A/N: This is the sequel to Eternal Glory, but you can still understand it without reading the first one. Please enjoy!

"Hey, Lily, is there any mail for me today?"

Twelve-year-old Lily Potter looked up from her book to see her eldest brother walk into the house. He slammed the door behind him, dropping his bag on the floor. "Oh, hi James," Lily said. "Yeah, we all got letters today from Hogwarts. And you got two others, from some of your friends, I think."

James nodded. He walked toward the kitchen and peered into the cabinet for something to eat. He decided on treacle tart, his favorite.

"You know, we're eating dinner in twenty minutes," Lily said from under her book.

"Well, I'm hungry," James replied, walking back toward the entrance. "Besides, today was busy."

"Really?" Lily asked. "What'd you do?"

"Three old ladies came and demanded for three cakes," James replied. "And every time we made it, they would pick out something wrong. We had five extra cakes by the end that were incorrectly made."

"Huh."

"I wish I could do magic," James said. "But there were people all around me, so I couldn't. Otherwise I would have been able to just remove the frosting instead of baking a whole new cake."

During the summer, James had decided to work at a bakery in a nearby muggle town. Every Tuesday and Thursday, he would apparate to the place and work for about eight hours. James's parents had said that he should experience some real work for himself. And it would give him extra money, not that he needed any.

Last year, the Triwizard Tournament was hosted at Beauxbatons Academy. James had been chosen as the Hogwarts champion, and, in the end, he had come to a tie for first place with Durmstrang champion Anton Rosencrantz. James had only taken 100 galleons of the 1000 galleons of prize money, though, and he had donated it all to the research center at St. Mungo's. Nevertheless, his family still was pretty rich because of his father's job, Head Auror at the Ministry.

"So where's the letter?" James asked Lily.

Lily pointed up. James assumed she meant upstairs, so he walked up. "You could just summon it!" Lily shouted from downstairs.

James ignored her. It was true, he could summon the letter, but he still wasn't used to being able to use magic out of school. Just three days ago, James had turned seventeen and became of age. He'd had a huge party with his family and friends, and his parents had given him a watch. It was still in its original container in his room, though; it had looked too precious to wear.

"Hi Dad," James said as he passed his father's study. His father didn't reply. He never did whenever he was working on something serious, so James didn't bother to repeat his greeting. He walked past his brother's room and toward his own.

There were three letters in front of the door, obviously left there by Lily. James picked them up and opened them as he walked into his room. His bed was on the far side of the room, and his desk was opposite it, with a nice view of the outside. James sat on his bed while examining the first letter. It was a welcome back letter to Hogwarts, with all the typical book requirements.

He put that down and opened the second envelope. It was addressed to him in small and messy script. When James opened the letter, he smoothed the paper and read:

Dear James,

Happy seventeenth! I know this is kind of late, but I never got the chance to write. I'm really sorry that I couldn't make it to your birthday celebration, but I've been so busy here in Greece. These Greek wizards are really annoying; everything they talk about is either food or Turkish people. It's frustrating.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm taking a day off from working at the museum and going to the islands! It's going to be so much fun. We're going to Crete and Santorini, and a bunch of other islands too. Dimitri says that the wizards on Santorini are the nicest people you'll ever meet. I hope he's right; I'm in need of nice people right now.

I wasn't sure what to give you for your birthday, but I hope you like this. I think it fits both sides of your personality, if you get what I mean. You've always been the prankster ever since first year, but last year you started getting a little more serious and wanting to be in charge. So this present will fit.

Happy seventeenth one last time. See you on the Hogwarts Express.

Sincerely,

Oliver Brown

James smiled to himself at the letter. Oliver and Fred Weasley II were James's best friends ever since his first year of Hogwarts. James looked around for Oliver's present. He didn't see any package nearby. "Lily!" James shouted, walking toward the hallway. "Was there a package?"

"No!" Lily shouted back from downstairs.

James looked back in his envelope to see if he'd missed anything. Then he discovered another piece of paper in it. He pulled it out and squinted at the miniscule handwriting. I wasn't sure what to get you for your birthday, but I think this will do. I can't exactly give the present to you, but I can tell you what it is. You get 1 free chance to talk to the head of your favorite Quidditch Team. AND you get a chance to go on a guided tour of the bottom floor of the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries.

