Many thanks go to Biranna-xox, fredfred and Otium for betaing. They improved the story a lot.

Epilogue: Rule, Britannia!

Mediterranean Sea, North of Algiers, Algeria June 21st, 2003

Ron Weasley sat on his broom and watched as the shipgirls who had just dropped into the sea below him took up formation. With his enchanted glasses he had no trouble making them out despite the dim light from the stars. Hood had called the force the 'Mediterranean Squadron', though it would not stay long in those waters. The battlecruiser was in the centre, flanked by Repulse and Prince of Wales. Glorious was a bit behind them, already launching planes, while Sikh and Cossack raced ahead, towards the Algerian coast, and Acasta and Ardent guarded the capital ships. Shipgirls.

A pair of Sea Gladiators zipped by, waggling their wings at him, and Ron waved back. He glanced to his side, where his brother Bill and his sister-in-law Fleur were astride their brooms. Both seemed to be gaping - it was the first time they'd seen the shipgirls in action, so to speak. It would have been funny, if not for the reason for this deployment.

A week ago, Gabrielle Delacour had been kidnapped during a trip to the Cote d'Azur by raiders from the Barbary Coast - rogue elements, according to the Magical Regency of Algiers. No one really believed the fiction though - the Dey of Algiers was too quick to offer his help in arranging a ransom, and this hadn't been the first such raid.

If things went well though, then it would be the last. Dawlish had jumped at the chance to do something about the 'Barbary Coast problem', as the diplomats used to call the slave raids from the magical enclaves of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Minister for Magic had been quick to offer Britain's help to Magical France and even quicker to authorise this operation, when Ron, Harry and Hermione had informed him of the kidnapping and their plans. Dawlish knew just how popular they still were among the public, and he also knew that they'd have gone ahead with or without his authorisation - Gabrielle was family, and family stuck together. The Weasleys knew that better than anyone else.

Ron snorted, remembering the reaction of the rest of his siblings when he, Harry and Hermione had told them they couldn't come along - as close as they once again were, he knew that the other Weasleys were not quite in shape for such missions. At least Luna was still in the Amazon, on another expedition. The blonde would have wanted to come along too, and Ron and his friends would have had a hard time refusing her.

The shipgirls, of course, had all volunteered as well. The Royal Navy had bombarded Algiers in the past to stop their pirating and slaving, and all of them were eager to help history repeat itself in this particular case.

Ron touched the communication mirror stuck to his collar. "Strike force to Recon: Squadron deployed."

"Recon to Strike force: Landing site is clear." Harry had gone ahead on his broom while the shipgirls were dropping in, to check on the landing site they had scouted out two days ago. His report meant that there were no muggles present along the route to Magical Algiers.

"Alright. We're moving in."

"Mediterranean Squadron is moving to cover the landing," Hood said.

Ron leaned forward on his broom and started to fly towards the coast, followed by the rest of the strike force - Hermione, Bill, Fleur, and half a dozen volunteers from the Auror Corps and the Hit-Wizards. Almost all of them were veterans of the Battle of Azkaban - or, as the shipgirls called it, the Second Battle of Dogger Bank.

They didn't take long to reach the coast - Hermione's portkey had been right on the mark - and soon landed in the small cove Ron and Harry had discovered a day ago.

"The shipgirls will take a bit longer," Ron said, mostly to Bill and Fleur; the rest knew how fast their friends were. He shrank his broom.

"Alright," Harry said, "This is our first extraction point. Be ready to apparate back here once we are done, or if you get separated from your group." He laid a map out on a conjured table. "The Dey's palace is in the centre of the town. We'll move up the hill here, where we have a line of sight to it."

Ron went past Harry, to watch their surroundings - he already knew the map by heart. Hermione followed him, covering the other side. She had studied their memories in their Pensieve.

He didn't spot anyone, muggle or wizards. He touched his mirror again. "Path up the hill is clear. Hood, what's your status?"

"We'll be in position in ten minutes." The battlecruiser's tone was crisp and controlled, as usual before a battle.

