Phoenix Intuition

Chapter Thirteen

Drake had been content to let things simmer for a while on all three fronts. He was devoting more time to his efforts in wizarding America. Muggle America appeared to be about to go to war on false pretenses, and wizarding England was undergoing a fascinating struggle. Drake had expected a hard-liner to replace Bright; the people would put their leadership in the hands of someone who appeared tough and vowed to protect them; they wouldn't be fussy about how he did it. But with Arthur Weasley's challenge to Trent, it was as if the forces of moderation were making a desperate effort to be heard. If the information in the Prophet was any indication, however, those voices were not being heard by enough people. This was what Drake had expected, of course; Weasley would lose, and Trent would start eroding the freedoms of wizarding society, using his power to divide people and accelerate the creation of fear. History told Drake this was what almost always happened in the face of a society-wide threat.

Joe was killing six to ten wizards a day in England and America, and was thoroughly addicted to the ring. This would not be a problem until he needed Joe to start killing less for some reason, but he would worry about that later. He had in mind for Joe an unusually public mission in England. As a test, he had hit Joe with a Stunning spell; Joe had barely felt it. For the few seconds necessary, Joe would be nearly impervious to any magic. Taking people out by stealth was one thing, but doing it in a public place would create even more fear. Assured that it would be very difficult to stop him even if Aurors were present, Joe agreed to the mission. He would be able to kill three, maybe four, before escaping. He reluctantly agreed to Trent's directive that the mission was to be aborted if Aurors happened to be present; there was no point in taking unnecessary chances.

* * * * *

"So, Andrea's back at Hogwarts today?" asked Luna.

Colin and Luna had stayed for another hour in the hospital room the night before. The Slytherins thanked Luna for delivering Derek's messages, and asked her questions about the spiritual realm and the disposition of the recently deceased. A few asked her to contact deceased relatives, and she tried, but she explained that most spirits declined to say anything unless they had something in particular to say. Dennis had left with them, and with Colin and Luna's encouragement, joined them for dinner at the Chinese restaurant. They had spent most of the dinner talking about Colin's family, which was very interesting to Luna.

"Yes, they were back in time for their morning classes, apparently," said Colin. He, she, and Dudley were walking through Diagon Alley, going to Florean Fortescue's for lunch. Arthur was having lunch with a group of important housewives; the event was being covered by another Prophet reporter, so Luna felt free to have lunch with Colin and Dudley. "I'm glad. I hope she can start to put this behind her."

"Me, too. No news in the Muggle world?"

Colin and Dudley shook their heads. "Nothing's changed. How about Arthur?"

"Trent gave him a particularly nasty challenge today," said Luna. "You know that there's been talk of a debate between the two of them, and their camps have been quietly negotiating the terms. Well, today, it was not so quiet. Trent publicly challenged Arthur to a debate in which both of them would first drink Veritaserum."

Colin and Dudley exchanged raised eyebrows. "I'd think that would be riskier for Trent than for Arthur," suggested Dudley. "Arthur doesn't tend to lie; there's no reason he shouldn't do it."

"It is a little risky for Trent," agreed Luna, "but there's one problem. Arthur won't do it. Not because he's afraid that he'll say something damaging under the influence of Veritaserum, but because he thinks it's a very bad precedent. He feels--and this makes sense to me--that if people are forced or pressured into taking Veritaserum to prove that what they're saying is true, then it becomes like coercion. Two important people, one of whom will be the Minister, taking Veritaserum in a public forum would send a very dangerous message, Arthur feels."

"The message being, 'you have to take Veritaserum if you want us to believe that what you're saying is true,'" supplied Colin. "That could lead to it being used in other situations, and being generally accepted. Its use could become widespread."

Luna nodded. "Yes, exactly. By accepting Trent's challenge, he would be implicitly saying that it's all right to use Veritaserum to check the truth of what someone's saying. The problem is, Arthur saying no will be a huge win for Trent. He can portray it as Arthur having something to hide, while he, Trent, is willing to make sure people hear the unvarnished truth. Arthur can explain his side, and anyone who listens carefully will understand, but for people who only read the headlines--and I've discovered there are quite a few of them--it'll make Arthur look bad. There's just no way out of this for Arthur. He has to say no, explain it as best he can, and take the consequences. Of course, most politicians would say yes, caring more about the politics than the precedent. But, we know Arthur."

Colin and Dudley nodded sadly as they sat at the only open table at a crowded Florean Fortescue's. "I'm surprised Trent had the nerve to try it," said Colin. "I mean, what if Arthur had said yes? The debate being that way would have been bad for Trent."

"He probably would have found some way to squirm out of it," said Dudley. "But I'm sure he had a very good idea of what Arthur would do. The problem with having principles is that it makes you predictable."

"Well, if you follow the politics, that's predictable too," pointed out Colin. "It's just less politically dangerous." Dudley nodded his acknowledgment.

"So, Arthur spent most of the morning responding to that, talking about how this means that Trent would have us live in a society where we had no privacy, we were compelled to testify against ourselves, and so forth," said Luna. "He painted a pretty bleak picture. Trent, of course, responds that Arthur is being hysterical in his efforts to avoid telling the truth, there's no need to worry about a precedent, and so forth. All lies, ironically, but the kind of lie you can get away with, since it can't be proved false."

Colin sighed. "And it requires a certain amount of thought to realize that it's a lie. It's amazing, how... sleazy this guy is. Bright wouldn't have done half of this stuff. Then again, Bright was a really good politician, so he didn't have to."

"Everyone I talk to says Bright had a way with people," said Luna. "A natural charm, a way of getting you to like him, that neither of these two have. Arthur's a good person, but he can come off a little stiff at first. He's not a natural politician. Trent, on the other hand, makes up for his lack of personality with his institutional power. He could probably win without campaigning at all; others would do it for him. But anyway, this is almost certainly going to cost Arthur. It isn't right."

"That's politics," said Colin resignedly. "There's a whole lot about it that isn't right. So, do we know what we want to order?"

Dudley had been glancing at a man who had been approaching the open-air tables. He looked very nondescript, but was looking around very carefully. Dudley wondered if he might be concerned about an attack, but there had been no attacks in public places, and the look in the man's eyes was more hard than concerned. Dudley was about to gesture to Colin when the man, standing five feet away now with Colin, Dudley, and Luna to his right, pointed his wand at people at other tables. He didn't speak, but Dudley knew what a Killing Curse looked like, and they were coming from the man's wand. A few people screamed.

Colin hurriedly reached for his wand, and instantly put up a Killing Curse shield around one of the patrons just in time; a bolt struck another. The attacker looked to his left for another target. Dudley rose from his chair instantly, throwing it aside, and covered the distance to the man with all the quickness his old boxing reflexes allowed. Just as the man turned to look at Dudley, Dudley's fist was in his face. The impact made a loud cracking noise, and the man started to fall. Dudley grabbed the man's arms, causing him to drop his wand, and in one movement roughly pulled the man's arms behind his back and pushed him to the ground facefirst. "Somebody get Aurors!" he shouted.

Colin, standing by now, cast the spell that would wrap ropes around the man, and Dudley moved his hands just in time to avoid being caught in the ropes. The man was bound with his hands behind his back.

Tonks and Jack Temble came running up. "What happened?" asked Tonks.

"This is probably the guy, or one of them, who's been doing a lot of the killing," said Colin. "He just opened up with Killing Curses. Dudley managed to get to him, laid him out with one punch."

"His nose is broken," added Dudley, as the man's moans emphasized the point. "Not the worst of his problems right now, I'd guess." The area suddenly became more crowded, as more Aurors and Healers started Apparating in.

"No, I wouldn't think so," agreed Jack, hauling the man to his feet. With his free hand, he reached out to shake Dudley's. "Thank you, Dudley. You saved lives, not only those here, but very likely future ones as well." Dudley nodded as the patrons broke into applause. Slightly embarrassed, but enjoying the attention, Dudley smiled and nodded.

"We're going to need everyone to move, please," said an Auror; people started getting up and moving aside. "Where are we going to eat now?" Dudley asked Colin and Luna.

"Hello, young man, I am Florean Fortescue," said an older man who had quickly walked up to the three, offering Dudley his hand. "You are Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin?" Dudley nodded; Fortescue smiled. "My, my, some things do run in families. I'm sorry that lunch seems to be shut down, but the manager of the Golden Dragon is a friend of mine. If you'll just wait here, I will see to it that you three get their next available table, and I will take care of the tab. Excuse me." He briskly walked off.

Colin smiled at Dudley. "The man of the hour. Or, maybe, the Muggle of the hour."

Dudley chuckled. "I think you wizards forget that you can hit people, too. He probably forgot."

"If this goes the way I think it'll go, it means your job is safe even if Trent wins," said Colin. After a slight pause, he added, "Of course, that might just mean they fire me instead of you."

"Nah, I'll make sure that doesn't happen either," smiled Dudley.

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"No problem."

* * * * *

In the middle of their meal at the Golden Dragon, Luna excused herself to go to the restroom, stopped time while there, and teleported to her home, finding her father in the living room. She extended the time-field around him. "I guess you heard."

"Word travels fast. I'm just glad you're all right."

She chuckled humorlessly. "I'm pretty much unkillable right now. Even if they fired a Killing Curse at me from behind, I'd see it coming. You don't have to worry about that."

Her father saw the sadness in her eyes. "You feel bad for not helping."

"Colin saved one person, one died, and one got a glancing blow; she was wounded, but she'll be all right. What really bothers me, Daddy, is that I could have saved the man who was killed, just with my usual abilities! And I didn't!"

"Why didn't you?"

She shook her head helplessly. "I just... froze, I guess. It all happened really fast, there was hardly time to think; it didn't even occur to me to stop time. Before, my reflex would have been the same as Colin's was, to grab my wand and try to save someone. Now, it was to decide whether I should help or not, and before I could decide anything, it was too late. A man is dead who I could have saved."

