Prophecy

Rose's gambit

James and the rest of the Chimera link were spread out all over the castle when Emma's sending flooded the link. James and Tiffany were in Manticore Hall, and they left at a run, drawing a few more Manticores with them, since the only time anyone had seen that look on James's face, violent things had followed soon after.

Adam and Lisa had been down on the Quidditch Pitch, and they had their Broomsticks with them, which gave them a large head start, at least until they saw where the feel of Emma was taking them. "James, shes in the Forbidden Forest for some reason," Adam reported.

"Damn it. What is she doing there?" James said, and then moved to more important matters. "It doesn't matter. Stay at the edge of the Forest until we get to you, unless you have to go in. If you do, be careful."

Melissa and Rose had been with a couple of the younger Manticores, helping them with some school work, and were just barely behind James and Tiffany when they hit the main door to the castle. All four ran toward Hagrid's cabin, with the longer legs of James and Tiffany getting them there first. James hit the door, and disappeared inside for a minute, but was back out almost instantly. "Hagrids not in."

The four of them ran around the back, heading for the feel of Lisa and Adam. James took over as they got to the edge of the Forest. "Adam, you and Lisa stay as high as you can, while still being able to see us. I've got the point, Tiffany, rear guard."

The group plunged into the Forest, but had only gone a few meters when Adam saw the forms rushing toward them. "Hagrid and Emma are about 50 meters to your eleven, James, and Hagrid's got Hangeld."

James and the others on the ground altered their course to intercept the others and in a few short seconds, the two groups met. Hagrid set Hangeld down, and Melissa was working on him almost before he was on the ground. Melissa had the holes in Hangelds leg fixed quickly, but she stayed there, and the leaf green glow that was the outward sign of her Healing talent didn't fade away. If anything, it grew brighter.

"I need an evacuation. Hes got some kind of strong poison in his system, and I can't stop it, all I can do is slow the poison down." Melissa said, and Chimera went into action. An evac drill was part of their training, and everyone knew what to do.

James and Rose stood guard while Tiffany and Adam improvised a stretcher out of two long branches and Adam's robe. Lisa went back to the castle to alert Madame Potter, and Emma stood by Melissa, to help her with anything she needed.

"What kind of poison is it, Hagrid?" James asked.

Hagrid took his eyes away from his son long enough to send a grim look Jamess way. "Manticore."

James blinked, until he realized that Hagrid was not talking about the Fraternal Order of Manticore, but a real Manticore. "Lisa, how bad is Manticore poison?"

"Bad. If it was one of us, we'd be dead already, but giants are partially immune to it. Madame Potter is ready and I'll let her know what the problem is." Lisa told him. "Also, theres some Manticores waiting at Hagrid's cabin to help with stretcher carrying."

"Thanks, Lisa. We're leaving now." James took the point again, and Tiffany took her position at the rear, as Rose, Emma, Adam and Hagrid picked up the stretcher they had Hangeld on, and starting walking back to the castle. They were walking because Melissa was still using her Healing talent to slow the poison running through Hangeld's veins, and she couldn't move any faster while she was concentrating on that.

"Madame Potter says to hurry, and she's got some stuff to help him, but we'll have to wait for somebody to get Manticore antidote from St. Mungo's in London. We don't have any here, or any way to make some in the time we have." Lisa's report was tinged with a worried feeling, and James understood that. It was a long way to London, and a long way back.

At Hagrid's cabin, four of the Manticores took the stretcher from the tired quartet, and set off. Several more walked alongside, ready to take over when someone got tired. James was watching Melissa, and was the first to notice when she started sweating.

He moved up to her, and placed his hand over hers, where it rested on Hangelds chest. "Don't wear yourself out, we're going to need you for a long time. I know you can use other people's magic to power your Healing, so use mine.

Melissa didn't say anything, but James felt a sudden drain, as if he was getting tired. He stayed there, until they were nearly back at the castle, and then Rose moved his hand, and took over for him. James nearly fell over when he stopped, and he looked up to find Tiffany in the same shape.