James stared at the paper in shock. The first part made sense - it wasn't too hard to get an appointment. But the Department of Mysterious… nobody ever was allowed! James read the paper again, and discovered something he had missed before. But you have to give an oath to promise not to tell anyone about it.

That made more sense. Oliver was a really strange person, giving him a present like that. The rest of his family had just given him candy or items to use. Shrugging, James put it aside; he would reply later. He opened the second letter. James was expecting this one, as he communicated with this person every week.

James

Tomorrow's the interview. I'm so nervous right now; I don't know where I'll go if I fail. I took all your advice, though. My mother and I went to the best store in town for a suit and tie—it was ridiculously expensive, but I hope it'll cause me to look more presentable. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Your story about the bunny was so funny! I wish there were bunnies in Norway; unfortunately, bunnies don't like snow.

So onto more serious stuff… Yesterday an article came out in our Daily Newspaper about this kidnapping. There were two children in a nearby town that went out to play and never came home. The mother said that they had no enemies; they were only five. But it's already been three days and no signs of them have been reported. And stranger enough is that there have been more stories of missing children recently. Children always go missing, but it's been really high this summer.

I thought you would be interested in that because of last year. You had your own experience with kidnapping.

You're so lucky you get to go back to school. I wish I could… this world seems so big. Still nervous about the interview.

Anyway, reply soon!

Anton Rosencrantz

James frowned. The missing children sounded suspicious. As Anton had written, he had had an experience with kidnapping. Last year, Monsieur Guillory, a wandmaker, had kidnapped James and held him in a room for his wand. However, James had managed to eventually escape. He still did not know why Guillory did such a thing, though.

James wondered if the story about the missing children was anything big. "Dad," James called as he walked down the hall. "Have you heard anything about missing children?"

His father didn't reply, but James felt it was urgent, so he entered his office. "Dad," James repeated again.

"Yes?" Harry asked, but didn't turn around.

"Apparently lots of children have gone missing in Norway," James said. "Do you know anything about this?"

Harry immediately turned around in his seat. "What?"

James told him about what Rosencrantz had written. Harry remained in his seat, staring into space. After a few minutes, he said, "I have to tell this to the Ministry."

"Wait, what?" James asked, thoroughly confused now.

"You'll find out in the Daily Prophet tomorrow," Harry replied, turning back toward his desk and taking out a fresh sheet of parchment. "I don't have time right now."

James sighed and walked back downstairs. His father could be quite annoying at times like this.

"I'll go first," Rose volunteered. She took a handful of the powder and threw it into the fireplace. The flames turned bright green, and she stepped inside. "Diagon Alley!"

There was a whoosh and Rose was swept through the network of chimneys until she arrived at Flourish and Blotts, where the chimney was located. She stood up, brushed the soot off, and picked up a nearby book to start reading.

Within five minutes, the rest of Rose's family had arrived. Rose was absorbed in her book and didn't notice Hugo approaching behind her. He poked her older sister hard in the back.

"Ouch! Hugo!" Rose said, rubbing her back. "You don't need to do that."

Hugo, Rose's 12-year-old younger brother, just grinned. "Come on, Rose, we're leaving this store. We always get our books last."

Hugo didn't wait for Rose but ran off. Rose sighed and put the book back on the shelf but followed her family out of the store. As she walked toward the exit, she bumped into someone she didn't expect to see.

"Scorpius!" Rose said, excited at seeing one of her best friends. Although he was a Malfoy, Scorpius had ended up in Gryffindor with Rose and Albus. "I didn't know you were coming today. I thought your parents didn't let you."

Scorpius turned around. "Hey, Rose. How's your summer been?"

"Good," Rose replied. "So what happened at home? Did your dad lock your in your room or what?"

Scorpius peered around and spoke in a low voice. "Look, Rose, I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now. My dad left to go talk to the owner of the store for a minute, but he might come back any minute. He said he doesn't want me to talk to any of your family. I had to beg him to allow me to come to Diagon Alley."

