the questions they couldn't answer up the line to someone who could answer it. By the time Robert called them all back into the tent, and warded it again, he had a list of questions and concerns that the families had raised during lunch.

"I'm going to address everyone's concerns, and if you have some that you haven't mentioned for whatever reason, I'll be here all week. Any of you are asked to talk to me, or Mary Evans at any time. I would prefer to miss an hour or two of sleep to allay any fears you may have than have you go away unsatisfied."

With that, Robert began answering some of the more common concerns that had been raised at lunch and answering the questions that he raised while talking to the families. By the time the dinner hour came, he was getting hoarse, but most of the families were coming around to his way of thinking. The single biggest exception to that was Mr. Painter, who continued to be disdainful and rude. James had been soothed so many times by Tiffany, that Chimera was half expecting it to stop working, and James was about to boil over on to Mr. Painter. Tiffany took James somewhere during dinner, and when they came back, James was calm, even relaxed. Rose looked at him, and then at Tiffany.

"Can you teach that trick to the rest of us?" she asked.

Tiffany blushed and stammered slightly as she answered the question, without meeting anyone's eyes. "No, it's a Soulbond thing. We found the way to control the rapport, but along the way, we've found ways to intensify it as well." Chimera stared at the blushing girl, and then at James, who was lost in his thoughts.

"Right," said Emma firmly, "I think we're about to cross the TMI line."

Mercy was sitting next to them, and looked up at Emma spoken comment. "What is a TMI line?" she asked curiously.

Rose grinned at her. "TMI stands for Too Much Information."

Jerrick, sitting a couple of seats down, disagreed. "There's no such thing," he said, "it's all information, even if you don't have a purpose for it yet."

Sonya was sitting next to him, and leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Jerrick blinked, and turned to look at her. Sonya was eating, and determinedly not looking his way, as her cheeks burned red. Jerrick stared at her for a minute, and then he started blushing, an event watched with smiles. "I was wrong," he said quietly, as he turned bright red. "There is such a thing as too much information."

Quiet laughter from the Manticores that heard the exchange, and the linked ones that it was passed to, met this admission from Jerrick.

After dinner, the family heads went back into the tent while Manticore and the rest of the family members were chatting. Manticore had known that it was going to happen, but they still watched the tent, wondering what was going on in there. The adults stayed in the tent until nearly midnight, and came very close to driving James mad until Rose and Tiffany distracted him by getting him to work on a charm to break the wards around the tent. He was still working on it when the adults came out, and he didn't stop, as he was in the middle of something crucial and time critical.

Robert had come over and was watching him. "What did you set him to doing? I had figured he'd be climbing the walls by now."

Rose blushed, and muttered something indistinct. Robert wasn't fooled for a minute. He knew as well as they did that they wouldn't lie outright, and that answer was just a way of avoiding the question. He looked at the things spread out around James as he worked and started identifying the things James was working with. It took him about three minutes to figure it out. "You set James to breaking the wards?"

Rose and Tiffany both blushed, but before they could answer Robert, James finished what he was doing and spoke up absently. "They thought it might keep me out of trouble, but I think they're going to be in trouble when you see this."

Robert looked down. "Please don't tell me you found a way to break my wards."

James looked up and grinned. "Not yet, but I did make a new thingie, trying to combine Muggle ideas with magic. It uses a Magicrystal as the base, and combines the recording capabilities of Lisa's crystal with flight. You remember that show we saw, about unmanned aerial reconnaissance planes? I was trying to create something like that, only one that could burrow underground, as your wards don't cover the floor. They prevent sound from leaving the tent, but do not prevent things from coming into the tent." He made a couple of more notes, as he continued to speak.

All of Chimera was used to James in creation mode, and watched him with a grin. "Anyway, I haven't quite got the burrowing down yet, but a simple twist on the same spell gave it a type of flight. It's only good for a couple of klicks, (Klick=Kilometer. Raven) but unlike Lisa's toy, you get sound and vision when it gets back, and during its flight you can tap it, but you can't record it, only watch what it sees." He frowned, as he inspected the 'thingie'. "Rose, remind me to take a couple of classes in aviation when I get a chance. This thing should be faster, but I don't know how to shape it properly."

Alexander had come out with Robert, and he was looking at the 'thingie' with interest. "James, are you saying that this thing can overfly a valley and send back real-time pictures?"

James looked up, still far away in his thoughts. "I believe that's what I just said."

Alexander looked sharply at him, but he recognized the signs of James creating as well as the others and dropped it. It didn't do any good to say anything to him when he was like this, if it didn't have to do with whatever he was working on, he simply didn't hear it. "How much is it going to cost, and how soon before I can get a couple?"

Rose grinned at Alexander. "Uncle, you know better than to ask James that question. The prices are my department."