Melissa sent Rose away much sooner, as she didn't have the Soulbond to draw on, and Emma took her place.

By the time they reached the Infirmary, almost half the Manticores had taken a turn, and they were running out of Manticores for Melissa to use, until Ron Stone used the Manticore ring. "All units, we have a problem, and we need you to assemble outside the Infirmary."

James grinned weakly at Ron from his chair. "Thanks, Ron. I should have thought of that."

Ron looked at James, who had been carried into the Infirmary after Tiffany took a turn at Melissas side. "Why are you still conscious? Pass out, so Tiffany can."

James turned his head and looked at Tiffany, who had also had to be carried in. She was out where she sat, with only the Soulbond keeping her awake. James got up, staggered over close enough to touch her, and fell into blackness.

Melissa stayed at Hangeld's side for more than four hours, while they waited for the antidote, and the only things that made that possible were the Manticores giving her energy, and the potion Madame Potter had given Hangeld, which slowed the poison in his system. It was still a nightmare, pushing her Healing further than she had ever pushed it.

James's Quidditch injury had been simple compared to this, as it was merely tissue and bone injury. The poison was trying to spread through Hangeld's system and destroy the nerves. Melissa soon realized that she would not be able to stop it everywhere, and concentrated her efforts on keeping the poison out of his vital organs, including his brain.

She was vaguely aware of the Manticores feeding their energy to her, but few of them really registered. She recognized Adam, a well of power that seemed endless at first, but even he had to leave. Professor Potter was nearly as strong, and so was Professor Dumbledore, but the real surprise came from May-Ling, whose power wasn't as strong as any of the previous three, but who was harder to drain, and lasted far longer.

Professor McGonagall finally came hurrying in with the package they'd all been waiting for. Madame Potter took it and checked the contents as she crossed to Hangeld's bed.

Professor McGonagall looked at the boy lying in the bed, and her eyes widened for a second, before she regained control. Hangeld was a big boy, but now he was nearly twice his normal size, and his hands were black, the color of diseased flesh. The black was spreading up his arms as well, and had she looked under the covers, she would have seen the same thing happening to his feet.

Madame Potter finished checking the vial and poured part of the potion down the unconscious boy's throat, and started using the salve that came with the potion on his extremities. She was silent as she worked, and everyone waited tensely for her report.

Rose looked around, at the Manticores everywhere, and the few teachers that were here. Professor Dumbledore, Professors Potter, Evans and McGonagall, as well as Hagrid.

Rose rallied the team leaders to her and told them to take their people off to dinner, and then to the hall or bed. "I'll be here, and I'll let you know as soon as we know anything." The team leaders were reluctant, but a quiet reminder about Madame Potters temper convinced them to leave before she stopped working on Hangeld and found fifty people in her Infirmary.

Rose sank back into her seat, rubbing her temples. She'd taken her turn with Melissa, and she had a headache. She had been trying to look down the paths to see what would happen, but every time she did, the headache got worse. She looked up in time to see Professor Potter about to take Tiffany off the bed she was sharing with James. "Professor Potter, I wouldn't do that."

Professor Potter paused, looking at her. "I know they are Soulbonded, but they're still too young to be sharing a bed."

A"It's not that, it's simply that if you try moving one of them without waking them first, they tend to hit you before they wake up." Rose said as she got up and walked in that direction. She started trying to wake James up.

James finally woke up enough to open one eye and look at Rose. "Hows Hangeld?"

Rose rubbed her eyes. "We dont know yet. In the meantime, you have to move. Tiffany's parents are here, and you shouldn't be sleeping with her."

"You are not taking him away from me." Rose and Professor Potter turned to Tiffany in surprise, as she was the one who had spoken. "I have a headache, I feel like death warmed over, and he makes me feel better. If it makes you feel any better, consider this: were in plain sight of my mother, with at least four other people here."

By the time Professor Potter had considered that, the two of them were asleep again. Rose frowned, and looked around. Everyone that had given energy to Melissa looked beat, but most of them were still awake and on their feet.