"You heard the lady," Harry said. "Let's move."

It wasn't a long trip, but parts of it were rather steep, and through unfamiliar terrain for most of the group. Without their enchanted glasses allowing them to see clearly at night, they'd not have made it in time. Even so, a number of them were cursing, and Ron noted with some amusement that Bill and Fleur were slightly out of breath - family life must have caused them to slack off a bit, he thought.

He crouched behind a boulder on the hilltop and studied Magical Algiers through his Omnioculars. It was larger than Hogsmeade, and the Dey's Palace was as big as Hogwarts. It wasn't as well protected, of course, but its wards were still very strong - quite a bit stronger than those on Malfoy Manor had been. Even Hermione would take a long time to get through them - time they didn't have.

Time they didn't need.

"Mediterranean Squadron in position and ready," Hood spoke through the mirror. "Spotting planes overhead."

Next to Ron, Hermione fiddled with her own Omnioculars, then nodded at him.

He grinned. "Fire."

West of Magical Algiers, Algeria June 21st, 2003

Hermione Granger briefly let her gaze wander over the capital of the Magical Regency of Algiers. It was a very beautiful town. For a wizarding settlement, it was rather new as well - the Regency had moved the entire Magical Quarter of Algiers out of the muggle town after the French had conquered the country in 1830, forming a purely magical enclave to the west of Algiers.

It was also a hub for Barbary Coast raiders preying on the magical settlements in the Mediterranean, pillaging and kidnapping, like their muggle predecessors had centuries ago. Countless wizards and witches had been held for ransom - or outright enslaved. Magical Europe had never managed to stop them, though the slavers had grown very cautious and restrained themselves while Dumbledore had been the Supreme Mugwump - not even the most greedy slaver wanted to risk retribution from the Vanquisher of Grindelwald. After Dumbledore's death in 1996, though, the number of raids had quickly increased again as the Barbary Coast wizards grew bolder.

Hermione and her friends had come to put an end to those raids once and for all. That was why Hood and her squadron was here - if they had just come to rescue Gabrielle, they wouldn't have needed a fleet. But Gabrielle was the perfect excuse for an intervention without causing too much trouble in the ICW for Wizarding Britain. Ever since the unveiling of Britain's shipgirl fleet, many countries had been voicing their concerns about the threat the fleet represented. After today, that would grow worse. Some of them would try to summon shipgirls of their own, she knew. A number had tried before, without success so far, thanks to the Fidelius protecting the secret. And, Hermione added, thanks to a few careful wordings in Luna's articles for The Quibbler. She knew, though, that nothing would last forever. Knew and was planning for it.

The witch heard the sound of 15-inch guns firing both through her communication mirror as well as a few seconds later from the sea. She was watching the Dey's Palace through her Omnioculars as the first two shells struck. The wards flared up under the impact, as predicted, but did not collapse. "Fire the next volley," she spoke into her mirror. Hood's B-Turret fired, and two more 15-inch shells struck the Palace. This time, the wards didn't hold, and part of the outer wall was pulverised - together with a smaller building, probably stables, next to it. "Sikh, fire one shell at the palace's dome."

"Aye aye, commander!" came the eager acknowledgement of the Tribal-class destroyer, and one of her 4.7-inch guns spoke. Shortly afterwards, Hermione saw the shell hit the dome and explode, blowing a hole into it. "The shell wasn't affected by any magical protection. The wards are down," she said.

"Hood, start shelling the harbour," Ron ordered. "Strike Group - apparate to the palace!"

Hermione stowed the Omnioculars, slid her enchanted glasses on and focused on the Palace she had studied so intently. A second later, she stood at the side of the main building, together with the rest of the group. The Aurors and Hit-Wizards were already casting the jinxes to keep the inhabitants of the palace from escaping by magical means. Below them, the shipgirls were turning the harbour to rubble and sinking the Algerian ships.

She saw Harry point his wand at the walls of the palace's main building and blow a hole in it. Two Hit-Wizards moved with him, covering the breach with their wands.