He moved closer to her and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, honey. But you really shouldn't blame yourself. This is a huge burden, and you're not used to it yet. This kind of thing is... part of your education, I suppose. It's very new, your reflexes haven't adapted to it yet. They will."

"A very expensive education," she muttered.

"Some things can't be learned any other way," he said. "You didn't make a conscious decision not to help. If it had happened that you'd been looking the other way, and didn't happen to see until it was too late, you wouldn't blame yourself. I really think this is like that. You just weren't able to respond like you would have wanted to, and we can't blame ourselves for not doing things we couldn't do."

"We do anyway," she said, understanding his point. "I suppose it goes with being human. I was with those seven Slytherin seventh years yesterday. I peeked into their minds, and they know they had no control over what happened, but they felt bad anyway. It just takes time, I suppose. Mine just feels different somehow."

"It's probably because you have so much extra power to help that you don't use," suggested her father. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

She gripped him tightly. "How can I be who I am, who I want to be, if my impulse to help people isn't there, if I have to shut it down?" she asked, anguished.

"Not shut down," he whispered. "Just altered. You'll find the right place. I know you." She very badly hoped that he was right.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Kingsley walked to the spot at the Atrium from which one spoke to the press. Seeing Dudley in the crowd, which was at least as large as it had been when Arthur announced his challenge to Trent, he motioned him forward. "It seems only fair that you should get your picture in the paper," he whispered to Dudley, who he had stand behind him and to his right. "Your parents will be so proud."

Dudley gave him a wry grin. "Only if you take Polyjuice Potion and make yourself look like the Muggle Prime Minister."

"I'll work on it." Kingsley turned to the press and the crowd, speaking loudly. "Good afternoon. I am pleased to announce that we have in custody the man who has committed most every attack on British wizards, and American wizards for that matter, since Lucius Malfoy died. His interrogation is continuing, but we have already acquired quite a bit of information, much of which I cannot reveal for security reasons.

"I can say that the reason we have this man is standing right behind me. There was an attack at Florean Fortescue's in Diagon Alley. Dudley Dursley, who some of you may know is a Muggle, is Harry Potter's cousin, and works in the Muggle Liaison office at the Ministry, was eating lunch there with two friends. He caught the attacker by surprise and was able to physically subdue him, with a very strong punch that broke the attacker's nose.

"We have discovered that the attacker has killed about one hundred wizards over the past two weeks. He is from Kenya, Africa, and is a mercenary, a killer for hire. He was hired by the man we are sure is the instigator of the strife of the past three weeks. He is also a werewolf, and we have discovered that over the past few days he has bitten four people in England. The purpose, he was told, was to contribute to the political chaos in this country. The notion was that those he bit would unexpectedly become werewolves and attack others, killing some. This would cause a very negative climate in England towards werewolves, and prompt political leaders to issue new restrictions." Kingsley had decided to lie; Snape, who was still going over the man's memories, strongly suspected it was the case, but did not know it for a fact. Kingsley decided to present it as fact anyway, as his small way of affecting the outcome of the Choosing. Smart people would understand very well that this attack was designed to create fear, which would help Trent. "I'll take your questions now."

"Did you get any information which leads you closer to the source of these attacks?

Unfortunately, no, he thought. "I can't answer that question, for security reasons."

"How is the interrogation being conducted? Is Legilimency being used?"

Of course, you idiot. "I can't answer that question, for security reasons."

"A question for Mr. Dursley, if I could. Mr. Dursley, it's been reported that you bullied your cousin, Harry Potter, as a child. Is that true?"

I knew it, thought Dudley. "I can't answer that question, for security reasons." Most of those watching, and Kingsley, laughed. "Well, it worked for you," said Dudley to Kingsley. "Colin, my five Galleons, please. Thank you," he said as he caught a small package tossed to him by Colin. Addressing the reporters, he added, "That's my co-worker, Colin Creevey. I bet him five Galleons that that would be the first question you would ask me. It's the first thing almost every wizard says to me. So, with any luck, this will be the last time. Yes, I gave him a hard time when we were kids. No, I'm not proud of it, but I think most of us do stuff as kids we later wish we hadn't done. Most just don't happen to be the cousin of someone extremely famous, and so get asked about it a hundred times. But that's in the past, and Harry and I are friends now. If anyone wants to ask about what happened today, I'll be happy to answer."

He answered a few routine questions about what had happened, and when it looked like there were no more, he decided to take advantage of an opportunity. "Look, while I have you here, I want to mention that you really ought to be paying more attention to the Muggle world. Colin and I have serious reason to think that this guy's boss, whoever hired him, also did a chemical attack against American Muggles that left over five hundred dead and could start a Muggle war. Kingsley, did you get anything from him that could connect his boss to that?"

There was just a hint of a smile on Kingsley's face. "I can't answer that question--"

"For security reasons," Dudley finished along with him, to scattered laughter. "Sorry, I forgot. But I am serious about this, and I think the Prophet should devote some space every day to Muggle events. Okay, I'm finished. Kingsley?"

Dudley watched Kingsley refuse to answer a few more questions, then get a few he could actually answer. As the questioning wound down, Dudley saw Roger Trent edging closer. "What's he doing here?" he asked Colin, standing a few feet away.

"Probably looking for some way to associate himself with what happened," suggested Colin. "He might even come over to try to shake your hand, get that picture in the paper."

"To hell with that," muttered Dudley. "C'mon, let's go. Apparate me to Harry's place once we're alone." They briskly walked out behind Kingsley, as they saw one of Trent's aides heading for them. They walked into a men's room, and Colin Disapparated them away. "Thanks. That's pretty convenient sometimes."

Dentus, in the living room, looked up with a questioning expression. "I saved him from an involuntary photo-op with Trent," explained Colin.

Dentus nodded knowingly. "He'll kiss you today, slap you tomorrow. A very typical politician in that regard. It may seem especially brazen considering that Dudley works for Arthur, but he'll always get away with what he can."

"Can we use this politically?" wondered Dudley.

"When you talked to the press, did you mention Arthur's name?"

"Sorry. But I did give them a little lecture on how they should pay more attention to Muggle events."

Dentus chuckled. "Arthur will say you had your priorities straight. It's all right, he'll talk about it in his appearances, say he's proud of you, mention that you work for him. But considering that what you did has nothing to do with your job, he won't want to associate himself too closely with it. He'll just say that what you did is the kind of thing we should all do if we have the opportunity. Excuse me, I need to go talk to him."

Dentus Disapparated away, leaving Dudley and Colin alone. "Think we should get back to the office?" suggested Colin.

Dudley frowned thoughtfully. "What I said to those reporters got me thinking, we should be trying harder to clear up the Muggle connection."

"I thought we couldn't do much else. Did you think of something?"

"I have an idea, but we can't be seen going into Hogwarts. I'd really rather use a phoenix. Do you think Fawkes would come if you called him?"

Colin looked doubtful. "I don't think I'm quite close enough to Harry to qualify. You might be, but you're not magical. Well, I'll try. Fawkes?" he said, whirling his wand. Ten seconds later, he shook his head. "Oh, well." He whirled his wand again and jokingly said, "Any phoenix that's not too busy at the moment?"

Colin and Dudley looked at each other, shocked, as a phoenix teleported in and settled on the back of a sofa. "Wow," said Dudley. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I think you can't, I was just joking. Say, I think that's the one that was in the office yesterday. It's hard to tell, though. It's nice to see you anyway, though," he added to the phoenix.

"You talk to them as if they're people?"

"Of course. Some people say they're like people, only better. You may not know, but it was an enormous deal when Harry became a phoenix. It's like... I don't know, rising up a step of evolution or something. But yeah, you always treat phoenixes with respect. You know they can see right through you, right? One glance and they know what kind of person you are."

Dudley glanced at the phoenix, then Colin, nervously. "I suddenly feel like I'm naked or something."

Colin smiled. "Don't worry, they're not judgmental."

Dudley rolled his eyes. "Do they have any negative qualities at all?"

Colin thought. "Nope. Don't think so." He sat on the sofa and looked at the phoenix. "So, does this mean you're willing to take us... where did you want to go again, Dudley?"

"To see Snape."

"Have you ever even met Snape?"

"I hear he doesn't get out much."

"That's one way of putting it," agreed Colin. The phoenix flew into the air; Colin and Dudley grabbed her tail, and the next thing they knew, they were in the Potions dungeon.

"Nice place," said Dudley, looking around.

Colin chuckled. "Probably the least scenic bit of Hogwarts. Wait a minute, you're a Muggle, you're not supposed to be able to see this."

Dudley shrugged. "Maybe I can see it only from the inside, not from the outside."

"Well, no point in debating it. I wonder where Professor Snape is."

A few seconds after he said the words, the dungeon doors opened, and Snape walked in. Startled, he did a slight double-take upon seeing his visitors. He resumed walking forward towards them. First Ginny, he thought, then Luna, now him; for some reason I have suddenly become very popular with the class of '99. "I would ask 'what is going on,' but my powers of deduction have told me most of what I need to know. Mr. Creevey... you would be Mr. Dursley, I believe... and this?"

"I don't know his name. He--"

Snape shook his head in disapproval. "Professor Hagrid would be most distressed that you cannot tell a female phoenix from a male. But, do continue."

"Sorry, she visited the Ministry yesterday and hung around for a little bit. Just now I said we needed a phoenix, and she showed up. That's all I know."

"Indeed," said Snape, regarding the phoenix with great interest. He stared at her for a few seconds, and nodded to himself. "Yes, I believe I understand the situation perfectly well." Turning to Colin, he asked, "And what can I do for you, Mr. Creevey?"