Alexander muttered something that sounded like money hungry twerp, but Rose took no notice. She and James consulted about the thingie for a minute, and Rose took out a parchment. She began scribbling notes as Lisa watched.

Lisa smiled at Alexander sweetly. "I hope they pay you Rangers well."

Alexander frowned. "Not that well," he admitted. "Why?"

"I've been watching them set prices for months now, and the more notes Rose makes the more an item costs."

Alexander looked at Rose, busily figuring out the cost of the thingie and watched her for a minute. "I hope she gives me a family discount," he said.

Rose didn't even look up. "Business is business, Family is family, and never the twain shall meet."

Robert grinned at his brother. "I'll float you a loan if you need it."

James looked up from his work. "Actually Rose, give him the first one for free."

Rose and Robert looked at James as if he'd suddenly grown another head.

James grinned at their expressions. "There will be a cost however, just not in money."

Robert sighed in relief. "I thought you'd blown a gasket for a minute."

James sighed in mock sorrow. "Father, please. Think about this. Uncle Alexander is a Ranger, and they have hundreds of miles of border to watch. With these things, they can stay in groups, and still watch the borders closer than if they were actually walking them. In fact, they could use enough of them to maintain 24 hour coverage across the entire border."

He looked at Alexander. "All you have to do, is use yours, and show it to any Ranger that asked." He looked thoughtful for a minute, and then grinned slyly. "If you use it on a really nasty night, when the rest of them are getting wet and cold walking the borders, we'll even work out a commission for Ranger sales."

Alexander sighed. "Robert, I detect your hand in this twisted young man's thinking."

Robert smiled at James and his brother. "Yes, he's going to make a great leader for Cumulus."

Rose frowned, and James felt the twitch in her emotions. "Rose?"

Rose didn't look up from the sheet she was writing on. "If you live long enough to be a leader."

James put his hand on Rose's shoulder. "Even if I'm not alive, I'll still be there for you. None of us will pass on until the last of us do, remember?"

"Thanks, I can have a ghost peering over my shoulder for fifty years."

"Hey, you can always try the 'Polter-grip' on me, if I annoy you too much." James was deliberately being silly, and Rose frowned at him.

"You know better than that," she said aloud, as she passed the sheet she'd been working on to him. "What do you think? Can we lower this?"

Robert and Alexander were used to them saying things that made no apparent sense, unless you knew that most of their conversations were silent, and ignored the comments they didn't understand. James was reading over the notes Rose had made and frowned thoughtfully. "Not really. Most of the cost is in the Magicrystals, and unless we can find a regular supply that isn't too expensive, we can't afford to lower that. We can save a bit in spellwork, if we start making them in large quantities, but that's about it."

Alexander grinned wryly. "If they're too costly, you're not going to get many Ranger sales."

Rose shrugged. "What is your security worth?" she quoted one of Alexander's favorite sayings.

James nodded. "Right, plus we might be able to work something out, in trade or payments. We could use some goodwill among the Rangers, and the rest of the Borderers."

They discussed the possibilities for a few more minutes and then most of the group headed off to bed, leaving James and Tiffany to themselves.

James smiled at Tiffany. "My Lady, would you care to dance?"

"But of course." Tiffany and James got their Starblades, and took off, heading for the starlit sky. Both of them loved to fly, but between Manticore and Quidditch, they rarely got a chance to fly just for fun, and they took full advantage of this opportunity, swooping and diving through the night sky. They flew close enough to hold hands if they wished, tied together by the bond that allowed them to make any maneuver together. They didn't speak, not even as Chimera used the link, but spoke on a level they had not revealed to anyone, where they could not tell which of them had a thought, or which answered it.

The next two days saw the gradual conversion of almost all of the families, as Robert talked to them. The dedication of the Evans's, and the reputations of the other families involved helped a great deal, as did the Manticores themselves.

The Manticores were a big part of persuading the families. They were showing the effects of constant training and responsibility. They had an air about them that impressed people. Between known facts, the Prophecy and the Manticores themselves, by Wednesday only Mr. Painter still refused to allow his daughter to be a Manticore. Robert and Mary spent nearly two hours talking to him, but they could not sway him, and they came away from that meeting convinced that Andrea would be pulled from Manticore.

Rose was quiet about the whole thing, except to say that Andrea would be one of the Manticores, and to tell James to stay out of it. She talked to Tiffany, and made sure that Tiffany made him stay out of it.

Wednesday night, just after dinner, Andrea took her father into one of the small meeting tents, and they were in there for more than four hours. When they came out, the Painters left except for Andrea who would only say that she was a Manticore. James finally took her aside and wormed the story out of her. Andrea and her father had never gotten along very well, and Andrea had simply told him that she was going to do this. When he threatened to not pay for the last year of school, she reminded him that Manticore was paying for it anyway, and that by the time she left school, she would be of age. All he could do was prevent her from attending Hogwarts for a year, and that wouldn't matter, as she would be able to come back to Manticore after school.