She considered the sleeping pair, and suddenly shook James again. When he woke up, Rose looked at him, noting the bloodshot eyes, and a pallor to his skin that was totally unlike James. "What did you do?"

James closed his eyes again. "Can we talk about it after we recover, please?"

"No, we cant. Tell me what you did."

James opened both eyes, and looked at Rose. "Tiffany and I have found a way to mask our auras using the Soulbond. We may have given Melissa a bit more energy than she thought she was getting."

Rose was beginning to get very worried. "James, how much of your magic did you give her?"

James sighed. "You're not going to let me sleep until you know, are you?"

"No."

"When I tell you, can we go back to sleep?" he asked plaintively.

"James Evans, you have one second to start talking, or Im owling mom in two minutes."

Tiffany groaned. "Just tell her, so we can sleep."

"All of it, I think. Maybe a bit more. Now, leave me alone." James said, and was asleep before Rose had fully accepted what she had heard. She looked around, but Melissa was passed out on another bed, worn out by her efforts, and Madame Potter was still working on Hangeld.

She raised her ring, and called for Mercy to report to the Infirmary. She told the rest of Manticore that there wasn't any news yet, and waited.

Professor Potter had stopped trying to separate the two, and was waiting with Rose for Mercy. He looked at Rose. "Is he always this impulsive?"

Rose looked at Harry and grimaced. "I should have guessed he'd try something. He's always tried to protect every injured thing he finds, and when you add his concern for a friend and his concern for Manticore, it should have been obvious."

Professor Potter looked at the sleeping boy. "It must be interesting, living with him."

Rose choked down the slightly hysterical laughter that comment caused, mostly because she thought her head might fall off if she started laughing. "You have no idea."

Mercy arrived, and crossed directly to Rose. Rose told her what James had said, and before she was half way through her explanation, Mercy had her wand out and was examining the pair.

Mercy examined them in silence, broken only by the occasional spell, and Rose watched her. Mercy finally stopped, and looked at Rose. "We need to put them in a private room, and keep them asleep for at least two days. I'm not sure how they did it, but they're completely drained of magic, on the verge of being burned out entirely. We have to keep them from doing anything magical until they build some reserves back up, or they'll be Squibs.

Professor Dumbledore was listening. "We can do that. Two days you say."

Mercy nodded. "At least. I would have Madame Potter look at them to be sure. It would be best to leave them together as well. Melissa and I have noticed that they heal faster the closer they are. Other than that, there is not a thing we can do, except keep them from using magic. If either of them tried so much as a simple levitating charm right now, it could burn them out."

Rose looked around the Infirmary. James and Tiffany were in front of her, Madame Potter was still working on Hangeld and Melissa had passed out in another bed. There were also a couple of Manticores that had reacted badly to giving Melissa magic. Emma had also passed out, having taken a turn with Melissa, and then using what magic she had left to help save Hangeld as they waited for the antidote to arrive.

Mercy looked at Rose, and waved her wand in Rose's direction, muttering a spell. "You go to bed as well. Your sight uses magic, and every time you try again, youre draining more, and right now you simply don't have any."

Rose considered her worsening headache, and decided just to do as she was told for once. Before she could though, she had a couple of things she had to do. "Tell Lisa shes in charge until James or I am awake again. Leave someone here to tell the Manticores about Hangeld as soon as we know whats going on."

She was about to continue giving instructions when Mercy interrupted her. "We know what to do. Go to bed."

Rose stopped talking, and looked for Emma and Lisa, before she remembered that Emma was passed out. Mercy saw her looking around, and asked what she was looking for. "Someone to help me to Gryffindor. I'm not sure I can walk that far alone right now."

Madame Potter was walking up to Professor Dumbledore when Rose said that, and she waved a wand over Rose. "Don't bother. Find a bed here and go to sleep."

Rose took a second to figure out what she'd said, and then turned toward the nearest unoccupied bed and fell into it. She didn't bother with covers; she just lay down and gratefully sank into oblivion.