"It was my idea, actually," said Dudley. "First, I have to explain the situation we're in, about what's going on in America." He took a few minutes to give roughly the same presentation he gave to Kingsley. "So, this is where it stands right now. We're almost sure a wizard did this, but we have no proof. We'd like to investigate, maybe find some proof, but there's only so much we can do. From what I've heard about you, you'd be the perfect person to help, if you were willing. You're experienced at undercover operations, you can do everything an Auror can do, and most importantly of all--"

"You want a Legilimens," supplied Snape; Dudley nodded. "You are aware, I assume, that what you propose would be illegal in multiple ways."

"We know that, Professor," said Colin earnestly. "But this is very important."

"Mr. Creevey, may I have your permission to view your memory of the visual record to which Mr. Dursley refers?" Colin nervously nodded; Snape told him to think about the memory, which Snape then viewed. He sat in a student chair, staring straight ahead. "Fascinating."

"Do you think it is what we think it is?"

Snape nodded. "Almost certainly. I of course cannot evaluate the likelihood of it being a Muggle-produced fraud, but it would be in many ways consistent with what has happened until now."

"How do you mean?" asked Colin.

Snape sighed. "Use your mind, Mr. Creevey, use your reasoning ability. What is our enemy's goal? Voldemort's goal was to terrorize the populace, gather followers, and eventually seize power. This enemy not only does not show his face to us, he does not even show it to those who do his bidding. I have just returned from spending a few hours examining the mind of the man you apprehended, Mr. Dursley. You were correct, by the way; he was so powerful that he was impervious to most magic, but the notion of a punch in the nose never entered his mind.

"In any case, our enemy always used Polyjuice Potion when dealing with the man you caught. Apparently he expected the man to be caught eventually, and did not want his face to become known. Our enemy has no ego gratification needs, no need to be recognized. He does not recruit, so power is not his goal. His goal is arguably chaos, which he has created both here and in America. He kills many, but disproportionately from the higher strata of society, to create greater anxiety. He used the Dark Mark even after Malfoy died, seeking to create the impression that Voldemort still lived. Chaos, not power, the same sort of end starting a Muggle war would lead to... I find it very easy to believe we are talking about the same man."

"But why create chaos?" wondered Dudley. "What's the point?"

"Why create a beautiful painting, Mr. Dursley? Because one enjoys it. Some minds would enjoy what this man has wrought, thinking it a thing of beauty. There need not be a rational reason. In any case, I do believe this warrants further investigation."

"Great!" said Colin. "What should we do first?"

A smirk crossed Snape's face. "I am sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Creevey, but 'we' will do nothing. You and Mr. Dursley are not experienced investigators, and would be more a liability than an asset in the field. Field operations can be very risky, and one does not undertake them with those in whom one does not have confidence. I admit I do need to be accompanied by a Muggle, someone who has excellent knowledge of how things are done in Muggle intelligence operations and law enforcement. Mr. Dursley, can you get in contact with Captain Ingersoll?"

Dudley was disappointed, but he supposed he could see Snape's point, and he should have thought of Ingersoll. "Not instantly, especially from here, but I should be able to fairly soon."

"Please do so."

* * * * *

The loss of Joe was another blow to Drake, caused by something almost as ridiculous as losing Malfoy to the house-elf. Joe could barely be harmed by magic, but he could fall victim to a physical attack. Just as it had been incredibly bad luck that the house-elf had once been Malfoy's, it was bad luck that the only person who would have thought of a physical attack was sitting near Joe. Amazing.

Amazing and annoying. It was partly his fault for not having foreseen it, he had to admit. He'd sent Joe into a crowded area, convinced that nothing would happen. The problem now was that he couldn't simply continue going to mercenary brokers and getting fresh people. They didn't take kindly to their people being killed or captured; it was bad for their business as brokers. Mercenaries wouldn't trust them, and it reduced their future business. A client who got more than one or two of their mercenaries taken out of action would quickly become blacklisted, and brokers worldwide shared information. He could recruit directly, but that took too much time.

He found that he was leaning towards using the ring himself. He knew what the effects of withdrawal were, having tested it on Malfoy, and felt that he could recover from them with a little time and the right potions. By now the Aurors would know about the ring, but knowing about it would do them little good against it. He wanted to keep up the pressure, especially on the Brits. He debated whether to intervene further with the American Muggles, but decided against it. The American President was reacting as Drake had expected he would, and the Iranians even better than expected. It was just a matter of time.

* * * * *

The next night, Snape and Ingersoll walked along the same street that Dudley and Colin had nearly two weeks before, heading away from the apartment of the young man who'd taken the video. This time only the man was there; he was very shaken at seeing more people interested in what he'd done. Snape did a Suggestion Charm on him to cause him to think that they were more government investigators, doing follow-up work; this only abated his anxiety somewhat, since he wasn't happy with government investigators of any type at the moment. Snape and Ingersoll stayed long enough to give anyone still listening or watching a chance to reach their location.

"I have cast a spell to cause what we say not to be heard outside a radius of two meters," said Snape as they walked. "Do you think they will come?"

Ingersoll shrugged. "This long after, they may not. For them, it was a longshot at best. But you never know. If they are here, your little spell should get them to come sooner, since they won't be able to hear what we're saying."

"That is the idea, of course," agreed Snape. "Now, we must head for the spot from which Messrs Creevey and Dursley Disapparated. Behind a... what was the word?"

"A dumpster." To Snape's blank look, he added, "An oversized trash receptacle."

"Ah. Well, they are not exactly seasoned field operatives."

Ingersoll chuckled. "That'd be fair to say. I did feel bad for that poor kid. All he does is take a movie, and he gets all this hassle."

"No doubt Harry, when he comes back, will do something for him to counterbalance this."

"You mean like giving him a winning lottery ticket?"

"I did not have anything in particular in mind; Harry is most creative when it comes to doing things he is not supposed to do. Lifting your Memory Charm, for example."

Ingersoll raised an eyebrow. "You think he shouldn't have? Personally, I was glad he did."

"Clearly, it has had a beneficial result in this case. I only mean that it was indulgent of him. It was a small chance taken that need not have been taken. He prioritizes that which he thinks is right over being careful."

"People like that about him," responded Ingersoll. "You should see what people say about him on those websites."

Snape briefly rolled his eyes. "I know perfectly well, I often hear it in my classes. And due to an ill-advised newspaper interview I gave four years ago, students know I have a personal connection to him, so they sometimes ask me about him in class when they should be paying attention to their studies."

"I read that interview, on the websites," said Ingersoll; the comment seemed to further annoy Snape. "It was very soon after he took away the Memory Charm. I thought it was reasonable; you deserved to be recognized for all you'd done. Why do you say it was 'ill-advised?'"

"I thought that students would only take a minimal interest in it, and forget about it by the beginning of the next term. I discovered that as it involved events to which Harry was strongly connected, and my relationship with him, it was not to be forgotten so easily. Even now, first-year students ask me about it." Snape related the information with a long-suffering air.

"So, being known as a hero is annoying to you."

Snape gave Ingersoll a sideways glance, not sure whether or not he was being tweaked. "They lack the proper frame of reference to--"

"Over there," interrupted Ingersoll, who lightly steered Snape in the right direction.

"A charming means of waste disposal. It does much for the landscape."

"That's right, you guys just Vanish things. By the way, I wondered, when you Vanish something, where does it go?"

Snape shrugged. "It disappears."

"I know that, but do you mean, it just doesn't exist anymore?" Snape nodded. "Doesn't that contradict the law of conservation of energy, since mass and energy are just the same thing in different form?"

"There is a perfectly reasonable explanation--"

They were just about to turn the corner of the dumpster when two men stepped out of the place Colin and Dudley had Disapparated from, with guns pointed at Snape and Ingersoll. "A reasonable explanation for why you were heading for this dumpster?" asked one of the men, both of whom had short, dark hair and were wearing dark suits. "Hands behind your heads, please."

Snape and Ingersoll did as instructed, but in anticipation of what had happened, Snape had taken the precaution of making his wand invisible; he held it between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, enough contact to use it. He cast the Imperius Curse on one, then the other. Both holstered their weapons as Ingersoll lowered his hands. Snape then cast Legilimens on one, then the other.

"We are in luck," he informed Ingersoll. "These are the two who confiscated the video in the first place. They gave it to their superior at the... I cannot easily access the name of the organization in their memories. For what organization do you work?" he asked the men.

"The Bureau," answered one.

Snape frowned. "What bureau?"

Ingersoll smiled. "It's shorthand, it means the FBI." He smiled more at Snape's blank look. "Dudley is right, you people need to learn more about Muggle culture. It's America's national internal security organization."

"Fortunately, I am not the Muggle Studies instructor," sniffed Snape.

"I suppose that is fortunate. Well, it should all be downhill from here. What's the name of the man they gave it to?"

"Gerald Parker, he is the head of their local division. I have his location; finding him will not be difficult."

"Good. We find him, then just keep following the trail, see how far it goes." They walked the men back to their van, where Snape applied a Memory Charm.

* * * * *

"The President has seen that video?" repeated Dudley, outraged. "Does he just not care, or what?"

Snape and Ingersoll had followed the trail which led from Parker to Parker's boss to the head of the FBI to the head of Homeland Security. Snape's last Legilimens scan, on the head of Homeland Security, had led them to where the video was being stored; it had been easy to find and procure it. They were now meeting with Colin, Dudley, Luna, and Arthur, who was both intrigued at what had been done and distressed by its illegality.

"He did not give Mr. Pierce--the head of Homeland Security--any particular reaction, except to suggest that what was depicted on the video was an impossibility," explained Snape. "He directed Mr. Pierce to store it with... some peculiar-sounding artifacts."

Ingersoll asked Snape to explain, then laughed when Snape related the conversation Pierce had with the President. "The President was joking," explained Ingersoll. "They don't really have any of those things, but many conspiracy theorists think they do."

Well, we have brains in the Department of Mysteries, so there is no reason that they shouldn't, thought Snape, annoyed at not having understood that it was a joke. "In any case, the President sought to make sure it was never seen again."