Mr. Painter finally told her that she could not come home as long as she was a Manticore, and left with the rest of Andrea's family. James's response to that was to issue her an open invitation to stay with the Evans as long as she wanted.

Thursday, they presented all the Starblades to the Manticores and Wolfpack at a ceremony Chimera whipped up. The award of the Broomsticks were a sign that a person had graduated to full fledged Manticore, and would be awarded now at the end of your first year with Manticore.

The rest of that week and the next was fun and contests, and just plain relaxation, as Manticore threw off the stress of the summer and telling the families about their duty. Mary spent most of the time building a support network among the families, so that they could owl each other and reassure anyone that started having doubts.

Using the new broomsticks, Manticore put on a display of aerial ability that had the crowd unsure whether to call for the Mediwizards or to cheer. That lasted until they saw James and Tiffany use the Soulbond to do one of their skydances, in a performance that made the team maneuvers look easy. Knowing exactly where the other person was, and being able to react as one made it possible for James and Tiffany to do things that the Manticores wouldn't even dream of doing.

The Thursday before the first day of school, (which was a Saturday this year) Manticore woke up to find Chimera already up, and with the UTS grins that meant something was going to happen. (UTS = Up To Something. Raven.)

Manticore immediately started checking everything they'd be using today for prank disks or signs of tampering while Chimera watched with amusement. After about an hour James finally found Mercy and Jerrick, who were leading the search. "You can stop looking. The prank was time delayed, and is already on everyone we wanted to catch with it."

Jerrick sighed and closed his eyes. "And just how many of us are going to get it?"

James pretended to think, while his smile grew into a grin. "Well, if it worked, and we set it right, only about..." he hesitated, pretending to count, before continuing. "Everyone."

Mercy looked at him severely. "If I turn into a purple ape again, you're going to regret it, James."

James looked injured. "Please give me more credit than that, I used that prank once already." He grinned again. "Besides, that prank is already in the Green Flower line, as 'Purple Primate' and using it isn't any fun. Anybody can do that one."

"So what are we going to turn into?" asked Jerrick.

"You'll find out." James promised. He frowned. "At least," he confessed, "I hope you do. This is kind of a difficult prank, and it might go a little wrong, if we screwed it up."

Mercy and Jerrick looked at each other, and then back at James. "How exactly can it go wrong?" asked Mercy suspiciously.

James thought about it long enough to make them both nervous. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. Worst case, we'll all be mindless bodies. Best case, we'll all just turn into the opposite gender."

Jerrick and Mercy considered that for a minute. "Are you telling me," asked Jerrick quietly, "That if you made a mistake with this prank, we're going to change sex or be vegetables?"

James nodded. "Yes, but there are a number of other things that could go wrong also. We could be turned inside out, or-"

Mercy interrupted him. "No more. I'll just wait to see what happens." Jerrick agreed with her, and James wandered off to find Tiffany.

"That was cruel, you know. We went over this prank a hundred times, and you and I both know that it's perfect," Tiffany chided him.

"I know, but I've always wanted to tell someone about all the things that could go wrong."

"What do you think your father is going to say about the Codex?" Tiffany asked him.

"I don't know, but I really hope he agrees to tell the rest of Chimera. Hiding that thing will be very hard, considering that we're all going to be bound together for the rest of our lives."

James had decided to ask his father to allow the other members of Chimera the chance to take the Ice Binding oath, and be told about the Draconian Codex. James was merely being pragmatic about it. Since the Chimera link would not be broken until the last Chimera died, and their spirits were freed to go wherever spirits went, James felt that they had a right to know about the Codex. "In fact, let's go find him and talk to him now."

"You go ahead. Since April is here, and we have discreet access to the medical shop, I wanted to get her help." Tiffany blushed slightly, and then grinned at James. "Unless you want to talk to her about it."

James thought about discussing their possible sex life with a woman old enough to be his grandmother, and shook his head, smiling at Tiffany. "No thanks. I'll let you do that, and I'll talk to father."

The two of them separated, and went to speak to the people they needed to talk to. James's talk was the shorter of the two, as Robert had been expecting this conversation for a few months now, but all he would say was that he'd send James an owl in a few days with his decision.

Tiffany's conversation with April Erskine, the elderly Mediwitch that Melissa had gotten to help her document the Soulbond and other links was a lot longer, as the two of them were trying to find replacements for a number of gender based medicines. The Soulbond that allowed them to be so close had a couple of drawbacks, and one of them was that any potion or medicine that worked on a gender would make the other half of the Soulbond ill until it wore off. This included most forms of effective birth control, and that was becoming a problem for them.