"Anti-Portkey and Anti-Apparition Jinxes cast," Bess Elwes announced.

"Strike Group, move in! Hood, start diversionary shelling in one minute!" Ron ordered, then moved towards the breach in the wall.

Following Harry, Ron and the rest of the group inside, Hermione winced. It wouldn't be a serious bombardment, at least not in the opinion of Hood and the other shipgirls. Just the destroyers lobbing a few shells into the town. Even so, attacking what were essentially civilian targets didn't sit right with the muggleborn witch. But, Hermione told herself, decent wards would stand up to one hit from a 4.7-inch shell. More importantly though, it was needed, and not just as a diversion for the strike group - the Barbary Coast Magical Enclaves had to finally learn that the days of their slaving raids were over. And for that, the Royal Navy had to make an example.

Inside, she recognised the hallway from the memories of other kidnapped victims the French had provided. As planned, they were close to the Dey's harem, where prominent female kidnapping victims were usually kept until their ransom was paid. Kept in trust for their families as well as for the kidnappers, the Dey claimed, as an honourable go-between. As if anyone believed his lies.

Hermione saw spells flash ahead of them, and heard someone begin screaming, then suddenly stop.

"Two guards down," Harry announced through the mirror.

"More coming from the courtyard," Ron said. "Peters, hold them at bay with your team, we're pushing on to the harem entrance."

Hermione ran past the Auror, who was taking cover behind conjured walls. She heard him order a volley of Blasting Curses before she turned around the next corner. Seconds afterwards, explosions erupted behind her.

Another corner. She passed two Hit-Wizards, absentmindedly noting that if Ron and Harry's plans to form an official 'Naval Support Force' out of the usual volunteers for their excursions were to happen, they would need to introduce regular physical training sessions for the recruits, and reached Harry and Ron. In front of them was the entrance to the Dey's harem. And there was a massive red-skinned figure standing, no, floating before it. A genie.

Hermione hissed through clenched teeth. That hadn't been in the memories they had seen. Genies were generally as strong and tough as trolls, if not as magically-resistant. But they could cast spells and fly.

Ron turned towards her. "Start taking down the wards protecting the harem. We'll handle the guard."

Hermione ground her teeth, but nodded. They couldn't take too much time, or the Dey's men, currently confused and panicking, would rally. She had to trust that her friends could handle this.

She looked at Bill. "Follow my lead, we'll take the wards down hard." Which meant they would cause the wards to overload and implode, instead of weakening them gradually. A dangerous technique, but far quicker than the alternative. Bill swallowed, then nodded - he was a Gryffindor, after all.

Grinning grimly, Hermione started to cast as Ron and Harry rushed forward.

Magical Algiers, Algeria June 21st, 2003

The red-skinned genie was as tall as a troll, Harry Potter noted when he moved towards the right wall and sent a Piercing Curse at the creature. He had dealt with trolls before. Next to him, Ron was moving to the left wall, forcing the guard to split his attention.

The genie flicked its saber and swatted the curse away, then roared and flew towards Harry, raising its blade as it dodged a Bludgeoning Curse from Ron. Harry reacted by conjuring a wall in its path. The creature didn't crash into it, but that didn't matter much - Harry's Reductor Curse blew the wall up and sent its pieces flying at the guard.

Or rather, at the genie's Shield Charm, which deflected them easily. Ron's Piercing Curse shattered it, but the creature was moving again, its saber flashing, and Harry was thrown back into the wall despite his own Shield Charm. He slid down, rolling beneath another swing, and dove forward, past the brute, casting a Cutting Curse at it from behind.

Unfortunately, the genie moved, and instead of cutting its neck, the spell only caused a gash to open in its shoulder, spilling burning blood. It wasn't even deep enough to make it drop the saber. It felt the wound, though, and screamed with rage. A second later, fire leapt from its free hand at Harry.

The wizard's Shield Charm kept the flames from touching him, but the air around him was heating up rapidly. A flick of his wrist, and water started to shoot out of his wand, turning to steam where it met the genie's fire, countering the blistering heat enough for him to fall back.