Madame Potter checked on all the students left in the Infirmary. She used a spell to move James and Tiffany into a private room and bullied them awake long enough to make them drink a potion. When she had the Infirmary organized to her satisfaction, she took Professor Dumbledore into her office. She slumped behind her desk and rubbed her eyes.

When she was done, she looked at the Headmaster. "Hangeld will live. More than that I can't say right now. We'll have to wait until he wakes up, and I can run some tests. A lot of how well he recovers from this will depend on how well Melissa kept the poison from his vital organs."

She paused, and shook some of the fog from her head. "James and Tiffany will be asleep until at least Monday night, although I'll have to keep an eye on them, since potions don't work as long as they should on those two. I'm also going to need to use April, and possibly another of the Manticore Mediwizards, since I'm about to pass out, and somebody needs to use the salve on Hangeld at least once an hour until it is gone."

"The rest of them should be fine, except Melissa. Leave her to sleep until she wakes up on her own. Shes going to regret this."

Professor Dumbledore looked over his glasses. "Why? I find what she did to be most impressive."

Madame Potter nodded, agreeing with him. "The problem is, shes opened her Healing talent fully all at once, instead of slowly, as most Healers do. Shes going to have raw, sensitive channels for a few weeks, and she'll be feeling every emotion in the castle for at least a week."

Professor Dumbledore stared into space for a minute. "How bad can this get?"

Madame Potter looked at him, and there was fear in her eyes. "Very bad. Hangeld could be brain damaged, James and Tiffany may be Squibs and if Melissa can't control her empathy or Healing talent, we might have to burn it out as well."

Professor Dumbledore thought about what that would mean to the students involved, and then what it would mean to the Prophecy. "When will we know?"

"Monday night, I'll check James and Tiffany, and make a decision then. Hangeld depends on when he wakes up, and it may be a week or more before we know about Melissa."

The Headmaster left then, so Madame Potter could give April her instructions, and seek a bed of her own. He went to his office and sat behind his desk, sucking thoughtfully on a lemon drop. After he had thought about it, he sent off two owls, telling the Evans and Xavier families what had happened.

The next two days were tense, as Manticore waited to find out what would happen to the patients still in the Infirmary. Rose woke up Sunday afternoon, and after spending some time watching the rest ofChimera sleep, she went to Manticore Hall, determined to put the best face on it she could.

She entered the Hall, and the first person she saw was Lisa sitting at the Chimera table with most of the team leaders. Lisa looked up as she entered, and the next thing Rose knew, she was being hugged hard.

Lisa hugged her for a second and then let her go. "I am so glad you're back. Adam and I are going nuts trying to deal with all these details."

Rose frowned. "What details?"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Paperwork, reports, problems, all the stuff we normally only deal with for one team. It seems to grow as you add teams to it."

Rose smiled. "Father taught James and I a system for dealing with that sort of stuff, and I never thought about it. Would you like to see how to deal with it?"

Rose and Lisa collected Adam, and started on the mass of things that had shown up over the weekend. Rose got the team leaders as well. "The first problem you had was that James likes to collect all the weekly reports on Sunday, so he can deal with them and have a clean slate on Monday."

Rose went on to show them how to classify the paperwork, and deal with it. Debra Valentine looked at her curiously. "Why are you showing us this?"

Rose continued to read the paperwork as she answered. "Because when the war starts, you'll all be responsible for an area, and that means all the paperwork. James and I discussed this, but we thought it could wait until next year." She looked up at them and smiled wryly. "We weren't expecting to have most of Chimera gone at once."

Monday, Rose went to her classes, but as soon as they were over, she was in the Infirmary, waiting for James and Tiffany to wake up. She had all the shields down over her Twinbond and sat in a chair, doing her schoolwork. She looked up as somebody else entered the Infirmary, and was not surprised to see Emma wave at her, before going to sit next to Hangeld and watching him for a minute before starting her own work.