James and Tiffany were thirteen by the calendar, but the aging of the Soulbond had them physically seventeen, and they were also experiencing the accelerated hormones of two people in love and lust. They had been snogging for nearly a year now, and it wasn't enough anymore. So far, James's pragmatism and Tiffany's common sense had stopped them from going too far, but neither of them was sure that was going to last much longer.

Tiffany came away from that talk still frustrated, as April was unable to suggest anything that would help, although she did promise to look into it.

The two of them rejoined the rest of Chimera to find the Manticores walking on pins and needles waiting for Chimera's prank to happen. Rose grinned at James as he and Tiffany walked up, hand in hand. "I think the prank is going to be an anti-climax after all the time they've spent waiting for it."

"Maybe, but we all put some good work into this one. If nothing else, it should sell well," James said, watching the Manticores, who were starting to gather in small groups while keeping an eye on Chimera. James smiled to himself. "I think our friends are plotting some revenge."

"No, really?" Rose's sending was thick with sarcasm.

"I hope they come up with something good." James grinned as he watched Sonya, Mercy and Jerrick huddling together and whispering. "I would hate to be pranked by something we created, or that can be bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"You just want to use it as a Green Flower prank if it's any good," said Emma.

James shrugged, and grinned at her. "Hey, we've got all these Starblades to pay for, so I'll be glad to take any decent prank they come up with."

Tiffany watched the three plotters for and minute and then turned to Lisa. "Did you get the list of First Year students from Professor Dumbledore yet?"

"Yes, Jerrick has it, he's starting more of his files."

Tiffany grinned at the thought of Jerrick's files. Most of Manticores knew he had a file on all of them, and some of them knew he had a file on every person in Hogwarts. Very few knew that Jerrick had one of those files for every thing that could think in Hogwarts, from the ghosts to the Sorting Hat. "Anybody interesting on the list this year?"

"Only in personal ways." Lisa's tone was sour, and the rest of Chimera turned to look at her. She sighed, and continued after a few seconds. "One of the Firsts is Draco Malfoy Jr., and he's growing up to be our father's clone."

James turned from watching the Manticores. "Clone in manners, or looks?"

"Both. Father dotes on the little git, and spoils him rotten. He's a perfect Slytherin."

James swore silently. He thought for a minute, considering that. The Malfoys had never come to the family weeks, and Lisa had not pushed it. Since nobody trusted Draco, they were just as happy to have him absent for this week. "Pass the word, I don't want anyone even hinting to him that Manticore is anything but an educational group until I've checked him out, and Rose and Melissa pass him." James rubbed his temples, as he felt the beginnings of a headache, and Tiffany moved closer, rubbing the tight muscles across his shoulders. "Anyone else of interest?"

"Yes, actually," Lisa smiled as she pushed the family problems away. "Tiffany's younger brother and sister start this year, and there's a name you know starting this year."

James looked confused. "Someone I know? From America?"

"No, she's an Irish girl, named Raven Wood, daughter of Sean Wood." Lisa was watching for James's reaction, and he didn't disappoint her.

James blinked, and then smiled widely. "Please tell me you're talking about the Sean Wood, Stuntman and all around awesome special effects man?"

"I believe he does something for Muggle movies, yes."

Sean Wood was well known in both the Wizard and Muggle worlds. Exactly how a Wizard had become a Muggle movie stuntman had never been explained, although most Wizards thought it was because Sean Wood was a Muggle born Wizard. However it happened, most Wizards considered him eccentric, and the Muggles that watched his stunts and special effects considered Sean Wood a genius. James had first seen one of his stunts four years earlier, and thought he was the best stuntman ever. Sean Wood had admitted to the Wizard tabloid Magical Mayhem that he did use magic for some of the stunts, and defied anyone to point out which of his stunts were magical in nature and which were simply Muggle FX techniques. After he heard about that, James had collected every movie Sean Wood had been a part of, and spent hours going over them, trying to decide which were stunts, and which were magic.

James pushed the thought of meeting his idol away with difficulty, and came back to the subject at hand. "Anybody else?"

"No, those are all the people we know," Lisa said after a minute's thought.

Chimera chatted for a few more minutes, until the signal for lunch was given, and they headed for the tables. They sat down and started eating, watching the others out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for their prank to take affect. They had been eating for about five minutes when the prank went off. The Manticores were sitting with their families, and talking when suddenly, nobody could understand a single word being spoken around the tables, because everyone could hear everything that was being said. There were more than two hundred people talking, and everyone could hear everything that was being said, as if the person that said it was sitting right next to them.

That would not be a big deal, if only one or two people were talking, but with a group this size it was babble, noise that you couldn't make any sense of. Chimera was expecting the noise, and watched with amusement as people who couldn't talk over links tried to make themselves understood.