"And he really doesn't care that it suggests that Iran may not have done this?" asked Arthur.

"We could not get the President's perspective, as I did not consider it wise to get close enough to the President to use Legilimency on him," Snape explained. "In America, as you know, magic is prohibited in the area containing the country's important arms of Muggle government, including the President. I avoided that problem with a magic-detection-avoidance artifact, the same type we suspect our adversary of possessing. But we do not know that the Americans do not put a physical magical presence around the President; even a periodic one could be a problem. They may also check him for Memory Charms from time to time, so I did not wish to have to use one. Checking his memory, unfortunately, would virtually be an announcement of our interference."

"Which I would very much like to avoid," emphasized Arthur. "So, where does that leave us? Is this now a dead end?"

"Regarding this video, yes," said Snape. "I should also inform you that Mr. Pierce told the President that their experts were virtually certain that the video was genuine, even though it showed a seeming impossibility. Mr. Pierce could not explain the discrepancy, but he has grave doubts about Iran's responsibility, doubts he did not share with the President."

"Why not?" asked Colin.

"My guess would be that that's outside his territory," offered Ingersoll. "People treat the American President with a great deal of deference, and only a close personal friend would offer unsolicited opinions outside their area of responsibility, especially those that can't be backed up with solid, explainable evidence. The problem is that the people whose area of responsibility it is almost certainly haven't seen this video. Not that it would change their opinions much, since it shows an impossibility."

"So the question now is, how do we proceed," said Arthur. "Opinions?"

"I can only give you advice on the Muggle side of things," said Ingersoll, "and I can't see the benefit in pursuing this any further there. The mainstream media would never show this; they'd assume it was a fake. Bloggers would, and it could get out that way, but it would be a minor curiosity, no one would take it very seriously. Even if we somehow exposed the government's role, they'd just deny it. We can't make them take it seriously unless they know about magic. If any use is going to come of this, it has to be from your side."

"The problem with that," said Dudley sadly, "is that no one's going to care. Even if this convinced them that a wizard did this, to wizards it would be a minor story, something that the Ministry should deal with. If it doesn't affect them, they don't care."

Ingersoll nodded. "I've heard that before, not to mention seen it, all too many times."

"The only thing that could make an impact," said Colin, "and I hate to say it, would be to go to the American wizard government and tell them about this, all of it, including this mission. With a lot of luck, they could be persuaded to check the President's memory--does their President know about magic, like Barclay does?"

"I don't know," said Arthur.

"Anyway, if they checked his memory and found that he didn't know it was magic, they could tell him, and maybe he'd back down militarily. The problem, of course, is that Arthur, as head of the Muggle Liaison office, would have to be the one to tell him. They'd be angry that we broke diplomatic protocol by investigating on their territory, and it would be public. It would definitely hurt Arthur's campaign, maybe sink it. Trent would be like, look at the lengths this man will go to, to interfere in Muggle affairs. He'd make a week's worth of hay out of it."

"Look, if this could stop a war, that can't be my primary concern," said Arthur. "I'd obviously accept that. But I have serious doubts that they would accept it as certain that it meant a wizard did this. They'd want time to think about it, at least, and some of them would know that this could have been faked with Muggle technology. All kinds of things could go wrong..."

"And your campaign would have been torpedoed for nothing," finished Dudley.

"I've already said, my campaign shouldn't be considered in this. But we also should consider--what if the President does know about magic? He might know, and do nothing anyway, because implicating Iran somehow serves his purposes."

"It indisputably serves his purposes," interjected Ingersoll. "You have to understand how this President works, and I can very much see him knowing this meant Iran wasn't responsible, and not caring. He hasn't hidden that he wants to bring democracy to the Middle East. Many people think he wouldn't mind a war right now. It would be very difficult for America to win such a war while still holding onto a precarious Iraq. But the President might think he doesn't need to win, but just to cause enough chaos in Iran that the younger generation--there are a lot of disaffected young people in Iran--might rise up in revolt."

Arthur shook his head. "I can't imagine that someone would start a war for a reason like that. But if he knows about magic, the Americans will stiff us. They'll say, even if magic caused the situation in the first place, it's the President's place to ask us to rectify it, and we're not going to interfere in Muggle affairs over his objections. It'll be hard enough to get them to consider any kind of interference in the first place."

"But there's already been interference!" exclaimed a frustrated Dudley. "Shouldn't you interfere to set it right whether the Americans like it or not?"

"In a perfect world, yes," said Arthur with a light sigh.

"And what about the Iranian wizards?" persisted Dudley. "Shouldn't they be told, and involved? Their country might end up going to war because of this, too!"

"Technically, we call them Persian wizards, but you have a point. However, all that happened there was that someone was magically taken from their soil. I can talk to them, but I don't think they'd want to get involved either."

"Keep in mind, Mr. Dursley," said Snape, noticing Dudley's growing frustration, "that from what I have gathered today, both sides have used this to further their agendas. The Iranians could have cooperated with the Americans, but instead chose to provoke them. The American President has a number of reasons to be doubtful of Iran's involvement, but has very likely willfully disregarded them. An action taken by magic may have precipitated this, but both sides have the power to stop it, and they have not. It can be reasonably argued that the magical world is not responsible for what happens."

"But the magical world should know about this," argued Dudley. "Maybe they don't care, but I think they're partly responsible if they knew about this and didn't stop it. Maybe you're right, maybe the Americans will ignore it, maybe the magical public won't care. But that information should be out there."

There was a pause. "Unfortunately, I agree with Dudley," said Colin somberly. "It seems like the right thing to do."

Arthur looked around. "Archibald, you've been very quiet. What do you think?"

Dentus looked uncomfortable. "As your campaign adviser, I think it's a terrible idea. You'd be taking responsibility for the usurping of another country's prerogatives, and it probably wouldn't accomplish anything. It could only hurt your campaign. But the problem is... as a history professor, I think it's exactly the right thing to do. Even if it does no good, it's in the historical record. Magical history can record that a Muggle war, if it comes to that, was caused in large part by magical actions, and we cared so little that we did nothing to stop it. So, that's what I think, in both my roles."

Watching, Luna found that she had no doubt as to what Arthur would do; he would do the right thing. He's such a good man, she thought. Strange how he was in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department for so long, not attracting any notice, but was doing exactly what a leader should do when put into this position. Of course, she knew that personal virtue and career accomplishment hardly went hand in hand, and was sure that plenty of good people went unnoticed. Our society needs him, but we're not going to get him, because we don't deserve him. But speaking of deserving...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden entrance of a phoenix. "Hello, again," said a smiling Colin. "This one's been around a bit recently. Maybe she's the official campaign phoenix."

The phoenix flew down and landed on Luna's shoulder. "Hello," said Luna as she reached up to pet it, wondering what it would feel like later when she experienced it as the phoenix. Very strange, she thought, to be able to pet the phoenix that was her. Snape gave the human Luna a penetrating stare; he clearly knew exactly what was happening. She looked back innocently, but with a small smile.

"Well, what do you think?" Arthur asked the phoenix humorously.

The phoenix flew off of Luna's shoulder, and onto Dudley's. "Maybe that means she agrees with Dudley," mused Colin as Dudley reached up to pet her.

"It wouldn't surprise me." With a helpless shrug, Arthur said, "All right, this is really the only thing to do. I'll talk to George--George Fenton, my American counterpart--tomorrow morning, after which I'll tell the Prophet. Better that they hear it first from me than from the diplomatic protest the Americans will probably make."

As Luna watched, she suddenly knew why her phoenix self had come; to take a phoenix-look at Arthur Weasley. Then she immediately realized that because of Fawkes, the phoenixes would already know about Arthur. She wondered what the situation was with that, but she knew she would find out soon.

* * * * *

"You went on a mission with that Ingersoll guy?" asked Ginny in surprise, later that evening.

"He was perfectly competent, of course," said Snape. "Did you know that Harry had restored his memory?"

She shook her head. "He probably just didn't think to mention it."

"That was the same day he allowed Voldemort to walk through the Veil, so he probably forgot about it rather quickly," agreed Snape.

"Did you think he shouldn't have done that?" she asked. "Most people were okay with it at the time."

"After what he accomplished, most people would have been 'okay with' most anything he did," Snape pointed out. "I understand why Harry did what he did; it is simply his nature. But it is rare enough that people get what they deserve, and even if Tom Riddle was no longer Voldemort, strictly speaking, he still deserved the fate that Harry spared him. In the case of Ingersoll, I gather it was the same sort of thought; Harry simply felt it was the right thing to do. It did turn out for the best, though your father may suffer politically for what Captain Ingersoll and I did. He will not identify who went on the mission, and he will truthfully say the mission was undertaken without his knowledge, but he will be blamed for it anyway, since he will admit he knows who it was but will not reveal it."

"Well, that's Dad. He's very honorable, which is why he's going to lose on Thursday."

"Unfortunately, yes," agreed Snape. "I am surprised to hear you say that, though. I would have thought you would have a more positive attitude."

"I'm just being realistic. Mum's talked to a lot of people, she's been pretty relentless in talking him up, but even she can see where this is going. People think Dad is a good guy, but they don't take him seriously. He doesn't fit their image of what a Minister of Magic should be like, and Trent does. Which is really awful, since Dad would be ten times as good a Minister as Trent. What are you going to do, anyway? You're as good as sacked on Friday, and Trent will probably try to have you arrested."

"I can hide out at your place," he joked. "They would never find me there."

She chuckled. "That's true. You've very welcome to, of course."

"I think I will manage, thank you. I may be able to hold out longer than you think. But were I forced to flee, I think it safe to say that the Aurors would not expend significant manpower to hunt me down."

"Yes, it's safe to say," she agreed. "Well, let's start the practice."

He gave her more advice about the proper mental approach to Legilimency, had her do a few practice mental exercises, then she practiced on him again. After twenty minutes of trying, in only her fifth lesson, she got into his mind.