A few minutes later, Adam and Lisa came in with their books and settled mid-way between the private room the Soulbonded were in and Hangeld's bed. Rose looked over at Melissa, in the bed next to her chair, and lightly touched her with the link. She was still asleep, and Rose went back to her schoolwork.

It was an hour or so later that Melissa started stirring, and Rose looked up. Melissa rolled over on her side and her eyes opened suddenly. Rose could feel the emotions rolling through her, and her attempts to shield the feelings she was getting from everyone in the castle. Rose tried to help her, but the shields over the link didn't help against the emotions coming from the people that were not in their link. Melissa managed to shield enough of it to look around after a minute, and ask after Hangeld.

Rose frowned. "We wont know until he wakes up. Madame Potter says it will depend on how well you kept the poison from his organs, and I believe in your skill."

Melissa smiled at her friend, and looked at the rest of Chimera sitting in the various areas. "Where are James and Tiffany? I would expect to see them here as well." Melissa blinked as worry and fear leaked through Rose's shield. She looked at Rose, and waited for the answer.

Rose explained what James and Tiffany had done. Melissa frowned. "I need my notebook. If they can mask their physical condition from a Healer, that is something that we didn't know."

Rose smiled as her friend started looking around for something to write with. She handed Melissa her notebook, which had been put under the bed with the other things shed been wearing, and Melissa began writing.

The next couple of hours passed quietly. As long as Melissa kept her mind occupied, she could ignore the emotions of the students in the castle. Rose was more than willing to help her, and they worked on the things Melissa had missed that day until a sound from Hangelds bed attracted everyones attention.

Emma was next to the bed, and watching as Hangeld rolled over. He opened his eyes, and looked up. The first thing he saw was Emmas smiling face, and then he saw the rest of Chimera behind her.

Emma smiled at her best friend. "If you didn't want to work on the potion anymore, you could have just said so."

Hangeld grinned. He started to sit up and fell back. His smile was gone. "I think I'll just stay here."

Adam had gone to get Madame Potter, and now she shooed everyone away as she pulled the curtain around his bed.

The rest of the group went and sat next to Melissa, waiting for Madame Potter to finish.

James and Tiffany were dreaming. They were sitting in the small cave halfway up the Daggerfall cliff near Jamess home, and looking out over the valley below.

"James, we have to be more careful, I know you can't stand things in pain, but we have something far more important to do."

"I know, Love. We need Hangeld also though, and I have to admit that I didn't realize just how far we went." James shifted, and looked at Tiffany. He was caught by the setting sun's light playing on her hair, and reached out to play with a strand of it.

Tiffany smiled, and reached up to caress his face. They looked at each other, and leaned forward to kiss. As they kissed, the scene shifted under them, and they were in the suite in the Hogsmeade's Inn. They lay on the bed they had spent so many chaste weekends in, and there were no more thoughts of restraint.

Melissa frowned, looking up from her work. She looked toward the private room where James and Tiffany were, and started flushing a deep red. Rose had looked up when she stopped working, and she watched in confusion as Melissa started blushing.

"What's wrong, Melissa?" she asked.

"Go check on James and Tiffany. They are still asleep I think, but they're doing something that they shouldn't be doing in the Infirmary, and certainly not when Madame Potter could check on them at any minute."

Rose figured out what she meant before she reached the door of the little room where James and Tiffany were resting, and nearly stopped. She looked at their paths, and decided not to barge in. She reached with her Twinbond, touching James. "James, wake up. Madame Potter is examining Hangeld." She repeated it, and was about to try again when James finally responded.

"If I didn't know better," James said, with a mixture of humourannoyancefrustrationembarassment, "I'd say you were playing chaperone"

Rose grinned as she opened the door, and walked in. "Would you rather I woke you, or Madame Potter, after she finishes with Hangeld?"

Tiffany looked at her from the bed, where she and James were spooning. "Personally, I think you should both go away."

Rose smiled at her sympathetically. "Maybe so, but would you rather I was the one that caught you with James's hand in your shirt, or your mother?"

The two on the bed were spooning, with James lying behind Tiffany, and one of James's arms being used as pillow by Tiffany. His other arm though, was under her shirt, and where it was resting was blatantly obvious.