"I understand," Rose replied. "So, see you in a week on the Hogwarts Express?"

Scorpius nodded. "See you."

Rose gave her friend a smile and walked toward the exit of Flourish and Blotts. Hugo and her mother and father were standing there talking to a few other people.

Hugo saw her and walked over to her. "What were you doing in there?"

"I just saw Scorpius," Rose replied. "I was just saying hi."

Hugo shook his head and turned back toward his parents. The two of them were talking to two other adults. Rose recognized them to be Percy and Audrey Weasley.

Audrey saw Rose and gave her a smile. "Hi, Rose. How was your summer?"

"It was nice, thanks for asking," Rose replied. "Where are Molly and Lucy?"

"They both went to find their friends," Audrey answered. "I think Lucy went to Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and Molly to the Apothecary."

"Thanks, Aunt Audrey," Rose said. She turned to her mother. "Mum, can I go find Lucy? Please? I know where she is." Lucy was a year older than Rose, but they were still good friends.

Hermione looked hesitant.

"Aw, just let her go," Ron said. "Diagon Alley is perfectly safe today, and she's already fourteen. There's no point of making her stay with us."

"Thanks dad," Rose said, and gave her father a hug. "Meet you back here in two hours?"

He nodded. Rose started walking down the street when she saw that Hugo was following her. "What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Mum said that I had to stay with you," Hugo replied. "Besides, I want to see if there are any new products in the joke shop."

"Fine, then, but walk faster."

The two siblings turned a corner and walked down the street until they got to Weasley's Whizard Wheezes. Rose pushed open the door and was immediately greeted with sounds of talking and laughing. Music was playing in the background.

"Whoa! New skiving snackboxes!" Hugo said, and ran off in the direction of the sweets. Rose went in a different direction, toward the back of the shop where Uncle George worked. She saw a door that said, "Employees Only," but she pushed it open anyway. A woman wearing magenta robes was standing by the door, waving her wand at a small object.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Don't you know it's employees only?"

"I'm… I'm just looking for my uncle," Rose replied. "George. I'm his niece."

The woman didn't look like she believed Rose, but she was saved when Fred came from the back of the room. "Sorry, Rose," he said. To the woman, he said, "She's allowed to be in here."

"Hmph," the woman replied, but went back to work.

"Come on," Fred said, walking out of the employees room and back toward the main store. "Sorry about Ursa. She's always been annoying."

"Oh," Rose said. During the summer, Fred had always helped his father run the joke shop. Previously, he just helped customers around, but now, since he was in his seventh year of Hogwarts and of age, he helped make products too. "So, are there any new products you think I might like?"

"Yeah, I'll show you," Fred replied, walking toward the Dark Arts section. They passed a group of witches whispering loudly to each other and pointing to something bubbling in a pot.

"New love potions?" Rose asked.

Fred nodded. "Yep. We developed them so they would be stronger."

"Wonderful," Rose said sarcastically.

They finally got to the Dark Arts section, which was empty compared to the rest of the store, except for two people standing in the corner of the room. "Lucy!" Rose said.

Rose's cousin turned around. "Hey, Rose," she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Rose answered. "And you? And… Lysander?"

The person next to Lucy spoke up. "I'm good too. And you'll never believe what happened!"

"What?" Rose asked.

"I was made a prefect," Lysander replied. "And so was Lucy."

"No way," Rose said. Lysander was one of the worst troublemakers in fifth year. "I thought it would definitely be Lorcan." She referred to Lysander's twin.

Lysander shrugged. "I dunno. But anyway, I'm glad I'm a prefect. Now I get to help first years!"

Lucy and Rose exchanged glances. "I don't know what in the world made McGonagall do that," Lucy told Rose. "But I admit it'll be more fun doing prefect duties with him than Lorcan."

Fred cleared his throat. "Do you want to see the new products or not?"

"Oh yeah, sorry Fred," Rose apologized to her older cousin. "So what is it?"

"This," Fred replied, walking over to a shelf and picking up an object that looked like a wand, except it had a small button on the end of it. "They're called Expelliarmus Wands. They look like normal wands, but they can't do all the functions that normal wands can do. But, if you press this button on the end of the wand…" Fred pressed the button to demonstrate, and Rose felt her wand fly out of her pocket toward Fred.