He raised an eyebrow. "Congratulations; that was very quick progress."

She smiled. "I'm very motivated."

"Yes, you are," he agreed. "Now, you should keep practicing. Get in, and look for images of love."

Her eyebrows went high. "Will there be any?"

He almost smiled. "You might be surprised."

She cast Legilimency on him again, focusing on bringing up memories of love. Nothing happened for a moment. She suddenly saw an image of a younger Dumbledore kissing his wife, holding her. She could feel his love for her in Snape's memory of the event. Then another memory came up: it was the night Malfoy had snatched her off the Hogwarts grounds and transported her into the Chamber, when Harry had created the Killing Curse shield. After Malfoy left the Chamber, Harry had looked into her eyes, and suddenly known he was in love with her. She saw the memory, but it was Harry's memory, not hers. She felt his love, and his fear for her. Then she saw what happened later. She saw Harry tell her he was in love with her, and again, she could feel, in the memory, how much he loved her. She saw herself tell him the same thing, and felt how happy it made him.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she put down her wand. She started to sob, partly in happiness at seeing so clearly how he felt about her. Ever since he and Hermione had first exchanged feelings via the phoenixes, she had wanted to be able to feel his love for her as he felt it. Finally, she could. But she realized she was also crying for another reason. The only memories of love Snape has are someone else's, he has none of his own. That's so sad, she thought. Well, that's what I'm trying to do here, see that he at least has a chance at that.

He moved closer to her, and with only a little awkwardness, put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. Through her tears, Ginny smiled. He's learning.

* * * * *

At about the same time, Colin and Luna were having dinner in a restaurant, one of the several wizarding restaurants near the Ministry, invisible to Muggles. To her pleasure, he had asked her this time. I guess I've made it so clear that he felt confident enough to ask me, she thought. "So, how's Dudley doing today? Are people treating him differently at the Ministry?"

Colin chuckled. "He's enjoying his fifteen minutes, that's for sure." To her quizzical expression, he shook his head in dismay at himself. "I'll probably never stop using Muggle phrases. It's a Muggle thing, someone once said that everyone gets fifteen minutes of fame. It's not really true, of course, but it's something we say especially when someone who wasn't well-known suddenly is. Thinking about Harry, he probably wishes it really were only fifteen minutes."

"I'm sure that's true. I haven't had my fifteen minutes, though. But I don't think I'd really want it."

"It doesn't have to be worldwide fame, it can just be local fame. I think you had it when you were the first one to get the energy of love. There was a lot of attention on you for a while."

"Yes, but thank goodness, those two Slytherin second years helped take it off of me. I don't think I'd like to be famous. How about you?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes I think it would be nice, but I remember that Harry didn't like it. Of course, it was ironic that how I reacted to him was exactly part of the reason he didn't like it. I didn't understand that then, of course, we never do when we're young. I feel sort of stupid about it now, even though I try to shrug off the jokes I get about it."

"I'm sorry," she said, looking concerned. "I made one of those jokes, the first day I came to the Ministry."

He waved off her apology. "It's okay. It's not that I feel stupid every time someone makes a joke about it. Like I said before, we all have something like that. I just wish I had understood things better."

She nodded. "I know the feeling. I guess we just understand things when we're meant to understand them."

Just then, a female phoenix appeared in the restaurant, flying around and finally perching on the top of a partition separating one row of booths from another. Colin could hear a lot of excited conversation as the customers talked about the conspicuous new arrival. "Her again!" exclaimed Colin. He smiled at Luna, a thought suddenly occurring. "I wonder if she wants to bond with you, maybe she's checking you out."

Luna broke into a broad smile at the absurdity of the notion. "I don't think so. I think she's been around you more than me. Why do you assume it's me?"

"Because... you have this... I don't know, this peace about you, that I'm sure would be very attractive to a phoenix. I know it's very attractive to me," he added quickly, as if to get the words out before his nerve failed him.

She smiled again, this time from pleasure, not humor. "Thank you, Colin. That's very sweet."

He shrugged. "It's true. You've always been like that. I remember even back in seventh year thinking I'd like to ask you out."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I don't know... I just wasn't good at that sort of thing. It was like I didn't know the right words, or the right way to be, or something. It's hard to explain. I just couldn't get myself to do it. I still find it difficult; we wouldn't be here if you hadn't asked me first. I'm just glad you did."

She reached across the table and took his hand. "I'm glad too. But you shouldn't be so quick to assume it's me. You underestimate yourself. I think there's a lot a phoenix would like about you."

He was very surprised. "You really think so?"

She smiled and gripped his hand a little. "I'm very sure of it."

* * * * *

Arthur Apparated into Harry's home in the early afternoon, shortly after the working day began on America's east coast. "How did it go, with Fenton?" asked Dentus.

Arthur had already given an interview to the Prophet about the events in America and what he would tell Fenton; they would also feature a picture that would display the key points of the video the young American took that suggested a wizard was involved. "He was very alarmed at the thought that wizards might have helped start a Muggle war, and he promised a full and fast investigation backed by the unstinting help of their government." A hint of Arthur's discouragement betrayed his words.

"I see. In other words, it didn't go well."

"As we expected. He was angrier that I wouldn't tell him who did it than that it was done at all. He said a lot of the stuff I expected him to say, like, how would I feel if a bunch of American wizards were snooping around Britain, that national boundaries should be respected, that it showed a lack of consideration of their laws, and so forth. I wanted to tell him that if they'd been more responsive it wouldn't have been necessary, but I knew we were in the wrong here, so I held my tongue. Difficult though it was."

"They're not going to help?"

"He said they'd look into it, but he didn't sound very enthusiastic. He did say that they do brief the President, and only him, on magic. And, as I expected, that disinclines him to take aggressive action. I also discovered that he didn't even know that America and Iran could be fighting any second! Apparently one of his guys knows about it, but follows Muggle events more as a hobby, not for his job. It was very depressing."

"But not unexpected," pointed out Dentus.

"No. But there is one more thing I'm going to do. I can't do it until tonight, though, and only if Kingsley agrees." He explained to Dentus what he had in mind.

Dentus was taken aback. "If this gets out..."

"Both Kingsley and I will be in a lot of trouble, I know. But he'll help. It's the right thing to do."

* * * * *

Eight hours later, Kingsley sighed in discomfort. "You're asking me to help you do something that requires the power of the Minister. I know that Trent would never give his approval, and it would only be for political reasons. But still..."

"We have to do this, Kingsley," said Arthur. "It may not do any good, but if it works, it could save thousands of lives."

Kingsley thought about it. "All right. But I'm not telling any other Aurors about this. If we get found out, it's just going to be me. Just one thing before we go; I have to deactivate the reading we get from his magic-detection pendant. It's set not to recognize me, but it will recognize you."

After he returned, Kingsley put his hand on Arthur's shoulder, and they Apparated to 10 Downing Street.

* * * * *

Prime Minister Kenneth Barclay tried hard to keep his temper in check. "Is it true, Mr. President? Have you seen the video clip that the wizards just showed me?" Even though he was the leader of America's closest ally, he'd had to insist that it was a grave emergency before he could convince the President's chief of staff to forward his call to the President. He'd interrupted the President's dinner, but he'd had his own dinners interrupted many times.

"Yes, I've seen it. But it didn't prove anything." The President sounded peeved, Barclay thought. "They can fake things like that. You know that."

It was getting harder and harder for Barclay to rein in his anger. "You were told by your experts, with near certainty, that it was genuine!"

"How do you know that?"

"The wizards told me," responded Barclay. "They can access people's memories. They followed the trail from those who seized the video until it led to you. They now have it, and are considering releasing it."

"They can't do that! It shows what's either magic or a fraud. They can't tell people it was magic, so it'll be assumed it was a fraud."

"They think it might create enough doubt about what happened that it could affect public opinion. But, Mr. President, that's not the point. You know and I know that this was done by magic, that Iran did not do it--"

"I do not know that. I admit the video, if not a fraud, strongly suggests magic, but it hardly proves anything."

"I'm not talking about proof, Mr. President, I'm talking about what we know. I know, I am convinced, that Iran did not do this, that it was done by a wizard to make it appear that Iran did it. This wizard is apparently active in the wizarding sections of both our countries as well, killing dozens and causing political strife. Nothing is proved, but for those who know about the existence of magic, there is more than enough doubt to justify exercising restraint. The special relationship between our two countries is very important to me, Mr. President. I implore you to take no steps that would further strain it." If you do this, we won't be with you. It wasn't like Barclay to be so unsubtle, but this was a dangerous situation, and the President was being willfully obstinate.

There was a sigh in the President's voice. "All right, Ken. I promise that we'll take no further military action, unless provoked, without talking to you first."

"Thank you, Mr. President. I would also hope that you could see your way clear towards talking your country down, putting less emphasis on Iran as the culprit and more on the mysterious nature of what happened."

"Look, somebody has to pay for this. Not that I'm convinced, but we can't tell our people it was wizards, and Iran hasn't exactly been falling all over itself to help. Where do you suggest we point the finger?"

Barclay restrained a sudden urge to tell the President exactly where he could put his finger. "Terrorists, which would not be a lie. Fold it into the overall war on terror, try to channel your country's anger that way."

There was a pause. "I'll talk to my people, see what we can work out."

"Thank you, Mr. President. I'll let you go now, I'm sorry to have interrupted your dinner. I truly felt that this could not wait."

"Well, one good thing about being President, the kitchen staff have lots of experience at reheating food. Have a good night."

"You too," said Barclay, and he hung up the phone.