James sighed. "She's got a point, Love. Your mother would not be amused. Nor would she be happy to figure out where your hand is."

Rose had been trying not to think about that, and from Tiffany's sudden blush and quick movements, which ended with both of her hands in plain sight; she hadn't even realized where her hands were.

After they had given Rose enough time to wake the Soulbonded, the rest of Chimera came in. The seven sat, talking about the day, the weather and various other little things, waiting anxiously for Madame Potter.

Emma was the first to realize that Hangeld was going back to sleep, but that he didn't seem very worried after Madame Potter left. They waited, and Madame Potter entered the room.

"I believe these two were supposed to be left alone, until I woke them." Ginny Potter swept the various people in the room with a stern gaze. "Would somebody care to tell me why they are awake?"

The four who knew why they were awake blushed and avoided her eyes. Ginny watched them for a second and then turned her attention to the two in bed. "Well, this is a pleasant change. You're not wrapped around each other, with your hands in places you shouldn't know about yet."

James and Tiffany closed their eyes and turned a new shade of red. "Somebody just shoot me now." James sent.

"I believe that my husband is going to want to have a long talk with you, Mr. Evans, when you get out of here." Madame Potter began checking on the two of them while keeping up a continuous and highly sarcastic monologue about the sleeping habits of the two.

When she was done, she looked at the two of them, and turned serious. "You will not cast any magic other than the required amount for classes for at least two more days. I will examine you again then and let you if you can go back to your old ways. Right now, that means no pranks, no Manticore things, nothing other than that amount of magic needed for your classes. Do not let me catch you breaking that prohibition." Madame Potter's tone boded ill for the one she caught breaking the rules she had given them. "You are however; free to sleep in your own beds tonight, as I am tired of checking on you two in the night, and finding a two-headed lump. I'll sleep much better knowing you two are in different rooms."

James and Tiffany began getting out of bed as Madame Potter left the room. They were already half-way dressed when Madame Potter stuck her head back in the door. "Tiffany, I will need to talk to you before you leave. Alone."

Tiffany sighed. "Yes, mother." She leaned on James for a minute. "I am not looking forward to this."

James kissed the top of her head. "And I should be looking forward to the talk your father is going to give me?"

They finished dressing while everyone else collected the things they'd been working on while they waited for Hangeld and the Soulbonded to wake. James and Tiffany came out of the room, and James hugged Tiffany before she turned toward her mother's office.

With a final look at Hangeld, the group left the Infirmary, on their way back to Gryffindor tower when they were ambushed.

"Mr. Evans, I'd like to have a word with you, please."

James stopped and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Of course, Professor Potter. What may I do for you?"

The rest of Chimera was smart enough to wait until they were out of hearing before bursting into laughter.

Back in Gryffindor tower, Adam brought Rose the strange book. "Here, everyone's done with it."

He blinked, as she took it from him, and her emotions spiked. She went to a windowsill and was deep in the book in less than a minute.

Rose had been skimming the parts of the book she could read as it came back to her from the various Chimeras, and she was certain she already knew what it was, but she needed to know, and until Hangeld and Adam had finished their pages, she couldn't be sure.

Melissa came and sat down with her. "My Empathy is running high tonight. I can feel you through the shields. What is that book?"

"You can help me with it, but keep it from everyone, because if I'm right about what it is, we're going to have to convince James to use it." Rose filled Melissa in on what she thought the book was, and what it would do.

She was barely half-way through the explanation before Melissa figured out why this would be so important to Rose. It was not until Rose was finishing the talk that she understood why James was going to need some serious convincing to use it.

Rose and Melissa were still studying the book when James and Tiffany came back to Gryffindor from their respective talks with the Potters. Madame Potter had given them a potion to make them sleep all night, and they went to bed.

Rose and Melissa were still studying the book when the first Gryffindors came downstairs in the morning, and they had to rush to get ready for PT. After PT, they went down to the library to get a book that would help them. When they showed up for breakfast, the rest of Chimera was there except for Hangeld, who was still in the Infirmary.