Emma watched it for a minute and turned to James. "It's ok, but not really that funny. Are you going to market this one?"

James was making notes, and answered her absently. "Not as is, but with a tweak or two we might. Mostly, I wanted to know if it was possible, without letting anyone know what I'm really after. This spell takes everything said within a certain distance of it, and broadcasts it to everyone within range. With a little work, I'll be able to make a Magicrystal like Lisa's that can pick up what one person is saying, and hear it, without them knowing I'm listening to them."

Hangeld frowned. "It's not really nice to spy on people like that."

"Maybe not," said James mildly. "But since I'm planning on using it against the Patient Child's people, I'm not all that concerned about their feelings."

The spell ended just then, and Mercy looked at James. "I see we didn't do any of those things you were talking about earlier."

James grinned at her. "Of course not. Did you really think I'd take a chance on hurting any of you?"

Mercy smiled, and there was an edge to her smile that set alarm bells off in James's head, but before he could do anything, Jerrick cast a spell.

"Commuto sexus." An instant after Jerrick finished the spell, while James was still translating the Latin in his head, the tables exploded in laughter. James finished the translation and groaned.

"I suppose," he said resignedly, "that I did give you the idea for this one." He looked down at himself, and his first thought was typically male. "I've got big tits."

James had turned into an older version of Rose, and he was suddenly glad he was wearing his school robes and not the Manticore uniform, since his new chest would not have fit in his uniform. He looked at himself for a minute and sighed.

Rose was staring at James and not even trying to hide her laughter. "Sister mine, I believe you should get a bra."

"Now there's an approach we never thought of, James." Tiffany wasn't laughing aloud at James, but James could feel her amusement. "Gender based medicines wouldn't bother you now."

James looked at all the laughing people and turned to Jerrick. "How long does this last?"

Jerrick shrugged. "Mum wasn't certain, but not more than an hour or so."

James and Rose suddenly stopped what they were doing, and looked at each other. Tiffany listened to what James was saying to Rose for a minute, and she got the absent expression that meant she was joining their discussion. The three of them pulled back a bit, and began making notes on a sheet of parchment that Rose pulled from her robes. James looked up again at Jerrick. "I want that spell. You will teach it to me this week."

The Manticores recognized the looks the three of them had, and Mercy groaned. "Jerrick, what have we done?"

Jerrick was rubbing his temples. "I don't even want to think of all the things those three can do with that spell," he confessed.

Mary Evans was sitting next to the twins, and she reached over and grabbed James. "Have you forgotten the rules? We have guests at the table."

James and Rose blushed and scooted back to the table. Emma looked at Mary. "Rules?"

Mary smiled at her children. "After James and Rose started making the pranks and selling them to their friends, we had to make up some rules, since they would drop anything to work on a new idea, no matter what we were doing."

Robert smiled. "Including during business dinners, in the street, movie theaters and anywhere else." He thought for a minute and grinned suddenly. "It actually got better after they stopped talking out loud to each other, because the old way confused everyone that didn't know them well. They used to talk to each in one or two word sentences."

The Manticores that were sitting around the tables close enough to hear the conversation smiled, being very familiar with the way the twins would say just a word or two and understand each other, while everyone around them was hopelessly confused.

Jerrick and Mercy were frowning at James. "Why aren't you reacting to this?" demanded Mercy.

James looked at her, and raised one eyebrow. "Excuse me," he said mildly, "but you do remember that I'm Soulbonded to a girl, right?"

Mercy looked blank for a minute and then put her head down. "You're used to feeling the differences between men and women."

James smiled smugly at them. "Good spell, but you need to use it on somebody that doesn't have a woman in his head all the time."

Melissa was watching him, and she had that expression on her face. The one that meant she had questions for her project. "James, did this affect the bond at all? Did it change the way you look at Tiffany? Do you still want to snog her?"

Tiffany blinked and looked at Melissa. "It hasn't affected the bond at all, but I'd prefer that he waited until he resumed his normal shape to snog me, as I like the way he feels."

"I would still like to snog her, but I can also tell that she doesn't want to snog a woman, so I'll wait."

Before Melissa could ask any more questions, James reverted to his normal form. Athena Clearwater frowned at him. "It's never been this short before. Usually, it lasts at least thirty minutes."

Melissa was scribbling in her notebook and answered her absently. "It's a side affect of the Soulbond I think. Short term potions and spells don't last very long on either of them."

James and Tiffany looked at each other and then at Melissa. James frowned slightly. "You never mentioned this before."

"I wasn't positive, and only began suspecting during this last summer. I wasn't going to say anything until I was sure I had data to prove my theory." Melissa finished her notes and put the notepad away.

Friday, the Manticores got the books and other things they would need for school, and packed their trunks for transport to the school. When they were done with that, they said goodbye to their families and saw them off. James gathered all the Manticores in the big tent for a meeting.