He sat back in his chair and thought. That idiot, he fumed silently. But he's not really an idiot, he knew what that video meant; he just never thought he'd have to explain to anyone why he ignored it. He acted like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, which he did. That wizard wanted to make it look like Iran was responsible for the sarin attack, and the President lapped it up, because it was what he wanted as well. Hardly a new political sin, I suppose, to choose what fits one's political agenda over what's true and right. I know he's doing what he thinks is right, because he wants a new government in Tehran. But Britain doesn't want another war, and I can't survive one politically. He knows that, but he thought he could get away with just one more. Thank goodness those wizards came to me.

It's been a long day, thought Arthur as he climbed into bed at the Burrow. Not only for me; it's hard for Molly and the others too, some of them are campaigning as hard as I am. And then I do something like I did today, something that could have set the campaign back quite a bit, just because it was the right thing to do. No wonder Archibald gets annoyed sometimes.

Molly walked in and started getting ready for bed. "How did it go with the Muggle Prime Minister?"

"Better than other meetings. He was interested, and receptive to what we had to say. Unfortunately, I got the impression that that was only because what we were telling him fit his agenda. But right now, I'll take what I can get."

"Were you just talking with Archibald?"

"Just a quick meeting before bed. Some good news, actually. He told me that the brouhaha today--the American protest, Trent's railing at me based on it--apparently hasn't hurt me. People's attitude is, Americans protested diplomatically, so what. It doesn't affect them. Weasley poked his nose into Muggle affairs, well, that's his job. Some people are actually taking an interest in what's going on now because of that video the paper showed. Not many, mind you, but it's a good start."

"That's good, dear. I'm hearing that Trent is attacking you so much that people are starting to get tired of it. People are saying that he spends too much time attacking you and not enough saying what specific things he's going to do. They don't like a campaign that's so negative."

"But that's only a few people."

"Yes," she admitted unhappily. "But it feels like it might be the beginning of a trend."

Arthur smiled. "My wife, the optimist." Molly got into bed and snuggled up against her husband. His smile vanishing, he added, "I'm not going to win this, you know."

She looked like she wanted to protest, but saw the look in his eyes. "It does look that way. Do you regret having done it?"

Arthur found he didn't have to think very hard. "No, I don't. Losing the Burrow is bad, but we can find someplace else. The rest of it doesn't matter. I am glad that the people will at least have a choice."

"Do you think Harry's phoenix-intuition reason was that your candidacy gave this possible Muggle war greater visibility, and that we should be more careful?"

"Who knows, but that looks like the best explanation now. Based on Barclay's reaction to what we said, I'm a little more hopeful about the Muggle situation. If this helps stop a war, of course it'll have been more than worth it. And it's been a very interesting experience. A lot of bad along with the good, of course; you get to see a lot of bad things in politics, which is why I don't like it. But a lot of people have come up to me and said they think what I'm doing is good, and they support it. Even if I don't win this, knowing that a lot of people support me is very nice, because they're supporting the idea of a different way of doing politics."

Fawkes suddenly appeared in the bedroom, and perched on the headboard of their bed. "Hello, Fawkes," said Arthur.

"What do you suppose he's doing here?" wondered Molly.

"Offering his support," half-joked Arthur. "I imagine he's here on Harry's behalf."

"It's nice having him around," said Molly, looking up for a few seconds. "That reminds me, one thing that's especially nice about this is the way you have almost the unanimous support of the people who can use the energy of love. It's really remarkable."

"I was surprised at the number. I have to wonder whether it's because my message just appeals to those people, or because they were taught by Harry or someone close to Harry, and they support me because of my connection to Harry."

"I think it's the first one," said Molly. "I think it's a combination of that, and their dislike of Trent's message. When you get right down to it, he appeals to people's fear. People who use the energy of love are more sensitive to that, and they don't like it."

"That makes sense," agreed Arthur. "Thinking about that actually gives me hope for the future. If enough people learn the energy of love, someone with a message like mine could actually become Minister. It could really happen."

Molly smiled. "And that's another possible reason for Harry's intuition. It could point the way to the future."

"On that happy thought, let's go to sleep," suggested Arthur. He turned out the lights with his wand, kissed Molly goodnight, and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

The next morning, most of the usual people--Arthur, Molly, Dentus, Ron, Pansy, Ginny, and Luna--were in Harry's kitchen, waiting for the meals from the Hogwarts house-elves. It was six-thirty, and the food usually came around that time. Dentus was reading the Sunday Prophet, having just returned from their offices. Fawkes was there as well.

"Well, this confirms the impression I got yesterday," said Dentus as he read. "Snape and Ingersoll's trip to America isn't going to hurt you, and there's even a side article about the sarin gas attack and the current state of affairs between America and Iran. It's the first article they've had about Muggle affairs since nine-eleven, and one of their editorials addresses the question of whether--more in general than in this specific case--wizards should intervene to put right Muggle events that they affected. The editorial itself suggests that we should be very careful about that, but it's good to at least see it discussed."

"Did Trent have any comment on it?" asked Arthur.

"No, as of yesterday evening he was still hammering away at you for the American complaint, and for not revealing who went. He hasn't addressed the issue itself yet, but I think we know what answer to expect; the one that's politically best at the time. But he'll have to comment sooner or later. I think he'll stop attacking you for that today, as he realizes it isn't working." House-elves started teleporting in to deliver the morning's food; they were thanked by the humans, who eagerly began eating.

"Well, I'm just happy to have brought up the issue," said Arthur. "I hope the Prime Minister made some headway with the President about that. By the way, Pansy, maybe you could tell me what's going on. Fawkes was with Molly and I last night, and he's here now, and I was wondering why. I assumed he was here on Harry's behalf, like Harry would want him to lend his presence to be helpful to us. But I'd like to know if Fawkes, or the phoenixes, will tell you anything."

Pansy was silent for a moment as she traded impressions with Red, then an expression of great surprise came over her face. "What?" asked Ron.

"I was surprised because what Red told me was something that I think, Red thinks, has never happened before," Pansy explained. "Fawkes and Harry aren't bonded anymore."

Everyone stopped eating and stared at Pansy in astonishment. "That's impossible," said Ginny, worried about how it might affect Harry. "Phoenixes bond for life."

Pansy's light shrug conveyed that she had thought so, too. "Yes, but if you think about it, Harry died that day. Phoenixes die, and are reborn. This is a unique situation.

"I should say that this is something Harry and Fawkes agreed on. They'll still always have a connection, since the bond is more a mental thing than physical, but Fawkes would have had to re-bond with him once he became human again to have the same connection they had before. They decided that wasn't necessary, though of course Fawkes would have done it if Harry had wanted him to. You see, Harry doesn't need to be bonded with a phoenix--"

"Because he is a phoenix," interrupted Ginny, understanding.

"That's right. Red tells me that as he gets used to being a phoenix, more phoenix traits will start creeping into his human side. He'll be able to access the spiritual realm more easily, like, for example, Luna can do," Pansy said, gesturing to Luna, who tried to keep her face expressionless. "He'll access his intuition better, that sort of thing. He'll learn to adapt phoenix-type thinking to being human. Like, now, when he's a phoenix, he can think like a human can, it's just harder. What I'm talking about is just the reverse--thinking like a phoenix while a human. It's a little harder, but he'll learn to do it. So, the point of this is that he doesn't really need a phoenix to companion him anymore. Also, part of what phoenixes like about companioning humans is the variety; companioning different people gives them different experiences. As we'd discussed, Harry could live a very long time, and if Fawkes stayed with Harry, Harry might be his only companion. So Harry and Fawkes... not discussed, but communicated with their feelings, and this was the result. So, Fawkes is now free."

"Wow," said Ron. "It makes sense, even if it seems really strange at the same time. So, is Fawkes going to bond with someone else now, or is he just going to hang out with us for awhile?"

Pansy smiled, happy to be the one to break the news. "He's already decided. He's bonding with Arthur."

Again, all were stunned, especially Arthur. Beaming, Molly stood and moved behind Arthur's chair to lean over and hug him from behind. "Oh, Arthur, it's so wonderful! I'm so thrilled!"

Arthur touched his wife's arm in acknowledgment of her gesture, but was still in mild shock. "Aren't I a little old? I'm fifty-five, and I thought they usually bonded with people in their forties."

"That's the most common," agreed Pansy, "but fifties isn't rare."

"Congratulations, Arthur," said a smiling Dentus. "You deserve it." The others chimed in with their congratulations.

Ron chuckled. "Probably when people find out about this, they'll think it means that Fawkes is endorsing your candidacy."

"The timing is interesting," agreed Dentus, "but it makes sense, given the timing of what happened with Harry. "Just a coincidence, I'd suspect."

"Not exactly," explained Pansy. "One thing that contributes to phoenixes seeing humans as suitable for bonding is if the humans has been through a... crisis, I guess you could say, some very stressful situation, and had to make some difficult choices. Fawkes bonded with Harry on the very day that Harry decided to fight Voldemort in those dreams, which was a very hard decision. Flora joined Hermione after that awful summer she had between sixth and seventh year, when she had worked out some things about herself. It's not the same in every case, but it's common. Arthur's made some difficult choices recently, like submitting to the Choosing in the face of overwhelming odds, and just yesterday, highlighting the Muggle situation even when it could have killed his candidacy. Making a choice that benefits others over yourself is one of the things that phoenixes recognize and appreciate."

There was a silence, and people started returning to their food, which was starting to get cold. "So, was he with me all night last night?"

Pansy nodded. "You should start noticing it more strongly in a day or two. Even now, you should be getting the feelings of calm." She smiled and added, "Not that you weren't pretty calm in the first place."

"He had to be," joked Molly. "Look who he's married to."

Ron smiled. "If one of us said that..."

"You'd be in trouble, and rightfully so," chided his mother.

"Is this going to help him win, Archibald?" asked Ron.

"I've already been thinking about that, of course, which I'm sure Arthur hasn't. I truly don't know. I will say that it can't hurt, but it may not help much, since people don't expect their political leaders to be the type to have a phoenix. My best guess is that it will tilt some undecided people to Arthur's side."