A loud explosion shook the floor, and dust joined the steam, further reducing visibility. Harry tapped his enchanted glasses, but with the steam filling the hallway, even the ability to see heat didn't help. He fell further back - towards the entrance to the harem. The creature would be between him and Ron now, but hidden in the cloud of steam and dust.

Not for long, though - Harry cast a Freezing Charm into the cloud, turning the steam to water, then to ice, revealing the snarling creature - shrouded in flames. It shouted something in a language Harry didn't understand, waved its hand, and three thin spikes appeared and shot at him.

His Shield Charm stopped two, but the third broke through, and buried itself in his thigh. Harry hissed with pain, but managed to hit the creature with a Bludgeoning Curse that slammed it into the wall. It shook its head, but before it could move, Ron hit it with a volley of Cutting Curses that left deep gashes in its chest, liquid fire pouring out. It screamed, and whiled around, sending fire at Ron - which gave Harry the opportunity to conjure a cage to trap it, while Ron doused himself with water.

The genie struggled to break free, but the cage held it in place long enough for Harry to kill it with Piercing Curses to its head. Panting, he dropped on his good knee, clenched his teeth and pulled the spike out of his thigh. He hissed with pain, but managed to close the wound before he lost too much blood.

"You alright?" Ron asked.

"I'm fine," Harry said and looked at him. His friend's robe was scorched, and his hair would need some regrowing, but he was otherwise unhurt - or looked unhurt. Ron wasn't that much better at being honest about his health than Harry.

"Don't let Hermione hear that," Ron said, chuckling.

Behind him, Hermione, looking as tired as Harry felt, Bill - in a similar condition - and Fleur, covering their rear, came up to them. "The wards are down," their lover told the two wizards, "but we were seen by guards, and one of them escaped. Bess and her group are holding their reinforcements back. We don't have much time left." She pointed her wand at the door to the harem. "Alohomora! Depulso!"

The large door was blasted open, and Harry heard shrieks from inside. He moved forward, though his leg was still hurting, and Fleur rushed past him.

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle!" the Veela shouted.

Ron cursed and ran after her. Harry was about to follow him when Hermione stopped him. "Let me check your leg!"

"I'm fine," he spat.

"That's why you're limping worse than Moody?" Hermione pursed her lips and shook her head, flicking her wand. "You won't bleed out, but you'll not run until this is treated properly."

"Good thing we have brooms and portkeys then," Harry said, grinning while he tried to ignore his pain.

Hermione snorted, then looked back at the other hallway. "More guards are coming from there."

The two filled the hallway with walls and pit traps while moving into the harem. There Fleur had found her sister, and the two Veela were hugging each other, crying. Several girls and women, dressed in richly-embroidered robes, were watching from a corner, looking frightened. One of them was holding her wrist, and Harry saw a wand on the ground. He glanced at Ron.

His friend shrugged, then touched the mirror on his collar. "Bess, what's your status?"

"We're holding them at bay, but they are tenacious. Brave too. Two of us are wounded, but able to walk," the female Auror's voice sounded through the mirror.

"Fall back to the Harem and prepare to evacuate. We'll take down the Anti-Portkey and Anti-Apparition Jinxes," Ron said. "Peters, prepare to apparate out as well."

Harry was already doing that - they needed to get out now. He saw Hermione step up to the other witches watching them. His lover said something in Arabic - or so he thought - and the women looked terrified. Hermione pulled out a rope, and repeated the phrase, then beckoned the witches.

While Harry took down the jinxes, Bess and her team arrived - one of them being levitated alongside. The girls who had been approaching Hermione gasped, but a sharp command from the witch had them grip the rope.

"Bess, check the rooms - we don't want to leave anyone back here!" Ron yelled.

While the Auror ran off, two others of her team sealed the door. Harry took a deep breath. "Jinxes down!" he announced.

"Peters, get out!" Ron said to the mirror. A few seconds later, Peters's voice announced that they had arrived back at the landing spot.