He stood on the podium and looked out at his people. "You all did great work this summer, and I'm proud of every one of you. Now, I need to know if any of you have questions or comments about training or the coming year."

Robert House stood up. "I have one thing, and it's minor, but something I've been thinking about for a while. Between school and training, some of us need to be able to go into town, to buy things you can't get by owl or that just need to be bought in person."

James blinked, and was about to ask him to clarify that when Rose and Tiffany spoke in his head. "James, he's talking about things like underwear, bras and such for the girls, and gifts for the other half of couples."

"Brother mine, some of the Manticores have been talking about this, but I forgot to mention it to you." Rose was apologetic.

James thought about it, and nodded. "My fault," he said. "I've been making the things I give Tiffany, and the other never occurred to me. I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore and see what we can arrange." He thought a minute longer and smiled. "In fact, there's no real reason we have to have the family week in Hogsmeade every year anyway."

The rest of the meeting was a review of what they could and couldn't say around the other students as nobody had any real problems other than that one.

Saturday the Manticores woke to a surprise. James called all the team leaders into a meeting and gave them each a small pouch. "It's not much, but it was short notice. Divide that among your teams, and take the day in Hogsmeade. You are responsible for making sure your teams get to the meeting point for the trip to Hogwarts by 1630."

Mercy was examining the pouch she'd gotten for the Mediwizards. "This feels awfully heavy for not much. What's in here?"

James shrugged. "A few Galleons for your team to spend. Since this is the last chance some of them will have to get things for themselves, I made sure they had enough to last them a while."

Tiffany was rolling her eyes again.

Jerrick looked at her, and weighed the pouch for the Intel people. "James, just what do you consider not much?"

Rose was the one that answered him. "It's only five Galleons. Like James said, it was short notice, and we didn't have much to work with. It'll be more next time."

Conor McCloud shrugged, and then frowned. "Math is nae my strong point. How many Sickles do six people get out of five Galleons?"

James and Rose looked confused for a minute while Tiffany started giggling. Then Rose figured out what he meant. "No, not five Galleons for the team, five Galleons each."

Conor blinked and looked at his bag, and the other bags. "Are you saying that you found three hundred Galleons overnight?"

Tiffany was still snickering at the team leader's expressions. "Conor, just drop it. They have entirely different concepts of money than we do."

James and Rose looked at each other. James shrugged and turned back to the team leaders. "Remember, everyone is to be back by 1630, or you had better have a very good reason why they aren't."

Manticore spent the day relaxing and getting all the little things that made school easier. Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills were favorites, although somebody apparently bought some things at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, because Emma and Hangeld saw a "Purple Primate" walking around. Adam and Lisa had left, saying they wanted to get something, and Emma and Hangeld had disappeared without a word a bit later, leaving Rose and Melissa with James and Tiffany.

That lasted until James convinced Tiffany to try on some lingerie, which made Rose and Melissa disappear as well.

At 1630, James checked on his people, and everyone was back. Along with the Manticores were some of the other students and a few first years. James looked them over. "Rose, do we know what Raven Wood looks like?"

"I don't," she said, as she checked with Melissa, "and neither does Melissa. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to start asking her about her father's stunts." James grinned at her, even as he blushed.

The older students were taken to the school while the First Years waited for Hagrid and the trip across the lake. The main hall was the same as always, and Manticore took their regular seats at the end of their respective tables and waited for the First Years to make their entrance. A few minutes later, they came in and the Sorting began.

Rose and Melissa were examining them, looking for potential Manticores with Rose's Sight and Melissa's Empathy, but they didn't see anything until "Drone, Ander" was sorted into Hufflepuff. "Brother mine, he'll be a good Phoenix." James nodded, marking the face, and passing a 'watch him' hand sign to the Hufflepuff Team leader, (insert name here.)

The next possible Manticore was "Campbell, Morgana", and the vibrant young woman went to Gryffindor.

Draco Malfoy Jr. was the next person to trigger a response in Rose, and the response was not good. "James, Draco has no futures."

"What?" asked James as the Sorting Hat pronounced Draco a Slytherin.

Rose was searching for Draco in all the future paths she could find. "None of his paths continue past the start of the war. I can't find him anywhere after that."

James frowned as he thought about that. The only way that your paths would stop was if you were dead, and Draco was a bit young to be dying of natural causes.

"Rose, is he with us, or against us at the start?"

"Neither in some, against us in most, and with us in very few. In the ones where he's against us, his paths meet with Lisa's and yours a lot, and one or more of them end at that meeting."

James forced down the anger that the thought of Lisa getting hurt caused and forced himself to consider the problem logically. "We can't do anything tonight, so watch the others, and we'll figure out what to do with Draco later."