"Give that back!" Rose said as Fred caught the wand.

Fred grinned but tossed the wand back toward Rose. "So, these wands basically just take the wand of the person you're pointing to away from them. We thought they'd be handy in case you ever lose a wand and need one. Though, I'd advise you not to use it all the time and steal peoples' wands."

"Yeah, that would be bad," Rose replied. "But do you know what these remind me of? Magnets. They're muggle things that attract other things of the same material."

Fred nodded. "That's where one of our employees got the idea. All wands are made of wood, so we just made a fake wand out of all different kinds of wood and did some spells."

"So how much is it?" Rose asked.

"You can have it free," Fred replied. "We just made it a few days ago, so we need to spread the word."

"Wow, thanks Fred," Rose said, picking up an Expelliarmus Wand from the shelf. "This is a really good Defence object."

"I knew you'd like it," Fred said. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Do you want to see a new Defence tool? You can't tell anyone else about it; it's top secret. I'm only telling you because I think you'd enjoy seeing it."

Rose nodded eagerly. "Where is it?"

"It's in the back room," Fred replied. "It's still in development. In a few weeks, it'll be ready for sale, but not to everyone. We'll only sell it too some Aurors or other people we trust."

Rose followed Fred toward another Employee office. George Weasley was sitting in a chair, bent over, examining something. "Hi Uncle George," Rose said as she entered the room.

George looked up questioningly at Fred. "I just want to show her the tool," he replied. "Is it okay? I know she wouldn't tell anyone."

George nodded. "Just make her promise."

"What is it?" Rose asked again, but Fred just motioned for her to come. He led her toward the back of the room and picked up a box in the left corner. There were some dials on the outside, and Fred rotated them to form a certain series of numbers. Then he flipped open the lid. Inside were two small circular objects.

"Accio tweezers," Fred said, and a pair of tweezers flew out from one of the other boxes. Fred held the tweezers and carefully picked up one of the circles with it. He held it up to his face and showed Rose. "Don't touch it."

Rose nodded, and looked at it carefully. It looked like a normal black button. "What does it do?"

"If it touches somebody's skin," Fred replied, "They start feeling a searing pain. It doesn't actually make an imprint in their skin but they still feel pain."

Rose looked at Fred in horror. "Isn't that illegal?" she asked. "That's like the Cruciatus Curse, only it's in object form."

Fred grimaced. "Well, not really. It doesn't cause that much pain. It's more like just an itch."

"Is it really?" Rose asked. "So I can touch it right now and I wouldn't feel too much pain?"

Fred pulled the tweezers away from Rose in the opposite direction. "Of course not," he said. "We're still developing it right now. We don't know how it works right now. It might be, er, permanent right now. That's why its top secret."

Rose still looked angry. "So, does it cause pain or merely an itch?"

"We want it to be more on the pain side but not as bad as the Cruciatus curse."

Rose shook her head. "That's sick. Why would you want people to experience pain?"

"For a good cause!" Fred replied. "They're like knives; they look like they're bad but can be used to protect yourself. Besides, we're thinking of starting a new chain called wandless magic. It's going to have objects that let you use magic without wands, so you can protect yourself if you're ever in danger."

"That sounds crazy to me," Rose said. "I thought this was supposed to be a joke shop, not a shop full of the dark arts. And wandless magic sounds like you're becoming a muggle. I'm leaving. Hugo's going to get lost without me."

"Don't tell anyone!" Fred insisted. "Please! When these objects get developed, you'll understand. They're not meant to cause harm; they're meant to help."

"Isn't that what everybody thinks?" Rose asked, walking toward the door. She didn't understand what Fred was thinking. The idea sounded revolting.

I know there are already 2 conflicts right now, but they're small ones and aren't too important... so this story isn't going to be too confusing and conflicting. And sorry for portraying Greek people as talking only about food... that's not how I think of them; it's just stereotypical. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Oh, and for all the people who read Eternal Glory, I promise the characters will eventually discover what Guillory and Draco did... just not yet.

So please review? I'll try to update in a week, but if I get more reviews I'll update faster!