Harry looked at Fleur, Bill and Gabrielle. "Your turn now."

Bill looked like he was about to contradict him, but Fleur put her hand on his arm, and the Curse-Breaker relented. A moment later, all three vanished with their portkey.

A scream and a curse had Harry whirl around - and grunt when pain flared up in his wounded leg. That had come from the back of the harem. He looked at Ron, who nodded at him, his own wand aimed. Before the two of them could move though, Bess appeared in the main room, bleeding from her shoulder, and herding three more girls before her.

"Damned scared idiot hit me when I tried to to get them out," the Auror said.

The girls ran over to the rest of the women and touched the rope after a brief exchange of words Harry didn't understand. An instant later, Hermione activated the portkey, and they too vanished.

"Everyone else, apparate to the landing site!" Ron ordered.

A second later, Harry landed roughly on the beach, causing more pain to his wounded leg. He clenched his teeth, and quickly checked. Hermione and Ron were there, as were Fleur, Gabrielle and Bill.

"My team's complete!" Peters announced.

"Mine as well," Bess said.

Harry saw Ron nod, and touch the mirror again while the wounded were being treated.

"Hood, we're all clear. Wreck the palace!"

Mediterranean Sea, Harbour of Magical Algiers, Algeria June 21st, 2003

HMS Hood was watching the burning harbour of Magical Algiers when she heard Ron's order. Smiling grimly, she addressed the ships with her - the Mediterranean Squadron. "Repulse and Prince of Wales, target the Dey's Palace!" she ordered as her own main guns shifted from the breakwater and harbour buildings to the domed building in the centre of the town and her directors adjusted the firing solutions.

"Ready!" Prince of Wales reported, a second before Repulse.

"Fire!"

Hood's guns spoke, followed by the broadsides of the battleship and battlecruiser. At that distance, dispersion would be minimal, though Hood wouldn't want to be near the palace, even though it covered an entire hill - 14-inch and 15-inch shells caused a lot of collateral damage, as the modern military called it, even when they landed right on the mark. But the squadron was here to bombard the place, to teach the pirates, slavers and other wogs - even though Hermione said that they were not supposed to use that word any more - on the Barbary Coast that the days of raiding the European shores were over, and her fleet would do exactly that, just as the Royal Navy had done in 1816.

The harbour was already wrecked. The breakwater and the buildings lining it had been shelled. Sikh and Cossack had sailed inside and sunk the few ships moored at the pier as soon as Hood's guns had torn down the palace wards. The Algerian vessels had been mostly ancient-looking sailing ships, and one ship that looked like a paddle-steamer, but they were owned and crewed by wizards. And while Hood didn't know many spells that could hurt shipgirls, that didn't mean there were no such spells - or magical devices.

Only a fool would have assumed that they were harmless, and Hood was no fool. She was the admiral in command of the entire fleet of shipgirls of the Magical Royal Navy - which was, as her friends hadn't failed to point out, fitting for an Admiral-class battlecruiser. Nominally, the shipgirls were part of Wizarding Britain, but they were not under the control of the Ministry of Magic - a fact Minister for Magic Dawlish did his best not to advertise to anyone.

Hood approved of that - as long as Dawlish didn't try to harm or harass her friends, or do anything too stupid, and listened to reasonable advice, he could keep counting on their support. Another fact Dawlish was very aware of, and did his best not to advertise. The man was a decent politician, after all, even though he hadn't been a good Auror.

Her main guns spoke again, a second faster than Repulse's guns, and Hood smiled. Their rivalry had lessened somewhat, after they had come to an agreement with Prince of Wales, but it certainly had not ended just because the two battlecruisers were sharing the battleship - Hood doubted they'd ever have the the relationship Harry, Hermione and Ron had with each other. One thing they had in common though: Their relationship was no one's business but their own. And maybe Luna's - the witch had been a source of valuable advice in the past. The battlecruiser smiled, remembering the passionate talks they had had, long after the blonde witch had finished her articles covering the shipgirls.