It wasn't Rose or Melissa that spotted the next person of interest, but Adam. "James, I thought you said Muggle things wouldn't work here."

"They don't," said a puzzled James, "Something about magic interferes with most Muggle things, and the wards block the rest of it. Why do you ask?"

"Because one of the Firsts is wearing blue Twinkle Toes sneakers, and they're still flashing," explained Adam.

Chimera turned to look at Adam. Adam looked at their blank looks, and smiled. "This is so perfect. I've lost track of the number of times I've had that expression about some Wizard thing."

James grinned at him. "OK, you've found something we don't know about. We told you about the Wizard things, now fill us in on this."

"It's a new fad," Adam said, looking at the crowd of First Years still waiting to be sorted. "Little battery powered lights in the heel and toe of your sneakers that flash when you walk."

James thought about it for a minute. "Adam, do you mean those little LED type lights?" At Adam's nod of assent, James frowned. "Are you certain that it's not a spell that duplicates the shoes? Electronic things like that are easily destroyed in magical places."

"I just saw them for a minute, but it looks exactly the same. I suppose it could be magical," said Adam dubiously.

James was watching the people being sorted. "Let me know if you see the person with them again."

"James, both the Potter twins would be good for us." James felt Tiffany's mingled concern and pride in her younger siblings, as Rose announced their suitability for Manticore.

"There she is, James. Look at her feet," Adam suddenly announced.

Chimera looked at the young girl who had started moving when Professor McGonagall had called for "Spence, Stephanie", and her feet were indeed flashing blue every time she took a step. She sat down and was quickly sorted into the Ravenclaw house. None of the Chimeras could tell if it was a magical or Muggle effect, and James was not overly surprised when Rose and Melissa announced she could be a Manticore. He whispered something into the Manticore ring, speaking privately to Jerrick.

As he was doing that, a wave of laughter swept the hall, and he looked up at the arrogant looking kid that had just been sorted into Slytherin. James grinned at the sight. Whoever the boy was, he now had an electric blue hair color that clashed rather badly with his sallow complexion and dark eyes.

Rose sent James a mental grin. "Brother mine, it appears that Kimberly Wood will be good for Manticore in more than one way. She did that little stunt, and I wouldn't have caught it if I wasn't looking at her paths."

"Raven, Sister mine. Her given name might be Kimberly, but even her father calls her Raven." James watched with interest as Kimberly "Call me Raven" Wood was sorted into the Ravenclaws.

Two more students, both going to Slytherin, had their hair turn bright blue as they took the Sorting Hat off, which set the Evans twins to trying to figure out how she timed that just right, or how she set the prank in the first place.

When the Sorting was finished, the Headmaster stood up. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I have a few things to say before we eat. First, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Mr. Filch has once again added a number of items to the list of contraband, and has further requested that whomever is leaving magical pranks, specifically the 'Green Flower' line of disks all over the school pick them up after you're done with them." James and Rose put on their best innocent faces as every Second Year and older student turned to look at them. Professor Dumbledore continued when he had everyone's attention again. "The entire list of forbidden items can be found posted on the wall outside of his office." Albus paused, and looked at the Gryffindor table. "There will be two special events this year. First, there will be a Yule Ball, for the third year and older students. The second is a special Quidditch Match, one week before the end of school. This is the first trial of what may become a tradition. The best Hogwarts team will be playing against the Beaubaton team."

The light murmur that had started at the mention of a dance swept over the Hall. James was swearing under his breath, and Emma looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong with that? It will be fun to play against somebody we've never played against."

"True, that would be fun," James said, "if no press people show up. Here at school, everyone knows we're a bit different, and any stories they tell outside of school are merely hearsay, and discounted further because they are children. That will change if a number of adults observe us using the links and talents."

Albus Dumbledore had not missed the expression on James's face, and he continued to watch the Gryffindor table as he continued. "If this first match is successful, the following year, there will be another match, hosted by Beaubaton, and will have representatives from other schools, including Durmstrang and the Shigimoto School and the North American School of Wizardry."

James's eyes went flat, but the only thing he said was to Chimera. "If anyone thinks I'm going to help beat my country's team, they're out of their freaking minds."

While James was not blatant about it, he was deeply patriotic, and even though none of the American Quidditch teams had played in the Cup finals in more than forty years, he continued to follow them faithfully. Alexander Evans had taught the twins a deep respect for their country, and James had taken it as deeply to heart as he did everything else he did.

Rose was not as blunt about it, but she also had reservations about playing against the American team.