James looked at them. "How's the research?"

Rose shrugged. "We're still working on it."

Melissa agreed. "It is a complicated ritual. It might take some time to understand completely."

James frowned. "If it's that hard, don't bother. Unless it will help us, or tell us who the Patient Child is, there are more important things." With that, James put the book out of his mind.

Rose and Melissa spent the next week studying the book, making sure they understood it. When they were done, they enlisted Mercy and Jerrick to do a few things for them, and went to see Professor Evans. They showed him the book, and told him the entire story, from how they got it to what it would do. He listened to their story and their plans, and then agreed to help them.

Hangeld came back from the Infirmary after nine days, but was on restriction. He wasn't allowed to exercise in the morning or do anything that involved using his muscles heavily until Madame Potter was certain the damage done to his limbs was healed. He was taking three potions a day, and had to go back to the Infirmary every night to have more salve rubbed over the still discoloured portions of his hands and feet.

The various people Rose had enlisted were busy over the next two weeks, a fact missed by James only because he had bigger headaches. The Yule ball was just a month away, the Manticores were starting to have pre-dance jitters, with the various boys trying to decide whom to ask and the girls trying to make sure the boy they wanted asked them to the Ball.

James was complaining about it at the table one morning, and Adam threw a biscuit at him. "It's easy for you, you don't even have to ask, you already know the girl you like is going to go with you. Give the rest of us a break, will you?"

James corrected him absently, as he listened to something Tiffany was saying. "Not like, Love."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Whichever. The point is, you don't have anything to be nervous about."

James shrugged. "True, but as my Lady just reminded me, it is polite to ask." He looked at Tiffany. "Greeneyes, would you be so kind as to grace me with your presence at the Yule ball, and make everyone jealous of the guy with the most beautiful girl in school?"

Tiffany smiled at him, and the Chimeras felt her humour. "I'll think about it. After all, I might get a better offer."

James sighed. "Lady Love, if you can find a better match, by all means, go with him. Until you do though, can I assume you'll go with me, so that I don't have to ask three girls to go?"

Melissa blinked. "Why would you need three girls, if Tiffany doesn't go with you?"

James turned, looking surprised. "That should be obvious. It would take three girls to match my Lady."

Hangeld put his face in his hands. "Would you please stop that? It's just too weird to hear you talk like that."

Tiffany frowned at Hangeld, and jumped to James's defense. "He talks like that to me all the time. We just don't do it in public much, because he's shy about expressing emotions." She smiled at the blushing James. "He compared me to a sunrise over the mountains once." She looked smug. "I've seen his memories of that sunrise, and he thinks I'm even more beautiful."

Adam was staring at James. "Next thing you know, you'll be writing poetry to her."

James found something very interesting in his plate as his blush deepened, and Tiffany smiled. Chimera looked at them, and Rose was the first to find her voice. "He writes you poetry?"

Tiffany was still smiling as James looked at her. "I can neither confirm nor deny such a statement."

Lisa figured out what she meant quickly. "What you mean, is that you aren't going to lie, and say he doesn't, but you promised not to tell anyone. Is that a correct statement?"

Tiffany thought for a minute, and then shrugged. "Lisa, go to hell."

Chimera stared at James, trying to imagine him writing poetry. Adam shook his head. "Right. Anyway, what are we doing today?"

Chimera accepted the blatant change of subject, and talk turned to the classes of the day.

After classes, Jerrick found Rose and gave her a large bundle of parchments and scrolls. She took the bundle to Professor Evans, and the two of them spent several hours talking.

The next day, Rose got Adam, Hangeld and Sonya Gebbs together, and they all spent more time with Professor Evans.

Two weeks before the Yule Ball, Rose called a meeting of all the Manticores while Professor Dumbledore sent James and Tiffany on an errand.

Rose and Melissa laid out what the book was, what it could do and what they would have to do to make it happen. She told them everything, both the pros and cons of the mission, and asked them what they wanted to do.