"Wow," said Arthur, almost to himself. "This is amazing. This has turned out to be a very good thing to do, even though I'm probably going to lose; a few good things have come of it. Thank you, Fawkes. I'm very honored."

"He knows," Pansy assured him. "Even now, he's getting your feelings, even if you can't get his yet."

Suddenly a popping sound came from another room, and Colin and Dudley walked into the kitchen, looking grim. "Hi, everyone," said Colin. He gave Luna an extra glance and a small smile. She smiled back, but could see something was disturbing him.

"Hello, boys," greeted Arthur. "It's awfully early for you, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," agreed Dudley. "He Apparated to my apartment, dragged me out of bed. But it turns out there was a good reason."

"A few hours ago, Iran was bombed in three locations," reported Colin. "The attack was against their alleged nuclear facilities."

Arthur closed his eyes in frustration. "Damn," he said quietly. "Has there been any reaction from Iran yet?"

"No," said Dudley, "but it would be a little too soon anyway. That wouldn't happen for another day, at least."

"Are you going to try to talk to the Persian wizards?" asked Colin.

Arthur sighed. "I probably will, but I know it won't do any good. They'd have to be willing to act fast, and I don't think they would. They'd also probably say that Muggle Iran has every reason to attack Americans, considering what's happened, that the Iranian Muggles aren't acting in response to something that was done by magic. I guess Barclay wasn't successful in trying to restrain the Americans."

"The bombing wasn't done by the Americans," said Colin. "The Israelis did it."

Arthur gaped. "What?!"

"Yeah, it seemed strange," agreed Dudley. "But it makes sense if you think about it. First of all, Israel's done this before; they bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in the early eighties. They have nuclear weapons, but their rule is, no Arab country is allowed to have them. Israel's never been shy about using its military power. Secondly, this lets America off the hook for what happens. America would have had a political problem explaining to the world, even its own citizens, why it bombed Iran when they knew it could start a war. Now, they can say, we didn't start the war, the Israelis bombed them, not us. If they're mad, they should attack the Israelis. But of course they won't, because everyone in governments knows that Israel wouldn't have done this without the Americans' agreement. No one who follows this is going to be fooled. But the general public who doesn't pay much attention to this sort of thing will be like, 'Iran shouldn't have attacked the Americans in Iraq, because they didn't do anything.' There's no proof that Israel was doing it for the Americans, and they'll deny it. So, it was better for the Americans that Israel did it."

There was silence as people considered that; some, like Ginny, Ron, and Pansy, didn't know enough about Muggle events to make sense out of it. "You sure know a lot about this," remarked Ron.

Dudley shrugged. "It's my job. After nine-eleven, Colin and I had a kind of a crash course in the Middle East situation."

"Iran could be bluffing with this," pointed out Colin. "Their bluff was just called, so now we'll see whether they were serious or not. They still might not invade."

Arthur shook his head. "Barclay must be furious. He said last night that he didn't want this escalated. Will he know that the Americans agreed to this?"

"Of course," said Colin confidently. "And he's already made a statement, they woke him up when it happened. He condemned Israel for the bombing, called on Iran not to do anything, and suggested three-way talks between Iran, America, and Britain. Neither Iran nor America is going to agree to that, but we think he just did it so the British public would know he was serious about stopping it. We think that the British Parliament will bring up a motion calling on Barclay to remove the British troops from Iraq now, and we think it would pass. And he might be angry enough to do it."

"Which would really screw the Americans. Sorry," added Dudley hastily to Molly, who gave him a warning glance about his language. "They're going to have a very hard time as it is, they can't have thirty thousand British troops leaving. And it would encourage the Iraqi insurgents; for the Americans, it would be like trying to fight when bees are swarming around you and stinging you. The Americans are gambling that the Brits won't leave, that their air power can slow down the Iranians, and that Iranian young people will riot. But the problem with it being Israel is that the Iranian leaders can sell the war to the young people better. See, look how Israel is the right hand of the Americans, it's the same enemy. Anyway, it's a mess, and if Iran attacks..."

Arthur nodded solemnly. "I can imagine. Well, I'll contact the Persian wizards first thing, try to talk to them as soon as possible. I know there's not much hope, but I have to try. And yes, Archibald, I know there are events scheduled. I'll do what I can, but this is more important." Ironic, thought Arthur, that I have to postpone one nearly-hopeless effort--getting Chosen Minister--for another one, trying to stop this war. Two high-stakes matters, both of which I'm likely to fail at. This was definitely a good time to be joined by a phoenix.

* * * * *

It was a Sunday afternoon, and Colin had nothing in particular to do. He thought about visiting Diagon Alley and watching the rebuilding--Trent had eventually reluctantly acceded to Arthur's challenge, and they had signed the legislation approving the funds for rebuilding--but even though he generally found watching magical building interesting, he wasn't in the mood for it. He could follow the fast-developing events in the Muggle world, but that was too much like work.

Walking through the Hogsmeade park, he found himself thinking about the day's events. Arthur had failed to make any headway with the Persian wizards, to no one's surprise, and he had discovered that four people had been killed the night before, including yet another undersecretary. He glanced around at the thought, wondering if a Dark wizard might pop in out of nowhere and attack. I'd be safer if I was walking around with Dudley, he joked to himself.

He'd been happy for Dudley, for the recognition and praise he'd received for subduing the attacker at Florean Fortescue's. Dudley hadn't had an easy time of it in the magical world, thought Colin. He'd started out with two strikes against him: he was known to have bullied Harry as a child, and he was the only Muggle working at the Ministry. Many had thought less of him for either or both reasons. But he had done his job every day, appearing not to care how he was thought of. Now he was getting more notice; a Muggle-born witch had even asked him out the day before. He'd been surprised, but accepted. Only because she's good-looking, thought Colin wryly. Dudley had never made any bones about appearance being important to a future partner.

The thought made him think of Luna. She wasn't pretty in any standard way; he thought of her appearance as kind of plain, but plain in a good way. She didn't wear makeup or do anything to otherwise enhance her appearance, which was probably why she looked that way. Her eyes were very nice, though, and he knew he certainly wasn't the type that was going to attract a beauty. Probably if you love someone, he thought, they look better to you than they looked otherwise. Luna looked very good to him right then.

He found himself near the statue; the 'Voldemort statue,' as it was occasionally and very unofficially called, since it was a tribute to, and contained all the names of, those who had died at the hands of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. He glanced up at the phoenix, and read some of the names, looking for ones he knew. He didn't like looking at the statue especially, because it reminded him that he hadn't participated in the broom battle to defend Hogwarts, and a dozen names on the statue were there because they had. He'd never totally come to terms with not having gone. He understood it rationally--he hadn't yet been seventeen, and his parents had told him not to go, so he hadn't gone. But he very much wished he had; he wanted to be able to look with pride at a monument like that and know that he had risked what these people had risked.

He suddenly heard a voice behind him. "I'm glad you didn't go," said Luna, her tone serious.

He whirled to see her standing right behind him. "How did you--wow, you're quiet." It's easy when you have a remote eye and can teleport, she thought. "How did you know I was thinking about that?"

She shrugged. "It's what I think when I look at this."

"Yeah, but you went."

"I almost didn't. I didn't want to, and Daddy didn't want me to."

"Then why did you go?"

She looked at the names as she spoke. "Because I was one of the few, at that time, who could use the Killing Curse shield. Then, it was only me, the Auror Winston Clark, the two Slytherin second years who weren't supposed to go but did anyway, and Harry and the other five. I felt like it was my responsibility to go, and Daddy eventually agreed, though he was terrified that something would happen to me. After my mother, he couldn't bear the idea of losing me as well. But he knew I could save lives, so he let me go, and I did. But I'll tell you one thing." She turned to look at him, and he felt that no one had ever looked at him in quite that way before, with such compassion in her eyes. "If I hadn't had that shield, I wouldn't have gone. I know that. And I'm sure--don't ask me how I know, but I know--that if you'd had the shield, you'd have defied your parents and gone. I don't see you and I as being any different in that situation."

He felt tears welling up, and tried to hold them back. He put his arm around her; she leaned into him, pulling him into a hug. He took a deep breath as he held her. "I hope you're right," he finally said.

"I am," she said. "You'll find that out about me. I'm goofy, but usually right."

He chuckled. "If you're goofy, it's only in a good way. I like that about you."

She pulled out of the hug enough to face him, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. I like that about me too."

He smiled and took her hand. "I'm really glad you showed up. I feel like I'd like to do something, but I'm not sure what. Are you free for a while?"

"Yes, I am. Tell me, is there anything you've always wanted to do, but never done?"

He smiled again; his immediate thought was, yes, but I'm not going to suggest that, I know she didn't mean that anyway. He wondered if his smile had given away what he wished hadn't come into his head. "Let me think for a minute." He looked around the park, then had an idea. "Yes, there is one thing, but we'd have to go to Gringotts and get some American currency. Your saying you were 'goofy' made me think of this. They have this place in America that they call 'The Happiest Place On Earth.' I'd like to go there."

"That sounds good. But what does being goofy have to do with it?"

"I'll explain when we get there. Come on."

An hour later they were walking among the crowds, which were heavy even though it was still early in the day on the American west coast. Colin had an ice cream cone, and Luna, cotton candy. Luna looked around, taking it all in. "So, they call this place the 'Magic Kingdom,' but I bet if we did magic here, people would stare at us."

He smiled at the thought. "Yes, that's safe to say. I think Muggles often use 'magic' or 'magical' to describe something exciting, that inspires the imagination. They don't mean it literally. But that ride was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. You get pretty wet, which is okay if you have drying charms. But I liked it, I could do it a few more times. Those lines are getting pretty long, though."

"Yes, and they'll just get longer," agreed Colin. "I wonder if some wizards ever come here and just use magic to get to the head of lines."

"I would hope not. That wouldn't be fair."

"I'll bet some do, but of course you're right, it wouldn't be fair."