Albus Dumbledore saw the looks that the rest of Chimera was wearing, and sighed slightly as he finished his remarks and the feast began. He knew James as well as anyone in the school except Rose and Tiffany, and he was quite certain there was going to be trouble over this latest Ministry project. The basic idea, that of exposing the various Schools and students to their counterparts from other parts of the world was good. Professor Dumbledore would have been in favor of the project at any other time, but trying to keep Manticore concealed changed things. He smiled slightly at the irony of the timing. It had been the more than generous contributions of Cumulus, supporting the Manticores, that had made the Quidditch matches possible, but having the Manticores at his school made this a bad time to have reporters running around the school.

Professor Dumbledore had realized that if any adults not involved with Manticore saw the Manticores, some of them were bound to figure out that something strange was going on. He looked out over the tables, finding the Manticores easily. Not only did they sit slightly apart from the other students, but also they had an air about them, the result of knowledge and discipline that most youngsters didn't have. That and the physical condition of the Manticores set them apart from the other students, and any adult who saw them all for more than a few minutes would see it.

Albus Dumbledore frowned as he thought about the potential consequences of anyone discovering Manticore before Robert and James were ready to 'go public' as James called it. The headmaster wasn't sure what plans the Evans had in that event, but he was quite certain that they had something ready, and he was equally certain that it would not be a good thing for the unfortunate person that those plans fell on.

James, Rose and Tiffany held a long conversation during dinner, barely noticing the food and the people around them. Chimera could feel them talking on their separate links, but the only thing they could tell about the argument, was that James was determined to do something that neither of the girls liked.

After the feast was over, James and Tiffany were on their way to Manticore Hall when their rings sounded. "I need a Mediwizard at the base of the Northeast Tower. Emily's been hurt."

James and Tiffany looked at each other for a second, and started back down the stairs as fast as they could go. When they arrived at the ground floor of the Northeast tower, they found Melissa and Rose already there, with Rose cradling Emily's head and Melissa using her healing talent on her.

"How is she?" Rose looked up at James's anxious tone, and answered him for Melissa. "She'll be fine, she's just had a nasty fall, and knocked herself out."

James blinked and looked around. The floor was flat and dry, and looking up, he couldn't see where she might have fallen from. "How did she have a fall here? There's nothing to fall from."

"She fell from the second floor stairs." James turned to look at Teun Redstone, and then at the stairs.

"How did she end up here, falling from there?"

"She started up them just after dinner." was all Teun said, and James took a second to think about that one.

Suddenly he remembered something. "Those stairs," he said, "start moving just after dinner. Are you trying to tell me she fell off a moving staircase?"

Teun nodded. "I was on the first floor, and saw her fall. She had this in her hands." With that comment, she held up a book. "What she found in 'Hogwarts, A History' that was so interesting that she didn't notice the stairs moving is beyond me, but she was still holding it when I got to her."

James rubbed his temples as he remembered Emily talking about some sort of hidden room, but before he could say anything, a new voice entered the conversation. "Where's my book? Did it get damaged?" asked a faintly groggy Emily.

Manticore had heard the call on the rings, and they had been gathering while James talked to Teun. Emily's next question was directed at the disbelieving stares that thirty or so people were directing at her. "What did I say?"

James handed her the book silently and watched as she checked it for tears. "Emily, if you showed that kind of dedication to a team, I'd create a new team for you, and you'd be team leader in a week."

Emily looked at him and frowned. "James, what are you talking about?"

James just asked Melissa if she was going to be ok, and grinned at Melissa's rather pointed response. "Only if she pulls her nose out of her book long enough to look around once in awhile."

A couple of the other Ravenclaws took Emily, who was beginning to fell the tiredness that was an effect of being Healed back to Ravenclaw, while James dispersed the rest of the Manticores.

Ron Stone was staring after the Ravenclaws. "If that girl happened to die in the middle of reading a book, she'd pull a Professor Binks, and rise as a ghost just to finish the book."

The Manticores that heard that statement laughed, but had to agree with it. Rose and Emma helped Melissa off to bed, and James and Tiffany went up to Manticore Hall to relax. James and Tiffany sat down on their couch and cuddled up close. They sank into the close bonding that they had not even told Rose or Melissa about, where their thoughts were as one, and luxuriated in the feel of each other, just enjoying the touch of body and mind until James yawned, breaking the bond.

"Bedtime I think, Greeneyes."

"Can't we just sleep here?" asked a sleepy Tiffany.

James looked down, into the half open green eyes that looked up at him from her position on his chest and smiled gently. "We could, but you do remember what happened last time we fell asleep together."

"Of course I do, and it was quite nice." Tiffany smiled sleepily, and moved up to kiss James. James responded willingly, but then moved back.

"Lover, I'm not sure my self control is up to that tonight."

Tiffany considered the rising tide of emotions in James and sighed. They got up from the couch, and walked slowly to the Gryffindor entrance hand in hand. For an hour or so, they had pushed everything else away, and just been a couple in love. Those hours were about to become increasingly rare, because the storm clouds of the future were about to start breaking over the Manticores.