Five minutes later, she had their answer and Manticore started planning the mission. While they worked on that with Adam, Professor Evans, Sonya and Jerrick, Rose was working on something much harder.

Manticore simply had to plan a twelve day mission. Rose had to convince James that they could skip training this year, and do the mission.

One week before the Ball, James called all the Manticores into the Hall, and shut the doors. He stood in front of the group and looked at them. "I have noticed that Y'all are doing something, and that you're being very careful not to let Tiffany or I see it. Now, since I trust Manticore, I'm wouldn't worry about it too much, except that I also noted that a certain sneaky and underhanded sister of mine seems to be the focal point of this little conspiracy."

James looked at Rose. "Care to comment, Rose?"

Rose took a deep breath. "In a few minutes, James, I'll tell you all about it." She turned to the Manticores. "Ron, would you get the mission statements and maps? Mercy, please send a couple of your people to get the others, would you?"

Rose turned to the wall behind her, and began moving the posters and charts there so she would have a place to lay out her plans.

James and Tiffany watched, and just before James was about to explode, Rose turned to him. "I know you're curious, but I'm waiting for Professor Dumbledore, Professor Evans and the Manticores from Hogsmeade. We have something to show you, and a mission to plan."

Rose smiled slightly. "I am hoping that you will see the use in this, and help us, but one way or another, this is going to happen."

Tiffany cocked her head and stared at Rose. Rose looked back, and the two girls looked at each other for the longest time. Tiffany nodded, and sat back against James, distracting him with a kiss. "I'll keep him calm until the others get here, but you have to know that was not your best opening remark. James will get stubborn just because you didn't leave him a choice."

"I'm counting on that. I have known him a long time, and this is all part of a game," said Rose calmly.

It took nearly an hour for all the Manticores to enter the Hall, and then the doors were shut again. Rose looked around, and faced James.

"Bear with me, Brother Mine, not everyone knows the whole story, so you are going to hear some things you already know."

Rose told all the Manticores about the book, and how they had gotten it. She went on to detail how it had been protected against anyone but the Eight using it, and how they had opened it.

"Here is where it becomes interesting to us. Melissa and I have studied the Book of Life, and it is a spell. A long and complex spell which will do two things for Manticore. The first, and most important thing, is that if we cast it properly, it will create two amulets, which slow a person's aging down by three fourths."

Lisa was the first to understand what that meant, and she looked at James and Tiffany. "Rose, are you sure it will work on the Soulbond?"

Rose held up the Book of Life. "According to this, yes. I have not actually cast the spell, or used the amulets, so I cannot say it will work."

James and Tiffany were looking at each other, and the Hall grew quiet as they waited for James's response.

James finally looked at Rose. "This sounds too good, too easy. A spell, and Tiffany lives her normal lifespan, plus some. What's the hitch, Sister Mine?"

Rose turned to the wall behind her even as she began talking. "The spell has to be cast at the Heart of the World. Since I cannot see the Heart, we have two choices. We can put out the word, and hope it shows up some place we can get to. That is a tight question of time and logistics. The spell itself takes three days to cast, and the Heart of the World is never in any one place for more than four days."

Rose looked over her shoulder at Manticore. "That means that Jerrick's contacts would have to find it, get word to us, and we would have to get there in less than twelve hours."

Jerrick looked up at Rose. "My contacts might be good, but you're asking for perfection."

James nodded as he considered it. "I agree, that would be nearly impossible. I assume that you have an alternative?"

Rose took a deep breathe, and felt Melissa send her a wave of reassurance. "Yes, I do. The Book of Life tells us where the Heart of the Earth will be over Midsummer's night this year, and we can be there when it arrives."

She turned back to James and Tiffany. "What I am proposing, is that Manticore go there, hold their position, and cast the spell."

She gestured with her wand, and the rolled up map on the wall behind her opened, showing everyone where the Heart of the World would be.

James looked at it, blinked and turned astonished eyes on Rose.

"You want us to invade the Giantlands?"