"Broom riders in the air!" Cossack reported. Hood saw a dozen brooms fly over the harbour, unfortunately already too close and too high for the tribal-class destroyers' dual-purpose 4.7-inch guns to engage them.

"Prince of Wales, Repulse - cease firing! Glorious, have your aeroplanes engage the brooms!" Hood ordered.

Sea Gladiators dived at the broom riders, machine guns lining the sky with tracers. Hood saw one wizard, then another crash into the sea, torn to shreds by the Gladiators' machine guns. It didn't seem to deter the others though. Hood saw that Acasta and Ardent were picking up speed, ready to intercept any aerial attackers going after the capital ships.

The Algerians were brave, the battlecruiser had to admit. Not many wizards would have the guts to attack her squadron - the Magical World hadn't forgotten London and Tromso, or the demonstration for the ICW near Azkaban, which had become their home port. Brave, but foolish. Wands simply lacked the range to attack shipgirls who saw their wielders coming. Only Fiendfyre was a real threat to shipgirls on the sea, and Hermione had been working on countermeasures for that.

Sikh and Cossack were taking evasive action now while their pom-poms and machine guns were taking a bloody toll on the broom riders trying to swarm them. Spells were shooting towards the two destroyers from the waterfront as well, though those missed by a mile. So far.

"Suppress the enemies on the pier and breakwater!" Hood said - she wasn't about to let enemies correct their aim. Her secondary guns opened up, followed by those of Prince of Wales and Repulse. Shortly afterwards, the waterfront disappeared in clouds of smoke and dust thrown up by the shells. The three ships kept the bombardment up for a minute. No spells pierced the smoke afterwards.

Meanwhile, the last two broom riders tried to evade the aeroplanes hunting them by flying low and erratically on top of the waves. They didn't succeed, and Hood saw one of the planes do a victory roll after killing the last enemy.

The short interruption had allowed the smoke to clear from the palace, and Hood saw that the big dome had collapsed, as had three of the four turrets lining it. But there were still structures standing. The job was not yet done.

"Prince of Wales, Repulse: Resume bombardment of the Dey's Palace."

Once more 14-inch and 15-inch shells arced towards Magical Algiers, their impact shaking the earth. Cossack and Sikh were firing their 4.7-inchers at the remaining buildings facing the pier, setting a few more ablaze when their anti-fire wards either overloaded or were torn down with the walls they were anchored to. At least that was what Hood remembered from Hermione's explanation of the wards on Grimmauld Place, where the shipgirls still stayed when visiting London. If only they would create a proper harbour there!

She saw the last turret of the palace collapse after a near-hit. The remaining buildings were both burning. Hood nodded - they had accomplished their mission. "Hood to all ships: cease firing unless you spot enemies offering resistance, and make for the rally spot!"

Sikh and Cossack darted out of the burning harbour while Hood, Prince of Wales, Repulse and Glorious as well as their escorts started turning, in formation. Behind them, Magical Algiers was burning.

The battlecruiser tapped the enchanted mirror. "Hood to Strike Group: We're on our way to the rally spot. The palace and the harbour have been destroyed."

Ron, the wizard in charge of the mission, answered: "Well done, Hood. We've evacuated Gabrielle and the wounded already, as well as those freed slaves who wanted to come with us. As soon as you arrive we can portkey you back to England."

"Understood."

Hood smiled as her fleet sailed on. This was what the Magical Royal Navy had been formed for. No longer were they merely patrolling for smugglers, and the occasional sea monster; no, they were showing the flag and teaching the enemies of Britain - Magical Britain - that it was foolish to challenge the might of the Royal Navy. If she told that to the muggle admirals who knew about the Magical Royal Navy back in London, they would be jealous - but also proud, she thought.

And it wouldn't be the last such mission, Hood was certain of that. There were many magical countries where slavery and other despicable practises still flourished. The West Indies, for example, as well as parts of Africa, and of the Americas. Waters which had been patrolled by the Royal Navy when hunting slavers two centuries ago. All of them would learn one thing:

Britannia ruled the waves, again.