They had finished their snacks; Luna took his hand. "Sorry my hand is so sticky," she said. "That cotton candy is hard to eat."

"That's all right," he assured her. The thought occurred to him that he'd be happy to hold her hand even if there was glue all over it.

"This place is so colorful," Luna observed. "Children must love it."

"Well, there are certainly a lot of them around." Colin had an impulse to ask Luna if she wanted children in the future, but held back, concerned that she might think he had another reason for asking. "Harry and Ginny should take James and whatever other children they end up having sometime."

"They'll have to be careful about going to Muggle places," Luna pointed out. "If the others end up like James, they'll be able to do wandless magic. Most kids you can stop from doing magic by taking their wands, but Harry and Ginny won't be able to do that. So, they can't go to places like this unless they can be sure the kids won't do that. They'd be Summoning all kinds of stuff."

"Yes, they would, I hadn't thought of that."

"Ginny was telling me that they're in no hurry to teach James how to Summon things." They turned and walked onto a main thoroughfare, with many shops. Luna looked around, looking closely though a few shop windows. "Do you want to go into one of the shops?" asked Colin.

"No, that's all right, I'm just looking," she said. "It does seem that one of the main points of this place is that you should buy many things."

He chuckled. "Yes, it does seem that way. Oh, look, that's a nice horse." He pointed to a brown and white horse pulling an open-air streetcar.

"Yes, it is nice. I like horses, I've always wanted to try to ride one." They walked on, and she again looked closely at the shop on the left. "Oh! Oh, those are so cute!" She pulled him into the store and picked up a round hat with large black mouse ears. She put it on, and turned to Colin. "What do you think?"

He smiled. "It's very you."

Over the next eight hours, they had a very full day. They watched a parade, talked, shopped, ate in restaurants twice, and went on a few of the attractions that didn't have so many people waiting in line. Colin had brought his camera, and took many pictures, including one of Luna with one of the park's employees dressed up in a character costume. "This one can be titled 'Goofy with Goofy,'" she had joked. They had also asked passersby to take their picture together a few times.

Colin looked at his watch as they sat on a bench. "Wow, it's past two o'clock in the morning in England," he said. "We're not going to get much sleep if we don't go home soon."

She shrugged. "I'm not tired, though. My feet are, but I'm not."

"Yeah, I know what you mean about the feet. I feel like you could walk around this place for three days and not cover everything. Still... well, what do you want to do?"

"Something fun," she suggested, smiling at making him be the one to decide.

"Oh, okay," he replied facetiously. Then, after a moment, he had an idea. "Okay, let's go to my apartment. I want to show you a movie, one of my all-time favorites. It's a funny movie, you'll like it."

"Okay," she agreed. They found a spot out of sight--very difficult, in the sort of place they were in--and Disapparated.

In his apartment, he loaded the movie he wanted into his DVD player, and they spent the next hour and a half silently watching, and often laughing. After it was over, he said, "Well, I guess you liked it."

"It was very funny," she agreed. "I loved how the blind man told him that the money really belonged to the monkey, and he was only playing the music. He talks so funny, even if what he's saying isn't that funny, it's still funny because of how he says it."

"Yes, exactly," agreed Colin, pleased that she had liked it. "I must've watched all of these movies about ten times, I love them."

"These? They made more than one like this, with that character?"

"Yes, there were five, but only three were really good, I think."

"Oh, let's watch another one."

He raised his eyebrows. "It's four in the morning." He knew he was in trouble sleep-wise as it was, but if they watched another one, he'd get no sleep at all.

"We can watch another one," she said. She made a decision; it struck her as odd how easily she made it. She didn't want the day to be over, and it didn't have to be. "It'll be all right." She could see that he wanted to, but was worried about being tired at work the next day, which was a Monday. She gave him an earnest look. "Colin. Do you trust me?"

Struck by the directness of the question, he found he didn't have to think too hard. "Yes."

She took his hand. "Okay, then. Put another one in. I promise it'll be all right, you'll be okay at work."

Colin didn't see how that was going to happen, but at that moment, he didn't care. He agreed, and put another one in. They resumed their places on the sofa, his arm around her most of the time. They watched, and laughed some more. When it was over, it was nearly six o'clock in the morning; he wondered if she would suggest yet another one. He was getting tired, but it was obviously too late to go to bed.

"Okay," she said. She was more serious than usual; he wondered if it was because she was tired. "I said it would be okay for your work, and it will be. But before I tell you how that is, there's something else I have to tell you. It's very important."

Colin nodded earnestly. Did she have some unusual magical artifact? "I understand. What is it?"

"Before I tell you, I have to leave the room for a minute. I'll be right back." She went to the bathroom and closed the door. Colin was wondering what was going on when the female phoenix he'd seen recently appeared in front of him, and flew down to the floor.

"Hello," said Colin, surprised to see her in his apartment. "If you're looking for Luna, she's in the bathroom, but she'll be right back."

To Colin's shock, the phoenix started to change its shape; the change reminded him of how Professor McGonagall had changed from a cat to her human self a few times in Transfigurations. When the phoenix stopped changing shape... it was Luna.

Colin's mouth hung open in shock; he was flabbergasted. He tried to speak, but found it hard to say anything at first. Finally, he managed, "Harry..."

She smiled. "No, Luna, actually." After another few seconds, she had mercy on him. "But I know what you mean. Yes, I can do what Harry does. Be a phoenix, do all that unusual magical stuff."

He continued to struggle for coherence. "How?"

She nodded. "It's a good question. I can't say I'm totally sure. I'm sure it's partly because I can reach the spiritual realm fairly easily, but it's not only that, because others can do that but can't do this. I think an important part of it is, as Harry said at the time, just knowing, knowing that you can do it. At some point, knowing what I did about Harry, I just knew that I could do this. I think a lot of it has to do with my personality. I'm... more ready to believe unusual things than most people, I'm more open to things. Being open to things is exactly what's necessary to be able to do this; that, and a connection to the spiritual realm. Beyond that, there may be other things, but it's hard to say."

He had recovered enough to speak in sentences. "How come you haven't told anyone?"

"I don't want people to know this. You know how it is with Harry, how it was, people asking him to do things, asking why he doesn't. I don't want to have to deal with that."

He nodded slowly; he could understand that. Still... it was incredible... He was able to bring the focus back onto the two of them. "Then, why did you tell me?"

She might have otherwise waited to say what she was going to say until he said it first, but she had taken phoenix-looks at him, which she knew gave her an advantage; she should take some of the pressure off of him. She made eye contact with him, and held it. "Because I love you. And if I love you, you need to know this about me." She knew he loved her as well; she didn't know if he would say it just then, overwhelmed as he was.

She saw amazement and joy in his eyes. "I love you, too," he said quietly. She moved closer to him; he bent his head down a little, and they kissed. One short one, then a slightly longer one. He moved closer, pulling her into a strong hug. "Now, I don't care if I get any sleep or not," he said, with equal parts emotion and humor.

"You still will," she said, reveling in the feeling. "Did Harry ever tell you about the Time-Turner?"

Colin nodded; his eyes went wide. "You can duplicate the effects of magical artifacts."

She nodded. "We can go to sleep, sleep for as long as we want. Then we wake up, maybe it's Monday afternoon. I can send us back through time to Monday morning. We'll end up going through a certain section of time twice. There's no problem with doing that, as long as the two versions of us don't meet unexpectedly, and as long as we don't change the second time around something we know happened the first time. Since we'll be asleep one of those times, it shouldn't be a problem."

Colin was staring at her, still astonished. Even without taking a phoenix-look at him--she could do it as a human by trying, but as a phoenix, it happened without effort--she had a feeling she knew what he was thinking. "Colin," she said, snapping him out of his train of thought. She took one of his hands and enclosed it with both of hers. "Colin, it's still me. You don't have to look at me any differently, like I'm on some different level or something. I'm still goofy Luna who likes funny hats and doesn't care what people think about her."

He slowly nodded. "I understand. It's just a lot to take in at once. When did it happen? When did you find out?"

They sat on the sofa, and she spent the next half hour telling him what had happened since the day the dragon attacked Diagon Alley, including James' near-death, and why she strove to avoid using her power to change things, even terrible things. "So, the First showed me how Harry suffered on nine-eleven as a kind of a warning," she concluded. "He knew I would be able to do this, and he wanted me to understand the dangers. But there's no rule; it just has to be what we can deal with. I don't know for sure, but I think Harry will continue to do that sort of thing. It's just who he is, and he'll probably continue to suffer for it. But I've already suffered enough to know that I can't do that. I could probably, if I used all my powers, figure out who's been doing all this stuff recently, and stop them. But I won't. If this is still happening when Harry comes back, then he probably will. Maybe it's selfish, but I just can't deal with it."

He pulled her closer to him, and held her. "I can understand that. I don't think it's selfish. I think the First was right, there's no right or wrong to this. It's funny, I envied Harry's ability when I first found out about it, but after hearing this, I kind of feel sorry for him, and you."

"It does have its advantages," she said, with a small smile. "Being a phoenix is really great, and I can stay up all night having fun if I want to, and still get enough sleep. Until now, I just didn't have anyone to have fun with." She leaned over to kiss him; he eagerly returned it.

"I'm very glad to be that person," he said fervently. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, we're probably both going to be tired soon, so we have to think about where we're going to sleep. It can't be here, since we're here right now, and it would overlap. Also, it can't be anyplace we could be found, or interrupted. I was thinking, that place in America that we were at, I saw that they have their own hotel. We could just stay there."

"That sounds good," he agreed. "But before, you talked about where 'we' were going to sleep. Did you mean..." He trailed off, embarrassed.

She tried not to smile at his discomfort. "Well, that's what people in love do. Besides..." Now, she did smile. "It's something I've always wanted to do, but never done."

He laughed, then she did as well. He couldn't imagine that there was anyone in the world luckier than he was right then.